First of all, congratulations to all of the players! You all displayed a lot of ingenuity and I think this bodes well for our little enterprise. Remember to only make 1 argument per turn.
Don't forget, Turn 2 arguments are due by midnight Friday EST, you can post them HERE.
For those of you who have not plays a Matrix game before, arguments are generally made public, so all turn 1 arguments are posted HERE
Here is a summary, this is your new reality and feel free to springboard off of these
Parliament
Argument Strong, rolled a 4, success!!!Desperate for funds, Parliament decides to end its salutary neglect of the colonies. They pass regulations to send additional tax collectors to aid the Royal Governors at all their major trading ports - including Georgetown, Charleston, and Beaufort. This newly reinforced customs service is made up mostly of young ne'er-do-wells, drunken younger sons of Earls, and other benefits of patronage.
Royal Government
Both arguments were judged as Strong, but alas, I rolled a 2 and 1 one for the arguments and they both failed.Efforts by the Royal Governor to establish a reinforced customs service using volunteers from the backcountry meets with lukewarm response and is overshadowed by the newly arrived Royal custom service established by Parliament.
A separate effort to attempt to establish better relations with the Cherokee by arming them also peters out, as the Colonial Assembly outright refuses to provide funds to their feared enemies.
Low Country Planters
One argument was judged as Strong and succeeded with a roll of 5...Low Country Farmers reach out to members of Parliament and provide "low-interest loans" to certain respected gentlemen of the Hous of Commons which has the effect of making many friends for the Rice Kings in London.
The other argument was judged as Weak and failed with a roll of 2...
One of the Rice Kings attempts to form a Society for the Improvement of Labor aimed at improving conditions of the slaves upon which they depend. This proposal is met with disdain by other members of the low country aristocracy, who fear any relaxation of the Slave Codes, plus anything that cuts into their profits.
Back Country Farmers
I judged this one as moderate, but it succeeded with a roll of 6.
There are also rumors reaching the ears of the Rice Kings of contacts being made between freedmen living in the Back Country and potentially rebellious slaves. Nothing can be substantiated, but rumors persist.
Cherokee
(This was a long and complex argument from Jack, so I have broken it down a little)
Creek Indian raids from Georgia happen to coincide with Cherokee leaders extending an olive branch to both the Back Country farmers, the Rice King, and the Royal Government. Given the attacks, these are warmly accepted. The low country establishment and Royal government reaffirm the proclamation line of 1763 and send an order to the Back Country settlers explicitly forbidding any action across the Cherokee Boundary.
The Back Country leadership proposes potential passage for settlers through the Cherokee nation, to which the Cherokee cautiously agree, with the knowledge that they can close the passage at any point they want to with the support of the Crown Government.
5 comments:
Whirlwind - Deputy Governor
Establish a sitting court and judicial circuit in the back country, with competent judges and officials to be appointed by the Governor and his Deputy. This will increase the control of and respect of the Crown in the area by meeting the people's need for local justice away from Charleston; it will prepare for the Crown's authority to be established on any newly colonized terriotory in the Mississipi area; it can work with the Cherokees to stop illegal encroachment over the proclamation line; it will allow a much better understanding of all the local personalities and power dynamics in the region; and the records kept will be useful for government information purposes.
This argument will succeed because:
1 - The local people will support it.
2 - It does not affect political power per se, so it will not be detrimental to the Low Country planters - rather, it will increase the capacity of their local court system by removing some of the demands upon it.
3 - The costs to the colony and/or Parliament are trivial and do not require any colonists to pay taxes to Britain for it.
4 - This project builds on recent agreements, both to open a road to the Mississipi (so the rule of law must also be extended) and for the law enforcement architecture in the colony to be built up (i.e. the improved Customs service).
Guy Farrish
Royal Governor
Turn 2
Parliament sends out a British Infantry Battalion to South Carolina under the Royal Governor’s command to aid the efforts against armed smugglers and to ensure the security of the colony.
This will succeed because
1. The new tax collectors have found it difficult to carry out their duty effectively, finding the existing customs officers obstructive and smugglers well connected. They use their connections to support the petition to King and Parliament for military aid.
2. The situation in the Back Country is fluid and the Farmers are flouting the 1763 line and breaking the arrangement with the Cherokee. They are not just travelling through but colonising Cherokee lands, as they are afraid of being surrounded by Creek and Cherokee tribes so far from home in the agreed Mississippi valley. British soldiers are needed to ensure the agreements are adhered to and good relations and peace maintained with the Cherokee
3. King and Parliament realise only the sort of show of force a British battalion can provide will curb this lawlessness and ensure both revenue and security.
4. The Colonial Assembly will support this, being concerned for their safety, with suspicions of the agreement between the Cherokee and Back Country farmers, wary of rumours of risings among the slaves and confident of their hold on the customs situation.
Guy Farrish
Royal Governor
South Carolina
The Cherokee get the Back Country Farmers to agree to push west through Creek territory rather than Cherokee territory. This succeeds because:
1) The terrain is more gentle
2) The weather is more amenable
3) The 'highway' through Cherokee territory is not sustainable; just as the Back Country Farmers have their individuals that are willing to flout the law (much as the 'Over The Mountain Men' do), and they view the encroachment into Cherokee territory as an act of war and will ultimately take matters into their own hands, raiding Back Country Farm settlements again, if it continues
4) The Cherokee will assist the Back Country Farmers through Creek territory, serving as guides and allies in direct military confrontation
5) Going through Creek territory would gain favor for the Back Country Farmers with the Low Country Elites, the Royal Governor, and the Parliament as it adheres to the Proclamation of 1763, works against the Creek, who are French allies, and pushes further west, helping to cut French territorial holdings/expansion running north/south across the center of the continent, and that favor can help them gain better infrastructure in the back country, gain more representation in the South Carolina government, and soften the blow of them not paying much (if anything) in taxes.
V/R,
Jack
Don’t know if you are still taking turns, Guy. We had to move my mother in law in with us yesterday and today and for this reason I am late.
We will send a large shipment of cloth and trade goods to the Cherokee women, again, reminding them of their traditional responsabilities to determine what happens to captured slaves. We will start sending whiskey as trade goods to freeman in the port towns of the lowlands, again, feeling them out as to their willingness to help out in gatting slaves to escape to Cherokee twrritory. The whiskey shipments will be properly tax paid, but we will try to see if we can find a free man willing to do a whiskey for escaped slaves trade route.
This argument will work because the traditional route formescaping slaves and indentured servants before I dependence was into the backlands. Many slaves may be interested in aid in leaving the relatively harsh co ditions of the lowlands for the frontier.
Now that we have gained favor in Parliament, we will lobby members to exempt our rice and indigo from being taxed by the Stamp Act. Our favor earned will allow this strategy to succeed, as well as the fact that we are buying goods from England.
I also pressure the colonial government to pass a law to prevent back country farmers from being allowed to form a militia so their influence cannot grow. I will accomplish this by offering to increase salaries for leaders of the colonial government.
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