Lite historia om England och tally sticks:
Citat:
The Jews first arrived in England in 1066 in the
wake of William I’s defeat of King Harold II at Hastings
on October 14. These Jews came from Rouen, 75 miles
from Falaise, where William was born illegitimately as
William the Bastard. Although the historical record
does not indicate whether they promoted the idea of a
military invasion of England, these Jews had at the very
least financed it. For this support they were richly rewarded
by being allowed to practice usury under royal
protection.
The consequences for the English people were disastrous.
By charging rates of interest of 33% per annum
on lands mortgaged by nobles and 300% per annum on
tools of trade or chattels pledged by workmen, within
two generations one-quarter of all English lands was in
the hands of Jewish usurers.
Furthermore these Jewish immigrants undermined
the ethos of the guilds and enraged the English merchants
by selling a large variety of goods under one roof.
They also played a large role in the clipping of silver
coins and the melting of them into bullion and the plating
of tin with silver.
The famous economist Dr. William Cunningham
compared “the activity of the Jews in England from the
11th century onward to a sponge, which sucks up all
the wealth of the land and thereby hinders all economic
development. Interesting too, is the proof that even at
this early period the government did everything in its
power to make the Jews take up decent trades and honest
work and thereby at the same time amalgamate
with the rest of the population, but all to no purpose.”
In 1233 and 1275 Statutes of Jewry were passed
which abolished all forms of usury. As most of these
Jews could now no longer earn a “living,” a statute was
passed by King Edward I (1272-1307) on July 18, 1290
compelling the entire Jewish population of 16,000 to
leave England forever.4 Unlike the modern practice of
ethnic cleansing, the Jews after paying a tax of 1/15 of
the value of their movables and 1/10 of their specie were
permitted to leave with all their goods and chattels. Any
Jew who remained after Nov. 1, 1290 (All Saints Day) was
liable to execution.
wake of William I’s defeat of King Harold II at Hastings
on October 14. These Jews came from Rouen, 75 miles
from Falaise, where William was born illegitimately as
William the Bastard. Although the historical record
does not indicate whether they promoted the idea of a
military invasion of England, these Jews had at the very
least financed it. For this support they were richly rewarded
by being allowed to practice usury under royal
protection.
The consequences for the English people were disastrous.
By charging rates of interest of 33% per annum
on lands mortgaged by nobles and 300% per annum on
tools of trade or chattels pledged by workmen, within
two generations one-quarter of all English lands was in
the hands of Jewish usurers.
Furthermore these Jewish immigrants undermined
the ethos of the guilds and enraged the English merchants
by selling a large variety of goods under one roof.
They also played a large role in the clipping of silver
coins and the melting of them into bullion and the plating
of tin with silver.
The famous economist Dr. William Cunningham
compared “the activity of the Jews in England from the
11th century onward to a sponge, which sucks up all
the wealth of the land and thereby hinders all economic
development. Interesting too, is the proof that even at
this early period the government did everything in its
power to make the Jews take up decent trades and honest
work and thereby at the same time amalgamate
with the rest of the population, but all to no purpose.”
In 1233 and 1275 Statutes of Jewry were passed
which abolished all forms of usury. As most of these
Jews could now no longer earn a “living,” a statute was
passed by King Edward I (1272-1307) on July 18, 1290
compelling the entire Jewish population of 16,000 to
leave England forever.4 Unlike the modern practice of
ethnic cleansing, the Jews after paying a tax of 1/15 of
the value of their movables and 1/10 of their specie were
permitted to leave with all their goods and chattels. Any
Jew who remained after Nov. 1, 1290 (All Saints Day) was
liable to execution.
Citat:
THE GLORIOUS MIDDLE AGES
With the banishment of the moneylenders and the
abolition of usury, there were hardly any taxes to pay
and no state debt, as the interest-free tally stick was
used for government expenditures. England now enjoyed
a period of unparalleled growth and prosperity.
The average laborer worked only 14 weeks a year and
enjoyed 160 to 180 holidays. According to Lord Leverhulme,
a writer of that time: “The men of the 15th century
were very well paid,” in fact so well paid that the
purchasing power of their wages and their standard of
living would only be exceeded in the late 19th century.
With the banishment of the moneylenders and the
abolition of usury, there were hardly any taxes to pay
and no state debt, as the interest-free tally stick was
used for government expenditures. England now enjoyed
a period of unparalleled growth and prosperity.
The average laborer worked only 14 weeks a year and
enjoyed 160 to 180 holidays. According to Lord Leverhulme,
a writer of that time: “The men of the 15th century
were very well paid,” in fact so well paid that the
purchasing power of their wages and their standard of
living would only be exceeded in the late 19th century.
