England: South Sea Bubble - The Sharp Mind of John Blunt - Extra History - #1

Support us on Patreon! Watch more Extra History! Subscribe for new episodes every other Saturday! Follow us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Follow us on Twitch! http://bit.y/ECTwitch ____________ When Robert Harley steps in as England’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer, he discovers that not only is the government deeply in debt, but no one knows quite how much debt it owes. Because vicious political infighting between the Tory and Whig politic parties made it difficult to pass new tax laws, Harley turned to a private financier named John Blunt to help find enough money for England to keep up with its expenses for the year. Using Harley’s government resources, Blunt instigated a series of get-rich schemes that drove artificial demand for unsustainable land and lottery investments with tremendous short term gains. Before the year was done, Blunt had successfully covered the shortfall for th