Post-Plague Trade Agreement
It all started with a misunderstanding...
It's not an unknown fact that the languages Vulborish and Kuprian are closely related, and if you know one of these languages it's relatively easy to have a conversation with someone who knows only the other language. Misunderstandings happen, though, and this document is a prime example of what might happen if words mean different things in similar languages.
Purpose
This trade agreement was meant to help the nation of Vulborim in a tough economic situation after a plague had crept through the world, hitting the country especially hard. The nation of Kupria, which hadn't been hit as hard, decided to give the neighboring country some economic help in form of a trade agreement where Vulborish traders could buy heavily discounted trade goods for a while to lessen their economic burdens.
Document Structure
Caveats
The original plan was to have this agreement last for a year, just long enough for the people of Vulborim to get back on their feet after the devastation of the plague. However, due to a translation error the duration of the agreement was written as eternal. Even though the languages had originally come from the same root language the two languages developed in two different directions. The word year is based of the same root in both languages, but the way "lasts for a year" is written in Kupian means "lasts forever" in Vulborish due to the slight differences in morphology between the two languages. It took only one lazy translator to make one mistake, and everyone was aware of this. By then, the document was already signed, and it was too late.
Historical Details
Public Reaction
The Vulborish people were awed by the generosity of the Kuprian people, and the Kuprians were slightly surprised by the amount of Vulborish gratitude this agreement resulted in. When the Kuprian officials found out what they had just promised, however, surprise turned into mild horror as they realized how big of an economic impact this would have.
Legacy
The first thing that happened after the translation mistake was discovered was that the translator got fired.
The Vulborish economy did get back on its feet during the first year of this agreement, and the agreement was an important part in how smooth that went. Kuprian officials then tried to talk Vulborish officials into agreeing on ending the agreement, but the discussions were in vain. It was a legally binding contract which gave Vulborim extremely good trade conditions. A new agreement would, of course, make this agreement void, but why would Vulborim even consider a new trade agreement when it wouldn't be as good as the old one?
The Kuprian economy got a dent after signing this agreement, which was especially tough when Asharia declared war on the nation less than a century later. This was luckily not critical for the nation, but it did (and still does) make national economy planning a bit more challenging.
One positive outcome of this agreement for Kupria is that their translators are now much better at triple-checking their translations into any language.
Term
Although lasting forever, Kuprian diplomats are constantly on a mission to end this agreement, occasionally putting it up for discussion. They haven't succeeded yet, but keep at it until they do.
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