Declaration of Halfling Personhood
Purpose
The Declaration of Halfling Personhood marked the official royal decree that, from the signing of the document onwards, Halflings would be given Established Person status. It was the culmination of almost twenty years of Halfling activism, and a step towards what many Halflings considered the endgoal of freeing the Kholop Halfling slaves.
The initial document only included the states of Moss Covia and Ketterzan, however later that year the document was expanded to include the Cherti Mountains. Even before the involvement of the Cherti Mountains, the agreement was heavily weighted against the Halflings, but it was the careful legal jargon of the Mountain Elf slave owners that ensured that their slave-keeping practices could continue undisturbed.
Document Structure
Clauses
Bellflower Clause: All Halflings and their descendants are now recognised as Established Persons, and therefore have protection from slavery under the laws of Established Personhood.
Polubanda Clause: As a result the newly declared Established Personhood, Halflings can now legally own land and property, and can protect that property as is the right of Established Persons to do.
Romanov Clause: In the interest of Moss Covia and Ketterzan union, there must always be trade between Pristan docktown in Moss Covia and Rynock markettown in Ketterzan. The forces of Mosscovia and Ketterzan must always come to the aid of the other against threats from the Colden Horde.
Bashirov Clause: In a dispute where the ownership of property is contested, the Established Personage of the individuals is secondary to the financial ownership of the property. Thus, an Established Person may not take property that already belonged to a Pendant Person, unless willingly exchanged or given.
Polubanda Clause: As a result the newly declared Established Personhood, Halflings can now legally own land and property, and can protect that property as is the right of Established Persons to do.
Romanov Clause: In the interest of Moss Covia and Ketterzan union, there must always be trade between Pristan docktown in Moss Covia and Rynock markettown in Ketterzan. The forces of Mosscovia and Ketterzan must always come to the aid of the other against threats from the Colden Horde.
Bashirov Clause: In a dispute where the ownership of property is contested, the Established Personage of the individuals is secondary to the financial ownership of the property. Thus, an Established Person may not take property that already belonged to a Pendant Person, unless willingly exchanged or given.
Caveats
The document was structured such that each signatory could include their demands, and if any of the demands were breached, all of the offending signatory's requests would be forfeited and nulified.
Publication Status
The original document is stored and preserved in the legal archives of the Lilliana Library in Ketterzan, and due to the fragility of paper, such documents are only accessible by government approval. However, the text is easy to access, since copies have been published and circulated widely in the legal records of Moss Covia, Ketterzan and the Cherti Mountains.
Legal status
Initially, the declaration was only valid in Ketterzan and Moss Covia, and after six months the document was extended to include the Cherti Mountains (with modifications). No signatories from the Hoary Wastes or Forest of Frost were included, since neither territory recognises the categorisations of people as "Established" or "Pendent". The Sabrelands have never signed the document.
Historical Details
Background
For over seventy years, the Bellflower Network had been campaigning and fighting for Halflings to be recognised as Full Established Persons. It was especially important, as they saw it, for Established Personhood to be achieved, since at the time it was not uncommon for Halflings to be enslaved by the Established people of Ruslavia, particularly in the Cherti Mountains.
Pendant people do not legally own their land or property, rather they must rent it from the local Boyar. The Polubanda gang resented that, no matter how wealthy they became, it was impossible for them to be landowners.
Tzar Vladimir had just come out of the Fourth Hoary War where, despite having asked for Moss Covian aid, it had not been granted, due to its preoccupation with the civil uprisings from the Bellflower Network.
History
Tzar Vladimir claimed reluctance to sign off on Halfling personhood while the Polubanda Halfling gang still held so much influence in Moss Covia. He was particularly concerned by the Polubanda's grasp on the supply of foreign goods through Pristan docktown. For this reason, it was written into the Declaration that there must always be trade between Pristan docktown and Rynock markettown (in Ketterzan). It was additionally decreed that the forces of Mosscovia must always come to the aid of Ketterzan against threats from the Colden Horde.
It wasn't until about six months later that the Cherti Mountains officially agreed to the change in halfling personhood. However, although it was already illegal to enslave Established Persons, it was not legally mandated that an Established Person must be freed if they were enslaved prior to becoming Established.
Type
Decree, Royal
Medium
Paper
Ratification Date
1269
Authors
Signatories (Organizations)
