Let me know what you think of this video. I wasn't too sure whether it was worth uploading, but in the end I did the research and it would have been a waste not to put it up.
Don't Be So Down On Yourself. Your Content is Always Excellent, And For Videos Like This Very Outside of The Box. You Bring Up topics that Very Few People Would Think Of and It Only enriches The Games as Whole. Speaking From a Personal Perspective.
Imperial Knowledge Love it when you put up content like this! Not a development expert (graduating soon, though) but I think you’ve done a great job laying down the groundwork :)
We, or at least I, want more of this type of video. All aspects of the lore should be explored. Personally, I'm quite interested in the topography of the ocean of Tamriel. That'll tell me if Nirn has plate tectonics, the location of current and past coral reefs, and potentially lost secrets beneath the waves.
I really liked this video. It's fun to hear about the less-explored parts of the lore of a world. I'd like to suggest that you talk about the architecture of the provinces sometime. Especially Morrowind's architecture
The problem with morrowind is that, after the red year, red mountain kept spitting out thousands tonnes of ash every day, making farming still impossible.
Except that ash is a great fertilizer and one of the worst things a person can do to keep the ecosystem alive is try to prevent natural fires from occuring.
There's definitely merit in covering a topic like this because absolutely no other lore channel would. And i like the minutia of a working fantasy setting made up of untold numbers of people with basic needs more than the swirl of repetitive epic tales.
I thought it was incredibly informative, and you're probably the only person to even attempt to cover a topic such as poverty in The Elder Scrolls universe. Keep posting great content and I'll keep watching it.
There's a fantastic lore book appearing in both Morrowind and Oblivion (I can't remember if it appears in Skyrim), "The Eastern Provinces Impartially Considered." Though it's basically an argumentative essay, and thus ironically the exact opposite of impartial, it still paints the best picture we have of how Tamriel's economy functions in the late Third Era. Unsurprisingly, it seems to rely on a great deal of colonialist and mercantile principles, specifically the funneling of wealth in the form of natural resources from the provinces to the heartland, i.e. Cyrodiil, via state-sponsored trade monopolies like the East Empire Company. These companies, as we learn in Morrowind, are not just successful shipping businesses, but were directly chartered by the Empire and, under Imperial law, are the only ones legally allowed to trade certain goods, such as raw ebony, raw malachite, and kwama eggs. In the Fourth Era, things are complicated by the fact that the Empire no longer de facto controls all of Tamriel. It appears that Morrowind's economy is run largely by House Redoran, based on the fact that they control the new capital city of Blacklight, do business with the East Empire Company, and by the end of 4E 201 are in possession of a rather lucrative ebony mine on Solstheim. Argonia has held onto its territory in southern Morrowind and, while we know very little about its economy, we do know that it's no longer being exploited by the Empire, which surely counts for something. High Rock, as you point out, is suffering from an increase in pirate raids, which signifies the same thing as a higher bandit population in the other provinces: that unemployment is higher than it used to be. Many of Cyrodiil's cities are suffering civil unrest, as of course is Skyrim, whose own cities have practically become hermit-kingdoms as trade across Hold borders appears to be rare (and considered "war contraband" when it does occur). In all, I'd argue that the collapse of the late Third Era mercantilist system has been a boon to the most exploited provinces in Tamriel - Black Marsh, Morrowind, and those which are now part of the Aldmeri Dominion, which all seem to be doing just fine. By contrast, the Empire's economy has slowly shrunken inwards, and took a nose dive as a result of the Great War, for many of the reasons you note here: a rise in unemployment, as a result of war veterans re-entering society and the infrastructural damage done by the war and its shockwave conflicts like the Skyrim Civil War, which in turn leads to a rise in banditry. What's more, I believe those exact same problems used to exist in the provinces, due to the Empire's heavily restrictive policies and outright theft of foreign resources. In fact, I'd even speculate that the Imperial Legion and Imperial-chartered guilds like the Fighters Guild were actually *incentivized* to allow the bandit population to grow, because it gave them an excuse for operating within the province (i.e. "we aren't here to make sure the kwama mines keep printing money for us instead of you, we're just here to keep the roads safe from outlaws!") Now, in the Fourth Era, we're seeing what some economists call the "exportation of misery": Cyrodiil once prospered off the backs of the Dunmer and Argonians, but now the outer provinces are prospering from the Empire's own collapse. Someone else always foots the bill in a competitive market.
I like this kind of videos once in a while where you apply real life concepts to the lore, maybe because I like economy in general and it kinda makes the world feel more believable. Cool video, hope the weather is nice up there. Greetings from Chile!
