What did the Phoenicians invent?|Economipedia

Among the most outstanding contributions of the Phoenicians, it is worth mentioning the following.

There is an important controversy about the origin of writing.However, we must take into account the role of the Phoenicians in its development, as they devised an alphabet composed of 24 signs.For a town of merchants such as the Phoenicians, having an alphabet and a writing system was a very useful tool for the management of their shops.

Moreover, the system created by the Phoenicians, for simple use, transcended beyond the Phoenician lands, being used by other peoples.In fact, civilizations as transcendental as ancient Greece, adopted the Phoenician alphabet and improved it.

Nor should we forget that the Phoenicians would end up collecting very diverse literary material where you can find dictionaries, science texts, navigation letters and laws.

The Phoenicians were the great commercial power of their time, dealing with all kinds of raw materials and jewels.Likewise, they gave a remarkable impulse to the development of textile production, metals, ceramics and glass.

By having abundant amounts of wood, they stood out in areas such as carpentry, especially highlighting the manufacture of ships that would be taken as models when developing ships.

Thanks to the introduction of the currency, and also to the important volume of commercial exchanges they carried out, the Phoenicians could expand not only by the Mediterranean, but beyond it.Precisely, the introduction of the currency allowed it to be accepted as a means of payment and that the rest of civilizations accept it, thus abandoning barter as an exchange system.

Phoenicia civilization would be framed in what is known as talasocracy or power based on maritime trade.

In view of this, the Phoenicians became not only excellent ship manufacturers, but in magnificent navigators, providing improvements to navigation techniques.Unlike other civilizations, such as a navigator town, they did not seek the occupation of large areas of land.

Although the Chinese already resorted to insurance as a protection mechanism against possible floods and floods, the Phoenicians would also highlight in this area.As a town of navigators and merchants, they were exposed to large losses on their maritime trade routes.Therefore, they had to protect themselves to the risks involved in sea trips.

Thus, the Phoenicians would end up introducing what is currently called insurance premium.To do this, it was enough to make an early payment in order to protect a ship and its content.They even made appraisals to determine the value of the goods transported before embarking on the trip and proceeding to pay the premium.

While the power of the Phoenicians was based on maritime superiority, they also resorted to the organization and political decision making through assemblies and advice.

To do this, given issues of great importance, the debate was used as a means of exchange of ideas.This, until, finally, reached an agreement and a determination was adopted.

There is no doubt that in this system of assemblies is one of the first roots of democracy.