Answer:
Prior to the invention of refrigeration forms, the use of salt as a form of food preservation was widespread throughout all countries, and was of particular importance to those explorers on long trips and needed to carry supplies.
Explanation:
During the Middle Ages the salt trade was consolidated as it was a key element in food conservation and was necessary for the survival of all communities experiencing high population growth. There have been two major markets that have been consolidated over the centuries: the West African market, where salt was the main commodity that kept Trans-Saharan gold trade with the Western world standing; and the huge salting industry of the Netherlands in the seventeenth century, which profoundly influenced the course of European imperialism.
Salt was also used as currency to buy slaves. Realizing that they served to preserve and flavor food, as well as heal wounds, the Romans thought the salt crystals were a gift from Salus, the goddess of health - and in their honor they coined the name. Of the many roads leading to Rome, one of the busiest to date is Via Salaria, the ancient route through which cars full of precious crystals circulated. Viae salariae crossed Europe from west to east, reached present-day Turkey, and descended through the Middle East and North Africa. In Africa, by the way, in the sub-Saharan region of what is now Mauritania, merchants traded salt for gold - one peso for the other. In Abyssinia, present-day Ethiopia, in East Africa, salt was the currency of the kingdom. Similarly, in Central Africa, salt cakes were money. The great salt maritime trade would not develop until the end of the 13th century, serving to transfer the excess of salt production. This has helped to enrich Venice, the Iberian peninsula, northern Europe and some regions of France.
