9781422285626

14 Salt

mineral. Slowly, China’s rulers began to understand the economic importance of salt, and they imposed taxes on its consumption. Nomads moving westward carried salt to far-flung destinations, introducing it to Egypt, Greece, and other regions. Eventually, salt trade routes began to spread like a spider’s web. One of the most important routes crossed the Sahara Desert. Eventually, these trade routes linked Africa with Asia and Europe. Much of the trade centered on gold and salt: the Sahara was brimming in salt, but gold was scarce. On the other hand, sub-Saharan Africa was rich in gold, but poor in salt. Traders from each region created economies based on the gold-salt trade, often exchanging a pound of salt for a pound of gold. Africa was not the only region to benefit from the salt trade. Egyptian traders loaded their ships and sailed the Mediterranean and the Aegean Seas, bringing salt to Greece. The Romans established a lucrative salt route up the Tiber River, connecting the great city of Rome to the salt pans of Ostia. The Romans prized salt so much that officers cut a soldier’s salt ration in half if he fought badly, as this meant he was “not worth his salt.” In Venice, one of the wealthiest cities in Europe, traders traveled to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and exchanged exotic spices brought from Asia for salt. One of Venice’s most famous residents, Marco Polo, returned from China in 1295 and regaled his fellow Venetians with tales of the salt coins he found. Not only did people use salt as currency and a way to flavor and preserve food, but they also used it to heal wounds. (For more on this, see chapter three.) New World Salt Salt played an important role in the European exploration and colonization of the New World. The first Europeans to arrive in North America found Native Americans harvesting sea salt on the island of St. Maarten. Native Americans were no strangers to salt making. They had been harvesting it years before the Europeans arrived. The Onondaga peoples, who were members of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, produced salt crystals by boiling brine from salt