Salt played a critical role in the first contact between Europe and America, albeit indirectly. Salt was crucial in preserving food, especially for long sea voyages. When Christopher Columbus and other explorers set sail across the Atlantic, they needed preserved food for their crews. Salted meat, fish, and other provisions were essential to sustain these long expeditions.

In addition:

• Fish and salt trades were closely linked. After contact with the New World, the European demand for cod from the North Atlantic (primarily from Newfoundland) increased significantly. Salt was essential for preserving this fish, and it became a driving factor in the transatlantic trade.
• Salted cod became a staple in European diets, and it was one of the early products shipped back from the Americas to Europe, further strengthening the connection between salt and the economic expansion of Europe into the New World.

Britain and France were among the first empires to take the salt industry to a global level, using it as both a revenue source and a tool for maintaining control over their vast colonial domains. Both nations recognized the strategic and economic importance of salt and sought to dominate its production and distribution across their empires.

Britain

• Monopoly on Indian Salt: Britain famously exerted control over the salt industry in its colonies, particularly in India. The British East India Company monopolized salt production and imposed heavy taxes on it, generating significant revenue. This control over the salt trade led to widespread discontent and became a symbol of British oppression, culminating in Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt March in 1930 as a protest against the British salt tax.
• Global Trade: Britain expanded its control over salt production in its various colonies, establishing saltworks in regions like the Caribbean and Africa. Salt became a vital commodity in the triangle trade, where it was used to preserve fish, meat, and other goods that were exchanged globally.

France

• Gabelle Tax: In France, salt was also seen as a valuable resource, leading to the introduction of the gabelle, a salt tax that was enforced in the 14th century and remained a significant source of income for the French crown for centuries. The gabelle became deeply unpopular and was one of the grievances leading up to the French Revolution.
• Colonial Salt Production: France, like Britain, exploited salt production in its colonies, particularly in the Caribbean. French salt pans in places like Guadeloupe and Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) were essential to the production of goods like salted fish and sugar, which were exported to Europe.

Global Control

Both Britain and France, as maritime and colonial powers, extended their control over salt production and distribution to a global scale:

• They set up saltworks in their colonies and managed the trade networks that transported salt around the world.
• By controlling salt, they could ensure the supply of preserved food for their military and naval expeditions, which was crucial to maintaining their global empires.