KINGS SUBJUGATE MONEY PROFESSIONALS
In Africa,
traders have no provisions, guides
or contact with the population
until the king approves them
 |
| Eighteenth-century drawing of traders in the kingdom of Kongo / Internet, no source given
Explorers are associated with traders.
|
Until it has seen the Bornu ruler (Northern Nigeria) a British mission is completely isolated, but then "our hut was filled with so many visitors that we could take no rest and the heat was unbearable."
In Darfur, the merchant W.G. Browne finds his letters of recommendation useless until he has seen the Sultan, "for until then no one knew how to treat me."
In Bundu (Senegal) the explorer Raffenel leaves the capital without the king's permission and cannot even obtain water...
In Darfur, the merchant W.G. Browne finds his letters of recommendation useless until he has seen the Sultan, "for until then no one knew how to treat me."
In Bundu (Senegal) the explorer Raffenel leaves the capital without the king's permission and cannot even obtain water...
Bornu:
Captain Hugh Clapperton, 1826
Other citations : Aubin 447, n. 45
Captain Hugh Clapperton, 1826
Other citations : Aubin 447, n. 45
• They favor vulnerable outsiders
to keep indigeous rivals from emerging
° In animist or Christian Africa,
kings impose Muslim merchants
In turn-of-the-18th-century Ashanti (Ghana) the animist ruler welcomes Muslim traders but confiscates the gold of those who are local.
At about the same time, the king of Christian Shoa (Ethiopia) lets Muslims trade in goods that he monopolizes, asks few taxes and favors them in disputes.
At about the same time, the king of Christian Shoa (Ethiopia) lets Muslims trade in goods that he monopolizes, asks few taxes and favors them in disputes.
-- Aubin 448, n. 46
° In early medieval Europe,
Jews cannot own land
and Christians cannot trade
 | |
| The ruler of Luxembourg grants Jews a charter to trade, about 1340 / Internet, no source given |
The king is granting trading rights to Jews, not Christians.
• When the economy grows
Christian merchants replace Jews,
Christian merchants replace Jews,
but stronger power contains them
° The Church
 |
| The annual fair at Saint-Denis (detail), basilica publication |
At the Saint-Denis fair, the abbot dominates the traders and his benediction is an act of authority.
Louis XIV's royal gates loom over trade routes (the Saint-Denis and Saint-Martin gates, 1674).
The inscription announces that the merchants of Paris have financed both monuments, "in homage to the great king."
° Tougher monarchy
 |
| Both photos, Claude Abron |
The inscription announces that the merchants of Paris have financed both monuments, "in homage to the great king."
Foreshadowing --
under the obligatory praise
ascendant French merchants are stating,
under the obligatory praise
ascendant French merchants are stating,
"We are here!"
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