TerraNES: The Civil Experiment

OOC: I apologize if this is somewhat retroactive. I realized a while ago that slavery and the creation of a large underclass were the logical outcomes of my nation's social and economic structure. I believe I hinted at this in several stories, but here I shall write an actual expose of it, in the name of logical consistency.

IC: Given the mercantilism of Axumite society, it should come as no surprise to anyone who analysis it that the Axumites were slavers. The buying and selling of people as property had always been common and relatively institutionalized throughout the various stages of Axumite civilization. There were two primary ways in which you could end up as a slave. The first was that people unable to pay their debts were sold into slavery to their creditors for a certain time period dependent on how much they owed. This form of servitude arose early in Axumite history and only became more widespread as the legal system matured, until by the rise of the Auxmite kingdom, thieves and forgers were also enslaved to their victims as punishment if their crimes were discovered.

The second major form of Axumite slavery were people bought from Somalia and further south (the region of Old Zimbabwe). The Axumites had settled Somalia with trading colonies and ports during the heyday of the merchant council, and soon discovered that the local warring tribes took many captives, which they were willing to sell. This grim commerce flourished most in the age of Trade Council Axum, which had penetrated the furthest south into Somalia. Many of these slaves would serve as rowers on Axum's fleets in the Nile War. Their descendants were nominally freed by the new Kingdom's government for their military service. In practice, they remained poor and most of them would work for similar wages as rowers and seamen on the giant ships, galleys and barges of the Great Levantine War, (also known locally as the Musru conflict, after the Hyakid name for Egypt). Once the Golden Throne became more powerful, the Somali slave trade would resume, to meet a growing demand for agricultural labor and ship’s crews. A similar trade in captives occurred between the Axumites and tribal chiefs in Oman.

The conditions of these slaves and underclass varried widely but were usually poor. Since companies and Axumite ideology was based on maximizing profit and merchant capitalism, there was little push to change or improve the situation of this underclass, on which Axumite society ran. They would live in small shacks and shanties next to the coffe plantations, shipyards and irrigation works on which they labored. Disease and mallnutritoin was the norm in these slums of backbreaking labor, but it was profit for the companies, and willing desperate men for the government, its fleets and its armies. Most Axumite literature gave the experiences of upper class folk who coud pay for thier biography. The slaves were rarely mentioned and their conditions were rarely described. This system was hardly unusual for the time period. Similar slavery existed from Keltia to Egypt to Japan, and were often more cruel than the system in Axum, which was not generational. The children of those who were enslaved because they commited a crime were freed, though they started in poor economic conditions. The children of Somali or Omani slaves were also freed to change employers. This is not to say that slavery here was humane, it was harsh and dehumanizing for the slaves, but for the time period it was not unusual.
 
OOC: Obviously written from a later modern textbook perspective. As far as the Axumite merchants and government are concerned, slavery is "just the cost of doing buisness"
 
Is ittoo late for me to make Part 2 stats?
 
I'll try, but I'm not sure if I can..
..
Here I go..

:Bum
..
..
Sorry, I failed :/
 
Part 2 of ??? (Back to Part 1)

* * * * * * * * *​

One by one, the stars were swallowed by the lightening sky. The clouds over the mountains gleamed with the first hint of gold. Sunrise would be coming soon.

Taras sat slumped in the saddle, his sword swinging listlessly at the horse's side. He would come to a village in another couple of hours, but what was the point? What would he tell them?

“I did. I slew my own father.” Taras stared at the family, as if challenging them. The reaction was immediate. The daughter, who had been edging closer to him, suddenly stiffened and recoiled. The mother let out a soft gasp, her child wailing at her breast. Temesh, the father, leaped to his feet and started to shout.

“Your father? You slew your own father!?” He put out a protective hand, pulling his daughter back; she did not resist, apparently too stunned to move. “Why did you come in here? I cannot – just go! Please! Don't hurt my daughter!”

“I'm not going to – why would I – ?”

“Don't hurt us! We want nothing to do with the politics of the south! Don't drag us into your quarrels, please! Just go!”

