William paterson banker biography
William paterson banker biography book...
Sweetheart Abbey, Where Sir William Paterson is Buried |
Sir William Paterson lived from April 1658 to 22 January 1719.
William paterson banker biography
He was the founder of the Bank of England and influential in starting the Bank of Scotland; he was also the architect of the disastrous Darien Scheme and one of the negotiators behind the Acts of Union in 1707. The wider picture in Scotland at the time is set out in our Historical Timeline.
Paterson was born in the tiny hamlet of Skipmyre, mid way between Dumfries and Lochmaben in Dumfries and Galloway, where his parents were farmers.
At the age of 17 he went to Bristol, and from there to the Bahamas. Here he became a prosperous merchant by a variety of means, including, some have suggested, activities that bordered on piracy.
From the Bahamas he moved to Holland, where he invested his fortune in Dutch Banks.
A strong promoter of free trade, he would foreshadow some aspects of Adam Smith's