Editing Rothschild family (section)

=== English branch ===
{{Main|Rothschild banking family of England}}
[[File:Waddesdon Manor and Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 649037.jpg|thumb|A Rothschild house, [[Waddesdon Manor]] in [[Waddesdon]], Buckinghamshire, England, donated to the National Trust by the family in 1957]]

The Rothschild banking family of England was founded in 1798 by [[Nathan Mayer Rothschild]] (1777–1836), who first settled in [[Manchester]] but then moved to London. Nathan Mayer von Rothschild, the third son of [[Mayer Amschel Rothschild]] (1744–1812), first established a textile jobbing business in Manchester and from there went on to establish [[N M Rothschild & Sons]] bank in London.<ref>[https://www.rothschildarchive.org/business/n_m_rothschild_and_sons_london/ Brief history of the London house, N M Rothschild & Sons] at Rothschild Archive website, 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020</ref>

During the early part of the 19th century, the Rothschild family's London bank took a leading part in managing and financing the subsidies that the British government transferred to its allies during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. Through the creation of a network of agents, couriers and shippers, the bank was able to provide funds to the armies of the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]] in Portugal and Spain, therefore funding the war. The providing of other innovative and complex financing for government projects formed a mainstay of the bank's business for the better part of the century. N M Rothschild & Sons' financial strength in the [[City of London]] became such that, by 1825–26, the bank was able to supply enough coin to the [[Bank of England]] to enable it to avert a [[market liquidity|liquidity]] crisis.

[[File:Mentmore Towers from angle.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mentmore Towers]], one of the many Rothschild mansions built in [[Rothschild properties in the Home counties|Buckinghamshire]]]]
Nathan Mayer's eldest son, [[Lionel de Rothschild]] (1808–1879), succeeded him as head of the London branch. Under Lionel, the bank financed the British government's 1875 purchase of [[Egypt]]'s interest in the [[Suez Canal]]. The Rothschild bank also funded [[Cecil Rhodes]] in the development of the [[British South Africa Company]]. [[Leopold de Rothschild]] (1845–1917) administered Rhodes's estate after his death in 1902 and helped to set up the [[Rhodes Scholarship]] scheme at the [[University of Oxford]]. In 1873, [[de Rothschild Frères]] in France and N M Rothschild & Sons of London joined with other investors to acquire the Spanish government's money-losing [[Rio Tinto Group|Rio Tinto]] copper mines. The new owners restructured the company and turned it into a profitable business. By 1905, the Rothschild interest in Rio Tinto amounted to more than 30 percent. In 1887, the French and British Rothschild banking houses loaned money to, and invested in, the [[De Beers]] diamond mines in South Africa, becoming its largest shareholders.

The London banking house continued under the management of [[Lionel Nathan de Rothschild]] (1882–1942) and his brother [[Anthony Gustav de Rothschild]] (1887–1961), and then to [[Sir Evelyn de Rothschild]] (1931–2022). In 2003, following Sir Evelyn's retirement as head of N M Rothschild & Sons of London, the British and French financial firms merged under the leadership of [[David René de Rothschild]].