Distributed ledgers

A Distributed Ledger is a technological system that is an asset database that can be shared across a network on multiple sites, geographies, or institutions. All within the system can have access to the ledger via copy or connection to the larger database. Any changes made on any one of the ledgers will be reflected on all the ledgers that currently exist . It's essentially a technologically complex means of keeping accurate and updated records in multiple locations on a large scale. Predominately involved in banking institutions, they are also heavily used within book keeping and the computer sciences. Historically, Distributed Ledgers can be traced back to early records of the Roman Empire, early Muslim Society, the Qing Dynasty, and many other examples in history.

One of the first documentations of Distributed Ledgers can be seen within the Roman Empire, predominately within the banking system. Taking its presence over a vast geographic span, the banking system was designed for the user to deposit sums of money in any location within the empire. Additionally, due to the existence of currency that allowed for the purchase of trading in investment, finance, and real estate, the banking institution of Rome further expanded their Distributed Ledger technology with the use of paper checks, which in return increased the need for further improvements in updating and recording withdrawals . Finally, due to the copious number of complex business transactions that occurred within the Roman Empire, it has been noted by historians that the books recorded by the record keepers were incredibly accurate , and the inevitable transition of information between banks in order to keep the records in tact was a technological system note worthy of excellence.

Additionally, another documentation of Distributed Ledgers came from Muslim Society in the year 624 AD. Due to the strict religious requirements of Islam, a Distributed Leger system was established to keep track of records and to insure that if any changes are made within the system that they be recorded throughout the province on a large scale. In addition, Distributed Ledgers were also heavily used in book keeping, as books were widespread and required extensive records in order to keep maintained .

Furthermore, Chinese records that date back to the early stages of the Qing Dynasty indicate an equally complex Distributed Ledger system. Piaohao (draft banks) came into existence as the need to transfer large funds rose. Originating in Shanxi Province they were also known as Shanxi banks, as they were owned by Shanxi families. The practice of draft banks eventually caught on and established themselves as centers of commercial trade within the Qing Dynasty. Eventually, with the increase in of the banking industry came the rise of "banking clans", named the piaohao. In total, there were 32 piaohao, with over 475 branches that extended across China and in rare instances, crossed into Japan, Mongolia, Russia, and the Malay Archipelago . Despite the separate piaohao's and extended branches, the technological system was supported by an array of sophisticated record keeping techniques that was supplemented with a heavy amount of communication. In essence, the Chinese banking system of the Qing Dynasty was an incredibly advanced technological system that was able to support the heavy amount of trading with the use of accurate record keeping in the form of Distributed Ledger.

Although the jargon of Distributed Ledger relates indirectly to the historical development of engineering, it's indisputable to say that it served as a fundamental technological system in various civilizations within humanities time span. And though there are many more examples, such as the early banking system within the developing United States, the Atlantic Triangle Trade which saw heavy record keeping and information distribution, or the development of the internet and its revolutionary impact on data storage, Distributed Ledger will continue to serve as a prime example for historians as a complex technological system.