The History of Paper Money - Lay Down the Law - Extra History - Part 4 

"he decided banking was too honest of an employment" That is saying something.

Between John Blunt, who made swords, and John Law, who gambled and killed a guy, why is history _so good_ at naming its characters? :^ )

"Banking was too honest of an employment to him". Mr Law would come to other thoughts in the 21st century.....

I never broke the Law! I AM THE LAW!

The irony is that gold and Silver DO have inherent value, but it didn't exist until the invention of microelectronics.

"Money is the value by which goods are exchanged, and not the value for which goods are exchanged." What a good quote.

Maybe you could rename this episode to "This time, it wasn't Walpole." Speaking of, he can be seen blowing bubbles.

I started out in London, my father gave me a small loan of a million livres

get a royal pardon marry a ptostitute and leave for louisiana ... WHERE DO I FUCKING SIGN ?!?

"Law had to resort to the expedient of offering criminals a pardon if they would marry a prostitute and move to Louisiana." There's a joke in there somewhere.

Honestly, I often find bold economic schemes more thrilling than daring military tactics

I think this was the funniest episode of Extra History, besides the "but why let (blank) stop a good crusade?" episode.

Meet John Law. His name... doesn't exactly fit.

Im getting a sense of deja vu here...

0:47 "he thought banking was too honest for his liking" Never thought I would hear anyone say that lol

Can I just say how nice the art in this one is? Especially at 4:20 in the smoky room.. so nice.

I know that it's usually up to the patreon supporters to choose such things, But i would like to suggest that you guy's consider Snorri Sturluson for a series. He is perhaps one of the most forgotten characters in History yet so important to not only Icelandic history but Scandinavian as a whole. He is responsible for writing down a large number of saga's such as Heimskringla saga, Egils saga and The Edda's (the book of Norse mythology) and starting this saga writing trend in Iceland in the 13th century. After he wrote down Heimskringla the whole country started to document saga's and if it weren't for him we wouldn't know half the vikings we know today. He is also responsible for basically creating the Scandinavian written language and modern day Icelandic is almost identical to his original spelling. But not only is he a major character to Scandinavian history but he also played a huge part in the Icelandic civil war known as Sturlunga öld. Historians have been debating for centuries weather Icelanders should call him their greatest national hero or a traitor to their country. Since he fought on the Norwegian side of the civil war. You see the civil war started between two different factions in Iceland in 1220. one side wanting to swear fealty to Norway and the other side wanted to remain independent. it came to an end in 1262 when the south, west and the North swore fealty to Norway, the east would remain independent for two more years. Bringing an end to the Icelandic commonwealth which lasted from 930-1262. Snorri Sturluson was a Goði meaning a chieftain who had a seat at the Fjórðungsþing (the Icelandic parliament at the time) and he was elected Lögumaður twice at alþingi (basically the president if you want want call it that) And he started the war civil war for the Norwegian side.

"That was a failure in execution more than in concept". Every single time.

Marry a prostitute and move to Louisiana? Frick yes!

wait "banking was too honest of an employment"? tell that to 2008

Aaaaaaand Extra Credits screwed up the Union Jack AGAIN. Guys, I love the fact that this is an unintentional running joke, but this is a little bit too early for the diagonal red stripes of Ireland ;)

This guy sounds like the economics version of a b-movie mad scientist with all this doing crazy stuff just to test/prove theories.

You know, know, I may be missing something, but it feels like both this and the South Sea Company could have worked, if the creators hadn't been so . . . creative. If the SSC hadn't started trying to manipulate the stock price and simply been at worst a method of paying creditors off and at best a modest tool for trading with the Spanish. Or if the CotW had simply never been created and the French central bank left alone to figure its role out, those two solutions may have moved forward without the disruption. But then, no one would have known quite so early what to look out for in a financial system.

So. Many. South. Sea. Flashbacks.

South sea bubble tie ins. IT WAS WALPOLE!!!

Hey I don't know about anyone else, but to me, this is the best Extra History series so far. I find it much easier to follow than the South Seas series, and moreover, it has me laughing out loud far more often than any other series' videos (we're talking multiple times an episode).

Wow, you got both the name and the shape of the Republic of the United Netherlands almost right! (when drawing the country in old maps, many people seem to forget that a lot more of was water 200+ years ago.)

These videos are excellent. Even my five-year-old daughter likes to watch them, and she's learning from them. Thank you very much, and please keep up the great work.

love the little sleight-of-hand money thing at the beginning. i think it's funny that i see the difference in your animators but i have no idea who they are. :P and i love that this series will go over the gold standard. i can't tell you how many times i've heard some idiot say our economy is in the shitter because it's not tied to a finite supply of a rock, and now i can accurately tell them why thats not true

These are amazing bro your history videos are so much more substantial than the game ones.

I remembered, you guys mentioned John law in your South Sea Bubble Lies episode as part of the reason why the insanity of the South Sea Company was allowed to continue.

7:11 It was Walpole. Again.

It was Walpole!

1:24 "can't catch me, I was drawn without a neck! 😉"

I find it funny that at 3:40 they make it seem as if Law is making a bunch of impressive calculations to determine his odds of wining, when he literally is holding a royal flush, which is the best possible hand you can get.

Wow, this story perfectly mirrors the one you told about the South Sea Bubble. :O

this has been one of the best series I have watched from extra history

I was going to say, this sounds awfully familiar to what happened with the South Sea Company.

I took me a few minutes to really have his plan in having people trade in bonds worked, and just how ingenious that is.

"Money is the value BY which goods are exchanged and not the value FOR which goods are exchanged."

