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Alexander Fordyce

January 01, 1970

For the British naval officer and politician, see Alexander Fordyce (politician).

Alexander Fordyce (7 August 1729[2] – 8 September 1789) was an eminent Scottish banker, centrally involved in the bank run on Neale, James, Fordyce and Down which led to the credit crisis of 1772. He fled abroad and was declared bankrupt, but in time he used the profits from other investments to cover the losses.[3]

Print of Alexander Fordyce, dressed as the Macaroni Gambler with puns on Fordyce's last name (Four-Dice).[1]
Balcarres mansion in the trees – geograph.org.uk – 1465362

Early life edit

Alexander was baptized in Belhelvie as the youngest son of George Fordyce of Broadford (1663–Eggie, 1733), six times Provost of Aberdeen who was married twice, had many children but only a few survived.[4] He was (half)-brother to David,[5] Agnes, James,[4] and William Fordyce.[6] In 1746 he travelled in the Scottish Highlands.[7] He was educated by his uncle Thomas Blackwell, principle and lecturing common law at Marischal College and who became his brother-in-law in 1751. For some time he was in the hosiery trade at Aberdeen. In 1757, he left and found a situation as outdoor clerk to a banker named Boldero & Co at Lombard Street, London.[8] In 1759 his brother James arrived in London and became minister of the presbyterian congregation.

In 1768 he stood as a radical candidate for the borough of Colchester at the general election, but four people announced their endorsement in a newspaper.[9][10] The esquire spent nearly £14,000; but was defeated by 43 votes by Charles Gray. The interloper had spent money to build a chapel, a hospital and otherwise cultivate the borough. In June 1770, at the age of 42, he married Lady Margaret Lindsay, a 17-years-old daughter of James Lindsay at Balcarres House (Fife). He was appointed rector of the Marischal College, Aberdeen in the same year. Then Fordyce's gold watch was stolen somewhere on the highway; the robbers were executed early 1771.[11]

Banker and speculator edit

 
Dividend Day at the Bank of England, 1770
 
The Amsterdam Stock Exchange by P. Fouquet (1729–1800)
 
Engraving of East India House, Leadenhall Street (1766)

From 1757 he was a partner in the banking house Neale, James, Fordyce and Down on Threadneedle Street. Under his guidance the firm speculated freely, and gained by obtaining early intelligence of the signature of the preliminaries of the Peace of Paris in 1763. In 1764 Fordyce cooperated with Hope & Co. bankers in Amsterdam.[12] East India Company stock rose greatly in 1764–65. With the proceeds of these and other speculations in Change Alley Fordyce purchased an estate near Wimbledon now Grove House, Roehampton, where he lived magnificently.[13][14] He entered a series of fêtes, banquets and entertainment, which threw those of the royalty in the shade.[15]

In July 1770 Fordyce collaborated with two planters John and William Macintosh on Grenada and borrowed 240,000 guilders in bearer bonds from Hope & Co. Also Sir William Pulteney, Samuel Hannay, Samuel Hoare (1716–1796) and John Harman were involved.[16][17] Hope had undertaken commissions for Fordyce on the Amsterdam stock exchange involving dealings for the account in shares of the British East India Company.[18] Fordyce had been speculating successfully and managed to deceive his partners for a while; according to one biographer, "It is said he succeeded in quieting their fears by the simple expedient of showing them a pile of bank notes which he had borrowed for the purpose for a few hours."[19] The tide of fortune then turned; he lost heavily at the beginning of 1771 in the fluctuations of the market caused by the dispute with Spain about the Falkland Islands.[20][21][22] In 1771/1772 Fordyce bet heavily against EIC share price, which went awfully awry.[23] In May 1772 the EIC stock price rose significantly.

