When considering how nations expand beyond their borders in your fantasy campaign, there are several options to choose from.
Trading colonies often began with trading posts. The explorers of the Mediterranean and Black Seas in times before Alexander, the Phoenicians and Greeks, set up trading posts. But the Greeks also used trading colonies as an outlet for excess population, setting up small towns. Greece is not blessed with much good agricultural land, and its rough terrain naturally divided it into hundreds of often-small city-states. Where would excess population go? When the Greeks set up a colony the usual expectation was that the colony would soon become an independent, albeit small, city-state.
Unlike the Greek city states, Phoenicia was surrounded by empires and rarely independent. About the time that the Persian Empire occupied Phoenicia was when the Phoenician colonies became independent if they hadn’t already.
Notice that the Romans (and Alexander, more or less) were colonizing lands geographically contiguous to their homelands, different from the Greeks and Phoenicians who colonized overseas. Contiguity has great relevance in geopolitics. It is rare in the long run that a colony separated by water from its homeland remains part of that homeland, an important factor when considering if one of your nations plans to annex another.
As an aside, notice that the Danes who were given control of what became the Duchy of Normandy in the 10th century had been almost completely Frenchified by the time of the Norman conquest of England. Sometimes the inhabitants absorb the conquerors, not vice versa. In the end, though the kings of England spoke French for centuries, ultimately the Norman French were absorbed into the English population.
In the medieval-plus-magic fantasy world that is the typical base RPG setting (see “Baseline Assumptions of Fantasy RPGs") military colonies might be most applicable to a typical adventure campaign. A military-style colony set in a wild-and-woolly area might be a good base for adventures. Characters could be hired as guards for a group of Greek-style sea-based trading colonies.
Conversely, a history of expansion may play a bigger role in the backstory of your campaign world. Different groups may have language, values, and currency determined by the dominant nation. And if one nation is ascendant, its influence might explain why there’s a common standard wherever the adventurers go.
Your Turn: How do nations expand their influence in your campaign?
Trading Colonies
We can go back to very ancient times, when the Assyrians had a trading colony in Hittite territory, far from the heartland of Assyria. This colony facilitated trade of Hittite copper for Assyrian textiles. Assyrians lived in the colony, but were interested only in trade, not domination.Trading colonies often began with trading posts. The explorers of the Mediterranean and Black Seas in times before Alexander, the Phoenicians and Greeks, set up trading posts. But the Greeks also used trading colonies as an outlet for excess population, setting up small towns. Greece is not blessed with much good agricultural land, and its rough terrain naturally divided it into hundreds of often-small city-states. Where would excess population go? When the Greeks set up a colony the usual expectation was that the colony would soon become an independent, albeit small, city-state.
Unlike the Greek city states, Phoenicia was surrounded by empires and rarely independent. About the time that the Persian Empire occupied Phoenicia was when the Phoenician colonies became independent if they hadn’t already.
Military Colonies
Roman colonies are of a type much less common at that time (though also used less intensely by Alexander the Great). They set up “military” colonies to help control territories acquired by warfare as they expanded throughout Italy. The military colonies were outlets to reward retired soldiers who didn’t have lands of their own, even though inhabitants of the colonies were not granted Roman citizenship. Remember the pre-modern ideal, Land = Wealth.Notice that the Romans (and Alexander, more or less) were colonizing lands geographically contiguous to their homelands, different from the Greeks and Phoenicians who colonized overseas. Contiguity has great relevance in geopolitics. It is rare in the long run that a colony separated by water from its homeland remains part of that homeland, an important factor when considering if one of your nations plans to annex another.
Mass Migrations
Military and trading colonies were eventually replaced in medieval times by mass migrations, both on the European continent and in Great Britain. The Anglo-Saxon migrants who occupied England absorbed the population, usually through intermarriage. The same happened when the Danes occupied the Danelaw in eastern England. On the other hand the Norman conquest provided land for the barons.As an aside, notice that the Danes who were given control of what became the Duchy of Normandy in the 10th century had been almost completely Frenchified by the time of the Norman conquest of England. Sometimes the inhabitants absorb the conquerors, not vice versa. In the end, though the kings of England spoke French for centuries, ultimately the Norman French were absorbed into the English population.
How Nations Change
It’s often instructive to look at language in relation to colonization and conquest. Where the resident population absorbs the conquerors, the latter take on the language of the former. Where the native population is absorbed by the conquerors, the natives take on the language of the conquerors. In fantasy settings where everyone speaks a common language, one of those nations was likely the originator of the Common tongue.In the medieval-plus-magic fantasy world that is the typical base RPG setting (see “Baseline Assumptions of Fantasy RPGs") military colonies might be most applicable to a typical adventure campaign. A military-style colony set in a wild-and-woolly area might be a good base for adventures. Characters could be hired as guards for a group of Greek-style sea-based trading colonies.
Conversely, a history of expansion may play a bigger role in the backstory of your campaign world. Different groups may have language, values, and currency determined by the dominant nation. And if one nation is ascendant, its influence might explain why there’s a common standard wherever the adventurers go.
Your Turn: How do nations expand their influence in your campaign?
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