Prompt Cast
The Longest Lasting Debts in History
TLDR Governments can have debts that last for decades or even centuries, as seen in cases like Germany's payments after World War I and Haiti's debt to France. Some debts, like the Lekdijk Bovensdam Water Board's bond from 1648, have been paid for almost 400 years.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Sometimes debts can have extremely long terms, even lasting in perpetuity, as discussed in this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
01:40
Debts taken out by governments can last for decades or even centuries, as seen in cases like the U.S. Civil War pension and Germany's payments after World War I.
02:56
Germany made its last Treaty of Versailles payment on October 3, 2010, 91 years after the payment terms were first set.
04:16
Haiti agreed to pay 150 million French francs to France in 1825, which was reduced to 90 million francs, and they didn't manage to pay off the debt until 1947, while France still hasn't paid Haiti back; France also has an extremely long debt dating back to 1738.
05:40
The Leneau family in France still receives an annuity established 282 years ago, but the paperwork to collect it isn't worth their time; the British government also still has debts from the 18th century that they are repaying, but in 2014 they took action to buy back most of the bonds.
06:57
The Lekdijk Bovensdam Water Board in the Netherlands issued a bond in 1648 that paid 5% interest in perpetuity, and despite wars and revolutions, they have continued to pay interest on the bond for almost 400 years.
08:20
The value of the bond as a collector's item exceeded its financial value, and in 2015, a representative from Yale had to fly to the Netherlands to collect 12 years worth of interest, totaling 136.2 euros.
