By Steve Rhode
Many believe we live in a time when our creditors force us into money troubles. When we find ourselves with a debt burden, the common lament is that we are victims of moneylenders, payday loan outfits, credit card companies and financing scams.
But is that true?
To blame our current debt woes on the “credit card” would be naive at best and grossly mistaken at worst.
Throughout the ages, man has struggled with credit and debt and the earliest recorded writings demonstrate that humans have faced much more desperate times than these.
How can we ever make our financial lives better if we don’t understand the history of credit and debt and learn from our historical mistakes?
After reviewing this history of credit and debt you may be surprised how our forefathers brought us here and who is responsible for our modern way of life.
Who is the victim and who is the villain? You’ll have to tour all of this exhibit to find out.
Navigating the Exhibit
This exhibit is a retrospective on money and the development of credit. You will be taken on a 9,000-year journey to see how we arrived at our present-day financial times.
Each page contains a link at the bottom that will take you back to the table of contents, so you can explore those topics that interest you most. To get the full benefit of this exhibit, however, you should investigate the topics in the order listed.
The earliest section of the exhibit focuses on the development of money and currency, which, as you will see, very quickly led to credit and debt.
It would be wonderful to present you with the very first appearance of credit. But lending money pre-dates the written word, so this exhibit starts with what we do know.
How to Cite This Exhibit
“The History of Credit and Debt by Steve Rhode”. Copyright 2000-2009, GetOutOfDebt.org All rights reserved.
