1355 to 1366

Publication of the Treatise on money by Nicolas Oresme

This book is viewed as the pre­cursor of political eco­nomics. Fol­lowing a series of tech­nical con­sid­er­a­tions on coin minting, the Frenchman Nicolas Oresme sets the found­a­tions for what is con­sidered as the ancestor of mon­et­arist the­ories. He stresses that the Prince, by seeking to alter the metal content of coins, triggered price increases and des­troyed people’s con­fidence in trading. He also puts forward the idea that the Prince is not the owner of money, but that it belongs to the com­munity that uses it.