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Villages

The owner of a plot of land may produce only so much by his own labor, and given that his ambition exceeds his capabilities, other men are employed by him to assist him in laboring upon his property who generally receive compensation as a result of the product, but who do not have ownership or title to the land.

It is by this convention that villages arise: the field hand who assists the farmer and the apprentice who aids the wheelwright must by need live proximate to the land of their masters, but not often upon it. The size of a village is determined by the number of hands needed to generate the desired output of a fixed amount of land.

In that way a village that raises sheep requires fewer people than one that raises crops upon the land. This also explains the growth of large villages proximate to bodies of water, as fishermen who nightly dock their boats on short have access to a vast expanse of ocean territory.

In addition to the workers who are engaged in a primary act of production, there are a number of artisans whose production is supportive and secondary: a village of wheat farmers needs a miller and a baker, or a village of fishermen need boat-builders and net-menders.

There is also a third category of production that arises to support a community of workers, such as innkeepers and tavern owners, who provide residence and sustenance for the workers of the village - as many labors have no land or permanent dwelling of their own in the village.

A final determinant of the size of a village is not merely the nature of the work, but the productivity of the land. If a land is altogether barren and incapable of sustaining life, then no village will be created there. If the natural resources in an area are in great abundance, a sizable village may evolve.