General Assembly resolution 69/247 established the Ad Hoc Committee on Sovereign Debt Restructuring, with instructions to "elaborate ... a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes." These invited remarks discuss the historical context for this effort, which spans at least two centuries. I make two primary points. First, for at least two centuries, reformers and market participants have attempted to solve the very same technical problems, typically by amending contracts rather than building institutions. ." [...]