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Trader Customs

Originally posted by jatay3:
Even on the frontier many merchants would prefer to have the protection associated with the flag of a powerful state.
So perhaps Flags of Convienience would go the other way-it would be more common for an outsider to use an Impie flag, then vice-versa.
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Sure, but registry fees tend to be higher (or other regulations about dumping or weapons or whatever) in the larger states, and they tend to be less flexible. Thus that comes with a cost.

And woe betide you if you are caught flying the flag of one of the large nations if you are NOT legally registered there. (Con-fis-ca-tion Time!)
 
Originally posted by Fritz88:
Jeff, every breakaway is an Emergency now. It's just practice, but I don't think I have seen but one that didn't have an "Emergency breakaway" to end it.
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Then you are talking about drills. Those kinds of Emergancy Breakaways we did. An actual event would probably involve snapped lines and injuries, not fun at all.
 
No, absolutely no fun at all.
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I don't know about the planetary "flagging" idea. One thing that it seems EVERYONE agrees with canon on is that the Empire rules between the stars. And, with the smart transponders, and all, I think you are either flagged Imperial, or Aslan, or Zho, or whatever, but not by planet/system.

But, hey, if it works in YTU, and everybody is having fun....
 
Originally posted by RainOfSteel:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Liam Devlin:
Another SF trader custom, the book it is in escapes my desert-addled brain at present--and forgive my spelling...rishathra. The offer of sex with one of the trader's spouses/ concubines, or herself/ himself depending on gender of buyer.
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You're remembering Larry Niven's grand masterpiece: Ringworld. </font>[/QUOTE]To be specific this practice was between members of different species.

For other possible customs read Andre Norton's free trader novels.
 
yes, citizen A.Fralix, it IS between different species.

I had forgotten the books name, not what the ritual was.[smiles] THAT is a topic for another thread which has been done, IIRC. [interspecies shtuff]
 
Starships from the same port meeting by chance during a long voyage have a joint feast-and not incidently look at each others wares.
 
The outbounder carries news and letters from the homeworld to give to those that came earlier. Perhaps this is done at a local port that gained it's wealth serving transit traffic(like Honalulu serving whalers).
In return the inbounder carries news and letters from other ships to the homeworld.
 
In some Atlantic Rim seaports their are old houses with balconies on top built for people to feel the wind during a hot summer. They became known as "widows' walks" because captains' wifes could be seen pacing impatiantly on them watching for a sail on the horizon.
That couldn't quite be done but some ideas could be gotten. Every house has a telescope? Free tickets to the observatory for anyone with a friend or reliative in space?
When the Phoenicians traded with some tribes they had a custom anthropoligists call "dumb barter". Each side leaves it's offer at a specified site. The one who first takes the others goods has accepted-and all without any seeing each other(presumably one or both sides were afraid of being taken for slaves-not necessarily an irrational fear at the time).
Arabs used to speak of their vessels in the number of packages ofdates it could carry, rather than in tonnage.
Arabs would have large families spread out with one acting as agent in each port.
On Kuwaiti ships each sailor had a right to take merchandise in his chest. The East India Company also did this(though it got out of hand in the East India Company).
On caravans Jews used to stop on the Sabbath, than make a forced march the day after to catch up. They had to pay extra to get mercenary escorts who would follow their irregular schedule.

several of these ideas could be adapted
 
I imagined a pocket empire set up by trader clans that had lived through the long night and grown hard and fierce.
among their customs is that it is a disgrace to a ships crew and captain to lose it's cargo on a voyage(just as it use to be a disgrace for a regiment to lose it's flag in Napoleanic times). To lose it reflects on either the skill or courage of the people involved. It is a greater disgrace to the whole clan to lose cargo and have it unavenged-the first might be excused by bad luck of meeting overwhelming forces -the second not.
Thus while these people will pay what they consider to be legitimate demands(harbor dues etc)and will even sometimes pay temporary protection money to pirates to get them through a given voyage, they are not to be triffled with...
 
On convoys:

convoys would come in different forms

Wartime convoys would be for the special purposes inherent in wartime-they need little description as most would be fammiliar

Public convoys-organized by a state and escorted by military and/or police assets. Follow regular schedules which are announced publicly. Shipowners obtain a place in one for their ships in whatever way is fashionable in the area.

Private convoys-not organized by the state. defense is handled by the members themselves. some would be joint convoys of several different merchants-these would operate in a manner similar to a public convoy. others would contain ships belonging only to a single company. These need not make their schdules known to any except the state.

Linked convoys-one ends where another begins

eternal convoys-some convoys have followed the same route for centuries, following the same rules, becoming an institution older than many states. Nobody knows when they began-they are not sponsored by any state or any known individual. While presumably someone organized the first one, his name is forgotten. The ships that make them up change but the route stays the same, just as a river has different water molecules each but follows the same course. It is the course that remains permanent.

Convoys would have their own customs. For instance they might periodically elect a Convoy Commodore. Famous Convoy Commodores would have statues in the market square. And so on.
 
Originally posted by Fritz88:
I don't know about the planetary "flagging" idea. One thing that it seems EVERYONE agrees with canon on is that the Empire rules between the stars. And, with the smart transponders, and all, I think you are either flagged Imperial, or Aslan, or Zho, or whatever, but not by planet/system.

But, hey, if it works in YTU, and everybody is having fun...
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Private citizens don't pay taxes to the Imperium, only Nobles and member Worlds. You would have to be flagged under one of these entities handling the fees for the Imperium.
 
