Edward I Longshanks 1272-1307 Edward I (Longshanks) was the eldest son of Henry III and his queen, Eleanor of Provence. Edward was born in 1239 and at the age of only ten he was named governor of Gascony. In 1254, Edward was married to the Princess Eleanor of Castile. Edward began to take a prominent role in matters of […]

Monetary History of France   The French Revolution erupted out of a major debt crisis thanks to the government’s reckless borrowing. France was threatened with insurmountable debt that brought the economy to its knees. The people were plunged into starvation and revolts began in the countryside.  King Louis XVI (1754 – 1793) convened the French […]

Monetary History of Macedonia Philip II (382-336 BC) Philip II of Macedonia (382-336 BC) was king of Macedonia between 359 and 336 BC. and father of Alexander the Great. Philip was born in the city of Pella, which was the capital of ancient Macedonia. Philip II was held as a hostage by the rival Greek […]

The Paper Chase Part II ©Copyright June 1988 The Panic of 1869, which caused gold to rally significantly, was in itself a sign to the government that paper money would not win the affections and confidence of the people just yet – this would take time. The question of what was actually money remained an […]

  ©Copyright June 1988 The story of paper money goes back a long way. One could argue that its first emergence was even before 2500BC in Bablyon. For the sake of convienence, banking transactions took place in the form of a clay tablet which served as a “letter or credit.” While such forms of money […]

Part IV of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  1700-Date As with most wars, noble motives are usually portrayed in some slogan that attempts to hide the true underlying financial incentives. The English Crown’s attempt to control and prevent irresponsible paper money issues among the Colonies, […]

Part II of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  500 AD-1700 AD The fate of the Roman Empire of the West had been cast with the sack of Rome in 410 AD by the Goths followed by the Vandals in 455 AD. What was once Rome […]

Julian II, the Apostate As Caesar, 335-360 AD As Augustus, 360-363 AD Brother of Constantinis Gallus Nephew of Constantine the Great via Theodora Flavius Claudius Julianus was born in Constantinople around 332 AD, the son of Julius Constantius, who was the half-brother of Constantine the Great. His father was born by the second wife of Constantius […]

Uranius Antoninus 253-254 AD Usurper of Emesa, Syria Julius Aurelius Sulpicius Uranius Antoninus was a usurper who rose to power in Syria. Uranius was known as the priest-king. He successfully defended Emesa against the Persian invasion led by Shapur I in 253AD. Although the Persians succeeded in sacking Antioch, they withdrew from the region. Uranius was […]

Hostilian 251 AD Gaius Valens Hostilianus Messius Quintus was the younger son of Trajan Decius and Herennia Etruscilla. In 250 AD, his older brother Herennius Etruscus was raised to the rank of Caesar as was  Hostilian. While his father and brother were campaigning against the Goths, Hostilian had remained in Rome with his mother. Upon receiving word that both his father […]