Calinan Sea Trade Agreement

"It is agreed that existing Avadian trade enclaves on the mainland will remain the political and legal territory of the Avadian Sovereignty."
-one of the many clauses in the Calinan Sea Trade Agreement

The Calinan Sea Trade Agreement is a document drafted in 74 DoM by the Avadian Sovereignty and a confederation of city-states and kingdoms in the region of Tanoron, led by the City-State of Ormond, the Kingdom of Mirrelum and the Kingdom of Mayoka. It was written to conclude the Coastal Wars, a series of conflicts beween the Sovereignty and the alliance of mainland states, and to firmly define - and limit - the jurisdiction and authority of the Sovereignty on the Arikandan mainland.

Purpose

The Calinan Sea Trade Agreement was made to establish the following;

• To put a definitive end to the Coastal Wars that had been raging for the previous quarter century;
• To clearly define the territories on the Arikandan mainland belonging to the Sovereignty;
• To limit the Sovereignty's incursions beyond the aforementioned territories, and;
• To clearly define the division of legal jurisdiction for Avadian trade enclaves located within existing Arikandan territories.

Document Structure

Clauses

The original document is lengthy, with a variety of clauses and definitions that are not of much relevance. The primary agreements established between all parties, summarised, were;

• The Avadian Sovereignty's contiguous territorial borders on the Arikandan mainland were to be restricted to the existing regions of Kayor, Barcelles and the Tondra Plain, with no expansion permitted;
• The Avadian Sovereignty's non-contiguous territories - trade outposts and ports - were to remain in Avadian hands. However, no further territories could be established without the express permission of the nearest Tanorite city-state or kingdom to the proposed outpost (or the territory surrounding the outpost;
• Both existing and new outposts could operate under Avadian law, however were also subject to the laws of the surrounding/nearest Tanorite territory and were expected to comply in full;
• Avadian traders were to be permitted free passage through Tanorite lands, without interference, with any tariff to be approved by the Admiralty, and;
• Attacks on Avadian shipping were to be strictly forbidden and punished to the full extent of the law.

Publication Status

The document is considered publicly accessible in all of the signatories, and copies of the original tablet can be found in any major city in southern Arikanda, the Beyan Archipelago or the Avadian Colonies.

Legal status

The Calinan Sea Trade Agreement was originally legally binding in the various city-states and kingdoms of Tanoron, and was also approved by both the Avadian Assembly and the Admiralty, making it effectively legally binding in the Sovereignty and any of its territories.
After the foundation of the Helikan League in the 4th century TE, these agreements were also adopted to include the various governments under that alliance - effectively, as the Sovereignty had already promised to cease unauthorised Arikandan continental expansion, this was already in effect along southeastern Arikanda, but was formalised by the League's additional ratification.
However in recent years the legal jurisdictions of the document have been challenged. The newest power in the Calinan Sea, the Kjoqvist-Calinan Trading Company, does not recognise the agreement, and believes as they did not agree to it, they do not have to abide by it.

Historical Details

Background

The Coastal Wars were a series of military conflicts on land and sea over the period of just over a quarter-century (101 DoM - 74 DoM). Avadian settlers had been expanding into the Arikandan mainland for nearly a century prior, and had carved up a large portion of the southwestern mainland for itself.
In the last quarter-millennium of the Dawn of Man, these expansions began to intrude into central southern Arikanda, which was populated by several advanced city-states and kingdoms such as the Kingdom of Mirrelum and the City-State of Ormond. Avadian practice was generally to simply establish outposts on a designated point of land, without seeking dialogue with any pre-existing nations, and when those outposts then expanded into blots of land, conflict between Avadian settlers and Tanorite residents began to occur.
Over times those clashes turned into skirmishes between traders on both sides, with many Avadians simply refusing to relinquish the outposts they had held for many years. They overplayed their hand, however, when they entered the territories of larger city-states and kingdoms. Traditionally the city-states and kingdoms of Tanoron were more interested in squabbling among themselves and fighting each other, but for the first time, an incursion into their territories gave them cause to unite against a common enemy.
The ensuing Coastal Wars were seen as a defensive war by both sides - the Tanorite states defending their territory and the Avadians defending their shipping, merchants, properties and outposts.
The wars themselves were effectively a stalemate - while the alliance were able to keep Avadian expansion on the mainland from expanding further, they were unable to force the Avadians off the Arikandan mainland entirely, which was their goal. Some outposts were taken and closed down, but others were defended fiercely and were unable to be conquered - and the united Tanorites simply could not pierce the territories in southwest Arikanda.
Avadians for their part dominated the naval aspect of the war, easily crushing the fleets of the Tanorites and blockading their ports. However, they struggled on land, the Colonial Guard simply unable to adapt to an offensive land-based war of conquest, and no territories they claimed stayed theirs for long.
Eventually, with costs in assets, territory and soldiers piling up, the largest Tanorite states met with the Avadian colonial viceroys and Admiralty officials, and the Calinan Sea Trade Agrement was written up. This turned the Avadian Sovereignty away from land ambitions, freeing their hand to focus on maritime and economic trade, while allowing them to keep the southwestern holdings. It also established cordial relations between the Sovereignty and these various states, which factilitated mutually beneficial trade routes.

Public Reaction

The populace of both sides of the conflict welcomed the decision - the semi-democratic Avadian Assembly itself approved the treaty, citing war exhaustion, lack of return on their military investments, and interest in trying a different approach. Tanorite citizens for their part were reassured of the safety of their own territories, lands and vessels, although a small portion felt that the outposts should have been closed entirely.

Legacy

In the present day, the Agreement can be seen as the first of many historical events that allowed the current state of affairs in the Calinan Sea and the Arikandan mainland.
It effectively put an end to and limited Avadian territorial expansion to its colonies in the Arikandan southwest, leading the Sovereignty to instead work through negotiated treaties and preferential trade deals with regional powers and city-states to establish trade outposts. It weakened the Sovereignty as a continental power, but allowed it to focus on strengthening its maritime and economic power, leading to its current state as a dark horse in the struggle between empires.
It also dissolved Tanorite unity, fracturing the alliance formed to face them, paving the way for Garcien Lyons of Mirellum to eventually start the chain of conquests that would form the Tanorite Imperium two centuries later.
The status quo in the Calinan has begun to fracture, however, with the arrival of the Kingdom of Kjoqvist and the Kjoqvist-Calinan Trade Company in the region. Unbound by the Agreement and unwilling to follow its rules, the Avadians could find themselves in the very same predicament the Tanorites did five hundred years ago.

Type

Treaty, Diplomatic

Medium

Clay

Authoring Date

74 DoM

Ratification Date

74 DoM

Expiration Date

In perpetuity

Location

Arikanda

Signatories (Organizations)

• Avadian Sovereignty
• Kingdom of Mayoka