Restoring the King’s Creditworthiness in Troubled Times: The Mission of a Polish Prince in Genoa (1776–1777)

Abstract

The rumors that accompanied the arrival of Polish nobleman Prince Antoni Sułkowski in Genoa in 1776 offer an opportunity to examine, from a new perspective, the overall complexity behind the challenges a monarch faces when attempting to inspire and regain the faith of foreign investors after a liquidity crisis. Managing creditworthiness became crucial for the Polish king during a period characterized by increasing geopolitical tensions in which the appetites of powerful neighboring states undermined the survival of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, despite several economic and financial reforms implemented during those years, it was the growing uncertainty that made it difficult for both the king and the state to negotiate new loans, thus triggering a vicious cycle that contributed to the further weakening of Poland and led to its disappearance from the European political map.