Flax Tax Revolt

The  (: Revuelta del Impuesto al Lino) was a popular uprising that occurred in the Ventoran of Nauigio for several days in July 226 BCE. Increasing food costs played a role, leading to a mistrust of governing officials. The precipitating event was governor Caesudor Macías Biscana's announcement on July 20th of a tax on used for any purpose other than sail-making. Linen craftsmen who were not members of the sailmaker's guild immediately decried the tax as unequal and unfair. The July 23 appearance of tax collectors in the garment quarter resulted in a mob descending upon the tax collectors, killing three of them. Sailmakers attempted to defend some tax collectors and the situation degenerated into a. The revolt lasted until July 26 when Governor Macías withdrew the tax and promised amnesty for those involved in the revolt. By then the garment quarter was largely destroyed, along with substantial stocks of cloth. Numerous flax fields had also been burned.

Background
Nauigio, the first southwest Alutran city state on the Abayadi Sea, was an established trade center. It had extended its jurisdiction inland from the coast to ensure availability of food and other resources for the townspeople. In exchange, the city-state promised protection to its hegemons. As a trade center, shipbuilding, ship repair, and supplies, including sails, were important economic activities for Nauigio. The sailmaker's guild felt linen was the best material for sails, so the surrounding fields not committed to foodstuffs planted flax for producing the linen.

As a result of not understanding the concept of crop rotation, the continued planting of flax in these same fields began resulting in smaller and smaller annual harvests. In similar fashion, some of the grain harvests were also shrinking. 226 BCE was a rather dry year in the region. In anticipation of a smaller than expected flax harvest, the governor decided to tax non-sailmaking use of flax in an effort to ensure adequate supply to one of the city-state's key economic activities. Macías did not appreciate the disparate impact the tax would have on craftsmen who were not sailmakers. While some were somewhat wealthy from making clothing for the upper class in the city-state, most linen craftsmen only made enough to live on since sailmaking was the more important trade. Coupled with rising food costs and the potential for not being able to afford their livelihoods, linen craftsmen found the situation unacceptable.

Revolt
On July 23, 226 BCE, a group of six tax collectors arrived in the garment quarter and began visiting craftsmen who were not sailmakers. With each succeeding workshop, a crowd began growing larger and larger, following the tax collectors. Shortly after noon, a craftsman noticed the crowd outside his workshop as a pair of tax collectors entered. Upon requesting payment, the craftsman took his long-knife and stabbed the tax collector, killing him on the spot. As the second tax collector attempted to intervene, the crowd surged into the shop and beat the man to death. After this, the crowd went looking for the other tax collectors in the district.

Word of the killings of the tax collectors spread quickly. Sailmaker's guild members, wanting to protect their preferential treatment, went out to find and protect the remaining tax collectors. This led to a clash between the sailmakers and other linen craftsmen who began attacking each other and plundering the others' shops. By this time, the crowd had grown far beyond just garment workers and numbered at least 3,000. Governor Macías could do little since his standing army numbered only about 200. The city-state depended on calling up citizens to defend it in times of war. When the standing army encountered the crowds in the garment district, they immediately withdrew, knowing they did not have the ability to quell the disturbance.

July 24 started out quietly. The governor sent his army to the garment district with the intent of enforcing order. The arrival of the troops infuriated the craftsmen, however, and a crowd quickly assembled and drove the army from the quarter. Already angered, the crowd of largely non-sailmaking craftsmen decided to have their revenge on the sailmakers and so began attacking their shops for a second day. The sailmakers retaliated by pillaging other garment district workshops. In the process, large stocks of linen cloth of all types were being destroyed.

Until this point, the spinners' guild had largely not been involved. The garment craftsmen demanded the spinners side with them on July 25th. When they did not, the spinners' workshops became targets as the looting and destruction of shops entered the third day. By the afternoon, some of the crowd realized the most significant influence on the situation was to destroy the flax fields of those farmers who had committed their harvests to the sailmakers. This led to the burning of hundreds of hectares (thousands of acres) of flax before the harvest.

The crowds, which had grown to nearly 5,000 by July 26th, also burned the Tax House and Governor's House. At this point, Macías realized he needed to resolve the crisis or risk the destruction of the entire city-state. He announced the elimination of the flax tax and promised amnesty for everyone involved in the revolt before noon on July 26 if they all went home by that time. He also promised the city-state's granary would provide adequate grains for everyone according to their needs and at rates based on their ability to pay. In addition, Macías stated he would resign as governor and leave the city-state, abandoning his personal holdings.

Aftermath
Over the four days of the revolt, there were 288 known deaths and at least 1,500 injuries. Most of the garment quarter, including shops of both sailmakers and other linen craftsmen, was destroyed or at least severely damaged. Much of the stock of linen was destroyed, as was at least 75% of the flax on hand waiting to be spun. Numerous flax fields were burned, resulting in over a 40% reduction in the anticipated harvest, which was already lower than previous years. The revolt also cost Caesudor Macías Biscana his governorship.

The new governor, Rodrigo Mazayuta Guasillas, increased the standing army's size to 7,500. He felt the increase was critical to maintaining the city-state, but he struggled to pay for the cost of the larger army throughout his tenure, especially since he was reluctant to impose any new taxes. He was only able to maintain the force as a result of support from some guilds and the city-state's wealthy citizens.

The scale of destruction in Nauigio was disconcerting to many traders. The subsequent inability of the city-state to provide sailcloth led to many traders going to the nearby rival city-state of Plenas. As a result, by the following year, Plenas became a preferred port for many traders in the northwestern Abayadi. Although Nauigio would remain an important trading port in the region, it would never again be as prominent as it had initially been.