Origins of Bankruptcy
The first personal bankruptcy laws began in Great Britain more than four hundred and fifty years ago - of course, those statutes forced the bankrupt to infamous debtor’s prisons (could’ve been worse; the Roman Empire forced insolvent debtors to be slaves of their creditors). Throughout most of western civilization, inability to repay bills was considered the same as fraud and debtors were absolutely considered criminals - often sentenced to death. Things really didn’t start to change until the English economy began a period of expansion in the 1600’s.
