professor Sven Beckert believes
that the origins of capitalism were in Aden
(the port-city of southern Yemen) in 1150 CE.
But I in my ignorant foolishness suggest
that capitalism could not have started without
the economic upheaval and stimulus
of the First Crusade, which connected France
directly with the 'Middle East',
via the four Frankish kingdoms of Palestine
The First Crusade (at the end of the 11th century)
would not have occurred
without the huge relief that the Year 1,000
had not brought the expected end of the world.
Many years ago I read somewhere
that the first capitalist enterprise
in Europe financed by shares or joint-stock
was (one or more of) the floating water-mills of Toulouse*.
*At the time a Cathar city. Did Cathars join in any of the Crusades ? Google etc. can tell me only about The Cathar Genocide, alias the Albigensian Crusade and its concomitant land-grab by Northerners.
No comments:
Post a Comment