The Jewish Banker Who Got Revenge on the Russians

The Jewish Banker Who Got Revenge on the Russians

[Music] two bankers one Jewish American and one Japanese met in 1904 and their goal was to take down the entire Russian Empire and just 18 months later Russia had actually surrendered japan had won and that Jewish banker well he got a sweet retribution this isn’t just a story about war it’s about finance how loans bonds and quiet power reshaped the course of history this is a story of how two bankers changed Russia and Japan forever our story begins in 1904 there was no warning no formal declaration of war the Japanese admiral ordered his fleet to launch a surprise attack on the Russian squadron at Port Arthur the assault crippled several Russian ships and trapped the rest inside the harbor japan had placed Port Arthur under naval blockade denying any Russian Pacific fleet the freedom to maneuver japan didn’t waste a second taking full control of the sea you see they studied their enemy they knew that the longer the delay the more it risked being overwhelmed by Russia’s sheer numbers if reinforcements from the west arrived it could prevent any landing from succeeding so by March they had already begun landing troops on mainland Asia the first army moved swiftly and in secret as it crossed from Japan to the Korean peninsula the plan was clear advance north through Korea into Russia held Manuria and then fight fiercely and win at all costs the first land battle soon followed after days of bloody and bitter fighting the Japanese forces beat the Russians and this marked more than just a battlefield between two military powers it was the first time in generations that an Asian power had defeated a European one in modern warfare but you see this was just the beginning because both nations now mobilized their full strength the war would not be quick each side prepared for a long and costly struggle that would decide control of East Asia the Japanese dug in and fortified their positions and meanwhile the Russians were constrained by logistical nightmares the single track Trans Siberian Railway was the only means of transporting troops and supplies to its far east but eventually they would arrive and Japan couldn’t afford to lose its window of opportunity and they had to act immediately now while much has been written about the tactics and battles of the Russo Japanese War it was finance that ultimately shaped its outcome you see behind the scenes Japan’s ability to wage war depended not just on its armies or fleets it depended on its financial systems at the center of that system stood the Bank of Japan the Bank of Japan had already played a key role in Japan’s rapid modernization in just a few decades it helped the country transform from a feudal aristocracy to an industrial powerhouse though officially a private institution it operated under government control in 1883 it was granted a monopoly over the country’s money supply its structure and rules were modeled on British banking practices in 1885 it issued Japan’s first national bank notes and just two years later Japan adopted the gold standard now this was a rapid transformation and it allowed Japanese financial transactions to be recognized globally and enabled the country to borrow money from international markets these reforms laid the groundwork for Japan to finance a modern war without strong monetary control and access to global credit Japan’s campaigns across the land and the sea would have faltered but in this war the Bank of Japan would have the chance to show its true power and the person leading the charge was none other than Takahashi Koreo one of Japan’s most accomplished financial minds at the time japan’s war was going well militarily but financially it was hanging on by a thread takahashi was touring the world looking to finance this war in any way he could but all he found were closed doors you see from a very young age Takahashi Korakio had prepared himself for success he studied English extensively and even spent time in the United States to improve his fluency his early career spanned a wide range of financial institutions he worked for the banks in London India and China and even held roles in Japan’s Ministry of Finance and Education at one point he left Japan entirely to manage a silver mining venture in Peru now that project ultimately failed but the setback wasn’t on his mind for long because his government wanted him back to serve as a Bank of Japan’s vice president it was in this role that he was sent to do a critical task to secure financial backing for Japan’s expanding military budget and once the war with Russia began he was laser focused on making sure they could afford to fight it his mission saw him travel to the secretary first to the United States and then to Britain he was determined to secure foreign loans to keep Japan’s war machine running however his requests for funding were always falling on deaf ears he struggled to convince banks to back Japan and with no clear success he prepared to return home that was until he stumbled upon Jacob Schiff you see Schiff had been one of the most influential bankers in the world he was the head of [ __ ] Lobe and Co a major American investment firm and he had immense sway over international finance now the two men had met in April 1904 at an official dinner in London you see Takahashi