What is the term for getting rid of debt by simply ignoring it?

Question

For bonus points - when was it that France decided to do this while England dug down and paid it off? (It was after some war...maybe Spanish Succession? Or Austrian?) I'm not trying to "quiz you", but I learned these and forgot them. xD
I need it for a big public forum debate tomorrow, so timeliness is appreciated. :D

Thanks for the help so far, I'll try to clarify. This is the time period of, say, the War of the Quadruple Alliance - 1720-ish. Give or take fifty years. xD
And I know it doesn't work, thats the point. This wreaked France as most nations would not lend them money, while England had a good credit standing. I just...need...the freaking word. xD

Answer 1

You cannot get rid of debt by ignoring it. You can ask for the protection of the law via the bankruptcy process, and it may or may not be granted.

When it involves an entire nation, it is the creditor nation that has to take the action of forgiving the debt for the debt to go away, not the ignoring of the debt by the debtor nation. The creditor nation could elect to seize debtor property (which would probably be seen as an act of war) to collect the debt.

What you may be referring to is England paying off its debt from World War II to the US, while France and other nations still have not. But it's not a case of these countries ignoring the debt, rather, it's that the US opted to let it go.

P.S.: Lassez faire means 'hands off', or the idea that individuals acting in self-interest and the competition that results is a better regulator of an economy that government interventionist policy. It didn't apply specifically to debt.

Answer 2

Are you thinking about laissez faire? 1825. May not be what you were looking for but need a better reference.

If you find one, post again and we'll try to help you with it.

Answer 3

irresponsible

Answer 4

lazy sorry a## motherf#####