Financial Revolution

Historical Context Essay

Colin Nicholson (University of Edinburgh)
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The effort to finance both trade expansion and government expenditure in the decade which followed the 1688 landing of William of Orange at Torbay and the Glorious Revolution produced a significant economic shift from short-term to long-term loans. Banking had grown haphazardly since the Civil War and the flotation of joint-stock companies, of insurance schemes for specific trading initiatives, or against fire or premature death, and the organisation of public loans to the state had hitherto been proposed and developed as occasion required. These flotations continued: a rash of joint-stock companies flourished and died, particular around the speculative South Sea Bubble year of 1720 during which around two hundred insurance companies …

2432 words

Citation: Nicholson, Colin. "Financial Revolution". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001; last revised 06 November 2018. [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=388, accessed 25 November 2024.]

388 Financial Revolution 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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