Stranica 179 [179]
COMMERCE 157
#11,000; and the same firm obtained from Edward II £56,500 in
payment of his father’s debts. On the other hand, Edward III was
never able to repay the loans he had received from the Peruzzi and the
Bardi, who, in consequence, became bankrupts. From that time the
English bankers begin to come to the front, and many London
merchants had dealings more or less extensive with the Royal
Exchequer. Henry V borrowed at home what he required for his
French wars, and Edward IV and Henry VII, by their commercial
policy and by increasing the royal credit, did much to foster the growth
of London wealth.
The great house of Gresham began to come to the front in the
reign of Henry VII. Exchange Court in Lombard Street marks the
site of a place of business established in imitation of the bourses of