God, that reminds me of something insane, though not Rome related. In Medieval and Early Modern France, French subjects were obligated to buy salt as a means of raising revenue for the government.
If you can’t find a market, make one!
Repressive as a state monopoly, it was made doubly so by the government obliging every individual above the age of eight years to buy weekly a minimum quantity of salt at a fixed price.[1] Known as the Sel de devoir, translated to “salt duty”, citizens in the Pays de grandes gabelles region were forced to buy up to 7 kilograms (15lb) of salt per year. Furthermore, they were unable to use this salt for making salted products, which was considered illegal and could lead to charges of faux saunage, or salt fraud. Failing to adhere to this could lead to imprisonment and, if repeated, death.[3]
I kind of get the repressive government forcing the peasants to buy salt as a form of taxation. Although I don’t understand what was in for the government about prohibiting the use of salt for making salted food? Did they specifically want the people to be angry at them? Did they think that salted food was demonic or something? Were they just stupid?
I’m not well-versed on the subject, but my best guess would be to keep salt demand up. Supply and demand and all that jazz - by keeping the forcibly-sold salt from being used for salted goods, they prevent a rise in the supply of salted goods that would drop overall market demand from goods producers for salt, since the forcible sale to consumers was combined with a monopoly on salt sales.
They had an excess of salt and no customer to sell it to.
God, that reminds me of something insane, though not Rome related. In Medieval and Early Modern France, French subjects were obligated to buy salt as a means of raising revenue for the government.
If you can’t find a market, make one!
This is both hilarious and incredibly unsettling.
I kind of get the repressive government forcing the peasants to buy salt as a form of taxation. Although I don’t understand what was in for the government about prohibiting the use of salt for making salted food? Did they specifically want the people to be angry at them? Did they think that salted food was demonic or something? Were they just stupid?
I’m not well-versed on the subject, but my best guess would be to keep salt demand up. Supply and demand and all that jazz - by keeping the forcibly-sold salt from being used for salted goods, they prevent a rise in the supply of salted goods that would drop overall market demand from goods producers for salt, since the forcible sale to consumers was combined with a monopoly on salt sales.