Meerenge Straits Trading Company

### Leader

Viceroy Charles P. G. Quacknevere, Governor General of the Northern Lunor Frontier Territory

## Settlements

### Towns

Lakeview, Kostravell, Mothstravell, Fort Larissa, Azuros

## Time

### Disbanded

[redacted]

The **Meerenge Strait Trading Company**(officially known as the Meerenge Straits Trading Company, due to a clerical error) was a Palarri-based, internationally owned joint-stock company founded in [redacted] and dissolved in [redacted]. It was formed to trade goods throughout the Meerenge Straits, via its' main port, Coraldau. The company initially traded around the immediate strait area, to countries such as the Ebony Jackals, and Varsha, but later expanded to include places as far as Makabi. It initially held control of the Palarri state of the NLFT, but it later expanded to include the islands of Ageantium, and the protectorate of Hestrell(both jointly with Centrom). At its peak, the MSTC had its own armed forces, totaling 7 regiments(almost twice the size of the Palarri Army).

In spite of many attempts at reforms and frequent economic interventions, the company suffered considerable manpower and resource shortages. In light of the Fog in Lunor, and the many problems plaguing its' parent company, the company was finally dissolved in [redacted] with the Jagodie Treaty, which had the company's armed forces disbanded, and all its' territories and cities nationalized by Palarri.

## History

**Origins**

In [redacted], 2 Troops of Company Marines departed Caymar Harbor to assist a rebellion near the Onstnapping Protectorate. Unfortunately, they were lost in a storm, and no contact was established with them for the next 19 months.

In [redacted], the Palarri government sends an expedition team to northern Palarri. This expedition, led and manned by people from Grand Jagodie, established a city to serve as the northern states' capital. This city, called Coraldau, was set up in an island, near a village called Ramadi, which happened to be the village that Troop A and B of the Company Marines landed on after their shipwrecking. After a violent firefight, and a supernatural event that led to the deaths of all the villagers in Ramadi, along with many personnel on both the Company and Palarri expeditions, led to the survivors forming a coalition government to lead Coraldau and the northern state(now known as the Northern Lunor Frontier Territory). The Marines' commanding officer, Charles Goodwin, assumed the role as mayor(as the leader of the Palarri expedition had been killed), and successfully re-established contact with the Company headquarters in Combord. Combord HQ, seeing that there was a window to expand their influence in Lunor, agreed to send 6 regiments of Marines to assist the Coraldau government.

**Forming the Company**

The Coraldau government faced a problem; it was not economically powerful, and they were not very well equipped and armed. In addition to these, they faced threats from the island-state of Ageantium, who at the time was one of the strongest nations militarily in all of Lunor. With reinforcements arriving, and a need of more weapons and construction, the Coraldau government turned to selling small amounts of goods, such as fruits and bones, to the other Palarri cities.

After a visit to Centrom, and a meeting in Grecia, Goodwin decided to form an offshoot of the Combord Company, named the Meerenge Strait Trading Company, specializing in weapons and tools of war(which Goodwin found were the most profitable goods in Lunor), but also selling fruits and vegetables(which came from the plantation in Coraldau). Stocks were jointly owned by the Quacknevere royal family(which Goodwin was part of), the Jagodie government, and the United Emillian Companies(who owned a majority stake). They began selling locally made pattern muskets from the Company blueprints and arsenal, to great effect. Sales started to pour in, from nearby neighbors like Palarri, to further out places such as Makabi and Sotano. At its' height, they made profits of more than 500%, on both arms, medical, and perishable sales. It was also during this period that the Coraldau Company Marines established relations and participated in several daring military operations(including Operation Desert Island), cementing a reputation for being one of the most elite(and lunatic) within the whole UEC.

**Dissolution**

For many years the MSTC ran with profit. However, the UEC(who held a majority stake) was returning a large deficit in their annual review of [redacted]. This meant that the UEC needed to cut down on spending; in addition, many offshoot companies and territories of the UEC were undergoing foreign invasions and personnel rebellions. With the UEC in deficit and its' military forces stretched thin, the UEC wanted the MSTC to maximize profits by any means necessary(including attacking the Palarri government and seizing its' territories for profit).

Unfortunately(fortunately for the Coraldau government, who had little intention of betraying their Palarri allies), news of a thick smog that was lethal heading towards Lunor, made it impossible to expand nor further the MSTC's profit. It also meant that the Coraldau government and the MSTC needed to evacuate Lunor before the smog covered Lunor. Furthermore, the smog meant Lunor would not be habitable for the next few decades, making it impossible for the company to restart in Lunor nor take advantage of its' control over the Ageantian Sea. These factors, combined with the UEC's slowly collapsing empire and the Quackneveres' gradual loss of interest within the UEC in general, lead to an agreement being made between the MSTC, the Coraldau government, and the Palarri government. The Jagodie Agreement of [redacted] stipulated that the MSTC would be dissolved, all its' assets barring the Marines be absorbed by Palarri, and for all its' cities to be nationalized under the Palarri government, to be resettled under complete Palarri control after the smog dissipated.

After a Sunset Ceremony, held by the Marines, Coraldau and all the MSTC's former territories(including Hestrell) fell under the jurisdiction of Palarri. Azuros, formerly owned by the by-then non-existent Ebony Jackals, was absorbed by Centrom. The following morning, after a short ceremony in Azuros with representatives of the Centrom Navy, the Company's representatives and Marines departed Coraldau, aboard the Eastern Fleet of the Emillian Navy, headed back to Caymar Harbor in Banju.