Salt! one of the world's most sought-after commodities?

Question

i need to know about the dynamics of change salt caused. and the continuity across the world, and the causes and processes involved in major changes of these dynamics

basically why do some things change while other things stay the same? why isn't salt the most important thing anymore? why isn't it used at currency? why aren't their any wars over it?

what are some facts

Answer 1

Well, salt was never the most sought after commodity in the world. It was valuable in areas where they didn't have it, just as gold was more valuable in areas where they didn't mine it. But keep in mind that the opposite was true as well.

Salt is now such a common commodity because of how easy it is to obtain it. As transportation evolved it became easier to transport goods further distances.  

Answer 2

I can't answer in any great detail, but you might find these sites helpful:

http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/inf...

http://www.saltinstitute.org/38.html

http://www.saltbook.co.uk/the_history_of...

Use this a base: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_...

Hope these help a bit.

Answer 3

In Ancient Rome salt was once used as currency, before they had coins, and people were paid in salt. This was because salt was useful for so many things (preserving and seasoning food, skinning animals etc.) and easy to trade for anything else the people needed.

Answer 4

Salt was used as currency in the Roman Legions. Their payment for being soldiers was an allotment of salt and was called salarus, if I remember correctly. This became " salary". Also became a saying about " a man being worth his salt."

Salt was prized for taste and used in food preservation. It is one of the needed trace chemicals in life and helps to keep a person hydrated.

Eventually, it was figured salt could be obtained by commercially "distilling" it. What once was a rare occurrence of a salt field, now became more common and available. I am sure there were wars over salt but now it is one of the least expensive flavorings you can get.