#worldhistory #history #viral #shorts #foryoubr #humanhistorybr #knowyourhistorybr #historynerdbr July 1, 1944 – Bretton Woods, New Hampshire]br br Rain lashes the windows of the Mount Washington Hotel. Inside, the air is thick with tension. Delegates from 44 nations sit around long tables, papers scattered, voices raised.br br The war is still raging. Europe lies in ruins. But here, in this quiet mountain town, something extraordinary is unfolding.br #viral #history #worldhistory #ancienthistory br A new world is being built—not with tanks or treaties, but with ledgers, currencies, and trust.br br The Bretton Woods Conference has begun.br br World War II was destruction on an industrial scale. Cities reduced to rubble. Economies shattered. Currencies worthless.br br But amid the devastation, a question loomed: How do we rebuild the world’s financial system?br br The answer would come not from generals, but from economists.br br This video covers the establishment of the dollar as a global reserve and the roots of modern finance. Learn about the agreement that shaped the modern IMF and the beginning of major financial crisis.br Before the war, global finance revolved around gold and the British pound. But Britain was broke. Its empire crumbling.br br The United States, untouched by invasion and supercharged by wartime production, emerged as the new economic titan.br br Factories hummed. Banks swelled. The dollar surged.br br At Bretton Woods, the U.S. proposed a radical idea: make the dollar the world’s reserve currency, backed by gold.br br It was bold. Controversial. But it worked.br br The dollar became the anchor. Other currencies pegged themselves to it. Stability returned.br Out of Bretton Woods came two institutions that would define global banking:br br The International Monetary Fund (IMF): to monitor exchange rates and lend to struggling nations.br br The World Bank: to fund reconstruction and development.br br These weren’t just bureaucracies. They were lifelines.br br War-torn countries could borrow. Invest. Rebuild.br br For the first time, global finance had rules. Oversight. A safety net.