A prominent family originating from Germany, established banking and finance houses in Europe beginning in the 18th century. Pioneers in providing capital for business and financing infrastructure projects, such as railways and the Suez Canal, the Rothschilds molded the way the international world of high finance works today. The Rothschild empire had its genesis during the 1760's when Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744 - 1812) founded a banking business in his native Frankfurt, in the German duchy of Hesse. Over time, and with the help of his five sons, the family business expanded throughout several European countries. Mayer Amschel Rothschild - Founding Father Of International Finance: The Rothschilds’ empire had humble beginnings. Its founder, Mayer Amschel Rothschild, was born in 1744 and raised in Frankfurt’s Jewish ghetto. During that era, Jews were legally required to live in small communities that were separate from Christians. They were also not allowed to leave their villages at night, on Sundays, or on Christian holidays. As a child, Rothschild learned about the business world at an early age. His father, Amschel Moses Rothschild, traded coins and other commodities for a living. One of Amschel Rothschild’s clients was Crown Prince Wilhelm of Hesse. Mayer Rothschild became an orphan at age 12 when his mother and father died in a smallpox epidemic. Shortly after his 13th birthday, he decided to take an apprenticeship with a banking firm in Hanover, Germany. During his time there, Rothschild learned the ins and outs of banking and foreign trade from bankers who used their extensive connections and financial skills to advise and serve the reigning nobility; some of these bankers had risen to the status of what was known as "court Jews," or court factors. The Beginnings Of A Banking Empire: Rothschild returned to his hometown of Frankfurt when he turned 19. Along with his brothers, he continued the commodities and money-trading business their father started and also sold rare coins. Through his rare coin business, Rothschild met Crown Prince Wilhelm, who in 1785 became Wilhelm IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and eventually the European continent’s richest man. Rothschild was soon providing other banking services to Wilhelm and a number of nobles, and by 1769, he was given the title of court factor. In 1770, he married and went on to have 10 children (five sons and five daughters). Expanding & Controlling The Rothschild Footprint: The Rothschild banking empire benefited tremendously from the French Revolution. During the war, Rothschild facilitated monetary transactions for Hessian mercenary soldiers. Around that same time, Rothschild sent his sons to live in the capital cities of various European countries with the goal of establishing banking businesses in Naples, Vienna, Paris, and London, in addition to Frankfurt. With Mayer Rothschild’s children spread across Europe, the five linked branches became, in effect, the first bank to transcend borders. Lending to governments to finance war operations over several centuries provided the Rothschild family with ample opportunity to accumulate bonds and build additional wealth in a range of different industries. ★ Amschel Mayer Rothschild (1773 - 1855): Frankfurt ★ Salomon Mayer Rothschild (1774 - 1855): Vienna ★ Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777 - 1836): London ★ Calmann Mayer Rothschild (1788 - 1855): Naples ★ Jakob Mayer Rothschild (1792 - 1868): Paris Before he died in 1812, Mayer Rothschild left strict rules for his descendants on how they should handle the family’s finances. He wanted to keep the fortune within the family and, as such, encouraged the arrangement of marriages among relatives. His will barred female descendants from any direct inheritance. Without an inheritance, female Rothschilds had few possible marriage partners of the same religion and suitable economic and social stature, except other Rothschilds. Rothschild brides bound the family together. Four of Mayer’s granddaughters married grandsons, and one married her uncle. Nathan Mayer Rothschild - International Financier: Of the four Rothschilds who ventured out, third son Nathan (1777 – 1836) achieved the greatest success. Nathan took over the lead role in pioneering international finance. Moving to England in 1798. There he founded a textile business with £20,000 of working capital, the equivalent of £2 million today. He eventually founded a bank, which became N.M. Rothschild & Sons Ltd. Like the other Rothschild banks that were subsequently set up throughout Europe, N.M. Rothschild & Sons Ltd. furnished credit to the government during times of war and crisis. During the Napoleonic Wars, for example, it managed and financed various subsidies the British government sent to its different allies and lent funds to pay the British troops, almost single-handedly financing the British war effort. In 1824, he and Moses Montefiore co-founded the Alliance Assurance Company, which lives on today as RSA Insurance Group. Nathan also gained the rights to the Almaden mines from the Spanish government in 1835, securing a European monopoly on mercury, which was used to refine gold and silver. The supply of the chemical came in handy in the 1850's when N.M. Rothschild & Sons started to refine gold and silver for the Bank of England and the Royal Mint. Growing Philanthropic Activities: Nathan contributed to many areas of philanthropy in the Jewish community. His family later expanded these charitable efforts to other populations in Paris and London. His earliest efforts went toward synagogues in London. He continued to champion this work, which eventually led to the formation of the United Synagogue, a larger organization that helped streamline the causes of the smaller individual synagogues. Later, various