Princeton University Press
States of Credit
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David Stasavage
About this book
States of Credit provides the first comprehensive look at the joint development of representative assemblies and public borrowing in Europe during the medieval and early modern eras. In this pioneering book, David Stasavage argues that unique advances in political representation allowed certain European states to gain early and advantageous access to credit, but the emergence of an active form of political representation itself depended on two underlying factors: compact geography and a strong mercantile presence.
Stasavage shows that active representative assemblies were more likely to be sustained in geographically small polities. These assemblies, dominated by mercantile groups that lent to governments, were in turn more likely to preserve access to credit. Given these conditions, smaller European city-states, such as Genoa and Cologne, had an advantage over larger territorial states, including France and Castile, because mercantile elites structured political institutions in order to effectively monitor public credit. While creditor oversight of public funds became an asset for city-states in need of finance, Stasavage suggests that the long-run implications were more ambiguous. City-states with the best access to credit often had the most closed and oligarchic systems of representation, hindering their ability to accept new economic innovations. This eventually transformed certain city-states from economic dynamos into rentier republics.
Exploring the links between representation and debt in medieval and early modern Europe, States of Credit contributes to broad debates about state formation and Europe's economic rise.
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Frontmatter
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Contents
vii -
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Illustrations
ix -
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Acknowledgments
xi -
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CHAPTER ONE. Introduction
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CHAPTER TWO. The Evolution and Importance of Public Credit
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CHAPTER THREE. Representative Assemblies in Europe, 1250–1750
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CHAPTER FOUR. Assessing the City-State Advantage
70 -
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CHAPTER FIVE. Origins of City-States
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CHAPTER SIX. Three City-State Experiences
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CHAPTER SEVEN. Three Territorial State Experiences
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CHAPTER EIGHT. Implications for State Formation and Development
156 -
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Bibliography
167 -
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Index
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