In one port they use what they call "deal-splinters"
they are pencil sized sticks of two pieces fastened by adhesive pads in the middle. when negotiation starts the fastening is turned off and one splinter is given to each party-it is said in legend to be a holdover from a time before literacy was common.
one merchant-noble actually gave a piece to his girlfriend to mark their betrothal
she said-"always the merchant..."
 
one merchant-noble actually gave a piece to his girlfriend to mark their betrothal
she said-"always the merchant..."
----------------------------------------------
"A man can buy his way out of that sort of partnership but this one-this is for life":James Onedin on hearing the unusual conditions demanded for the aquiring of the schooner Charlote Rose

The Onedin Line, BBC
 
Some of the trader idiosyncrasies (and maybe just rumor) from MTU:

ASLAN
- they always close a deal by shedding a single drop of blood on the contract (DNA is far better than a signature and blood represents the importance of the investment to the life of the trader)
- they only rendevous for trade in orbit or within the 100d limit
- they always consider delivery of goods the problem of the buyer
- they avoid dealings with non-Imperials and specifically Vargr, whom they consider particularly uncivilized
- their males are never allowed to negotiate without a female present
- they award clan specific emblematics or heirlooms to long time trading partners as a mark of trust

VARGR
- traders and corsairs from related clans have been known to exchange pups when they meet, encouraging friendly relations between ships (and families) and ensuring genetic diversity for clans away from the homeworlds
- they always negotiate armed to the teeth
- they prefer to rendevous beyond the 100d limit
- they always finish the negotiation by sniffing the buyer/seller so as to identify them later if needed
- they offer their personal weapon at negotiations as a marker to be returned when the goods are delivered
- they tend to avoid trading with Hivers because they 'smell bad'
- they keep the forelimbs of bad trading partners as trophies

HIVERS
- traders will mark cargo containers with a nearly undetectable phermone to ensure the cargo they bought is the cargo that was delivered
- when they trade with other Hivers, the greetings sometimes take hours but the negotiations take only minutes
- they almost never pay in Imperial script but instead prefer to barter for other goods or push (read: dump) local currencies (due to varying exchange rates)
- they have the habit of forcing non-Hivers to negotiate in zero gee and sometimes upside-down
- they almost always are accompanied by a human thrall (long story) who translates while the Hivers examine the goods
- they offer Hiver-friendly traders a fragrant plant from their homeworld, the scent is easily recognizable and pleasant to most other Hivers

ZHODANI
- Zho trader captains are almost never seen, the trades are handled by trained negoiators
- they never negotiate with other races or species unless a Zho telepath present
- they refuse to deal with Hivers except thru a third party
- they routinely inspect every unit in a shipment prior to offering a bid or payment
- they begin most negotiations by offering delicacies from their individual homeworld (often spiked with something untraceable to reduce the mental acquity of their trading partner)
- they never mix business dealings with personal affairs (as most are direct representatives of the Zho government)
- they only negotiate at neutral locations and with full fuel tanks
- their trading ships are often equipped with military style communications gear and defenses

(FREE) SOLOMANI (the Yankee traders of MTU)
- they always begin any negotiation by presenting shining letters of praise and introduction from other customers, real or fabricated
- they are notorious for being tardy on deliveries, shorting shipments, or 'forgetting' customs paperwork
- they often zestfully offer cheaply made (and often bugged) momentos to trading partners at the onset of negotiations
- they always offer wine and women or worse to trading partners during mid-negotiation breaks to soften their resolve
- they have been known to kidnap careless trading partners who don't take proper precautions
- they always negotiate as a group (mostly because no one Solomani trusts any other to represent his interests and for security as well)
- they seem to never bathe (a fact that disturbs the Aslan very much)

There are probably a bunch I've forgotten; my group has very active imaginations and it's important that everybody has quirks! ;)
 
This is truly great work you've done.
This is usable in any time era or world setting.
thanks for sharing it all.

OK...Do you have something like this for the RC, the "Guild" the K'Kree, The 4th Imperium?
 
Oh here's one. Free traders going into Aslan space always have a female supercargo, as a male one will have to fight too many duels, and that is bad for business.
 
Originally posted by jatay3:
SNIP
Arabs used to speak of their vessels in the number of packages ofdates it could carry, rather than in tonnage.
SNIP
Click to expand...
This is actually the origin of the term tonnage... ships were described by how many tuns (VERY large casks) could be loaded into the holds. Disclamier - all info is IIRC
 
Originally posted by Zutroi:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by jatay3:
SNIP
Arabs used to speak of their vessels in the number of packages ofdates it could carry, rather than in tonnage.
SNIP
Click to expand...
This is actually the origin of the term tonnage... ships were described by how many tuns (VERY large casks) could be loaded into the holds. Disclamier - all info is IIRC </font>[/QUOTE]I´ve heard of that, too. IIRC it originated in the North Sea and Baltic trade, with the Hanseatic League, at some time in the Middle Ages - at least that´s where I saw it.

Considering that, back in those days, (1) the concept of displacement was probably not so well understood and (2) displacement was also probably hard to measure, and (3) cargo capacity was what mattered to merchant captains, that makes sense.

IIRC there were two measurements, the "tun" or "ton", and the "load", which IIRC was the approximate carrying capacity of a ox-drawn cart. IIRC the load was roughly 2,000 kg and the tun roughly 200 kg.
 
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