Misc > The Sage's Guild - Historical Discussion
Making a historical game - help needed
Argeus the Paladin:
I've been trying to program a text-game lately, a personal, non-profit project if you will.
Here's the deal:
The game is set in an ambiguous fictional late medieval/early renaissance world between the 17th and 18th century, a short time before the industrial revolution and past the heyday of the medieval nobility. What I want to do is to create a sufficiently historically accurate socio-economic model that simulates the economic relationship between the state, the nobility and the peasantry of that day and age while still being simple and easy enough to program.
After doing an (admittedly small) amount of research, here's the model I came up with:
- Overview: The Kingdom of Ulmster, a one-province minor in the Holy Empire, has a population of 100000 people at the year of 1650, in which roughly 40% are in the labor force. 5% of the population are the nobility, who controls 80% of total agricultural land and hold 75% of the population as their serfs. 10% of the population are free farmers with their own land to cultivate, and the remaining 10% are craftsmen, merchants, guildsmen and urban folks.
- In exchange for the nobility's land and protection, serfs work their farm and submit any and all agricultural surplus to their feudal overlords. The nobles have free rein to sell these products however they see fit, but are obliged to pay a sum of tax based on their total manorial income to the crown. This tax is levied in ducats.
- On the other hand, the free farmers are entitled to the sweat of their own brows, but they have to pay a sum of tax based on their land to the crown. This tax is levied in grain and goes straight into royal storehouses.
- Town craftsmen buy food, cash crops and other materials from either manorial estates or from import, turn them into industrial goods and sell them however they see fit. However, they have to pay a tax based on their total trade value. This tax is also levied in ducats.
- The crown also has an option to form its own crown-owned enterprises as a means to control quantity of food and industrial goods circulated in the market. In this case, the crown pays for all expenses and takes all profits from such enterprises' operations.
That is the basic system I've gotten down so far on paper. There are a few things I am not sure of, and here I'm asking for help:
- Is my basic system sound as far as historical accuracy goes?
- The impact of taxes, food shortages and famines. In case the country could not generate enough grain to feed its population, who would be in charge of importing? Also, what is the nobility's common policies in that day and age when their fiefs fail to return enough grain to feed their serfs, much less make a profit?
- How is grain price in that period determined? Since the market was most definitely not free, the straight-line demand and supply curve model are out of the question.
Answers and explanations would be very much welcomed.
Rebelknight:
--- Quote ---late medieval/early renaissance world between the 17th and 18th century
--- End quote ---
The Renaissance was almost over by the beginning of the 17th century.
17th and 18th century is more Early Modern era.
Argeus the Paladin:
Ah, my bad. I've always thought renaissance = pre-IR and early modern = late 19th century to WWI. I learn something new everyday.
But anyway, back to the question: Is there anything too wrong with my original model?
socks:
I can only imagine what your conception of 'medieval' is.
Argeus the Paladin:
Apologies.
I'd be honest and say I'm more of a antiquity and more of a Chinese history folk. I'm still learning and do not consider myself to be any kind of expert in the topic.
Which is why I'm asking for help. Resources to read, hints and such, etc.
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