Mining Provinces of the Coringian Empire

The mining provinces of Riga and Tahkveer lay on the western shore of the Hesterherre, where the Seaspine Mountains meet the Inner Sea.  Following the discovery of enormous veins of coal within the mountains, the Conringians established large colonies to mine and export the coal for the furnaces of the Empire.   Finding themselves short on labor, the earls of the provinces initially relied on convicts sent to them from the cities within northern Ankomst, but soon exhausted those supplies.  This led to a burgeoning slave trade where humans, demi-humans, and humanoids from all over Nyverden were shipped to the mines and sold to the earls.  Working conditions were deplorable and the earls soon found that humans and elves did not fair well in the dark, coal-dust covered conditions, and began to favor the cheap, if unreliable labor of humaniods, predominantly goblins.  The goblins were small enough to control, and readily became timid and compliant if threatened with harsh treatment.   While slavery is widespread within the Coringian Empire, no where else does it rely so heavily on the import of humanoid slaves from the edges of civilization.