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Video: Offshores of antiquity: how medieval merchants "mowed down the loot"
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Many have heard the popular concept of "offshore" used in the context of saving money, but few know that it is already many centuries old. Even in ancient times, merchants laundered money using various tricks and tricks. How to do business with abroad and always remain “in profit” - further in the review.
Offshores of the Ancient World
In ancient Greece, as in our day, the authorities levied taxes on merchants. The Athenians took 2 percent of the value of all goods entering the city or passing in transit: port dues from ships, poll taxes from foreigners, slaves and women of easy virtue. Those wishing to trade in local markets also forked out a tidy sum.
The final costs were so great that trade with Athens, a large metropolis, became unprofitable for foreigners. To avoid paying taxes, Greek and Phoenician merchants avoided the 30-kilometer zone around the city. They set up their own free warehouses to store goods on tiny islets, and then smuggled them.
Rhodes became the first major offshore company in history. After a while, wishing to enrich themselves, the authorities there also introduced a two percent tax on exports and imports. The result was just the opposite: the city lost most of its turnover. Enterprising merchants moved to another place - to the island of Delos.
Medieval trade
The economy of medieval Europe is closely connected with the merchants of Venice, Genoa, Livorno, Trieste, and the Hanseatic League. Port cities on the shores of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic, the Baltic and North Seas developed rapidly, thanks to the liberal trade policies of local authorities.
One of the most significant examples is the Hansa. This is an association of guilds of merchants in the XII-XVII centuries, who worked together and sought preferences from European monarchs. Almost three hundred cities created preferential conditions for "their" merchants, and from this they became rich. The offices of the Hanseatic League were also in Novgorod, Köningsberg (Kaliningrad), Revel (Tallinn), Riga.
Another way to trade successfully is to participate in fairs. This was a landmark event for medieval society, because then even foreign merchants did not pay duties.
Pirate offshore
The great maritime powers in the 16th and 18th centuries encouraged sea piracy, calling it privateering. Filibusters were used to undermine the trade and economy of rivals. But at one point, the situation got out of control. The pirates got loose and, obsessed with profit, began to "work" for themselves. Pirate and smuggler bases in Panama, Cayman and the Virgin Islands were used to store loot. Here, in the absence of control, numerous shady deals were carried out.
Offshores of the New Time
In the era of modern times, port-franco developed. These are seaports where the laws of duty-free trade, import and export of goods were in force.
In the Russian Empire, the cities of the free port were Odessa, Batumi, Vladivostok, Feodosia, the mouth of the Ob and Yenisei. With the introduction of duty-free trade, Odessa almost caught up with St. Petersburg in terms of turnover in five years. Such cities quickly grew rich, but then the shortcomings of the system appeared. Cheap imports destroyed the local industry, corruption, smuggling, and the shadow economy intensified.
Many British colonies also received preferential taxation, which contributed to their development. In Europe, offshore companies appeared in Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Switzerland following the same scheme. It was in the latter that the concept of financial secrecy was developed, when the name of the owner of a monetary deposit was carefully hidden. Thanks to this, money from all over the world began to flock to a small country.
At all times, cunning merchants "made money" by any available means. Many have heard the phrase "Money doesn't smell," but they don't know the story of its appearance.
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