There is a person whose personality and experience are so closely related to the grand schemes of 17 19 and 1720 that we can only take John, the initiator of it, as an example. A brief description of John Law's life is the preface to The Mad History of Mississippi. Some historians think he is a liar, others say he is crazy, and opinions vary. In his life, because the unfortunate consequences of his plan were deeply imprinted in people's hearts, people called him by these two names. However, later generations felt that it was unfair to treat him like this. He was cheated rather than cheated. It is not so much a crime as a victim. He knows the principle and real principle of credit like the back of his hand, and he is more familiar with financial problems than his generation. The system he established collapsed not mainly because of his shortcomings, but because of the shortcomings of the people on whom he established the system. He didn't expect the greed of the people of the whole country; He doesn't know that confidence, like doubt, can grow indefinitely, and hope, like fear, can spread everywhere. How did he know that the French would kill the goose that gave him so many golden balls in crazy desire as in the fable? His fate is like the first rowing boat drifting from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. When he set out, the river was as flat as a mirror and his vision was wide; His trip was quick and pleasant; At this point, who can stop his canoe? But, my God! In front of you is the great waterfall; When he understood, it was too late. The current that once carried him forward happily has now become his burial place. He tried to go back the same way, but the current was too fast, and his weak strength was simply not enough to fight; So, with the passage of time, he is getting closer and closer to the thunderous waterfall. He flew over the rugged rocks with the river, and his boat fell to the bottom and was smashed to pieces by the water. That's what happens between the old and the French. Always a rower, the French are a river.
John? Lao Yu 167 1 was born in Edinburgh. Just turned 14 years old, was taken to the finance office by his father and worked hard for three years. He showed great enthusiasm for numbers and showed extraordinary talent for arithmetic when he was young. His father died on 1688. From then on, he completely got rid of boring things and went out to travel around the world with the income he inherited.
He has been wandering in London, Flanders, Holland, Germany, Hungary, Italy and France for many years. He became very familiar with the trade and resources of various countries, and became more and more convinced that no country's economy could prosper without paper money. During 14 years, it seems that his success mainly lies in gambling. In every famous casino in European capitals, he is famous, and people think that he is the best person at calculating and using complex opportunities at that time.
17 15, French king Louis XIV died, and the Duke of Orleans was appointed regent. At this time, French finance was on the verge of collapse, and the whole economic order was in chaos because of the corruption of the king and the imitation of officials at all levels. The foreign debt of this country has reached 3 billion livres (livres is the old name of French currency). The total annual tax revenue is only1450,000. In order to change the situation, the Regent ordered to recast the currency and devalue it 1/5. Those who brought 65,438+0,000 gold or silver coins to the mint got back the money with the same face value, but the weight of the metal was only four fifths of the original. With the help of this scheme, the national treasury has obtained 72 million livres and a new income, and the commercial operation of the whole country has become a mess. The small reduction in tax revenue quelled the angry voice of the people. For the sake of immediate small profits, people forget that there will be great misfortune in the future.
In this financial storm, the old appeared. He submitted two memos to the Regent, stating that bad luck enveloped France due to currency shortage and devaluation. He believes that metal currency cannot meet the requirements of a commercial country without the assistance of paper money; He also cited Britain and the Netherlands as examples to illustrate the benefits of paper money. He used many real arguments about currency credit to explain the method of rebuilding the credibility of legal tender, because legal tender was very depressed in European countries at that time. He suggested that the Regent set up a bank, which has the right to manage the state's taxes and issue paper money based on these taxes and real estate. He further proposed to manage in the name of the king, but it must be controlled by a Committee appointed by parliament.
1 765438+On May 5, 2006, the royal family issued an order authorizing Lao and his brother to establish a bank named Lloyd's Company, and the paper money issued by it can be used for tax payment, with a capital of 600 Wan Li francs, one share for every 500 Wan Li francs, divided into 12000 shares, of which/kl.