A really nice and interesting video, glad you decided to share it with us :) I think it would also be cool to talk about how the poverty is actually represented in the games. I sometimes felt like in spite of the multiple catastrophes, most people in skyrim (especially in the cities) were living in pretty good conditions.
I'm glad to hear a take on Morrowind closer to what we actually know, all things considered, of the place during the time of Skyrim, rather than the "all destroyed, half of it owned by Argonians" fanon that keeps on being thrown around! One thing that I think you might've missed there is that the Tribunal Temple has one of its core tenets being "charity for the poor" and the complete lack of beggars we see in TES3 - a sentiment I imagine could well have been carried on even after the Tribunal Temple falls apart, especially in the face of the disasters inflicted on Morrowind and how the Dissident Priests think that the Temple doesn't do enough in that regard.
I really liked this video. Hearing you talk about a wide variety of topics regarding my favorite fantasy world makes it feel that much more complex and immersive when I play. I loved it. Please keep making videos like this.
I don't think Morrowind recovered at all. Going to Solstheim gives you kinda a clear idea: Redoran, the stronger house in the province, has no money to spare (they can't even support a small district like Solstheim). Not only that, but they overthrown the economical powerful House Hlaalu and while the Sadras have taken over we can't be sure they're doing a better job. House Dres, if it still exists after the Accession Wars, surely can't trade on slaves anymore, since Black Marsh is pretty powerful. House Telvanni never was an asset to the community...
Question, does the elves longer lifespan mean that while 150 years have passed since red mountain eruption sociologically for the elves its more like 25 years?
There are endless video on the politics and different cultures in Tamriel, but this is the first on I've seen about the economics of The Elder Scrolls. Good video about an interesting and often overlooked topic.
I think it was a good video, you made a good point about the absolute rampant corruption and how it would add to overall poverty, never thought about that. Perhaps you could have compared the prices of the same food in the different provinces
I was very happy with this video, it's not something that's looked at a lot in the Elder Scrolls community. Plus, I think it's really nice to use a single metric to compare all the provinces, as I feel that most content just focuses on one province or culture at a time. Well done!
I like the video, I'm a night janitor, and I play the elder scrolls religiously. You're actually one of the very best people on UA-cam that does lore related videos so far.
I loved it man. I appreciate your channel because you do elder scrolls content, but even more so because you do the work on the trivial topics you're not sure about. Economics, DNA, Poverty, all of it. You're exploring a universe that many of us take time to almost live in, and you're giving you the credit it's due. Keep doing what you do man.
Wouldn’t High Rock, before the Dragon Break (retcon), have one of the most population of beggars cause of the wars between kingdoms? Remains one of my favorite provinces nonetheless, but still.
@@JamesJJSMilton Thing is, Bethesda decided to let all the endings become canon, instead of choosing which one to go for when creating the next Elder Scrolls game after Daggerfall. That’s why I and a number of others see it as a retcon. But hey what I do know?
@@pyroparagon8945 Thing is, Bethesda decided to let all the endings become canon, instead of choosing which one to go for when creating the next Elder Scrolls game after Daggerfall. That’s why I and a number of others see it as a retcon. But hey, what I do know?
Great vid man! I’m doing a small mod that alters Winterhold’s town to add more people, but in poverty, trying to rebuild the city from the rubble. So I consider this research!!
I like a lot this video cuz many time i think about some topics like this: poverty in Tamriel, Health in Tamriel, Economy in Tamriel, Agriculture in Tamriel, etc. Specially after ESO cuz we can run around all Tamriel.
love videos like this! I always have "dumb" questions about the world of Tamriel, and am so glad to see you making these awesome videos about more "outside-the-box" topics. keep up the great work!
I really like this kind of videos and hope for more of them, because it covers the most important basics of the TES worldbuilding. Economy is such an important part of any world so I don’t think that proper roleplay would be even possible without such knowledge
I love these deep dives, boss! Nine Bless your patrons for subsidizing my favorite youtube channel. I like your stuff BECAUSE it is so we'll researched!
I quite liked it. It was something different which can freshen things up for future videos. Not saying your video quality has been declining but sometimes a completely random topic like this can be good for the channel
There is one big problem, that the definitions of poverty you mentioned (especially the freedom thing) all sprung from orthodox liberal economics, while in Tamriel we are seeing mostly feudal and tribal societies where modern notions of freedom and homo economicus are nonexistent. Even the East Empire Company is more like a mercantilist organization and not a modern corporation. And if we look at beggars in all ES games, they're not "unemployed" but actually perform specific functions in the underworld and at the bottom of the feudal hierarchy, like chores on a temporary basis. So beggars are more like an itinerant cheap labor force in Tamriel that is structurally reproduced in the feudal order. Remember that there are no stock markets in the ES universe and trade is regulated by feudal authorities, so such things as capital investment or a fall in stock prices play no part in what peasants do or don't do.
