Coalbrookdale

Coalbrookdale is the capital city of Richerus.

Founding

Unlike Steelhaven, the previous capital of Richerus, Coalbrookdale is a brand new city, built from scratch, after the collapse of the Imperium. Until roughly 175PI, The area that would become Coalbrookdale was mostly just fields and forest. It wasn't until a small village called Hadars Brook was formed that people began to appear.
Being founded on fairly flat land, there was plenty of space for expansion and farming, which became the villages main source of income. It wouldn't be until 200 PI that coal was discovered under the flat soil. Several small mining operations began, chipping away at the earth trying to figure out just how much coal was under the soil. What was discovered was a massive vein of coal that to this date still hasn't been fully mapped out.
Back then however, Coal wasn't a valauable resource to start mass excavating. It wasn't until 343 PI when the uses of coal began to become known to the world. Demand would begin to soar, and as a result the size of Hadars Brook began to expand more and more until it became a full fledged town. The name was changed to Coalbrookdale to reflect the new found worth of fledging town.
it wasn't until roughly 431PI that Coalbrookdale began to rapidly expand with the invention of the steam engine. Coal was now a highly sought after commodity and the town underwent a massive expansion as more and more mines were built and existing ones were expanded to increase production. The resultant expansions ended up turning the town into a large city in the space of 50 years. When the size of Coalbrookdale expanded beyond that of Steelhaven, The city became the new capital of Richerus and a new palace was constructed in the city.

Geography

Given the rapid expansion of Coalbrookdale, the development of the city is very snaky and cramped. The city is characterised by mostly narrow streets and small and tall houses. The streets tend to break off each other and navigating the city can be difficult at times, compared to Steelhaven's more rational, circular design.
With the expansion outstripping mining speeds, several of the original strip mines which were just expanding have now been surrounded with housing, effectively making them part of the city, combined with the even larger strip mines outside the city.

Economy

Given the technological advancement in Coalbrookdale and the advanced factories that are starting to pop up all over the city. As a result the city produces a large variety of different goods using their newfound mass production techniques. Besides from manufacturing, the export of coal to the entirety of Richerus and the rest of the world makes up the main source of income for the city.

Type

Capital