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Lindon

The hobbits knew of elves in the area, but they were apparently not a bit deal. I am not sure if this is due to low numbers or the Shire being insular. But still, it appears that the elves here were mainly travelers seeking to make it to the Undying Lands. This migration appears to have picked up around the end of the Third Age. Lindon did experience a population boom as some elves began to settle in the area for a "short" time before heading on. All of this together would suggest that the elves in the Blue Mountains would probably be limited in number and not in any major settlements.   Now, I mentioned in the section on Rivendell that it was pretty well situated politically in that there were no major threats that could reach it. Well, Lindon is even more extreme in this sense. The only possible threat would be the dwarves of the Blue Mountains. But even that is a bit questionable. Yeah, there was a pretty brutal conflict in the area between the two. But but the time the War of the Ring started, there would be more grounds for cooperation. The dwarves would see the travel of the elves moving to the Undying Lands as a source of profit. The ship construction of the elves would be a money making opportunity as well. So it is far more likely that the dwarves and elves of this region would ally against Saruman during the Scouring of the Shire than fight among themselves.   There is one threat that might be a relatively big issue. The Corsairs of Umbar. Lindon is literally the only other state I have found with a significant naval presence after the Kin Strife. Now, most of the easy targets would be around Gondor. So I doubt any Corsair attacks would hit Lindon itself. But the ships from here would likely pick up some of the demand for merchant shipping that is unmet due to the destruction of Gondor's fleet. But this would then expose Lindon's merchant fleet to the same attacks. I suspect then that the Corsairs would be a regional, long range, low intensity, steady, sub national, economic, lethal and unconventional threat.

Government

It was ruled by Círdan, an elf known for his skill at making ships. He was the last elf to leave Middle Earth for the Undying Lands. But more importantly for our purposes, he was a member of the White Council. He also recognized that Gandalf was a Maia spirit sent to fight against Sauron. So Círdan gave Gandalf the Elven Ring that Gandalf used to great effect in the War of the Ring.

Industry & Trade

So, like Rivendell, we can expect that there is a disproportional amount of economic activity in Lindon based around travel. The hospitality industry would probably be big. But unlike Rivendell, road based travel would probably be dominated by the Dwarves. The elves would be the hosts for the travelers, not the ones actually getting people from the rest of Middle Earth to Lindon.   But actual trade would not be a big part of this. Again, the dwarves are the main merchants in the area. More important though is there is not a whole lot of major trading partners in the area. There was in the distant past. But by the time of the War of the Ring, just the Blue Mountains and the Shire remain.   However, the stream of elves and Ring Bearers moving to the Undying Lands means that Lindon would actually have a decent role in sea based trade. I would not be surprised to see Lindon's ships being a major economic driver. Such that they become the main sea based merchants after the Corsairs eliminate Gondor as a major naval power.

History

The elves here by the end of the Third Age were mainly refugees. When Eregion - the elven realm destroyed by Sauron outside Moria - some of the elves settled here in Lidon. Before that, one of the mightiest elven kingdoms was once based here. But it too fell to Melkor. Eventually the region became effectively depopulated. One of the only real notable elves was the one who made the boats on which elves left Middle Earth. It is from Lindon that Frodo leaves Middle Earth at the end of Lord of the Rings.

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