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Did William Paterson 1694 Bank of England charter make debt permanent?

Question asked:

“William Paterson's 1694 Bank of England charter made government debt permanent for the first time in history”
False
Confidence: High Checked on October 28, 2026

Summary

The 1694 charter granted to the Bank of England by William Paterson established the bank as a temporary institution with an eleven‑year term and a provision allowing the government to repay its loan and dissolve the charter thereafter. It did not make government debt permanent, nor was it the first instance of permanent government debt.

Sources 60 searched

sciencedirect.com
pages.ucsd.edu
wcfia.harvard.edu
quod.lib.umich.edu
elischolar.library.yale.edu
lse.ac.uk
british-history.ac.uk
  • The Bank of England | British History Online

    The goldsmiths, who detested the corporation that had broken in on their system of private banking, now tried to destroy the new company. They plotted, and on the same day they crowded to Grocers' Hall, where the Bank was located from 1694 to 1734, and insisted on immediate payment—one goldsmith alone demanding £30,000.

en.wikipedia.org
  • History of the British national debt - Wikipedia

    This syndicate soon evolved into the Bank of England, eventually financing the military campaigns of the Duke of Marlborough and later imperial conquests. The establishment of the bank was devised by Charles Montagu, in 1694, to the plan which had been proposed by William Paterson three years ...

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