family members supported the creation of Israel and helped with the construction of government buildings. Rothschild had seven children with his wife, Hannah Barent Cohen. Those children followed and built on their family's philanthropic tradition. The Rothschild Archive reports that Nathan's youngest child, Louise, and her seven daughters took responsibility for many of the 30 Rothschild charitable foundations in Frankfurt. These foundations included public libraries, orphanages, hospitals, homes for the elderly, and special funds allocated for the purpose of education. The Jews’ Free School in London, in particular, received extensive financial support. Educational efforts in Austria, France, and Israel were also made possible through Rothschild generosity. In addition to monies put toward education, the family gave an estimated 60,000 pieces of artwork to numerous organizations. The Rothschild family expanded the creation of social housing in the cities of London and Paris, and the Rothschild Foundation was created to further these efforts. The House Of Rothschild In The 20th Century: Internal and external change including world wars, politics, and family rivalries diminished the family fortune over the next 100 years. The Naples branch of the bank had closed in 1863, and a lack of male heirs led to the closing of the Frankfurt branch in 1901. The Vienna branch was shuttered in 1938 after the Nazis invaded Austria and Jews were endangered in the lead-up to World War II. The Vichy government in France expropriated Rothschild Bordeaux properties during the war, and the Nazis confiscated millions of dollars worth of art and other precious objects from the Austrian branch of the family (a portion of these were returned by the Austrian government in 1998). Over the years, palatial Rothschild estates were gradually donated to the British and French governments and to other organizations and universities. By the 1970's, three Rothschild banks remained; the London and Paris branches and a Swiss bank founded by Baron Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild (1926 - 1997). In 1982, President Francois Mitterrand’s socialist government dealt the Paris bank a fatal blow, nationalizing it and renaming it Compagnie Europeenne de Banque. In 2008, all of the holdings were reorganized under a single company, a shareholder of Paris Orleans based in France, unifying the family businesses roughly two centuries after the five sons of Mayer Rothschild spread out across Europe. Moving Into The 21st Century: The family wealth has been divided among many descendants and heirs throughout the years. Today, Rothschild holdings span a number of industries, including financial services, real estate, mining, energy, and charitable work. The family also owns more than a dozen wineries in North America, Europe, South America, South Africa, and Australia. Traditionally, the Rothschild fortune is invested in closely held corporations. Today, Rothschild corporations have continued to see success. Most family members are employed by these corporations directly or are invested in operations that generate family wealth. The remarkable success of the family has largely been due to a strong interest in cooperation, being entrepreneurs, and the practice of smart business principles. The estate of Nathan Rothschild was intimately tied to the other fortunes of the family and became part of the collective wealth each Rothschild passed to the next generation. Rothschild descendants continue to finance global business operations and contribute to scholarly, humanitarian, cultural, and business endeavors. The family motto is Concordia, Integritas, Industria, which means “Harmony, Integrity, Industry.” For more information on the family tree, here is a link to a video on YouTube by Matt Baker (Useful Charts)
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Located in East Asia; Korea consists of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and several minor islands near the peninsula. It is bordered by China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast. It is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan (East Sea). During the first half of the 1st millennium, Korea was divided between the three competing states of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla, together known as the "Three Kingdoms of Korea". In the second half of the 1st millennium, Silla defeated and conquered Baekje and Goguryeo, leading to the "Unified Silla" period. Meanwhile, Balhae formed in the north, superseding former Goguryeo. Unified Silla eventually collapsed into three separate states due to civil war, ushering in the Later Three Kingdoms. Toward the end of the 1st millennium, Goguryeo was resurrected as Goryeo, which defeated the two other states and unified the Korean Peninsula as a single sovereign state. Around the same time, Balhae collapsed and its last crown prince fled south to Goryeo. Goryeo (also spelled as Koryŏ), whose name developed into the modern exonym "Korea", was a highly cultured state that created the world's first metal movable type in 1234. However, multiple incursions by the Mongol Empire during the 13th century greatly weakened the nation, which eventually agreed to become a vassal state after decades of fighting. Following military resistance under King Gongmin that ended Mongol political influence in Goryeo, severe political strife followed, and Goryeo eventually fell to a coup led by General Yi Seong-gye, who established Joseon in July 17, 1392. The first 200 years of the Joseon era were marked by relative peace. During this period, the Korean alphabet was created by Sejong the Great in the 15th century and there was increasing influence of Confucianism. During the later part of the dynasty, Korea's isolationist policy earned it the Western nickname