Nowadays remembered mostly through Adam Smith’s references to the short-lived Ayr Bank in the Wealth of Nations, the 1772-3 financial crisis was an important historical episode in its own right, taking place during a pivotal period in the development of financial capitalism and coinciding with...

Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: Lloyd’s: its history and business practices -- Chapter 3: Lloyd’s people: their social composition and political economy -- Chapter 4: Expansion, scandals and frauds – Lloyd’s in the 1970s -- Chapter 5: The first reforms and public scrutiny --...