Restoring trust and credit through innovative governance in 17th-century Amsterdam

Abstract

Summary This article explores the important connections between trust, credit, and innovative governance in seventeenth-century Amsterdam. It combines theoretical insights from both (legal) history and sociology to arrive at a broader understanding of the nature and functioning of trust between creditors and debtors. This article also moves beyond the existing literature, empirically testing the effect of innovative legal institutions on economic relations by means of case studies taken from the rich archives left behind by the Desolate Boedelskamer. Through the creation of systemic trust, innovative governance in the form of efficient insolvency legislation helped to restore good faith between creditors and debtors, strengthening both Amsterdam’s economy and civic community.