was candid and frustrated when he was speaking to Schiff about his fears without a loan Japan’s war could stall now Schiff listened to Takahashi very carefully but you see Jacob Schiff had his own reasons to care shiv had personally despised the Russian emperor Nicholas Sar II you see just a year earlier Russia had seen a wave of violent anti-Jewish pilgrims the most infamous of these was in Kishimev these state tolerated massacres forced thousands of Jewish people to flee the Russian Empire schiff himself was Jewish and he had watched the suffering of his people with deep anger he saw in Japan more than just a business opportunity he saw his chance for revenge so Schiff agreed to help and he would eventually become one of Japan’s most important financial allies his name would unlock capital Japan needed from American and European markets working through his firm [ __ ] Lobo and Co schiff helped Japan raise an astonishing $200 million in loans from American markets in 1904 at the time this was an incredible sum of money today that would be worth billions and billions of dollars the size shocked the global financial community i mean the loan covered half of Japan’s total war expenses it was also the first major Wall Street loan ever extended to Japan beyond investing his own capital Shift also persuaded powerful allies on Wall Street to join in this included big names such as the First National Bank and the National City Bank jacob Schiff’s credibility had opened doors that were closed to Takahashi just even a few weeks earlier he urged Takahashi to tell his government to double down the war effort and not to worry about the money personally he had hoped that a Japanese victory would permanently weaken or even destroy the Tsarist regime now on the other side of the world the war was in full swing thanks to the sudden influx of foreign capital Japan’s military could now expand its operations with speed and scale in May of 1904 the Second Army landed on the Quanung Peninsula the force vastly outnumbered the Russians stationed to defend the narrow corridor they stormed the fortified Russian positions and secured a major victory at the Battle of Nanchchan the wind cut off Port Arthur from the rest of the Russian forces in Manuria around the same time two more Japanese divisions landed on the eastern coast of Korea forming the Third Army they marched southward with orders to capture Port Arthur the other division soon followed forming the fourth army it landed further up the Manurian coast to press the advantage now the Japanese had aimed to coordinate a multi-pronged assault with overwhelming manpower and momentum and by late May the vastly larger Japanese force circled Port Arthur this siege would become a very significant moment in the war you see while Japan surged ahead with the new funding and military gains Russia was struggling under the weight of financial exhaustion even before the war began the empire’s economy had been in trouble by the end of 1902 Russia’s balanced budget had already began to collapse the tax system was already stretched to its limit and the Treasury faced a pretty deep crisis when the war came Russia had very few options they could either print money and risk inflation or turn to foreign markets for loans on high interest i mean neither seemed feasible as the conflict dragged on Russia’s military setbacks mirrored its financial ones in 1905 Port Arthur finally lost after a long and costly siege however despite this loss Russian reinforcements had arrived in full strength the Russian army regrouped for a massive counteroffensive it would be at Mukden that the final and largest battle of the war would commence there three Russian armies consisting of 330,000 men with over 1,500 guns faced off against three Japanese armies totaling only 270,000 men and just over a,000 guns but despite these numbers the Japanese pushed forward and the city of Mukden fell to Japan this occurred just as Japan had already won a stunning victory at sea the Japanese Navy destroyed most of Russia’s Baltic fleet in a single engagement i mean this defeat on both land and sea was devastating to Russia at home unrest was growing even more protests and strikes spread across Russian cities thesar faced immense pressure from all sides i mean Japan had won decisively thesar had no option but to settle for peace the war had officially ended with the Treaty of Portsmouth in September 1905 just 18 months after that fateful meeting between Jacob Schiff and Takahashi japan emerged as the clear victor it gained control of the Liaong Peninsula and the strategically vital Port Arthur but not only that they also gained a huge economic asset and that was the South Manurian Railway which connected the region to deeper parts of Asia as an added bonus Japan took the southern half of the Sakalin Island russia agreed to withdraw from southern Manuria that was later returned to China but most critically of all Japan’s control over Korea was now formally recognized a major step in its grander ambition towards becoming an imperial power the treaty had been brokered in the United States president Theodore Roosevelt played a key diplomatic role he would later be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the peace he brokered the first American to receive this kind of honor the war would mark a turning point in the global balance of