ABSTRACT
While Germans and French were involved in establishing credit institutions, part of the story of Europe's continental credit was to involve the well-known Jewish banking dynasties of the Warburgs and the Rothschilds, two families that reflected the ebb and flow of European history. The history of credit in France took a decidedly different track from the experiences of Holland and England. The Mississippi Company's success attracted large numbers of French investors of all classes as well as investors from England, Amsterdam, Hamburg, and northern Italy. It is important to underscore that France's shift to a modem credit system remained shaped by the memory of the Royal Bank of the 1720s. This was reflected by a cautious attitude to any expansion of the state into financial matters. Unification, however, aided and accelerated the process of industrialization, which was tempered by a heavy dose of newfound nationalism.