I personally really enjoy roleplaying in the games from time to time and writing stories that take place in the Elder Scrolls Universe, so this sort of information is extremely appreciated as it goes to helping writers and roleplayers have a stronger foundation for speculation in their own adventures. Videos like this, and the entire playlist you made for "World Building Essentials" definitely fits a niche in the lore community, but it's great and gives a good medium for teaching both real world economic principles as well as providing a sensible space to give educated theories on the matter. If I had to give criticism for the video, it's that I really wanted to hear more about how much inter-provincial conflict within an Empire (Be it Cyrodiil or The Dominion) and trade tariffs could affect the overall economy of the province on the "bad end" of a deal in your opinion. You talked a good bit about corruption which contributes to poorer people staying poor in a province's society on a domestic level, but I wanted to hear your opinions on the affect that ideology would have between a power and their "poorer" allies. Kinda like Cyrodiil with Hammerfell or Morrowind, for example. Not necessarily exploitation as you talked about with Summerset and its territories of Valenwood and the client state Elsweyr, but actual trade done between provinces and their economic hub or an Empire between its allies and how corruption impedes that trade or the fairness of that trade. It's a very tiny criticism in my opinion as I was overall extremely satisfied with the content. The video was amazing to me and I heavily enjoyed it, I just like to hear your opinions as you seem to really understand the subject and I know jack shit about economy. Edit: You literally have an entire video on trade relations of Tamriel that I found after watching the video that pretty much talks about everything mentioned in really great detail. I hadn't known of that video prior to writing this comment, and can completely respect the separation of the two topics. I rescind the previous criticism. This video covers everything very well and anything else that contributes to the economic scope of the Fourth Era is well explained in other vidoes on your channel.👌
I come to this channel mainely for videos like this. No one really talk about the normal day to day life of the Elder Scrolls universe. That being said I think there was maybe to much speculation, and the video could have been shorter. Good video anyway! I love what you are doing!
It's funny that you say 'why would anyone ever watch this', I'm an economics major and elder scrolls fan that just discovered your channel, this was one of the first videos I wanted to see! I guess the question is why would anyone else watch it XD
A rich person in Africa would be rich in Europe. Rich is rich and the ceiling of wealth in Africa is not the floor of wealth in Europe. You could've used America as an example because half of us are in poverty.
As always, the fruits of your research are tasty and informative! There's a lot to be said on poverty and the effects of corruption, and I personally don't think I could have made something like this myself without going into a political fit of rage lol Great video!
Although you expressed doubt for the topic, I think for somebody trying to gain a better understanding of the game world all topics can help with that goal, and thanks for all the videos you've made which have helped form my understanding of the Elderscrolls world
Some of your best and most interesting content is when you use The Elder Scrolls to teach real life topics that don't initially seem developed in the games, but your research and creativity shows otherwise.
What's more Balgruuf mentions to his steward that Whiterun is struggling. They're almost out of food and coin. What does that say about Skyrim if their trade captial is poor?
It probably at least contributes to lost work hours. I guess the question is how badly does skooma affect Khajiit typically and how widely it is used and in what quantities. Are there other industries or exports that could be produced that would be bringing a higher standard of living but which are sidelined because of skooma production?
Imperial, Nords- white European Red guard- African Breton- mix breed Asian/white Khajitt- middle eastern High elf- Asian Japanese Dark elf- Chinese? Wood elf’s- Asian Orcs- Native American.
I think this video could include more... general traits of the culture and not only things related to the latest events like the great war or the rise of nationalism in Summerset, High Rock, Skyrim and Black Marsh. For instance, Cyrodiil has a lot of beggars because they have a mercantile culture where if you don't make ends meet it's your own problem. Skyrim is poor because both it's hostile environment and their cultural disregard for knowledge keeps them from developing. Wood elves seem like they're poor but they lack for nothing and they don't think they are poor themselves, though they instantly become poor when they leave Valenwood. Elsweyr probably has the highest amount of corruption, followed by Hammerfell, High Rock, and Cyrodiil. Summerset, Skyrim and maybe Morrowind have the lowest levels of corruption since their societies value pride a lot higher than money. Morrowind is in trouble but they're traditionally not a poor society, other than their slaves. Morrowind has little to export but they somehow manage, the fact the dunmer in Windhelm see their situation there as worse than Morrowind implies they do not live in slums even in the 4th era. I suspect poor dunmer end up having to work out in the ashlands, where they end up dying, which only leaves the well off. Still, Dunmer cities are much, much richer than anything in Skyrim. Summerset is rich because of the altmer's high average level of education, they don't move as much money as the empire but they focus on quality because of cultural and religious reasons which means most of what they own is good quality, and they would have few beggars because their society wouldn't allow fellow children of Auri-El to be disgraced, it would be an affront to the rest of the altmer's pride, so they probably put a lot of effort in helping poor altmer so it reflects well on their race as a whole. Summerset also likely has a very low level of corruption because of the rigidity of their society.
