Duchy of Whiteport
Structure
Whiteport is officially led by its Duke, currently Owain Bronzecourt, a hereditary title passed down through the generations after being created by the dynasty's progenitor. Although the Duke has absolute power in the Duchy, tradition dictates he rules with the aid of a council, generally a collection of representatives from the politically influential factions in the Duchy and the Duke's own personal advisors, who use the council to jockey for power and influence in the city. While this council cannot actually make laws, over the last century its power has slowly increased, and it often speaks with the Duke's authority. Traditional members of the Privy Council include the Duke's chancellor, castellan, spymaster, admiral, and the commander of the household guard and the city watch, and representatives of the various important factions in the Duchy, such as the hereditary nobles, Clan Brokenshield, The Summer Seas Trading Co and Whiteport Collectives, and the College of Arcana.
The Duke has final say in all decisions in the Duchy, and his role tends to be that of a conciliator, moderating the various factions' disputes and acting as a unifying leadership figure for the organizations in the Duchy. He is the final arbiter in disputes within the Duchy.
Whiteport is one of the Nine Duchies of Attika, and as a result pays nominal fealty to the King of Attika, the only figure who's authority in the Duchy exceeds that of the Duke. Traditionally, the King of Attika, as a hereditary elected position leaves the Dukes to their own devices and only intervenes in the Duchy's affairs cases of grave danger, mismanagement, or disputes with the other Duchies. However, in times of war Whiteport can expect to be called on to provide levies for the King's armies, and taxes are also leveled on trade coming into the duchy which feeds both the Duke's and King's coffers.
Culture
Whiteporters have a firm belief in the idea of fair play and justice. While they are not democratic, they do believe that their government serves the people, rather than the people serving the government. The Duke's role is as a benevolent, patronizing figure, mediating disputes in the duchy, uniting its people behind a common figure, and making decisions based on the best interests of his people, and therefore the Duke of Whiteport tends to be popular with the lower orders as a result of his charity and general goodwill.
The Duke also plays an important role of symbolic leadership, playing key roles in the various festivities and celebrations around the city, and most believe the Duke's role is to be a visible leader, sponsoring charitable projects for the poor and throwing games and festivals while also being a fair arbiter of public justice, but disagree on how much the Duke actually embodies these principles.
The Duchy of Whiteport is predominantly trade focused, and as a result is not particularly expansionistic or belligerent, as these activities may disrupt business. It prefers negotiation over war, but it does take an active role in combating piracy in the Summer Sea, as these pirates make up the bulk of its troubles. Most of the duchy's population is concentrated in the city, so as a whole, Whiteporters tend to be tolerant and emphasize personal industriousness.They aspire to be self-made nobles or run one of the large merchant companies, and the idea that "anyone can make it" runs rampant in the Duchy. As a result, most prefer that the government keep a hands-off approach to its citizens, and its functions are restricted mainly to public safety and law and order, defense, and regulating trade and business in the city and duchy. The Duchy tends to keep taxes low on its goods, finding that this has led to a growth in private industry.
Public Agenda
Whiteport's leadership aspires to a hands-off role of government, content to collect taxes and dispense justice as necessary. The government believes it works for the benefit of all citizens of the Duchy, not just the elite few, and is predominantly concerned first with the security of the Duchy and its people, and then the security and continued prosperity of the trade which is crucial to the city.
Assets
The Duchy of Whiteport is a wealthy duchy, and has access to immense reserves of silver and gold bullion. It has the resources to support a large, infantry army of semi-professional troops and the corresponding number of cavalry and supporting units. It also has a large reserve of grain and storehouses of preserved meats, and the duchy boasts many cattle, sheep, and other livestock. The city of Whiteport itself hosts most of the duchies major capital assets, like its storehouses, fortifications, and industrial base, but the duchy also include lumberyards, mines, hot spings, and extensive agricultural infrastructure, as well as a large navy and maritime merchant marine.
History
The Duchy of Whiteport was originally a kingdom in its own right, but over the centuries the power of its Kingdom waned in comparison to its neighbors, and eventually the Kings of Whiteport joined the Kingdom of Attika. Although a few noble Attikan Kings were selected from the royal house of Whiteport in the early days of the Kingdom, over time as the Duchy of Attika accumulated power and solidified control over the Kingdom Whiteport was relegated to Duchydom. Whiteport and its leadership has handled this transition in-stride, as very little is asked from them and they benefit from the trade and security being part of the Kingdom provides.
Now, Whiteport serves as one of the more wealthy, and therefore influential, Duchies in the Kingdom, and while its Dukes no longer aspire to the throne their ancestor once held, they remain powerful political figures in their own right, and the Kings of Attika do well to pay them respect.
