Isaac Newton became the smartest man in Britain after his theory of universal gravitation gained public recognition. Not only was he a university professor, but during his tenure as director of the Royal Mint in 1717, he also fixed gold at 3 pounds, 17 shillings, and 10 pence per ounce. That price remained in effect until the twentieth century. If Britain's national debt stood at 570 million pounds, that meant 3,930 tons of gold were needed. On the surface of the earth, perhaps nowhere but national treasuries could provide that much gold.
Egypt had once possessed a glorious civilization, and the pharaohs' tombs might have contained vast amounts of gold. But after thousands of years of plundering by tomb robbers, there was almost nothing left. America had only recently emerged from the American Revolutionary War. George Washington had died the previous year, and the newly appointed President Andrew Jackson was a soldier by background. It would not be easy for Britain to reclaim its American colonies. By comparison, trade with India and other East Asian nations had become its main source of wealth.
Britain was not the only country with an East India Company. France and the Netherlands had them too, but the French East India Company went bankrupt in 1794, after the French Revolution.
The Dutch East India Company, meanwhile, was unable to match Britain's naval power. Its cargo and goods were repeatedly plundered. To strengthen its armed forces, it had no choice but to increase military spending, creating a massive financial burden. Combined with muddled internal accounts and corruption, this led to bankruptcy. A year after the French East India Company collapsed, it too went bankrupt.
Because of the war, French and British merchant ships could not travel normally between the two countries. With trade shrinking, there was