Iberian Port

The Iberian Port or more commonly Santiago, also called the Eastmen Port by the Ocreans, is a major port city and bustling harbor town established on the east of the Leylas province to harbor oncoming Spanish, and potentially Portuguese, ships that come on the orders of Emperor Charles to trade between the land of Ocrea and Europe, showing a steady relationship between the Shajin Clan and the Spanish. It later became the focal point of bringing European knowledge and architecture into Ocrea, establishing several buildings built with Iberian-style structures, as well as a dockyard and fort to be their primary defense.

Organization

On the administrative level, Santiago was officially part of the Leylas province but the port itself and its surrounding area were leased to the Spanish. Santiago was built on a small peninsula linked to the mainland by a large bridge, guarded on both sides by Shajin soldiers and conquistadors. It contained houses, warehouses, numerous guard posts and accommodation for Ocrean officials. The island was heavily guarded by conquistadors from the House of Cortés, numbering at over a thousand soldiers and enough powder and shot to withstand and siege.
Every ship that arrived on the continent of Ocrea landed in Santiago. Due to the alliance with the Spanish, Shajin officials were instructed not to interfere with loading and unloading, even to inspect. The chief Spanish official was called Comandante ("commandant"). The Comandante was chosen by the main administrative government of Havana as the overseer of all ships and cargo that come within the port.

Trade

Originally, the Spanish mainly traded in silk, cotton, sugar from the Caribbean and spices from China and India. More "valued" commodities, like rum, opium and other drugs, were later transported onto the island. The most valued item traded between the Spanish and the South Ocreans was gunpowder, which was exchanged for high quantities of silver, porcelain, rice, and even weapons.

Purpose / Function

Its main purpose is to allow foreigners from Iberia to live within reach of the Shajin capital to increase the relationship of the people of the east, mostly the Iberian nations, along with the ability to immigrate to the continent. It is also used as a trading post for Europeans and Ocreans to lay down their wares in what was viewed as a "cultural exchange" of the different variations of merchandise.

History

Originally founded by the Ocreans as a small fishing village somewhere in the 15th century, the port was established to allow Spanish traders and explorers to dock within the continent in 1530, primarily as a way to get a better view of the people of the east and how they operate. As it was built to be fully under Spanish administration, the garrison of Spanish conquistadors maintained a presence at the port under the command of Pedro de Alvarado.
Since then, the port became a primary stopping point for trade ships and military vessels to do business or increase military power on the continent. Under the administration of Pedro, the Iberian Port was very prosperous - mostly due to his "arrangements" with certain buccaneers to allow refugees into the port for bribes. Jesuit priests eventually managed to gain access to the port and proceeded to convert many people from South Ocrea to Catholicism, which greatly infuriated the Shajin clan as it was a violation of their secular government, eventually having to close down the administration, forcing the Jesuits to work in secret.
The town doubled in size and population by the time Matsu Cortés sailed in 1548, which only continued to grow as more and more people from Europe wanted to immigrate to the magical continent. After many years, corruption managed to surface and smugglers loaded up with rum and sugar were smuggled to be planted and sold later to Ocrean traders, gaining a negative reputation as a "pirate port," until businesses were shut down by the Spanish crown in late 1548.

Alternative Names

Iberian Port

Type

Seaport

Parent Location

Leylas

Owner

Pedro de Alvarado

Owning Organization

Spain

Characters in Location

• Pedro de Alvarado