Nobles in Sandpoint

[LankyOgre]

My wife has been binge-watching Downton Abbey and finished it up. Since then, she has been searching for other period dramas to watch. It got me thinking about nobles around Sandpoint. In Magnimar and Sandpoint, it seems like most of them are more merchant princes or "new money." It doesn't appear that any of them are the classic landowners that tax peasants just for working on the land.
Sandpoint is les than 50 years old and Magnimar is only a hundred years older than that. Unless the families came from Korvosa or Cheliax, there isn't much time fo

For Sandpoint in particular;
Kaijitsu family is nothing more than wealthy tradesmen with a name.

Spoiler:

people around Sandpoint and Magnimardont know about their family secret

. Where did their House Name come from. Did they just present themselves as House Kaijitsu or did somebody have to "sponsor" them?
The Scarnettis family is definitely wealthy businessmen. As are the Valdemars. The Deverin family seems to be the closest to a noble family that would be depicted as wealthy for the sake of being wealthy and spends time socializing in high society.

So, where do these families come from? How do they become nobles? Do they have the same prejudices regarding new money and old money?

[Ashkar]

Sandpoint nobles are branches of their Magnimar families. And Magnimar was founded 100+ years ago by chelish self-exiles from Korvosa, who fled the diabolist influences that started to engulf the Empire and the city. So at least half of the noble houses of Magnimar (and their branches in Sandpoint) are descendants of chelish aristocracy. And are nobility because they came being it, when Magnimar was found. Other, like Kaijitsu, are new money, considering the accent of Magnimar on trade aspect. So prejudices can certanly have place.

[Lloyd Jackson]

The Deverin family's wealth comes from owning most of the farmland around Sandpoint. They bought it up, brought in tenants, collect rent, etc. They are classic land-owning nobles, which is why they have tendency to be the mayor and have the biggest clout of the major families. They aren't the wealthiest, but they 'employ' most of the area.

The others families are noble because were on the charter that formed the town. There isn't really any sort of heredity aristocracy in the Downton Abbey sense.

Basically all the nobles in this part of Varisia are newly minted, whether they can claim a legacy or not. In Magnimar, all you need to be noble is the money and the attitude, and the city is rather proud of that.

[LankyOgre]

So, even though we are calling them nobles and referring to them as House "whatever," they are really closer to the American business tycoons. People like the Astors, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, etc.

[GinoA]

It's my understanding that at least one of the Noble families in Sandpoint has a much longer and more significant history. I haven't read or played

Spoiler:

Jade Regent

yet, but the brief summary that I have read implies that.

[Lloyd Jackson]

@LankyOgre, right. They may consider themselves 'nobles' and even adopt titles/mannerisms of such, the social construct isn't there. Nobles from countries with actual nobles, Cheliax or Taldor probably being the best examples, would laugh in the face of any Magnimarian who said they were from a noble house.

Sandpoint is very similar to one of the company towns or planned settlements of 19th century America where an individual would buy a bunch of land in one of the territories and then import/persuade immigrants to settle there. In this case, instead of a single individual doing it, it was a joint venture.

Yes, The Kaijitsu's do have serious History behind them, but that isn't what got them their position in Sandpoint. It was their skill and wealth from the glass trade that they leveraged. As far as the other families are concerned, they're just some foreign craftsmen that have done well for themselves. They've actually taken pains to conceal their true history.

[LankyOgre]

That family is a perfect example. For all intents and purposes, they showed up out of nowhere is a little money and became a founding family.

Edit: ninja'd.