Rothschild and Waterloo
Nathan Rothschild received news of Wellington's victory at Waterloo nearly a full day before the British government did — via a network of private couriers and carrier pigeons. The wilder versions of the legend (that he shorted and then cornered the bond market that afternoon) are exaggerated. The underlying fact — a private actor with a better information network outpacing the state — is the original version of the entire timeline.
The full Rothschild-Waterloo story became a staple of 19th-century anti-Semitic conspiracy with wildly inflated numbers attached. The historical reality is more modest: the Rothschilds did maintain the best private courier network in Europe, and they did use it for commercial advantage. The rest is myth.
01 · Telegraph & Newspaper
Financial news traveled by telegraph wire then printed in morning papers. A London statement took 3 days to reach New York traders. Information was scarce and power concentrated in those who had it first.
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