This story begins in the mid-1500s when Jews, expelled from Spain and Portugal during the inquisitions of the late 1400s, found refuge and eventually established a significant presence in Amsterdam. Over time, they played a key role in shaping Europe's financial landscape, including the creation of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 1602 and the establishment of the Bank of Amsterdam in 1609. These institutions became models for future financial systems.To quote the words of Nikolaus Kopernikus in 1517, "The greatest and most forbidding mistake has to be when a ruler tries to make a profit from the minting of coins by introducing and circulating new coins, with an inferior weight and fineness, alongside the originals and claims that they are both of equal value..." These words should have been remembered a hundred years further down the line.The so-called "Kipper and Wipper period" saw the highest inflation in the history of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. The start of the Thirty Years' War marked the beginning of a drastic deterioration in the quality of coins in Central Europe, which lasted until 1623. The origin of this financial and economic crisis, however, is to be found some decades before this.New coins were then minted by adding copper to the silver that was extracted from these coins. The profit made by reminting coins in this way was so enticing that the silver content of the coins was further and further reduced, until pure copper coins eventually came onto the market.Trade and transport picked up as a result of the increased volume of cash in circulation. Economic output rose, but the prices of individual products also went up rapidly. Those who had the opportunity to pass on the price rises to their customers did just that. Those receiving a fixed income, such as teachers or pensioners, no longer had enough money to live on.
The Dutch East India Company (VOC), established in 1602, was one of the most powerful and influential trading enterprises in history. Founded in the same year as the world’s first stock exchange in Amsterdam, the VOC held a monopoly on the spice trade between Western Europe and Asia, dominating global commerce during the 17th century.In 1609, the VOC hired English sea captain and explorer Henry Hudson to find a Northeast Passage to Asia, a route that would allow ships to sail around Scandinavia and Russia. When Arctic ice blocked his path, Hudson abandoned the Northeast Passage and instead sailed westward in search of a Northwest Passage. During this voyage, he explored the northeastern coast of North America aboard the ship Halve Maen. His journey led to landfalls at Newfoundland and Cape Cod, marking some of the earliest European explorations of the region.By 1621, Dutch settlers had established colonies in what would later become the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut, with smaller outposts in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. This vast territory, known as New Netherland, was administered by the Dutch West India Company (WIC), founded in 1621. The WIC became the world’s first multinational corporation, backed by the financial infrastructure of a central bank and the Amsterdam stock exchange. It played a crucial role in managing Dutch colonial ventures in the Americas.
The Dutch Tulip Bubble of the 1630s was a speculative frenzy that enriched Amsterdam's financial sector, and the wealth generated was later used to support William of Orange in his campaign to seize the English throne from his father-in-law, James II. With William's success, the stage was set for the expansion of the financial institutions that had been pioneered in Amsterdam. By 1694, these systems-central banking, stock markets, and lending houses-were firmly established in London.In 1654, the first Jewish settlers arrived in New Netherland, marking the beginning of Jewish immigration to North America. By this time, Jewish merchants and investors had become significant stakeholders in both the Dutch East and West India Companies, collectively owning more than a quarter of their shares. Their involvement in these enterprises reflected the growing influence of Jewish communities in European commerce and finance.From there, England exported this new form of banking to its colonies, spreading its influence across the globe. This financial system, rooted in the experiments of Amsterdam and refined in London, would go on to shape the modern world.On February 9, 1674, less than a century after the establishment of the Amsterdam stock exchange and central bank, the Dutch Republic agreed to transfer the colony of New Amsterdam to England under the Treaty of Westminster. The city was renamed New York in honor of the Duke of York, later King James II. This transfer occurred shortly before the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which reshaped the political landscape of England and its colonies.
In Europe, the financial center of gravity shifted from Amsterdam to London following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The Bank of England, established in 1694, became a cornerstone of this new financial order. Jewish banking dynasties, who had already tested their financial systems in Amsterdam, played a significant role in this transition. The Glorious Revolution also marked the end of the centuries-long struggle in England over absolutism and the divine right of kings, as power shifted to Parliament. The City of London, a sovereign entity within England, emerged as the new hub of global finance, heavily influenced by these banking interests.The Edict of Expulsion of the Jews from England was issued on July 18, 1290 by King Edward I due to the Jews operating a vast "Money Clipping" operation where they would shave gold coins.In 1664 the Edict of Expulsion on Jews was lifted by King Charles II.In 1666 just two years later one third of the city is destroyed in a fire in what is now known as The Great Fire of London. The fire affected almost exclusively the "medieval" walled section of the city where the oldest structures stood.The fire destroyed Three notable structures:>The Guildhall which was the Administrative center of the City of London>St. Paul's Cathedral which stood since 603 AD and was the religious center of London>The Royal Exchange which was the first exchange of London built in 1571 and modeled after the ones established in Amsterdam and BelgiumThe Great Fire of London acted as a catalyst for modernization and economic growth. The rebuilding efforts, combined with the emergence of new financial services, legal frameworks, and global trade connections, transformed London into a leading financial center. By the 18th century, London had become the financial capital of the West, a position it maintained for centuries.
