Work Text:
Lord of the Rings - thoughts on the West.
The Great Western road passes through the Shire, from Bree to the Blue Mountains. From Tolkiens' description, there is a constant stream, both East and West, of Men and Dwarves, with an intermittent passage of elves. Gandlaf himself travels that road constantly, coming and going from his 'workshop' in the Blue Mountains. He makes his fireworks there; fireworks that delight the Hobbits.
This means the Shire DOES have accommodations for Men and Dwarves; the Elves take care of themselves.
Once the War of the ring is over, and Aragorn retakes the combined crown over Gondor and Eriador, with peace (ha!) on the land, trade will increase, specially in the Shire and Bree. Thanks to Saurman and Gandalf, shire Pipeweed is now a prized commodity everywhere. We can presume Gimli learned of smoking pipeweed from his father; who, being from the Blue mountains, would have had contact with traders from Bree.
A side note about Orcs...
Orcs are renowned as being rude, surly creatures, always ready for a fight. After the ring, and Sauron are destroyed/vanquished, does this change the Orcs behavior?
I think it does.
Orcs were the creation of Morgoth; he ties them to himself to control them. When Morgoth was defeated, and thrust into the Great Night, Sauron took up that thread of control, and used it to continue to control them.
Now that Sauron is gone, they are finally able to act on their own, free from outside influence.
They would / could have become less violent, now that the rage Morgoth/Sauron forced on them. Being peaceful/less threatening would have allowed them to begin to trade with Men (Trade with the Dwarves and Elves would have been very difficult). Men will trade with anything, anytime, anywhere!
Aragon would have sent several armies into Eriador to begin reclaiming the old kingdom; encountering multiple Orc settlement (built at the behest of Sauron in advance of his planned invasion). The first few contacts would have been bloody and violent; but eventually a parlay would have been asked - and the Orcs and Men would have talked.
When this happened, a 'treaty' would have been created - Orcs would stop raiding, and the Army wouldn't wipe them out. If the Orcs are peaceful, and keep to themselves, they'd be left alone.
Land close to the Orc camps would be allowed to them for farms and ranches; as long as they are good neighbors with the nearby Men and Hobbits. Trade and trade alike.
Some places are allowed the Orcs (easier to leave them be that fight to clear them out!). Fornost stays in Orc hands; it's infested with all sorts of nasty things Sauron left behind. The Orcs don't care.
A few other places are granted to the 'peaceful' Orcs; but war bands of Orcs would be hunted down and killed.
The local military commanders of Eriador starts governing from Bree; but as soon as he can he shifts to a new/rebuilt city in the north, Annúminas, on the Great Lake Nenuial. This area is remote from most other races, but the Rangers had several hidden towns that are opened to trade; farming recommences.
Something similar happens in the south. Eregion, south of Rivendell, gets repopulated by elves from the far east; it's a place to gather and prepare for the trip to the Grey Havens.
Rhudaur, now infested with wights and spirits, is abandoned. A garrison is set to keep people out (more likely, Kept in...). Other infested places are similarly quarantined, like the Barrow Downs.
Angmar is blockaded, the few roads in are blocked, with the Dwarves' help, and trade with the Angmareim is allowed at only a few places.
The Great Western road is slowly redirected away from the Shire, so the main traffic won't bother the hobbits. On the new road, Hobbits set up trading posts and Inns - they don't want to miss the possible profits! Between Bree and the Shire, many new farms are started, and in the hills the Dwarves prospect for ores.
Slowly, with peace, the empty lands between Rivendell and Bree get re-settled. The Rhorrim/Rohan expand into the region; all that open land is great for raising horses! Aragon doesn't have a problem with this; better to have the land being used than leaving it empty, to harbor Orcs and bandits.
The Great Southern road/ the Green Way is slowly reclaimed, as are the roads that flank the Anduin and Greyflood. Peace brings a renewal of trade; especially among the Dwarves as Moria is reclaimed. Many Dwarves flood toward Erigeon. From there they divide into two streams; one into Moria, the other to Helm's Deep, for the Glittering caves.
Minas Morgul is abandoned, the road to it is broken and barricaded. There are many foul and dangerous beasts and things in those walls; best to let it decay in solitude.
The lands east of Mirkwood have been populated for millennia; most of their trade was with whatever governed Moria, or toward Laketown and the Dwarves of the Iron Hills. A new trade road is created across the steppes from the Sea of Rhun across the Brown Lands to Lorein and the east entrance of Moria. It is well separated from the mountains that flank Moria; still many nasty things in those mountains!
Aragorn sends a flotilla to the City of the Corsairs to negotiate a trade pact with Haradwaith; mainly to limit the piracy and raiding the Corsairs do on the Gondorain coast.
In the far reaches of Enedwaith; there are several small and medium kingdoms that have been peacefully ignored for centuries. Aragorn and the Rangers knew of them, but left them be, as they were not disposed to follow Sauron. Now that Aragorn is trying to revive the land, he sends trade delegations to try and stimulate commerce. a new branch of the Greenway is opened to aid trade with Gondor, Bree, and Rohan.
In the later years of Aragon's reign, he starts efforts to rebuild many historic ruins, one of which is Amon Sul/Weathertop, and to rebuild one of the ruined cities that was close by. A big construction project will start trade, that creates commerce - and with that, taxes.