Ice trade in Kiravia



The ice trade (Coscivian: Xistómalarn) was a major industry in Kiravia from premodern times through the early 20th century anno Domini, involving the large-scale harvesting, transport and sale of natural ice, and later the making and sale of artificial ice, for domestic consumption and commercial purposes. Ice was cut from the surface of lakes, ponds, streams, and glaciers, then stored in (xistóþram), before being sent on by ship, barge, and later railroad to markets across Ixnay. A strong consensus exists among economic historians that the impact of the ice trade on the history of Kiravia can hardly be overstated. The ice trade is credited with providing the foundation for the growth of seaborne mercantile capitalism in the cities of the eastern seaboard, raising living standards and accelerating economic development and urbanisation of Upper Kirav and the North Coast, and forging strong commercial links between Kiravia societies in the sunnier climes of Levantia and Sarpedon, such as Urcea and Caphiria. The history of the ice industry is tightly intertwined with that of the Kiravian alcoholic beverage industry, particularly as it relates to the ice-intensive mass-production of and facilitating the cooled serving and transport of beer. Many of the larger beer companies in Kiravia, such as Kilikas Brewing SAK, have historical ties to the ice trade.

The geographic footprint of the ice industry varied over time, due to changes in climatic conditions, technology, infrastructural and political conditions, and market factors. At various points in time, the major ice-producing regions of Kiravia were Koskenkorva, Wintergen, the Far Northeast, Irovasdra, Intravia, Vôtaska, Arkvera, Kernea, upstate Kiygrava, Tharvia, and Vrykróva in the eastern branch of the industry, and Devahoma, Rhuon, Lataskia, and glaciated parts of the Western Highlands in the western branch. The main export ports in the east were Valēka, Béyasar, and Kérvoak, while Tavroa dominated western exports.

Early modern Occidental writers on the Coscivian lands were long puzzled by this question: Why was Upper Kirav wealthy and South Kirav poor? The preponderance of good agricultural land and a climate conducive to the fruitful cultivation thereof were in the South, yet wealth and power were concentrating ever more in the North, a marginal patchwork of struggling smallholds interspersed among poorly drained pinelands and rocky hills. All manner of explanations were advanced: The Adaptivists in Fiannria blamed the benighted Southern oligarchy, the Apollinarians credited an infusion of superior Saxon blood in the North by the Cromwelutes. The real answer, however, was ice.

The virgin invading other countries to obtain an ice-free port versus the CHAD having ports filled with ice that other countries willingly pay for.