Post by SouthWestern Traders on Apr 5, 2018 6:19:46 GMT
While foodstuffs were always great to have, some especially valuable furs were procured along the eastern coast of Hibernia. Eventually, those furs would make their way to Wessex and then finally down to Dumonia. It wouldn't interfere with the trade venture itself, since an additional ship had been procured for exactly this purpose. The unfortunate truth was that there was only so much food to purchase in Hibernia, and that was already being purchased by the venture.
Giving away free food was, as the guilders were well aware of, a poor choice save in emergencies, and emergency had not struck yet. The issue with handing out free supplies was that it undercut local craftsmen, merchants and farmers. The result, as they were all too aware, would be even more starving families: By handing out free food, the farmer with food locally could not sell it, and so while he could keep his family fed, his excess would go to waste. Unable to trade, he wouldn't be able to increase his heads of cattle, repair his tools, or get other sundry supplies. Inevitably, as spring rolled around, he would find himself working hard just to keep his farm running - an already difficult task when crops could fail and disease could strike. At the next harvest time, despite his best efforts, the province would then once more suffer a famine and this time, he would not be able to feed his family. And when a farmer can't feed his family, times are truly rough.
That was why the guild was focused on selling foodstuffs at reasonable prices, so as not to compete with the local farmers, but to provide good quality foods to those with the money to afford it, so that the staple foodstuffs could be sold locally to those who needed it. And instead, it left a little room for furs, and other valuables, that would make their way back from Hibernia - cheaply bought, but to be sold at extravagant prices, for they were extravagant items!
Giving away free food was, as the guilders were well aware of, a poor choice save in emergencies, and emergency had not struck yet. The issue with handing out free supplies was that it undercut local craftsmen, merchants and farmers. The result, as they were all too aware, would be even more starving families: By handing out free food, the farmer with food locally could not sell it, and so while he could keep his family fed, his excess would go to waste. Unable to trade, he wouldn't be able to increase his heads of cattle, repair his tools, or get other sundry supplies. Inevitably, as spring rolled around, he would find himself working hard just to keep his farm running - an already difficult task when crops could fail and disease could strike. At the next harvest time, despite his best efforts, the province would then once more suffer a famine and this time, he would not be able to feed his family. And when a farmer can't feed his family, times are truly rough.
That was why the guild was focused on selling foodstuffs at reasonable prices, so as not to compete with the local farmers, but to provide good quality foods to those with the money to afford it, so that the staple foodstuffs could be sold locally to those who needed it. And instead, it left a little room for furs, and other valuables, that would make their way back from Hibernia - cheaply bought, but to be sold at extravagant prices, for they were extravagant items!