Merchants control free ports and exchange islands, under merchant law
Merchants more interested in payment for wharfage & trade business in the port than proper (legal & correct)paperwork
The representative of the Merchants, to whom I reported my business, and to whom I paid wharfage, asked no questions. He did not even demand the proof of registration of the Tesephone of Tabor. The Merchants, who control Lydius, under merchant law, for it is a free port, like Helmutsport, and Schendi and Bazi, are more interested in having their port heavily trafficked than strictly policed.
Hunters
Pirates, paying wharfage and declaring some sort of trade business in the port are allowed entry
Indeed, at the wharves I had even seen two green ships. Green is the color common to pirates. I supposed, did they pay their wharfage and declare some sort of business, the captains of those ships were as little interrogated as I.
Hunters
Government of free ports & exchange islands is identical (falling under Merchant law which is common through Gor)
Though some may be more strictly controlled and others more permissive
The governance of Lydius, under the merchants, incidentally, is identical to that of the exchange islands, or free islands, in Thassa. Three with which I was familiar, from various voyages, were Tabor, Teletus and, to the north, offshore from Torvaldsland, Scagnar. Of these, to be honest, and to give the merchants their due, I will admit that Tabor and Teletus are rather strictly controlled. It is said, however, by some of the merchants there, that this manner of caution and restriction, has to some extent diminished their position in the spheres of trade. Be that as it may, Lydius, though not what you would call an open port, was indulgent, and permissive.
Hunters
Management of a free port is similar to management of a free keep maintained by the merchants
"You are Dina," she said. "You are slave now within the Keep of Stones of Turmus. This is a merchant keep, under the banner and shield of Turia." That the keep was under the banner of Tuna designated it as a Turian keep, distinguishing it in this sense not only from keeps maintained by other cities but more importantly from the "free keeps" maintained by the merchant caste in its own right, keeps without specific municipal affiliations. Similarly, the merchant caste, which is international, so to speak, in its organization, arranges and conducts the four great fairs which occur annually in the vicinity of the Sardar mountains. The merchant caste, too, maintains certain free ports on certain islands and on the coasts of Thassa, such as Teletus and Bazi.
Slave Girl
Space in a free port, as in a free keep, is rented on a commercial basis, regardless of municipal affiliation
Space in a "free keep" is rented on a commercial basis, regardless of municipal affiliation. In a banner keep, or one maintained by a given city, preference, if not exclusive rights, are accorded to the merchants and citizens of the city under whose banner the keep is established and administered.
Slave Girl
Warehouse space in a free port available for rent to merchants for trade purposes
We continued along the docks of Lydius, satisfying our curiosity as to the port. We passed some fortified warehouse, in which space is available to merchants. In such places, there would be gems, and gold, silks, and wines and perfumes, jewelries and spices, richer goods not to be left exposed on the docks.
Hunters
Merchants maintain fine harbors & markets to encourage business
I had been taken by Tellius, the henchman of the Lady Elicia of Ar, by tarn, to Schendi. This infamous port is the home port of the famed black slavers of Schendi, a league of slavers well known for their cruel depredations on shipping, but it is also a free port, administered by black merchants, and its fine harbor and its inland markets to the north and east attract much commerce. It is thought that an agreement exists between the merchants of Schendi and the members of the league of black slavers, though I know of few who have proclaimed this publicly in Schendi and lived. The evidence, if evidence it is that such an agreement exists, is that the black slavers tend to avoid preying on shipping which plies to and from Schendi. They conduct their work commonly in more northern waters, returning to Schendi as their home port.
Slave Girl
The societies of exchange islands and free ports, administered by the caste of merchants, also operate within the caste system.
~~High Castes~~
Initiates
Scribes
Accountants
Record Keepers
Historians
Teachers
Cartographers
Geographers
Cryptographers
Copiers
Law - (Magistrates, Praetors, Prefects)
Builders**
Physicians**
Warriors
~~Lower Castes~~
Artisans
Assassins**
Bakers**
Cosmeticians
Charcoal Maker
Cloth Workers**
Dyers
Rug Makers
Carders
Weavers
Bleachers
Goat Keepers
Leather Workers
Merchants
Metal Workers**
Musicians**
Peasants**
Perfumers**
Players - not a caste!!
Poets & Singers
Potters (Pot Makers)
Saddle Makers
Slavers
Sleen Trainers
Tarn Keepers
Thieves (Port Kar only)
Vintners
Wood Carriers
Mon Nov 23, 2009 11:29 am