Vallos: Difference between revisions

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===Piratocracies===

The rise of [[Occidental]] oceanic trade presented a number of opportunities for the petty kings of Vallos, especially in the wake of [[Aster's expedition]] which introduced trade to [[Crona]] from [[Sarpedon]]. Centuries of war had created significant hardship and lack of opportunity for additional plunder in the form of tribute, but the increasing volume of trade centered near Vallos by the decade caught the eye of both local authorities as well as enterprising individuals. Beginning in around [[1450]], petty kings began to sponsor public {{wp|privateering}} of trade ships in [[St. Brendan's Strait]]. Besides the negative impact on overall trade, the sudden influx of wealth back into Vallos the piracy produced had a profound impact on its politics. In many different cases, privateers had become significantly wealthier than their local ruler, and they used these funds to take over the port they lived in and eventually neighboring settlements. By [[1500]], most of the northern third of Vallos had become "piratocracies" - realms created by force by wealthy privateers. These states would transform into efficient machines of piracy, as the state apparatus and military continued to grow in support of piracy. This ~~process~~ grew exponentially as [[Culture_of_Varshan#Slavery|Varshan]] opened its doors to Vallosi slave traders in [[1579]], making it so that not only the cargo, but the crew, of captured ships were of high value. As they raided the high seas, the piratocracies also consolidated northern Vallos from more than two dozen petty kingdoms into just three large Kingdoms who actively competed for the right to raid and plunder. The most prominent of these realms was the Kingdom of [[Oustec]], established in the northern archipelago in [[1566]] by the conquest of one privateer of the outlying insular territories of another. Oustec, the privateer-turned-King, would later unify the northern archipelago and push on to mainland Vallos, with his successors establishing the southern boundary of the Kingdom in modern [[Arona]] in [[1598]]. The Kingdom of Oustec would go on to be the primary rival of encroaching Occidental powers for the next centuries.

The rise of [[Occidental]] oceanic trade presented a number of opportunities for the petty kings of Vallos, especially in the wake of [[Aster's expedition]] which introduced trade to [[Crona]] from [[Sarpedon]]. Centuries of war had created significant hardship and lack of opportunity for additional plunder in the form of tribute, but the increasing volume of trade centered near Vallos by the decade caught the eye of both local authorities as well as enterprising individuals. Beginning in around [[1450]], petty kings began to sponsor public {{wp|privateering}} of trade ships in [[St. Brendan's Strait]]. Besides the negative impact on overall trade, the sudden influx of wealth back into Vallos the piracy produced had a profound impact on its politics. In many different cases, privateers had become significantly wealthier than their local ruler, and they used these funds to take over the port they lived in and eventually neighboring settlements. By [[1500]], most of the northern third of Vallos had become "piratocracies" - realms created by force by wealthy privateers. These states would transform into efficient machines of piracy, as the state apparatus and military continued to grow in support of piracy. These states functioned on a client-patron model, with the King or leader serving both as the most profitable pirate in the realm as well as patron, sharing spoils with subordinate pirate houses and operators. Spoils would also be used to improve public living conditions and infrastructure, ensuring continued popular acceptance of the piratocracy. Accordingly, these states were largely personalist and based on individual relationships rather than strong central institutions. This meant that succession in these realms were often fraught with danger, as the most charismatic and wealthy raider could and would challenge the hereditary succession of the King. The success and number of these states grew exponentially as [[Culture_of_Varshan#Slavery|Varshan]] opened its doors to Vallosi slave traders in [[1579]], making it so that not only the cargo, but the crew, of captured ships were of high value. As they raided the high seas, the piratocracies also consolidated northern Vallos from more than two dozen petty kingdoms into just three large Kingdoms who actively competed for the right to raid and plunder.

The most prominent of these realms was the Kingdom of [[Oustec]], established in the northern archipelago in [[1566]] by the conquest of one privateer of the outlying insular territories of another. Oustec, the privateer-turned-King, would later unify the northern archipelago and push on to mainland Vallos, with his successors establishing the southern boundary of the Kingdom in modern [[Arona]] in [[1598]]. The Kingdom of Oustec would go on to be the primary rival of encroaching Occidental powers for the next centuries.

Central Vallos remained largely unaffected by the rise of the piratocracies. Southern Vallos was slightly affected, as the Polynesian states there also managed to engage in piracy, though significantly less than in the north. Southern Vallos experienced state consolidation during the period 1350-1700, coalescing into just five kingdoms.

