The Babylonian Woe, by David Astle - Book review

This book, The Babylonian Woe, explores how international monetary power, originating in the ancient cities of Mesopotamia, has influenced history, from Ancient Greece to the rise of the Roman Empire and up to the Russian Revolution. The author argues that private control of money creation, through the issuance of loans and the introduction of abstract forms of credit, has corrupted kingdoms and political systems, leading to decadence and conflict. The central thesis of the book is that the obsession with wealth and the influence of financial elites have supplanted justice and social well-being, with devastating consequences for populations.

This timeline is based on information provided in the text and may not be complete or completely accurate due to the fragmentary nature of the sources.

Early 3rd Millennium BC: The Sumerian city-states emerge and a temple-based monetary system develops, where the unit of exchange is determined by the will of the local god and recorded in temple registers.

Around 2350 BC: Hammurabi, king of Babylon, issues his law code, which includes Law 7, aimed at repressing private manipulation of the unit of exchange. This law suggests that the principles of private money creation through receipts against deposits of value with people of "reputation" were already known.

2nd Millennium BC

Around 1570-950 BC: International monetary power begins to influence political events. The use and abuse of the ring coin during the reign of Pharaoh Pepi II (6th Dynasty) may have contributed to the collapse of royal rule in Egypt.

Around 1500 BC: The Phoenicians, expert navigators and traders, begin to spread the use of silver coinage throughout the Mediterranean.

1st Millennium BC

8th-6th century BC: The mining industry develops in Europe, resulting in an increased influx of silver into Near Eastern markets. Silver becomes an effective means of payment at all levels of transactions.

8th-7th century BC: Babylonian merchant-money changers begin to exert increasing control over the international monetary system. Their power comes from their ability to manipulate the supply of silver, creating a credit system based on their reserves of the precious metal.

7th century BC: Pheidon, king of Argos, introduces silver coinage to Aegina and a standardized system of weights and measures to the Peloponnese.

7th-6th centuries BC: The first private electrum coins are issued in Lydia, a sign of the growing power of the merchant-money changers. Assyria, in need of arms, is forced to accept the payment terms imposed by the Lydian merchant-money changers.

6th century BC: Lycurgus introduces his laws to Sparta, prohibiting the circulation of coins in precious metals and establishing a monetary system based on iron bars. This system aims to preserve social cohesion and prevent the accumulation of individual wealth.

4th century BC: Most Greek states, including Sparta, yield to the pressure of the merchant-money changers and adopt silver coinage as their primary medium of exchange.

Roman Period

3rd century BCE: Roman expansion leads to the establishment of a silver-based monetary system, influenced by the merchant-money changers. A banking system similar to the modern one develops, with a wide circulation of checks and promissory notes.

1st century BCE: Roman senator Lucius Flaccus attempts to limit the flow of precious metals to the east, but is thwarted by the merchant-money changers.

16th century CE

1593 CE: The arrival of Spanish and Portuguese Marranos in the Netherlands contributes to the growing power of the merchant-money changers, who control the international trade in precious metals.

17th century: William III of England, having ascended to the throne thanks to the machinations of the money-changers of Amsterdam, grants them the creation of the Bank of England (1694), an institution ostensibly state-owned but in reality controlled by the money-changers.