Financial Systems

Explore the emergence of global finance from 19th to early 20th centuries, where international trade and investment grew exponentially, transforming the world economy.

Examine how human nature and financial systems intersect to create stock market bubbles, leading to crises and volatility.

Discover how World War I governments used war bonds and central banks to finance their activities, with a focus on Germany's unique experiences and consequences.

Understand how the Battle of Waterloo marked a financial turning point in European history, comparing debt-based systems with plunder-based economies.

The development of bond markets in Northern Europe during the medieval period, focusing on the census contract and its role in raising revenue for towns.

Explore how Italian city-states developed complex systems of public debt to finance wars, economic growth, and state activities in the late medieval period.

Explore how the late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a shift towards central banking and deposit concentration in most advanced economies.

Explore the evolution of monetary theory from traditional gold standards to modern fiat currency regimes and understand how innovations like fractional reserve banking and central bank control have shaped the global economy.