Charting the Shire lines - Page 5
© Michael Martinez
From 1448 to 1551 Umbar occupied Gondor's attention, although Eldacar's son King Aldamir was slain in battle in 1540. Angmar was too weak to move against Arthedain and Cardolan. Sauron seems to have used these years to prepare a new weapon against the West, once which would give him greater freedom. But in the meantime the population of the reconstituted Arnor (Arthedain and Cardolan) must have increased considerably. And that would mean the Hobbits had expanded as well.
So, by the year 1600 there were too many Hobbits living east of the Baranduin river. Even if they had colonized the South Downs, they would have been reluctant to move too far east, and they would have been competing for the highlands with the Dunedain and other Men of Cardolan. Nonetheless, it seems there must have been Hobbit traffic between Bree and Dunland, and such contact would have been facilitated by settlements along the Greenway.
Thus, when Marco and Blanco decided to colonize a new land, they were probably limited in their prospects by other colonies which must have been established after the War of 1409. It may be that Hobbits began expanding into Cardolan by 1450, but certainly the recolonization of Cardolan by Hobbits and Men must have been well underway by 1500. So all that really remained, it seems, was the old royal demesne beyond the Baranduin, a region now largely denuded of people and only occasionally used by the kings for hunting.
Furthermore, the lands west of Baranduin offered a new supply of hills. Hills were not just comfortable places to dig holes: they would be easier to defend in case war really got bad. But the best hills seem to have been the White Downs, and beyond them the Far Downs. That is, these were the types of hills that the Dunedain themselves favored. And they were far removed from the frontiers with Angmar while also being situated on main roads.
And the prospect of settling in hills would have seemed attractive to many Hobbits, especially younger families just setting out on their own. So the brothers most likely surveyed the land and decided to settle down at the most comfortable spot: Michel Delving in the White Downs. Michel Delving was located at a major crossroads. Traffic between Arnor and Lindon would have passed through it. The Hobbits would be able to expand in all directions: north and south through the White Downs, west to the Far Downs, and east to the Green Hills and the Hills of Scary. And, of course, they'd eventually settle all the lowlands in-between.
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