Ebook: War and Gold: a Five-Hundred-Year History of Empires, Adventures, and Debt

Gold : the establishment of order, c. 1500-1914. Sweat of the sun ; Rival nations : England and France ; Revolutions ; Pillars of order ; Great republic ; London 1914 -- War : the consequences of Armageddon, 1914-1915. guns and shells ; victors and vanquished ; World crisis ; Bretton Woods -- The new dollar order, 1945-1973. Pax Americana ; Weary titans ; Japan Incorporated ; Imperial retreat -- Paper : the end of gold, 1973- The impact of oil ; Thatcher and Reagan ; The creation of the Euro -- The rise of China ; Delusions of debt ; Crises and 'bailouts' -- Appendix. Value of gold stock to world GDP.;The world was wild for gold. After discovering the Americas, and under pressure to defend their vast dominion, the Habsburgs of Spain promoted gold and silver exploration in the New World with ruthless urgency. But, the great influx of wealth brought home by plundering conquistadors couldn't compensate for the Spanish government's extraordinary military spending, which would eventually bankrupt the country multiple times over and lead to the demise of the great empire. Gold became synonymous with financial dependability, and following the devastating chaos of World War I, the gold standard came.