Maluku spices Javanese merchants Portuguese Dutch trade

Europeans entered an established Asian spice trade

Before European powers arrived, spices from Maluku already moved through Asian sea routes used by Javanese and other regional merchants. The Portuguese and Dutch tried to control this established trade, not create it.

One disaster can bankrupt an insurance company

Insurance relies on the idea that not everyone will need a payout at once. But a hurricane or earthquake can damage thousands of insured properties simultaneously. The resulting claims can overwhelm an insurer’s reserves. That is why insurance companies buy insurance themselves, called reinsurance, to share the cost of catastrophes.

Dung beetles may save the U.S. cattle industry millions

~$380 million/year

By quickly burying livestock dung, dung beetles take away places where pest flies can breed. One estimate puts the savings to the U.S. cattle industry at $380 million each year.

Like this? There’s a whole feed of it. Replace empty scrolling with things worth knowing.

Download Hence for free

Maluku spices Javanese merchants Portuguese Dutch trade

Europeans entered an established Asian spice trade

Keep exploring