ive been watching your older stuff that gets critizsed a lot but i kinda respect you more for being brave enough to not give a damn what people thought of it per say
it's just monarchs apart from morrowind and I dont believe the queen of summer set illes has a lot of power or at least any more so they are the only countrys that are primarily ran by a government
Ideologies as we think of them nowadays make no sense in a pre-industrial context. But to answer your question I'd say the Empire promotes a cosmopolitan society under its rule, while most provinces want to retain their cultures and autonomy to various degrees, with Summerset taking it to the extreme. Most political divisions in the various provinces are about being pro or anti Empire.
@@AlshainFR yes I definatly see what you mean, some are in obvi relation, summerset is like fascist ,the empire is basically Rome (makes sense) but when we get to specifics is hammerfell a monarchy? Imperialist esc? As well as the argonians, they might seem fascist too with its expansion but it's not so extreme as the thalmor and I've no clue about elswere and morrowind ,it gets hard when you go into specifics
Dude don't be so hard on yourself. Me and a friend were talking last day and we both agreed that you and lady of scrolls make the best ES videos. Ten times better than Fudge Muppet. It's especially this kind of videos I like about you, it could have been longer though. It's a good topic.
So I was wondering is if you can do a video explaining the logistics of the imperial military but what I'm I really looking for well as we know the elder Scrolls world is set in time that seems to be a mix of the Roman Empire and The middle ages (also known as the mid evil age) why do I bring this up well to put it simple the higher up the. Chain of command you are the more the action of a army looks like a pieces of a board game so some what is the video about well first you would need to recap the military tactics then it will be divided in to topic for example how are the supply lines set up for forts how are portal set up and so on
Let me know what you think of this video. I wasn't too sure whether it was worth uploading, but in the end I did the research and it would have been a waste not to put it up.
it was good i love poverty
Don't Be So Down On Yourself. Your Content is Always Excellent, And For Videos Like This Very Outside of The Box. You Bring Up topics that Very Few People Would Think Of and It Only enriches The Games as Whole. Speaking From a Personal Perspective.
Imperial Knowledge Love it when you put up content like this! Not a development expert (graduating soon, though) but I think you’ve done a great job laying down the groundwork :)
very interesting
We, or at least I, want more of this type of video. All aspects of the lore should be explored. Personally, I'm quite interested in the topography of the ocean of Tamriel. That'll tell me if Nirn has plate tectonics, the location of current and past coral reefs, and potentially lost secrets beneath the waves.
Thalmor: we plan to cut all beggars in half by 4E 203
Am I missing something..? I think I get it, but just in case.
@@radzilla748 It's a variation on the meme where I think in the UK there was a goverment ad that they plan to cut all beggars in half by 202X.
Thalmor in 4E 210: what we did to cut poverty in 4E 202 was not enough!
I really liked this video. It's fun to hear about the less-explored parts of the lore of a world. I'd like to suggest that you talk about the architecture of the provinces sometime. Especially Morrowind's architecture
seconding this
Yes please
Zork talking about different types of poverty
Me an intellectual: *poor is poor*
I like learning about these niche topics that you cover, they’re quite interesting to me
I think videos like this really intresting. Nobody really talks about it but it helps make the elder scrolls world feel more alive.
The problem with morrowind is that, after the red year, red mountain kept spitting out thousands tonnes of ash every day, making farming still impossible.
From Dust To A Lifeform Ashyams have entered the chat
@@johnbarcenas5098 the perfect deus ex machina!
@@JarNO_WAY Your name is ironic to believing that ash can't grow life.
@@pyroparagon8945 You are correct. lol!!
Except that ash is a great fertilizer and one of the worst things a person can do to keep the ecosystem alive is try to prevent natural fires from occuring.
Allow me to tell you everything you need to know about Elsweyr's economy...
Khajiit has wares if you have coin.
There's definitely merit in covering a topic like this because absolutely no other lore channel would. And i like the minutia of a working fantasy setting made up of untold numbers of people with basic needs more than the swirl of repetitive epic tales.
All those people injured by the war, need to go to Riften and buy some falmer's blood elixir.
I thought it was incredibly informative, and you're probably the only person to even attempt to cover a topic such as poverty in The Elder Scrolls universe.
Keep posting great content and I'll keep watching it.
Poverty was something I had thought about while playing Elder Scrolls. Thanks for the video.
