Iron Island's Peasant Revolt

Iron Island's Peasant Revolt: Trade and Blood

By Maester Anders

Historically, conflict in the Iron Isles tended to be between the lords in struggles for power or between individuals in duels (not that such fights were always formal). Unlike many other regions, smallfolk rebellions were very rare in this area as there was little to tie the smallfolk to the land. Slave, or thralls as the Ironborn prefer to call them, rebellions were more common, so in 264AC, the outbreak of a smallfolk revolt caught many by surprise.

In the years leading up to this, the Iron Isles was undergoing a transformation. Lord Quellon Greyjoy was a reformer and mildly disliked to outright loathed by a not-insignificant portion of the nobility of the Iron Islands. He and his supporters aimed to reduce dependency on raiding and the old ways, and he tried to cultivate support among his neighbors to help achieve this – the main being House Ragnar of the North. For the most part, his neighbors ignored him, as the Ironborn were loathed all across Westeros, and continued their policy of refusing all trade with the Isles.

Lord Greyjoys reforms were slow and poorly planned. The slowness of the reforms was deemed a necessity by Lord Greyjoy, as Ironborn were incredibly resistant to change. What doomed his efforts, however, was that Lord Greyjoy failed to properly plan for how people would live in these new reformed circumstances. Some believe there were only a few specific causes, but as there was no specific inciting incident, this theory is weak.

Instead, after hundreds of interviews, and lots of research, I have come upon two main pillars: trade and blood.

The Ironborn were famously kicked out of the mainland of Westeros by Aegon the Conqueror, but their effects on the mainland lasted long past that time. The Ironborn were successfully kicked out of the North in 100BC, but their deprivations on the land and its smallfolk along the west coast of the North left it in shambles, with the lords of the North in the area all dead. There were a few attempts to reassert control by the Starks, including a few lords granted leave to build castles, but with little resources to accomplish such a task, the lords all failed.

During this time, the west coast of the North still suffered raids, even as most of the Ironborns attention had shifted to the more fertile lands to the south. This constant pressure kept the area ungovernable and void of many easy to access resources. After Aegon defeated Harren, and the Ironborn retreated back to their isles and fought among themselves to see who would have primacy. Details about this time period on the isles are few, but the loss of fertile land drove the remaining Ironborn to focus their attentions back on the North and afar, when they were not fighting each other.

Even after joining the Seven Kingdoms, almost all lords of Westeros refused to trade with the Ironborn. However, the Ironborn managed to find many small villages along the coast that would trade with them as it tended to be very profitable for these poor places. With their help, the Ironborn were able to reave in Essos and bring back wealth and food to their isles. But the sheer distance to Essos did little to help alleviate the losses that the Ironborn had taken in losing the fertile land on the mainland that they had controlled. With their neighbors still refusing to trade with them, and their network of small villages unable to provide enough, they began to raid the North in increasing numbers.

These raids were usually targeted to smaller, unprotected villages, but research indicates that a majority of these raids were not raids in the traditional sense. Instead, the Ironborn raided the land.

Forests were stripped for lumber, traps laid for animals, and wild foods, such as berries, were collected. This closer food supply helped to alleviate the food issues on the isles, though few ever admitted to partaking in these 'raids.' The Iron Price was not being paid, not in an acceptable sense, at least, so it was not talked of. Youth would lie and speak of daring raids to impress their fellows, but the older men would just refer to these raids colloquially as 'Fox Raids.'

While the prohibition against trading with the Ironborn was never made into law, the unofficial rule was enforced by societal pressure and the occasional punishment from lords against their smallfolk. The food security of the isles was worsened by the Ironborns' own opinion of farming, which led to what little farmland and animal husbandry that existed on the isles being solely worked by thralls. These thralls frequently rebelled, both in outright revolts and, more commonly, by doing as little work as possible.

Additionally, during the first century after Aegon's Conquest, the Iron Islands were overcrowded, as they had been kicked out of many lands that their people had settled for generations. This additional population strained the situation.

Obedience to the Iron Throne was something that was borne by the Ironborn poorly, and in 129AC, the outbreak of the Dance of Dragons saw the Ironborn once again raiding the mainland, specifically the fertile and rich areas. The wealth and food that flooded the isles had not been seen in one hundred years, and proponents of the Old Ways gained many new supporters. Even after the Ironborn suffered reprisals for their actions, the smallfolk saw their lives much improved and their opinions of Greenlanders much diminished.

