War and Gold
Kwasi Kwarteng MP

• Friday 13 June 2014, 6.00PM to 6.50pm
• Free admission
  Booking required
• Berrick Saul Building, University of York (map|getting to campus)

Event details

In the sixteenth century, Spanish conquistadors discovered the New World. The vast quantities of gold and silver would make their country rich, yet the new wealth, which was plunged into multiple wars, would eventually lead to the economic ruin of their empire. Here, historian and politician Kwasi Kwarteng shows that this moment in world history has been echoed many times, from the French Revolution to both World Wars, right up to the present day, when our own financial crisis saw many of our great nations slip into financial trouble. Kwarteng reveals a pattern of war-waging, financial debt and fluctuations between paper money and the gold standard, and creates a compelling study of the powerful relationship that has shaped the world as we know it, that between war and gold.

With the historical breadth of Simon Sebag Montefiore’s Jerusalem and the intimate focus of The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson, this is a study of money that is both ambitious and unique.

About the speaker:

Kwasi Kwarteng was born in London to Ghanaian parents. He has a PhD in History from Cambridge University and was elected as the Member of Parliament for Spelthorne in Surrey. His first book, Ghosts of Empire, was published to critical acclaim in 2011.

Follow @kwasikwarteng on Twitter

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible

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