Financial crash and aftermath edit

 
Portman square

On Monday 8 June 1772, it became clear Fordyce failed.[24][25] The next day he disappeared to avoid debt repayment. His bank stopped payment on 10 June; meanwhile Fordyce absconded to France. Fordyce lost £300,000 shorting East India Company stock, leaving his partners liable for an estimated £243,000 in debts.[26] He had speculated away the bank's assets and lost the backing of the Bank of England.[27] On 13 June – in an advertisement – he was required to surrender himself and to make a full discovery of his estates and effects.[28]

On 12 June the news of the failure of Neale, James, Fordyce and Down reached Scotland.[29] After the weekend a bank run began on its Edinburgh branch.[30] As this information became public within two weeks eight banks in London collapsed.[31][32] According to Paul Kosmetatos "lurid tales abounded in the press for a time of merchants cutting their throats, shooting or hanging themselves".[33] On 24 June 1772 his goods, stocks and country house were seized by The Crown; the whole City of London was in uproar when Fordyce was declared bankrupt.[34] Neale, James, Fordyce and Down, the largest buyer of Scottish bills of exchange, were forced to declare insolvency.[35] Also the Ayr bank collapsed on 24 June.[36][37][38] The stoppage precipitated a crisis. Sir Richard Glyn and Sir Thomas Hallifax stopped payment temporarily, and a stoppage by Sir George Colebrooke came close.[39] On 25 July Fordyce was given seven weeks to appear for his creditors and come to an agreement.[40][41] Around 20 banks across Scotland and the Dutch Republic collapsed in the aftermath.

On request he was extradited by France and sailed from Boulogne-sur-Mer to Rye, East Sussex in September.[42] He went through an examination at the Guildhall and declared personal bankruptcy. His debt was about £100,000. In December he agreed a repay scheme with his creditors.[43] His sister-in-law published the ballad Auld Robin Gray. In 1774 he was forced to sell his estate to Sir Joshua Vanneck, 1st Baronet; the plaintiffs were Hope & Co and Hoare.[44][45][46] A sermon by Thomas Toller, minister sharing a church with James Fordyce,[4] published in London in 1775, describes Fordyce's fall. Fordyce was again the defeated candidate at Colchester in 1780.[47] He died after a long illness on 8 September 1789, at Mr. Mead's in George Street, near Portman Square. His widow married in 1812 Sir James Bland Burges.

Academic offices
Preceded by Rector of Marischal College, Aberdeen
1770–? 		Succeeded by
No record

