The History of Debt: Monarchs, Markets, and Mankind

💰 What if debt isn’t just about money—but power, rebellion, and the fate of empires?
Uncover 5,000 years of financial warfare—from Mesopotamian temples to Wall Street—in a book that rewrites everything you know about owing and owning.
⚡️ Shocking Truths You’ll Discover:
✅ Ancient "Debt Jubilees" – Kings erased debts to stop revolutions ✅ 7
✅ Colonial blood money – How loans funded slavery and conquest ✅ 137
✅ Medieval Church vs. Bankers – A holy war over interest rates
✅ Large Print Edition! Crystal-clear text for marathon reading sessions.
"If you owe the bank $100,000, the bank owns you. If you owe $100 million, you own the bank."
– American Proverb (A truth that toppled economies)
💣 Explosive Revelations:

• Hammurabi’s Code (1750 BCE) capped interest at 20%—but temple lenders found loopholes (Ch. 2) 7
• Kublai Khan punished debt-refusers with death—while inventing paper money ✅ (Ch. 4) 13
• England’s national debt began in 1694 to fund wars—spawning the Bank of England ✅ (Ch. 16) 13
• Post-slavery economies trapped workers in company-store debt (Ch. 18) 7

🌍 Journey Through Debt’s Hidden Battlefields:
CHAPTER 1: DEBT’S ORIGINS
Why barter is a myth—credit came first 7.
CHAPTER 6: SOLON’S REVOLT
How wiping debts saved Athens from civil war.
CHAPTER 9: ISLAMIC FINANCE REVOLUTION
Zero-interest loans (qard al-hasan) that built trade empires.
CHAPTER 15: COLONIAL CRUELTY
Forced labor disguised as "resource debt".⚖️ Debt: The Ultimate Weapon of Control

• Mesopotamian kings used debt forgiveness to prevent uprisings (Ch. 2) ✅ 7
• The Catholic Church excommunicated bankers for "usury" (Ch. 10)
• 19th-century empires collapsed after defaulting on loans (Ch. 19) 7
• IMF-style debt traps began in ancient Egypt (Ch. 3) 9

📜 A Reader’s Verdict:
"This book shattered my illusions! Chapter 2 on Hammurabi’s debt laws and Chapter 15 exposing colonial ‘credit systems’ were revelations. Large print made dense history accessible—I devoured it in days." – Prof. Elena R., Economic Historian🔑 Why You’ll Feel Rage & Awe:

• Viking thralls entered slavery over unpaid grain loans (Ch. 10)
• Renaissance bankers funded wars with double-entry bookkeeping (Ch. 13)
• Industrial-era ‘company stores’ trapped miners in perpetual debt (Ch. 18) ✅