Here is my write-up on the economy of Verre Zon, please comment, make additions and so on. I would like a few different people to make their comments before I put this up.

Economy:

Ocean-going trade is nothing less than the lifeblood of the city. It rules the city in the forms of guildmasters and merchants in the Conclave, it is the cause of the city's growth, and the reason behind the interest other nations have in the city (a factor in city politics), as well as being what supports the city's armies and attracts colonists to settle in the region.

What makes the city so important is a surplus of gold (silver and copper as well), which is the principle export of the city sent to the Old World. Exotic goods from the New World are other popular exports, including cotton, spices (including coffee and sugar), preserved local fruits and jungle animals, as well as slaves from the frequent conflicts in the area. Sold to the New World are tools, wines, glass (particularly stained glass), ivory, honey, oils, wools and linens (because rolls of cloth are a form of currency to the Ameyatl).

Due to the abundance of skilled craftsmanship in Verre Zon (from the size of trade guilds), raw materials are imported far more than worked goods. Large quantities of iron and steel are imported from overseas for use in armour or firearms, or the components for making stained glass, or notably coal for industry.

Tribute from native settlements provides many essentials for the city, such as food, wood, hides, livestock, or salt (usually distilled from the ocean). Some settlements are based around natural resources such as gold mines or obsidian flows and pay their tribute in that resource instead. Goods sent to the city often reach the local population through public markets operated by the Conclave. Thanks to this arrangement, conventional taxation is minimal inside the city, as the Conclave instead raises revenue through the sales on these public markets.

I would like to make one change to the write-up. I love the idea of the public markets (that's what the Downtown Marketplace totally is!), but instead of replacing common city taxes I think it would serve best as an addition to. A city as big and vibrant as VZ just can't function without a strong tax-based system, especially with public services such as health care and education in place.

I imagine it's a fee that is modified by your living station and personal income. A Conclave member would pay more than a regular citizen, for instance. My idea is that there's a regular census, and a portion of the Conclave is dedicated to taxes. They send out their minions - ahem, collectors - regularly to collect. There is also a harbour tax, though it's not steep enough to encourage people to dock 20 miles away just to avoid the harbour tax.

Also, if your name is not documented in public records, you do not receive services. This is why there is a city gate where names are taken. Once your name is on the list as an inhabitant, you are eligible for services. At that point you can either pay up, have a sponsor or become a citizen.

Good points. By conventional taxation I was thinking of tax on income and purchases, since those would be a nightmare to monitor across the city before the information age – but it certainly needs clarifying so thanks for pointing it out.

I see the Conclave as mainly taxing the trade guilds and landlords and other organisations, letting them handle the responsibility of collecting money from those lower down on the ladder – for example trade guilds would collect dues from their guild members and landlords would collect rent from their tenants.

I think the public markets could replace working income tax – because of the amount of their income people need to spend on these essentials is probably more than most cases of income tax, and since the Conclave is stocked by tribute it would cost them next to nothing. Another aspect of it is that it saves the trouble of chasing down citizens for tax money, instead the citizens have to come to the markets to buy food.

Obviously this assumes that these 'public markets' dominate the goods market, but with the full support of government regulations as well as tribute filling their stocks at no cost, I doubt they would have any serious competition.

Not that this stops a black market from existing for these essential goods, but that aspect of the black market would probably be more motivated by politics than profit – such as certain factions of Ameyatl trying to undermine the income of the Conclave.

What are your thoughts?

I take it no comments then? Nothing anyone wants worked in?

If so, I'll work on a write up with the suitable edits.

Slightly revised version... I decided not to cover taxation because I think 4 paragraphs is enough. I think if we make the general outline much longer then it would be overloading information.

Economy:

Ocean-going trade is nothing less than the lifeblood of the city. It rules the city in the forms of the guildmasters and merchants who became the government, it is the cause of the city's growth, it determines politics by giving the city importance to other nations, supports the city's armies and attracts colonists to settle in the region.

What makes the city so important is a surplus of gold (silver and copper as well), which is the principle export of the city sent to the Old World. Exotic goods from the New World are other popular exports, including cotton, spices (including coffee and sugar), preserved local fruits and jungle animals, as well as slaves from the frequent conflicts in the area. Sold to the New World are tools, wines, glass (particularly stained glass), ivory, honey, oils, wools and linens (because rolls of cloth are a form of currency to the Ameyatl).

Due to the abundance of skilled craftsmanship in Verre Zon (from the size of trade guilds), raw materials are imported far more than worked goods. Large quantities of iron and steel are imported from overseas for use in armour or firearms, or the components for making stained glass, or notably coal for industry.

Tribute from native settlements provides many essentials for the city, such as food, wood, hides, livestock, or salt (usually distilled from the ocean). Some settlements are based around natural resources such as gold mines or obsidian flows and pay their tribute in that resource instead. These goods reach the city population through public markets ran by the Conclave, at high profit since these essentials are the major expenses of every household.

Do you mind if I reword it a bit? I like the write up, just want to polish it up a bit.

Sure, I look forward to seeing it.

It's only been over a month...

Anyway here it is! I will not be offended if you hate it and want to keep your original

Ocean-going trade is the lifeblood of the city maintained by the guildmasters and merchants who became the government. It is the cause of the city's growth, influences politics by giving the city importance to other nations, supports the city's armies, and attracts colonists to settle in the region.

What makes the trade culture so important is a surplus of gold, silver and copper, which are the principle export sent to the Old World. Exotic goods from the New World are other popular exports. This includes cotton, spices (such as coffee and sugar), preserved local fruits and jungle animals, as well as slaves from the frequent conflicts in the area.

Tools, wines, glass (particularly stained glass), ivory, honey, oils, wools and linens (because rolls of cloth are a form of currency to the Ameyatl) are also sold to the New World.

Raw materials are imported far more than worked goods because there is an abundance of skilled craftsmanship in Verre Zon due to the trade guilds. Large quantities of iron and steel are imported from overseas for use in armour or firearms, the components for making stained glass, and notably coal for industry.

Tribute from native settlements provides many essentials for the city such as food, wood, hides, livestock, or salt distilled from the ocean. Some settlements are based around natural resources such as gold mines or obsidian flows and pay their tribute in that resource instead. These goods reach the city population through public markets run by the Conclave at high profit since these essentials are the major expenses of every household.

Looks fine to me, sorry I took so long to comment, I wanted to give other members the chance to comment first.