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New Orleans - Overview

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The Republic of New Orleans

"Laissez les bon temps rouler."

Established: 7/5/2196


The Republic of New Orleans, also referred to as “République Nouvelle-Orléans”, “Big Easy”, “Crescent City”, “en Ville”, and other such names is a small republic located on the Mouth of the Mississippi River. It contains its namesake of New Orleans but also contains the settlements of Baton Rouge and Hammond, owning all of Louisiana east of the Mississippi. It has a total area of 2,435 mi², and with a subsequent population of 376,131, it seems extremely densely populated by Medieval Standards. However, as New Orleans’ greater metro area alone has a population of 250,754, it is far less densely populated with a density of only 51 people per square mile outside the city. It is classified as a Republic, and its closest comparable rank is a duchy. Technically speaking, it does uphold the Republican values that its pre-event ancestors once hold, with legally open elections and the promise that anyone can run for office. However, it is de facto an oligarchical Republic, with 7 large families controlling the outcome of the election as an “electoral college.” While they technically can pick whoever, they typically elect one amongst themselves to become the Grand Mayor.

New Orleans is one of the most important cities in post-event America, if not the singular most important. Its position has made it so that any boat wanting to enter or exit the Mississippi River into the gulf has to go through New Orleans. A large portion of the American population is connected to the river through either the Mississippi directly or through tributaries, it has made it so a large portion of the Midwest, South, even realms as far west as Montana or as far east as Pennsylvania have the option to ship goods to New Orleans - which is typically cheaper than overland routes. Similarly, New Orleans has gained significant traction due to being the last stopping point of the “Great American Cattle Trail.” While technically Texas City holds this honor due to it being the end of the land route, most cattle and their meat on the trail end up getting shipped to New Orleans, where it is then sold across the Mississippi River Basin and the Gulf of Mexico. While it is undoubtedly rich, it frequently comes into conflict with the Eastern Holy Columbian Confederacy and the Western Kingdom of Louisiana - though in recent years Louisiana and New Orleans have allied. Internally, conflict over family disputes, honor, prestige, money, religious conflicts, and even conflicts between supposedly supernatural forces has caused hard times for the city. But, as of the 2700s, its motto remains true as the Good Times continues to come.


General Information:


Location: South Louisiana

Classification: Republic

Motto: Laissez les bon temps rouler.

Currency: Orlance

National Animal: Black Bear

Founded: 5/7/2196

Demonym:

New Orleanian

noun

1. a native or citizen of New Orleans:
"I'm a proud New Orleanian [gender/sex]."

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of New Orleans
or its inhabitants:
"The rise of a new Orleanian Mayor"


Capital City: New Orleans

Leader: Grand Mayor Adam Edi

National Religion: N/A (Voodoo-Majority)

Population: 376,131

Total Area: 2,435 mi²

% Water Area: Variable

Official Language: Louisianan French

Drives On The: Right

Geography

New Orleans contains around 2,435 square miles of territory and is primarily located on the Mississippi River Delta. The “Mighty Mississippi” is its Western and Southern border whilst the Pearl River makes up its Eastern border. Its Northern border is a bit fuzzier, but New Orleans generally doesn’t claim land that goes past “Welcome to Mississippi” signs or other such landmarks. New Orleans has several trading posts as far north as Illinois, as far east as Florida, as far west as Nebraska, and as far south as Yucatan. It could be argued then that Louisiana, at the very least holds influence in, an area nearly 2 million square miles in area. However, while New Orleans does collect revenue from these, they do not claim them as sovereign territory. Similarly, while they do have this theoretical influence, it cannot seriously politically influence those far away realms outside of bribing them to do certain actions. Due to its terrain, water percentage is variable, but typically rounds out at 18.2%

The vast majority of the land New Orleans officially claims is forested and/or wetland-ish to some degree. Even the primarily urban city is swampy, with parks and neighborhoods being covered with trees, salt-water resilient tall grass/cattails, and small ponds. While the whole Republic is generally swampy, it is significantly drier more north. The majority of the nation is less than 20 meters above sea level, with the city of New Orleans being slightly below sea level. Its tallest peak is less than 100 meters and could be classified as a large hill. One of the oddest features of the highly swampy terrain is how well-preserved it has allowed rural areas, with some villages being practically untouched by humans for hundreds of years. It has also allowed for high productions of sugar cane, rice, and other products - with Sugar Cane being sought after as artificial sweetener has become uncommon in the post-event world. It is also a highly dangerous region for invading armies, partly the reason why New Orleans has been able to survive for so long.

