Q: Why Did the Bree-land Survive the Decline of Eriador?
ANSWER: I think most readers understand that when the Witch-realm of Angmar overran Arthedain/Arnor in Third Age year 1974 that every settlement was destroyed. Fornost Erain, last of Arnor’s great cities, was captured. The Shire was overrun and many of its inhabitants fled into hiding, presumably in the woodlands and perhaps closer to the Ered Luin (which were held by Dwarves). Presumably the Bree-folk would also have been overrun, since their lands lay next to the great crossroads of Eriador.
While the Dunedain were strong there would have been good reason for the Bree-folk to flourish. Trade would have passed east and west as well as north and south. But after Fornost Erain was destroyed in the final war with Angmar and the surviving Dunedain vanished into the wilderness, the only real settlements left in Eriador would have been Bree, the Shire, and Tharbad. Tharbad, however, was a shadow of its former self. Gondor had long since withdrawn its garrison from the city and all the Stoors of Dunland who might have traded with or lived near the city had either perished in the Great Plague of 1636 or migrated north to the Shire.
The Shire-folk indeed grew numerous enough to establish a new colony, the Buckland, in Third Age year 2340. So while there was trade for sure between the Shire and the Bree-land, we can only guess that there might also have been some trade between the Shire (through the Southfarthing over Sarn Ford) and Tharbad and between Bree (down the Greenway) and Tharbad. The Dunedain, if they had already settled in the Angle by this time (Tolkien does not say when Aragorn’s people took that land for their own), would have been watching over Bree, the Shire, the Buckland, Tharbad, and the Great Road.
The Dwarves of the Ered Luin apparently traded with the Shire; and they would have traveled through Bree between Ered Luin and Erebor (TA 1999 – 2210, 2590 – 2770) and the Iron Hills (2590 – ?) or beyond. The road-trade certainly would have depended upon stops at Bree and elsewhere, perhaps even the Forsaken Inn (Tolkien does not say when it was finally abandoned).
Bree thus remained at the crossroads of the northern world even through the worst periods of the last thousand years of the Third Age. The time of greatest isolation may have been between 2912 and 2942, for Tharbad was deserted in 2912 and Erebor was only re-established in late 2941. Thorin’s folk in Ered Luin departed for Erebor but other Dwarves remained in the west. Thus, trade must have gradually picked up between Erebor/Dale and the west. We don’t know if Thranduil’s people would have traded with the Eldar of Eriador (Imladris and Mithlond) or with the Dwarves of Ered Luin (but probably not).
Maybe the Beornings traded with the Dwarves who passed from east to west and vice versa. But I doubt the Beornings would have needed to trade with Bree.
Hence, Bree’s economic importance would have been very much reduced by the end of the Third Age. Only the Shire and the Buckland really needed anything Bree had to offer. Dwarven traffic does not appear to have ceased at any time but as with the Elves there was a gradual migration of Dwarves from the east to the west in the last years of the Third Age. Still, I think the ties between the Hobbits of the Buckland and the Shire and the Hobbits of Bree would have been sufficient to support Bree’s own need for trade.
J.R.R. Tolkien probably understood very well that whole cities can vanish if their inhabitants can find a better life elsewhere. For the Men of Bree there was really no place to go — no safer land abeckoning, as it were. They had distant relatives living in Eryn Vorn (the dark woodlands on the coast, southwest of the Shire) and in the woods and hills of Dunland — but I get the impression that Tolkien meant for the Bree-folk to be somewhat more sophisticated and worldly than the Men of Eryn Vorn and Dunland.
The Bree Hobbits could have migrated west, but their ancestors had chosen NOT to leave Bree — which was the most ancient of their remaining homelands. The first Hobbits had settled in Bree around the Third Age year 1300. By the time of the War of the Ring the Bree-hobbits had lived there for about 1700 years.
I think the gradually dwindling trade and communication across Eriador would have — in Tolkien’s estimation — been sufficient enough to provide the Men of Bree with a sense of purpose. They would have also felt relatively safe thanks to the efforts of the Rangers, who ensured that the remaining evil creatures in Eriador did not overwhelm the Bree-folk. In other words, what little opportunity remained in Eriador continued to flow through Bree and although the Bree-folk were not very powerful they had enough friends in the world (Hobbits, Men, Dwarves, and maybe even Elves) that their survival was assured.
Like so many other peoples before them the Bree-folk could have migrated to another land. That they did not feel the need to leave their ancient home is a testament to the dedication of the Dunedain. That may be the most important reason why the Bree-land continued to exist while most of Eriador’s people declined. It wasn’t just that the Bree-folk were stubborn — it was that others saw them as important and necessary enough to maintain contact with them and to offer them protection and trade.
See also
Could the One Ring Have Influenced Bill Ferny In Bree?
How Deserted Was Eriador in the Late Third Age?
Who Attacked the Inn and Slashed the Bolsters in Bree?
Where Did the Refugees in Bree Come From?
Who Are the Foes Who Live Within a Day’s March of Bree?
Strange As News From Bree (Classic Essay)
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