There's a fantastic lore book appearing in both Morrowind and Oblivion (I can't remember if it appears in Skyrim), "The Eastern Provinces Impartially Considered." Though it's basically an argumentative essay, and thus ironically the exact opposite of impartial, it still paints the best picture we have of how Tamriel's economy functions in the late Third Era. Unsurprisingly, it seems to rely on a great deal of colonialist and mercantile principles, specifically the funneling of wealth in the form of natural resources from the provinces to the heartland, i.e. Cyrodiil, via state-sponsored trade monopolies like the East Empire Company. These companies, as we learn in Morrowind, are not just successful shipping businesses, but were directly chartered by the Empire and, under Imperial law, are the only ones legally allowed to trade certain goods, such as raw ebony, raw malachite, and kwama eggs.
In the Fourth Era, things are complicated by the fact that the Empire no longer de facto controls all of Tamriel. It appears that Morrowind's economy is run largely by House Redoran, based on the fact that they control the new capital city of Blacklight, do business with the East Empire Company, and by the end of 4E 201 are in possession of a rather lucrative ebony mine on Solstheim. Argonia has held onto its territory in southern Morrowind and, while we know very little about its economy, we do know that it's no longer being exploited by the Empire, which surely counts for something. High Rock, as you point out, is suffering from an increase in pirate raids, which signifies the same thing as a higher bandit population in the other provinces: that unemployment is higher than it used to be. Many of Cyrodiil's cities are suffering civil unrest, as of course is Skyrim, whose own cities have practically become hermit-kingdoms as trade across Hold borders appears to be rare (and considered "war contraband" when it does occur).
In all, I'd argue that the collapse of the late Third Era mercantilist system has been a boon to the most exploited provinces in Tamriel - Black Marsh, Morrowind, and those which are now part of the Aldmeri Dominion, which all seem to be doing just fine. By contrast, the Empire's economy has slowly shrunken inwards, and took a nose dive as a result of the Great War, for many of the reasons you note here: a rise in unemployment, as a result of war veterans re-entering society and the infrastructural damage done by the war and its shockwave conflicts like the Skyrim Civil War, which in turn leads to a rise in banditry.
What's more, I believe those exact same problems used to exist in the provinces, due to the Empire's heavily restrictive policies and outright theft of foreign resources. In fact, I'd even speculate that the Imperial Legion and Imperial-chartered guilds like the Fighters Guild were actually *incentivized* to allow the bandit population to grow, because it gave them an excuse for operating within the province (i.e. "we aren't here to make sure the kwama mines keep printing money for us instead of you, we're just here to keep the roads safe from outlaws!") Now, in the Fourth Era, we're seeing what some economists call the "exportation of misery": Cyrodiil once prospered off the backs of the Dunmer and Argonians, but now the outer provinces are prospering from the Empire's own collapse. Someone else always foots the bill in a competitive market.
I like this kind of videos once in a while where you apply real life concepts to the lore, maybe because I like economy in general and it kinda makes the world feel more believable. Cool video, hope the weather is nice up there. Greetings from Chile!
I'm grateful someone took the time to make these types of videos, they really have done good work.
A really nice and interesting video, glad you decided to share it with us :)
I think it would also be cool to talk about how the poverty is actually represented in the games. I sometimes felt like in spite of the multiple catastrophes, most people in skyrim (especially in the cities) were living in pretty good conditions.
I'm glad to hear a take on Morrowind closer to what we actually know, all things considered, of the place during the time of Skyrim, rather than the "all destroyed, half of it owned by Argonians" fanon that keeps on being thrown around! One thing that I think you might've missed there is that the Tribunal Temple has one of its core tenets being "charity for the poor" and the complete lack of beggars we see in TES3 - a sentiment I imagine could well have been carried on even after the Tribunal Temple falls apart, especially in the face of the disasters inflicted on Morrowind and how the Dissident Priests think that the Temple doesn't do enough in that regard.
As far as I know Raven Rock is the only major settlement without a beggar
We'll know how well Morrowind is doing, by how loudly we can hear their cracking whips. ;)
I really liked this video. Hearing you talk about a wide variety of topics regarding my favorite fantasy world makes it feel that much more complex and immersive when I play. I loved it. Please keep making videos like this.
I enjoy all Imperial Knowledge videos, trivial topics and all
Always useful to do the more unique videos, cause nobody else would really do them.
Almost post your videos, so far they've never disappointed : )
Greets from NL
I don't think Morrowind recovered at all. Going to Solstheim gives you kinda a clear idea: Redoran, the stronger house in the province, has no money to spare (they can't even support a small district like Solstheim). Not only that, but they overthrown the economical powerful House Hlaalu and while the Sadras have taken over we can't be sure they're doing a better job. House Dres, if it still exists after the Accession Wars, surely can't trade on slaves anymore, since Black Marsh is pretty powerful. House Telvanni never was an asset to the community...
