Gold and silver have played important roles during periods of conflict and have protected people but also protected nations and conferred power. HSBC Chief Precious Metals analyst James Steel has written a fascinating piece for this month’s Alchemist about this.

The article takes us through the major wars and conflicts from the 15th century to modern times. Each major war serves as a reminder that success is as much down to the management of bullion and finance as it is about the role of gold and silver.

…the way bullion was used, moved, stored and shifted had profound effects on long-term economic or military success. Indeed, the role of gold and silver in wars not only in influenced the shape of the world today, but laid the foundations for the modern financial system.

When managed effectively we see how important gold and silver were for victorious countries. Central bankers and politicians of today should use the following historical examples of military successes to appreciate the importance of a strong source of bullion and conservative financial planning both in and out of peacetime.

Though not a guarantor of victory, gold played an important function in the great European rivalries and struggles up to and throughout the 20th century, as well as in civil wars and revolutions, notably the American Civil War, and the Spanish and Russian Revolutions.

Below we bring some of our favourite examples from Steel’s article.

How Spain showed you can mismanage too much gold

Spain’s conquering of the New World brought the country immense wealth thanks to the ‘massive influx’ of precious metals. Spain became a superpower after the 15th Century, funneling much of the wealth into military endeavors and troops.

However, as Steel explains the new found wealth was not utilized enough in the domestic economy: