William Patterson's banker

Sir William Patterson (1658-1765438+2009122 October) is a Scottish businessman and banker. He was born in Dumfries-galloway, Scotland and died in Westminster, London, England. early stage

William Patterson was born in his parents' farmhouse in Skipmill, Tinweed, Scotland. He lived with his parents until he was 17 years old. When he was young, he moved to Bristol for education, but later he crossed the ocean to Boston in North America and married Elizabeth Turner, the widow of the Presbyterian minister. He immigrated to the Bahamas, where he first conceived the Darien Plan. Named after the province of Darien in Panama, this plan attempts to establish colonies and trade networks overseas for the independent Scottish kingdom. William Patterson plans to establish a colony in the isthmus of Panama to assist the trade activities in the Far East.

Professional William Patterson returned to Europe. He tried to persuade the British government, nominally ruled by James II, to fund the Darien project, but the British government rejected Patterson's proposal. In order to realize his ideal, Patterson went to the Holy Roman Empire in the European continent, the Netherlands and the United States to submit his plan to colonize Panama. The two governments were not interested in his plan, but the result was still in vain.

Later, Patterson reluctantly returned to London, but he began to get lucky: he made a fortune through the trade activities of Taylor Commercial Company in West India. 1694, he founded the Bank of England, and he issued a pamphlet "Brief Description on the Establishment of the Bank of England", advocating that the Bank of England be established as a banker of the English government. He suggested that the private sector raise 6.5438+0.2 million pounds from the British government, and investors who participated in the capital contribution were given the privilege of issuing bonds in return. Patterson's suggestion of establishing the Bank of England can be adopted, because Britain is suffering from the war with Louis XIV of France and needs a lot of money to support the protracted war. 1694 On July 27th, the Bank of England was granted a royal charter.

Patterson returned to his long-lost hometown of Scotland. He first went to Edinburgh, the capital, because he was allowed to persuade the Scottish government to implement the Darian Plan and influenced the idea of establishing the Bank of Scotland in 1695, which will become the central bank of the Kingdom of Scotland. Paterson's long-awaited dream finally came true at 1698. He followed Scottish colonists on an expedition to Panama. However, the result of this expedition was disastrous. The colonists couldn't stand the local climate and fever, and many people died there. The deceased included Patterson's wife and children. Few people survived, including Patterson, who was seriously ill. He fled back to Scotland in 1699 and 12. He actively participated in the activities related to the merger of England and Scotland, and promoted the passage of the joint bill 1707. Patterson chose to spend his last days in Westminster. He died in June 17 19. Paterson's burial place is still a mystery, and most people think (including the official statement of the Bank of England) that he was buried in the Sweetheart Abbey in the new monastery village of Dumfries-galloway. William Patterson is a paper money theorist. He advocated that paper money guaranteed by government securities can be issued in a certain amount, although the gold standard system of guaranteeing the value of paper money by precious metals still needs to be retained. The Bank of England obtained the right to issue money by lending to the British government. It is the credit of the British government that guarantees the payment ability of these currencies. This unsound monetary thought inspired the younger generation of John Rowe, who not only advocated the comprehensive adoption of paper money in the country, but also added the elements of using land and precious metals as the guarantee of paper money value. Of course, more importantly, he absorbed the experience of William Patterson in establishing the Bank of England and playing the role of the Central Bank of England. He also "copied" this plan in France and established the Royal Bank of France.

When studying economic history, Marx commented on William Patterson as follows: "It can really be called Luo I", the proposal and reasons for establishing a trade council (170 1), the plan to establish a Scottish trade council to stimulate Scottish economy and trade, and the abolition of export tax was partially discussed. A proposal (170 1) about establishing a colony in Darian, helping Indians to fight against Spain and opening up trade to all ethnic groups in South America is a generalized version of the Darian Plan, aiming at free trade in Central and South America. Wednesday's discussion about the joint club (1706) was a series of fictional dialogues that Patterson used to talk about his thoughts on the merger of Britain and the Soviet Union. Patterson believes that in the case of reunification with England, Scotland must obtain equal tax rights, free trade and proportional seats in parliament.