Westeros’ economy is turbulent at the best of times, with the Crown in particular spreading its money too thin. But what’s at the root of the problems? Money Guru put together an extensively detailed infographic explaining some of the issues, and suggesting ways to fix them. Check it out below — you can click to blow it up for a closer look.
For the bulk of Game of Thrones, the Iron Throne has owed substantial debts to places like the Iron Bank, House Lannister and the Faith of the Seven. A lot of that was King Robert Baraethon’s fault, as his lust for war, women, and overly lavish events like the Hand of the King’s Tourney meant a lot of spending and borrowing and not much saving.
As you can see in the graph above, the moment Robert Baratheon took the throne in 283 AC (After Conquest), Westeros’ debts started to mount. And things only got worse after Joffrey took over and the War of the Five Kings plunged the country into chaos.
In this situation, roads become unsafe, so commerce slows down. Farmers’ crops are stolen or burned, and all the while winter approaches. The maesters are happy to remain in the Citadel keeping any new technological discoveries, if any, to themselves.
In order to avoid economic collapse, something must be done about the poor condition of the Kingsroad, and the realm has to ensure the safety of those traveling it. The maesters need to share their knowledge with the common folk, and the poor and starving must be fed.
But as we’ve seen on the show, not everything is bleak. During times of war, smithies like Gendry have more than their fair share of work, to say nothing of soldiers and hired swords. And Cersei, for all of her recklessness, has helped with the debt situation, at least in the short term by both paying off the Iron Bank and, um, eliminating the need to pay debts to the Faith of the Seven.
But these are short term solutions. She rid the Crown of debts to the Faith by exploding their place of worship, which will stir unrest, and she paid the Iron Bank by robbing House Tyrell, leaving a power vacuum. With House Martell gone, Dorne is in a similar situation. And the country is still at war. And winter is here. And also walking dead men.
It will be interesting to see if the conclusion of the coming war between the living and the dead will provide Westeros with a clean economic slate. So there could be an upside to a zombie invasion.
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