Climate

New Orleans has a climate that can be described as “Humid Subtropical.” It is close to the Gulf of Mexico and air currents from the gulf make it hot and humid. It has short, mild, winters that rarely go above 77*F, but also rarely go below 40*F - with below-freezing weather being a rare occurrence. Alternatively, its summers are extremely hot during the summer. The hottest month of July typically gets highs above 90*F, with some days reaching above 100*F. The hottest day ever recorded was 103*F. While July is the hottest month, it is not too extreme compared to other months, with the average high being 77.2*F and most months having days that go above 80*F. Heatstroke and other heat-related injuries/death is a problem - especially for those unfamiliar with the region’s climate. Days in New Orleans are typically long, with 14-hour long days during the summer and 10-hour long days during the winter. Due to how bright the sun is during the summer months, with an average UV rating of 8, it is not recommended to work “all day” without precautions.

New Orleans is a considerably wet region. Humidity is typically above 75% throughout the year, and the average monthly precipitation is 5 inches. The wettest month is June with 8 inches of rain being the monthly average. The region seldom gets snow, but when it does, the locals typically think the loa Mami Wata is pulling a practical joke on them. Of particular worry are tropical storms. While these tropical storms are typically not hurricane-level, hurricanes are still a threat to the region - especially the city itself due to its below-sea-level position. A hurricane makes landfall every 3 years, and while typically they are not enough to wipe the city off the map, particularly nasty storms can cause the government to issue an evacuation warning. Evacuation warnings can be elevated to evacuation demands, where people will be given 24 hour periods to leave the city - where anyone who doesn’t will be arrested and forced North. While certain groups are exempt from this, New Orleans is one of the only cities where this is enforced.


History

Pre-Sevener Coup

New Orleans would be founded by the French in 1718, traditionally on May 7th. New Orleans would become a sizable city with a large African Population, albeit most Africans would be slaves until the 1860s. While it was first a French colony, and French culture does play a huge influence on modern New Orleans, it would be annexed by Spain after 1763 and some Spanish settlers would move to the city. However, then it would be bought by the United States and integrated into the state of Louisiana. Louisiana would try to split away from the United States to join the confederacy, but that affair would end in 1865. This freed the slaves of Louisiana, many of whom moved to or stayed in New Orleans proper. African-Americans in New Orleans would invent the Jazz style of music during the 1900s, which the city is still famous for. New Orleans’ population would remain steady during the 2000s, decreasing after Katrina but then increasing during the 2040s.

When the event occurred in 2066, like many other major cities, New Orleans was divided between various warlords. However, New Orleans was particularly nasty due to the presence of the Mississippi River, which meant that anyone who was able to control the whole city practically controlled all traffic in and out of the river. New Orleans became a battleground of differing ideologies, key figures, and worldviews. The City would be united in 2111 AD by a Kentuckian known as Phalaris Cornwall. The name was likely a name he changed his name to or a name given to him after his death, but his reign roughly reflected the ancient Greek tyrant. He was known to be a rebuilder, helping to rebuild the city’s infrastructure with available tools and resources and protecting it against hurricanes. But he was also known to be excessively cruel, torturing and murdering criminals and even innocent civilians, which is generally believed to be due to his distaste of non-whites. Like the Tyrant, he would be killed by his preferred method of execution: being thrown in the river and drowned to death. Of course, this is all hearsay, and, likely, Phalaris Cornwall was not as cruel as legends make him out to be. Regardless, in 2122, he was killed by the people of New Orleans.

