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.