Foxen Indenture
May. 3rd, 2013 08:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalThis is what I did instead of working on I Fought the Claw today. Though admittedly it will be important for a subplot in Legacy of the Red Vixen.
* * *
While slavery is of course illegal in the civilized worlds (and practiced outside it quite frequently, under various face saving names), the foxen use of indentured servitude is a time honored practice that has resisted both major social changes and outside pressure by the other members of the Six Races.
Partially this is a result of one of the major Shared Laws that are followed among the Countesses, which mandates that free movement of Commoners in a noble's domain be uninhibited. The expected result of this is that a noble must provide a comfortable amount of social services, such as reasonable priced housing, schooling and healthcare to their subjects, so said subjects don't just move to greener fields the next domain over.
The exception to this is Commoner who is also indentured. While the common misconception (even among foxen) is that indenture is a punishment for criminal activity, that would be inaccurate. Fewer than five percent of indentured servants are the result of breaking the law, and often that is just for minor offenses that are normally handled by set period of community service.
More often the indenture is for monetary concerns. A common situation is a student applying for an educational loan. In return for their countess generously paying for the student's education, the student must serve in her House's service, usually for a period equal to their time at university. For example, it's quite common for physicians to pay for their expensive loans by agreeing to serve at a particular hospital in a countess' district for perhaps a decade.
Similarly, a merchant might offer themselves as collateral for a business loan, agreeing to keep themselves and the majority of their operations (and taxes) inside the district.
There are several sections to the Indenture Laws that make certain that they are not abused by unscrupulous countesses, or by greedy commoners looking for easy cash. Among them:
1) Indentures are for a set period of time agreed to by both parties. Length of indenture may not be contingent upon paying off a loan or providing monetary restitution for a crime. Criminal indenture can be for life, but this is extremely rare.
2) If the indentured dies, their debt is considered paid. It is not passed on to their families.
3) If the indentured does not already have a job prior to being indentured, their countess is responsible for providing a minimum of safe housing (a studio apartment or dormitory space) and a stipend for clothing, food and other necessities.
4) The indentured is restricted to the countess' district. Traveling outside a district for whatever reason requires permission from the countess' administration. This is normally a routine matter of notifying a local administration office via email about one's expected departure and return, and getting permission. Usually this is automatic. It can be refused if a) the requester is serving a criminal indenture, b) they've been abusing the privilege, or simply c) the countess says so.
Usually the indentured has a tracking chip implanted in their body, which can be detected at transportation hub security stations. Criminal indentured also sometimes have a second tracking unit in a locked orange band around one leg. Indentured passing through a security station will have their chip compared against a master list of permitted indentured travelers. Failure to match it will likely result in the indentured being picked up and returned to their home district to face their countess' justice.
5) Most importantly, an indentured is not a slave. Their indenture may not be sold, they may not transferred to another district without their agreement, they may not separated from their families. They most definitely may not be used sexually.
That said, they have given up their freedom. An indentured is, more so than a normal subject, subject to their countess' orders. Which means they are at that countess' disposal to be used in whatever matter they see fit that does not place them at significant physical risk.*
Naturally of course, more salacious ideas of what it means to be an indentured find their way into popular media. The most common of course is the popular romantic trope of a commoner male (or sometimes a disguised Noble) who finds themselves tricked into an extremely unfavorable indenture, and subject to the whims of their countess, who is testing them to see if they would make a suitable husband. Even more unlikely, and tasteless, scenarios are available, usually involving actions that would get a real countess severely censured by the Council.
* Unless they are in profession such as search and rescue, or other civil protection duties, where presumably they have the proper training.
* * *
While slavery is of course illegal in the civilized worlds (and practiced outside it quite frequently, under various face saving names), the foxen use of indentured servitude is a time honored practice that has resisted both major social changes and outside pressure by the other members of the Six Races.
Partially this is a result of one of the major Shared Laws that are followed among the Countesses, which mandates that free movement of Commoners in a noble's domain be uninhibited. The expected result of this is that a noble must provide a comfortable amount of social services, such as reasonable priced housing, schooling and healthcare to their subjects, so said subjects don't just move to greener fields the next domain over.
The exception to this is Commoner who is also indentured. While the common misconception (even among foxen) is that indenture is a punishment for criminal activity, that would be inaccurate. Fewer than five percent of indentured servants are the result of breaking the law, and often that is just for minor offenses that are normally handled by set period of community service.
More often the indenture is for monetary concerns. A common situation is a student applying for an educational loan. In return for their countess generously paying for the student's education, the student must serve in her House's service, usually for a period equal to their time at university. For example, it's quite common for physicians to pay for their expensive loans by agreeing to serve at a particular hospital in a countess' district for perhaps a decade.
Similarly, a merchant might offer themselves as collateral for a business loan, agreeing to keep themselves and the majority of their operations (and taxes) inside the district.
There are several sections to the Indenture Laws that make certain that they are not abused by unscrupulous countesses, or by greedy commoners looking for easy cash. Among them:
1) Indentures are for a set period of time agreed to by both parties. Length of indenture may not be contingent upon paying off a loan or providing monetary restitution for a crime. Criminal indenture can be for life, but this is extremely rare.
2) If the indentured dies, their debt is considered paid. It is not passed on to their families.
3) If the indentured does not already have a job prior to being indentured, their countess is responsible for providing a minimum of safe housing (a studio apartment or dormitory space) and a stipend for clothing, food and other necessities.
4) The indentured is restricted to the countess' district. Traveling outside a district for whatever reason requires permission from the countess' administration. This is normally a routine matter of notifying a local administration office via email about one's expected departure and return, and getting permission. Usually this is automatic. It can be refused if a) the requester is serving a criminal indenture, b) they've been abusing the privilege, or simply c) the countess says so.
Usually the indentured has a tracking chip implanted in their body, which can be detected at transportation hub security stations. Criminal indentured also sometimes have a second tracking unit in a locked orange band around one leg. Indentured passing through a security station will have their chip compared against a master list of permitted indentured travelers. Failure to match it will likely result in the indentured being picked up and returned to their home district to face their countess' justice.
5) Most importantly, an indentured is not a slave. Their indenture may not be sold, they may not transferred to another district without their agreement, they may not separated from their families. They most definitely may not be used sexually.
That said, they have given up their freedom. An indentured is, more so than a normal subject, subject to their countess' orders. Which means they are at that countess' disposal to be used in whatever matter they see fit that does not place them at significant physical risk.*
Naturally of course, more salacious ideas of what it means to be an indentured find their way into popular media. The most common of course is the popular romantic trope of a commoner male (or sometimes a disguised Noble) who finds themselves tricked into an extremely unfavorable indenture, and subject to the whims of their countess, who is testing them to see if they would make a suitable husband. Even more unlikely, and tasteless, scenarios are available, usually involving actions that would get a real countess severely censured by the Council.
* Unless they are in profession such as search and rescue, or other civil protection duties, where presumably they have the proper training.
