Among its many accomplishments
over the centuries, Barings financed both the Louisiana Purchase
in 1803 and the Napoleonic Wars. But the road to success
was not always smooth. The bank endured both wars
and depressions, and it overcame near-bankruptcy in 1890,
surviving only because it was bailed out at the last minute
by the Bank of England. In spite of these sporadic periods of
turmoil, Barings was always one of the most well-placed