To me is amaizing that some Mexican Paper Money has even a line in English! See, a couple of English or US companies issued notes and they did not translated their names into Spanish. Here are a couple of examples.
It is not unusual for notes to have English on them even when issued in non-English speaking countries. Many Middle Eastern and Asian countries issued notes with English on them.
even that surprises me considering the additude alot of countries have about the english language. I havent ventured far from home, but 1 of the last times i went into canada, the stores would not sell any food that was in english - not even bi-lingual. I cant remember what part of canada i was in, but i know it wasnt a border town. It is a bit surprising to me that alot of countries around the world do use ensligh on their notes. Im not one to complain if its english i can read it alot easier then the home langauage of the issuer lol
It was done for ease of commerce. English is the universal language of business. If you wanted westerners to do business in your country, it was helpful if they could understand your money. Your point is well taken, however. One example of a country that removed the English from their notes is Libya after the coup that put Qaddafi in power.
Politics are definitely a big part of any monetary issue, that has been stated, proven and reiterated by History! English has been the language of trade probably since the 17th century, before it was Spanish and French, before probably Latin and before Greek and Phoenician! Who knows!
During that time there were several railroad construction projects going on in Mexico, my Great Great Grandfather was a civil engineer working there during that time and kept copious notes which I still have from his days there. Unfortunately save but for a small number of low value centavos I have nothing monetarily in his stash from the Mexican adventure. But yes, foreign firms were heavily involved in these projects - and it was an interesting time as the Mexican Revolution was going on.
