Treaty of Numudu and Balakia

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Treaty of Numudu and Balakia
Treaty of Peace, Prosperity, and Friendship of Numudu and Balakia
Signed5 October 1873 (1873-10-05)
LocationNumudu, Jute
EffectiveMarch 21, 1874
Expirationde jure: March 21, 1974
de facto: April 12, 1955
Parties
DepositaryBalak Government
Languages

The Treaty of Numudu and Balakia, (Balak: Dayşem-e Numudu er Barahzan Jutean: Dekiodi a Numudude u Valakiade) also known as the Jutean-Balak Friendship Agreement, was an agreement written between the two nations of the Balak Empire and Jute, allowing Balakia unrestricted access to the port of Numudu, the arrival of Balak settlers as well as the construction of their own harbor facilities, housing and other buildings. They collectively came to be known as Balak Numudu.

The treaty also set out the restrictions and protections of trade and local nautical movement between Balakia and Jute. As a result, it was one of the first to establish guidelines in matters of trade within the Saru Sea and one of the first modern instances of globalization on Sahar.

Background

In the 19th Century, the Saruan Empire had seen a massive decline as a result of the loss of its overseas territories to insurrection, which coincided with the arrival of Balak trade and colonial vessels, part of Balakia's new colonial expansionist programs. As a result, Balakia had expanded into several locations along the Eastern Parshitan Sea, including through purchasing the Saruan Empire's remaining holdings on Lahan, controlling key points where shipping would be possible under perfect conditions. To further those practices, Balakia's practice of very little in the way of oversea tariffs compared to other powers such as Terminia led to a quick economic boom in some regions as a well as relocated trading operations favoring exports through Balakia instead, almost as if smuggling goods around the Terminian borders. With the benefits of trade on the taxes made from imports, Balakia was able to fund considerably larger military investments and would inevitably quell further insurrections in Lahan, where the outmatched rebels quickly fell.

With this expansion being considered a success, Balakia had then made plans to invade Jute, however, a massive rebellion in Lahan had made Balakia reconsider this option and instead decided to expand through diplomatic solutions instead, as the revolt was costly in terms of both economic and human values. As a result, they would send diplomats with interpreters to discuss terms with the inhabitants of Numudu, a small northern harbor settlement that was of a convenient location for Balak merchants.

For a time, the discussions had been made between the local island representatives and Balak diplomats, wherein terms were finally lain out. The Balak sources refer to discussing terms with "The Great Council", however, Jutean sources refute any acknowledgement of a council, stating that the negotiations were with the communities of Numudu as a whole.

Conditions

The conditions at the time leaned in favor of Jute, as most of the terms had referred to Balak use of the trade network and port connections, allowing the island nation to hold some significance over the trade system. The terms are roughly defined as follows:

  • Jute shall not be harmed or infringed upon by Balak military forces
  • Balakia will, upon infractions in Jutean waters or soil, respect their laws in the pursuit of justice and to provide ample assistance in these matters accordingly
  • Balakia will respect Jutean trade networks and pay for nationally instated tariffs accordingly, in return for access to a colonial quarter for sailors and soldiers to rest between voyages, as well as providing an embassy for further discussion between representatives of the two
  • Balakia shall, upon writing of this document, recognize Jute independence
  • Balakia, in all its abilities, will defend the trade routes and sovereignty of Jute in any case of a foreign power infringing upon Jute's economic independence
  • The city of Numudu will be co-governed by Jute and Balakia

Effects

Relations between Balakia and Jutean communities would generally prosper for the next sixty years, although they were marked by numerous crises, such as the one triggered by the Zaratan incident. These often arose due to the conditions of the treaty being underspecified or unclear, leading to disagreements and conflicting interpretations in the following decades.

While opponents of the treaty view it as the last instance of colonization of Jute, supporters claim it was negotiated in good faith by Balakia and promoted friendship and trade between two lands and enabled peace and prosperity, preventing other powers from invading and raising the standard of living of Juteans, with tariff income allowing for a modernization of healthcare systems and the funding of several literary programs.

Balakia would also benefit from the trade as the untapped trade-sphere of Ystel had become available to the Balak market, giving it an economic advantage above Terminia in the Eastern hemisphere of Sahar, expanding its sphere of influence. Control over the port of Numudu also granted Balakia military leverage in the Saru Sea. The effects of the treaty would affect Balakia positively as the newly formed source of goods stimulated markets of Balakia's economy after ten years, starting the economic golden age of Balakia, where the economy massively industrialized and initiated the first examples of an urban service economy in a matter of ten years.

The treaty would remain in effect for 82 years until the establishment of the Union of Shomosvan and subsequent beginning of the dissolution of the Balak Empire, where the status of the Balak Empire and the ability for the Imperial government to retake the mainland was put into question and internal unrest became rife across its territories. As Imperial control over the colonies began to wane, treaties were signed that would grant Balak colonial possessions independence. With influences from Jutean pressure stemming from a reluctance to participate with the past authoritarian government of the Vaşnabaş regime, as well as the relative non-importance of the port compared to other colonies, Numudu was the first colonial possession to be relinquished, with the Treaty of Sitti and Balakia officially being considered annulled on April 12, 1955 after mutual agreement.