First, a little history. We’ve had a Europe-wide currency system before: it was introduced by the Romans in about the year 880, then expanded by Charlemagne, and brought to Britain by William the Conqueror. Throughout Europe we used to have the pound (librium) – the lira in Italy and the livre tournoise in France.
In the 15th century the Italians invented the modern banking system based on double-entry accounting. This led to a rapid growth in bills of exchange.
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