Notes edit

  1. ^ Gambling on Empire: Colonial India and the Rhetoric of "Speculation" in British Literature and Culture, c. 1769–1830 by John C. Leffel
  2. ^ Family record of the name of Dingwall Fordyce in Aberdeenshire, p. 93
  3. ^ "Alexander Fordyce – the Macaroni Gambler | James Boswell .info".
  4. ^ a b c Gordon, Alexander (1889). "Fordyce, James" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 19. pp. 433–435.
  5. ^ Goodwin, Gordon (1889). "Fordyce, David" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 19. p. 432.
  6. ^ Bettany, George Thomas (1889). "Fordyce, William" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 19. p. 435.
  7. ^ William T. Steven (1978). The Life and Work of David Fordyce (1711–1751), p. 92 [ISBN missing]
  8. ^ A Handbook of London Bankers, p. 120
  9. ^ Religion, Revolution and English Radicalism by James E. Bradley, p. 300
  10. ^ Colchester People, Volume 1, p. 40
  11. ^ A Handbook of London Bankers, p. 120
  12. ^ Archief van de Firma Hope & Co. met verwante archiefvormers
  13. ^ Anglo-Dutch Commerce and Finance in the Eighteenth Century by Charles Wilson, p. 170–173
  14. ^ Family record of the name of Dingwall Fordyce in Aberdeenshire, p. 93
  15. ^ Stories of Banks and Bankers by Frederick Martin, p. 110
  16. ^ Amsterdam City Archives on 3 July 1770, NA 5075, nr. 426
  17. ^ "June in review | on the archival trail of William Macintosh".
  18. ^ At Spes non Fracta: Hope & Co. 1770–1815 by M.G. Buist, p. 21
  19. ^ "1772 two Hundred and Twenty-five Years Ago. Tea and Antipathy by Frederic D. Schwarz. October 1997, Volume 48".
  20. ^ Anglo-Dutch Commerce and Finance in the Eighteenth Century by Charles Wilson, pp. 170–173
  21. ^ Family record of the name of Dingwall Fordyce in Aberdeenshire., p. 93
  22. ^ The Perreaus and Mrs. Rudd: Forgery and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century London by Donna T. Andrew, p. 150
  23. ^ Wilson, C. (1941/1966?), pp. 120–121
  24. ^ The papers of Henry Laurens, Volume 8 by Henry Laurens
  25. ^ "The American Revolution".
  26. ^ Tyler Goodspeed: Legislating Instability: Adam Smith, Free Banking, and the Financial Crisis of 1772
  27. ^ "Bankrupt Biographies".
  28. ^ The Scots Magazine, pp. 473–479
  29. ^ History of Banking in Scotland
  30. ^ A History of Banking in All the Leading Nations, p. 190
  31. ^ "The East India Company: The original corporate raiders | William Dalrymple". The Guardian. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  32. ^ "The Credit Crisis of 1772 – Recession Tips". 26 November 2021.
  33. ^ Paul Kosmetatos, ‘Financial Contagion and Market Intervention in the 1772–3 Credit Crisis’, Cambridge Working Papers in Economic and Social History, Working Paper No. 21 (2014), p. 18.
  34. ^ Clapham, J. (1944) The Bank of England, pp. 246–247
  35. ^ Haerlemse Courant 27-06-1772
  36. ^ Clapham, J (1944), p. 163
  37. ^ Tyler Goodspeed: Legislating Instability: Adam Smith, Free Banking, and the Financial Crisis of 1772, p. 4
  38. ^ Douglas-Heron Bank
  39. ^ Cannan, Edwin (1889). "Fordyce, Alexander" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 19. pp. 431–432.
  40. ^ The Scots Magazine, pp. 473–479
  41. ^ Haerlemse courante 04-08-1772
  42. ^ Oprechte Haerlemsche courant 15-09-1772
  43. ^ "Turtles to Roehampton (And the Crisis of 1772) | on the archival trail of William Macintosh".
  44. ^ Information 1794, p. 64
  45. ^ The Town and Country Magazine, p. 669
  46. ^ Frank Brady, p. 37[permanent dead link]
  47. ^ A Poll for Members of Parliament for the Borough of Colchester, on Friday 8th of September 1780. Candidates. Isaac Martin Rebow Martin, Esq. Alexander Fordyce, Esq. Robert Mayne, Esq. and Sir Robert Smyth, Bart
Source

  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cannan, Edwin (1889). "Fordyce, Alexander". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 19. pp. 431–432.

Further reading edit

  • Koudijs, Peter and Hans-Joachim Voth (2011) Optimal delay: distressed trading in 18th c. Amsterdam
  • English Bankrupts 1732–1831: A Social Account