New Orleans would reorganize itself in 2122. It would become a Republic, with an elected Grand Mayor subject to checks and balances. There would be no class, no racial divide, or anything else, but would rather be a callback to their democratic past. While there were regions that ran under this system, they were increasingly rare. The first “grand mayor” would be the Cajun Alexandre Dauterive, a man practically venerated due to his association with New Orlander democracy. This new democracy wouldn’t have many notes about it other than its location until it began to trade with surrounding regions. Using keelboats and other such ships built using wood, they began to sail up and down the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast. They began to revitalize trade, buying wheat/harvesting “wild” grains from the great plains and giving it to regions with low food supplies - first for free, but eventually increasing the price until they made a significant profit. Using those profits, the citizens of New Orleans used this money to either expand business or for their own personal/communal wealth, thereby increasing the amount of stuff they could buy and sell as New Orleans was one of the few cities that was attempting to do this. This was repeated until New Orleans became a very wealthy city compared to its counterparts as they monopolized trade in the Midwest and South.

While Mayors came and went, some families began to become too wealthy too fast. By 2180, seven families held considerable wealth and sway over the economic and political affairs of New Orleans. Two mayors even belonged to these families, secretly swaying over the political affairs of the nation towards their family. However, in 2196, a new radical mayor was elected named Gribbly. Gribbly was heavily against the existence of the families as he believed that it was toxic to the competitive free market to have seven families wield so much power. As such, he outlawed them with accusations both legitimate and false and attempted to liquidate their wealth. While at this point the families were not too well-liked by the population, this act was seen as a power-grab and so the people revolted against the mayor. The seven families supported this rebellion and manipulated the angry mob to support them. The families suggested that a new system be implemented that allowed educated individuals to vote on the mayor based on popular support - a call-back to the elector college of America. While this was implemented, the Patriarchs of all 7 families were the first electors and elected Auguste LaBostrie as the first mayor under the new system, letting the people believe he got the majority of the vote despite only 37.5% of the voting population supporting him.

The First Good Times

While free democracy had practically ended in New Orleans, the families dedicated themselves to the pursuit of profit, typically for themselves. Due to their rivalries, they began to rapidly try to expand to get strategic trading cities before the others could. And while most of this wealth would be used to further expand their business practices in America, they also used to flaunt their wealth by buying expensive houses and items. While the status of individuals stagnated, the overall economy improved, allowing for New Orleans to grow exponentially throughout the 2200s. This period is known as the “first good times” and, while this time is often overly romanticized, there was considerable economic prosperity during this time. The city began to rival cities like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles in terms of size and economic wealth, to a point where it became so large it had to take over several islands on the Delta to make room for this growing population.

It is unknown when or why New Orleans’ voodoo population began growing, but by 2267, the majority of the city followed the religion and it became the de facto state religion of the seven families. Due to a boost in morale due to the newfound religious zeal, the city decided to invade Northern Louisiana. It claimed that all Louisianan land east of the Mississippi was a part of the “Greater New Orleans” region. Hammond was taken, but Baton Rouge - a city that was starting to rival New Orleans for control over the Mississippi River, stayed independent. However, in 2289, Baton Rouge was vassalized New Orleans after reports of Lafayette taking over neighboring land to form the “Kingdom” of Louisiana. Successfully unifying the east, New Orleans vassalized the counties under the Badeux and Martin dynasties, with the two families ruling over Hammond and Baton Rouge respectively.

While it did economically prosper, albeit the upper class gained considerably more wealth than the lower class, it also became a target for foreign invaders from both the East and West. In 2352, after eying up the city for some time, New Orleans was invaded by the Duke of Peachtree. New Orleans was able to resist them using guerilla tactics taught to them by the Wexans, who wanted to preserve the independence of the city. To the North, Vikings were raiding several cities which had New Orleanian trading posts. While they mostly left them alone, maybe forcing them to pay tribute, the devastation of the North affected New Orleans as it caused large trading partners such as Chicago and Cincinnati to go under economic recession. While still categorized under the “era of good times”, the time between 2352 and 2441 is considered to be the decline of the Good times. However, many historians declared it officially ended in 2441 during the Louisianan-Orlandian rivalry.