power for the first time in modern history an Asian nation had not only stood toe-to-toe with the European Empire but actually defeated it a new era in which the East could challenge the West on equal footing had begun japan’s victory over Russia alarmed the world it signaled that the West had now taken Japan seriously with this win it had secured its place amongst great powers and this is all thanks to the quiet work of financiers with the ability to move more money than the GDP of some nations and amongst these bankers none stood taller than Jacob Schiff his role in securing critical war loans for Japan made headlines across the world in recognition for his contribution Schiff was invited to Japan and the emperor personally received him an honor rarely granted to foreigners he became the first non-Japanese person in history to be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun but this wasn’t the end of his involvement in this saga you see Russia’s defeat in the war had triggered massive unrest back at home the humiliation of losing to an Asian power shattered public confidence in their emperor this content had already been brewing over economic inequality political repression and widespread poverty this defeat was the spark that ignited a power keg you see a revolution had followed thousands died in bloody crackdowns and street battles thesar was forced to make limited reforms but it wasn’t enough to save the monarchy in the long run the cracks in the Tsarist systems were permanent 10 years later the World War followed and everyone learned the wrong lessons from this war russia wouldn’t even survive the war and the cracks would break wide open in the October Revolution of 1917 allegedly it is here again that we find Jacob Schiff’s shadow his name had already been whispered in political circles now as a force behind Russia’s unraveling it became widely believed that Schiff helped fund the Russian revolutionaries so when the February revolution of 1917 finally toppled the Romanovs Schiff saw that as long awaited justice and just months later the Boleviks would seize control and plunge Russia into a civil war that killed millions zar Nicholas II would himself meet a brutal end where he and his family were executed by Bolevik forces apparently Jacob Shiff had allegedly helped the communists seize power by giving them to the tune of $20 million for the triumph of Bolecheism in Russia as for Takahashi Coro his role in the war would not even be the highlight of his legacy he would become the seventh president of the Bank of Japan and just two years later he would step up to be Japan’s Minister of Finance an office that he would hold six times and in 1921 he was elected prime minister for the country i mean Takahashi would play a pivotal role in shaping Japan’s economic modernization his bold and unorthodox policies would later go on to help the nation to quickly recover from the Great Depression amongst economic circles his approach to public spending and monetary easing had earned him a reputation as canes before canes now Takahashi’s legacy would end with some tragedy his outspoken resistance to Japanese imperialism abroad and refusal to bow to the military’s demands would make him a pretty big target in February 1936 Takahashi would be assassinated by right-wing officers determined to seize control of Japan’s future his death would mark the end of Japan’s experimentation with democracy and the beginning of its descent into fascism two unlikely bankers one Japanese and one Jewish American came to reshape the balance of global power an endeavor not done with bullets or bayonets but with gold bonds and an understanding that wars are not won on the battlefield but in the quiet corners of finance as it turns out the fate of even empires can hang on something as simple as a signature on a check it’s wild when you think about it that behind Japan’s stunning victory over Russia its rise to great power and even the fall of Thesar stood financiers who most people had never even heard of while generals make headlines it was two bankers and a chance meeting who quietly tilted the world order now if you’ve made it this far drop a dollar sign in the comments and let me know what you think about this war how do you think that history would have turned out differently if these two people had never met also who do you think is more important in wars the army generals or the bankers also do subscribe to the channel if you haven’t already and like the video and also if you haven’t already check out this video that I made about the Wallenbergs it’s very interesting i think you’ll really enjoy it thanks so much for watching and always remember real power is often invisible

Two bankers met in 1904 and changed the course of world history forever.
This is the untold story of how a Jewish-American financier and a Japanese central banker secretly orchestrated Russia’s defeat in the Russo-Japanese War – not through military strategy, but through the power of international finance.

Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lnI8fk0pjWNqLeV7EKNh6qCJOjR0wsrl0BcDpUKF1z8/edit?usp=sharing

Music credit:
– Tom Fox – Waiting For A While (JHTNR2262)

***⌚️Timestamps:

0:00 –
0:34 – The Bank of Japan
3:52 – Two Bankers Meet
7:22 – The Tide of War
11:07 – Aftermath Of The War

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