Exhibitions Finance, Infrastructure and the Making of the Modern World

Merchant houses such as Baring Brothers played a crucial role in shaping modern infrastructure during the 19th century. Acting as key intermediaries between global capital markets and both advanced and emerging economies, these firms were responsible for the pricing, distribution, listing and underwriting of sovereign securities. Through these activities they mobilised vast investments for railways, ports, tram systems, harbours, public utilities and land development schemes across regions including Latin America, the Ottoman Empire, and parts of Asia.

Barings functioned as a ‘reputational intermediary,’ meaning that their financial credibility reassured investors and attracted capital. Their choice of infrastructure investment influenced the spatial and economic priorities of infrastructure development worldwide. By financing these mega-infrastructures, Barings embedded financial capitalism into the fabric of global infrastructure, laying the foundations for integrated markets and long-term economic transformation.

This exhibition, curated by Dr Tehreem Husain, explores how Baring Brothers played a transformative role in financing major infrastructure projects from the 19th century to the early 20th century on a global scale.

Barings invested heavily in transportation infrastructure, focusing on railways, ports, harbours and tram systems. Their projects spanned key regions, including in North America (USA and Canada), Latin America (Argentina, El Salvador, Uruguay), and India, shaping global connectivity and economic development.

Railways

Railways were central to economic and social transformation during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Railway networks acted as catalysts for industrialisation, market integration, and territorial expansion. Railways reduced transportation costs and time, enabling large-scale movement of raw materials, agricultural goods, and manufactured products, and connecting previously isolated regions to urban centres and ports.

Governments in capital-poor countries, constrained by limited domestic fiscal resources and shallow capital markets, relied exclusively on reputational intermediaries such as Baring Brothers to secure large-scale external finance for these capital-intensive project. Barings not only raised funds but also invested their own capital in numerous railway ventures worldwide, embedding financial capitalism into the infrastructure of global trade and development.

Ports

Ports have long served as vital hubs of economic activity and gateways for international trade and resource exchange. Closely linked with railways, ports enabled the seamless movement of goods between land and sea, driving commerce, industry, and urban growth. In colonial and postcolonial contexts, ports became focal points for infrastructure investment and state control, integrating commodity-exporting economies into global markets.

Sugar, for example, was a key commodity in global trade. Baring Brothers provided valuable financial services to sugar merchants - an important part of its business. Merchant banks like Barings were critical in this supply chain; they extended credit to commodity exporters and financed governments for the construction of port facilities, which were crucial for transporting goods to international markets.

The Baring Archive offers two striking examples of the role ports played in shaping global trade and infrastructure.

Harbours

Harbours have long served as essential nodes for international trade. The image shows a Buenos Aires Harbour Works Trust Certificate. Buenos Aires, however, was not a natural port - the shallow waters of the River Plate made disembarkation from ocean-going vessels difficult. In 1876, ships had to anchor as far as twelve miles offshore and unload cargo into lighters - a costly and, in high winds, dangerous process. Baring Brothers' agent Nicolas Bouwer estimated that "the cost of unloading at Buenos Aires is as great as the freight from England to Buenos Aires." Harbour works were therefore critical to reducing costs and enabling the growth of trade.

Trams

Urban transit networks, such as trams, have long been catalysts for real estate development and overall urban growth. By improving accessibility and reducing travel times, they stimulate residential and commercial expansion, shaping the modern cityscape.

Water infrastructure - such as canals, waterworks, drainage projects, and dams - is essential for supporting agricultural productivity, urban development and public health. In both colonial and post-colonial contexts, the development of water infrastructure reflected broader political and economic priorities and shaped the patterns of land use over time. Like other forms of infrastructure featured in this exhibition, the construction of waterworks required significant public and private capital. Baring Brothers was involved in the financing of a number of water infrastructure projects, the most important being the Buenos Aires Water Supply and Drainage Company.

Telecommunication infrastructure - particularly the development of telegraph and telephone networks - played a transformative role in shaping modern economies, governance, and global connectivity. The telegraph revolutionised long-distance communication in the 19th century, enabling rapid transmission of information across vast geographies. This was vital for facilitating financial and commercial transactions, co-ordinating military operations, and managing colonial administrations. The subsequent expansion of telephone networks further enhanced real-time communication, reinforcing the centralisation of state power and fostering integrated markets. Telegraph and telephone companies were often at the forefront of technological innovation and depended heavily on international capital.

Telegraph

The Mediterranean Electric Telegraph Company, a private enterprise founded in 1854 with a capital of £300,000, aimed to establish telegraph lines connecting Europe, Africa, Malta, the Ionian Islands, Greece, Constantinople, India and Australia. Shares were issued to the bearer at £10 each, with an annual interest rate of 5 percent guaranteed by the French and Sardinian governments.

Telephone Companies

The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) is among the most influential telecommunication firms in US and global history. Founded in 1885 as a subsidiary of the Bell Telephone Company, it was originally created to build and operate long-distance telephone lines across the United States. The following correspondence relates to the 1929 issue of US$25 million 4% collateral trust mortgage bonds for the company arranged by Baring Brothers and Kidder Peabody, with a note indicating their intention to bid as part of a syndicate with JP Morgan & Co.

Land development schemes have played a pivotal role in shaping economic, social and political landscapes throughout history. Traditionally, these initiatives involved the distribution, sale, or improvement of land and were employed for purposes such as colonial settlement, agricultural expansion, urban planning and infrastructure investment. The Baring Archive holds extensive records on the Curamalan Land Company, which managed a vast Argentinian estate spanning 600,000 acres.

Curamalan Land Company

On the 29^th October 1881, the Provincial Government of Buenos Aires granted a concession of 300,000 hectares of land to Don Angel Plaza Montero. This concession was subsequently acquired by Don Eduardo Casey, who in October 1884, established the company ‘La Curamalan’ with a capital of $4000,000 nacional. On 11 June 1888, the land was mortgaged for £500,000 sterling to secure an issue of First Mortgage 7% debentures arranged by Messrs Baring Brothers in October of that year. Initially, Barings issued its mortgage bonds in London; however, mismanagement of funds and the economic crisis in Argentina led to the company defaulting on their payments in November 1890. The mortgage was eventually redeemed in 1905, but the land was not sold until 1929. (Source: HC4/1/167/6 dated 31/08/1892).

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