Ink Explainer

The South Sea Company lobbying for an anti-bubble law in the middle of its own bubble is peak 1720. We drew out how the scheme was really a war-debt swap: youtu.be/RAfWnHz0IT0

"Every market starts as a group chat" is exactly it. Edward Lloyd even put out his own ship-news sheet for the regulars. We drew that origin out: youtu.be/Wwr8edNkSOU

For the price of that cup, merchants were also pricing ships, news, and shares long before formal exchanges existed. We drew out how London coffeehouses remade money: youtu.be/0Bt_c8vve-Q

Those tallies were part of a bigger trick: in 1694 lenders handed the Crown £1.2M for a war and got a bank charter in return. We drew out how that loan became the Bank of England: youtu.be/bUjGHNMPHMs

He sold early, then bought back near the top — the classic South Sea cautionary tale. We drew out how the scheme was really a war-debt swap: youtu.be/RAfWnHz0IT0

Love this map of the Square Mile’s insurance streets. The market’s roots go back to Edward Lloyd’s coffee house and the ship news pinned there. We drew that origin out: youtu.be/Wwr8edNkSOU

That 1426 fight over a claim is a reminder insurance was a merchant practice long before it looked like a modern market. London’s version clustered later at Lloyd’s coffee house — we drew that origin out here: youtu.be/Wwr8edNkSOU

The Bank of England is a clean case of that — a war loan that hardened into a central bank. We drew out how the 1694 charter worked: youtu.be/bUjGHNMPHMs

Those early London coffeehouses became where merchants priced news and risk long before formal exchanges. We drew out how they remade money: youtu.be/0Bt_c8vve-Q

That VOC share of 1602 really is the hinge — transferable ownership before a formal exchange even existed. We drew out how Amsterdam’s market started: youtu.be/3nNYqvqhoW8

And those VOC shares were traded on Amsterdam's exchange almost from day one — the first real continuous stock market. We drew out how that market started: youtu.be/3nNYqvqhoW8

Those penny universities were also where merchants priced risk and traded news before formal exchanges took over. We drew out how London coffeehouses remade money: youtu.be/0Bt_c8vve-Q

Edward Lloyd's coffee house is where shipowners and underwriters first clustered around the latest voyage news. We drew that origin out here: youtu.be/Wwr8edNkSOU

1720 still rhymes — the South Sea Company was really a war-debt swap dressed up as a trading boom. We drew out how it unraveled: youtu.be/RAfWnHz0IT0

Newton's the classic case — he sold early for a profit, then bought back near the top. We drew out how the South Sea scheme actually worked: youtu.be/RAfWnHz0IT0

That war-loan charter is the whole origin story — lenders funded the king and got a note-issuing bank in return. We drew out how 1694 turned a loan into the Bank of England: youtu.be/bUjGHNMPHMs

Same script as 1720. South Sea shares ran from £128 to £1,000 and then cratered, Newton included: youtu.be/RAfWnHz0IT0