ness had come on quite suddenly and developed so rapidly that the idea of recalling the sons who were abroad could never have been considered.

When Meyer Amschel had thus done everything that lay in his power to secure the future prosperity of his House—which, it is true, he considered in terms only of financial gain-and by clear and simple provision to maintain unity and peace amongst his numerous family, he could look death calmly in the face. Two days after he had completed his will, on the evening of September 19, 1812, his old complaint took a marked turn for the worse. The alpha and omega of medical practice of the time was to let blood, a procedure which simply served to weaken old people who were very ill, instead of giving them relief. At a quarter past eight on the evening of the same day, Meyer Amschel Rothschild, the tireless, cunning, simple, and religious Jew, and founder of the banking firm M. A. Rothschild and Sons, was no longer to be counted amongst the living.

In his last hours he was fully aware that he was leaving a fine inheritance to his sons, but he certainly could not have guessed that he had laid the foundation of a world power which during the first half of the nineteenth century was to exercise an unparalleled influence throughout Europe, and was to maintain this influence almost unimpaired throughout the changing conditions of the second half of the century.

CHAPTER III

The Great Napoleonic Crisis and Its Exploitation by the House of Rothschild

SIN

INCE the French Revolution, the Continent of Europe had been continuously suffering from the turmoil of war, while large territories were subjected to the horrors of the actual battles between the opposing armies. On the other hand, sea-girt England, although she exerted a powerful political influence upon the continental groups, was able to devote her principal attention, practically undisturbed, to the development of her commerce and the prosperity of her citizens.

Through his financial reforms which had assisted the capitalistic development of the state, the younger Pitt had brought order into Britain's internal affairs and thereby made it possible for England, out of her growing wealth, to advance very considerable sums of money to her allies, who were waging war on the Continent with the wealth and the blood of their citizens. Towards the close of the eighteenth century England was indisputably the most important commercial power in Europe, and the House of Rothschild had made an exceedingly clever move in arranging that one of its sons, and the most talented one at that, should take up his residence in that kingdom.

Nathan had first settled in Manchester, the center for the manufacture of all kinds of cloth, as he had long had business connections with that city. In view of the numerous armies that had to be clothed, the cloth trade offered opportunities of making exceptional profits. The sum of money he brought with him-£20,000, which con

stituted a very respectable capital sum in those daysgave the stranger an assured position from the start, although he could not speak a word of English. Nathan, therefore, came to Manchester, not as a small tradesman, but as a fairly important representative of an established commercial firm on the Continent, with money at his command.

He entered upon his commercial activities with all the enthusiasm of youth, at the same time showing a business acumen remarkable in one so young. He first carefully studied his environment, and his neighbor's methods of making money, and ascertained that profits were made on the purchase of the raw materials necessary for the manufacture of cloth and on the issue of these materials for dyeing purposes, as well as on the sale of the finished article, each of these activities in England being the province of a separate merchant.

Nathan determined to secured for himself the profit at each stage in the process. He bought the raw materials on his own account, had them dyed, and then gave them out to undergo the further processes of manufacture, and finally himself handed them over to the trade. Nathan did not confine himself exclusively to cloth. He bought everywhere, and anything that he thought was good and cheap. Thus he bought all kinds of fancy goods, as well as colonial produce such as indigo, wine, sugar, and coffee. He was not troubled about finding a market, as the parent firm at home required all these things.

The capital which he brought with him was soon doubled and trebled, while his father and brothers derived the greatest benefit from Nathan's presence in England. He enjoyed the life in that country, which struck him as extraordinarily free and unfettered, compared with the oppressive conditions in Frankfort.

As his business grew, Nathan naturally began to establish contact with the capital, which is the heart of Great Britain, and in which all the financial interests of an

extensive empire are concentrated. Determined to settle in England for good, he left Manchester in 1804 for London, where he would be in closer touch with those political developments which were producing such profound effect upon commercial life. He realized at once that the fact that he was a foreigner was a great handicap in business, and therefore, as early as the summer of the year 1806, he applied for naturalization as a British subject. His wish was readily granted, as the applicant had resided for six years in the country, and even if he had not yet attained a very prominent position in the business world, he was already honored and respected.

Favored by the keen demand for goods on the Continent, Nathan carried on his business in London with great success, until the year 1806. His intimate experience of English life and character, and his sympathy with the spirit of resistance to Napoleon's plans of world domination which inspired the whole country, soon caused him to adhere completely to English modes of thought. But he avoided publicly identifying himself with any political cause which might have damaged his family at Frankfort, and all his actions were guided first and foremost by business considerations.

Nathan was now twenty-nine years old, and was contemplating marriage. He had made the acquaintance of the daughter of a rich Jewish family. Her father, who had emigrated from Amsterdam, had several small business dealings with Nathan, but their relations had not been sufficiently intimate to enable him to form an accurate estimate regarding the suitor's financial position and general business qualities. The fact that Nathan was living abroad made investigations of this nature more difficult. Nathan, however, with skill and directness, managed to set his future father-in-law's doubts at rest, while the information which the latter obtained from Frankfort confirmed the fact that the Rothschild family were prosperous and respected. Nathan gained

his object, and through his marriage was enabled to increase his own fortune by the amount of his wife's substantial dowry; his position was also strengthened by the influence of a father-in-law who was a wealthy and respected merchant in the City of London.

Moreover, his wife's sister Judith Cohen shortly afterwards married the rich and well-known Moses Montefiore, who was thus brought into close association with Nathan, and whose energy, foresight, and sound business sense in regard to all the vicissitudes of the continental wars, which so intimately affected financial operations, Nathan had constant occasion to admire.

Nathan had as yet nothing to do with the elector's investments in England, although his father at Frankfort was endeavoring to get him this business, and had repeatedly urged him to cultivate relations with the elector's plenipotentiary in London. The intimations of the elector's wishes, hitherto received by Count Lorentz, had not been favorable to such an arrangement, but this in no way discouraged Meyer Amschel at Frankfort, or Nathan in London, from continuing their efforts. As has already been stated, the elector soon changed his opinion, and we are now entering upon the period of the investment of large sums in English stocks, as recommended by Nathan. In view of his intimate relations with Meyer Amschel, the elector could not continue to object to the employment of his son Nathan in transacting the business in London.

Another factor in Nathan's favor was the difficulty of getting possession of the documents certifying the purchases of stock, this being not so difficult for Nathan to arrange, in view of his numerous Jewish and non-Jewish connections. Thus Nathan came to be interested in the enormous financial operations of the elector, and as considerable periods of time could be made to intervene between the purchase and the payment of the securities, he sometimes had temporary control of very substantial