Review of the Empire of Credit: The Financial Revolution in Britain, Ireland, and America, 1688-1715

Abstract

This paper reviews a collection of essays relating to various aspects of the financial revolution in Britain starting with the creation of the Bank of England in the late seventeenth century and ending with the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, a period in which Britain unexpectedly became the dominant power in Europe and acquired an international empire. The volume under review explores some of the historical and intellectual connections between the financial revolution and Britain’s military ascendancy.