Decline/Wrath of the Bokor

Starting in 2441, New Orleans and Louisiana began a rivalry over ownership of the city of Baton Rouge. Orleans claimed Baton Rouge as a part of the “Greater New Orleans” idea, whilst Baton Rouge was originally the capital of Louisiana before the event. To press their claims, Louisiana tried to invade Baton Rouge and New Orleans several times. These invasions never typically got far due to the Mississippi River acting as a natural barrier between the two powers, but Louisiana could distinctly afford such wars in terms of manpower whilst New Orleans could not. However, New Orleans had a lot more wealth than their counterparts, meaning they could afford mercenaries if need be. The two powers continued to bump heads into each other over the ownership of the city and several islands on both sides of the Mississippi River. In 2532, however, the Kingdom and the Republic managed to work out a comprehensive peace deal. New Orleans would keep Baton Rouge, but everything West of the Mississippi - including any new land made due to deposits, would belong to the Kingdom of Louisiana. After the treaty was signed by both sides, hostilities would cool down between the two powers. The constant fighting caused economic strain on New Orleans, but the worst was yet to come.

In 2552, the then-mayor Isaac Muntani was revealed to have been brain-dead for 6 months, being controlled by a Bokor. The Bokor was quickly executed for the murder of the mayor. While the mayor was still technically alive but was under the influence of an unknown drug, the locals believed it to be an undead zombie raised by the Bokor to rule over the city on his behalf. Before he could be executed, however, he called upon the divine twins Marassa Jumeaux. He proclaimed that the city, due to their endless pursuit of coin, had turned wretched and needed to be taught a lesson. While he would not live to see it, New Orleans would suffer - though most secular sources claim it was just a coincidence. In 2553, a plague struck the city. For nearly a decade, the city became a host to the plague itself. It is said that, during these times, the sky turned black from the burning of bodies. Not even the rich were safe, with 4 major houses collapsing during this time. While the plague would end in 2561, the city almost entirely collapsed.

However, it gained an ally after the plague ended: Louisiana. While predominantly Cajun, Louisiana recognized that New Orleans was one of the only majority-Voodoo states left in the world. As such, Louisiana proposed to New Orleans that the two states agree to act cordially towards one another in exchange for shared protection against Catholic and Protestant influence. This informal alliance is referred to as the “Central South” Alliance and also includes Wexas and Balcones. While informal, both Louisiana and Wexas began to assist New Orleans economically through business deals and military assistance to quell rebellions and border skirmishes. Of course, there were ulterior motives to this. Both Wexas and Louisiana agreed that a Catholic or Protestant New Orleans would be a major blow to the continued survival of their religions and, by extension, their country. Similarly, Wexas frequently traded cattle with New Orleans, meaning the city’s continued cooperation was necessary for Wexas’ economy to continue growing. Regardless, New Orleans began to rebuild with the support of the two, and soon New Orleans entered a “Second Good Times.”

The Second Good Times

While not nearly as glamorous and romanticized as the first, the Second Good Times saw some economic and political prosperity for New Orleans. They rebuilt and grew trade posts along the Mississippi River and began to economically rebound. It helped that the Viking Age in the North was continuing, which meant that - while there were more raids, the mercantile Vikings were willing to trade with New Orleans directly or otherwise. Through this economic power, it was able to stand its own against another invasion by a Southern Duke. However, its biggest military challenge would be defending Louisiana against the Ursuline Crusade. New Orleans would be the largest supplier of foreign soldiers during the war, and the then-mayor Jakob Edi would personally lead his troops as a “mercenary” band. The war was long and difficult, but the Central South Alliance won out, kicking the Ursuline back to Canada.

In recent years, it has increased trade with Texas City. The Mayor of Galveston, who also owns Texas City, had managed to convince the great cattle trails of the Great Plains to stop in Wexas, either directly in Texas City or indirectly in Victoria - where the cattle would be transferred to Texas City. For New Orleans, this meant that their inventory of cattle and their products were nearly doubled, allowing them to ship even more cattle across the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River. It seems to most New Orleanians that the Good Times will keep on rolling, and economically speaking, this appears to be the case. However, inter-family politics has gotten particularly nasty in recent years, with at least 3 members of the families being reported as murdered in 2757 alone. While the line is going up, politics may determine the line does not matter, as the good times roll to an end.


