Arcél 2900

From Almeopedia

Arcél 2700

Arcél 3050

1 Trade wars
2 Rise of the pirates
3 In the south
4 Characteristic figure

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Trade wars

North-south trade was a marginal affair to most people on the continent; but it was very important to those closest to the sea routes, and was responsible for the rise and fall of kingdoms.

Around 2820 Nyandai picked a quarrel with Čwam, and very nearly conquered all of it; the final siege of Thethlim was only abandoned when Uytai threatened to intervene. Still, this gave Nyandai a near-monopoly on the southernmost leg of the north-south trade, and this was enhanced by its financial innovations: banks, bookkeeping, and insurance. Many a southern ruler’s most anxious relationship was with his Nyanese banker. (Thanks to Nyandai’s navy, the bankers were safe from confiscation as an alternative to lending; but a ruler could still default and cause a banking firm to go bankrupt.)

The Itseʔ delta towns were open to all traders; but they controlled the trade upriver, and thus control over the delta was hotly contested. In the late 2700s the Dnetic kingdom of Zonyān was pushed out, replaced by the Itsenic confederacy of Itsičiʔli, under the leadership of one Endzo-gwošin, chief of the warriors (dakwenyan)— who were, perhaps more importantly, the merchants as well. This unbalanced the Itsenic tripartite confederacy; the warriors were now firmly in charge, though leaving the shamans and women control over their traditional domains.

Upriver, the Dnetic kingdom of Kwažihk succeeded in eliminating the last Uytainese rulers.

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Rise of the pirates

Mauraŋ was hit by a series of crisis in the 2840s, starting with a plague (probably itself caused by overpopulation), but exacerbated by the financial overreach of its queens. They resorted to repressive means to raise income, which the landowners simply couldn’t afford; Hàɔráŋ gleefully took the opportunity to seize the silk islands. In the 2860s central power simply collapsed.

Pirates took the opportunity to seize Łimaní, the port at the head of the Łima; this proved to be so lucrative that they could organize the pirates of the region (co-opting most, eliminating the rest) and take over the entire seacoast. Their greatest coup was to seize the northern silk island in 2885. They moved the base of their operations to Mâɔmê, the former capital, and their chief Ŋíntàe began to refer to herself as a jintràŋ or empress.

The pirates were reasonably careful not to overplay their hand; the income from running the coastal towns was too valuable to risk in a war. Foreign ships were required to pay docking fees, but allowed free transit; smaller ships were hassled if they attempted to skirt the pirate realm without stopping; larger ships were left alone.

The port of Pahni seemed like low-lying fruit, however, and in 2891 the pirates took it over from Hàɔráŋ. This was going too far, and Belesao compelled them to return it. It technically remained under Hàɔ sovereignty, but as defense and administration were taken over by the Lé, it is marked as a possession of Belesao.

The ruling dynasty of Łeisau was Bé, but as its officials and aristocracy and most of the population were Linaic, it seems best to show it in the Linaminče color. It is thus the first Linaic state, though culturallly it’s part of the Bé.

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In the south

Uytai finally got the upper hand in its struggle with the Gleŋ, occupying the upper Ħomtso in the 2830s. The Gleŋ had already been weakened by their loss of the Nikrit plateau, now under the control of the Ȟšanda warlord Baštri. Baštri was also attempting to extend his control northward, but the mostly agricultural people who lived along the lower Nikrit, the Qapa, fiercely resisted.

The decline of the Gleŋ allowed the Smë to occupy the entire rift valley, while another Kemic people, the Ȟlum, occupied the highlands north of Siad βo.

Ȟamsan has extended its authority over the western coast of Ȟaibalai. Ȟamsan was a more advanced country, with a strong central government and common Arcélian technology; Ȟaibalai was still at the level of chietains. The Ȟamsanese did their best to mainain their advantage, forbidding for instance any native of Ȟaibalai from leaving the island or acquiring Ȟamsanese weapons.

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