Here is a very good (and beautifully illustrated) video about the 1623 currency crisis caused in the Holy Roman Empire (central Europe) by adulterating and debasing the currency.

YouTube: Video

The author makes the point that today’s central banks (including the Federal Reserve) are similarly debasing the currency by creating digital currency (Quantitative Easing) without increasing production of goods and services in the real economy.

I also watched the video, “The Debt Crisis That Ended the Ottoman Empire,” YouTube: Video

This video makes the same point as the book “The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000,” by Paul Kennedy. Great Powers (including Rome, which wasn’t in this book) that overextend themselves militarily eventually undermine their productive economies. If they continue to overextend themselves they borrow money to pay for the military which eventually bankrupts the government.

These two videos point out parallels between the past and today’s America.

Wendy