Editing Government bond (section)

==History==
{{Financial markets}}
The [[Dutch Republic]] became the first state to finance its debt through bonds when it assumed bonds issued by the city of [[Amsterdam]] in 1517. The average interest rate at that time fluctuated around 20%.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}{{Dubious|date=April 2025|reason=The Dutch Republic didn't exist in 1517}}

The first official government bond issued by a national government was issued by the [[Bank of England]] in 1694 to raise money to fund a war against France. The form of these bonds was both lottery and annuity. The Bank of England and government bonds were introduced in England by [[William III of England]] (also called William of Orange), who financed England's war efforts by copying the approach of issuing bonds and raising government debt from the [[Republic of the Seven United Netherlands|Seven Dutch Provinces]], where he ruled as a [[stadtholder]].

Later, governments in Europe started following the trend and issuing [[perpetual bond]]s (bonds with no maturity date) to fund wars and other government spending. The use of perpetual bonds ceased in the 20th century, and currently governments issue bonds of limited term to maturity.

During the [[American Revolution]], in order to raise money, the U.S. government started to issue bonds - called loan certificates. The total amount generated by bonds was $27 million and helped finance the war.<ref>{{Cite web|title=investopedia.com|url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/warbonds.asp|access-date=2023-08-03|website=investopedia.com}}</ref>