Category: Economics

The Role of Jewish Financiers Within Venice, Italy During the Renaissance and the Reason Christians Became Capable of Charging Interest Upon Loans

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During the Renaissance, Jews were tolerated in Venice, Italy because they could provide an invaluable service which Christian financiers and merchants were forbidden to do which was to charge interest upon a loan, a concept referred to as “usury”, derived from the Latin term “usura” which means “use” or “interest”. Christians considered charging interest to be a sin and therefore could not partake in this economic exchange. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church’s Medieval laws against usury acted as a major obstacle for the development of finance within Europe during this period. Jews were not technically permitted to lend capital with interest, but those who did relied upon a convenient clause found within the 23rd chapter of Deuteronomy of the Christian Bible which states that lending to a brother at interest was forbidden but that a stranger was a different matter all together. These Jewish lenders interpreted this scripture as a means to provide the ability to lend to Christians, as Christian’s were not considered brothers of the Jews in a religious context during this period, but they would still not be capable of lending finance to other fellow Jews, as these members of society were viewed as brothers regardless of familial ties. Eventually Christian’s were able to circumvent the prohibition of charging interest, primarily because of Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs within Italy during the Renaissance. Medici was able to evade Christian usury legislation as Jewish bankers did because of a clever device of trade which made profit upon exchanging multiple currencies rather than interest rates alone. No “interest” paid to Medici meant no sin had been committed. Medici’s business model took a small commission for each currency conversion rendered, with the size of the loan directly impacting the commission of the person who lent it

The Influence of Genghis Khan Throughout Asia and Europe During the 13th Century

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Mongolian Khagan, which means “Khan Of Khans” or “king of kings” within Mongol Khel, the Mongolian language, perhaps more commonly translated as “emperor”, Temüjin Borjigi who is more well renowned for his title than his name, a title which is often mistaken for his name, Genghis Khan (pronounced “jeng-giss” with “jeng” sounding like “Jenga” and “giss” sounding like “kiss” with a hard “s”) killed over 40,000,000 (40 million) people during his reign as the Mongolia Khagan. This staggering death toll was the result of widespread military campaigns launched across Asia and Eastern Europe, in which entire cities were systematically destroyed. These conquests led to the formation of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous land empire in history. Borjigi’s various strategies (e.g. psychological warfare, mass executions, scorched Earth tactic for villages encountered etc.) helped reshape the geopolitical landscape of the east and west during the 13th century, turning Mongolia into the centralized power of the period. Despite this brutality, Borjigi’s legacy also included positive benefits (e.g. advancements in trade, advancements in communication, advancements in governance etc.), systems which went on to direct future empires. Borjigi’s advancements included the promotion of the Silk Road trade network, the creation of a postal relay system reaching across vast distances of territory, and the implementation of merit based leadership over blood ties, ideas which fostered connectivity and administrative efficiency throughout the empire. Additionally, Borjigi unified multiple warring tribes and enforced legislation which highlighted and punished corruption when exposed. Borjigi’s empire was not solely predicated upon conquest however, as his ideas also helped maintain control, structure, and cohesion within its vision for a constantly expanding empire, something extremely difficult to successfully accomplish. The way the Borjigin dynasty governed, most especially its methods of organizing logistics, enforcing legislation, and leading people, continues to echo within the frameworks of modern governments during the modern day via foundational principles which continue to shape how states manage infrastructure, enforce law and order, and mobilize populations. From the codification of legal frameworks to the strategic coordination of supply chains and communication networks, the Borjigin dynasty laid legacy groundwork capable of transcending its period of use and relevance. Because of this, Borjigin not only drew up and rearranged world borders, he changed how empires think and act as they expand outward

The Period When Human Begins Developed a Throw Away Cultural Mindset

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Human beings have arguably been a throw away culture, or at the very least mindset and culture, since 1892 when bottle caps were first introduced. The trend has become more and more prevalent to the point where we now replace an entire transmission rather than a gasket. This shift reflects the rise of planned obsolescence, in which products are intentionally designed to have limited lifespans and/or be extremely difficult or expensive to repair. As manufacturing has become cheaper and mass production more efficient, the economic incentive to discard and replace overtook the values of maintenance and longevity. In all industries (eg. electronics, automotive, fashion etc.), repair has been sidelined in favor of convenience and profit. The result is a global surge in waste, with millions of tons of usable materials ending up in landfills each year. Fortunately, there is an expanding movement advocating for the right to repair one’s own possessions which is now acting as a counterbalance to this disposable mindset

The Origin of Google’s Name

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Google’s original name was “BackRub”, a reference to its early algorithm which analyzed backlinks to assess their importance. Backlinks are the hyperlinks pointing to webpages on the internet (e.g. navigation from one website to another etc.). Developed at Stanford University in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, BackRub laid the foundation for PageRank, the ranking system which would later power the Google search engine. As the project matured, Page and Brin began to recognize and understand that the name BackRub did not reflect the vast scope of their ambitions for the company as the duo wanted a name that could capture the enormity of the data their engine could and eventually would process. This is why the name “Google” was chosen in 1997. Interestingly, during a domain search for “googol.com”, a mathematical term which represents 10¹⁰⁰ (10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or 1 with 100 0’s after it) the friend who registered the domain name for Page and Brin accidentally typed “google.com” instead of “googol.com”. Originally this was an error but Page and Brin believed the misspelling to be simpler, more memorable, and visually cleaner therefore deciding to keep the name as it was

