ABSTRACT
The final decades of the nineteenth century marked the apogee of Victorian imperialism. The festivities associated with Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 exemplified the popular perception of the British Empire's power and influence. Away from the glitter of the parades, however, more thoughtful contemporaries acknowledged the growing economic strength of nations like Germany and the United States. 1 But they took comfort from the fact that as Britain retreated into what Hobsbawm called ‘her satellite world of formal or informal colonies’, the City of London's position as ‘the hub of international lending, trade and settlements’ was if anything being strengthened. 2 After the 1870s the City's vigour was derived, in part, from its position as a clearing house of British funds for investment abroad. As an international financial centre it also attracted Continental capital, anxious to tap London's superior market intelligence and to identify profitable investment opportunities around the world. Institutions like merchant banks developed expertise in financial intermediation. 3
