Commune of Bree

The **Commune of Bree** is the name given to the popular government controling most of **Bree-land** in TA 2956-59. It was a socialist State, in open opposition to the rising power of the Dunedain in the area.

## Historical picture

The Bree Revolution is to be considered in the geopolitical scene of Eriador and Middle-earth of the '50s of the 30th century of Third Age, which sees the rising power of the Dunedain, led by the heir of the line of Isildur, Aragorn Telcontar, in an area where the power of Angmar and Gundabad is too little to worry the area, the Shire keeps its independence by staying unnoticed, the Noldor are too focused on their internal matters to care of what Men do, and Isengard's attentions are completely towards Rohan. In such a scenario, the people of Bree, oppressed by a selfish and capitalist Thain and menaced by the potential annexion by Arnor, revolted against their government and seized the power in the area, declaring a communalist government made of 10 commissions: Military, Supplies, Finance, Justice, Security, Working Class, Services, Foreign Affairs, Education, Executive.

The Communard experience was characterised by the abolishing of every form of private property, socialisation of goods, atheism and attention to social issues and local culture and language. Unique in its genre, the Commune soon carried on itself the attentions of the Dunedain and of many other Middle-earth nations.

## History

The worries of the Bree-land population exploded suddenly, and resulted in a quick and violent seizure of power: the 17th March TA 2956 the Thain was beheaded, and a Provisional Government was declared, that socialised the goods and declared the emergency state in all of Bree-land. The remnants of the loyalists of the old government escaped the main towns, occupying the forests and villages next to the Dunedain border, where military actions on both sides began taking place. The Communard government sent several help requests throughout middle-earth, promptly answered by a Dorwinine city lord - who went against the orders of the Basileus - and by the king of Durin's Folk, Thorin Stonehelm.

For a couple of months, the Commune seized most of Bree-land, except for the areas at the border with the North Dunedain, and established a safe corridor for foreign helpers to come; partisan fighters turned the eastern borders of Bree into a hell for the invaders and the loyalists, cleaning up some resistance sac in the north. By the 25th of May, reinforcements had come: Durin's Folk smuggled 60 dwarves past the Dunedain blockade, and an entire company of Dorwinine drifters, led by the general Can Fransesc, forced the blockade in another point, giving the Commune 330 cavalrymen and 400 infantrymen, that added themselves to the 3000 members of the Citizens' Guard and to the 800 partisans on the borders.

The first day of June, though, the forces of king Aragorn Telcontar, led by Iorlas the Younger, from the outpost at the Forsaken Inn attacked the small corridor north of it, that was still tenaciously held by the communards; of the 700 guarding the pass, 190 were slain, and 260 captured in battle, and what happened to most of them is unknown - although easily imaginable from the tales told by about 20, among prisoners and deserters, who escaped the Dunedain camp. With this offensive, the attempts made by Dale and Lothlorien to mediate between the two parts fell behind, completely ignored and irrecuperable, and open war projected its shadow on Bree-land.

One last attempt of diplomacy - or an order to surrender masked as a diplomatic action - was attempted by the Pope right after the battle, but it was rejected in its totality by all 10 of the Commissions of the Commune.

The war went on, passing forgotten by most of middle-earth also because of other events that took place in the same years, that saw several battles between Lothlorien, Dol Guldur and the Woodland Realm for the control of Lorien and Southern Mirkwood, and between Mordor, Gondor and Isengard for Rohan and the areas around Minas Tirith. But anyway, the Commune couldn't stand a chance, militarily, against the full power of the Dunedain, and in late TA 2959 the city fell.

What followed were two years that saw the Bree-land become a protectorate, a colony of Arnor, and a re-establishment of a philarnorian government as well as strict laws against terrorism, freedom of association and of thought, particularly focused against the supporters of the Commune. The last communard terroristic groups ceased existing in TA 2961, albeit Arnor still seeks refugees of the Commune in its territory and in their allies'.

## Culture and Ideals

The experience of the Commune of Bree openly splits from any other government seen in middle-earth during the Third Age. The municipalism that was already a characteristic of Bree-land and the Shire - centralised in the first, federalised in the second - was enhanced and pushed to its limits, seeking not only independence and detailed care of a small territory, but equal social and civil rights. In fact, the right to vote was given to all the adult men and women that were citizens of Bree-land, both of mannish and hobbit races; private property was abolished, and considered as a theft and an insult to the freedom of the people to live their life with equal starting grounds; atheism was made the "State religion", because despite the natural hatred for the orcs, the actions of Arnor and of Pope Nahtaro couldn't be forgiven, and the communard government felt the need to give its citizens an unbiased, purely logical view on the matter.