John? Since then, Lao has embarked on the road to success. Thirty years' research on financial affairs has enabled him to handle banking affairs easily. He allows his own paper money to be freely purchased or exchanged, and the value remains unchanged after issuance. This is the main achievement of his policy, and even though his paper money is more valuable than gold and silver, gold and silver often depreciate because of the unwise intervention of the government. One thousand silver pounds still met the face value on the first day, and fell to 5/6 of the original the next day; The paper money issued by Lloyds Bank has always maintained its original value. The law also declares that if a banker does not have enough guarantee to meet all the requirements when issuing paper money, he will only die. As a result of the above-mentioned series of events, the value of his paper money in the eyes of the public rose rapidly, which was 1% higher than that of metal money with the same face value. Soon, the commercial trade of the whole country benefited from it. The shrinking business is slowly recovering; People began to pay taxes on time, and there were fewer and fewer complaints. People's trust in paper money has been completely established, and if this trust continues, the whole situation will become more favorable. In a year's time, the market price of banknotes issued by Laos exceeded 65,438+05% of the face value, while the short-term treasury bills (or securities) issued by the government to repay the debts owed by extravagant Louis XIV fell to 265,438+0.5% of the face value. This contrast is always so favorable to Lao, that the attention of the whole country is focused on him, and his reputation is booming. At the same time, Lao started a famous plan to make him famous. He proposed to the Regent to set up a company, which should enjoy the privilege of doing business with the vast basin of the Mississippi River and Louisiana on the west bank of the river. It is said that gold and silver are everywhere in these two places; Moreover, if you make huge profits in this unique trade, you can become the only tax contractor and the only coiner. The trade regulations were issued on 17 17, and the company was successfully established. The whole capital is divided into 200,000 shares, each with 500 livres. These shares can be purchased by treasury bonds at face value, although treasury bonds with face value of 500 livres can only be exchanged for 65,438+060 livres in the market.
At this time, the frenzy of speculation swept the whole of France. Lloyds Bank's reputation is so good that any promises he makes and those he thinks will be immediately believed. Later, the bank was transformed into Royal Bank of France. In the overwhelming praise, Lao and the Regent are a little infatuated. They forgot the rule loudly announced by the former, that is, if a banker doesn't have the necessary funds to support the paper money he issues, he will only die. As soon as the bank changed from private to state-owned, the Regent ordered it to issue paper money with a face value of 654.38 billion livres. This is the first step away from the correct principle. At this time, the French parliament brought a little trouble to Lao. From the beginning, Congress was jealous of the great influence of Lao as a foreigner on his country and questioned the safety of his plan. Parliament also passed a decree prohibiting Lloyds Bank from participating in taxation in any direct or indirect way; It is forbidden for all foreigners to interfere in the national finance in any name, and offenders are hell to pay.
Law fled to the palace in horror, and he prayed to the Regent to take measures to bring Parliament to its knees. The latter ordered the arrest of the speaker and two members of parliament and put them in a distant prison, which suppressed the resistance of the parliament.
In this way, a dark cloud hanging over Lao Guang's bright future was blown away: after getting out of danger, Lao focused on the famous Mississippi project, and the company's stock rose sharply. 17 19 At the beginning of this year, the government issued a proclamation, granting Mississippi Company full authority to trade in east indies, China, the South Pacific Islands and the French East India Company established in Colbert. Due to the rapid growth of business, the company thought it was more appropriate to call it an Indian company and added 50,000 new shares. The prospect of the old exhibition is extremely brilliant. He promised that a share of 500 livres would receive an annual dividend of 200 livres. Because these stocks are bought by national debt at face value, the face value of 500 livres is only worth the actual value of 100 livres, and the profit per share reaches 200%. The rising public enthusiasm makes it impossible to resist the temptation of such a promising future. At least 300,000 people applied to buy these 50,000 new shares; The old residence on Gump Street is crowded with eager applicants from morning till night. As it is impossible to satisfy all applicants, the new shareholder list can only be finalized in a few weeks. During this time, public anxiety reached the peak of madness. Duke, Marquis, Earl and their wives have to wait for several hours at the door of their hometown every day to know the result. Finally, the number of people waiting reached thousands, and the streets were crowded with people. In order to avoid pushing each other, they moved to an adjacent suite for temporary residence, so that they could always be close to the new temple of wealth. The price of old stocks is rising; Under the temptation of the golden dream of the whole country, new applicants are in an endless stream. Finally, the company believes that it can issue another 300,000 new shares, each with 5,000 livres; In this way, the Regent can use the general enthusiasm of the public to repay all the national debts. To this end, there must be1500 million livres in society. People all over the country are crazy. In this state, people are even willing to pay three times this amount.
