The Shire

The Shire is described as well settled but uncrowded. Fields are often well kept and separated by hedges. The major river that runs through the Shire was described in the Atlas as comparable to the upper Mississippi. Hobbiton was a “major” settlement but was still so small it had no inn. The biggest city in the Shire was Michel Delving on the White Downs, which served as the quasi capital.   Originally the Shire was settled when there was still realms of men west of the Misty Mountains. It was the king of Arnor that actually granted permission to the hobbits to settle in the Shire. In exchange, the hobbits recognized the king’s nominal power over the Shire and agreed to maintain the roads and run the postal service in the Shire. In the final battle with the Witch King, they sent a few archers.   Politically the Shire is very interesting to me. There is for all practical purposes no state. One time they sent a company of archers to help battle the Witch King – meaning at most 150 hobbits. Only 300 were involved in the rebellion against Saruman. This means that even in times of crisis only a small number of hobbits ever mobilize. Not just that, the threats they face are small enough to be repelled with such small numbers. Yes, Angmar was a big threat, but mainly to the rest of the free people. The Northern Rangers and the 12 sheriffs were enough to ward off the majority of the threats faced.   Politically, the Shire is one of the most democratic and borderline anarchist societies in Middle Earth. As there does not appear to be any real formal court system, law and order was mainly preserved by hobbits willingly following the rules. Lawyers did exist but they mainly were concerned with executing wills.   Now, what sort of enemies would the Shire be facing? Mainly raiders and criminals. Most of the big bad guys of the series have to march huge distances to get to the Shire. They also have to defeat all the other powers in order to cover that distance. It has little to pillage and rarely poses a threat to outside powers. But said outside powers are much harder targets to pick on. So, if you are interested in pillage, the Shire is a much softer target. We see this play out in the books. Saruman is the only person to attack the Shire and when he does it it after he has been utterly destroyed elsewhere.   So, for all practical purposes there are no real international threats to the Shire. Saruman was the only leader to attempt invasion. Mordor was the only other long term threat, but it would have to literally conquer the entire rest of the continent to get there. All other powers in Middle Earth lack the reach, power or motive to attack. There is no geopolitical interests, resources or otherwise that would make leaders feel they have anything to gain from the attack. Similarly, there are no powers that would feel threatened by the Shire either. Now, leaders would feel threatened if random hobbits show up unexpectedly on their territory, especially in the capital. But that is a far cry from seeing the entire Shire as a threat. After all, the Tooks and the Brandybucks - the two major families with "adventuresome" tendencies - live outside the Shire proper until after the War of the Ring.