The bloody birth of the bond market

The US Treasury market - the world's largest government bond market - is worth about $32tn today, making it the largest pile of debt accumulated in history. But its roots lie in medieval Venice, a bloody military disaster and a leader who was forced to raise a loan to fund a war against the Byzantine Empire.

What followed was a catastrophe involving pestilence, defeat and the brutal murder of the Doge, or leader, himself on the streets of Venice. But out of this crisis emerges a financial tool that transformed global capitalism: a tradable loan that offered transparency, accountability and formed the foundations of the modern bond market.

In a special live recording from New York, Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth dive into the origins of the world’s first tradable bond. Plus, why bonds remain the ultimate check on government power today and what 12th-century Venice can teach us about current market turmoil.

Further reading: A Fabulous Debt: How Bonds Made the Modern World by Robin Wigglesworth

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Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth

Senior Producer: Michela Tindera

Executive Producer: Kate Ford

Video Producer: Michael Saliba

Original music and sound design: Breen Turner

Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Gioumpasis

Podcast development: Laura Clarke

FT Global Head of Audio: Flo Phillips

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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