"Famous for their banking activities, the Rothschild family is also known for their achievements as winemakers, collectors and as significant charitable benefactors."However, amongst those commentators that view bankers as a parasite afflicting Mankind, they are despised.
The history of banking is an interesting one. Wikipedia's page is instructional in that it illustrates (in as many words) that modern banking developed out of greed. Goldsmiths, who charged clients to hold their gold safe found that, instead of sitting on idle gold, they could loan it out at interest to businesses and governments. So profitable was this, that they actively solicited deposits by offering interest to depositors. Not only this, but they found that the paper receipts for the gold were being passed between individuals, in lieu of payment in gold.
These fledgling bankers soon found that only a small percentage of the gold held by them was ever withdrawn by the depositor. This led to them lending many multiples of the gold they held to borrowers in the form of paper receipts. Fractional reserve banking was born.
Lending something you don't have, on the promise of payment in gold that you don't hold?
Does that sound immoral or, even, something that should be illegal?
Wikipedia also points out that this system introduced a new type of "money" into the economy, one not based on real goods or real economic activity but based on debt.
It also gives our friends, the Rothschild family, a mention by stating:
"1800 – The Jewish Rothschild family establishes Euro-wide banking."
Part 2 to follow...
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