“If it is your will, I will of course leave you alone! I only told you this because you seemed like a people who would underst – ”

“What is there to understand!? Get out! Get out, now!” And though Temesh looked as though he might vomit from fear, he began to pick up random items – a mug, a wooden toy, and threw them at Taras' head. It would have seemed comical to the mighty warrior: this rather plump merchant trying to drive him away this way. But somehow, there was nothing funny about it in the slightest. Taras recoiled, shielding his head from the projectiles.

“I'm leaving! Please stop!” But as Taras rose to his feet and backed away, Temesh redoubled in ferocity, throwing harder. The mighty warrior retreated from the room, mead splashing over him as another mug hit him in the shoulder blade.

Not for the first time, Taras thought back to his father. He had been a hard man, certainly, but no harder than he had needed to be. His father's greatest sin might have been an inclination to wine. He had not slain the man out of self-defense, nor out of the defense of another. Not that it would have mattered all that much – the people of Mazderah, northern or southern, would never condone the killing of a parent. Murder was the first and worst sin, but murdering a father?

Unthinkable.

He sighed. If he had known exactly how much trouble there would have been, he probably wouldn't have done it. Or he might have planned it differently, arranged it so that he wouldn't have to flee the estate – no matter.

On the horizon, a village had come into view. No towers, only a wooden palisade. It looked as though it had been settled for barely a couple of years, if that, and the people here would be restarting their lives themselves. Perhaps he could find a place to fit in here – a place for himself. But they will ask you questions, a voice said in the back of his head, sounding suspiciously like his father. They will want to know why you are here, you who are so clearly dressed like a noble, you who are of such aristocratic visage, whose bearing could be regal. What will you tell them?

His horse continued clopping on. The poor thing would likely die from exhaustion if he tried to ride it too much further. He would stop at this village, of that he had no doubt. But what would he tell them? He thought of the family's faces – in particular, the deadened look on that girl's face. And she had been so beautiful...

He straightened in his saddle, a decision made, as the sun rose and his horse came to the edge of the palisade.

Taras would have to lie.
 
When you say "fill out the overview" do you mean your nations history/discription (religion, values, governemnt, UUs) or is their a process by which we can fill out our economy, stability and military?
 
Spam is acceptable?
 
Time to make more zealot filled religions and religious orders for the glory of Keltia.
 
Couldn't see the livestream update earlier. Can I get an update on what happened for Keltia?
 
If you can't see it, wait for the update MANG. ;)

Quick scoop. Death. Destruction. Fire. FIRE. Attempted Genocide. Cataclysm. Defection, Mutiny, Revolt. FREEDOM. Mass Murder. Mass Manslaughter. Mass something something. Independence. Viva la revolution!
 
al-Nsuir was a Pentadjinist missionary from Bekke who aquired fame by sucessfuly preaching in various parts of Somalia (or as it is called in many Axumite sources Punt). He wrote a "Misssionary's Guide to the Southorn Lands" excerpts from which are presented bellow:

The land of Punt is the great region of hills, jungles and tribal land South of Axumite Ethiopea. The region has few major rivers and is thus largly unsuitable for agruiculture. Most of its folk are nomadic heardsmen of cows and sheep, which, according to a scribe I spoke to who had fled the chaos in Egypt, came to the region via the Nilotic trade long before anyone had heard the name of Axum.

Northern Punt: The region directly south of the land of the Teripian tribesmen. The natives of this land are ethnically similar to the Teripian, but their culture is different, notable for lacking the warlike characteristics and tendancies of their Northern neighbors. They are mostly fishermen, since the region has rich resources of its coast, while the interior is mountainous and parts of it are semi-desert. The people here follow a spiritualism similar to what one may find amongst the poor of Nilotic Axum, but simpler and more focused on the sea. They trade their fish to merchants and pirates. My efforts to preach here were limited by the sparsness and nomadic nature of the populance, but I belive that a concentrated effort could put a dent in Long Sea piracy, if we could only convince the locals to abandon their trading partners. Unfortunatly, since the pirates bring valuable commodities to these fishermen, it is unlikely that they can be weaned of this ungodly association.