Government

The Republic of New Orleans is a mixed-government republic with a large difference in how it’s supposed to be run and how it is actually run. According to the Charter of New Orleans, the country is supposed to be run like a liberal republic similar to that of the United States. Anyone can run for office regardless of gender, ethnicity, or class, with the only qualification being citizenship and being 18. The first branch is the City Council, an organization made up of 20 members who serve 6-year terms. The second branch is the executive branch known as the grand mayor. The grand mayor is a position that is comparable to strong-mayor systems before the event, with the grand mayor having privileges and power rather than being a part of the council. These two branches are supposed to work together to make laws, though the grand mayor can institute “emergency power” decrees if the council is being uncooperative. Since there are no official rules stating how long a grand mayor can rule, grand mayors typically rule for life, until retirement, or until impeachment.

While that is how it's legally run, in actuality, the Republic is a lot more oligarchical and is run more akin to a merchant republic than the ones commonly found during the 21st century. The main reason for this is the existence of the “contingency council”, an electoral college of sorts that supposedly selects grand mayors based on popular opinion. However, the contingency council actually rigs the elections in advance through faithless electors, faked poll numbers, and other such reasons. The electors are a self-selecting group, with a representative (typically the head) of the top seven families being present in the Contingency Council. The Contingency Council has never elected someone who wasn’t one of their own, with the head patriarch of a family typically being the one who is elected. Due to the immense sway they have over the grand mayor, they also act as a de facto legislative body as they argue with the grand mayor on what to do. While the grand mayor is powerful, and legally speaking the only thing that can get him impeached is treason, grand mayors typically don’t do whatever they desire due to fear of retribution from the council.

While New Orleans is the primary title, therefore the grand mayor of New Orleans is also the ruler of the whole nation, there are vassals below New Orleans. Those being the County of Baton Rouge and the County of Hammond. Unlike the republican New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Hammond are monarchical vassals with hereditary counts. While they are given significant autonomy, New Orleans does not recognize “class” in the traditional sense. As such, there is a constant reminder to the counts that their position could be legally taken away if the Grand Mayor sees it fit. However, this has not happened yet, and so the counts remain secure-ish in their reign, getting the economic benefits of being the vassal of such a large republic.


Economy

Unlike most realms in America, the largest sector in New Orleans is not agriculture. The majority of its population are either artisans, storeholders, merchants, sailors, or otherwise contribute to the manufacturing, shipment, and trading of goods rather than direct resource extraction such as farming or mining. New Orleans is considered the Bazaar of the South. Practically every obtainable good can be found in New Orleans, from unprocessed wheat to highly sought-after pieces of pre-event technology such as calculators. While this has allowed New Orleans to become materially wealthy, it also means that it has to import most raw goods such as metals and even food. While it can afford to do such a thing, this means that it is dependent on the economies of other nations, with a bad harvest in Kansas meaning higher bread prices in New Orleans - if not starvation. As such, New Orleans must maintain its economical standing with most nations else possibly face supply shortages, riots, and starvation.

While it does not produce much, there are still producers within the nation. New Orleans famously produces significant stock of sugar cane, with it being one of the items New Orleans directly sells rather than rehandling. Similarly, rice is produced by many farms in and around New Orleans, becoming a staple food for many New Orleanians, with famous dishes like New Orleans Gumbo including it. New Orleans does have a sizable logging and masonry industry, with building buildings being an especially needed task in a world where most old buildings are crumbling or starting to crumble and new buildings are lost to hurricanes. While New Orleans used to have a strong shipbuilding tradition, the modern city imports most of the ships used for overseas ventures from Galveston, who have perfected the craft due to their position on Trinity Bay. However, it produces almost all of its river-faring boats itself due to being used to the nature of the Mississippi River.

While New Orleans does not recognize class, there is a de facto class system. Income inequality is high, even for medieval standards. The upper class, on average, holds about 100 times the wealth of the lower class per person. However, the average lower-class Orleanian earns about twice as much as the average free lower-class man in a typical post-American state and significantly more than serfs. New Orleans had actually abolished serfdom in its northern realms in 2326, both due to the belief the practice is akin to slavery and to weaken the power of the local nobility. While most of the population are lower-class, only a plurality are farmers with most typically involving themselves in the manufacturing or trading of goods. This includes artisanship, with guilds and pre-industrial “factories” being found in the city. Some guilds have gained so much power that they even rival lesser families for power.