@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 ===Piratocracies===
-The rise of [[Occidental]] oceanic trade presented a number of opportunities for the petty kings of Vallos, especially in the wake of [[Aster's expedition]] which introduced trade to [[Crona]] from [[Sarpedon]]. Centuries of war had created significant hardship and lack of opportunity for additional plunder in the form of tribute, but the increasing volume of trade centered near Vallos by the decade caught the eye of both local authorities as well as enterprising individuals. Beginning in around [[1450]], petty kings began to sponsor public {{wp|privateering}} of trade ships in [[St. Brendan's Strait]]. Besides the negative impact on overall trade, the sudden influx of wealth back into Vallos the piracy produced had a profound impact on its politics. In many different cases, privateers had become significantly wealthier than their local ruler, and they used these funds to take over the port they lived in and eventually neighboring settlements. By [[1500]], most of the northern third of Vallos had become "piratocracies" - realms created by force by wealthy privateers. These states would transform into efficient machines of piracy, as the state apparatus and military continued to grow in support of piracy. This process grew exponentially as [[Culture_of_Varshan#Slavery|Varshan]] opened its doors to Vallosi slave traders in [[1579]], making it so that not only the cargo, but the crew, of captured ships were of high value. As they raided the high seas, the piratocracies also consolidated northern Vallos from more than two dozen petty kingdoms into just three large Kingdoms who actively competed for the right to raid and plunder. The most prominent of these realms was the Kingdom of [[Oustec]], established in the northern archipelago in [[1566]] by the conquest of one privateer of the outlying insular territories of another. Oustec, the privateer-turned-King, would later unify the northern archipelago and push on to mainland Vallos, with his successors establishing the southern boundary of the Kingdom in modern [[Arona]] in [[1598]]. The Kingdom of Oustec would go on to be the primary rival of encroaching Occidental powers for the next centuries.
+The rise of [[Occidental]] oceanic trade presented a number of opportunities for the petty kings of Vallos, especially in the wake of [[Aster's expedition]] which introduced trade to [[Crona]] from [[Sarpedon]]. Centuries of war had created significant hardship and lack of opportunity for additional plunder in the form of tribute, but the increasing volume of trade centered near Vallos by the decade caught the eye of both local authorities as well as enterprising individuals. Beginning in around [[1450]], petty kings began to sponsor public {{wp|privateering}} of trade ships in [[St. Brendan's Strait]]. Besides the negative impact on overall trade, the sudden influx of wealth back into Vallos the piracy produced had a profound impact on its politics. In many different cases, privateers had become significantly wealthier than their local ruler, and they used these funds to take over the port they lived in and eventually neighboring settlements. By [[1500]], most of the northern third of Vallos had become "piratocracies" - realms created by force by wealthy privateers. These states would transform into efficient machines of piracy, as the state apparatus and military continued to grow in support of piracy. These states functioned on a client-patron model, with the King or leader serving both as the most profitable pirate in the realm as well as patron, sharing spoils with subordinate pirate houses and operators. Spoils would also be used to improve public living conditions and infrastructure, ensuring continued popular acceptance of the piratocracy. Accordingly, these states were largely personalist and based on individual relationships rather than strong central institutions. This meant that succession in these realms were often fraught with danger, as the  most charismatic and wealthy raider could and would challenge the hereditary succession of the King. The success and number of these states grew exponentially as [[Culture_of_Varshan#Slavery|Varshan]] opened its doors to Vallosi slave traders in [[1579]], making it so that not only the cargo, but the crew, of captured ships were of high value. As they raided the high seas, the piratocracies also consolidated northern Vallos from more than two dozen petty kingdoms into just three large Kingdoms who actively competed for the right to raid and plunder.
+The most prominent of these realms was the Kingdom of [[Oustec]], established in the northern archipelago in [[1566]] by the conquest of one privateer of the outlying insular territories of another. Oustec, the privateer-turned-King, would later unify the northern archipelago and push on to mainland Vallos, with his successors establishing the southern boundary of the Kingdom in modern [[Arona]] in [[1598]]. The Kingdom of Oustec would go on to be the primary rival of encroaching Occidental powers for the next centuries.
 Central Vallos remained largely unaffected by the rise of the piratocracies. Southern Vallos was slightly affected, as the Polynesian states there also managed to engage in piracy, though significantly less than in the north. Southern Vallos experienced state consolidation during the period 1350-1700, coalescing into just five kingdoms.

Vallos: Difference between revisions

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