This book uncovers the complex interconnections between politics and finance in the midst of the French Revolution. Charting the trajectories of members of the financial elite between London, Paris and Amsterdam, this study reveals the ever-shifting relationship between market actors and the political world.

The French Revolution paved the way for bankers, especially those working in international finance, to occupy a new position within not only the economic framework of the time but also on the political stage. The profession of banker went through a series of transitions in its relationship with the political authorities. These changes affecting the social, economic and political status of bankers led to increasingly active interactions between politics and finance that have become a feature of our modern societies.

Using a transnational and interdisciplinary approach, this book highlights how during the Age of Revolution there emerged a dynamic which is still present today: the financial world and the sphere of politics became strongly intermixed while actors from both sides made efforts to overpower their counterparts. In this way, it provides an ideal perspective for bridging the gap that has long separated economic from cultural history in the study of the French Revolution.

About the Author
Niccolo Valmori is a Research Fellow at The Robert Schuman Center, European University Institute. He has also recently been a member of a research project on revolutionary translations based at King's College London. His research interests include the transnational history of the French Revolution, Atlantic History and the study of financial elites.

Reviews

'In this much needed transnational history of banking and finance in the age of revolutions, Valmori offers countless new insights into individual decisions, everyday practices, government policies, crises of credit, diplomatic intrigues, and not least the making of war and peace. The author's aptly targeted studies of different kinds of archives and documents will provoke discussion for years to come.' Lynn Hunt, author of History: Why It Matters

'This wide-ranging and carefully written book shows how late eighteenth-century bankers in London, Amsterdam and Paris networked their way around wars and revolution to become the "embedded" partners of the modern imperial state. It also shows how states learned, sometimes the hard way, that financial markets require a certain degree of autonomy. Valmori's illuminating account reminds us that the vexed yet interdependent relationship between financial capitalism and nation-states, so visible in recent times, has its origins in the age of democratic revolution.' Charles Walton, co-editor of Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History

'The book is very well written and researched, showing a flawless attention to detail... Readers will find much to engage them... Valmori has given us a powerful and revealing insight into the financial world during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.' Anne L. Murphy, Business History

Book Information
ISBN 9781802077636
Author Niccolo Valmori
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Voltaire Foundation
Publisher Liverpool University Press