The History of Money: From Mesopotamian Debt to the Bretton Woods System

The lecture series "The History of Money" traces the development of money in the West. The lectures examine how private and state economies differ, how beliefs connected to money have guided the use of material resources, and what role money has played as an agent of social change across different historical periods.

Lecture topics:

10.9. Introduction to the concept of money, Mesopotamian debt, debt forgiveness and the emergence of coinage
17.9. The significance of money and debt in ancient Greece and Rome, Christianity's relationship to debt, the persistent shortage of metal currency in medieval Europe
24.9. England's monetary situation, the impact of the Age of Discovery on the money supply, the founding of the Bank of England and the paradigm shift it caused
1.10. Fiat money experiments in American colonies, the organization of monetary affairs after independence and the financing of the Civil War, major gold discoveries and the establishment of the gold standard
8.10. Financing the World Wars, German hyperinflation, the Great Depression of the 1930s and war economy
22.10. The Bretton Woods system, reconstruction, the abandonment of the gold standard

Lecturer: M.Sc., BBA Minna Markkula. The lecture series is in two parts - the second part will be held in spring 2027.

Free admission.