I help people learn English [ teach?] and mostly in businesses. Thus a fair bit of 'company' language. I tell studiers that it's a good idea to study ships and maritime language as a fair bit has entered into the language of business and trade. The East India Company introduced the Private Limited Company [PLC]. The Company ate bread together [ Fr.- com pain]. The luckless employess, the crew [ exempt from the PLC] enjoyed nutritious biscuits. The Board = the boards of the ship, which the Company are on. apaprently they sat around this board and directed the ship, plotting a course to the next venture for which they needed capital [ Cap = head]. Carrying cattle around required enormous ships so , a long time ago, these 'heads of cattle' were represented by heads on coin, or by people wearing horned-helmets.
Due to attacks from competitors precious metals proved problematic to transport back to the mother-country so they set uo banks, embassies and account books to log the transactions. The log alludes to the first boats [ as well as the log used for recording depth and speed] hollowed out with axes. The Czech word for ship = Lod' [ Lodye] which sounds like Lodge, essentially an upturned ship on land. Thus once off the sea the merry-mariner-masons repaired to their lodges for an Egypto-ritual or three.
The Egyptians were barqueing mad by all accountants , sailing over the sky and through the underworld and much of their maritimery leaked into the Christian mythos - fisherman, cross as mast, Joseph was a carpenter which is old Breton for'boatbuilder' rather than a plain woodworker. Mary sounds like Mer- the sea . Noah and Jonah have starring roles. Did God make a covenant with Noah as he wa a shipbuilder. Did the Lored make this covenant with mariners or the people of the land awell?
Buckminster-Fuller puts forward a case for lineage:Polynesians-Punicians-Phoenicians-Venetians-Veekings infiltrating all world-around businessing by their hold on every strategic port. He alludes to the Phoenicians 'renting' their boats to the Greeks, Romans and Carthaginians. If they didn't do business with them they wouldn't let them out of the ports. The book is titled ' Critical Path' .
Ships as companies-on-land is highlighted in Monty Python's Meaning of Life. The opening scene of the film sees the Crimson Assurance building getting underway and fighting off a hostile takeover. This scene deals with a couple of thousand years of history and relates it to todays boardroom battles.
The so-called British Empire , on which the Sun has yet to set, worked globally in the same way today's corporations do. No need for passports [ Britons required no passport until 1918], and thus no borders for ship and/or corporate officers.
Companies are launched, floated and sometimes sunk. Ships had figureheads which is what CEO's have become, and mytho-poetic names - Cuttys Ark, Sun Life, Shell, Victory, Mary Rose [ i thought that was Jesus].
Companies like many ships fly flags of convenience , alluding to the idea that they're from the US,UK, France,Germany, Japan, Soth Africa when it's seems obvious if you register a company offshore there'll be less tax to pay.
Corporations sail the metaphysical seas now, their strategic ports are patents, soldiers are lobbyists and arm-twisters, politicians their on-land stooges, press-gangs just dropped the word gang.
I love this post!
ReplyDeleteIf you have not ever heard of or listened to the "Informer" you need to check him out.
http://atgpress.com/inform/indexinf.htm
He has appeared on the Vzygoth show numerous times, and he fully understands how Maritime law became and acts as the law of the land. It seems that the rules don't actually apply as we would all think...not that we don't all see that plainly but he can show why this is the case.