Who Bankrolled the American Revolution?

"Money flows more than it leaps; that's why we follow economic change in charts, with slow, incremental movements up and down, and arrows telling us what is really going on behind the jumpy shadow puppets of politics. Who won the battle? can be simplified, dramatically, into strategic decisions and pivotal moments. Who paid for the soldiers to get there?-and thus made it possible for the battle to be fought at all-usually involves a long-distance jumble of government bonds, loans, and guarantees complex enough to send us back to the battle itself."

"The financing of the material conditions of history-how buses are hired for a great march; who pays for the guerrillas' guns and grub-mostly remains opaque in our chronicles. When we look at the famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware, the last question we ask is the first one we should: Who paid for the boat?"

Historical accounts typically emphasize dramatic events and individual decisions while overlooking the financial infrastructure that made those events possible. Economic history appears less compelling than military or political narratives because money flows gradually through complex systems of bonds, loans, and guarantees rather than through memorable individual moments. Understanding who paid for soldiers, boats, and supplies requires tracing intricate financial networks that seem remote compared to strategic battles or famous figures. This gap in historical analysis means crucial enabling factors remain invisible. Examining financial mechanisms reveals the true drivers behind historical change, yet economic complexity discourages deeper investigation into how resources actually moved and who controlled them.

Read at The New Yorker