Bank of England

The Bank of England was born out of desperate necessity during a war with France in the late seventeenth century. A Scottish merchant named William Paterson proposed a daring plan to the government to raise over one million pounds from private subscribers to fund the military effort. In exchange for this massive loan, these subscribers were incorporated as the Governor and Company of the Bank of England. The bank opened its doors in sixteen ninety-four, effectively creating a new system of national debt and credit that transformed Britain into a global financial powerhouse.