| The 16th century was a time of amazing | | | | first international service to address the ages old |
| transformation in Europe. The Dark Ages were gone, | | | | problem of slow communication. |
| the Black Plague had run it course and Middle Age | | | | The Tassis family had obtained the rights to handle a |
| fears and superstitions were slowly disappearing. The | | | | rudimentary postal service in several Duchies in what |
| printing press had been invented and it was | | | | is now Belgium. The service promised a decent living |
| completely revamping the way people communicated. | | | | for the Tassis family by the standards of the time. |
| Columbus had discovered the America's and the | | | | However, they wanted to do more, expand and |
| great age of exploration was in full swing. Medical | | | | create a service that could become the international |
| advances, the Reformation, the creation of the great | | | | standard. |
| Italian banking houses and the Dutch trading | | | | The Tassis family divided the work responsibilities |
| companies had completely changed the way people | | | | between family members and had them disperse |
| thought, worked and worshipped. | | | | throughout Europe. The key to their success was a |
| And yet, there was one area in which there had | | | | cohesive, standardized system of fleet horses, |
| been virtually no advance since the time of Christ: | | | | experienced, responsible riders, a network of |
| transportation. Horse or mule, horse drawn carts and | | | | terminals to change horse, rider and re-route mail and |
| boat were the methods of travel utilized to convey | | | | packages, and scheduled delivery times. Spain, |
| people, goods and foodstuffs. Travel was slow. It | | | | France, Italy and Germany were little more than a |
| was uncomfortable. And, it was often very | | | | polyglot of feudal city states during this time. There |
| dangerous. Brigands and pirates faced little in the way | | | | was no central government to handle a service like |
| of organized policing. A bandit pretty much had a field | | | | mail delivery that we consider routine today. The |
| day during the period. | | | | opportunity for a private company to organize and |
| Of all the difficulties a traveler faced, the most | | | | manage an international operation of this import and |
| frustrating by far was speed: or the lack thereof. As | | | | scale was a wonder. |
| the great Florentine, Venetian and Genoan merchant | | | | The Tassis' received contracts to handle the delivery |
| banks financed warfare, fleets, crops, expeditions | | | | of mail throughout most of continental Europe. From |
| and colonization, they had to continually factor a risk | | | | Naples to the Danube, and Gibraltar to Copenhagen, |
| premium into their risk/reward computations before | | | | the family built a delivery network that managers at |
| settling on the interest to be charged on each loan. | | | | DHL, UPS, or FedEx would admire and recognize |
| The slowness of receiving news of progress, success | | | | today. A treaty, legal contract or purchase order that |
| or failure on the status of an investment vehicle was | | | | took five weeks to reach Genoa from Madrid, could |
| agonizing to all parties participating in an enterprise. | | | | now be delivered in seven to 10 days. As the loads |
| Did the fleet sink, or is it close to home with a | | | | increased the price was lowered and this only |
| valuable cargo? Has the battle been engaged, and | | | | accelerated the use of the service. |
| who won? Was a new land discovered, and what did | | | | The family became rich, powerful and across Europe |
| it offer in minerals or trade goods as materials for | | | | became members of the aristocracy. The name |
| profit? | | | | Tassis in the German language is spelled "taxis". |
| Knowledge is power, and speed provides the edge | | | | Today, everywhere in the world, people call for a |
| that makes this power so important. If I know | | | | taxicab when they need to transport themselves for |
| today, what my enemy or rival will not know for | | | | a fare. The taxi service created by the Tassis' was |
| several days, I have a decided advantage on | | | | an important part of the development of the |
| strategizing to my advantage and profit. In the 16th | | | | Renaissance. |
| century an industrious Belgian family developed the | | | | |