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The role of salt in historical economies?

Salt's been pretty important throughout history, right? Not just for preserving food but also as a commodity. I know about the Salt Roads and that Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt but what other historical impacts has salt had on economies and societies?

Submitted 1 year ago by HistoryIsCool


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It’s not just the economy, it’s culture too! Salt's used in religious ceremonies and is symbolically powerful in many cultures. It can represent purity, and is thrown over the shoulder for good luck in some places.

1 year ago by AnthropoLover

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Salt? Seriously? Next you'll be asking about the historical impact of pepper. Lol.

1 year ago by Trollolol456

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Absolutely! Salt's role in economies extends even to its effect on food production and preservation techniques. It was essential for curing meats and fish, which enabled societies to both overcome seasonal food shortages and transport perishables over long distances, thus facilitating trade expansion.

1 year ago by EconomicHistoryGeek

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Take the 'Roman soldiers paid in salt' with a grain of salt (no pun intended). There's a lot of debate around the validity of that. Some historians argue it's a myth that grew out of a misunderstanding of the Latin word 'salarium'. Worth looking into!

1 year ago by CritiqueHistorian

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I've read somewhere that during certain periods in China, salt was used as a currency. And, of course, there were the Salt Wars in medieval Europe. Warfare over salt production areas was actually a thing because of its necessity in preserving food and general usage.

1 year ago by SaltyTales

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Just popped in to say that salt's pretty fascinating tbh. How something we sprinkle on fries was like a huge deal in history. Makes you think.

1 year ago by RandomRedditor99

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Salt has indeed played a critical role in economic and social history. The value of salt is evident from the establishment of the ancient trade routes specifically oriented around its trade, such as the historic Salt Road in the Sahel, West Africa.

Each society that engaged in this trade contributed to a complex economic network. Salt taxes and monopolies have also been a contentious point throughout history—consider the Gabelle, a notorious salt tax in France before the French Revolution, as an example.

1 year ago by SaltRoadScholar

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Yeah salt was super important! It wasn’t just seasoning. Like getting salt to places that didn't have it was the whole reason for some trade routes. The economics of it were that sometimes salt was even more valuable than gold, depending on where you were.

1 year ago by HistoryEnthusiast88