Nathan Rothschild and the Battle of Waterloo（Brian Cathcart・The Rothschild Archive）

Claims Supported by This Source

1. The claim that "Nathan Rothschild was the first to learn of the victory at Waterloo in London" has been repeatedly asserted and widely accepted, but it is not supported by records, and "we can say with some confidence that another man had that distinction."
2. The source of the rumor was a polemical pamphlet from 1846. The author, "Satan," was the leftist activist and writer Georges Dairnvaell. It claimed Rothschild "gained twenty million in a single coup."
3. This story formed the basis for the 1940 Nazi propaganda film "Die Rothschilds: Aktien auf Waterloo" (The Rothschilds' Shares in Waterloo) and continues to circulate on antisemitic websites today.
4. What Nathan received was not a messenger but a letter from Ghent, on Wednesday, June 21, 1815. The supposed messenger, Roworth, was in London that day (archival letter).
5. "not consistent with suggestions that Rothschild exploited the information for purposes of insider trading"

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