Curio Cabinet

Nobody likes Mondays, but you’ve probably never had one as bad as this. On Easter Monday in 1360, a deadly hailstorm devastated English forces in the Hundred Years' War so badly that they ended up signing a peace treaty. The Hundred Years' War between Britain and France was already a bloody conflict, but on one fateful day in 1360, death was dealt not by soldiers, but by inclement weather. King Edward III of England had crossed the English Channel with his troops and was making his way through the French countryside, pillaging throughout the winter. In April, Edward III's army was approaching Paris when they stopped to camp outside the town of Chartres. They weren't in any danger from enemy forces, but they would suffer heavy losses regardless. On what would come to be known as "Black Monday," a devastating hailstorm broke out over the area. First, a lightning strike killed several people, then massive hailstones fell from the sky, killing 1,000 English soldiers and 6,000 horses.
 
It might seem unbelievable, but there are modern records of hailstones as wide as eight inches, weighing nearly two pounds. That’s heavy enough to be lethal. Understandably, the hailstorm was seen as a divine omen, and Edward III went on to negotiate the Treaty of Brétigny. According to the treaty, Edward III was to renounce his claims to the throne of France and was given some territory in the north in exchange. The treaty didn't end the Hundred Years' War for good. The conflict started up again just nine years later, after the King of France accused Edward III of violating the terms of the treaty. The war, which began in 1337, didn’t officially conclude until 1453. Maybe weirder weather could have ended it sooner!

 
[Image description: Hailstones on ice.] Credit & copyright: Julia Filirovska, Pexels

San Francisco is no stranger to earthquakes, but this one was a particular doozy. This month in 1906, the City by the Bay was devastated and permanently reshaped by what would come to be known as the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. On the morning of April 18, 1906, at 5:12 AM, many San Francisco residents were woken up by foreshocks, smaller earthquakes that can occur hours to minutes ahead of a larger one. Just 20 seconds or so later, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 hit the city in earnest, shaking the ground for a full minute. The epicenter of the earthquake was at San Andreas fault, where 296 miles of the northern portion ruptured, sending out a destructive quake that could be felt as far north as Oregon and as far south as Los Angeles. The earthquake was so powerful that buildings toppled and streets were torn apart, but that was only part of the event’s destructive power. There's a reason that it's sometimes called the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. The ensuing flames, caused by burst gas pipes and upended stoves, caused almost as much damage as the earthquake itself. Over the course of four days, 28,000 buildings in 500 blocks were reduced to rubble and ash. It was around $350 million worth of damage, but the loss of property paled in comparison to the loss of life. An estimated 3,000 people died in the earthquake and around 250,000 people were left homeless in its aftermath. The disaster had just one silver lining: geologic observations of the fault and a survey of the devastation proved to be a massive help in understanding how earthquakes cause damage, and the city was quickly rebuilt to be more earthquake and fire-resistant. No matter what, though, the real fault lies with the fault.

 
[Image description: A black-and-white photo of San Fransisco after the 1906 earthquake, with many ruined buildings.] Credit & copyright: National Archives Catalog. Photographer: Chadwick, H. D. (U.S. Gov War Department. Office of the Chief Signal Officer.) Images Collected by Brigadier General Adolphus W. Greely, Chief Signal Officer (1887-1906), between 1865–1935. Unrestricted Access, Unrestricted Use, Public Domain.

Tariffs, duties, customs—no matter what you call them, they can be a volatile tool capable of protecting weak industries or bleeding an economy dry. As much as tariffs have been in the news lately, they can be difficult to understand. Luckily, one can always turn to history to see how they’ve been used in the past. In the early days of the U.S., tariffs helped domestic industries stay competitive. However, they can easily turn harmful if they’re implemented without due consideration.
 
A tariff is a tax applied to goods that are imported or exported, though the latter is rarely used nowadays. Tariffs on exports were sometimes used to safeguard limited resources from leaving the country, but when the word "tariff" is used, it almost always means a tax applied to imports. Tariffs are paid by the entity importing the goods, and they can be either “ad valorem” or "specific" tariffs. Ad valorem tariffs are based on a percentage of the value of the goods being taxed, while specific tariffs are fixed amounts, regardless of the total value. It's easy to think that tariffs are categorically detrimental, but there’s sometimes a good reason for them. Making certain types of imported goods more expensive might help domestic producers of those goods stay more competitive by allowing them to sell their goods at lower prices. On the other hand, poorly-conceived tariffs can end up raising the prices of goods across the board, putting economic pressure on consumers without helping domestic industries. Tariffs used to be much more common around the world, but as international trade grew throughout the 20th century, they became less and less so. In the U.S., at least, many factors led to tariffs’ decline.
 
In 1789, the Tariff Act was one of the first major pieces of legislation passed by Congress, and it created a massive source of revenue for the fledgling nation. Tariffs helped domestic industries gain their footing by leveling the playing field against their better-established foreign competitors, particularly in Britain. By the beginning of the Civil War, tariffs accounted for around 90 percent of the U.S. government’s revenue. As Americans took up arms against each other, however, there was a sudden, dire need for other sources of government funding. Other taxes were introduced, leading to tariffs becoming less significant. Still, even immediately after the war, tariffs accounted for around 50 percent of the nation's revenue. During the Great Depression, tariffs caused more problems than they solved. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 was intended to bolster domestic industries, but it also made it less feasible for those industries to export goods, hindering their overall business. By the start of World War II, the U.S. government simply could not rely on tariffs as a significant source of revenue any longer. Social security, the New Deal, and exponentially growing military expenditure among other things created mountains of expenses far too large for tariffs to cover. Thus, tariffs became less popular and less relevant over the decades.
 
Today, tariffs are typically used as negotiation tools between countries engaged in trade. Generally, tariffs are applied on specific industries or goods. For example, tariffs on steel have been used a number of times in recent history to aid American producers. However, the tariffs making the news as of late are unusual. Instead of targeting specific industries, tariffs are being applied across the board against entire countries, even on goods from established trade partners like Canada and Mexico. Only time will tell how this will impact U.S. consumers and U.S. industries. It’ll be historic no matter what…but that doesn’t always mean it will be smooth sailing.

 
[Image description: A U.S. flag with a wooden pole.] Credit & copyright: Crefollet, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.