The Economic Impact Of Dragons In Westeros

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Transcript

00:00Ever wondered what the Dow Jones of Westeros would look like if dragons were on the trading floor?

00:06Forget the Iron Throne for a second.

00:08Today, we're talking about the real power in the Seven Kingdoms.

00:12Cold, hard, dragon-forged gold.

00:16This is a song of fire and gold.

00:19Dragonomics 101.

00:21We read Diving Deep into the Untold Financial History of Westeros.

00:26A world shaped by draconic inflation and raw power.

00:30So, get ready to see your favorite fantasy series through a whole new lens.

00:35One focused on profit and loss, where the ultimate weapon is also a living, breathing, gold-minting machine.

00:42Let's rewind to the Targaryen Conquest.

00:45It wasn't just about bending the knee.

00:47It was a hostile takeover of an entire continent's economy.

00:51Aegon and his sisters didn't just bring fire and blood.

00:54They brought a complete disruption to the market.

00:57Before them, power was measured in swords, castles, and armies.

01:02But how much is your army worth when a single dragon can melt it into slag?

01:07Suddenly, traditional military might was devalued faster than a ship full of spice in a storm.

01:14The smart houses, the ones that survived, didn't just surrender.

01:17They economically aligned with the Targaryens.

01:22They paid taxes, they supplied resources, and they bent the knee to the new financial reality.

01:28This new dragon's peace wasn't just about ending petty wars.

01:32It was about creating a stable.

01:34Centralized economic system where all roads and all gold dragons led directly back to the Iron Throne.

01:41The Targaryens held a monopoly, not just on power, but on the very concept of security, and they charged a premium for it.

01:49For nearly 150 years, the Targaryens' dragon-backed economy flourished.

01:55They were the central bank, the military, and the government all rolled into one fiery package.

02:01But then came the dance of the dragons.

02:05Now, we all know this as a brutal civil war.

02:08A family feud that tore the realm apart.

02:11But look at it from an economic perspective, and you'll see it was a full-blown financial catastrophe.

02:17This wasn't just a recession.

02:19It was the Great Depression of Westeros, and it crippled the continent for generations.

02:25Think about it.

02:26The primary assets of the ruling house.

02:28These living engines of power and stability were suddenly turned against each other.

02:34Dragons that once patrolled trade routes and ensured peace were now incinerating fields, burning fleets, and destroying key infrastructure.

02:44The Stepstones, once a police chipping lane, became a pirate's paradise.

02:49The Reach, the breadbasket of Westeros, saw its harvests go up in smoke.

02:54The loss of each dragon wasn't just a military blow.

02:58It was like watching a nation's gold reserves get vaporized.

03:02Confidence in the crown plummeted.

03:04The value of Targaryen authority, once absolute, was now in freefall.

03:09It forced a massive, painful transition.

03:12Kingdoms that had built their entire economic strategy around the existence of dragons were suddenly forced to pivot.

03:18The post-dragon reality was a harsh one, a world where the old rules of power and wealth no longer applied.

03:26So, the dragons are gone.

03:29The skies are empty.

03:31What happens to an economy that was built on the back of mythical beasts?

03:35A massive economic void appears, and something new has to rush in to fill it.

03:41This is the era of post-dragon resource scarcity and innovation.

03:46With the ultimate equalizer gone, the value of everything else changes.

03:51Suddenly, the quality of your steel matters again.

03:54Valerian steel, once a luxury, becomes a priceless strategic asset.

04:00The number of ships in your fleet, your ability to control the seas, becomes paramount.

04:06Just ask the Greyjoys.

04:08Even knowledge becomes a commodity.

04:10The citadel in Oldtown, with its maesters and libraries, grows in influence because information and technology are the new dragons.

04:18New industries emerge.

04:21The power of the Lannisters isn't just their name.

04:24It's the gold mines under Casterly Rock.

04:26The wealth of the Tyrells is in their fertile lands.

04:30The Iron Bank of Braavos becomes the new global superpower,

04:34because debt and credit are more powerful than a king's decree when there are no dragons to enforce it.

04:40And what about the North?

04:42For centuries, the Night's Watch was a manageable expense, a distant problem.

04:48But as the long night looms again, the economic burden of maintaining the wall and feeding thousands of men

04:54becomes a critical strain on a kingdom already struggling for resources.

04:59The shadow of the dragons was long, and in their absence,

05:03Westeros had to completely relearn the game of wealth and power.

05:07Then, after centuries of financial recalibration, the market gets the shock of its life.

05:13Daenerys Targaryen hatches three dragons.

05:16It's the equivalent of a dead company stock suddenly soaring to unimaginable heights.

05:22But what does this actually mean for the economy of Westeros and Essos?

05:27In the short term, pure chaos.

05:30The slavers of Estapper, Yunkai, and Mirren learned this the hard way.

05:35Their entire business model, built on human capital, was literally burned to the ground.

05:40The return of dragons introduces immediate instability.

05:45Prices for everything from food to sellswords would skyrocket due to fear and uncertainty.

05:51Supply chains would be completely disrupted.

05:55Who would risk sending a merchant fleet across the narrow sea when a dragon could demand a toll of fire and ash?

06:02But what about the long term?

06:04Could dragons rebuild Westeros, or would they simply consume it?

06:07Imagine the possibilities for dragon-fueled resource extraction.

06:12A dragon could carve a new canal in a day, mine a mountain pass in an afternoon, or even forge steel on an industrial scale.

06:20They could be the ultimate engine of progress.

06:24But this brings up a huge ethical dilemma.

06:26Is it right to use these intelligent, powerful creatures as living tools for economic gain?

06:33The return of dragons isn't just a military question.

06:36It's a profound economic one.

06:39It forces everyone to ask,

06:41Are these creatures the key to a new age of prosperity?

06:44Or are they simply the ultimate weapons of mass economic destruction?

06:49The future of the global economy rests on the wings of these three beasts.

06:53From the Targaryen monopoly, to the post-dragon recession, and the potential for a new draconic industrial revolution.

07:01It's clear that in the Game of Thrones, you either win or you go bankrupt.

07:06The flow of gold is just as important as the flow of power.

07:10What do you think?

07:11Would dragons ultimately be a net positive or a net negative for the Westerosi economy?

07:17Let me know your theories in the comments below.

07:20Thanks for watching and if you enjoyed this deep dive into dragonomics,

07:24be sure to hit that like button and subscribe for more content that looks at your favorite worlds in a whole new way.

07:31See you next time.

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