Still, a strong hatred of the Ironborn kept Westeros united against any further attacks, and life quieted down on the isles again. But hunger surged once more as the population strained against what the islands could feed, and raids against the North increased once more. This state of affairs continued until 200AC when Dagon Greyjoy began to raid the mainland once more. With the Iron Throne focused on Dorne, the Ironborn were spared attention, and they reacted mercilessly. This was made worse as King Aerys I, widely considered to be a weak king, did not immediately punish the Ironborn.

Emboldened, Dagon sacked Fair Isle and began preparations for the North. While the Iron Throne was primarily focused on the Blackfyre Rebellion, Lord Bloodraven helped to organize Lord Stark and Lord Lannister to fight the Ironborn. Lord Lannister was able to strike several decisive blows against the Ironborn, forcing the Ironborn to retreat from the North as Lord Stark began to muster an army.

What finally defeated the Ironborn once more was the Royal Fleet, under the command of the Master of Ships, Lord Velaryon, who arrived after the Blackfyre Rebellion was put down. After a major battle, the Ironborn suffered grievous losses and soon sued for peace. While the punishment was heavy, after nearly a decade of reaving, the smallfolk of the isles saw their lives much improved and were happy.

But, as had happened before, the peace once again saw the smallfolk go hungry. Fox raids became more and more common. Seeing the plight of his people, Lord Quellon Greyjoy saw the need for reform. The Old Ways had failed. The Ironborn always saw victory for a time, but they were always defeated. Lord Quellon was rumored to say that if the Targaryens had more brains and balls, the Ironborn would already be ashes in the wind, and the fact that they were not already ashes meant that there still remained a chance for them to change.

His initial approaches to neighboring lands, such as the Lannisters and Mallisters, were soundly rebuffed. These lords had no incentive to trade, and they saw no change in the Ironborn to warrant reconsideration. It wasn't until a failed raid in the North, against a small unnamed village, that Lord Quellon's luck began to change. The new Master of that land, after having successfully defended it, wanted to end the Ironborn threat and sought to do so by trade. Unbeknownst to Master Ragnar, Lord Quellon was desperate for this to work.

The successful deal between the two men saw goods coming into the isles for the first time since Dagon. Unfortunately for Lord Quellon, it was still only a small quantity. Furthermore, as one of the conditions for trade, Master Ragnar demanded all raids stop. Lord Quellon agreed, for neighbors cannot trade one day and then kill each other the next. However, both men were unaware of these fox raids – even Lord Quellon, who was a wealthy lord and had no need to raid solely for food, although he was aware of where a significant portion of lumber for his ships came from. He had hoped that raids in Essos could tide over the isles for their demand for wood until trade with the North could be opened further.

To stop raids in the North, Lord Quellon deployed many of his most loyal ships to attack any ships sailing north, which included those on fox raids. Further, he had many of his sworn men in taverns all across the isles report on anyone thinking of going north. This had the unintentional effect of starving his people further.

Luck, however, was on his side for once. The Ninepenny War was a welcome relief that saw Essos dissolve into chaos. Lord Quellon was able to earn goodwill from the Throne and his neighbors by joining in on the attack, while also sending large numbers of his people to Essos for raiding as well. These raids were able to feed the people who had left, but with many of his strongest gone for a year, things on the island took a turn for the worse.

Food became scarce and small slave rebellions frequent, as ships were frequently stopped from leaving for fear they would break Lord Quellon's promise to stop raiding the North. Unfortunately, this also stopped many from fishing - a key food source for the islands. These harsh measures that were enacted by those Lord Quellon left behind meant that when the Ironborn returned victorious, the islands did not celebrate. Food did return, but more wealth than food had filled the holds of the ships. The lords of the land were fine, as the network of villages on the mainland could feed the rich lords but was unable to fill every belly on the isles.

So, as the lords and ship captains celebrated their new wealth and the success of their raids, the isles simmered. Following a year-long winter, starvation ran rampant. The lords were forced to give up some of their food, but not only did they give only a little, but they also could never feed the isles with what they had. Many smallfolk ignored the prohibition on raiding the North and left as soon as the weather allowed.

Lord Quellon was waiting for them, and many ships burned, leaving a cloud of smoke across the isles. Seeing this mass disobedience, Lord Quellon cracked down on the families of the smallfolk who tried to leave. Officially, Lord Quellon's men were only to beat the men of each offending household and snap the oars that rested above the entrance of each house. While Lord Quellon was known to be a reformer, he was never considered a nice or kind man, and neither were his men.

Accurate reports of what happened next are few, but the situation quickly spiraled out of control. Rape and death spread across the isles, as did accusations of theft of what little food these houses had quickly spread.

