Financial Context

The book is a study of visual images, so it concentrates on examples of the emotional impact of financial crises rather than looking at the causes for these crises. Nevertheless, the causes of these crises are charted, notably the immorality of business responses to lax governmental and BoE restrictions on their activities. The images reflect the blurring of distinctions of the time between legitimate trading activities and gambling which was invariably viewed as illegal and speculation which was often viewed as acceptable. As the century wore on governments became more interventionist with ever increasing financial regulation. The BoE, a private company at the time, gradually assumed what modern-day commentators would characterise as a Lender of Last Resort role to the wider financial system. The frequent instances of financial crises were viewed contemporaneously as illustrative of the illogical emotional impact of financial markets, presaging modern-day behavioural economic theories. In between bouts of financial uncertainty, the period reflected the emergence of Britain as a major financial power engineered by gentlemanly capitalists.