ABSTRACT
The study of public finances has received considerable attention during the last decade because of its key role in European state formation by serving as an instrument to extract the capital needed for the realization of political goals from the economic systems that formed the base of all public finances. The existence of the credit-friendly assemblies, in turn, was facilitated by two conditions: first, limited geographic size; and, second, the presence of a group of politically influential merchants. The growing yields of silver and gold contributed to an increase in purchasing power and thus created better opportunities for the development of long-distance trade and the use of credit. In Czech historiography, theoretical and legislative fundamentals for the study of credit relations have been elaborated by Urfus who focused on the types of credit practices, usury and the changing amounts of interest.
