The majority of the first European settlers in the US were indentured servants, a form of labor debt that one willingly sells oneself into. Additionally, the initial settlements were funded by capital and new forms of business organization such as the joint-stock company. Most people are pretty well-informed about Indentured servitude and the trading companies, so this entry focuses mainly on the conditions responsible for the populating of the Americas with people from the Old World. ...

This is a reposting of a contribution to the "How did India go from Being a Rich Country to a Poor Country" thread.

Two of the earliest policies in India were to establish monopolies in key industries such as salt, tobacco, and essential spices, as well as to discourage manufacturing.

The most significant early economic policy of the British was the salt tax. It is said that in hot regions salt is worth more than gold. It was a necessity of life, which is...

One of the most fundamental reasons for the poverty and underdevelopment of Africa (and of almost all "third world" countries) is neo-colonialism, which in modern history takes the shape of external debt.

When countries are forced to pay 40,50,60% of their government budgets just to pay the interests of their enormous debts, there is little room for actual prosperity left.

International debtors are the modern colonialists, sucking the marrow of countries;...