The Phoenicians dominated the ancient sea trade. When the Minoan thalassocracy broke up, perhaps as a result of the catastrophic volcanic eruption of Santorini Island, the Phoenicians rapidly replaced it. The Phoenician managed to get an absolute monopoly on essential products. First, they dominated the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, but later after the settlement of Carthage, the Western Mediterranean became increasingly dominated by the Punic [Poen(us)] Carthaginians. The great dye-works of the Canaanite cities of Tyre and Sidon supplied the entire Mediterranean basin with the much sought after dye. first from Tyre, Sidon and later Carthage.
Phoenician maritime supremacy in the Mediterranean Sea was exercised by their control of the Straits of Gibraltar.
It was forbidden for all ships except Punic ships to pass through the Straits on the pain of death. It was well known that the Phoenicians had a monopoly on tin in the Mediterranean, but increasingly competition was coming from the western ports like Tartessus and especially by the Greeks. Tartessus was a thriving port located on the Atlantic Ocean side of Gibraltar. Its origin is shrouded in mystery, but may have been originally settled by the Etruscans. It is believed that Tartessus had long traded with the northern islands of Britain for tin. Tin mining was a large enterprise in early Britain. In fact, the British Isles was known in ancient times as the "Cassiterides" ("tin islands"). Along with the Phoenicians, the Tartessusans traded with the central and eastern regions of the Mediterranean. The Phoenician-established commerce links for tin trade between Britain and the Eastern Mediterranean world was also quite substantial. Joseph, the uncle of Jesus was probably involved in tin trade between the British Isles and the Near East. It is known that the Cretan artifacts circa 1700 BC have been found at Falmouth in Cornwall, as well as pieces of Trojan jewelry. These may have reached England via Spain through Tartessus.
In 535 B.C., the battle of Alalia marked the era where the Phoenicians gained the upper hand in all the Mediterranean Sea. A treaty was renewed and the western Mediterranean Sea was divided in spheres of influence. The Etruscans were to regain control of Corsica and the island of Sardinia was awarded to the Phoenicians. Unwittingly to the Etruscans, the treaty was greatly advantageous to the Phoenicians. The Etruscan influence was now limited to the Tyrrhenian Sea and contained the Phocaeans in the region of Etruscan influence. The Canaanite-Phoenicians knew the strength of these Greeks and feared them. The Greeks previously defeated a Phoenician attempt to destroy the settlement of Massalia (modern Marseilles) in 600 B.C. The swift Ionian warships out-maneuvered and defeated the Canaanite-Phoenicians. The Etruscans never suspected their isolation. The Alalia treaty also isolated Tartessus and was a constant irritant to the Canaanite-Phoenicians.
As I mentioned earlier, there was a certain vegetable dye found on the Atlantic islands (perhaps the Madeira Islands) which, used in concoction with the Canaanite-Phoenician’s own regional dyes, enabled them to give purple fabrics a magnificent red color famed throughout the ancient world. This secret needed to be kept so no one else could compete with the Phoenician’s monopoly on the purple dye. The Canaanite-Phoenician’s tin trade by sea was another obtainable monopoly if the competition was destroyed. Therefore, the Phoenicians decided to eradicate the one city that could gave them trouble; Tartessus. Soon, Carthage laid seize to Tartessus and destroyed it. Its soldiery lusted in a frenzy of murder and arson until there was nothing left of it but debris and rubble. So complete was the destruction of Tartessus that it has never been found to this day. The Old Testament is sated with references to that old city and refers to it as Tarshish. In II Chronicles 9:21, it states:
"For the kings ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, apes and peacocks."
Huram may have been the world-renowned King Hiram of Phoenician city of Tyre. However, scholars think that the name was the title of all Tyrian kings.
The Canaanite-Phoenicians had succeeded in protecting their monopoly on purple dye and strategically eliminated their competition, which gave them in addition all of the maritime trade coming from such places as the British Isles and Germany. With their blockade in place, and the elimination of Tartessus, a great propaganda campaign ensued. Stories derived from Phoenicians of great sea monsters, demons, eerie darkness, immense beds of seaweed, mudflats from which no ship could free itself and terrifying death awaited any seafarer who ventured beyond the Straits of Gibraltar was propagandized over and over again. This deceitful subterfuge injected fear in all the Mediterranean populace for many years to come. While Phoenician ships ventured farther into the Atlantic finding new rewards and became the first to circumnavigated Africa, the false stories grew. So effective were the lies that two thousand years later, these “old tales” were still prominent among Portuguese sailors until the 14th century when they finally made their way to the southern African coastline and traced the ancient route already known by the Phoenicians. Henry, the Navigator, who discovered the sea route to India, had difficulty all his life convincing sea captains to sail the peculiar sea.
Do you see how the "flat earth" myth was originally perpetrated? Does it remind you of some of the extraordinary LIES told to us today? Just a thought.