In 1743, in Frankfurt, Germany, Amschel Moses Bauer opened a "Counting House." Over the shop, he placed a sign featuring a Roman eagle and a red shield. The shop became known as the "Red Shield Firm" or, in German, "Rothschild."When his son, Mayer Amschel Bauer, inherited the business, he decided to change his name to Rothschild. Mayer Amschel Rothschild soon learned that loaning money to nations was a far more lucrative business than loaning money to individuals, as the loans were secured by taxes.Mayer Rothschild had five sons. He trained them all in the business and then sent them to major capitals across Europe. His first son, Amschel Mayer Jr., stayed in Frankfurt to tend the founding bank. His second son, Solomon, was sent to Vienna, Austria. His third son, Nathan, the most clever, was sent to the City of London, the financial center of the time. His fourth son, Carl, went to Naples, Italy, and his fifth son, Jakob (later changed his name to James), went to Paris, France.In 1785, Mayer Rothschild moved his entire family (excluding his sons) to a five-story building in Frankfurt, Germany, known as the "Green Shield" building. The bottom floor was shared with and occupied by the Schiff family.Shortly after the French Revolution in 1799, the Rothschild family began lending money and gold to the British during the Napoleonic Wars. They supplied gold to the Duke of Wellington's troops, which helped prevent the armies from defeat. Nathan Mayer Rothschild is said to have been the first person in London to learn of Wellington's victory. He used this information about Napoleon's defeat to spread misinformation about Napoleon's victory across Europe, manipulating the markets at the London Stock Exchange into a selling frenzy. Rothschild then bought up as much as he could in the short period before the truth became known-that Napoleon had actually lost at Waterloo and that his reign had ended.
1848 is often referred to as the "Year of Revolutions" because of the wave of uprisings and protests that swept across Europe, such as the February Revolution in France, the March Revolution in the German states, the Austrian uprisings, the Italian revolutions, the Danish Revolution, and the revolution in Wallachia (now Romania). These revolutions were driven by widespread dissatisfaction with monarchical rule, economic hardship, and demands for political reform, workers' rights, and national independence. Although The Communist Manifesto did not immediately spark these revolutions, it provided a theoretical framework for understanding and challenging the existing social and economic order.In 1848, Marx, along with his collaborator Friedrich Engels, published The Communist Manifesto (originally titled Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei). This pamphlet became one of the most influential political documents in history. It was commissioned by the Communist League, a group of radical activists.In 1917, the Rothschilds funded Lenin and Trotsky with $20 million (equivalent to around $500 million in 2025) through the Schiff banking family to overthrow the Russian Tsar in the Communist Revolution. (Lenin's real name was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, and Trotsky's was Lev Bronshtein-both were of Jewish heritage.) Following the revolution, the Rothschilds privatized the Russian Central Bank, leading to significant control over the Russian economy. It is also noted that over 80% of the "leadership class" in post-revolutionary Russia were of Jewish descent.
More of these threads let turn all of /pol/ into some sort of loonies phil
By 1860, the push to reestablish centralized financial authority had taken on new urgency. During this time, key figures, including prominent bankers in New York and Judah P. Benjamin-who would later become a leading figure in the Confederacy and a representative of Southern plantation interests-conspired to reshape the nation's financial system. The Civil War, which followed, was a pivotal moment in this effort. The conflict was not merely about slavery or states' rights but also about consolidating economic power under the control of Northeastern financial elites. The war provided an opportunity to centralize the authority to issue currency and undo the decentralized system that had been established during Andrew Jackson's presidency.Control over the issuance of money grants immense power. It allows those who wield it to influence politicians, mayors, governors, and other key figures through bribery, coercion, and manipulation. This power is magnified when those in positions of authority are driven by self-interest rather than moral principles. After the Civil War, with the Union's victory and the centralization of power in the Northeast, the remaining opposition to a centralized banking system was systematically marginalized. Around the same time, similar financial consolidation was occurring in Europe, with the Bank of Hamburg evolving into the Reichsbank, Germany's central bank. These developments reflect a broader pattern of financial centralization and control that has shaped modern economic systems.
