Middle Ages
The Church forbade charging interest, saying 'time belongs to God'.
Making money from time was like stealing from God.
The History of Jewish Life and Finance
We will consider the relationship with finance and its narratives, drawing from records of occupational constraints, commerce, tax collection, and lending.
Time to read the text: about 7 min
The review questions are optional and not included in this time.
What you can read: the course opening and contents are free; the full text is for those who have purchased
After purchase, you can read the full text once your access starts.
The History of Jewish People and Finance in 3 Minutes
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Middle Ages
But someone still had to lend money. This job was forced upon Jewish people.
They were forced to live by finance, and hated for the wealth it brought.
1278, England
They were protected by the king but heavily taxed. Eventually, many were arrested.
On suspicion of clipping coins. They were expelled in 1290.
From the late 16th century
Supplying the army, minting coins, and collecting taxes were entrusted to certain families.
When the monarch died, the family's position was also in danger.
From 1757, Frankfurt
The Rothschild family began by trading old coins.
They printed a sales catalog every year.
19th century
They underwrote government bonds for various countries and moved money for wars.
To underwrite bonds meant holding power over whether a war could happen.
1846, Paris
The story of 'making a fortune by knowing the battle's outcome early' came from a pamphlet.
Letters from that time don't mention this huge profit.
Today
There are no statistics to support the claim of 'the richest in the world'.
When using numbers, always include the year, country, and the total it's part of.
2In numbers
3,000or more people
Number of people who lived in Frankfurt's Jewish quarter at its peak
1846year
The year the rumor about Waterloo was printed in a Paris pamphlet.
3What would you do?
I heard a story that 'a certain family made a huge fortune by getting early news of the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo.' How should I take this?
Pick one
It's a famous story, so I think it's true.
The source was a pamphlet printed in Paris in 1846. The family's archives show, from letters of the time, that there is no proof of this huge profit.
First, I'd look for the source.
That's the way we do things in this course. It's possible they profited from early news. But there's no record from the time of market manipulation or the legendary fortune.
A rumor becomes a historical source the moment you write down where it came from. The difference between a rumor and a source is whether you can name the year and the medium.
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What you will understand after this course
- Be able to state, in the order of the historical sources, upon whom the medieval prohibition of interest forced the business of lending.
- Be able to explain the four roles that Court Jews and court agents played in the finances of the absolutist state.
- Be able to trace the origin of the Rothschild family to the trade in old coins, using the years documented in the archives.
More about this course
Course number: B20
Supervised by: Mitsuru Hayama
Beyond the text: 6 exercises · 3 readings How reading times are calculated
You will also understand
- Be able to state the year and medium of the origin of the "made a fortune at Waterloo" story, and distinguish between rumor and historical source.
You can start this course without reading any other course.
If you want to know more about checking sources (optional)
- Is It Really True? Checking History
We re-examine the origins of money and famous anecdotes, comparing them with historical records and actual artifacts.
Assessment
6 exercises in this course (4 check, 0 compare, 2 written). Progress is recorded by self-assessment.
The 8 chapters of this course
- Time Belongs to God — The Prohibition of Interest and Its ImpositionThe prohibition of interest did not eliminate lending, but changed who undertook it. The imposed profession was the beginning of a hated wealth.
- The norm of literacy — How professions are chosenThere is a hypothesis that the norm of literacy led people to choose urban occupations. This should be read alongside the "imposition" explanation.
- Royal Patronage and Exploitation — England, 1278Protection and heavy taxes were two sides of the same coin. Numismatics does not forget the year when the pretext of protecting the purity of coinage was turned against a specific group of people.
- Court Jews — The Finances of Absolutist StatesAbsolutist states entrusted military supply, minting, credit, and tax collection to specific families. The family's status depended on the monarch's life.
- The Antique Coin Dealer of the Ghetto — Frankfurt 1757The Rothschild family's first merchandise was antique coins. The trust of a prince who believed in their catalogue expanded into the world of finance.
- The House that Underwrites National Bonds — No Loan, No WarThe house that underwrites national bonds holds the power over war. National bonds, priced daily, turned a country's credit into a number.
- The Origin of the Rumor — Waterloo and a Pamphlet from 1846The source of "made a fortune at Waterloo" is a pamphlet from 1846. A rumor, when its source is cited, becomes a historical source.
- Today's numbers — There are no statistics to support "the richest in the world".There are no statistics to support claims of being 'the best in the world'. There are only numbers with an associated year, country, and denominator, and they should be stated as such.
Readings (3)
- Gods and money Overview: the world the Middle Ages The Ban on Usury and Persecution
Section 1. The structure in the Middle Ages where the Church forbade interest, forcing lending upon the Jews. In the general introduction, "God and Money". - The long cross and the expulsion Britain the 11th–13th centuries London and the cities of England
Section 3. Settlement after the Norman Conquest and royal protection, the mass arrests of 1278. In the chapter on the Pound. - The costs of the wars with China and Russia Japan 1904 London
Section 8. The 1904 dinner party of Jacob Schiff and Takahashi Korekiyo. "The seating arrangement was fabricated" — an example of a legend debunked by historical sources.
Price
After purchase, the full courses, the illustrated books, every country’s story and the numismatics examination are open to you.
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