At this time, the old man is at the peak of wealth, while the French are rapidly approaching the peak of obsession. Lao later found that his residence was too inconvenient, so he moved to Wangdom Square and rented the official residence of Sowasson. Those speculators followed him there. The wide square soon became as crowded as Ganpuwa Avenue: it was bustling from morning till night. Many tents, large and small, were set up in the square to buy and sell stocks, drinks and snacks. People make so much noise all day that a judge by the square complained to the Regent and the city government that he could not hear the lawyer's defense.
I can't help seeing my compatriots doing stupid things, Marshall? Villars, an honest veteran, was very upset. He was very angry when he mentioned it. Once he passed Wangdom Square in a carriage and saw people addicted to buying and selling stocks. The grumpy gentleman was very unhappy. He suddenly ordered the coachman to stop the carriage. Then he stuck his head out of the window and shouted at the crowd for half an hour, asking them to stop this "disgusting greed". This move seems unwise. People's sighs and jeers flooded into the brave gentleman, and he didn't drive away in a hurry until he saw something more real flying over his head in surprise. He never did it again.
Two more sober, quiet and speculative scholars, De? Pull? Mott and Father Tihassen congratulated each other, at least not involved in this strange frenzy. But a few days later, the venerable priest went to Sovazon's official residence to buy stocks. When he came out, he met his friend Fred, who came in for the same purpose. Pull? Mott. He said, "Ha! Is that you? " "Yes", pull? Mott walked past him quickly and said, "Could it be you?" When they got together for the second time, the two scholars talked about philosophy, science and religion, but they never had the courage to say a word about the Mississippi Plan again. Finally, when this matter was finally brought up, they agreed on the following conclusions: one should never swear not to do something; Also, there is no luxury and luxury that even smart people can't enjoy.
At that time, the new God of Wealth became the most important person in China. Regent can't leave a courtier in the reception room, because both nobles, judges and bishops flock to Sovazon's official residence; The generals of the army and navy, distinguished ladies, and everyone who holds hereditary titles or important positions and thinks they have the preemptive right sit in the old reception room and beg to sell them shares in Indian companies. Too busy to see the applicants of110. So the candidate racked his brains and came up with various strategies to approach him. Many people come here every day and persist in achieving their goals for two weeks. Someone came up with a ridiculous way to get a chance to talk to him. A lady tried hard for a few days, but she still couldn't get what she wanted. She gave up the hope of visiting her old home. However, she told the coachman to watch carefully when he went out. If he saw the old man coming, he would let the carriage hit the lamppost and throw her down. Her coachman promised to complete the commission. The lady has been walking in the city for three days, praying to God repeatedly for a chance to be thrown out. At the end of the third day, she finally met the old man; She immediately grabbed the reins and shouted to the coachman, "Turn the carriage over quickly! In the name of God, let the carriage overturn! " The driver drove the car to the post, and the lady screamed and the car overturned. Of course, the old man who saw the accident would not miss the opportunity to be attentive to the lady and immediately ran to the accident site to help. The sly lady was taken to Sowason's residence, and she felt that she should recover from the "panic". After apologizing to the old gentleman, he confessed his plan. Lao smiled and wrote down the lady's name and allowed her to buy a certain number of shares. Another story is about Mrs. Bussa. Knowing that I was always eating in a house, I drove there and lied that the house was on fire. The company immediately left for life; When all the people ran out, I always found a lady coming towards him in a hurry. Realizing that there must be fraud, he ran in the other direction.
For a time, because people's self-confidence increased, trade became developed and business was profitable. Especially in Paris, this situation is more obvious. Foreigners flocked to the capital from all directions. They should not only earn money, but also spend money. The Duchess of Orleans, the mother of the Regent, has roughly counted the growth of the population of Paris during this period, with 305,000 people. Housewives have to put their beds in the attic, kitchen and even stables to meet the needs of the increasing number of tenants; The city is full of carriages and other means of transportation, so they can only move slowly on the main roads to avoid accidents. Looms all over the country are busy producing gorgeous ribbons, silk, muslin and velvet. Due to the large circulation of paper money, the prices of these things have quadrupled. Food prices are also soaring. The prices of bread, fresh meat and vegetables are beyond people's imagination. Labor remuneration has also increased in the same proportion. A craftsman who earned 15 sous in the past day can now earn 60 sous. New houses are being built everywhere; An illusory prosperity dazzled the eyes of the people of the whole country, and no one saw the dark clouds on the horizon indicating the coming storm.
