The episode explores the loss of monetary sovereignty by the English Crown from the 12th century onwards, analysing the evolution of the instruments of credit used by the Crown, from the ancient Tally Sticks to the Bills of Public Faith, up to the founding of the Bank of England. It is argued that the creation of the Bank of England, although created to provide funds to the government, marked a crucial step in the control of money issuance, transferring power from the Crown to a private corporation. The article describes how the Crown became progressively dependent on private bankers and how this process led to the birth of the modern financial system based on public debt and the growing power of financial institutions.
