Short answers, pulled from the story.
Bankruptcy derives from the Italian banca rotta, which literally means a broken bench. The term is often described as originating in Renaissance Italy, where a banker's bench was allegedly smashed if he defaulted on payment, though the existence of that ritual is doubted.
According to the historian al-Maqrizi, the Yassa of Genghis Khan mandated the death penalty for anyone who became bankrupt three times. This was one of the earliest codified legal responses to repeat insolvency.
Chapter 7 is a liquidation process that can discharge most debts within three to four months; the debtor surrenders non-exempt property and receives a discharge. Chapter 13 allows debtors with regular income to keep their property while following a court-approved repayment plan lasting three to five years.
An Australian bankruptcy ordinarily lasts three years from the date the debtor files a Statement of Affairs with the Australian Financial Security Authority. Failure to comply with trustee requests can extend that period by a further three or five years.
A consumer proposal is a negotiated settlement between a debtor and creditors in Canada, allowing the debtor to make monthly payments for up to five years rather than declaring bankruptcy. It is available only to debtors with no more than $250,000 in unsecured debt, excluding mortgage on a principal residence, and creditors have 45 days to accept or reject the proposal.
Student loan debt is very difficult to discharge in US bankruptcy proceedings. A debtor must satisfy all three elements of the Brunner test: proving they cannot maintain a minimal standard of living if required to repay, that their financial situation is likely to persist for most of the repayment period, and that they have made a good-faith effort to repay. Even then, a court may grant only a partial discharge.