How the U.S dollar became No 1

How the dollar became no 1

That the U.S has been the world's biggest economy for over 70years isn't the only factor making the dollar the no. 1 currency.The dates 1917,1944/5,1973 also played their parts.

   1917 was the year Britain, then the world's most powerful nation borrowed money from the U.S.;British finances had been decimated by WW1 huge costs;a war where German U-boats damaged British shipping and unsettled its unrivalled Royal navy.these borrowings began a shift in dollar usage:the higher the demand a currency attracts in global trade and lending ,the higher the value .

      Then came 1945,perhaps the most talked about year in history.Much of Europe lay in ruins aftermath WWII;misery,collapsed banking system and zero credit .Though the Marshall plan got Europe back on its feet,in relation to Trade relations,the U S emerged stronger in ways hitherto unimagined :a one-sided trade off of epic proportions:As U.S goods  and companies flooded Europe,not to mention U.S credit,the demand for U S dollar became permanent:the British pounds had been usurped by the greenback Europe was no longer protectionist to American goods and services 

    The inaugural Bretton woods conferences in 1944/1945 would make the U.S dollar official legal tender in return for U.S aid to war-ravaged Europe:goods and services Over 100b in today's money.

   1973.the year of the oil embargo ;Arab countries refusing to sell oil to the West in protest of U. S support for Israel during the 1973 Yom kippur war.However,Irony played an ace ,the U. S dollar emerging stronger than ever.In a deal for unmitigated oil supplies to the West,the U.S agreed to supply modern arms to Saudi Arabia on demand.This deal of course was in dollars.oil,then being the engine of the U.S economy,guaranteed dollar dominance as Europe bar the Soviet Union followed America's lead.

Though nothing lasts forever,don't be surprised if dollar dominance continues in the next 20years:the dominance of U S banks  in  global finance,being another factor.A monarch cannot rule forever but he or she can rule for 70years.Which monarch comes to your mind?