Prior to the war, the Spanish government struggled to balance its finances. The Treasury's leeway in 1871 was virtually non-existent. It was unable to buy gold or silver to earn solvency because it would require further loan requests from international financiers, either the House of Rothschild or Paribas. Under Amadeo I, the Treasury received a new loan of 143,876,515 pesetas. 72.34% of the loan was provided by the Rothschild's Houses of Paris and London, for which Alphonse Rothschild and his Spanish agent Ignacio Bauer were awarded the Great Cross of Charles III. However, the loan only briefly patched the financial gaps. Soon, the Treasury required another loan to cover the staggering public debt.