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A bill of exchange (or just “bill”) is a document on which one party promises to pay another party a certain amount of money.
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Bill of Exchange Term Timeline in The Wealth of Nations
The timeline below shows where the term Bill of Exchange appears in The Wealth of Nations. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 2, Chapter 2
...remedied this problem by only issuing cash accounts to serious, reliable customers who pay their bills. This helped them keep an eye on their debtors and ensure they didn’t issue more...
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...got used to having access to credit. To compensate, they started “drawing and re-drawing” their bills, or repeatedly lending bills back and forth to cover their debts to banks. In the...
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...to its shareholders. It is “a great engine of state” because it pays the government’s bills and supports the country’s industries. Indeed, banking in general grows a country’s economy by putting...
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Book 4, Chapter 3
...of trade. Customs records are based on inaccurate valuations, and even if England pays more bills to another country than that country pays to England, this may be due to commerce...
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...or foreign, and issued credit (called bank money) for its real value. Soon, all large bills had to be paid in bank money—which was more secure because it couldn’t be debased,...
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