The Forgotten Financiers of the Louisiana Purchase

This book provides a comprehensive account of how the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was financed. Where existing research has focused predominantly on the political and diplomatic significance of the Purchase, this book demonstrates the importance of the Purchase to global financial history.

The book provides context and background for the Louisiana Purchase and examines the role of key actors and companies, focusing particularly on the 'forgotten financiers' of the Purchase individuals from the US, France and the UK including Alexander Baring, Albert Gallatin, Pierre Cesar Labouchere and Francois Barbe-Marbois. Based on extensive, original archival research, the chapters will illuminate the role played by these individuals in bringing about financial innovation and facilitating a major transaction that doubled the size of the original United States and helped set the country on a path to global power. The book will be a valuable resource for historians of Europe and America, particularly those with interests in economic and financial history, as well as banking and finance scholars who are interested in the emergence of large-scale international finance in the 19th century.

Examines the inner workings of how the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was financed Illuminates the role of early financiers and private finance in the creation of a global financial system Provides a comprehensive account of the various individuals, banks and countries involved in the Louisiana Purchase

Autorentext

Larry Neal is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and Fellow of the Cliometrics Society.

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Behind the Scenes of the Louisiana Purchase.- Chapter 2: Setting Up the Finance for the Louisiana Purchase.- Chapter 3: The Present Order of Things in January 1803.- Chapter 4: Baring & Hope Anticipate Financing the Louisiana Purchase.- Chapter 5: All The Players Were Important.- Chapter 6: Daniel Parker, American Expatriate Extraordinaire.- Chapter 7: The deal is done, but problems arise: America, London, Paris, and Amsterdam .- Chapter 8: Meanwhile, More Trouble Back in Paris.- Chapter 9: The Financial & Personal Crises of 1810-11.- Chapter 10: The War of 1812 and the Financiers of the Louisiana Purchase.- Chapter 11: Lessons Learned and Applied.- Chapter 12: Curtain Call: The Players Should Take a Bow.