of the "Hermit Kingdom". By the late 19th century, the country became the object of imperial design by the Empire of Japan. After the First Sino-Japanese War, despite the Korean Empire's effort to modernize, the country was annexed by Japan in 1910 and ruled by it until the end of World War II in August 1945. In 1945, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed on the surrender of Japanese forces in Korea in the aftermath of World War II, leaving Korea partitioned along the 38th parallel. The North was under Soviet occupation and the South under U.S. occupation. These circumstances soon became the basis for the division of Korea by the two superpowers, exacerbated by their inability to agree on the terms of Korean independence. The Communist-inspired government in the North received backing from the Soviet Union in opposition to the pro-Western government in the South, leading to Korea's division into two political entities: North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea), and South Korea (officially the Republic of Korea). Tensions between the two resulted in the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. With involvement by foreign troops, the war ended in a stalemate in 1953, but without a formalized peace treaty. This status contributes to the high tensions that continue to divide the peninsula. Both governments of the two Koreas claim to be the sole legitimate government of the region. Ever wonder what your last name means? The origins, meanings and age of your name? Whether it's ancient or modern, last names are intimate things that anchor us to our heritage. Here are the meanings and origins of some of the worlds most popular and not so popular last names. Your's maybe in here as well. WILSON: Wilson is an English and Scottish surname, common in the English-speaking world. The name is derived from a form of Will, a popular medieval name. The medieval Will is derived from any of several names containing the first Germanic element wil, meaning "desire". Possibly the most common of these names was William, derived from elements wil and helm, meaning "desire" and "helmet", "protection". RUSSELL: Is an Anglo-Norman word meaning "red haired" or even "red-skinned." STEWART: The Scottish name would have denoted a guardian who handled administrative tasks for a big royal household. It comes from the ancient word "stigweard." CLARK: Clark means "professional scribe." ALLEN: This name means "little rock" or "harmony." MYERS: In English, Myers means "son of the mayor." SINGH: Singh means "lion." Sikh in origin, it's given to a son on achieving manhood. WRIGHT: The name comes from an Old English word for "craftsman," and usually denoted someone who made things with wood, like windmills or wheels. CARTER: Carter is also English. It originally referred to a job in which someone would transport goods via cart, hence Cart-er. MULLER: In German, Muller meant someone who operated a mill. The English version of that one is, also of course, Miller. COOPER: In England, a cooper was someone who made barrels. MOORE: Moore has multiple meanings. It may have meant someone who lived by a moor or someone who worked on boats, or someone who was dark-skinned, like Othello. PERRY: In Old English, if you were named Perry, it meant that you spent a lot of time near pear trees. That sort of feels like a lazy nickname situation. In French, it was someone who worked in a quarry. TURNER: Turner also has a couple different origins. It might mean "turn hare," or someone who can run faster than a hare. It could also mean "one who works with a lathe". HOFFMAN: In German, Hoffman meant someone who was a steward on an estate. Or someone associated with a farm. LEWIS: Lewis comes from many cultures and has a few different meanings. An English Lewis was the son of a Lowis. Lewis also developed various first names in France and Germany and Normandy and so on. Those with the last name Llewellyn, in Welsh, usually becomes Lewis in English. They all came from the Frankish name Hludwig which meant "famous battle." YOUNG: Young referred to the youngest child. You might also might have earned the surname if you were young at heart. WEBER: Weber is German for "weaver." It probably stemmed form the Old English word webbe, which meant "to weave." KING: In English, King obviously means leader, but many people adopted it who weren't rulers, and it was used as a nickname quite often. You'll notice, for instance, that the Queen of England is not named Elizabeth Queen. But the name became popular among American immigrants from Ireland, and in the 16th century it was also common to give orphans in France the last name Roi, meaning "king." End of Part 02. Ever wonder what your last name means? The origins, meanings and age of your name? Whether it's ancient or modern, last names are intimate things that anchor us to our heritage. Here are the meanings and origins of some of the worlds most popular and not so popular last names. Your's maybe in here as well. Part 1. SMITH: Smith is an old English name given to those who worked with metal. It's probably related to a word that meant "to strike" or "to smite," which means it may have referred to a soldier or to the person hitting metal to form it into armor. SCHMIDT: Schmidt is basically the German version of Smith, which also derives from the word Smitan, which pre-dates written history. THOMAS: It's from an ancient Aramaic word meaning Twin. HILL: Hill is an English name referring to, you guessed it, someone living on a hill. Other people got the name not from location, but from the name Hildebrand or Hilliard. LYNCH: In parts of England, Lynch meant someone who lived by a hill. In Ireland, though, it may have meant seaman. MURPHY: Slightly different, Murphy comes from the Irish term for a sea warrior, which is basically a Lynch during war