The Trick and the Folly

Formed in 1694, for twenty-five years the Bank of England competed with other institutions to be the only public bank in England. In the wake of a wrenching civil war and a nearly bloodless revolution, England enjoyed a period of freedom unprecedented in its history. In London, particularly, the Crown and the Church exercised an ever decreasing control over people's lives, leaving individuals to believe anything was achievable. But it was a time of great naivety. New ideas, yet to be explored, their consequences still not understood, contained pitfalls for the unwary, traps for the foolhardy. Truth too often was taken on faith, and where there is faith, there is gullibility. It was on this gullibility our tricksters played. The story holds true to the facts of how the Bank came to exist. The characters are real and all took part in the Bank's foundation. We see through the eyes of an insider how this institution was formed, and how the trick was played. We look closely at those who perpetrated the illusion, how they conjured their alchemy in alignment with the Government, who profited on the margins, and why so many fools venally followed the folly. Today, the Bank's policies are all too similar to those followed in the lead-up to the South Sea Bubble. We must understand that ploy because the trick continues to be played. So long as fools think this time it is different, that this time faith will conquer reason, then the deception will continue, and the events will play out.