Financial Markets in History

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

"Why do people invest and how do they do it in different national and historical contexts? This course offers students the opportunity to think about the emergence of financial markets as institutions, evolving legal and business practices and the changing role of investors from a historical and global perspective. Starting with trade finance in the 15th century and the emergence of sovereign bond markets under the Habsburg Spain empire, we move on to London's rise as financial center of Europe, stock market bubbles, the nature of new exchanges in Asia and other global settings to Wall Street, war bonds, and the rise of new financial tools and markets in the post-WWII era. Readings will involve primary documents and exciting literature in economic history, social, business and cultural history and allow students to gain a broader understanding of the nature of financial and political risk, institution-building, human behavior, and the role of financial markets in modern history. "