How would you handle the Sons of the Harpy-situation?

[Petyr's Little Finger]

Try to diversify Meereen's economy, promote trade and exports of whatever goods Meereen had, so that the dependence on slavery is reduced. If the Sons of the Harpy had a hierarchical structure, I would offer pardons to the lower ranking members, at the same time I would destroy the upper echelons of the Sons of the Harpy.

[Dukhasinov]

Oh, I see. Maegor with Teats again. That worked equally perfect.

Maegor`s situation is entirely different. He was contending against the Faith Militant over the entire continent. He couldn`t possibly find them all and kill them. The Meerenese noble families are all in one city, housed in large, poorly fortified buildings. And unlike Danny, he did not have a monopoly of force. He had to rely in large part on the strength and loyalty of his vassals, which, like Aeres, he was quick to alienate. Jaehaerys accomplished what Maegor could not by co-opting the Faith, using "Soft Power," and convince them to disband the Faith Militant in exchange for amnesty, the right to continue to be the spiritual head of the 7 Kingdoms, and royal protection.

So, by your logic, Danny needs to follow Jaehaerys` policy and grant amnesty to the Great Masters and allow them to continue slaving. Granted, this would be the most expedient solution, but Danny is not going to do that, because she`s Danny. If she insists on taking the harder course, then she needs to do it right.

The perfect addition to my original manifesto occurred to me today, and I think it`s good enough to tack onto a later post. I edited it into my big original post, to, if you want to go back and read it in full context.

Let`s go back to Aegon the Conqueror. He overthrew or subjugated all of the native rulers of the 7 Kingdoms, but he left alone the core political and economic institutions of Westeros. He continued the native tradition of Feudalism, adopting the 3 headed dragon as the sigil for his "House," reconfigured as a feudal dynasty familiar to his new subjects. Most importantly, he submitted to the spiritual authority of the native Faith if the Seven, being anointed as a lawful king by the continent`s dominant religious authority. Imagine if Aegon had found the feudal system unacceptable and insisted on remaking Westeros as a republic, like the fallen Freehold of Valyria? This would have greatly raised the stakes for the great Lords. Would Torhen Stark still have bent the knee, knowing that he would be stripped of his lands, wealth and titles, his subject to be made free voting citizens? In this case, Aegon would have been an existential threat to the great Houses of Westeros, rather than merely a threat to their dominance and independence. They would have no choice but to fight Aegon to their last breath, dragons or no.

[Dareaper]

Simple, as soon as the harpy started showing up, i'd garther every former slave i coudl and send them out. I;d aresst each and every former master, the green grace, prtty much everyone. and i'd put them all to the sword, man and woman untill one of them told me what i wnated to know. if none did, then all the good masters would be executed, there heads on spikes around the town to send a message to anyone who escaped. And so ends the harpy.

I'd be a cruel and evil king thats for damn sure. The pryimids would be bathed in blood

[Dareaper]

or baring what i just said, i'd throw my hands up, say F it and pu the entire ccity to dragon fire, burn it to the ground, and move on.

[Mithras]

So, by your logic, Danny needs to follow Jaehaerys` policy and grant amnesty to the Great Masters and allow them to continue slaving. Granted, this would be the most expedient solution, but Danny is not going to do that, because she`s Danny. If she insists on taking the harder course, then she needs to do it right.

Dany's is the dumber course which would gain nothing in the end and cause even more pain and suffering for the slaves.

In real world, abolition is a gradual process and most of the time, it was done without armed rebellion for abolition but through laws. And it takes a lot of time and the cooperation of a lot of developments (like slavery becoming not so profitable or emergence of a strong anti-slavery sentiment in global scale)

What Dany should have done after taking Astapor was to not start an abolitionist campaign that would draw the enmity of all the slaving states. Instead, she should have forced legal measures to ban the worst acts of slavery and improve the rights of the slaves. That way, she could have forced similar laws in other slaving cities at the threat of military action. The only downside for such a campaign for the slavers would be the increase of slave prices. But I am sure many of them would benefit from the rise of slave prices too.

[Dukhasinov]

Dany's is the dumber course which would gain nothing in the end and cause even more pain and suffering for the slaves.

In real world, abolition is a gradual process and most of the time, it was done without armed rebellion for abolition but through laws. And it takes a lot of time and the cooperation of a lot of developments (like slavery becoming not so profitable or emergence of a strong anti-slavery sentiment in global scale)

What Dany should have done after taking Astapor was to not start an abolitionist campaign that would draw the enmity of all the slaving states. Instead, she should have forced legal measures to ban the worst acts of slavery and improve the rights of the slaves. That way, she could have forced similar laws in other slaving cities at the threat of military action. The only downside for such a campaign for the slavers would be the increase of slave prices. But I am sure many of them would benefit from the rise of slave prices too.

Large scale chattel slavery ended, like you said, through subtle change in economic realities that made it unprofitable, and, to a much lesser degree, changes in social mores that regarded slavery as morally questionable. But, these economic changes are about as controllable as continental drift, and occur over the course of centuries. Also, Danny doesn`t have any of these to work with. No-one in Slavers` Bay besides her is that pumped to end slavery, and it is still extremely profitable.

Danny COULD have stayed in Astapor to govern, and could have done so with a degree of stability, because she WIPED OUT THE SLAVER ARISTOCRACY. However, if she had not continued on to attack Yunkai and Meereen, she would have surrendered the initiative and would be in a much worse situation than she is in now. You say that she should force the other slaver cities to "Gradually" change their laws by threat of military force, huh? So, she is still a foreign invader intent on overthrowing their entire way of life. And not just any foreign invader, but a woman, and worse, a VALYRIAN, a throwback to the feared and hated Dragonriders of old. The Ghiscari would not be coerced into "Gradual change." They would not sit like the proverbial frog in the pot and slowly boil. They would also recognize the threat that Danny`s (still growing) dragons could pose in the future. The Ghiscari alliance would still come for Danny`s head. But if Danny takes YOUR advise, she is now facing an unsubdued Meereen, as well as an undamaged Yunkai, and doing so from the inferior position of Astapor (as opposed to Meereen.)

Whether she abolishes slavery quickly or gradually, (And, as I`ve stated before, it`s not about abolishing slavery, but establishing stable political control) by doing so she is threatening the status quo of an entire civilization. The slaver nobility with which she is contending will not view it as a struggle for power or economic advantage, but for survival. That means they cannot be negotiated with, co-opted or pacified, and can only be overcome by total destruction.

Of course it will throw the economy into chaos, but economic stability must always take a backseat to political stability. Better to be the unquestioned ruler of slums and ashes than the deposed and executed tyrant of a thriving metropolis.

[DireWolfSpirit]

Our own history took decades to resolve the issues from our civil

war ( the emancipation, reconstruction, etc.).

Why should we expect Dany to have to be able to cleanly

repeat those accomplishments in only months?

She will work through it and

be victorious in good time I believe.

Nobody should expect such a process to be tidy like a gift wrapped bow.

As I stated earlier,

I firmly believe she should take the hard line for as long as necessary.

If that means a "Sherman-esque" swath of burned rubble to

the sea, then so be it. Losing cannot be an option for her.