Sanctuary
Pirate haven founded on the ruins of the Braris Empire
Built upon the ruins of Carthago Nova, capital of the Braris Empire, Sanctuary is home to all manner of scoundrels from pirates to thieves. However, it is also home to legitimate businesses and law-abiding peasants. Once the home of the Pirate King Lorenzo Rossi, his descendants have continued to call Sanctuary their home and make sure it continues to honor to their ancestor's name.
Demographics
Due to most of the population being sailors of some kind, Sanctuary is actually quite diverse with people from all of the other major nations calling it their home.
Sanctuarian: 60%
Uxili: 15%
Grantonian 7%
Coursonian: 7%
Aryite: 5%
Kimirian: 3%
Nefisi: 1%
Other:2%
Uxili: 15%
Grantonian 7%
Coursonian: 7%
Aryite: 5%
Kimirian: 3%
Nefisi: 1%
Other:2%
Government
The current Pirate King, Queen, or Monarch is the ruler of Sanctuary and their word is law. The South Sea Corsairs tend to act as peacekeepers although many who are victims of crimes, like theft, tend to take the law into their own hands. The Pirate Monarchs are elected to the role by a council of pirate captains who gather to make the vote once every decade. Whoever obtains the most votes, typically the captain who has shown the most merit or ability over the past decade, is the new ruler of Sanctuary and Pirate Monarch.
The Rossi family, if they aren't Pirate King, Queen, or Monarch, are considered to be unofficial nobility and have enough influence over the South Sea Corsairs and the Sanctuarians that they can change the ruling of the current ruler.
Defences
The waters around Sanctuary are guarded by the most trusted pirate captains while Sanctuary itself has a large wall along most of the coastline that has hundreds of canons and men to use the cannons should the city ever be attacked.
Industry & Trade
The vast majority of Sanctuarian are sailors, pirates, or fishermen.
Thanks to there being so many sailors and pirates who call Sanctuary home or frequent it, Sanctuary is home to a lot of shipbuilders who are constantly building new and faster ships. In fact, Sanctuary has an infamous reputation of churning out a new and improved ship roughly every year.
Surprisingly, or not, ale and beer brewing is the third most profitable business in Sanctuary. Partially because of the number of sailors who frequent taverns but also because the land around Sanctuary is good for growing wheat, malt, and other grains.
Infrastructure
The Sanctuarian shipyards are some of the biggest and busiest shipyards throughout the world. When Carthago Nova was razed to the ground Lorenzo's wife Jenevieve Jenna Loren, had a series of canals and sewers built that take water in from the river and come out into the ocean. The roads and bridges are made of stone and maintained by local stone masons.
Guilds and Factions
The main faction found in Sanctuary is the The South Sea Corsairs a pirate group created by Lorenzo before he became Pirate King.
History
Before it was known as Sanctuary, the plot of land on the northern coast of Samolyra, was known as Carthago Nova, the capital of the Braris Empire. It was from here that the Brarisi Emperors and Empresses oversaw the slave trade that gave the empire its great wealth. However, their reign as the powerhouse of Iosis came to an end in 814 BRC when former escaped slave Lorenzo Rossi launched his siege on Carthago Nova. Along with a fleet of pirates, the Pirate King worked with the neighboring nations of Courson and Granton to bring the Braris Empire to its knees. After razing Carthago Nova to the ground, Lorenzo set about building a place all pirates could call home and freely do business without the worry of being executed, and so Sanctuary was born.
In the early years, some pirates believed that because Sanctuary was founded by another pirate that meant there were no laws bringing them in conflict with Lorenzo and his South Sea Corsairs. Those who were willing to abide by the laws were allowed to enter while those who wouldn't follow the rules were run off. Around the same time, Sanctuary also provided aid to Uxil, a country that was devastated by the Braris empire's slave trade.
Architecture
The plentiful supply of sandstone and limestone influences the architecture of the city as most buildings are made from it. The pale color of the stone reflects sunlight, making the inside a lot cooler regardless of the heat outside. With a few exceptions, the roofs of every building and house are low-pitched roofs made with red barrel-shaped clay tiles. Doorways and windows are arched with two moveable doors or windows that swing open from the sides. The wealthier citizens have iron detailing on their window frames, doorways, and gateways.
Geography
Sanctuary has a borderline hot desert climate approaching a hot semi-arid climate. Due to its positioning on Samolyra's northern coast the prevailing north wind gives the city a less severe climate than the rest of the northern Scorched Wilds. Its location on the coast gives it an amazing view of the ocean from nearly everywhere throughout the city.
Natural Resources
Limestone and sandstone are quarried from the nearby desert mountains. Freshwater comes from a nearby river. The various beasts of the Scorched Wilds provide meat, fur, pelts, feathers, claws, teeth, and antlers. Acacia trees provide wood. The ocean provides fish, mussels, clams, crabs, shrimp, shark, whale, and various plantlife.
Type
Metropolis
Population
~125,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Sanctuarian
Location under
Included Locations
When I read about cities and governments, it makes me think how they hang together over a long time. How does the money come in, where does it go, what do people eat, how do they live. You've got most of those things in here: the land is good for growing, there are shipbuilding and brewing industries, for example. I have some questions about external politics: how does the pirate state deal with neighboring countries? A single pirate vessel can go after a single ship and hide. A nation full of pirates acting against the ships of another nation is an act of war between states, and there's nowhere to hide. Sanctuary is a big capital with a powerful navy- how would Sanctuary deal with a land invasion from the two countries who already demonstrated how they could invade the country? I'm also wondering about internal factions. I think of pirates as being the kind of people who take what they can get. It seems like succession from one generation to the next would be perilous. Even hereditary monarchies have plotting, scheming, and stabbings in the back corridors of the palace - I think it would not be any simpler in a pirate monarchy. :) I like the detail you've got about architecture, natural resources, the canals of the city, the climate, those all help build the setting in my mind. Thank you, hope the SummerCamp goes well!
I probably should have explained a bit more, but the Pirate King is voted into the position by other pirate captains. If you've ever seen Pirates of the Caribbean the way, Elizabeth is made Queen is how it works here too. Sanctuary has a very tenuous relationship with most countries as they provide ships to them. Granton and Courson are forced to contend with them because they helped create Sanctuary in the first place. Plus they would have to cross miles of desert to get to Sanctuary to invade by land. Some countries like Uxil get along great with Sanctuary as they've always had a good relationship. Nefisian and Sanctuarian ship avoid one another like the plague as these two countries hate each other. Sure one pirate could cause problems for the rest by breaking the pirate code, but they risk making enemies of the other pirates as well.
That makes more sense! I'll have to come back and read more about the politics to understand completely, but I'm glad you've got it all in your head. :D Thanks!