With their realm 20,000,000 Pounds Sterling (silver) in debt, and unable to pay the Army of England, William III (r. 1689 – 1702) and Mary II (r. 1689 – 1694) issue the charter of the central Bank of England to Charles Montagu, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who in collaboration with the Scottish financier William Paterson, manage it as a private corporation. This is the first privately owned central bank in history. Its purpose is to work closely with the government and provide a source of credit for foreign wars. The bank will loan money to the government at interest, which would be repaid in additional taxation. This includes the sentence, “The bank hath benefit on the interest on all monies which it creates out of nothing.”
[updated 10/26/2024] Thanks to Jim Lorenz for his contributions to this entry.
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Authority:
“Law of the Jungle”
ccc-2point0.com/preface
References:
Winston Churchill, A History of the English Speaking Peoples, four volumes, (New York: Dorset Press, 1956-58), 3:19-20, 44.
27 July 1694: the Bank of England is created by Royal Charter | MoneyWeek
moneyweek.com/402300/27-july-1694-the-bank-of-england-is-created-by-royal-charter/
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