---

Скачать книгу

---

be a big problem. A plot is discovered, people are beheaded and their property is confiscated. And if there is no plot, it is just an insignificant detail. Three hundred years later historians would say that those were difficult times. There are conspiracies everywhere. Similarly, the founders of the new Bank were sent by the Catholic party and the French king in order to weaken England during the fight with its rivals.[60] And the king simply had to take severe measures…

      However, history is indeed written by the victors. And the 'printing machine' has been striding successfully around the world for three hundred years since it was first used. And it has its own heroes. For example, American president Woodrow Wilson, who signed the decree on establishment of the American Federal Reserve System, is portrayed on the bill with the highest value in the world of 10,000 dollars. Contemporary British historiography likes William III too, for the fact that during his reign bankers achieved agreement with the royal power. He got funds for fighting for the throne and a share in the 'money printing machine' whereas they got a private emission centre in Britain. It was the first printing machine in the history of mankind that enabled its owners to conquer the world using its amazing features. And then, having conquered the world, to write history and make heroes out of those who made creation of such a machine possible. And dead heroes are always easier to deal with then living ones – they can be spoken for, explained for and they will put up with everything and remain silent. Similarly, King William III, apart from this dark story of coming into power, has a dark story of passing away. His death was just so well-timed…

      But we will come back to it later. I would like to draw your attention, dear reader, to one particular fact. Great Britain remained the leading sea power for centuries until the baton was taken by another Anglo-Saxon nation – the USA. Incidentally, at the times when the Bank of England was founded Britain's military capabilities were lower than those of its primary rival. 'French marine forces in 1689 and 1690 exceeded those of England and Holland altogether'.[61] That means that Britain was far from being the Ruler of the Seas – back at the end of the 17^th century this title rightly belonged to France. French Corsairs based in Dunkerque ruined English trade completely.[62] Their English counterparts did not manage to achieve such results. In 1690 during the Battle of Beachy Head, the French defeated the English fleet having sunk twelve of their ships. Twenty ships more were exploded by the English crews themselves. Who remembers this defeat today? Instead, everyone remembers the greatest victory achieved by Admiral Nelson near Cape Trafalgar. How many ships did the heroic Brits sink in that epic batde? Just one![63] And seventeen more ships – led by French Admiral Villeneuve – surrendered. History is written by the victors…

      And yet the English did take the lead in the size and capacity of the fleet. And it happened exactly at the beginning of the 18^th century. So, what was it that helped them? Let us remember what was required back then in order to build a great number of latest ships. Just as today, money was everything. A fleet is obviously an expensive thing to maintain. The cost of its construction exceeds the cost of developing land forces by many times. The exhausted English economy 'all of a sudden' found the enormous amounts of money required to build a fleet. Where from? It is the money derived from issuing paper money and using the secret bankers' know-how that was engaged to obtain military supremacy for the country where the printing machine took roots.

      It is in that period that the main principles of the British policy were established – not to let another strong power appear in Europe and try to use others to fight. A lot has been written about it. But you will not find the main principle of the British policy in any reference books – not to let there be another strong emission centre. Always follow the same standing rule – your currency should be stronger, more reliable, more convenient, more in-demand than any other currency in the world. As early as the end of the XVII century the founders of the Bank of England understood something that everyone realised to be right only today. It is not a strong economy that makes a currency the strongest on the planet. On the contrary, it is a strong currency that makes the country's economy strongest. Make your money the most important money in the world and everything else will come to you itself. The conclusion is rather obvious – weakening rival countries is required to weaken rival currencies.

      This is how the cooperation between clever and cunning financial experts and the British government started. Only after William III, Prince of Orange established the Bank of England, Great Britain as we know it appeared out of the mists onto the political stage. The country is called Great Britain, and was called such even before its greatness had been supported by an English know-how; destabilising the situation within rival countries. This is how Spain was defeated, and marine guerrillas from Holland – Geuzen – were based in English harbours. Later on, French Huguenots received weapons and money from England, which was well described in novels by Alexandre Dumas. And now another invention made by a cunning banker's mind added to this political ingenuity – printing money out of nothing. Financial wit and bankers' cunningness fit the English political tradition perfectly. All together they made a really explosive combination of that Anglo-Saxon political art that Great Britain used against its enemies, as well as against its friends, as a matter of fact. Since then the Anglo-Saxons have been following one rule in politics, and this rule is that there are no rules.

      And here we should remember who the main enemy was for the English on the brink of the 18^th century. The answer is obvious – it was France. We will not get too deep in describing the endless wars between the French and the English on various continents and for various reasons. As an example, let us take only one of them – the War of the Spanish Succession. It was during this conflict that England managed to overcome France's power and took the leadership in the size and capacity of its fleet: 'This supremacy setdes and becomes obvious after the War of the Spanish Succession. Before this war England was one of the sea powers; after this war it became a sea power which knew no rivals'.[64]

      Year 1702. The War of the Spanish Succession is on. This was the largest military conflict in Europe since the Crusades. The Sun King decided to put his grandson on the Spanish throne, which could have led to creation of a European super-empire – by means of merging two nations in one kingdom.[65] And a union of France and Spain was more than just dangerous for England. It would have meant an alliance of an old enemy which the British had been depriving of colonies and gold, that is Spain, and a new rival on the world arena, that is France. The first aim of such a new most powerful state would have inevitably been destroying Great Britain as a colonial power. The 'money printing machine' found itself in danger soon after it saw the light of day. In order to save the new-born it was required to use the whole range of tools available for money. And England immediately declared a war against France. As we remember, a lack of money in the treasury was one of the reasons why the Bank of England was founded in 1694. And as early as 1702 the English did not have the same problem anymore. Apart from incurring its own expenses, England also paid for military expenditures of Germany, Denmark and Austria. Admiral A. T. Mahan, a famous geostrategist and historian, wonders why France was depauperated and exhausted while England was jubilant and prospering. Why was it that England dictated the conditions of the treaty and France simply accepted them? The historian sees the reason in the difference between wealth and credit. France was fighting alone against several enemies risen and supported by English subsidies.[66]

      But where did the English find such money and such opportunities to enlist practically all of Europe to start a war against Louis? The money just appeared. Itself. Out of nowhere. Out of nothing. The same writer says that despite being burdened with a debt which was far too considerable to pay back within a short period of time after a most excruciating war in 1697, already in 1706 instead of seeing the French fleet next to the British shores, they were already sending the strongest ships on annual offensive missions against the enemy.[67] Is this owing to economic miracles? No, miracles simply do not happen. The money for bankrupt England was provided by the Bank of England. France, on the other hand, did not have the money to buy the loyalty

---

Скачать книгу