[spoiler] empire might vs eorzea might

[VargasVermillion]

My current theory on the provinces that are treated well is related mostly to what they can actually provide. Doma was primarily a tourist destination before the first rebellion and Ala mhigo has even less to offer save for labor and soldiers, and that's pretty much what they got out of it.

[Cilia]

My current theory on the provinces that are treated well is related mostly to what they can actually provide. Doma was primarily a tourist destination before the first rebellion and Ala mhigo has even less to offer save for labor and soldiers, and that's pretty much what they got out of it.

Which then raises the question of why they were conquered in the first place. If Doma and Ala Mhigo weren't able to provide much for the Empire, why conquer them at all (beyond Ala Mhigo's strategic value as a gateway to the rest of Eorzea)?

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

Which then raises the question of why they were conquered in the first place. If Doma and Ala Mhigo weren't able to provide much for the Empire, why conquer them at all (beyond Ala Mhigo's strategic value as a gateway to the rest of Eorzea)?

I'd probably say that Ala Mhigo's primary value was absolutely as a regional foothold, and even if the surrounding region held zero value for the Empire, I wouldn't expect them to back down from an occupied territory unless absolutely necessary. Sure, it's not actively providing the Empire with much, but they've got it already and it's not costing much to hold it and now they can say their empire spans the Three Great Continents! Besides, ceding held lands looks weak. And, as ObsidianFire points out, they were using it as a center for manufacturing plants too.

As for Doma, we can probably assume that it serves the same purpose for East Othard; even if there's no direct use for the lands beyond conscription and resources for manufacturing, some kind of permanent base of operations in the region means they get to consider it a part of the Empire, and Doma really seems to be the only major city. I don't have my book here to give direct citations, but I believe Doma was the longest holdout against Imperial conquest of the continent as well, no? Occupying it directly (or bringing its leader into line, as they did before the uprising) probably sent a pretty strong message to the normal folk.

[VargasVermillion]

Which then raises the question of why they were conquered in the first place. If Doma and Ala Mhigo weren't able to provide much for the Empire, why conquer them at all (beyond Ala Mhigo's strategic value as a gateway to the rest of Eorzea)?

Garlemald wants to have all the continents under it's wing and I assume if they succeeded they would look for more continents to absorb. It's been confirmed they have no interest in islands which is why hingashi is relatively safe and even trades with them. It wouldn't surprise me if the magitek they got was inspired by garlean designs since garlemald deals technology to island nations to help fund their conquest.