Before 1720, the society continued to prosper. Parliament has repeatedly warned that the excessive circulation of paper money will lead to the collapse of the national economy sooner or later. But these warnings were ignored. The Regent, who knows nothing about finance, believes that since issuing paper money can bring such great benefits, it should not be restricted. If the paper money of 500 million livres has such an advantage, it will be more advantageous to issue another 500 million livres. The great fallacy of regency has not met with old opposition. People's extreme greed supports this mirage: the higher the prices of Indian stocks and Mississippi stocks, the more banknotes banks issue at the same time. Just like potemkin (1739? 179 1, Russian field marshal, favorite and confidant of Queen Catherine II), a magnificent palace built to surprise his queen: huge ice cubes stacked one on top of the other; Ionian icicles decorated with scrolls at the top reveal the craftsmanship of craftsmen, and these icicles form a noble and elegant porch; The dome made of ice shines in the sun, and the sun can only coat it with gold, but it can't melt it at all. It is glittering, like crystal and diamond; But once a warm wind blows from the south, this magnificent building melts irreversibly. The same is true of the paper money system established by Lao He. As long as the wind of public distrust keeps blowing towards it, it will become a pile of ruins, and no one can revive it.
The first small warning occurred at the beginning of 1720. Lao refused Princes Of Conti's request to buy new Indian stocks, so he used three carriages to pull his amazing amount of paper money to the old bank and asked to change it into coins. Law complained to the Regent that if Princes Of Conti's actions were followed by many people, it would do great harm to the country. The Regent knew this very well, so he sent someone to Princes Of Conti and angrily ordered him to put two-thirds of the coins back into the bank. The prince was forced to obey the orders of the dictatorship. To the old man's delight, his move was unpopular. Everyone condemned his meanness and greed, and thought that he was always treated unfairly. But strangely, this escape did not make Lao He and the Regent understand the urgency of tightening monetary policy. Out of distrust, many people imitate Kong Di's behavior. A little shrewd stock speculators correctly predicted that the stock price could not climb forever. Borden and Los Angeles, who invested in many banks? Richard Dickey quietly changed their paper money into coins bit by bit, and then shipped the coins abroad. They also bought a lot of gold and silver utensils and expensive jewelry, took as many as possible, and then secretly shipped them to Britain or the Netherlands. A speculator named Vermalai smelled the coming storm, so he bought gold and silver coins worth more than 65,438+000 Wan Li Bk Frem and put them on a farmer's carriage, covered with hay and cow dung. Then, disguised as a dirty farmer, he safely transported a car full of valuables to Belgium, from where he managed to transport them to Amsterdam.
Over time, there is a serious shortage of coins in circulation Although many measures have been taken, the government has not stopped the trend of precious metals flowing to England and the Netherlands. Some coins left in China were carefully preserved or hidden. Finally, domestic coins are extremely scarce and trade can no longer be maintained. In this emergency, Lao began his bold idea: a total ban on the circulation of coins. 1720 In February, the government issued a decree prohibiting anyone from possessing coins exceeding 500 livres, and offenders will be fined heavily in addition to confiscating all coins. It also encourages people to look for violators; It ensures that the reporter can get half of the illegal amount as a reward. Under this unheard-of policy, the whole country cries out in pain. Since then, the most hateful persecution has occurred every day. The Regent and the unfortunate Lowe have been cursed like rain, and the Mississippi stock price has fallen rapidly. In fact, few people believe in the myth of great wealth in this area. In order to rebuild public confidence in the Mississippi plan, the government took the last step. The government announced a compulsory conscription plan, and all the poor tramps in Paris were forced to join the army. About 6,000 street bullies were detained as in wartime, and the government provided them with clothes and tools and transported them to New Orleans, where they were said to work in gold mines. They lined up, carrying pickaxes and shovels on their shoulders, day after day through the streets of Paris, then divided into teams and came to various ports, waiting to be transported to the United States. Two-thirds of them did not board the ship, but were scattered all over France. They sold their tools in exchange for what they needed, and then returned to their original jobs. In less than three weeks, half of them returned to Paris. Even so, this strategy led to a slight increase in Mississippi stocks. Many gullible people believe that the company has actively opened up new financial resources, and soon, gold ingots and silver ingots will flood into France again.
