The Link Between the English Civil Wars and Crypto
It’s Amazing — and Scary — How History Repeats Itself
The people were tired of war. But the ruler believed it was for him to consolidate the social order under what he believed to be a superior system and set of ideas. One battle was fought to a stalemate. Political debate ensued, but the ruler was unhappy with the outcome, so he disregarded the will of the people and tried to raise an army for another war. This time he was running out of money to pay his soldiers, so he confiscated the money supply as a forced loan. The money was eventually paid back, but ordinary merchants were fed up with the “system” and decided to take their money (gold) and deposit it with trusted goldsmiths. Receipts were issued for their gold, and soon the receipts themselves were being exchanged in the economy…
This is the story of the First and Second Bishops’ Wars, which were the beginning of the English Civil Wars. It is also the story of “paper money” (the receipts) and “fractional reserve banking” (lending out “extra” receipts at interest, bounded by a fraction of assets — gold — held by the lender). There are some pretty interesting parallels to today. But they are more than just interesting — they are scary as well if we attend to the truth that those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it.