January 01, 1970
alexander, fordyce, british, naval, officer, politician, politician, august, 1729, september, 1789, eminent, scottish, banker, centrally, involved, bank, neale, james, fordyce, down, which, credit, crisis, 1772, fled, abroad, declared, bankrupt, time, used, pr. For the British naval officer and politician see Alexander Fordyce politician Alexander Fordyce 7 August 1729 2 8 September 1789 was an eminent Scottish banker centrally involved in the bank run on Neale James Fordyce and Down which led to the credit crisis of 1772 He fled abroad and was declared bankrupt but in time he used the profits from other investments to cover the losses 3 Print of Alexander Fordyce dressed as the Macaroni Gambler with puns on Fordyce s last name Four Dice 1 Balcarres mansion in the trees geograph org uk 1465362 Contents 1 Early life 2 Banker and speculator 3 Financial crash and aftermath 4 Notes 5 Further readingEarly life editAlexander was baptized in Belhelvie as the youngest son of George Fordyce of Broadford 1663 Eggie 1733 six times Provost of Aberdeen who was married twice had many children but only a few survived 4 He was half brother to David 5 Agnes James 4 and William Fordyce 6 In 1746 he travelled in the Scottish Highlands 7 He was educated by his uncle Thomas Blackwell principle and lecturing common law at Marischal College and who became his brother in law in 1751 For some time he was in the hosiery trade at Aberdeen In 1757 he left and found a situation as outdoor clerk to a banker named Boldero amp Co at Lombard Street London 8 In 1759 his brother James arrived in London and became minister of the presbyterian congregation In 1768 he stood as a radical candidate for the borough of Colchester at the general election but four people announced their endorsement in a newspaper 9 10 The esquire spent nearly 14 000 but was defeated by 43 votes by Charles Gray The interloper had spent money to build a chapel a hospital and otherwise cultivate the borough In June 1770 at the age of 42 he married Lady Margaret Lindsay a 17 years old daughter of James Lindsay at Balcarres House Fife He was appointed rector of the Marischal College Aberdeen in the same year Then Fordyce s gold watch was stolen somewhere on the highway the robbers were executed early 1771 11 Banker and speculator edit nbsp Dividend Day at the Bank of England 1770 nbsp The Amsterdam Stock Exchange by P Fouquet 1729 1800 nbsp Engraving of East India House Leadenhall Street 1766 From 1757 he was a partner in the banking house Neale James Fordyce and Down on Threadneedle Street Under his guidance the firm speculated freely and gained by obtaining early intelligence of the signature of the preliminaries of the Peace of Paris in 1763 In 1764 Fordyce cooperated with Hope amp Co bankers in Amsterdam 12 East India Company stock rose greatly in 1764 65 With the proceeds of these and other speculations in Change Alley Fordyce purchased an estate near Wimbledon now Grove House Roehampton where he lived magnificently 13 14 He entered a series of fetes banquets and entertainment which threw those of the royalty in the shade 15 In July 1770 Fordyce collaborated with two planters John and William Macintosh on Grenada and borrowed 240 000 guilders in bearer bonds from Hope amp Co Also Sir William Pulteney Samuel Hannay Samuel Hoare 1716 1796 and John Harman were involved 16 17 Hope had undertaken commissions for Fordyce on the Amsterdam stock exchange involving dealings for the account in shares of the British East India Company 18 Fordyce had been speculating successfully and managed to deceive his partners for a while according to one biographer It is said he succeeded in quieting their fears by the simple expedient of showing them a pile of bank notes which he had borrowed for the purpose for a few hours 19 The tide of fortune then turned he lost heavily at the beginning of 1771 in the fluctuations of the market caused by the dispute with Spain about the Falkland Islands 20 21 22 In 1771 1772 Fordyce bet heavily against EIC share price which went awfully awry 23 In May 1772 the EIC stock price rose significantly Financial crash and aftermath edit nbsp Portman square On Monday 8 June 1772 it became clear Fordyce failed 24 25 The next day he disappeared to avoid debt repayment His bank stopped payment on 10 June meanwhile Fordyce absconded to France Fordyce lost 300 000 shorting East India Company stock leaving his partners liable for an estimated 243 000 in debts 26 He had speculated away the bank s assets and lost the backing of the Bank of England 27 On 13 June in an advertisement he was required to surrender himself and to make a full discovery of his estates and effects 28 On 12 June the news of the failure of Neale James Fordyce and Down reached Scotland 29 After the weekend a bank run began on its Edinburgh branch 30 As this information became public within two weeks eight banks in London collapsed 31 32 According to Paul Kosmetatos lurid tales abounded in the press for a time of merchants cutting their throats shooting or hanging themselves 33 On 24 June 