Under the constitutional monarchy, people may find more practical ways to rebuild public confidence. For example, in Britain, at a later time, the same fraud brought similar pain, but different ways were taken to make up for the harm caused by evil! Unfortunately, in France, the role of making up for the loss falls to the person who caused the loss. The Regent tried to save France from disaster, but his overbearing style plunged it into a deeper quagmire. All transactions can only be made in paper money. From February 1 year to the end of May, the circulation of paper money was1500 million livres, or 6 million pounds. However, as long as there is panic, the government can no longer make people have any confidence in paper money that cannot be converted into coins.
There is no doubt that the reputation of Indian companies has a great relationship with the reputation of national banknotes. Therefore, the cabinet meeting proposed that if the company is given some privileges to tide it over the difficult period, it will bring good results. In view of this, the cabinet suggested that the company should be given the privilege of maritime trade. The government subsequently promulgated corresponding laws. Unfortunately, however, this law forgets that it will bankrupt all businessmen in the country. The idea of giving this company this great privilege was ridiculed by the whole country, and people wrote to parliament again and again, asking them not to register. It was true, but they angered the Regent. As a result, he said, they fanned the flames of rebellion and exiled them to Blay. The senators went there without hesitation, and they were determined to fight the Regent to the end.
Of all the countries in the world, France is famous for venting its dissatisfaction by singing. The following satirical poem comes from that period:
On Monday, I went to buy stocks.
On Tuesday, I made millions,
On Wednesday, I buy furniture.
On Thursday, I bought clothes.
On Friday, I went dancing.
On Saturday, I entered the beggar's shelter.
Because of the excitement of the public, I always try not to expose myself in the street without guards. He shut himself in the regent's palace to avoid any attack; Whenever he ventured out, he either disguised himself or sat in a royal carriage with armed guards on both sides. There is also an interesting story about how much people hate being old, from which we can see how he will be treated if he falls into the hands of ordinary people. A gentleman named Bursay was passing through St. Antoines Street in a carriage when he was blocked by a taxi. Bussy's servant impatiently told the taxi driver to get out of the way. The other party refused, so he punched him in the face. In the confusion, a large crowd gathered around. Bursai stepped out of the carriage to mediate, but the taxi driver thought he was another attacker, fearing that he could not beat four hands with two fists, so he shouted, "Help! Help! Killed someone! Killed someone! Old man and his servant tried to kill me! Help! Help! " Hearing the shouts, people rushed out of the store with sticks and other weapons, while others collected stones to get back at imaginary bankers. Fortunately, the door of the Jesuit church was open. Bursay and his servants saw people rushing towards them and quickly ran in. They ran to the altar and people chased them there. If they don't find the door to the sacristy room open, if they jump in and close the door behind them at once, they will suffer a lot. The mob left the church after being persuaded by the frightened and angry priest. When they found Bursay's carriage still in the street, they took it out on it and destroyed it beyond recognition.
1720 10 issued an order, stipulating that all banknotes with face value of 1000 to 10000 livres will be worthless after next September. Indian or Mississippi companies are deprived of coinage, tax collection and all other advantages and privileges. This company has become a private company. This measure has dealt a fatal blow to the whole paper money system. The law has lost any influence on the French parliament; The company has also been deprived of immunity, and there is no power to return to heaven. When the people of the whole country were cheated, all the people suspected of making illegal profits were found out and severely punished.
As it was no longer safe to live at home, Lao decided to leave France in despair. People think that he is already a rich man. However, this idea is completely wrong. Although he was an out-and-out gambler for most of his life, he showed great generosity. He doesn't want to make himself rich at the expense of destroying a country. When people were most obsessed with Mississippi stock, he had no doubt that his plan would achieve ultimate success: to make France the richest and most powerful country in Europe. He bought all his income into French real estate, which proves that he is full of confidence in the stability of his plan. He didn't accumulate a gold and silver vessel or jewelry, nor did he send money abroad like dishonest speculators. Except for a diamond worth about five or six thousand pounds, all his income is invested in France; When he left France, he was almost broke. This fact alone can clear the fraud that is often unjustly imposed on him.
