Salt: Mineral of Tyrants, Explorers and Revolutionaries

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Scientifically, salt is an innocuoussubstance created when a sodium atom bonds with a chloride atom:NaCl. This simple definition belies the influence of a mineralthat has substantially affected global economics, explorationand politics for centuries.

Salt’s early use as a food preservative enabled theestablishment of humanity’s earliest trade routes, some of whichstretched across entire continents. As a result, salt quicklybecame both a form of money and the basis of taxation. Theancient Greeks used salt to buy slaves (and originated thephrase “not worth his salt” to describe underperformingchattel). The Romans used salt to pay soldiers their “salarium,”resulting in our word “salary.”