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

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 to express the order of the free market system. Warfare in pursuit of wealth required borrowing -- a quickly compulsive dependency for many governments. And when people lost confidence in the promissory notes and paper currencies issued during wartime, governments again turned to gold.

In this captivating historical study, Kwarteng exposes a pattern of war-waging and financial debt -- bedmates like April and taxes that go back hundreds of years, from the French Revolution to the emergence of modern-day China. His evidence is as rich and colorful as it is sweeping. And it starts and ends with gold.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Published: 05/27/2014
ISBN: 9781586487683
Pages: 440
Weight: 1.50lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.10w x 1.70d

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 01/13/2014
Booklist 04/01/2014 pg. 15
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2014
New York Times Book Review 09/14/2014 pg. 18
Choice 01/01/2015 pg. 861