Imperial Colonisation Company

"By signing on this line, you hereby admit that you cannot pay the costs of your transport up front, and agree to work upon arrival for an assigned employer, for a period of time equal to when your employer deems your debt paid. The Imperial Colonisation Company takes no responsibility for the nature of the work, nor your guaranteed safety during the voyage. Thank you. Next!"

The Imperial Colonisation Company is a state owned and ran, for-profit organisation that is the only legitimate body allowed to take new settlers to the Northern Continent. New colonists either pay up front, or are held in indentured servitude until their passage fees are paid off.
Despite their best efforts to stop it, unlicensed colonisation occurs on a frequent basis, and whilst such colonies and settlements are far more risky, they are free from Imperial bureaucracy.

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Structure

The formal head of the ICC is the Elector Lord of Keltas, who was granted the position when the Imperial throne took over the previous Settlement Company, which was owned and ran by them. The actual involvement of the Elector Lord varies with the person holding the title, but day to day operations are handled by the company's Senior Clerk, who oversees the bureaucracy centered in Rodess.
The next level down is the various captains of the vessels chartered to carry passengers. They have ultimate decision making capacity of the ship, its final destination, and the fate of the passengers on board. The vast majority of passengers reach their intended destination, if not entirely safely, but at least eventually. A few captains have been known to not hear for the assigned destination, and instead sell their passengers (who have already paid their fare) to slavers on the side.

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History

When the northern continent was discovered by Imperial explorers, it was during the dark days of the Sakamohr occupation, with many displaced people looking for a new place to settle. At first, this was a haphazard affair; if you could find a ship willing to take you, then all you needed to do was find a piece of land, claim it, and hope that the natives or disease didn't kill you off.
As the number of people wishing to risk the journey grew, some semblance of management sprung up. This was disorganised at first; ship captains looking to standardise fares, and settlements in the North being ready to receive incomers. The Lord of Keltas soon got involved, and required that all potential settlers receive formal permission from the state, and pay an appropriate tax. This evolved into the Settlement Company, who was the only organisation authorised to permit migration to the North.
Despite the high costs, which where often paid for by indentured servitude, the number of migrants grew steadily, especially as the Sakamohr began fighting amongst themselves, and the southern parts of the Inner Sea region became less and less attractive to live in. Other regions were reluctant to take in what were, for the most part, unskilled peasantry, and migration to the north was seen as a good way of dealing with them.
The numbers of migrants subsided after Til-Yaltur unified the Empire, and the profits of the Settlement Company feel dramatically. Standards dropped, and more and more potential sellers were either dumped once they'd paid their fare, or sold at the other side for even more profit. Word of this got to the Emperor, and he decreed that the throne would take over management. The Elector Lord of Keltas didn't argue, and so the ICC was created.

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Founding Date

1751

Alternative Names

ICC

Demonym

Icker (derog.)

Parent Organization

The Empire of Belyos

Related Ethnicities

• Imperial