Demography and Population
The Duchy of Whiteport is home to roughly 900,000 people and is slowly growing. Of that number, roughly 750,000 live within the City of Whiteport itself, making up the vast majority of the Duchy's population. However, the outlying region around Whiteport houses another 150,000 dispersed among small farmsteads, towns, and villages. Whiteport's population has been growing towards one million souls, largely as a result of the current state of relative peace and tranquility. The province features a human majority, with dwarven and halfling minorities, enclaves of elves, gnomes, half-elves, and dragonborn, and small groups of other the other goodfolk who call it home.
Territories
Whiteport is one of the larger duchies in the Kingdom of Attika. It's borders stretch from Stillwater Marsh and the Timberlands in the South, which form a rough border with the Duchy of Streissgart, to the Western Redgranite Peaks which form its western and northernmost border. It includes Hammervale and sapphire lake, which border the Duchy of Norovia to its west, while in the north Whiteport is bordered by the Duchy of Pomerian. On its eastern shore, Whiteport also includes the Isles of Knightstone and Mercy.
Military
The Duchy of Whiteport has a mixed military structure, comprised mainly of a mix of professional men-at-arms, household knights, and knightly orders, the semi-trained city watch, and the militia units of the town watch and levee. Whiteport's nobility tend to prefer to fight on horseback as heavily armored knights armed with lances and various melee weapons, and they form the heaviest component of the Duchy's army. They are often augmented by the addition of martial orders which often choose to join Whiteport's army when they march to battle, though this isn't always a given. When they arrive, the martial orders can be expected to provide a corps of heavily armored cavalry and men-at-arm infantry, along with the appropriate support units in cases of the larger (or poorer) martial orders. These units are by-and-large well trained, experienced warriors, and are widely considered crack troops or at least reliable. The Order of the Falcon in particular provides its exceptional Falcon Knights, elite airborne heavy infantry, and these knights also act as one of Whiteport's primary defenses against attack from the air. Other notable well trained and semi-professional units which the Duchy can call upon include Whiteport's Marines, who act an as elite light infantry force capable of rapid hit-and-run attacks, and are typically armed with scale mail and long-axes, javelins, and sabers, and grappling hooks, and are capable of making deep strikes into enemy territory without outside support. However, these marines are typically unavailable for campaigns, as they serve aboard Whiteport's naval vessels or as security for merchant shipping and are usually occupied.
As one of the more densely populated Duchies, Whiteport also has the ability to draw on a sizable number of militia and levee units in varying states of readiness and skill. Most notably, the Bronzeguards, Whiteport's city watchmen, are stalwart spearmen and capable defenders of the city and are capable of simple maneuvers in the field, and are well-equipped enough to be a force to be taken seriously, especially when they complement the better equipped and trained but less numerous household knights and men-at-arms. They are typically equipped with a short sword, a spear, and a large kite shield, though the watchmen's armor tends to reflect their salary and is not provided. Aside from the city watch, Whiteport can call up a sizable number of peasant and militia levees, but the military value of these units, beyond simply holding a fortified defensive position like a fort or wall, is negligible, as these units lack the equipment, experience, and enthusiasm for the fight, and are therefore unreliable in any role beyond swelling the army's ranks or defending their homes. However, in times of need, these militia units can swell the army's ranks by the thousands, and so their value cannot be entirely discounted. They are generally equipped with antique or hand-me-down weapons or even reappropriated farm implements or improvised weapons. In many cases, these militiamen also make up the majority of Whiteport's skirmishers, and some families take pride in their levied service as scouts and skirmishers, and these peasant units typically employ both short bows and crossbows en masse to some effect, and these specific levees are often organized into special "advance" units, which are paid an extra caravel a day for their trouble. Whiteport can also levee the household warriors of Clan Brokenshield as part of the agreement in which they were allowed to settle in the city, and while these heavily armed and armored dwarves are few in number, their unit has a reputation as unyielding warriors and are rightly feared, despite their militia status.
Religion
Any of the faiths outlined in the concord, or faiths which have not declared themselves (or been declared) enemies of it are welcomed in Whiteport. The majority of the population follow the Twelve, especially outside of the city in the provinces, as do the Duke and his family. However, as a major port city, Whiteport has a near constant influx of foreign peoples, cultures, and religions, and as a result its people are tolerant of a variety of faiths. Whiteport only explicitly bans faith of the banished gods, and discovery of such worship is grounds for arrest outright.
Foreign Relations
At the moment, Whiteport has peaceful relationships with its immediate neighbors, the duchies of Pomerian, Norovia, and Streissgart, as all belong to the Kingdom of Attika, which has asserted peace over the Duchies. Whiteport tends to remain neutral in civil disagreements between the duchies, preferring to keep trade flowing, and actively works to promote peace and maintain good relationships with its neighbors, and this is seen as one of the primary purposes of Whiteport's government presently. Whiteport tends not to support expansionist foreign policy from the King, but does encourage the king to intervene in cases where its merchants are wronged or to open up trade with new partners.
