Richard Cantillon (1680-1734) was dubbed by many as the founder of political economy. The key episode in Cantillon's life was his involvement with John Law and his monetary schemes. Cantillon was opposed to the inflationist theories of Law, but he understood how the schemes worked and what their fatal flaws were. Thus, he was able to create a large fortune from the Mississippi System and South Sea Bubble.
In the aftermath of these financial debacles, Cantillon wrote his famous Essai, his only surviving work. Shortly afterwards, Cantillon was murdered under mysterious conditions. The Essay on Nature of Commerce (Essai sur la Nature du Commerce en General) remained unpublished for more than twenty years. Part one is an analysis of the real economy of the isolated state loosely based on the pre-capitalist economy of his family's heritage, but also entrepreneurship. In part two, Cantillon laid out his pathbreaking analysis of the monetary economy, exposing the great error of mercantilism, that money is wealth. In part three of the Essai, Cantillon addresses the issues of foreign trade, exchange rates, and the role of banks.