A: The first blackmailers were Scottish landlords who exploited
farmers by making them pay rent in livestock or services if they
couldnâ€™t pay in cash. Unfortunately for them, the goods they
had to hand over were usually worth more than the rent owed, and
the landlords didnâ€™t make change. Around the same time,
however, local chieftains started going after the same farmers
with the kind of scheme the mafia usually refers to as
â€śselling insurance.â€ť They made an offer the farmers
couldnâ€™t refuse: protection for a fee. If the farmers didnâ€™t
pay, then the chieftains would unfortunately be unable to
prevent ruffians from destroying crops and sacking property. A
raw deal to say the least, the Scottish farmers referred to both
types of those situations as â€śblackâ€ť because they associated
it with the color with evil. They also called it black because
both payments were made in goods rather than silver coins
(called â€śwhite moneyâ€ť). As for the â€śmailâ€ť part, it
doesnâ€™t refer to the postal system. T