The African Rajdom: This city was founded by Dakinsa merchants and sailors in order to tap into the local trade. However, it was blockaded by corsairs launched by the various local governments. It has now become a wreatched hive of scum and piracy, uncontrolled by any government. This horid state of affairs is unlikely to last here though, since the new nearby compeating settlement of Axumites is attempting to buy the local's favor. I spent 10 years preaching the word of the Five Spirits here and managed to convert some of them. I was under protection from the Axumite embassy, whose master it seems has no god but the coins he gets from their capital, and desires to know of no other, but one that will help him achive his task. Despite this, he is a fair and reasonable man to deal with. The few folk here from Dakinsa are a major barrier to this though, since they resent the Axumites as competitors and think that these hucksters of the long sea sponsored corsairs against their empire. However, these Dakinsa elite are a minority here, and when their homeland fell, many of them were overthrown by their slaves, people from further South, who think better of Axum since it once had bribed them.

The Elephant River supply depot: The Ellephant River supply depot of Tabae is a recent Axumite construction, aimed at outcompeating the Dakinsa. It has clearly suceeded in surviving them. Built on a small stream, it has taken over the lucrative Axumite slave and ivory trade. Its governor talks about some sort of plan to expand it to manage a large chunk of the Axumite empire. I cannot verify her claim personally. Most of the people in the depot itself are Axumites, sons and daughters of sailors who hoped that they could get richer here than in the curraghs that sail past toward Axum's colonies in Oman. Most of the people around the depot are local Somalis, jungle tribesmen and hearders of cow and sheep, who migrate to and from the Axumite settlement. Acess to the trade it brings has lead to several tribal wars in the region, as chifes who acquire bronze weaponry defeat those who lack it. This is great for the Axumites, who sell the capitves from these wars into slavery, and provide weapons equally, not out of any egalitarian seintiment, but because doing so means more slaves for them.

The Empty Coast: A long streatch of land from here consists mostly of heardsmen and fishermen, about whom little notable can be said, except that everything foreign is strange to them, and they are fascinated by it. This makes them easy targets for conversion, but I fear we would gain little from converting these nomads.

Sarapion: This old woden pirate haven is the furthest South that I could go, though I know several Adenite and Axumite traders who have gone further and have gained some stories from them. This city was built long ago, before the Long Sea War (OOC: The Arabian name for the Nile War) and the great rise of Bekke, land blessed by the djins. Once, Axumites rulled here. Now, the port has become independant, a haven for the many assorted pirates and desparados who sale the Indian ocean. The port was initially built to trade Ivory, animal skins and slaves from the tribes and cheifdoms of Zimbabwe further South (OOC: The Axumites call everything south of Sarapion Zimbabwe, only a select few have been anywhere near the actual ruins or even know that a city once existed there. Most reguard it as a myth.) Now that there are no Axumites, and with the exception of a dock and several huts, built in the local manner and dwelt in by local fishermen, or folk who are descendant half from pirates and corsairs and half from natives, the little town continues these enterprises. Even though the supply depot to the North attempts to stop piracy, they still willingly trade with this remanent of colonialism past, since as the Axumites say, "life is buisness, and buisness is buisness". Attempting to spread Pentadjinism, or indeed any other religion here is pointless, since most of the local pirates detest the civilized world of the north for one reason or another.

Zimbabwe: I have been told by an Adenite friend of mine, that beyond this the land is filled with tribes of all manner of strange custom. Men who feast on human flesh, pigmy folk half our height, women who can turn into leopards, and an empty city of stone walls and giant weeping totem heads. I know nothing of these travelor's tales of that land, and my source himself confesses to being there only once, and seeing little of this. He heard it from his father, who himself retells the experience of a contact from Adulis. Thus, I will make not attempt here to coment on the myth that surrounds the country South of Punt.
 
There are 20 posts per page, right? So there can be two more before we go on to the next one.
 
Yes, but now only 1 vacancy is left
 
And now there are none.

Your move, Terrance.
 
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