(no subject)

[bedlamsbard]

Oh, a bank. Why haven't I put a bloody bank in Cair Paravel yet?

Well, okay. I would bet that the Calormenes would have seized whatever assets Tirian's family held in any bank (and would the royals even keep money in a bank?) anyway, which kind of makes the point moot.

(Still reading Macauley. Almost done, though.)

Also, there's the point that, with me, it's all riots and crime until something shinier and more scandalous comes along.

Comments

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

er. question. what do you want the bank for? Banks weren't set up to store your money, they were a place for traders to make loans (dates back to Roman times when moneylenders had stalls to make their loan business from, but the first actual one was Genoa in 1406, which would work for Dust) - storing money, minting and so on wasn't done by banks until quite late on.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

I don't know! I think I just saw the word "bank" and went, "Hey, I should have one of those!" Because that is what I tend to do when I read.

[lazaefair.livejournal.com]

I was under the impression that the royals just kept all their Shiny Things in that one vault in Cair Paravel.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

I think I just see things and go, "Oh, I should put THAT in Dust."

(...now my brain is telling me that Narnia needs a national debt. Dude. Narnia does not need a national debt. Maybe later.)

[lazaefair.livejournal.com]

Hmm...I can see the Telmarines (in bookverse) introducing something like a national debt as part of a progressive drive towards modernity, but I doubt the Pevensies would've had any truck with that sort of nonsense. Old Narnians would've found it incomprehensible at best and ludicrous at worst.

Doctor Cornelius: Ah yes, the adjustable-rate mortgage. I'd heard the Calormens were conducting some sort of sophistry with their monetary system. Now all their assets are toxic and nobody wants their derivatives.
Glenstorm the Centaur: Credit default swaps? The stars said nothing about that.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

*dies*

I could possibly see it circa Dust, but I don't think I actually know enough about the subject to write about it with any degree of certainty.

[lazaefair.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...actually, now that I think about it, it's inevitable for any nation to have a national debt, no matter the era. Basically, nation + war = higher spending = debt.

Previously, I'd been thinking of the term "national debt" as associated with 20th and 21st century financial shenanigans, but actually European countries incurred all sorts of massive debt in the Middle Ages to finance all their wars, right? Like, Spain was so gleefully exploiting the New World partly because it was a sudden influx of resources to help pay off the debt they'd gone into during the war with the Moors.

So, it wouldn't be implausible for Narnia to have some kind of debt, given how much warring you've apparently got your Narnia embroiled in. The main question is how wisely the royals managed it or how they kept it down to a manageable size (or not). Who they borrowed from (it would always be a really hairy issue to borrow from the Calormens) and how they weighed going to war vs. if they had healthy enough GDP at the moment to pay off the consequent debt as painlessly as possible. The takeover of the Lone Islands may, in this context, have had something to do with acquiring more resources to pay off some costly war. Also: have fun with tariffs!

And possibly, I don't know because I'm not very familiar with your Narnia, but possibly the debt stuff could factor into your Dying Times. The Pevensies leave behind some unpaid loans, Narnia has to default, other countries attempt to perform the international equivalent of repossession.