Austrian national bankruptcy in 1811
The Austrian state bankruptcy in 1811 was the result of the disruption of the Austrian state finances during the Napoleonic Wars .
The Austrian Empire had lost the Fifth Coalition War . In the Treaty of Schönbrunn Austria undertook to pay 85 million francs war contribution to France . This payment obligation hit a country whose national debt had already risen sharply during the previous war years. In 1789 the national debt was still 338 million guilders , in 1811 it was 676 million guilders. Debt servicing consumed 29% of government revenue.
The national debt had been realized mainly through paper money issued by the government. Austria had already issued the first paper money as early as 1762 during the Seven Years' War . In 1797, a compulsory rate was set in order to stop the ongoing price loss of the papers. During the coalition wars, the circulation of paper money increased massively. A first attempt to reduce the amount of paper money in circulation on so-called bank notes was the patent dated February 26, 1810. It offered the voluntary exchange of the notes for redemption tickets , which in turn were to be repaid through a wealth tax . However, this offer was not accepted.
On February 20, 1811, the Austrian government formally declared bankruptcy and partially suspended payments. The banknotes were declared invalid on January 31, 1812. Until then, they could be exchanged for new banknotes at a discount of 80%. The value of copper coins was also reduced to a fifth. The direct national debt remained nominally; however, the contractual interest was cut in half.
The relief of the state budget associated with the national bankruptcy did not last long. As early as 1812 with the beginning of the Sixth Coalition War , Austria took on new debts. The country's next national bankruptcy followed on June 1, 1816.
Individual evidence
- ^ Willi Albers, Anton Zottmann: Concise Dictionary of Economics: (HdWW) : zugl. Neuaufl. d. "Handwortbuch der Sozialwissenschaften", Volume 5, 1980, ISBN 3525102569 , page 476 online .
- ^ Carl August Fischer: On the doctrine of state bankruptcy. 2009, ISBN 1115478737 , pp. 52-57, online .