Financial Reasoning in The Midst of Revolution and Wars: Merchants and Bankers Between Paris, London, and Amsterdam, 1789–1810

Abstract

This chapter sheds new light on how merchant practices evolved in Europe during the period of the French Revolution and the following years of Napoleonic wars. In particular, the swift and unpredictable changes of the period had a direct impact on the three main financial markets of those times: Paris, London and Amsterdam. This analysis takes in consideration different figures of investors: private bankers, merchant bankers as well as private investors. The fundamental assumption of this paper is that economic practices are part of economic rationalities “in action”. In other words, I focus on the decision-making process of bankers and merchants rather than studying their understanding of political economy or economic thinking. The study of economic practices offers a privileged viewpoint for understanding the complex relationship between economic and political reasoning. Economic reasoning involves investments, risks and opportunities as well as an attentive evaluation of the political situation at home and abroad. The long Revolutionary wars and the Napoleonic wars caused uncertainty and disruption to the world of trade and finance. Yet, bankers did not remain idle and adopted different strategies to deal with unfavourable conditions.