Atrian Economics



The Atrian League functions under a system of economic nationalism disguised as rampant free-trade. The State, as such, has little to no direct control over the economic situation of the League nor does it take an interest in the daily concerns of its populace other than to assure that nationalistic integrity of the economic system is maintained. There are nominal fees and tariffs which are due to the state, but they are rather minor and are calculated as fixed overhead, a standard price of doing business, rather than an additional cost which can be avoided or otherwise subverted.

Barring those tariffs and fees, the prices of goods and services are entirely what the market will bear. As such, any merchant can buy and/or sell any good at any price to make as much profit as they dare. The realities, even beyond the natural forces of supply and demand, are far more subtle and complex. The combined forces of the various families do function as a de facto oversight organization, but primarily to ensure that external influences (for various definitions of ‘external’) do not have undue or substantive influence on the markets in which they are interested.

In more practical terms, what this means is that the major families control various trade routes, means of production and services and make sure that no-one interferes with their ability to turn the level of profit that they wish to see. Of course, no single family has a monopoly on any industry or service, though it doesn’t stop differing factions from vying for position, putting pressure on competitors and, generally attempting to corner the market on almost anything from sex to bread.

There are a few trade items which are tightly controlled by the state, to wit: pearls, ring cowrie shells as well as the importation of silver and gold. The harvesting of the shells/pearls is done under strict supervision of the Basileus’ agents and are traded directly from government to government for precious metals which are, in general, in short supply in the Archipelago.

The basis of Atrian currency is the obloi, a small brass stick the size of a stylus or pencil. Two obloi are approximately a day’s wage for an unskilled worker. Six obloi make a drachma, a small silver coin worth approximately a day’s wage for a skilled worker. The tetradrachon, worth four drachma, is also known as a delphini, or dolphin, for the symbol on the reverse of the large silver coin.