Tolerance equals prosperity
When Spain expelled the Jews in 1492 — yeah, the same year Columbus sailed west to India and ran into the Americas — many of them eventually wound their way to Amsterdam. As did others who were persecuted for their beliefs in Europe during and after the Inquisition.
Holland, by contrast, fostered religious tolerance. To extraordinary benefit. Today we think of the U.S. as dominating the seas. Holland was the first modern country to do so. In Holland merchant companies were pioneered, banking was innovated, and trading flourished.
Tolerance and inclusion brought Holland great wealth in its era. As it has to the Western countries who’ve followed and improved upon its model in the centuries following.
It may take a long time — many lifetimes — but humanity eventually gets it right.
For you —
Evan Griffith
__________________________
Click here for occasional notes to your inbox on creativity, spirituality and whee.