Lao Yu 1729 died in Venice. When he died, he was in a very miserable situation. The following is the epitaph written for him at that time:
"Here lies the famous Scotsman,
His computer skills are unparalleled,
He used simple algebraic rules,
Let France fall into poverty. "
2. The 4 19 fraud case is also known as the Nigerian scam.
4 19 fraud cases were mostly ordinary mail in the 1980s, but after the appearance of the Internet, a new upsurge was set off. Most of them are in the form of mail, saying that they have a large inheritance to collect, but because of legal problems, they need a small amount of money to help and promise a large return. It's called 4 19 because this scam was invented by a group of guys in Nigeria, and Nigeria's criminal code is 4 19.
Most of these emails come from celebrities with status or noble family background who ask you for help:
"I am the governor's wife. Due to a coup in China, the governor died unfortunately, hiding about $35 million before his death, which was not discovered by the new army government. It is urgent to remit the money abroad as an investment in the name of others. I hope to get your cooperation. After the completion, your company or individual will receive 30% of this fund as a reward. "
Most people who are familiar with the "Nigerian scam" start with similar emails. In short, there is a huge sum of money, which must be remitted abroad due to some changes. I hope the recipient can borrow his bank account. Of course, you won't get help in vain, and there will be a huge sum of money in return. Besides, she will give you her lawyer's phone number, bank deposit certificate and so on. After gaining trust, the swindler will ask the payee to deposit tens of thousands of dollars in his account, the so-called "handling fee" or other expenses. At this time, many people have been trapped by the bait of tens of millions of dollars. Maybe they have drawn a lot of question marks in their hearts, but in the end they can't resist the temptation of getting rich overnight and fall into the trap.
The cause of the Nigerian scam is related to the sharp drop in oil prices in the mid-1980s. Oil is Nigeria's largest foreign exchange income, and the sharp drop in prices has dealt a heavy blow to many businessmen engaged in oil trading. As a result, those professionals who are highly educated and fluent in English simply use their professional knowledge in international trade to engage in another transnational business, namely international fraud.
The "Nigerian scam" they designed initially targeted small business owners in western countries such as Britain and the United States to defraud huge amounts of money. According to the American campaign against the "4 19 Grand Alliance", from 1985 to 1999 14, the "Nigerian scam" defrauded more than 5 billion dollars from the United States, and once became the third largest "industry" in Nigeria. In September, 2000, the announcement issued by Swiss Federal Police showed that Nigerian swindlers cheated 40 million dollars online every year. The United States is by far the biggest victim of fraud in Nigeria. According to statistics, about 1% of the recipients have been cheated. In early 2003, the White House issued an ultimatum to the Nigerian government, and if the Nigerian government did not take effective measures, the United States would impose an economic embargo.
As early as 1992, a company in China was cheated of 2.8 million yuan. Up to now, nearly 100 people in Hong Kong have been cheated, and the amount cheated has exceeded HK$ 6,543,800+million.
With the popularity of the Internet and the pressure from European and American countries, this scam has now spread to China and other Southeast Asian regions. The traditional way of sending letters was changed to email, and it spread to Asian countries, Russia, New Zealand and other countries by fraud. Moreover, this unprofitable business has attracted many imitators. The former "Nigerian scam" has gradually evolved into "Zimbabwe scam", "Sierra Leone scam", "Ivory Coast scam" or scams from other African countries.
After the Gulf War broke out, another swindler claimed to be the son of former Iraqi Vice President mohamed aziz, and sent an email in the name of an American soldier who discovered Iraqi treasures. Once deceived, most scammers disappear, and some even cheat to the end. After the job is done, you are encouraged to go to Nigeria to get paid in person. If you go to an appointment, your luck will naturally run out. It is reported that up to now, 17 foreigners have been killed after going to Nigeria to receive remuneration.
In addition to the above two classic examples, there are many cases: the recent Barney Modoff's $50 billion huge fraud case; South sea bubble; Tulip fever; Continuous letters; Lottery scam; MLM fraud; Marriage scam; Leukemia scam and so on.
The greed allowed by law is a free economy, and the cross-border is a scam. No matter how gorgeous and confusing these scams are at first, they can't escape the punishment of law in the end. The deceiver will be spurned, and the deceiver will be condemned by God.