From Farmers to Financiers

Financial systems have evolved over the centuries. The roots of many modern-day financial products can be found in use in many agricultural economies of the past. In the Muslim world, the contract of salaam helped farmers secure a price for their crops and allowed brokers and grain buyers to lock in a price for the future. Money has been in circulation for centuries, as has been credit. In this book we explore, albeit in brief, how each development or discovery of financial intermediation changes the face of an a small ecosystem consisting of farmers and craftsmen. We also attempt to examine the underlying principles upon which a system of credibility and credit develops.