Remote Feudal Land

Their orchard was near swampy land. His grandparents had migrated there from nearby islands with a group hoping to escape the corruption and wars between the major empires balancing each other's dominance within the region. Though they lived on territory claimed by the maharaja, this backwater swampy island was too far from the attention of the maharaja's court.

On one occasion, a warlord in the feudal service of his majesty the maharaja, did send a tax emissary. They sabotaged his boat and it took the tax collector's begging for the villagers' help to repair it. Finally, the tax collector had paid more than he had collected anything at all. Thenceforth, no royal nor feudal emissary had been seen since.

It probably was not worth the effort of the feudal services of the maharaja. It would probably have cost more to enforce taxes than the amount of taxes they could have collected. And while the empire was rich in gold and precious stones, what would the tax collector do with the chickens, bananas and vegetables?