Postcards: This Never Works

Paying the hostage-takers is not exactly a winning strategy... but pay close attention to this movement - and profit off its stupidity

Dear Fellow Expat:

Picture, if you will, the longships of the Norse seafarers.

There they go, carving through the waves like avenging spirits, leaving plunder and terror in their wake.

Your period – before the Norman Conquest of England. The High Middle Ages.

In those years, settlements along the British Isles had a difficult choice.

They could fight and protect their homes or risk the destruction of the Viking raids.

There was one other choice.

It was paying tribute to ensure temporary relief against the raids.

From the 8^th century to the mid-11th century, kings would pay the Vikings money to avoid invasion.

This was called paying the Dane-Gold.

The phrase originates from a poem by Rudyard Kipling, "Dane-Geld," which describes the practice of paying protection money to Viking raiders to prevent them from attacking.

It implies that giving in to demands only encourages further extortion and does not solve the underlying problem. Concessions to the ruthless carry consequences.

Imagine a wol…