This period culminated in the act of one unknown man, who was able to sneak into Pyke and set fire to the stores of food and wood there. It is speculated that the flour was able to catch fire, causing a massive, sudden fire, much like a flour mill sometimes experiences. This fire was able to collapse a small portion of Pyke, as the castle was old and constantly battered by wind and saltwater. There were only a few deaths caused by this fire, mainly servants, but Lord Quellon was enraged.

Harsh retaliations were conducted as Lord Quellon's household was now facing hunger as his personal food stores went up in smoke.

The riot at Pebbleton was the first instance of the smallfolk standing up against the violence. Mostly unarmed, the smallfolk stormed a ship captain's home and raided its food stores. In response, Lord Merlyn sent out his men and massacred the rioters. When word of this spread, riots erupted across the isles. Most were put out in the same fashion, but many of the lords' men came from these villages and were hesitant to kill their own families.

Some riots were put down quickly, while others were left to simmer while indecisive lords pondered their next steps.

This state of events continued for around a moon. It wasn't until Deepstore, the castle of House Codd, was stormed that this changed. House Codd, never a popular House, was stormed by smallfolk after a riot turned sour. Men-at-arms from the castle arrived at the village intending to put down a riot, but some of those men, when faced with the faces of their angry and hungry families, turned sides and joined with the rioters.

The loyal men-at-arms were all killed, and the crowd stormed the castle. The House of Codd was extinguished that day, and the foodstores of Deepstore were raided. The castle was aptly named, and the smallfolk celebrated their vast haul of food.

Once Lord Quellon and the other lords of the islands heard of this, the crackdowns were renewed. Lord Quellon had many of the rights that King Aegon instituted, stripped from the smallfolk, and families turned against each other in the violence. By this time, word had spread past the islands, and letters from abroad started to come to Lord Quellon. King Aegon demanded the violence stop and the rights of the smallfolk restored, while a recovered letter from House Ragnar expressed the horrified reactions of House's head and an offer to mediate.

Some of the Ironborn lords put the blame for all this onto Lord Quellon. The Old Ways had always worked, they claimed, as never before had they had to deal with such violence from their own smallfolk. Lead by Erik Ironmaker, this faction denounced House Greyjoy and announced that the Old Way was the Only Way. All restrictions on raiding were cast off, for every ship captain was his own king, and none should gainsay that.

Lord Quellon declared them traitors and demanded the heads of the lords of each House as recompense.

In response, these lords attacked Pyke and Lord Quellon's loyal lords.

This new faction gained some support from the smallfolk, as the promise of raiding and having food once more was powerful. However, many were still angry as the memories of wealth under the Old Way had been forgotten. Many saw that no matter what Way, they still went hungry at some point. So, while the lords went to war, their own islands were still under attack. Indeed, some reports say that after the lords armed some of their smallfolk to attack the other lords, the smallfolk turned on them. This may or may not be mere rumor.

Regardless, the fighting continued to worsen and started to leave the island as Lord Quellon's control of the seas dissolved, and the Ironborn started to raid their neighbors once more.

Into this mess, King Aegon sent Lord Baratheon with a moderately sized force to restore order. Lord Quellon, seeing the potential destruction of his islands, from either the Ironborn themselves or from the Greenlanders, met with Lord Baratheon, and a deal was struck. The Iron Throne would support Lord Quellon and his reforms, help defeat Lord Quellon's rebellious vassals, and ensure that all restrictions on trade with the Iron Islands were declared illegal. In exchange, Lord Quellon had to enact King Aegon's smallfolk reforms, support King Aegon's future reforms, formally apologize for breaking King Aegon's existing reforms, pay reparations to the Throne for breaking the peace, which would then be given to the smallfolk of the islands as recompense, outlaw the Old Way, free all thralls and outlaw the practice, and give the Royal Fleet a single port to operate out of on the islands.

This would be Lord Ormund Baratheon's last campaign, though he didn't know it at the time.

Despite the harsh terms, Lord Quellon eventually accepted after news of House Botley's fleet having been burnt and Lordsport being placed under siege.

With the Royal Fleet and an army at Lord Quellon's back, the rebellious lords were defeated. House Ironmaker was extinguished, as were a few minor Houses (all of whom had their wealth taken to be used to pay for reparations), and the remaining Houses were all forced to pay high reparations, and their heirs all taken hostage to King's Landing. A port on the island of Saltcliffe was given to the Royal Fleet, and food flooded into the Iron Islands.

Humiliated but victorious, Lord Quellon restored order to the islands, and King Aegon withdrew his army.

It was these events, and humiliation, that shaped the young heir of Quellon Greyjoy.