Essai sur la nature du commerce en general

Richard Cantillon's Essai sur la nature du commerce en général (Essay on the Nature of Trade in General), written around 1730-1734 and published in 1755, is considered one of the earliest treatises on modern economics. Cantillon distinguished between wage earners with fixed incomes and those without, placing entrepreneurs in the latter category due to the inherent risk and adventurous nature of their activities.12

The work influenced later economists like Adam Smith and Malthus, particularly in its treatment of population and its theory of relative wages. The Essai also explored theories of wages, prices, and interest, the circulation of currency, and the role of precious metals in the international economy. It is also believed to have inspired the Physiocrats' Tableau économique and was of pioneering importance in its treatment of money.1