Consider this:
The Phoenicians dominated the ancient sea trade. When the Minoan thalassocracy broke up, perhaps as a result of the catastrophic volcanic eruption of Santorini Island, the Phoenicians rapidly replaced it. The Phoenician managed to get an absolute monopoly on essential products. First, they dominated the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, but later after the settlement of Carthage, the Western Mediterranean became increasingly dominated by the Punic [Poen(us)] Carthaginians. The great dye-works of the Canaanite cities of Tyre and Sidon supplied the entire Mediterranean basin with the much sought after dye. first from Tyre, Sidon and later Carthage.
Phoenician maritime supremacy in the Mediterranean Sea was exercised by their control of the Straits of Gibraltar.
It was forbidden for all ships except Punic ships to pass through the Straits on the pain of death. It was well known that the Phoenicians had a monopoly on tin in the Mediterranean, but increasingly competition was coming from the western ports like Tartessus and especially by the Greeks. Tartessus was a thriving port located on the Atlantic Ocean side of Gibraltar. Its origin is shrouded in mystery, but may have been originally settled by the Etruscans. It is believed that Tartessus had long traded with the northern islands of Britain for tin. Tin mining was a large enterprise in early Britain. In fact, the British Isles was known in ancient times as the "Cassiterides" ("tin islands"). Along with the Phoenicians, the Tartessusans traded with the central and eastern regions of the Mediterranean. The Phoenician-established commerce links for tin trade between Britain and the Eastern Mediterranean world was also quite substantial. Joseph, the uncle of Jesus was probably involved in tin trade between the British Isles and the Near East. It is known that the Cretan artifacts circa 1700 BC have been found at Falmouth in Cornwall, as well as pieces of Trojan jewelry. These may have reached England via Spain through Tartessus.
In 535 B.C., the battle of Alalia marked the era where the Phoenicians gained the upper hand in all the Mediterranean Sea. A treaty was renewed and the western Mediterranean Sea was divided in spheres of influence. The Etruscans were to regain control of Corsica and the island of Sardinia was awarded to the Phoenicians. Unwittingly to the Etruscans, the treaty was greatly advantageous to the Phoenicians. The Etruscan influence was now limited to the Tyrrhenian Sea and contained the Phocaeans in the region of Etruscan influence. The Canaanite-Phoenicians knew the strength of these Greeks and feared them. The Greeks previously defeated a Phoenician attempt to destroy the settlement of Massalia (modern Marseilles) in 600 B.C. The swift Ionian warships out-maneuvered and defeated the Canaanite-Phoenicians. The Etruscans never suspected their isolation. The Alalia treaty also isolated Tartessus and was a constant irritant to the Canaanite-Phoenicians.
As I mentioned earlier, there was a certain vegetable dye found on the Atlantic islands (perhaps the Madeira Islands) which, used in concoction with the Canaanite-Phoenician’s own regional dyes, enabled them to give purple fabrics a magnificent red color famed throughout the ancient world. This secret needed to be kept so no one else could compete with the Phoenician’s monopoly on the purple dye. The Canaanite-Phoenician’s tin trade by sea was another obtainable monopoly if the competition was destroyed. Therefore, the Phoenicians decided to eradicate the one city that could gave them trouble; Tartessus. Soon, Carthage laid seize to Tartessus and destroyed it. Its soldiery lusted in a frenzy of murder and arson until there was nothing left of it but debris and rubble. So complete was the destruction of Tartessus that it has never been found to this day. The Old Testament is sated with references to that old city and refers to it as Tarshish. In II Chronicles 9:21, it states:
Huram may have been the world-renowned King Hiram of Phoenician city of Tyre. However, scholars think that the name was the title of all Tyrian kings.
The Canaanite-Phoenicians had succeeded in protecting their monopoly on purple dye and strategically eliminated their competition, which gave them in addition all of the maritime trade coming from such places as the British Isles and Germany. With their blockade in place, and the elimination of Tartessus, a great propaganda campaign ensued. Stories derived from Phoenicians of great sea monsters, demons, eerie darkness, immense beds of seaweed, mudflats from which no ship could free itself and terrifying death awaited any seafarer who ventured beyond the Straits of Gibraltar was propagandized over and over again. This deceitful subterfuge injected fear in all the Mediterranean populace for many years to come. While Phoenician ships ventured farther into the Atlantic finding new rewards and became the first to circumnavigated Africa, the false stories grew. So effective were the lies that two thousand years later, these “old tales” were still prominent among Portuguese sailors until the 14th century when they finally made their way to the southern African coastline and traced the ancient route already known by the Phoenicians. Henry, the Navigator, who discovered the sea route to India, had difficulty all his life convincing sea captains to sail the peculiar sea.
Do you see how the "flat earth" myth was originally perpetrated? Does it remind you of some of the extraordinary LIES told to us today? Just a thought.