Atlas Trail
Crises and Currency: A World Tour of Economic Turning Points
From Song Dynasty paper money to the Asian Financial Crisis, ten moments when a panic, a hyperinflation or a policy reversal changed how the world thinks about money and trade.
Stop 1 of 10.
Events
Where paper money begins: a Song Dynasty solution to a very practical problem.
Stop 2 of 10.
Events
When a trade dispute became a war, and China's ports were opened on foreign terms.
Stop 3 of 10.
Events
Free trade's first great practical victory in Britain.
Stop 4 of 10.
Events
The panic that convinced America it needed a central bank.
Stop 5 of 10.
Events
Money printed until it was worth less than the paper itself.
Stop 6 of 10.
Events
An embargo that helped end the postwar boom.
Stop 7 of 10.
Events
A Lost Decade begins with one phone call from Mexico City.
Stop 8 of 10.
Events
Crossing the river by feeling the stones: China's gradual reform begins.
Stop 9 of 10.
Events
A currency float in Bangkok spreads across a continent.
Stop 10 of 10.
Events
The most extreme hyperinflation of the modern era.
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