Serving These Communities
Covering the Heart of Hamilton County Since 1983
No examination of financial history can be complete without the enthralling story of the Rothschild dynasty. Mayer A. Rothschild was quoted as opining, “Let me issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who writes the laws.”
Mayer’s birth name was Bauer, the son of a goldsmith in Frankfurt, Germany. About the time that the English goldsmiths were driving scriveners out of business thru the fractional banking system (see previous article) Mayer was sent to Hanover to clerk at the prestigious Bank of Oppenheimer. Over the years he meticulously studied the new science of fractional banking, rose to the position of full partner in the bank and sired 5 sons. Upon the death of his father, Mayer Bauer and his sons returned to Frankfurt and assumed the elder’s business.
The sign which hung over his father’s business bore a red shield. The German word for red is “roth” and for shield is “schild”. Mayer Bauer changed his family name to Rothschild and added 5 golden arrows to his father’s sign to represent his sons. With the undying loyalty and courage of those sons, Mayer Rothschild financially conquered the civilized world.
Remember the goldsmith scheme was to lend out certificates for a portion of their clients deposits. Those additional certificates represented debt but were circulated and loaned once again as credit based on the original borrower’s promise to pay. The scheme was successful only up until either the debt was retired or a major borrower defaulted, at which time the certificates in circulation became worthless and those left holding them suffered financial ruin thru inflation.
Rothschild possessed cunning business acumen and also a cold pragmatism when it came to profit and loss. His sons too developed those attributes. The entire family separated and established financial empires in all major European commercial centers. At the same time they developed a secret method of communication to keep each other abreast of world events sometimes even before they occurred which allowed them to invest accordingly.
For instance, in 1815, after the June 18 battle of Waterloo, London investors nervously awaited word of the fate of Duke Wellington. A special courier arrived on the morning of June 20 with a message for Nathan Rothschild. All eyes turned toward the financial wizard as he read and refolded the note. When he began to sell his British investment bonds, those present assumed Wellington had lost. A flurry of selling ensued and prices plummeted. As prices continued to fall, no one noticed when Nathan Rothschild reversed his call and purchased the entire market of government bonds for a fraction of their value. Later that day Wellington’s own courier arrived to announce that the Duke had indeed defeated Napoleon. However in just those few hours, the House of Rothschild had gained possession of the majority of England’s wealth.
Besides their secrecy, cunning and pragmatism the Rothschild dynasty was also immune to feelings of patriotism and indifferent to the condition of mankind. Profit and loss were the ultimate arbiters of their behavior. I believe those attributes still define the nature of present day financiers and international bankers.
Successful fractional reserve banking requires enormous amounts of debt that are unlikely to be retired. When it comes to debt, no human endeavor is more voracious than war. Rothschild is remembered mostly for their lending practices during times of war. While most national central banks profited or lost depending on the fortunes of war, Rothschild was an international dynasty and was most often found to be funding both or numerous sides. And by such practices, a cartel can affect the war’s outcome, not out of any patriotic ties to a particular side, but rather thru negotiated terms that benefit the dynasty itself. Such terms may include mineral rights, trading concessions and even outright taxing authority.
As I mentioned at the outset, it is an enthralling saga that lasted nearly 2 centuries. Of course the details of smuggling, diamond mining, etc., are too numerous to include here. It is rather their cold, pragmatic indifference to nationalism and human suffering that are relative to our narrative.
Some believe that the men who met at Jekyll Island to plot the Federal Reserve System were of the same demeanor as Rothschild and did not have the interests of America uppermost in their minds. Next month we will review the passage of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and the subsequent actions of those who concocted it.