I see no reason why mail could not be carried by travellers on a barter basis. If I owned my own home and a pony, I could subsist quite comfortably by carrying the letters of farmers, I think.

[–] saltesc@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (1 children)

And yet somehow plenty of them were grumpy and Bilbo himself was dissatisfied there and not fond of many people.

[–] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 10 points 3 days ago

HOAs confirmed in the Shire.

[–] crpknkr@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

If you really want a deep dive on the Shire:

https://nathangoldwag.wordpress.com/2024/05/31/the-moral-economy-of-the-shire/

[–] cwdolunt@dice.camp 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

@PugJesus Then the hobbits fight to put Aragorn on the throne, the Shire becomes part of Gondor, and everybody ends up living under a monarchy. Ugh.

[–] Seleni@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

Technically they never really stopped, as the areas settled by Hobbits never considered themselves separate from the Numenorian empire.

Even in the absence of the Line of Kings, the Hobbits continued to uphold their side of the contract with the State: to maintain the roads, and to honor the King’s messengers and speed them on their way (not that there were any, anymore, but if one had showed up they would have helped him out). The office of Thain was even established as a ‘holding spot’ for the missing Kings.

So really, for the Hobbits it was less going back to a monarchy and more finding their boss and dragging him back from his vacation.