Alright, so let me get this straight—you’re saying Russia only helped the North because they hated Britain and were in this big “Great Game” thing. And the Rothschilds weren’t really supporting the South? Pfft, let me tell you the real story!
Okay, first of all, yeah, Russia and Britain were like total frenemies at the time. They didn’t trust each other at all. But that’s *not* the whole reason Tsar Alexander sent his ships. He was also super against slavery. I mean, come on, Russia had just freed their serfs in 1861, so Alexander wasn’t gonna back anyone trying to keep people in chains. Plus, Tsar Alexander wasn’t dumb—he knew if Britain and France helped the South, they’d mess up the U.S., and that would give the Rothschilds and their banker buddies even more power. Russia wasn’t about to let that happen.
Now, about the Rothschilds. You’re saying they didn’t support the South because of some letters from August Belmont? Cool story, but let’s dig deeper. The Rothschilds were big-time European bankers, and guess what? They loved controlling stuff through money. Cotton from the South was a HUGE deal for European industries, and the Confederacy was basically waving it around like, “Hey, come help us, and you can make big bucks!” The Rothschilds might not have shouted, “We love the South!” but they definitely had economic reasons to support anything that kept their profits rolling in.
Oh, and about Belmont—sure, he was all “Go Union!” publicly. But let’s not forget that powerful people always say what makes them look good while doing sneaky stuff behind the scenes. It’s not like Belmont was gonna write letters saying, “Hey, we’re totally supporting the South—hope no one finds this letter!” That’s not how secret deals work, duh.
And let’s talk about Russia’s ships again. If the Rothschilds weren’t helping the South, why did Britain and France even think about stepping in? It’s because they were being pushed by money interests, and those bankers weren’t neutral—they knew a divided America would make them richer. Russia showing up with their fleets was like saying, “Nice try, Rothschilds, but we’re not letting you wreck America.”
So yeah, maybe those letters sound nice and proper, but history is full of people saying one thing and doing another. Russia knew what was really going on, and that’s why they stepped in—to stop the bankers and their sneaky plans. End of story. Boom!
But you didn't. So let's get some facts. In reality the Rotschilds sat out the CW and thus helped the North. To qoute Nial Ferguson "The Ascent of Money" (TAM):
"By the middle of the nineteenth century the Rotschilds had evolved from traders into fund managers, carefully tending to their own vast portfolio of government bonds. Now, having made their money, they stood to lose more than they gained from conflict. It was for this reason that they were consistently hostile to stirrings of national unity in both Germany and Italy. And it was for this reason that they viewed with unease the descent of the United States into internecine warfare. The Rotschilds had decided the outcome of the Napoleonic Wars by putting their financial weight behind Britain. Now they would help decide the outcome of the American civil War - by chosing to sit on the sidelines."
The Confederacy, consistently short of cash, tried to sell a cotton backed government bond. More from TAM:
"In 1860 the port of Liverpool was the main artery for the supply of imported cotton to the British textile industry, then the mainstay of the Victorian industrial economy. More than 80 percent of these imports came from the southern United States. The Confederate leaders believed this gave them leaverage to bring Britain into the war on their side. To ratchet up the pressure, they decided to impose an embargo on all cotton exports to Liverpool."
This caused an economic catastrophe in northern England, that went under the name of the Cotton Famine. But it pushed up the value of the Cotton Bond, making it an almost irresistible attractive investment opportunity for members of the English political class. However, the Rotschilds did not invest in this loan. Instead they dismissed it as being "of to speculative nature that it was very likely to attract all wild speculators..."
Ferguson notes that the fall of New Orleans to the Union forces may have been the real reason why the Rotschilds avoided the loan, but whatever the cause, the fact is that the Rotschilds did not back the South financially.
By 1863 mills of Lancashire had found new sources of cotton (India, Egypt, and China) with predictable consequences for the Confederate economy.
That is the economic facts.