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Modern finance and accounting more-or-less started in Renaissance Italy. Double-entry bookkeeping meant merchants and bankers kept good books. Good books and go
by wahern 4y ago
Modern finance and accounting more-or-less started in Renaissance Italy. Double-entry bookkeeping meant merchants and bankers kept good books. Good books and good accounting made negotiable instruments like bills of exchange (e.g. checks) and letters of credit reliable--at least when drawn on or issued by Italian banks and their partners around the continent--which meant travelers and traders didn't need to carry alot of currency or gold (dangerous), or resort to barter. Negotiable instruments in turn built up foreign exchange markets. Foreign exchange markets grew foreign financing. Larger, more liquid financing markets meant it became easier to borrow against assets (i.e. security). And on and on.
Much of modern transactional banking and securities law became settled during that period, eventually becoming nearly universal across disparate legal regimes around the world.
- PyWoody 4y agoSounds interesting. I never would have assumed double-entry bookkeeping went back that far. Any good book suggestions?
- el-salvador 4y agoA 1914 English translation of his 1499 Italian books from archive.org: https://archive.org/details/ancientdoubleent00geij https://archive.org/details/ancientdoubleent00geij
- briandear 4y agoThe Medici family supposedly invented it. Very fascinating family. https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/how-the-medici-family-created-and-lost-their-banking-empire/ https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/how-the-medici-family-...
- puszczyk 4y agoI enjoyed reading The Verge by P. Wyman https://www.amazon.com/Verge-Reformation-Renaissance-Forty-Years-ebook/dp/B08P1MF813 https://www.amazon.com/Verge-Reformation-Renaissance-Forty-Y... It describes changes that happened in war, mining, shipping, trade in (mostly western) Europe in the last decades of XV century. The common theme is finance and it includes a chapter on how bank houses became bigger and could secure much bigger loans (which allowed bigger states to wage wars, or rich individuals to bid for top titles ;)). Fun read.
- firstcommentyo 4y agoWelcome to MMXXII. About X centuries ago "we" imported the Hindu-Arabic numerals. I know, Latin numbers carry the myth of being more "safe" but really you should try the arabian numerals. They revolutionized math and eased reading text alongside. thumbs-up
- rossvor 4y agoIt's a convention to use roman numerals for centuries in some european countries. Parent poster probably just done it out of habit.
- puszczyk 4y agoThanks, I wasn’t aware it is not a “global” convention and wasn’t sure what does the parent make fun of. One learns every day :) I will be more careful about this when writing centuries in English the next time. Also this poster on quora have a detailed list https://www.quora.com/Why-do-we-write-century-numbers-with-Indo-Arabic-numerals-in-English-if-other-European-languages-use-Roman-numerals https://www.quora.com/Why-do-we-write-century-numbers-with-I...