Question, does the elves longer lifespan mean that while 150 years have passed since red mountain eruption sociologically for the elves its more like 25 years?
There are endless video on the politics and different cultures in Tamriel, but this is the first on I've seen about the economics of The Elder Scrolls. Good video about an interesting and often overlooked topic.
I think it was a good video, you made a good point about the absolute rampant corruption and how it would add to overall poverty, never thought about that.
Perhaps you could have compared the prices of the same food in the different provinces
I was very happy with this video, it's not something that's looked at a lot in the Elder Scrolls community. Plus, I think it's really nice to use a single metric to compare all the provinces, as I feel that most content just focuses on one province or culture at a time. Well done!
I liked it, it is one of those often thought about subject yet rarely talked about.
I like the video, I'm a night janitor, and I play the elder scrolls religiously. You're actually one of the very best people on UA-cam that does lore related videos so far.
I was actually wondering about this while playing skyrim today.
I wonder how much a Legionnaire makes in an hour,day,week,mouth,and year and I'm sure they get paid more if they are a higher rank
I loved it man. I appreciate your channel because you do elder scrolls content, but even more so because you do the work on the trivial topics you're not sure about. Economics, DNA, Poverty, all of it. You're exploring a universe that many of us take time to almost live in, and you're giving you the credit it's due. Keep doing what you do man.
I really liked this video! I find these videos about everyday life way more interesting then videos on some war or ancient hero:D
Rise up!
Rise up Stormcloaks and overthrow the corrupt Bourgeoisie
Wouldn’t High Rock, before the Dragon Break (retcon), have one of the most population of beggars cause of the wars between kingdoms? Remains one of my favorite provinces nonetheless, but still.
Don't call dragonbreaks a retcon as if you think the 7 numidium ending was intended to be canon.
Yeah, a retcon implies they made a choice. every contradiction works, everyone won buddy that's how writing works.
@@JamesJJSMilton Thing is, Bethesda decided to let all the endings become canon, instead of choosing which one to go for when creating the next Elder Scrolls game after Daggerfall. That’s why I and a number of others see it as a retcon. But hey what I do know?
@@pyroparagon8945 Thing is, Bethesda decided to let all the endings become canon, instead of choosing which one to go for when creating the next Elder Scrolls game after Daggerfall. That’s why I and a number of others see it as a retcon. But hey, what I do know?
@@justsomewitcherwithalongsw4233 it's just a universe with multiple realities. That's treated so casually that it's discussed in side quests.
Great vid man! I’m doing a small mod that alters Winterhold’s town to add more people, but in poverty, trying to rebuild the city from the rubble. So I consider this research!!
I like a lot this video cuz many time i think about some topics like this: poverty in Tamriel, Health in Tamriel, Economy in Tamriel, Agriculture in Tamriel, etc. Specially after ESO cuz we can run around all Tamriel.
As a worldbuilder myself, I find this video very interesting.
When the person making the video makes fun of you for watching it
You underestimate how much us nerdy lore people want to learn more about economics - great vid!
I love all of your videos man, they help me delve deeper into my playthroughs and role play better 👍🏻
love videos like this! I always have "dumb" questions about the world of Tamriel, and am so glad to see you making these awesome videos about more "outside-the-box" topics. keep up the great work!
I really like this kind of videos and hope for more of them, because it covers the most important basics of the TES worldbuilding. Economy is such an important part of any world so I don’t think that proper roleplay would be even possible without such knowledge
I love these deep dives, boss! Nine Bless your patrons for subsidizing my favorite youtube channel.
I like your stuff BECAUSE it is so we'll researched!
How could anyone be poor in a land where all you have to do is go around the corner and instantly open a box with a week's worth of wages?
I quite liked it. It was something different which can freshen things up for future videos. Not saying your video quality has been declining but sometimes a completely random topic like this can be good for the channel
I actually really love videos on weird/random topics
Penisula of hammerfell looks like an axe 5:16
There is one big problem, that the definitions of poverty you mentioned (especially the freedom thing) all sprung from orthodox liberal economics, while in Tamriel we are seeing mostly feudal and tribal societies where modern notions of freedom and homo economicus are nonexistent. Even the East Empire Company is more like a mercantilist organization and not a modern corporation.
And if we look at beggars in all ES games, they're not "unemployed" but actually perform specific functions in the underworld and at the bottom of the feudal hierarchy, like chores on a temporary basis. So beggars are more like an itinerant cheap labor force in Tamriel that is structurally reproduced in the feudal order. Remember that there are no stock markets in the ES universe and trade is regulated by feudal authorities, so such things as capital investment or a fall in stock prices play no part in what peasants do or don't do.
