| "MORE BUSINESSLIKE" FACTS For an account of what happened next we turn to the Jewish Encyclopedia, 1905 edition, Volume 10, p. 494: "According to legend this money was hidden away in wine casks, and, escaping the search of Napoleon's soldiers when they entered Frankfort, was restored intact in the same casks in 1814, when the elector returned to the electorate. The facts are somewhat less romantic, and more businesslike." Pay particular attention to the last nine words. They are loaded with significance. Here the leading Jewish authority states that what Rothschild actually did with the $3,000,000 was "more businesslike," from a Jewish point of view, than what was stated in the legend. The simple truth of the matter is that Rothschild embezzled the money from Prince William. But even before the money reached Rothschild it was not 'clean' (or Kosherl). The vast sum had been paid to William of Hess by the British government for the services of his soldiers. The money was originally embezzled by William from his troops who were legally entitled to it. With the twice embezzled money as a solid foundation, Mayer Amschel Rothschild decided to vastly expand his operations -- and become the first international banker. A couple of years earlier Rothschild had sent his son, Nathan, to England to take care of the family business in that country. After a brief stay in Manchester, where he operated as a merchant, Nathan, on instructions from his father, moved to London and set up shop as a merchant banker. To get the operation under way Rothschild gave his son the three million dollars he had embezzled from William of Hess. The Jewish Encyclopedia for 1905 tells us that Nathan invested the loot in "gold from the East India company knowing that it would be needed for Wellington's peninsula campaign." On the stolen money Nathan made "no less than four profits; (1) On the sale of Wellington's paper [which he bought at 50 cents on the dollar and collected at par; (2) on the sale of gold to Wellington; (3) on its repurchase; and (4) on forwarding it to Portugal. This was the beginning of the great fortunes of the house" (p. 494). Yes, the Jewish Encyclopaedia claims that the great fortune accumulated by the Rothschilds over the years was based on the "businesslike" method of fraud. With their huge accumulation of ill-gotten gain the family established branches of the House of Rothschild in Berlin, Vienna, Paris and Naples. Rothschild placed a son in charge of each branch. Amschel was placed in charge of the Berlin branch; Salomon was over the Vienna branch; Jacob (James) went to Paris and Kalmann (Karl) opened up the Rothschild bank in Naples. The headquarters of the House of Rothschild was, and is, in London. NATHAN An anonymous contemporary described Nathan Rothschild as he leaned against the 'Rothschild Piller' at the London Stock Exchange, hung his heavy hands into his pockets, and began to release silent, motionless, implacable cunning: "Eyes are usually called the windows of the soul. But in Rothschild's case you would conclude that the windows are false ones, or that there was no soul to look out of them. There comes not one pencil of light from the interior, neither is there one gleam of that which comes from without reflected in any direction. The whole puts you in mind of an empty skin, and you wonder why it stands upright without at least something in it. By and by another figure comes up to it. It then steps two paces aside, and the most inquisitive glance that you ever saw, and a glance more inquisitive than you would ever have thought of, is drawn out of the fixed and leaden eye, as if one were drawing a sword from a scabbard. The visiting figure, which has the appearance of coming by accident and not by design, stops just a second or two, in the course of which looks are exchanged which, though you cannot translate, you feel must be of most important meaning. After these the eyes are sheathed up again, and the figure resumes its stony posture. During the morning numbers of visitors come, all of whom meet with a similar reception and vanish in a similar manner. Last of all the figure itself vanishes, leaving you utterly at a loss." (Frederic Morton, The Rothschilds, p. 65) MAYER AMSCHEL'S WILL When he died on September 19, 1812, the founder of the House of Rothschild left a will that was just days old. In it, he laid down specific laws by which the House that bore his name would operate in future year. The laws were as follows: (1) All key positions in the House of Rothschild were to be held by members of the family, and not by hired hands. Only male members of the family were allowed to participate in the business. The eldest son of the eldest son was to be the head of the family unless the majority of the rest of the family agreed otherwise. It was for this exceptional reason that Nathan, who was particularly brilliant, was appointed head of the House of Rothschild in 1812. (2) The family was to intermarry with their own first and second cousins, thus preserving the vast fortune. This rule was strictly adhered to early on but later, when other rich Jewish banking houses came on the scene, it was relaxed to allow some of the Rothschilds to marry selected members of the new elite. (3) Amschel forbade his heirs "most explicitly, in any circumstances whatever, to have any public inventory made by the courts, or otherwise, of my estate .... Also I forbid any legal action and any publication of the value of the inheritance .... Anyone who disregards these provisions and takes any kind of action which conflicts with them will immediately be regarded as having disputed the will, and shall suffer the consequences of so doing." (4) Rothschild ordered a perpetual family partnership and provided that the female members of the family, their husbands and children should receive their interest in the estate subject to the management of the male members. They were to have no part in the management of the business. Anyone who disputed this arrangement would lose their interest in the Estate. (The last stipulation was specifically designed to seal the mouths of anyone who might feel like breaking with the family. Rothschild obviously felt that there were a lot of things under the family 'rug' that should never see the light of day). The mighty strength of the House of Rothschild was based on a variety of important factors: (A) Complete secrecy resulting from total family control of all business dealings; (B) An uncanny, one could almost