Ms Clara Smartest in Morocco

In 1917, during the First World War, the writer Edith Wharton was invited to visit Morocco by the French Governor of the then French protectorate. She travelled around the country for a month, witnessing traditional events, admiring historical landmarks and meeting women who were part of the Vizier’s harem. Back home, she wrote a book, which was intended to be the first tour guide book of the country. It is a Westerner’s view of what was then considered the “Near East” (meaning North Africa). Edith Wharton fiercely and openly defended French governance and implicitly criticized some Arab practices. For example, she described the women of the Vizier’s harem as prisoners and unhappy and the ceremonies she witnessed were deemed primitive.

After reading the book, Ms Clara Smartest decided to travel to Morocco to get to know the country a century later. What she found was a surprising country, rooted in its traditions and accepting modernity on its own terms.

Mercantilism

The word “mercantilism” comes from “merchant”, a person who buys goods to resell them. Merchants make money with the profit of the sale (the amount of money that is left from the sale after all expenses related to the buying and selling are paid). Since the beginning of time people have bought goods somewhere in order to resell them somewhere else. The Silk Road is a great example of this, these routes were very slow, very expensive, and full of dangers.

The world changed in the 15th century. Until then, in Europe, the economy was based on feudalism, a system where Lords owned vast agricultural lands and received a rent from the farmers who actually worked those lands. The lands were given by the King, in exchange for some service worthy of them (like becoming Knights, going to war, and being successful). Back then, merchants were considered an inferior class. Like the farmers, they existed only to serve the King and the Lords, to provide them with goods from far away.

The Era of Discovery aimed to expand the land of European Kings and, consequently, expand their wealth. The “mother land” would send people to the lands of the “new world” (the settlers) and the idea was for them to serve the King in a similar way as the Lords. However, they failed to foresee the role of merchants. While they became the intermediaries between the settlers and the King and the Lords, trade routes became less long and less expensive, and maybe a little less dangerous.

Long story short, merchants started to make a lot of money. And with wealth, came power. They organized themselves in guilds and companies, like the Dutch West India Company. These guilds and companies were owned by the State, but they acted as they were independent. Wealth increased exponentially, both for the State and the merchants. This led to a shift in the economy and feudalism gave way to mercantilism. In countries where agriculture was not as important, trading became the core business of society. This is what happened in The Netherlands, and which gave rise to the Dutch Golden Age.

Then, in the 18th century, came the Industrial Revolution and the economy shifted again. Trade was still the main focus, but this time the profits were to go to “capitalists”, people who had capital to invest in factories that would produce goods to be sold. The difference is that these capitalists were individuals and they would “compete” with other individuals/capitalists for the customers whereas in mercantilism, trade was made by the State and there was no competition.

Nowadays, capitalism is still the base of the economy.

Nomad

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a nomad is «a member of a people who have no fixed residence but move from place to place usually seasonally and within a well-defined territory». This concept applies, for example, to Bedouins, people that live in the desert, and Mongolians. The main reason why they move from place to place is because they herd animals (especially camels, in the case of Bedouins, and horses, in the case of Mongolians).

Nomads should not be confused with the merchants that used to cross the desert with goods to be sold on the other side. These caravans were very popular in the old days of the silk route and also in the Sahara Desert (think about the typical image of camels in line, full of goods attached to their back). While caravan merchants would go from one city to another, nomads would stay in the same place for a certain period of time, living in tents in the meantime.

Digital nomads modernised this concept. They too move from place to place and stay there for a certain period of time. However, instead of herding animals, they use technology to work remotely. And they do not usually live in tents, but in rented houses, although there are no rules in this respect. In fact, there are those who buy a camper van (brand new or an old one that they rebuild as they please) and literally move their house around.

The concept somehow expanded to also mean someone who roams without a purpose or a destination. However, this is different from a vagabond. A vagabond is someone who has no money, no professional occupation, and no place to live (they usually live on the street). Nomads have money and a profession, thus, they can pay for accommodation and supplies.

Being a nomad is not for everyone… but, then again, being in the same place doing the same things with the same people is not for everyone either. Before technology, people did not have much choice. If you were born into a nomad family, you would become a nomad, and if you were born, let’s say, in a farm, you would become a farmer. Of course, throughout the centuries, there were always rebels, people who did not accept their fate and would find a way to do what they really wanted (artists, mostly). However, nowadays, with new technology and the Internet, it gets easier to choose what you want to become. This does not mean that it is easy or without difficulties, for sure.

Subscribe to continue reading