Finance
Most of the available capital in the confederate states was invested in slaves or cotton land. During the war there was no way to monetize it to support the war effort. The weak banking system was unable to handle the financial demands and largely collapsed. The main international bankers in Europe were reluctant to finance the Confederacy, so it turned to smaller houses and speculators who bought $15,000,000 in Confederate bonds with gold. The gold was used to buy warships and supplies to be brought in by blockade runners. By highlighting Britain's economic links to the Northern states and pointing to the potential dangers of meddling in the conflict, financiers in the City of London provided Parliament with a powerful economic justification for the policy of neutrality.
Read more about this topic: Economy Of The Confederate States Of America
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