Introduction

Nowadays, it is very common for cities, provinces and countries to have large debts with banks and investors. This is a collective debt that rests, so to speak, on all inhabitants collectively. The origins of this form of credit can be found in the late Middle Ages.

In 1420, the States of Brabant were in full conflict with their own Duke John IV. The latter threatened to bring the country back under his authority by force of arms. The reason for this was the scandalous treatment of Duchess Jacoba of Bavaria. Towns and nobles equipped troops to defend themselves. They borrowed the money for this from the Bruges burgher Jan van den Eede.

This letter gives a good impression of how loans worked in the late Middle Ages. In the end, not only the cities were guarantors, but also the individual citizens and residents. Merchants in particular had to be wary of having their property confiscated.