Britain: Using Bonds to Fight Wars and Become World Leaders

The purpose of this (poster and ) paper is to discuss how Britain unknowingly created a disruptive innovation in the form of bonds which ultimately shaped how debt markets function today. With the implementation of the first government bond by Britain, many countries followed suit, and it played a key role in war victories. Without the up-front capital, Britain might not have won the wars they did and in turn become the world leader that they were. The evolution of the bond and debt markets as a whole posed challenges for the world, with the collapse of economies and the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. Concerns surrounding debt are that countries as well as individuals can become over-leveraged where they will be unable to pay back their debts when the time arrives. With this in mind, countries and people have learned more about how to balance financing with paying up-front. Through the history explained below it is apparent that we must continue to monitor our debt levels, and while we must use debt to our advantage, we must do so in moderation to avoid catastrophe as seen in the past