ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book explains history of credit, spanning several centuries of human endeavor and focusing mainly on Western Europe and the United States. It describes that the Western credit system evolved in tandem with the development of the nation-state, in particular with the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the United States. The book defines the capability to govern three components-the power of the word, the sword, and the purse. It focuses on the history of Western credit, taken into consideration how the Western system became the global credit system. The book argues that modem credit evolved from a Western, largely European background, hence the thrust of our story. It also discusses the evolution of credit in Asia, Africa, or the Americas until these areas are themselves woven into the growing international system.
