From the end of the Middle Ages to midway through the Industrial Revolution, ships passing through the narrow strait connecting the Baltic Sea to the North Sea were required to pay a toll to the Kingdom of Denmark. Seems mundane, but for centuries, this toll was perhaps the most controversial in the world, going so…
Life annuities have been used as a form of insurance for centuries. Insurance itself is one of the oldest financial services in existence. Its principles have not changed even if the nature of the products people buy have evolved. Yet there are two perspectives to all transactions; insurance contracts serve just as much a purpose…
If you were shown a paper banknote with ‘The Japanese Government’ printed on top, albeit in English, and was for a sum of 500 pesos, you would probably be left scratching your head wondering from where this strange money came. A sensible person would presume it was just some kind of novelty; in a sense,…
Financial crises have the potential to change history. This is obvious in regards to true depressions, like that of the 1930s, but even smaller tremors can change the way economies are managed, or are left unmanaged. One of these lesser crises was the 1976 IMF Crisis in which Britain was forced to seek a…
