The History of the Freetraders of the Philetian Republic

A Brief History of the Philetian Republic

The story of the Freetraders begins with the Philetian Republic. The Philetian Republic was established on the planet of Philetia as an oligarchic government controlled by several powerful merchant families. The planet rose to prominence as a trading hub due to its proximity to major trade lanes, easy access to their trade ports, and lack of conflicts with major intergalactic powers. (A few well-placed “gifts” to certain influential trade ministers of certain countries didn’t hurt, either.) Because of all this, Philetia became a place that any merchant could come to and trade on neutral ground – trades even took place between people who would be bitter enemies in other venues – and as trade on the planet grew, so did the wealth of Philetia’s powerful families, who took to informally calling themselves “Patricians”, as a throwback to the merchant republics of the Middle Ages and Renaissance on Earth. Not unlike their Earthly counterparts, these Patricians were an ambitious lot, and were not content with simply tending to their trade ports and overseeing the free markets of Philetia – so familes began creating their own corporations that focused on various money-making avenues (most of them trade-related, but some Philetians branched out into…less traditional ventures). One such corporation that was created during this “Corporate Rush of Philetia” was the Freetraders of the Philetian Republic.

The Beginnings of the Freetraders

As previously mentioned, the Freetraders of the Philetian Republic came into being during the “Corporate Rush” of the last few decades. The Freetraders are a relatively new organization in that respect, having been created recently by a young Patrician named Philus Vespasian. Philus had worked for another Patrician family for several years, where he learned the fundamentals of interstellar trade. It was a combination of ambition, skill, and perhaps a bit of hubris, that led Philus to set off and start his own trade corporation – the Freetraders of the Philetian Republic. The “Freetraders” initial focus would be on standard trade and exploration with the goal of searching for new, untapped profit possibilities. The future of this organization remains to be seen, but there’s one thing we can be sure of: whatever the outcome, if the FPR can’t find a way to profit from it, no one can.