III.2. RITUALIZED WAR, ANOTHER BARRIER TO GROWTH

3.2. Ritualized war: barrier to growth  

FIGHTING DRAWS OFF PEASANT SURPLUS AND THE RICHES OF NOBLES AND KINGS 

That explain the emphasis on war in pre-capitalist societies, but how it worked limited destruction in practice.

The Book of Tournaments of René d'Anjou, 15th century, zoom

Trappings force knights to divert income and lessen contests' deadliness by causing horses to stumble and riders to fall. There are fewer images for Africa, but the practice works in the same way.

• African slave raids, controlled violence

• European warfare had comparable limits

• Valor: nobles answer nascent capitalists

• Did memory of feudal valor add to the carnage of World War I?

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African slave raids, controlled violence