I personally love these kinds of videos cause they're helpful to people who wish to write within the universe of Elder Scrolls, like myself 🤙🏼
I personally really enjoy roleplaying in the games from time to time and writing stories that take place in the Elder Scrolls Universe, so this sort of information is extremely appreciated as it goes to helping writers and roleplayers have a stronger foundation for speculation in their own adventures. Videos like this, and the entire playlist you made for "World Building Essentials" definitely fits a niche in the lore community, but it's great and gives a good medium for teaching both real world economic principles as well as providing a sensible space to give educated theories on the matter. If I had to give criticism for the video, it's that I really wanted to hear more about how much inter-provincial conflict within an Empire (Be it Cyrodiil or The Dominion) and trade tariffs could affect the overall economy of the province on the "bad end" of a deal in your opinion. You talked a good bit about corruption which contributes to poorer people staying poor in a province's society on a domestic level, but I wanted to hear your opinions on the affect that ideology would have between a power and their "poorer" allies. Kinda like Cyrodiil with Hammerfell or Morrowind, for example. Not necessarily exploitation as you talked about with Summerset and its territories of Valenwood and the client state Elsweyr, but actual trade done between provinces and their economic hub or an Empire between its allies and how corruption impedes that trade or the fairness of that trade. It's a very tiny criticism in my opinion as I was overall extremely satisfied with the content. The video was amazing to me and I heavily enjoyed it, I just like to hear your opinions as you seem to really understand the subject and I know jack shit about economy.
Edit: You literally have an entire video on trade relations of Tamriel that I found after watching the video that pretty much talks about everything mentioned in really great detail. I hadn't known of that video prior to writing this comment, and can completely respect the separation of the two topics. I rescind the previous criticism. This video covers everything very well and anything else that contributes to the economic scope of the Fourth Era is well explained in other vidoes on your channel.👌
I come to this channel mainely for videos like this. No one really talk about the normal day to day life of the Elder Scrolls universe.
That being said I think there was maybe to much speculation, and the video could have been shorter.
Good video anyway! I love what you are doing!
It's funny that you say 'why would anyone ever watch this', I'm an economics major and elder scrolls fan that just discovered your channel, this was one of the first videos I wanted to see! I guess the question is why would anyone else watch it XD
I like your video it's good for roleplaying information
I enjoyed this. Very interesting view on the matter
Don't knock yourself down. It's interesting to hear about these kinds of topics.
I really like this kinda put skyrim to a different perspective and enhances the lore good video
I love looking at the sociology & economics of fantasy worlds. I think you should do more vids like this 👍
A rich person in Africa would be rich in Europe. Rich is rich and the ceiling of wealth in Africa is not the floor of wealth in Europe. You could've used America as an example because half of us are in poverty.
Yeah, a better comparison would be a person of median income, not a rich one.
@@David_Alvarez77 agreed. I don't know if he meant it but it I wanted it said.
As always, the fruits of your research are tasty and informative! There's a lot to be said on poverty and the effects of corruption, and I personally don't think I could have made something like this myself without going into a political fit of rage lol
Great video!
Although you expressed doubt for the topic, I think for somebody trying to gain a better understanding of the game world all topics can help with that goal, and thanks for all the videos you've made which have helped form my understanding of the Elderscrolls world
I hope someone saw the meme at the end lol
Liked
Now let's watch It :)
Couple yrs late, but I absolutely loved this video : ). Very interesting topic, and lots of room for theorizing.
I personally thought this video was on point. You are definitely in my top three favorite TES lore channels.
Very interesting video, thank you for uploading your research
Very interesting video. There are not enough videos about the various level economies of Tamriel and the rest of Nirn. Thank you ;-)
Some of your best and most interesting content is when you use The Elder Scrolls to teach real life topics that don't initially seem developed in the games, but your research and creativity shows otherwise.
I like the economic status of tamrielic provinces. Great videos
Very interesting and well put together.
I'd kinda like to hear more about topics like this in TES 6.
What's more Balgruuf mentions to his steward that Whiterun is struggling. They're almost out of food and coin. What does that say about Skyrim if their trade captial is poor?
I love topics like this please keep it up :)
"Oh, yeah! This is good shit nigga."
P.S. and seriously speaking:do more of this,they are great.
Actually really interesting.
What is the socio-economic effect of the prevalence of skooma addiction in Elsweyr? Does this contribute to poverty? How much so?
Probably the same as that of alcohol consumption in other provinces. Everyone does it, nobody cares.
It probably at least contributes to lost work hours. I guess the question is how badly does skooma affect Khajiit typically and how widely it is used and in what quantities. Are there other industries or exports that could be produced that would be bringing a higher standard of living but which are sidelined because of skooma production?
