ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will describe the main features of about 90 years of international monetary experience, from 1880 to 1973. We will draw on the analytical framework developed in previous chapters to explain and interpret the course of events. Knowledge of this historical background and experience will facilitate our later discussion (in Chapter 21) of current international monetary problems and proposals to reform the system. However, there is such
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a wealth and variety of experience in this period and such a plethora of interpretations of it that we can attempt to provide only a “broad-brush” treatment of the subject. Thus this chapter presents a synopsis, not a detailed history. The chapter’s aim is twofold: to show how analysis can be used to explain and interpret events, and to show how current issues and problems unfold from those of previous periods.
