Merchants of War: Barings Bank and William Bingham, Revolutionary Bankers from the War of Independence to the Louisiana Purchase

John and Francis Baring established their merchant house in 1762 in Cheapside, London. By 1775 and the eve of the American War of Independence they were more likely to make a loss than a profit and yet by 1803, they had financed the Louisiana Purchase, had the agency of the United States and were described later by Richelieu as the "Sixth greatest power in Europe after Britain, France, Austria, Prussia and Russia". So how did this happen? Entries in Barings' ledgers of 1775 provide some of the clues....

This book describes the events and relationships that established Barings as the world's most powerful merchant bank and the role that family connections played in transforming the new United States into the world's first superpower. The most significant of these connections was Senator William Bingham of Philadephia - Benjamin Franklin's war-time undercover agent in Martinique, who first appears in the Barings' story in 1783, and whose descendants are now part of British aristocracy .For students of British history , the book explores how the world's first merchant bank changed the political landscape of the times, and the coincidences and serendipity that led to the bargain of all time, the Louisiana Purchase.

The period covered by this book saw the biggest political and economic changes of any comparable period before or since. The key characters in this book may not all be well known, but they were there, just off-stage, making history, and a lot of money........

Appendices examine the genealogy of the Baring, Bingham and Willing families and their impact on English aristocracy. The life of Bingham's wife, Anne Willing Bingham, "the most beautiful woman in all America" is examined in detail. The heritage locations described in the book also feature as an appendix.

This story ends in 1804; The final chapters tie up the loose ends and set the scene for the next instalment in the Baring chronicles........."Same Old Game!".