Thanks, but I'm not sure I understand your interpretation.



Of course there is a reason they didn't do it, that was part of my point of why the SF would want to be near the cities ... it's totally impractical for a seafaring nation to try and fortify/defend etc ... a trade enclave independent of a other nations. Which only strengthens my point about Nesta sending them with specific instructions and why Zaida's Bargain was so well received. The point is that if they simply wanted to carve off land for Traveling and trade they didn't need Bargains to get it. They need the Alliances as much as anything else. Which leads to my next point. Zaida has just created an alliance with Andor, which is far more important that a single trade enclave.



That is irrelevant ... the point is the same whether she knew about other enclaves or not. At some point goods have to leave the enclave and enter Andor for trade to happen. She makes money when that happens. Using Traveling between the enclaves merely makes the transportation faster, and saves the SF the expenses related to shipping.



She certainly overestimates the situation in her favor, but she's still putting Andor in a stronger trade position by having the SF enclave. She is correct that Andor will have faster access to more types of goods, and given the power of the Andoran economy (pre-TG) it's likely that she will see an increase in the types of goods Andor can produce. Introducing new raw materials to Andor could create whole new industries. She makes money from all of these eventualities without having arrange for it herself. The presence of the SF will expand Andor's economy in many ways.



That works both ways. And quite frankly Andor is much more likely to come out on top with this as the market in Andor is larger and wealthier than pretty much anywhere else. This is no different than if they didn't have Traveling. Ships go right past Andor with goods aimed for Tear or Ebou Dar as it is ... and with Caemlyn not being a River Port she's actually just blown open the doors for the city to be a trade center.



I think you are underestimating the power of the Andoran economy here. Certainly the SF will make massive profits by being able to move goods from Andor to other cities rapidly. But Elayne will eventually also see profit from their actions as nearly every world market will want to move goods TO Andor. I don't think Elayne was trying to screw the SF when she brought on the Kin. Without land to Travel TO in the other nations the Kin aren't going to be able to put a through massive caravans like the SF will be able to. And the merchants will have to pay taxes on both ends if they use the Kin, vs. the SF who will assume the costs of transportation and taxes. Why would a merchant want to go through the expense and travel to ship something themselves when they can stroll down the street to the SF enclave, sell their goods and collect the money right that day? If they use the Kin they will have to enter a foreign city, find a buyer, pay the taxes and all other associated transportation fees. The real value of the Kin to Elayne is the de facto hospital service they represent.