ABSTRACT
If states were unable to increase ordinary tax revenue much, neither did they fare a lot better with extraordinary revenue. Several expedients assayed in this regard also had its limits and still fell short of needs in times of war. Wars at this time were becoming more and more expensive and this expense had to be catered for in some way. Debt, therefore, was the only realistic option. Although any debt would have to be paid off eventually, whereby taxes would continue rising in the end, debt was the only solution to the emergency situation; the problem of paying if off could be left for later. In the long eighteenth century, some states sidled into debt almost by inertia, as a simple continuation of their past procedure; others, on the contrary, struck out down this path when they became embroiled in larger wars than they had tackled hitherto. Others, finally, preferred to keep their heads down and avoid incurring bigger financial problems.