time. COOK: If your last name is Cook, you probably have some ancestors who did that for a living. BAKER: Dating back before the 8th century, Baker could have referred to someone baking bread, running a communal kitchen, or owning a kiln for firing pottery. BECKER: Becker is the German word for baker, and the name might have sprung up for the same reasons Baker and Baxter did in England, but it's also possible that the last name denoted someone living by a stream, or bach. HALL: They were the people who worked in a house or a hall. Or even if you just lived near one. ADAMS: Adams means "son of Adam" in England and Scotland. They borrowed the Adam part from Hebrew. ROGERS: Rogers means "son of Roger." The name comes from the legend of the Danish king Hrothgar, who can be found in Beowulf. Hrothgar, by the way, means "famous spear." THOMPSON: Thompson is Celtic, means either "son of Tom" or refers to a place called Thompson in Norfolk, sources tend to differ between the two. ROBINSON: You would be correct in assuming that Robinson means "son of Robin." Or Robert. ROBERTS: Roberts means "son of Robert," and Robert means "fame" and "bright." JACKSON: The name Jack is also derived from Yohanan. Jewish/Hebrew derived. PHILIPS: The Greek name Philippos, meaning "lover of horses", gave us the name Philip. MORTON: English and Scottish origin, a habitational name from any of the many places called Moreton, named in Old English as ‘settlement (tun) by or on a marsh or moor (mor)’. Swedish: variant of Martin. French: contracted form of Moreton. ALLISON: Allison is a surname of English and Scottish origin. When used as a given name it is traditionally masculine, as opposed to the feminine name Alison. Alison, variant form Alizon, is a surname of French origin. With the many variants of spelling through history, as well as the likelihood of phonetic spelling changes and variations through time; names such as Alison Allason, Ellison, Allyson, Alasoune, Allinson and in some cases McAllister have been found to be interchangeable and variants of the different families using the same family name of 'Allison'. The surname was first recorded in England in 1248, when a "William Alisun" is recorded in the Documents of the Abbey of Bee in Buckinghamshire. In Scotland, the earliest record dates from 1296, when "Patrick Alissone, Count of Berwick" paid homage to the ruling council of Scotland in the absence of a proclaimed king. CUE: The many generations and branches of the Cue family can all place the origins of their surname with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name reveals that an early member worked as a person who worked as the cook. The surname was originally derived from the Old French terms queu, keu, kieu, cu, which denoted the cook or someone who operated an eating house. dU PLESSIS: French origin, meaning interwoven wooden fence. ROTHMAN: German (Rothmann) and Jewish (Ashkenazic); name for a person with red hair, from an elaborated form of Roth. German; topographic name for someone who lived on land that had been cleared. WALKER: Walker is an English and German surname derived from either a fuller, from the Middle High German walker, meaning "a fuller of cloth", or an officer whose duty consisted of walking or inspecting a certain part of a forest. The surname "Walker" was first found in Germany where records of the name date back to the thirteenth century. PISTORIOUS: Pistorius or Pistor (from Latin pistor meaning miller or baker) are Latinized surnames, corresponding to the Dutch Bakker or the German Becker. HARTLEY: This interesting surname, of Anglo-Saxon origin, is a locational name seen as early as the 7th Century, variations of heort, hart, leah meaning "wood", "clearing" or "hill." HENDRICKS: Recorded in Europe in some four hundred surnames spelling forms since the medieval times, this name is a derivative of the pre 7th century German personal name "Heim-ric", meaning "home rule". dU TOIT: du Toit is an Afrikaans surname, originally from Francois du Toit, a Huguenot who moved to South Africa in 1686. It translates as "of the roof". BOYCE: Scottish, Northern Irish, and English. Topographic name for someone who lived by a wood, from Old French bois 'wood'. English; From the Middle English nickname boy 'lad', 'servant'. DELPORT: “Of the Gate” in French. Derived from earlier settlers; the Huguenots of South Africa. BOSCH: Dutch and North German; another topographic name from Middle Dutch bussch, meaning 'wood' rather than 'bush', also found in place names, such as 's Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc). German (Bösch). MCALEER: The surname McAleer is found in County Tyrone, Ulster in Ireland, moving into western regions of Scotland. It is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Giolla Uidhir or Mac Giolla Uír. It is thought to mean "son of the servant of Saint Odhar". Legend says that Saint Odhar was Saint Patrick's charioteer. The surname is most likely of Norse origin and is encountered frequently in Norway as Lier. It comes from la, a sloping grassy hillside at the foot of a mountain, a dale, a glen, the plural of which is lêr, pronounced leer. The name was transplanted to Ireland during the time of the Danish and Norwegian invasions, after which Mac was added to the name. SWART: Swart is an Afrikaans and Dutch surname meaning "black" (spelled zwart in modern Dutch). Variations on it are de Swart, Swarte, de Swarte, Swarts, Zwart, de Zwart, and Zwarts. FOX: The name Fox was taken from the animal's name. It's one of those last names that started out as a nickname. Usually, people who were called Fox were clever or else had red hair or both (probably just one or the other). End of part 01. Part 02: http://spectemuragendo.weebly.com/general/meanings-origins-of-last-names-part-2 |
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