The Watch almost wholly depended on the North, and after the Targaryens came into power, they methodically chipped away at the economic and military powers of the North. Giving away the fertile lands of the New Gift to the Watch had been a very insidious move, greatly reducing the ability of the North to feed itself and making them lose valuable population over time. The Watch itself was burdened by too much land and too few men, stretching them thin, and could not utilise the Alysanne's Gift. Now the New Gift, and most of the Old Gift were reclaimed by the wilderness. Not to mention the practice started by King Jahaerys. By sending the most common criminals and the members of the disbanded Faith Militant to the Watch, he subsequently caused great problems for the North and began to change the vision of the Night's Watch from that of an honourable Order to the one of a Penal Colony.