How Salt Works

2023-04-09 17:00:10

Before industrialization it is very expensive and labor intensive to harvest a large amount of salt necessary for food preservation and flavoring. This makes salt a very valuable commodity. The whole economy is based on salt production and trade.

In the iron age, British people evaporate salt by boiling seawater or salt water with a light fire in a small clay pot with a bonfire. Salt of Rome needs to boil sea water with a pot with big lead. In ancient Rome, salt was used as a currency, and the roots of the words "soldier" and "salary" can be traced back to the Latin text related to transferring salt. In the Middle Ages, salt was brought along a specially constructed road for this purpose. One of the most famous roads is the old saltwalk from the salt mine in the north of Germany to the shipping port.

Salt tax and monopoly brought war and protest from China to parts of Africa. Anger for salt tax was one of the reasons for the French Revolution. In colonial India, only the British government can benefit from salt production of Indian people living along the coast. In March 1930 Gandhi elected to protest this monopoly and marched with his followers for 23 days. When he arrived at the beach, Gandhi made a large amount of salty mud in violation of the law. This parade is called Salt March to Dandi, or Salt Satyagraha. People throughout India started protesting with their own salt, and this march became an important milestone in the struggle for independence in India.

Salt production also played an important role in the early stages of the United States. The Massachusetts Bay colony has the first patent to produce salt in the colony and will continue to produce salt for the next 200 years. During the Civil War, the Alliance occupied an important Confederate Mining Center in the southern states, causing a temporary salt shortage. It remains important for many state economies, such as Ohio, Louisiana, Texas.

In addition to economics, salt has cultural and religious significance. It has been in use for a long time to cleanse things in Shinto, and Buddhists use salt to drive away evil. In the Jewish and Christian traditions, salt is used to purify people and things, as sacrifices, and to seal contracts. In the Old Testament and the New Testament there are lots of mention about salt. The most famous is Lot 's wife, after not obeying God' s order, it became a pillar of salt in Genesis. Today, the rock salt pillar of Sodom Mountain is called "Lot's Wife".

There are many proverbs on the use of salt. It is often traded as a slave, which is the origin of the expression "his salt is not worth." People who are "Salt of the Earth" are trustworthy, unpretentious people. On the other hand, "salted soil" refers to the ancient military custom of cultivating land using salt so that crops are not cultivated.

Salt is indispensable for the construction of the empire for the Romans. They developed salt grass in the expanding world. The first Roman Avenue, Via Sallaria, Salt Road was built to transport salt. The Roman army needed salt for that soldier and that horse. Sometimes soldiers even pay with salt. It is the origin of the word "salary" and is an expression of "a salt suitable for him". In fact, Latin sal is the only word in French, meaning pay. This is the origin of the word Sold.

Salt is economically important. The expression "not fit for his salt" arises from the custom of trading slaves in ancient Greece. The special salt for early Roman soldiers was called "salarium argentum" and was a pioneer of the English word "salary". Regarding salt, especially for food use, salt reference can be found in a worldwide language. For example, you can obtain other derivatives such as "source" and "sausage" from the Latin "sal". Salt is an important trade item carried by explorers.