I was hoping that at some point Dan would get to say the phrase "It was Walpole" again. It'd probably be too obvious now though...

6:40 I find it interesting that a large section of the world is called "parts unknown".

Oh dear. They used the Union Jack that wouldn't be used for a hundred odd years after the Act of Union. Sorry, Extra Credits, you did your best, but you were once again foiled by flags.

I like Professor Dan's get up. I'm only now realizing this. Kudos to the tailor.

Who knows why this bank cra-it was Walpole.

"The problem was there wasn't any wealth coming out of Louisiana" John Blunt: I... fail to see the issue here.

"got his sentence reduced to manslaughter so he was slapped with a fine and released" hahahaha, the good ol' times

Whoever runs that Walpole account is really good at it

"As he gambled across europe [...]" Now THIS is a life!

This seems oddly similar to the South Sea Company episode..... WALPOLE!!!

Gosh I love the art for this show. It's so vibrant and full of character. :)

ill say it again I love when you guys talk about economics.

"not just a wig-rack!" XD

IT WAS WALPOLE!

I like how when the words “ gold and silver” are said there usually used quickly a few times after

The Duke of Arkansas. "He's a good old boy, really good at the cards. Someday inflation might get him but the law never will."

You mean Law and his Company of the West in one side and Walpole of South Sea Bubble on the other side?

So much from Terry Pratchett's Making Money suddenly make sense

guys, i loved your gaming channel but i seriously think, this is even better. You are awesome in explaining things easily and you make me want to teach the history of money. continue your great work!

John Law needs a movie of his life

Of course it was Walpole.

The outro music is beautiful!

“To honest of an employment for him” Me: same man. I stole a lollipop at the age 4

Love the Lampshade Hanging at 7:06. Makes me wonder if the Extra Credits team are tropers, too.

I have known about French prisoners being given the option to marry a prostitute and move to Louisiana for YEARS! I laughed out loud when i found out that THIS is where that came from! X'D

Was John Law’s middle name Out, by any chance?

these videos sure do have a more positive spin on paper money than most videos/conspiracy theorist have shown...I hope you will be able to address them in the end.... especially the big ones surrounding central banks and the FED

FINALLY! We get to see Blunts Nemesis!

I'm confused by the line at the end '(8:05). That money is the value by which goods are exchanged and notthe value for which goods are exchanged.

"banking to be to honest", the times sure have changed

Woooooooooooohhhhh finaly, have been waiting all day, and this all sounds so fimiliar to the south sea bubble

Sooo... I have this IDEAAAAA..... ...Continue... Hahahaha that part just made me laugh so much. Such a sneaky little prat.

It was walpole, wasn't it?

Banks too honest? That's a laugh, everyone knows banks aren't honest at all unless it lets them take YOUR money.

6:45 This might be interesting information about the parentage of my friends from New Orleans.

For once.. it wasn't Walpole.

I dunno about that last bit. Seeing as this crash is far FAR from the only one in history, it seems to me that it was indeed the idea as well as the execution that was to blame... and still often is.

I'm sure this has already come up, but here goes anyway..... 3:09 - On Screen Words - "Congratulations!(?) It's a UNION JACK!" Everyone in the UK - "It's the Union Flag. It's only called the Union Jack when it's flown on a boat/ship."

never stop making videos you are amazing!!!! i love your content.

Oh boy, another 'honest John'.

History should be grateful that Mr. John Law did not ever meet one Mr. John Blunt.

6:47 Check out the Gulf of California on the left on the map. Back when Mojave desert area was filled with water Spanish explorers assumed that area was a huge gulf instead of a smaller lake and river system.

nice touch with the bubbles!

John Law On the lam Play some cards Got the cash Found a central bank Moral hazard trade France is bust Now I'm gone John Law On the lam Got no money Get a cough Vomit blood Now I'm dead Like a boss

In a few hundred years, people will look at this system and palm their faces at our incompetence. Decoupling money from any absolute concept of value causes unending inflation, which in turn means money loses the very reliability it's supposed to provide. Ofc this is only a problem when you have small amounts of money at this point~

Meanwhile, in New France, money was hard to come by. During winter, boats could not sail on the frozen St. Lawrence River and trade stopped altogether. It was hard to pay the soldiers and the workers in cold hard coins. In 1685, the intendant of the time, Jacques de Meulles, has decided to deliver "I.O.U.s" to pay the soldiers. But there was no printing press in New France yet and good paper was rare. However, everyone was playing cards. So he wrote some amounts of money onto them, stamped a fleur-de-lys and signed his name. The soldiers began to use the cards to pay the tradesmen in Québec City, which used them for their own purchases. When the boats arrived in spring with new funds, everyone was able to get its money back. The cards were even cut. A full card was worth 4 livres (pound), half a card 2 livres and a quarter, 15 "sous". And thus was born "card money" the first paper currency in the Americas, five years before the one made in Massachussetts. One note of interest, after the bankruptcy of John Law's bank, card money has been used in Louisiana in 1722.

When he flicked the dollar out at 0:30 he stuck the middle finger out at us.

Extra Credits is USA based right ?

Since you said it was a failure in execution, what could he have done differently to have avoided it. Was it just that a 15% downpayment was too cheap?

I love the way you explain history

"Banking was too honest" LOL

John Law was my Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandad, true story

Duke of Arkansas sounds so weird.

hi extra history thank you so much for these videos it helps my class learn a lot about history

Can we just appreciate that little money flick out animation in the opening? GJ animator(s).

Why is it always Johns that try to save countries from debt?

Ironically, it was a Brit causing all this on both sides of channel.

Stop blowing my mind sir.

Law has a plan. Law ALWAYS has a plan.