London's Royal Exchange

Historical Context Note

Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Resources

The Royal Exchange was the “bourse” or primary place for raising financial investment in Londonfrom 1567 to 1939. The idea of creating such an institution circulated in the City of London from the early 16th century whilst Antwerp was the still the dominant European bourse and the place to which English merchants went to raise capital. Such was Antwerp’s dominance that the Company of English Merchant Adventurers had their headquarters there, rather than in London. In the 1520s, a member of this company, Sir Richard Gresham, proposed a similar building for London, but his project failed to attract the support of the King. In the 1560s it fell to his son, Sir Thomas Gresham, to pursue an idea that was gaining support from London merchants and from the increasing hostility between…

304 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "London's Royal Exchange". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 January 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19358, accessed 28 March 2024.]

19358 London's Royal Exchange 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.