How Credit Scores Work Within North America

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Credit is a complex issue, influenced not only by individual financial behavior but also by institutional frameworks, socioeconomic conditions, and evolving market dynamics that shape how credit is accessed, evaluated, and/or sustained. 35% of ones credit score is due to payment history; paying on time is crucial to having and maintaining a healthy credit score. 30% of ones credit score is due to what they owe, primarily in relation to how much credit they have and how much credit they owe (eg. allotted $25,000 and used $20,000). Going over 30% of ones allotted credit is a red flag for creditors and lowers ones score. 15% of ones credit score is due to the length of time in which the person has had some form of credit which is why it’s important to start and build up credit early in adult life. 10% of ones credit score is due to how many times credit was opened; multiple openings or inquiries in a short period may signal risk but repeated openings of new credit or repeated attempted openings of new credit shows that the person in question constantly requires more and more credit and is at a higher risk to not be able to pay back a loan. Finally, 10% of one’s credit score is due to what kind of credit they have. Having a balanced credit history of vehicle loans, student loans, mortgage loans, and credit card loans is more favorable than having only a single credit card loan all by itself as it shows the ability to manage diverse credit types

The Fermentation and Manufacturing Process of Ancient Roman Garum (Fish Sauce)

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The Ancient Roman’s created a special fermented fish sauce called “garum”. Garum was highly valuable and in modern times accounting for inflation, garum would cost $1250.00 for 1 liter. Garum was made from nothing more than salt and decayed fish. The original preparation is unknown as the ancient recipes have been lost. The fishes organs and digestive fluids help in the fermentation process. The container which the garum is made in is left in the sun for a few days to allow the process to ferment as much as possible. The oily slush oozing from the fishes organs and digestive enzymes is the garum and it is loaded with nutrients and contains glutamate which triggers chemical receptors on the tongue to make the brain crave more of it. Glutamate is the primary ingredient/component in monosodium glutamate, commonly abbreviated as “MSG”, and is used by many chefs all over the world

The Reason Living Wills and Last Will and Testaments Were Developed

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Living wills and testaments were designed because it was believed that being prayed for sped up the time in which one stayed in purgatory and although during the modern day, living wills and testaments do not include the prayer portion, this was the main reason the concept was designed during the Middle Ages. Living wills often instructed people to pray for the deceased a set amount of times per day, week, or month, as well as the type of funeral service desired, with minute details being paid attention to (e.g. the type of candles which would burn alongside the gravestone etc.). Living wills and testaments also offered the bequeathing of physical, tangible items that the dead would no longer need. In the modern day, living wills and testaments do not include the prayer portion, but this was the main reason the concept was designed during the Middle Ages

The Reason Europeans Began Consuming Coffee During the 16th Century

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Coffee was initially referred to as a drink only consumed by the devil and frowned upon until Pope Clement VIII tried it and changed his opinion which changed Rome, Italy’s stance. Coffee was seen as the devil’s drink because it was the drink of the Muslim and therefore by default the infidels with whom Christians had been at war for centuries. Pope Clement VIII famously stated that coffee was so delicious that Christians should cheat the devil by baptizing the beverage

The Annual War Campaign of the Assyrian Civilization

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The Assyrians were masters of war, as war underpinned their society, economy, and civilization. The Assyrians would collectively gather each year to attack and plunder any neighboring states unlucky enough to be within striking distance. This tradition was viewed by the Assyrians as a time of harvest, with vegetables being replaced with the plunders and spoils of war. The Assyrians are known to have impaled their enemies, amputate their enemies, burn their enemies alive, flay their enemies alive, disfigure enemies, engage in mass blinding of vision, as well as mass deportation

The Advent of the Steam Engine Permanently Changing the World

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Scottish mechanical engineer James Watt taught himself engineering and at age 27 he invented the modern steam engine. Watt was inspired by a pot of tea which he observed boiling, as the lid of the kettle would move when excessive heat had built up. Watt realized from this encounter that steam power may have the ability to be harnessed to perform work. Building upon a design already in existence which used steam to drive a piston to pump water out of mining operations, Watt revolutionized this technology by adding gears and wheels. Early steam engines only pumped up and down, but after Watt discovered how to effectively implement wheels and other facets, he took the idea of steam power and made it transportable via rotary motion. This simple alternate design paved the way for countless machines which succeeded it, as gears and wheels allow an infinite number of combinations to be constructed allowing for adaptations to all forms of industry. The world became smaller and faster seemingly overnight as humans and animals were no longer required to perform all forms of work. Watts’ engine started the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important periods within human history as it nearly autonomously created the modern technological age