Philip Burlamachi (1575 – 1644) was a major

financial intermediary A financial intermediary is an institution or individual that serves as a middleman among diverse parties in order to facilitate financial transactions. Common types include commercial banks, investment banks, stockbrokers, pooled investment funds ...

of King

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

, and is remembered as the inventor of the concept of a

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

. Burlamachi was born

Sedan, France Sedan () is a commune in the Ardennes department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. It is also the chef-lieu (administrative centre) of the arrondissement of the same name. Location The town is situated about 200 km from Paris, ...

. His family was of

Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

n origin, exiled descendants of the Lucchese Francesco Burlamacchi. He is known to have been in England for at least 30 years (since at least 1605) where he became naturalised by an Act of Parliament. He worked extensively with his brother in law Philip Calandrini who was his financial representative in Amsterdam; for example, in 1626 Philip offered to stand as guarantor for £58,400 for Charles 1.Acts of The Privy Council 1621, p. 92 In 1621 Burlamachi acted on behalf of the City of London Merchants, collecting money from foreign merchants and transferring it to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. ''"Whereas you have undertaken the collecting of such moneys as were thought reasonable and meet for the merchants strangers residing within the City of London and the outports, to contribute towards the expedition against pirates."'' He was entrusted the sum of £30,000 on behalf of the Privy Council with bills of exchange for the service of an army for the States of the United Provinces or 'direct the employment them as he shall think'. One thing that is certain and clear is the importance of Philip Burlamachi in regards to money and finance and his idea (the first of its kind) although he himself did concede "the proposal has been formerly made." Burlamachi’s idea was a national clearing bank: the first known proposal for a

, where the word ''bank'' is first used for "a bank for the payment of all large sums of which shall be negotiated". The idea was originally discussed in the year 1636 and 58 years later, in 1694, the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

was first formed. Burlamachi is also known for financing the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. and as Postmaster of Foreign posts from 1637 to 1642. During the

Anglo-French War (1627-1629) The Anglo-French Wars were a series of conflicts between England (and after 1707, Britain) and France, including: Middle Ages High Middle Ages * Anglo-French War (1109–1113) – first conflict between the Capetian Dynasty and the House of Nor ...

, Burlamachi loaned

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

the sum of £70,000, though the king's inability to repay him caused him to go bankrupt in 1633.Russell, C. "The Crisis of Parliaments: English History 1509-1660". Oxford University Press, 1971. p. 305

References

British bankers 1644 deaths Year of birth unknown French emigrants to the Kingdom of England People from Sedan, Ardennes French people of Italian descent 1575 births {{UK-business-bio-stub