People

The population of New Orleans is, for its size, staggering with a population of 376,131 people. While generally diverse due to being a major trading hub in America, the majority of the population are Louisiana Creole, a catch-all term for non-Cajun French speakers in Louisiana. A sizable majority lives in the Northwest in the rural communities of Baton Rouge. Both the Cajuns and Creoles are primarily followers of the Voodoo Religion, a faith associated with Louisiana even before the event - albeit Voodoo didn’t become the majority religion until after the event. Both have Catholic and Protestant minorities, large enough to be of note but not large enough to pose a serious threat to the stability of New Orleans. The city itself contains many ethnic and religious minorities from all across the Midwest, South, and rarely beyond. Some cultures present in New Orleans include Chicagoan, Dixie, Grangelander, Gulfards, Motowner, Northlanders, Ozark, Riverlander, Rostmann, Texans, Tuskegean, and Yucateco. These minorities typically do not convert to the local religion of Voodoo, and as such, there is a similarly diverse range of religions including Americanists, Catholics, Norse, Protestants, Relevationists, Rust Cultists, and even a few Peyotists and Trailwalkers. Jews are uncommon in New Orleans but can be found in Baton Rouge.

As it might be implied, New Orleans makes up the majority of the nation’s social structure. Large, almost communal, families can be found in the cities living in either a single home or in neighborhoods. Some smaller neighborhoods act as pseudo-tribes made up almost entirely of one family. Most families are lower-class, but New Orleans does have a distinct upper class. Most of the upper-class are rich by inheritance, though some self-made or semi-self-made individuals do exist. This upper class makes up about 6% of the population or about 22,567 people. The rest are considered some form of the lower class, though there is a sizable percentage of lower-middle-class individuals. Both slavery and serfdom are illegal, and anyone wishing to become a citizen in New Orleans is expected to release their slaves - who then also have the option to become citizens. This is partly political, as New Orleans prides itself on being such a “free” city, and partly cultural due to the large African-American population’s relationship to slavery.


Foreign Relations
New Orleans is friendly with most realms and states in the Midwest, even despite their non-Catholic nature. Frequent trading partners in the far north include Iowa, Platte, and Cincinnati. However, as one can expect, the nation’s closest political and economic partners are in close proximity to New Orleans. A particularly strong partner of New Orleans is Louisiana itself, which has religious, cultural, and political connections to New Orleans. The two are a part of the informal and unofficial “Central South” alliance, meaning that Wexas and Balcones are also friendly with New Orleans. Wexas in particular is a very important trade partner with New Orleans, as Wexas supplies the vast majority of the city’s cattle, in return getting sugar that Wexans desire. Balcones, on the other hand, has a more muddy relationship with New Orleans neither being directly politically connected to New Orleans nor a trading partner. Other cordial nations in close proximity to New Orleans include Natchez, Vicksburg, Tenesi, and Arkansas.

While New Orleans tries to remain cordial with most nations, there are several nations that either dislike New Orleans or want to annex their land. The former category includes all other Merchant Republics: As by their very nature, Merchant Republics are openly antagonistic towards each other. New York has a particularly strong rivalry with New Orleans, as the two are considered the most important cities in America. Duluth and Detroit also rival New Orleans for influence over the midwest, with Chicago being constantly contested between the three. Although New Orleans is arguably on the winning side of this battle due to its access to rivers Detroit lacks due to technological issues, whilst Duluth is focusing its efforts on the great lakes. Other than Merchant Republics, Zealous non-voodoo characters such as the Pope, Duke of Land Belt, and Chief of Vandalia have all banned New Orleans from doing trade in their realms due to religious concerns. Similarly, the members of the Holy Columbian Confederacy have frequently claimed Louisiana, including New Orleans, belonging to the HCC and have occasionally even attempted to invade the city - though usually fail due to a lack of resources. Oddly, Grand Emperor Hank Duvall of Loving has declared that New Orleans “must be destroyed”, an act the Texans jokingly suggest as a proper action “for the emperor.”

Wexas

Edited:

RawReport