Historical tidbits

[Mister D]

I enjoy chatting about history so I thought I'd create a thread where people can leave random comments and factoids. I'm sure they will sometimes lead to interesting discussions. I'll start it off and check in tomorrow.

I had thought that sugar, as far as the European diet was concerned, was a New World import. In fact, sugar was grown in Lebanon, used in the Crusader states, and imported from the Levant by Italian merchants. Its use in Medieval Europe was rare but it was not unknown.

[southwest88]

Yah, nearly as amusing as the association in Western media of Swiss, Bavarian, Italian, etc. chocolate. Just like the potato, maiz, tobacco (the New World variants) & lots of other flora, these are part of the Columbian Exchange. The scales are still tipped in favor of the Old World, I believe - although there are likely members thereof who would dispute that.

& so it goes. Offhand, the Italian city-states imported a lot of spices to Europe from the land routes from Indian subcontinent, China, Moluccas, Spice Islands, etc. Which were strangled by the rise of Islam, which was the proximate cause (as I recall) of the European state interest in finding a direct marine route to the sources of the spices. The timing was fortunate, from the European POV - map-making, navigational aids, sextant, accurate timepieces (?) were ready to be kick-started into @ least a preliminary proto-Industrial Age explosion of tech.

[iustitia]

FDR was the president of 14 corporate directorships. After WWI he founded a corporation with German politicians and businessmen called the United European Investors ltd., which profited off of German hyperinflation and invested in war products like explosives, poison gas, and so on.

[PolWatch]

Great idea for a thread! I look forward to learning a lot of interesting things.

[Ravens Fan]

Great idea for a thread! I look forward to learning a lot of interesting things.

My thoughts exactly.

[GrassrootsConservative]

George Washington wasn't actually America's first president, only the first president to serve as we know it now. A man named John Hanson was the first president of America, he served a one year term after being elected in 1781.

[Captain Obvious]

Carp are not native to North America, the invasive species was introduced to North America probably through trade routes through the Orient.

[Captain Obvious]

The sea pig does not have a brain.

[Mister D]

Yah, nearly as amusing as the association in Western media of Swiss, Bavarian, Italian, etc. chocolate. Just like the potato, maiz, tobacco (the New World variants) & lots of other flora, these are part of the Columbian Exchange. The scales are still tipped in favor of the Old World, I believe - although there are likely members thereof who would dispute that.

& so it goes. Offhand, the Italian city-states imported a lot of spices to Europe from the land routes from Indian subcontinent, China, Moluccas, Spice Islands, etc. Which were strangled by the rise of Islam, which was the proximate cause (as I recall) of the European state interest in finding a direct marine route to the sources of the spices. The timing was fortunate, from the European POV - map-making, navigational aids, sextant, accurate timepieces (?) were ready to be kick-started into @ least a preliminary proto-Industrial Age explosion of tech.

Unfortunately, syphilis and small pox were also part of that exchange. Interestingly, the potato and the tomato were both considered suspect as foodstuffs when they were first introduced by the Spanish to Europe. Only later did they become staple crops.

Yes, part of the motivation behind exploration was to outflank Islam.

[Mister D]

Carp are not native to North America, the invasive species was introduced to North America probably through trade routes through the Orient.

Funny. I always thought of the carp as American.