In the year 1295, three strange-looking men arrived at the port of Venice. Their ragged clothes and tanned faces indicated that they had come from afar. They spoke Italian but with a heavy foreign accent. They had difficulty finding their way through the alleys since the city had changed so much since they left it, twenty-four years earlier. These were Marco Polo, his father Niccolò, and his uncle Maffeo, who returned from their long journey to the East. When they finally got home, their relatives could hardly recognize them. They marveled at the treasures they had brought with them, diamonds and gemstones the likes of which they had never seen. But they were even more amazed by the stories they had to tell, of their adventures in the deserts of Persia and Afghanistan, and of the court of the Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan. Is it possible that this event changed history forever? Could it be responsible for the economic trouble we are experiencing today?

Several years after his return to Venice, Marco Polo was captured during a battle with the Republic of Genoa. During his time in prison, he described his adventures to his cellmate, who later published them in a book. His story depicts life in imperial China, during the Yuan dynasty. Among other things, it mentions the monetary system which was introduced by Kublai Khan, and was based on paper notes, stamped with his royal seal. When the Venetians first heard this story they dismissed it as a fantasy. They found it hard to believe that anyone would be willing to accept payment in worthless pieces of paper, instead of gold or silver coins. Nevertheless, this is probably how the idea of using paper money came to Europe.

This is the story of fiat currencies and the enormous power that they gave to the banking system - to print money out of nothing. It is also the story of central banks, how they were created, and the true purpose of their existence. Finally, it is the story of the coming monetary crisis, which we will all have to endure.

#money #finance #history #fiat #currency #swindle #economics #gold #silver #invest #investing #investment #bank #banking #centralbank #federalreserve #ecb #preciousmetals #stacking #reserve #medici #marcopolo #kublaikhan #venice #florence #italy #renaissance #baroque #goldstandard