Unpaid Debts and Doubts about Trust

Abstract

Obligations and trust were fundamental to the way in which individuals thought about credit and the market economy — at least those of the middling and better sort who have left writings by which we can judge their beliefs. But the language of trust and sociability, as much as the cultural formation of creditworthiness, must be understood in the context of experience. The way in which credit was interpreted was affected by experience, and at the same time had a tremendous influence on the way it was mediated between historical agents. How householders negotiated, maintained or broke trust in their dealings with each other must be studied in order to understand how social interaction and change took place. In practical terms the business of the world depended on the trust which householders extended to their neighbours and to others they did business with; the expansion of the market made this trust problematic. The increasing complexity of credit networks, combined with the need to compete for customers’ business to make a profit, meant that such trust broke down very often. In addition, because people’s ability to pay their debts could be affected by others’ defaults, many who were too far in debt broke and failed in their business. But people still had to be trusted despite the increase in defaults because it was ubiquitous in all social interaction.

Its one of the best peices of morral wisedom to our estates, to live within our bounds and so pay our debts because wee contract none, he that once overshoots on hope of a good crop, to repay and cleare, in my mind runs into the dirt to better his shoes by thoughts of wiping them, if god raise my expense at one time beyond my income, I will shorten it if I can to come even.

(Ralph Josselin, Diary, 1663)¹

[Debts] so put a man out of aime that he cannot set his state in order, but lives and dyes intangled and pusled with cares and snares; and after a tedious and laborious life passed in a circle of fretting thoughts, he leves, at last, instead of better patrimonie a world of intricate troubles to his posteritie’

(Henry Wilkinson, The Debt Book 1624)²