The Arab upheaval and the world's biggest financial crisis after the Great Depression were almost simultaneous in their occurrence. The Mediterranean economies now face a dual challenge of a political and financial restructuring in the light of a shaky economic pedestal on which they stand. In...

Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Creditworthiness and credit risks -- Between promise and peril : credit and debt at the pearl fisheries of South India and Sri Lanka, c. 1800 / Sam Ostroff -- Lenders and borrowers in a non-capitalist economy : Rio de Janeiro in the early nineteenth century /...

"[A] magnificent history of money and finance."--New York Times Book Review“Convincingly makes the case that finance is a change-maker of change-makers.”--Financial TimesIn the aftermath of recent financial crises, it's easy to see finance as a wrecking ball: something that destroys fortunes...

Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Notes on contributors -- Gerald D. Feldman : an appreciation / Jeffrey Fear, Glasgow University -- Starting from scratch? : the beginnings of Banca Commerciale Italiana 1893-1894 / Peter Hertner, Marthin Luther University Halle Wittenberg -- Jewish financiers in...