Swanscombe
In TN 692 a group of Roman Catholic nuns chose a gentle south-facing slope on the Northern Plains as the site of their convent, St. Justine's, which, over the cycles that followed, became the core of a bustling market town. During the reconstruction era, the town became the focus for refugees throughout the region, growing to become a regional center and founder member of the Tershaw Cooperative Alliance. I n a bid to maintain order in the city, the convent, famed for its neutrality, seized control of the local government in TN 1457. The nuns rapidly instituted a radical matriarchal society as a means of maintaining order - males were reputedly more aggressive, greedy and emotional, making them unsuitable for leadership - that has proved surprisingly effective. Several Badlands based groups assumed that the female-dominated city would be rich pickings, but were quickly disabused of that notion in a series of bloody clashes that secured the city-state's independence.
Located on the rolling hills at the heart of the Northern Plains, Swanscombe is the smallest city-state in the Federation. It sits astride several major trade routes (legal and illegal) notably between the NLC and the UMF and between the CNCS and the Karaq Waste city-states of Massada and Peace River. As a result, trade dominates the local economy. The southern sectors of the city, near the massive UMFA/Northern Guard compound, are dotted with trading companies, ranging from one-woman outfits to regional hubs of massive conglomerates. Though officially owned by females, in practice many of the female CEOs of these companies are little more than figureheads. Indeed a number of the city's businesswomen specialize in providing outside companies with a legal pretext for operating in the city, serving as legal owners of Swanscombe-based assets while receiving a notional rent (usually 1 Mark per cycle) in addition to their corporate wages.
Despite female ownership, few women work as laborers on the massive farms that surround the city, preferring instead to manage the estates. As a result the agricultural concerns have become a refuge of the male population, giving them the illusion of escape from the matriarchal city-state. Wheat and johar dominate the region, though dairy farms and cattle ranches have become increasingly popular since the wheat-jacket epidemics of the late TN 1890's. The produce of these farms is processed and packed in the southeastern sectors of the city and forms Swanscombe's largest physical export. It is frequently argued, however, that the city-state's most valuable export i s knowledge. Places at Swanscombe University are highly sought after, with courses ranging from archaeology and history to plasma physics and strategic studies. The college is most famous for its business school and its media studies unit. Because of the large number of non-Swanscombe students, the university is one of the few places in the city where equality of the sexes is the norm.
Demographics
His Mistress' Voice
Only females can own property or hold public office in Swanscombe, giving them a stranglehold on political power. Each family is headed by the family's senior female, known in the city as the Housemistress. Whatever her age, the males of the family are expected to obey the Housemistress and it is not uncommon for a young girl to inherit the title on the death of her mother and to dominate males three or four times her age. Over the cycles this has become an accepted part of the city's culture, though there are occasional revolts by dissatisfied males. More problematic is the situation of male visitors to the city, who are expected to "know their place" and who find the city's culture offensive. Indeed, to smooth relations with the city authorities, the local UMFA and Northern Guard military commanders are traditionally female and great care is taken to avoid offending the populace (males visibly ordering female soldiers around). Neither military wishes to repeat the debacle of the city's one male commander, Brigadier Daryn Judd, who found himself repeatedly snubbed by the city authorities and the population during his short tenure in TN 1784, effectively paralyzing the CNCS military in the region.
The city's discriminatory policies have brought it into conflict with the UMF government on a number of occasions, but the right of the city to maintain its unique social structure was central to the diplomatic negotiations that prompted the city-state to ally with the UMF in TN 1567. The problems between the city and the UMF are minor, however, compared to those with their neighbors in the staunchly revisionist NLC. The government in Valeria, and the Revisionist church in Sorrento, find the concept of a 'minority' religion holding power over a population dominated by Revisionist repugnant. There have been repeated claims of religious persecution by some groups in the city, but it seems likely that these claims stem from gender rather than religious disputes. This has not, however, prevented Revisionist sympathizers from agitating against the Jerusalemite government, prompting major unrest in the city.
Government
Industry & Trade
- Agriculture
- Trade
Maps
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Swanscombe
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