by Joe Jarvis
The Daily Bell
In Ancient Greece around 600 BC the commoners had fallen into heavy debt.
First they mortgaged their land, and delivered the majority of their crops to the lender.
But after a bad harvest, the farmers needed to borrow more in order to afford another planting.
With nothing left they used their freedom, and the freedom of their family as collateral.
Many were sold into debt slavery after defaulting on this second loan.