say a supernatural ability to see what lay ahead and to take full advantage of it. The whole family was driven by an insatiable lust for the accumulation of wealth and power, and (C) Total ruthlessness in all business dealings. Biographer Frederic Morton, in The Rothschilds, tells us that Mayer Amschel Rothschild and his five sons were "wizards" of finance, and "fiendish calculators" who were motivated by a "demonic drive" to succeed in their secret undertakings. TALMUDIC INFLUENCE From the same authoritative source we learn that "on Saturday evenings, when prayer was done at the synagogue, Mayer would inveigle the rabbi into his house. They would bend towards one another on the green upholstery, sipping slowly at a glass of wine and argue about first and last things deep into the night. Even on work days...Mayer...was apt to tare down the big book of the Talmud and recite from it...while the entire family must sit stock still and listen" (p. 31). It could be said of the Rothschilds that the "family that preys together stays together." And prey they did! Morton states that it is difficult for the average person to "comprehend Rothschild nor even the reason why he having so much, wanted to conquer more." All five brothers were imbued with this same spirit of cunning and conquest. The Rothschilds formed no true friendships or alliances. Their associates were but mere acquaintances who were used to further the interests of the House of Rothschild, and then thrown on the garbage heap of history when they had served their purpose or outlived their usefulness. The truth of this statement is demonstrated by another passage from Frederic Morton's book. He relates how, in 1806, Napoleon declared that it was his "object to remove the house of Hess-Cassel from rulership and to strike it out of the list of powers." "Thus Europe's mightiest man decreed erasure of the rock on which the new Rothschild firm had been built. Yet, curiously, the bustle didn't diminish at the house of the [Red] Shield.... Rothschilds still sat, avid and impenetrable, portfolios wedged between body and arm. "They saw neither peace nor war, neither slogans or manifestos, nor orders of the day, neither death nor glory. They saw none of the things that blinded the world. They saw only steppingstones. Prince William had been one. Napoleon would be the next" (pp. 38,39). 'Curious'? Not exactly! The House of Rothschild was helping to finance the French dictator and, as a result, had free access to French markets at all times. Some years later, when both France and England were blockading each other's coast lines, the only merchants who were allowed to freely run the blockades were -- yes, you guessed it, the Rothschilds. They were financing both sides! "The efficiency which powered Mayer's sons brought on enormous economic spring cleaning: a sweeping away of fiscal dead wood; a renovation of old credit structures and an invention of new ones; a formation -- implicit in the sheer existence of five different Rothschild banks in five different countries -- of fresh money channels via clearing-houses; a method of replacing the old unwieldy shipping of gold bullion by a worldwide system of debits and credits. "One of the greatest contributions was Nathan's new technique for floating international loans. He didn't much care to receive dividends in all sorts of strange and cumbersome currencies. "Now Nathan attracted him -- the most powerful investment source of the nineteenth century -- by making foreign bonds payable in Pounds Sterling" (p. 96). THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO As the wealth and power of the Rothschilds grew in size and influence so did their intelligence gathering network. They had their 'agents' strategically located in all the capitals and trading centers of Europe, gathering and developing various types of intelligence. Like most family exploits, it was based on a combination of very hard work and sheer cunning. Their unique spy system started out when 'the boys' began sending messages to each other through a networh of couriers. Soon it developed into something much more elaborate, effective and far reaching. It was a spy network par excellence. Its stunning speed and effectiveness gave the Rothschilds a clear edge in all their dealings on an international level. "Rothschild coaches careened down the highways; Rothschild boats set sail across the Channel; Rothschild agents were swift shadows along the streets. They carried cash, securities, letters and news. Above all, news -- the latest exclusive news to be vigorously processed at stock market and commodity bourse. "And there was no news more precious than the outcome at Waterloo..." (The Rothschilds p. 94). Upon the battle of Waterloo depended the future of the European continent. If the Grande Armee of Napoleon emerged victorious France would be undisputed master of all she surveyed on the European front. If Napoleon was crushed into submission England would hold the balance of power in Europe and would be in a position to greatly expand its sphere of influence. Historian John Reeves, a Rothschild partisan, reveals in his book The Rothschilds, Financial Rulers of the Nations, 1887, page 167, that "one cause of his [Nathan's] success was the secrecy with which he shrouded, and the tortuous policy with which he misled those who watched him the keenest." There were vast fortunes to be made -- and lost -- on the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo. The Stock Exchange in London was at fever pitch as traders awaited news of the outcome of this battle of the giants. If Britain lost, English consuls would plummet to unprecedented depths. If Britain was victorioug, the value of the consul would leap to dizzying new heights. As the two huge armies closed in for their battle to the death, Nathan Rothschild had his agents working feverishly on both sides of the line to gather the most accurate possible information as the battle proceeded. Additional Rothschild agents were on hand to carry the intelligence bulletins to a Rothschild command post strategically located nearby. Late on the afternoon of June 15, 1815, a Rothschild representative jumped on board a specially chartered boat and headed out into the channel in a hurried dash for the English coast. In his possession was a top secret report from Rothschild's secret service agents on the progress of the crucial battle. This intelligence data would prove indispensable to Nathan in making some vital decisions. |