Hmmm...actually, now that I think about it, it's inevitable for any nation to have a national debt, no matter the era. Basically, nation + war = higher spending = debt.
Previously, I'd been thinking of the term "national debt" as associated with 20th and 21st century financial shenanigans, but actually European countries incurred all sorts of massive debt in the Middle Ages to finance all their wars, right? Like, Spain was so gleefully exploiting the New World partly because it was a sudden influx of resources to help pay off the debt they'd gone into during the war with the Moors.
So, it wouldn't be implausible for Narnia to have some kind of debt, given how much warring you've apparently got your Narnia embroiled in. The main question is how wisely the royals managed it or how they kept it down to a manageable size (or not). Who they borrowed from (it would always be a really hairy issue to borrow from the Calormens) and how they weighed going to war vs. if they had healthy enough GDP at the moment to pay off the consequent debt as painlessly as possible. The takeover of the Lone Islands may, in this context, have had something to do with acquiring more resources to pay off some costly war. Also: have fun with tariffs!
And possibly, I don't know because I'm not very familiar with your Narnia, but possibly the debt stuff could factor into your Dying Times. The Pevensies leave behind some unpaid loans, Narnia has to default, other countries attempt to perform the international equivalent of repossession.
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Date: 2009-03-13 04:38 pm (UTC)Previously, I'd been thinking of the term "national debt" as associated with 20th and 21st century financial shenanigans, but actually European countries incurred all sorts of massive debt in the Middle Ages to finance all their wars, right? Like, Spain was so gleefully exploiting the New World partly because it was a sudden influx of resources to help pay off the debt they'd gone into during the war with the Moors.
So, it wouldn't be implausible for Narnia to have some kind of debt, given how much warring you've apparently got your Narnia embroiled in. The main question is how wisely the royals managed it or how they kept it down to a manageable size (or not). Who they borrowed from (it would always be a really hairy issue to borrow from the Calormens) and how they weighed going to war vs. if they had healthy enough GDP at the moment to pay off the consequent debt as painlessly as possible. The takeover of the Lone Islands may, in this context, have had something to do with acquiring more resources to pay off some costly war. Also: have fun with tariffs!
And possibly, I don't know because I'm not very familiar with your Narnia, but possibly the debt stuff could factor into your Dying Times. The Pevensies leave behind some unpaid loans, Narnia has to default, other countries attempt to perform the international equivalent of repossession.