![]() ![]() After they just started taking whatever they wanted the working hobbits would have been impoverished. But hobbits living in the villages (the tradesmen and workers) must have been completely dependent upon patronage from Saruman’s ruffians. Hobbits who could raise their own food would have a chance to survive despite whatever was seized by the ruffians. The situation in the Shire seems grim when Frodo and his companions return but I think Tolkien meant to convey that Saruman just sucked the Shire dry of whatever he could, at first to support his war against Rohan and later out of pettiness and spite. Lotho became exceedingly wealthy by hobbit standards because he sold a lot of food and commodities to Isengard (Saruman), exporting as much as he could from the Shire (and depriving the hobbits of much of their own goods). Such a system would allow many families to own their own land and support themselves through limited trade but would ensure that long-distance trade was handled under the auspices of only a few. Larger families like the Tooks and Brandybucks, who still resided together, may have worked their properties like family or clan estates, selling goods and special foods to local villagers and other wealthy families. The local aristocrat probably controlled most of the local trade, taking his profits from the transactions and hiring local workers to handle the details. This might include anything from ponies to rope to pottery to wine to tobacco. Someone like Bilbo might have the means to buy a quantity of things grown or made in another part of the Shire for sale in and around Hobbiton and Bywater (not to mention the presents he brought in from Dale and Erebor to give away at his farewell party). Occasionally they might buy a whole business or a parcel of land, which they could then own or sell as required. In other words, the wealthy hobbits probably financed business deals as investors. More likely I think they would have bought and sold things in quantity and arranged for their disposal through functionaries or factors. They would not have done the work of business owners (such as farming the land, milking the cows, taking goods to markets). I doubt Tolkien would have attempted to engineer a complete economic blueprint for the Shire but his underlying assumptions may have been that the wealthiest hobbits “worked deals” for land and commodities. Still, the wealthier hobbits were supposedly modeled on Victorian aristocrats and even farmers like the Cottons and Maggots owned land, so what could set Bilbo apart from other hobbits such that he was considered “wealthy”? The Hobbit seems to imply that Bilbo owned the meadows he could look out upon between his garden and the river (the Water), but that may just be a trick of wording. Did Bungo own the vinyard or trade in wine? So we can infer from Lotho’s investment activity that property and business both could be bought and sold (although Frodo’s sale of Bag End to Lobelia also confirms this).īungo Baggins (Bilbo’s father) laid down bottles of wine (Old Winyards from Southfarthing) in Bag End. With financing from Saruman Lotho added to his holdings (according to Farmer Cotton) by buying farms, mills, ale-houses, and other property across the Shire. ![]() Otho Sackville-Baggins owned a fair amount of land that he left to his son Lotho. The Baggins of Bag End probably owned The Hill, which could mean that the Gamgees and their neighbors were rent-paying tenants but I always had the impression that the Gamgees worked for the Baggins of Bag End, and so they may have been residential servants, not tenants. Some people assume that Bilbo was a land-owner and must have supported himself from the proceeds (perhaps rents) of whatever his land was used to do. And according to Frodo he gave most of that treasure away. There is no precise, canonical description of the source of Bilbo and Frodo’s wealth (from their family), other than the treasure Bilbo brought back with him to the Shire. ![]() Q: How Did Bilbo and Frodo Support Themselves?ĪNSWER: One word – plastics. ![]()
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