Oldal 180 [180]
158 COMMERCE
foreign mercantile cities, and, like some of them, its custodians had a
hereditary office. We first hear of the existence of an Exchange in the
time of Edward I. In the reign of Henry VII the first Gresham was
"the King’s Exchanger,” and his son and successor, Thomas, evidently
a very far-sighted man, was one of the first London merchants who sent
ships to trade with
India. The Royal
Exchange which
Queen Elizabeth
formally opened was
an expansion of the
bourse __ principle,
and was entirely
due to Gresham,
who, among other
reforms and im¬
provements, was the
first to suggest that
loans should be
obtained by the
sovereign within i
the kingdom and |
not from foreigners. i
He also successfully f
advocated the aboli¬
tion of the Steel- ~
yard. Hehad been ~
agent for the Mer¬
chant Adventurers
at Antwerp, and had