1772 his goods stocks and country house were seized by The Crown the whole City of London was in uproar when Fordyce was declared bankrupt 34 Neale James Fordyce and Down the largest buyer of Scottish bills of exchange were forced to declare insolvency 35 Also the Ayr bank collapsed on 24 June 36 37 38 The stoppage precipitated a crisis Sir Richard Glyn and Sir Thomas Hallifax stopped payment temporarily and a stoppage by Sir George Colebrooke came close 39 On 25 July Fordyce was given seven weeks to appear for his creditors and come to an agreement 40 41 Around 20 banks across Scotland and the Dutch Republic collapsed in the aftermath On request he was extradited by France and sailed from Boulogne sur Mer to Rye East Sussex in September 42 He went through an examination at the Guildhall and declared personal bankruptcy His debt was about 100 000 In December he agreed a repay scheme with his creditors 43 His sister in law published the ballad Auld Robin Gray In 1774 he was forced to sell his estate to Sir Joshua Vanneck 1st Baronet the plaintiffs were Hope amp Co and Hoare 44 45 46 A sermon by Thomas Toller minister sharing a church with James Fordyce 4 published in London in 1775 describes Fordyce s fall Fordyce was again the defeated candidate at Colchester in 1780 47 He died after a long illness on 8 September 1789 at Mr Mead s in George Street near Portman Square His widow married in 1812 Sir James Bland Burges Academic offices Preceded byJohn Gray Rector of Marischal College Aberdeen1770 Succeeded byNo recordNotes edit Gambling on Empire Colonial India and the Rhetoric of Speculation in British Literature and Culture c 1769 1830 by John C Leffel Family record of the name of Dingwall Fordyce in Aberdeenshire p 93 Alexander Fordyce the Macaroni Gambler James Boswell info a b c Gordon Alexander 1889 Fordyce James Dictionary of National Biography Vol 19 pp 433 435 Goodwin Gordon 1889 Fordyce David Dictionary of National Biography Vol 19 p 432 Bettany George Thomas 1889 Fordyce William Dictionary of National Biography Vol 19 p 435 William T Steven 1978 The Life and Work of David Fordyce 1711 1751 p 92 ISBN missing A Handbook of London Bankers p 120 Religion Revolution and English Radicalism by James E Bradley p 300 Colchester People Volume 1 p 40 A Handbook of London Bankers p 120 Archief van de Firma Hope amp Co met verwante archiefvormers Anglo Dutch Commerce and Finance in the Eighteenth Century by Charles Wilson p 170 173 Family record of the name of Dingwall Fordyce in Aberdeenshire p 93 Stories of Banks and Bankers by Frederick Martin p 110 Amsterdam City Archives on 3 July 1770 NA 5075 nr 426 June in review on the archival trail of William Macintosh At Spes non Fracta Hope amp Co 1770 1815 by M G Buist p 21 1772 two Hundred and Twenty five Years Ago Tea and Antipathy by Frederic D Schwarz October 1997 Volume 48 Anglo Dutch Commerce and Finance in the Eighteenth Century by Charles Wilson pp 170 173 Family record of the name of Dingwall Fordyce in Aberdeenshire p 93 The Perreaus and Mrs Rudd Forgery and Betrayal in Eighteenth Century London by Donna T Andrew p 150 Wilson C 1941 1966 pp 120 121 The papers of Henry Laurens Volume 8 by Henry Laurens The American Revolution Tyler Goodspeed Legislating Instability Adam Smith Free Banking and the Financial Crisis of 1772 Bankrupt Biographies The Scots Magazine pp 473 479 History of Banking in Scotland A History of Banking in All the Leading Nations p 190 The East India Company The original corporate raiders William Dalrymple The Guardian 4 March 2015 Retrieved 8 September 2020 The Credit Crisis of 1772 Recession Tips 26 November 2021 Paul Kosmetatos Financial Contagion and Market Intervention in the 1772 3 Credit Crisis Cambridge Working Papers in Economic and Social History Working Paper No 21 2014 p 18 Clapham J 1944 The Bank of England pp 246 247 Haerlemse Courant 27 06 1772 Clapham J 1944 p 163 Tyler Goodspeed Legislating Instability Adam Smith Free Banking and the Financial Crisis of 1772 p 4 Douglas Heron Bank Cannan Edwin 1889 Fordyce Alexander Dictionary of National Biography Vol 19 pp 431 432 The Scots Magazine pp 473 479 Haerlemse courante 04 08 1772 Oprechte Haerlemsche courant 15 09 1772 Turtles to Roehampton And the Crisis of 1772 on the archival trail of William Macintosh Information 1794 p 64 The Town and Country Magazine p 669 Frank Brady p 37 permanent dead link A Poll for Members of Parliament for the Borough of Colchester on Friday 8th of September 1780 Candidates Isaac Martin Rebow Martin Esq Alexander Fordyce Esq Robert Mayne Esq and Sir Robert Smyth Bart Source nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Cannan Edwin 1889 Fordyce Alexander Dictionary of National Biography Vol 19 pp 431 432 Further reading editKoudijs Peter and Hans Joachim Voth 2011 Optimal delay distressed trading in 18th c Amsterdam English Bankrupts 1732 1831 A Social Account Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alexander Fordyce amp oldid 1170328273, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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