Agriculture & Industry
Whiteport is an agricultural and industrial powerhouse of the Kingdom of Attika. To the west, the fertile plains in the foothills of the Redgranite Peaks are highly productive, serving well as farmsteads which grow staple crops, orchards, or pastureland for livestock. For the most part, Whiteport's agricultural produce includes staple crops like Wheat, Barley, and Rye, as well as fruit trees like apples. The duchy also has an extensive fishing industry, and fresh fish often supplements the diet of Whiteport's population, while most can afford some type of meat, generally beef, mutton, pork, or chicken. Whiteport also has an extensive salt refining industry, taking salt from White Bay and the Summer Sea and refining it for further use in Whiteport as a preservative and flavoring. The salt industry also supports Whiteport's well developed maritime industry, and beyond the fishing industry, Whiteport's main industry revolves around maritime trade and its affiliated industries, including the lumber industry, shipbuilding, textiles, and carpentry. To support Whiteport's extensive military, mining and metalworking facilities have also developed, the latter generally concentrated in a few towns and cities in the Duchy.
Trade & Transport
Whiteport has extensive transport networks both inside and beyond its borders. Within the duchy, a network of dirt roads link its various towns and villages with Whiteport itself. Through Whiteport, extensive maritime shipping occurs across the Summer Seas and beyond. This trade usually is carried out via horse of ox and cart by land, and in the large merchantmen caravels which sail out of Whiteport harbor. Whiteport is a global hub for trade, so virtually any good can be bought or sold in the city, or at least imported, provided one has the coin. Predominantly the city ships out manufactured goods like weapons, tools, artwork, jewelry, and clothing, as well as raw materials like wood and ore from the surrounding area, and agricultural products like wheat, beer, various fish and meats and fruits. Whiteport imports exotic goods and materials like silk, ivory, spices, and precious metals.
Founding Date
404 AC
Type
Geopolitical, Duchy
Capital
Training Level
Semi-professional
Veterancy Level
Trained
Demonym
Whiteporters
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Traditional
Currency
The Duchy of Whiteport uses a mix of coinage as its primary currency. The most common coins are known as Crowns, the round, gold coins in use throughout the Kingdom, while also using a silver coin known as a Caravel or Duke, as they are minted in Whiteport itself, as well as a copper piece, often known (though not around authorities) as a bronze. Finally, Whiteport uses two special coins. First, a small, brass coin, the equivalent of five copper pieces and called a Pint. These coins were specifically implemented to help stop inflation, as Whiteport has a standing policy to always allow exchanges of five copper pieces for a Pint, and in the public houses of the city sponsored by the major Guilds a Pint is always accepted as payment for a mug of beer. Similarly, among the trading houses, Whiteporters use a large, hourglass shaped silver coin referred to as a Bushel, the equivalent of five silver pieces or a bushel of wheat.
Legislative Body
Whiteport's laws are often complex and intricate, as they arise largely from compilations of legal precedent handed down from the Duke of Whiteport, and laws are inconsistent from place to place. Aside from laws detailing capital offenses, which are consistently throughout the Duchy (or in some cases, the Kingdom), laws in Whiteport also are frequently local as a result of town councils and nobles being allowed significant leeway in the governance of their own land. For instance, the Duke of Whiteport may make a specific law applying to theft, which applies across the Duchy and derives from legal precedent, but may also delegate lawmaking to town councils for issues like land rights or use which do not apply in the City of Whiteport, while other laws may apply in the city but not in the countryside.
Judicial Body
The Duke of Whiteport is responsible for carrying out the Duchy's laws. For more mundane cases, such as theft, murder, or petty crime, the Duke uses judges who are members of the city watch who hear cases in person and dispense sentencing based on the extensive precedence of previous judgements of Dukes before them, and an established corporal punishment code. For cases more delicate or complex, the Duke holds audiences where grievances can be brought to him and heard, and in which the Duke himself will dispense judgement as he deems fit. This right is predominantly reserved for the nobles, the wealthy and influential, although it is possible for even commoners to have audiences with the Duke, such as during Summercourt, during which the Duke sets up a scaffolded stage from which he hears cases and dispenses judgment in public view and travels around the duchy hearing cases from the peasants.
For the day-to-day execution of the law, the Duchy of Whiteport relies predominantly on the various city watches and town councils throughout the Duchy, and in many cases, aside from a few crown or ducal laws which apply throughout Attika or the Duchy respectively, the Duke leaves the actual lawmaking and enforcement to the various town and city councils and watches, again only intervening in especially complex cases or by special petition from those involved.
Parent Organization
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
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