A Convicted Killer Invented Modern Money (Then Destroyed France)

Описание: In the summer of 1720, nine thousand German settlers arrived in Louisiana expecting a "New World Eden" where soil birthed gold. Instead, they found a swamp, disease, and a death rate of eighty percent. They were the human collateral of the greatest financial confidence trick in history.

This is the story of John Law, a convicted murderer and fugitive who became the most powerful financial mind in France. After killing a man in a duel in London, Law fled to the continent and developed a radical theory: Money is not gold. Money is belief.

To save a bankrupt French monarchy, Law replaced gold with paper, merged the national debt with a colonial trading company, and sparked a mania so intense it required the invention of a new word: Millionaire.

But the assets backing this new wealth were nothing but mud and mosquitoes. When the spell broke, it didn't just destroy fortunes—it left thousands to rot in the Mississippi Delta.

From the gambling dens of Venice to the mass graves of the German Coast, this episode of The Ledger of Ruin examines the birth of modern finance. Because the system John Law built in 1720 is the exact same one in your wallet today.

The ledger is long, and the ruin is far from over.

🔍 Historical Context
This documentary covers the Mississippi Bubble (1719-1720).

The Architect: John Law, a Scottish mathematician and gambler who killed Edward Wilson in a duel in 1694.

The Scam: Law merged the French national debt into the Mississippi Company, driving shares from 500 to 18,000 livres.

The Victims: 9,000 settlers recruited from the Rhineland; only about 2,000 survived to found the "German Coast" of Louisiana.

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