Bree was an ancient human settlement. In the Second Age, humans from Dunland founded the town of Bree. In the year 3319 of the Second Age, Númenor fell. The following year, Elendil led the survivors back to Middle-earth and established the Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor, and Bree became part of the Kingdom of Arnor. At that time, travelers streamed endlessly along the Great Road, and because Bree lay close to it, the town flourished. Back then, Bree gathered travelers from every land and news from every direction. Even now, a saying remained in the Eastfarthing of The Shire: "As strange as Bree gossip—Shire proverb."
Around the year 1300 of the Third Age, the first Hobbits came to Bree. In the year 1601 of the Third Age, the brothers Marco and Blanco set out from Bree, leading a large group of Bree Hobbits into The Shire. In the year 1974 of the Third Age, the armies of the kingdom of Angmar captured Fornost, and the North Kingdom of Arnor was declared fallen. After that, the region of Eriador grew increasingly desolate and sparsely populated, and the old North Road that had once led to Fornost was abandoned as well. Without a doubt, Bree was no longer as prosperous as it had once been, but it could still be counted as lively enough; moreover, it was secretly protected by the remnants of the Kingdom of Arnor—the Rangers of the North.
On March 15, 2491 of the Third Age, Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield happened to meet in Bree. At the time, Thorin was considering taking revenge on the evil dragon Smaug and reclaiming the Lonely Mountain, while Gandalf worried that Sauron would use Smaug to cause tremendous destruction. And so the two of them made a plan, and not long after, the