I don't think Charis will insist on being the only navy on Safehold. No, they want to have every other nation able to compete by innovating in every area under the sun. This includes military tech. The more innovation and tech advances made by the mainland the harder it will be for the OBS to blast Safehold back to the stone age.
I doubt every nation would want to develop a navy. Some will focus on land based military tech and others on industrial development. The Inner Circle WANTS as much ionnovation as possible in as many areas as possible. Part of value Silverlode represents is the ability for Charis to provide capital for Safehold to industrialize. The more Charis spreads around the better.
By spending their money abroad like water Charis can accomplish several things that both harm the more hidebound nations and increase innovation. The obvious result is that it helps nations industrialize. The less obvious result is to increase the tendency towards inflation. Inflation will be highest in those nations that don't improve productivity. Those nations that increase their productivity most will have the fewest problems with inflation.
So by spending loads and loads of silver and gold in the mainland, Charis slips a dagger into the hearts of mainlanders least comfortable with Charisian innovations. The beauty of it is that those same nations will line up to get that money which will eventually destroy their cushy and insular political structure. With this in mind, I especially like the idea of buying women and children slaves and serfs to be emancipated in Charis and or Siddermark.
SYED wrote:I see them definitly ensuring that the imperium is the ruler of the oceans of safe hold. with only the merchant marine o the imperium and her allies let. even if they cant dock in ports, they will use near by islands, then arrange for smugglers to purchase their goods then take them to mainland ports.
if there is no navy able to fight them, and no port able to safely build oppsition, then they win. the church is forced to deal with the fact the heretic empire is not protected by military action. and avle to do untold damage to the port cities of the main land. Say the navy of god is gone, then the republic able to secure their wins. charis can force the church to surrender by demolitioning evey enemy mainland port it can reach.