Haberdashery

Haberdashery is a wretched and ancient Bemton tradition. While nominally Haberdashery is the practice of hat-making, the Haberdashery guilds of today reach much further in their scope. Institutions run by the Haberdasheries include, but are certainly not limited to: the banks, the military, and even certain branches of the Bemton government.

Origins
The practice of Haberdashery dates back to even before the foundation of the First Republic. The origins of the practice are uncertain, but it is widely believed that the first Haberdashers were soldiers of the Great Tlamanian Army. Tlamanian culture valued form as much as function in all aspects of their lives, and this trend did not stop at their military. After a series of progressively more elaborate designs for Tlamanian armor, a few enterprising soldiers realized that their time would be better spent elsewhere, and what resulted was a metaphorical (but then quite literal) arms race for fashion. Tlaman, of course, dissolved nearly 500 years ago, but the tradition lives on today.

Haberdashery Guilds
The Haberdashery guilds arose sometime in the First Republic, in part an attempt to standardize the practice of Haberdashery across Bemton, and in part a reaction to the Republic's threat to ban the practice. Before the establishment of the guilds, Haberdashery varied greatly from one town to the next, and in many cases even from one Haberdasher to another in the same town. In fact, before the establishment of the guilds, the practice of Haberdashery was so unregulated that there are several document instances of Bemtons dying in Haberdashing accidents. The government of the First Republic, seeing the obvious threat to the Bemton populace, attempted to outlaw Haberdashery, but the guilds quickly consolidated enough power and influence to persuade them otherwise.

Rise to Power
The modern practice of Haberdashery, however, didn't arise until the fall of the First Republic in 1683. After the collapse of the First Republic, the Haberdashery guilds were often the most structured authority in most commoner's lives. The largest and most powerful of these guilds, the famed Haberdasherists of Hanthum, realized this power vacuum and promptly declared themselves the rightful government of Bemton. Several other Haberdashery guilds realized the potential for increased status in this time, and followed suit. This gross overexertion of power resulted in over a hundred years of near-anarchy and civil war, finally resolved by the formation of the Second Republic in the year 1794.

Modern Day
Nowadays, the Haberdashery guilds still exert great power over Bemton politics. The majority of Bemton politicians still retain ties to the Haberdashery guilds, and the role of the Haberdashers in the Redefinement of 1834 cannot be overstated, and due to the consequences of their negligance can be seen even to this day. Despite this, vocal critics of Haberdashery remain few and far between, with the most vocal dissent coming from the periphary provinces of Teomia and Blarr.

-Ezern Pactile, Professor of Bemton Studies, University of Teomia