There are many ways to look at the world, as it is, as it was and as it could be. If you look at the world as is was you need to find some very common elements which all societies need to live and evolve. A very interesting book is called Salt – A World History written by Mark Kurlansky published by Walker and Company, NY, 2002. For generations of people, the table salt which is found on many tables was one of the most important drivers of the world’s economy. Although salt is found almost everywhere in the world  for centuries salt was desperately searchd for, traded for and fought for.

In the book, there is descriptions of the making of cheese, to make cheese salt is needed. Those places in Italy and France which have the wonderful combination of dairy herds for milk or goat cheese plus salt mines to make the cheese. Over the years, the ability to make the cheese has made certain areas the expert places for great cheese. Think of Parmesan cheese and the aging of cheese. The aging of cheese is the slow absorption of salt. It takes one year before the wheels of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to age, if it sits for 2 years the cheese is dry and too salty.

From the meat side of the dairy, salami, prosciutto were made, with salami being derived from the Latin verb to salt. Salt was needed for meat – salted hams from the Basques. Most of Europe was in religion catholic, the Pope decided on Fridays people can not eat meat from the land, but from the sea was good. The meat from the sea was fish – first it was sardines, herring and then cod. All the fish to be preserved needed salt although cod needed less salt. In geopolitical terms – the north had the fish, the south had the salt, salt works needed to be either acquired or built.

The book continues through the ages, but for brevity sakes, a jump will be made to salt in the US. After the War of Independence, the British ban on the sale of salt to the US  caused salt to rise from 50 cent a barrel to $8.00 a barrel. This resulted in American inguenity a Cape Cod carpenter named Reuben Sears invented a roof that slid open and shut on oak rollers, allowing sea salt to made efficiently from March until November. When it rained or in the evenings, the roof was closed, when the sun shone the roof was open. Cape Cod was soon the center of salt production in the US.

Away from the salt ocean, governors encouraged people to find salt mines and one of them was founded in Onondaga in upstate New York. Eventually, the Erie Canal was built to bring the salt to the city. We often think of buffalo in the west, but there was a Great Buffalo Lick on the northern bank of Great Kanawha in West Virgina for deer, buffalo, cows need salt. The salt production from this site, plus pigs from Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana help make Cincinnati a major commercial center. in the 1830’s one third of all western hogs were packed in Cincinnati.

In the Civil War, salt production in the north was 12 million bushels, in the south was 2.365,00 million barrels. Armies need salt for medicine, in Napoleon’s retreat from Russia thousands died because salt was not available to treat minor wounds. Salt was needed for the soldiers as well as the livestock – the horses of the cavalry, the workhorses to hauled supplies and artillery and the herds of cattle to feed the men. In time, the Union recognized the salt advantage and part of the North’s strategy was to destroy the South’s salt works. Soon the price of a 200-pound of salt in the south went from 50 cents prior to the war to over $25.00 in 1863.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, your perspective on history begins to change reading these types of books. An everyday ingredient becomes scarce and what do people do? The price rises and with perspective, the South had an idea but poor execution in a long war, they were bound to lose. When you think of your investments, think about what are the basic building blocks and are there alternatives? In theory, given what we know today, it should be easier to find alternatives.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.