I loved this video a ton. So don't worry about it my dude.
Somebody please Think of the children !!!!!
Aahhh.... Yes... The children
*turns on killable children*
Imperial, Nords- white European
Red guard- African
Breton- mix breed Asian/white
Khajitt- middle eastern
High elf- Asian Japanese
Dark elf- Chinese?
Wood elf’s- Asian
Orcs- Native American.
People in tamriel is poor because they dont want to be rich. Within a week or 2 they can have health and wealth and be their own boss.
As a Geographer, these videos have my attention 🧐
I think this video could include more... general traits of the culture and not only things related to the latest events like the great war or the rise of nationalism in Summerset, High Rock, Skyrim and Black Marsh.
For instance, Cyrodiil has a lot of beggars because they have a mercantile culture where if you don't make ends meet it's your own problem. Skyrim is poor because both it's hostile environment and their cultural disregard for knowledge keeps them from developing. Wood elves seem like they're poor but they lack for nothing and they don't think they are poor themselves, though they instantly become poor when they leave Valenwood. Elsweyr probably has the highest amount of corruption, followed by Hammerfell, High Rock, and Cyrodiil. Summerset, Skyrim and maybe Morrowind have the lowest levels of corruption since their societies value pride a lot higher than money.
Morrowind is in trouble but they're traditionally not a poor society, other than their slaves. Morrowind has little to export but they somehow manage, the fact the dunmer in Windhelm see their situation there as worse than Morrowind implies they do not live in slums even in the 4th era. I suspect poor dunmer end up having to work out in the ashlands, where they end up dying, which only leaves the well off. Still, Dunmer cities are much, much richer than anything in Skyrim.
Summerset is rich because of the altmer's high average level of education, they don't move as much money as the empire but they focus on quality because of cultural and religious reasons which means most of what they own is good quality, and they would have few beggars because their society wouldn't allow fellow children of Auri-El to be disgraced, it would be an affront to the rest of the altmer's pride, so they probably put a lot of effort in helping poor altmer so it reflects well on their race as a whole. Summerset also likely has a very low level of corruption because of the rigidity of their society.
ive been watching your older stuff that gets critizsed a lot but i kinda respect you more for being brave enough to not give a damn what people thought of it per say
Boi we love this niche lore 😂
Great video ty ♡
Skooma production is probably booming in tamriel after the great war.
great job 😊
Its been 60 years...
Somebody run by me the ideologies of each province in tamriel? There are alot throughout our history but what are the details scrolls closest to?
it's just monarchs apart from morrowind and I dont believe the queen of summer set illes has a lot of power or at least any more so they are the only countrys that are primarily ran by a government
@@ciaranmck4469 isnt the summerset isles basically facist? We dont know alot about them i believe (but thanks)
Ideologies as we think of them nowadays make no sense in a pre-industrial context. But to answer your question I'd say the Empire promotes a cosmopolitan society under its rule, while most provinces want to retain their cultures and autonomy to various degrees, with Summerset taking it to the extreme. Most political divisions in the various provinces are about being pro or anti Empire.
@@AlshainFR yes I definatly see what you mean, some are in obvi relation, summerset is like fascist ,the empire is basically Rome (makes sense) but when we get to specifics is hammerfell a monarchy? Imperialist esc? As well as the argonians, they might seem fascist too with its expansion but it's not so extreme as the thalmor and I've no clue about elswere and morrowind ,it gets hard when you go into specifics
@@AlshainFR mate it's pretty obvious what an ideology is ye spaz
I liked it mate
Was a great bud
short excursion into definition of poverty was already worth watching (still thinking gamers might learn more than game mechanics)
muy bien
Dude don't be so hard on yourself. Me and a friend were talking last day and we both agreed that you and lady of scrolls make the best ES videos. Ten times better than Fudge Muppet. It's especially this kind of videos I like about you, it could have been longer though. It's a good topic.
They should just not be poor
Hey i clicked it. At least some people watched your video 😄
So I was wondering is if you can do a video explaining the logistics of the imperial military but what I'm I really looking for well as we know the elder Scrolls world is set in time that seems to be a mix of the Roman Empire and The middle ages (also known as the mid evil age) why do I bring this up well to put it simple the higher up the. Chain of command you are the more the action of a army looks like a pieces of a board game so some what is the video about well first you would need to recap the military tactics then it will be divided in to topic for example how are the supply lines set up for forts how are portal set up and so on
Morrowind may be economicaly better due to Malachite. Since skyrim economy is fucked, the glass prices would rise.
Algorithm comment
Wealth beyond measure, outlander
Ik kan aan je accent horen dat je Nederlands bent :)