The Freer the Trade, the Freer the Folk: Structure of the Mackinaw League
The Mackinaw League is the fifth Great Lakes trade organization since the dawn of the new Medieval era. Excepting the first league, known as the Great Lakes Area Federal Emergency Relief Office, all leagues have emerged naturally from the interactions of traders seeking mutual benefit through commerce, that most American of enterprises. The league has a fluid structure that varies from town to town and from year to year, but below is a cursory outline.
Structure
The League consists of merchants living along the shore of the Great Lakes and their tributaries. To be a league merchant, you must be born to Lakelander parents, you must be subject to Lakelander laws, and you must be in possession of a commercial education (even if it comes informally). The ultimate goal of the league is to manage the heterogeneous interests of its merchants for the enhancement of trade, and to secure the maximum amount of independence for the cities of the league.Most professions are represented by guilds or “Unions”, with each union being lead by a ‘captain of industry.’
League towns are centered around the local Chamber of Commerce. Chambers operate much like an early stock exchange. It is here that records are kept, handshakse are had, and meetings are held. Each Chamber is overseen by a Tycoon. Tycoons are elected by the Chamber’s merchants to three-year terms. Tycoons are genuinely the wealthiest and most powerful members of their communities and in many cases effectively operate as minor princes. While they have an enormous amount of power over the day to day operations of their town, they are still ultimately bound by the desires of their merchants and, to a lesser extent, the state to which they pledge fealty.
Meetings are called by the Tycoon either on a regular basis or if the local merchants demand it. Issues are raised and debates are held. The ultimate voting process is based on the consent of all members, where consent is defined as “lack of dissent.” Even if a league member doesn’t get his way but his proposal is unlikely to gain appreciable support, he is usually obliged to remain silent by convention. If dissenters can raise sufficient clamor however,, a compromise wil have tol be worked out.
The most important duty of the Tycoon is to represent his township at the General Shareholders Meeting in the Grand Chambers of Detroit, Chicago, or Buffalo to vote on bylaws, organize trade policy, and to modify the League Compact. While they theoretically may send a representative in their place, most Tycoons take the opportunity to flaunt their wealth in person. Famously, the Tycoon of the village Marquette on Lake Superior embezzled money from his rather poor Chamber to build the Son of Dogman in an attempt to put himself on par with the great Tycoons of Chicago, Detroit and Buffalo. When word reached Marquette of his crime, he was subjected to the harshest punishment prescribed by the LEague: a hole was drilled in the ice of Lake Superior, and he was cast in.
Foreign Rleations
Aside from setting prices and providing for intraleague cooperation, the League’s greatest goal is to minimize the power that the Governors and Presidents have over their towns.
Genesee county is of course the greatest example of League independence. The county is effectively run by local league merchants, much to the chagrin of the local noble class. The Count of Genesee is by law also the tycoon of the Great Chamber of Buffalo, making him one of the three Executive Tycoons.
Ohio has historically been a great friend of the Lake Leagues. The President in Cincinnati has historically adopted a policy of benign neglect. While Cleveland, Toledo, and Cedar Point are valuable ports, Ohio understands that it has little hope to exercise much direct control over the affairs of the Great Lakes compared to its adversaries. Thus, it largely leaves league merchants along Lake Erie to their own devices. Though they are not sovereign over their towns, the league merchants are extremely influential and the authorities are generally cooperative. In recent years, this policy has been upheld by the President to stick his thumb in Michigan’s eye.
Iowa’s relationship with the League is complicated. On the one hand, the league was instrumental in the siege of Chicago and the final victory against the Dabneys. On the other hand, the New Israelite past of the Iowas leave them suspicious of merchants and usurers. For the time being, however, Iowa has entrusted the League with a massive amount of control over its trade for the simple reason that they seem to know what they’re doing. This has been much to the chagrin of Iowa’s vassal Wisconsin and the Elks, who see the League as competition for power along the rich shores of Michigan and Lake Superior.
By far, the greatest enemy of the League has always been Michigan. Michigan’s vital control over the straits and, indeed, its naval supremacy over three of the major lakes has directed its policy in the direction of taxation, tolling, and control. The fortunes of prior leagues rose and fell depending on their relationship and relative power to Lansing. With the recent cowing of Michigan, however, the League is enjoying a large upswing. The tolls have been lifted, and many league towns are enjoying defacto independence.
The Canucks of the far north are vital to the league, being the source of the fine pelts that constitutes the Lakelands’s greatest export. However, Canuck raiders are a perpetual problem for traders who come to the far north.
Prior Leagues
-First League: Great Lakes Area Federal Emergency Relief Organization, or Glafero. Established by the Federal Government to ease logistics as the Regression went on. It quickly transformed from a humanitarian body into a mercantile one.
-Second League: Trilake Workers League , or the Lake League. The first true “Lake League”, caused by a reaction of the guilds to the perceived corruption of the First League.
-Third League: The Soo League. Based out of Sault Ste. Marie, and primarily focused on the fur trade.
-Fifth League: The Cedar League. Based out of Cedar Point.
-Sixth League: The Mackinaw League, the current iteration and so far the most powerful.