1. The Confusion There exists a widespread confusion regarding the financial instrument known as a “bill of exchange.” Simply put, many authors are so confused about these instruments that they describe them going the wrong way around. Even authors that describe the basic direction of the transaction correctly sometimes err in their designations of the various roles in the transaction (drawers and drawees, payers and payees, etc). This state of affairs is so puzzling to the would-be student of financial history that they are liable to throw up their hands and abandon the attempt to understand bills at all.
Bills of Exchange, Medieval and Modern
Bills of Exchange, Medieval and Modern
Bills of Exchange, Medieval and Modern
1. The Confusion There exists a widespread confusion regarding the financial instrument known as a “bill of exchange.” Simply put, many authors are so confused about these instruments that they describe them going the wrong way around. Even authors that describe the basic direction of the transaction correctly sometimes err in their designations of the various roles in the transaction (drawers and drawees, payers and payees, etc). This state of affairs is so puzzling to the would-be student of financial history that they are liable to throw up their hands and abandon the attempt to understand bills at all.