Abstract
In 1340, Edward III, King of England, defaulted on his debts to the two great banking families of Florence – the Bardi and the Peruzzi – thereby reducing these families to bankruptcy: the Peruzzi in 1343 and the Bardi in 1346. 1 As with the Bardi and the Peruzzi in Florence at the beginning of the 14th century so, at the beginning of the 21st, with Lehman Brothers in the USA, the Northern Rock in Britain, and the Anglo Irish Bank in Ireland: defaulting borrowers caused their bankruptcy and, in turn, their bankruptcy led their countries’ economies to tremble and totter. The difference between the intervening centuries was that Edward III ran up debts in pursuit of a long war with France while defaulters of the 21st century were more into bricks and mortar.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2014 Vani K. Borooah
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Borooah, V.K. (2014). Banking. In: Europe in an Age of Austerity. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137396020_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137396020_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-48447-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-39602-0
eBook Packages: Palgrave Economics & Finance CollectionEconomics and Finance (R0)