The Royal Exchange, epicenter of London finance, founded 500 years ago.
Photographer: Olivia Harris/BloombergThe City of London Has a Slavery Problem
Many of the financial district’s most venerable names were built off colonial oppression.
If there’s one thing that foretold the City of London’s ambition to become the epicenter of finance it was the founding of the Royal Exchange almost 500 years ago.
The driving force behind the capital’s first purpose-built center for trading stocks was Sir Thomas Gresham, whose legacy survives in the college, City street and law of economics that bear his name.