The Fuggers were a prominent group of German merchant bankers who rose to prominence after the fall of the Medici family. They bank-rolled the Spanish government of Charles V to the tune of 850,000 florins (about 95,625 oz(t) of gold) to procure his election as Holy Roman Emperor over Francis I of France. Corruption was endemic at the time and the Papacy was for sale to the highest bidder.
The Fuggers were ruined by the heir to the throne Philip II, who defaulted on Spanish sovereign debt in 1557, 1560, 1575, 1596, 1607, 1647, 1662, 1695 and 1697. Spain's expeditions in the Americas were the primary cause of bankruptcy as costs of sustaining her military overwhelmed the sovereign's tax income.
Leap forward to present day and Spain has its begging bowl to Germany, with reports pointing to a 300bn Euro bailout request. It seems as though we have come full circle because history rhymes and man's passions have not changed over centuries. At the onset of the European Debt Crisis, China very wisely absconded from buying Greek debt. Germany is caught between a rock and a hard place. Will they see to their ruin as the Fuggers?
Spain is in deep trouble and alarm bells are ringing behind the curtain.
"Hours after it was confirmed that unemployment in Spain had reached a new record high, it was claimed the country had raised the prospect of it securing a 300bn euro (£235bn) bailout.
The news agency Reuters, citing comments by a eurozone official, said the idea was floated by Spain at a meeting with German officials but it was dismissed by the Germans on the grounds that the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) bailout fund was not yet in place.
Spain moved quickly to stamp on the report.
A government spokeswoman said no such discussion had taken place and it "strongly denied any such plan".
But such a move would come as little surprise to the markets amid the country's dire debt crisis..."
Read more:
http://news.sky.com/stor...spanish-bailout-request