Frederick A. Delano's father, Warren Delano Jr. (July 13, 1809 - January 17, 1898), was an American merchant and drug smuggler who amassed a significant fortune by smuggling illegal opium into China. He was also the maternal grandfather of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.Warren Delano's wealth came from smuggling opium into Canton (now Guangzhou), China. Opium, a highly addictive narcotic related to heroin, was illegal in China at the time.In the 1800s, there was a massive demand in Europe for Chinese luxury goods such as silk, tea, porcelain, and furniture. However, Chinese demand for European goods was relatively weak, which led to large trade deficits for European nations.To address this imbalance, foreign traders like Scottish merchant William Jardine, of Jardine Matheson, turned to opium smuggling as a way to pay for Chinese goods. The massive influx of opium led to widespread addiction in China and exacerbated the trade deficit, contributing to the First Opium War (1840-1843).The war ended with China's defeat, resulting in the loss of control over its major ports. This period became known in China as the "Century of Humiliation," during which Western powers seized control of Chinese ports and commerce. These struggles ultimately contributed to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911.In parallel with upheavals in Europe, such as the attempted coups by Judeo-Bolsheviks in Germany and Russia, China also experienced significant political turmoil. In 1927, China saw its first Communist Revolution, which culminated in the formation of the People's Republic of China under Mao Zedong in 1949. Jews played a significant role in shaping modern China (See: A Jew in Mao's China)
In the 19th century, the British Empire dominated the lucrative but controversial opium trade with China. Queen Victoria granted the Sassoon family-a prominent Jewish merchant dynasty-a monopoly on this trade through the British East India Company. The Sassoons, originally from Baghdad, amassed immense wealth by exporting opium grown in British India to China, where it caused widespread addiction and social devastation, leading to the Opium Wars (1839-1842 and 1856-1860).While the Sassoons held the monopoly, American firms like Jardine & Matheson and Russell & Company often handled the transportation of opium. These subcontractors may have been used to distance the British Crown from the trade's negative reputation. Russell & Company had ties to the Skull and Bones society, an elite group at Yale University, reflecting the interconnectedness of global trade and power.The Sassoons deposited their profits into Rothschild banks, further aligning their fortunes with the Rothschild family, one of Europe's most influential banking dynasties. The two families frequently intermarried, strengthening their financial and social ties. Queen Victoria, meanwhile, benefited indirectly through taxes and royal shares of the trade's profits.Rumors also circulated about Victoria's close relationship with Benjamin Disraeli, a Jewish prime minister who advanced British imperial interests. Their bond, whether personal or political, remains a topic of historical speculation.
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From 1865 onward, the CBOT made three important changes to the structure of its trading market. First, it established defined areas specifically for futures contracts on agricultural commodities. Second, contracts were standardized in terms of quality, quantity, and time and place of delivery. This change was later accompanied by the introduction of a clearinghouse, which reduced the counterparty risk that had plagued-as some financial economists argue-OTC trading. The third change was the introduction of a margining system.Until the beginning of the 20th century, regulation was left to state legislation, self-regulation, and decisions by state and federal courts. It was only in 1916, after several attempts to regulate futures exchanges at the federal level (at least partially), that the first federal act, the Cotton Futures Act, entered into force. The continual changes to its own regulations made by the CBOT were reactions to court cases, to make trading acceptable in the eyes of state and federal legislators, and to ensure the performance of the contracts traded under its premises.
In 1888 the Rothschilds began to branch out into the Weapons Manufacturing business.The Maxim-Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company was the result of a takeover by Hiram Maxim of Thorsten Nordenfelt's Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company in 1888. Rothschild issued _1.9 million (1888) (equivalent to _264.26 million or US$328.46 million in 2023) worth of shares to finance the merger. Nathan Rothschild retained a substantial shareholding in the new Maxim-Nordenfelt combine and 'exerted a direct influence over its management'.The company became part of the Barrow Shipbuilding Company, which was taken over by Vickers, Sons and Company in 1897 to form Vickers, Sons & Maxim. This gave Vickers a complete naval shipbuilding, engineering and armaments capability.In 1911, the company expanded into aircraft manufacture and opened a flying school. They expanded even further into electrical and railway manufacturing, and in 1928 acquired an interest in the Supermarine.Vickers, Son & Maxim (later known as Vickers Limited) became known as the most significant arms manufacturers during World War I, producing a vast quantity of weapons and ammunition for the British Empire and its allies. The company played a crucial role in supplying the war effort, particularly with its iconic Vickers machine gun, which became a staple of British and Commonwealth forces.Vickers was heavily involved in the production of ammunition, particularly for its machine guns and other small arms. The company manufactured millions of rounds of .303 British ammunition, which was the standard caliber for British rifles and machine guns during the war. Vickers, Son & Maxim was a critical supplier of weapons and ammunition during World War I, producing everything from machine guns and artillery to tanks and naval guns. Its contributions were vital to the Allied war effort.
In 1916 Germany was winning World War I and so the Jews who still controlled the City of London the center of financial power in England promised that they would obtain American support for the war in exchange for Britain's support of Zionism.In 1915 President Woodrow Wilson was having an affair with a woman named Mary Peck. A prominent (((Lawyer))) from New York by the name of Samuel Untermyer saw Mary Peck and Woodrow Wilson in Bermuda together and blackmailed Woodrow Wilson out of $40,000 (Around $1.2 Million in 2025 dollars).On April 4th, 1917 the US entered WWI, the justification used was the Sinking of the Lusitania by German U-Boats in May of 1915. What was not mentioned was that J.P Morgan owned the Lusitania and that he had filled it with hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition and thousands of pounds of explosives (https://youtu.be/o6zsaONVe-s).England made good on their promise and in November of 1917 they signed the Balfour Declaration which would ultimately culminate in the creation of the Nation State of Israel.
