Argentum

City of Merchants

The city-state of Argentum sets on the largest of the islands in the channel. It is approximately 1.5 square miles in size. It also includes two other small islands within the channel (both owned by Argentum’s wealthiest resident). Argentum has a plutocratic government run by an Outer Council, an Inner Council, and a Mayor. The Outer Council is made up of any merchants and artisans who own land or buildings on the island and who pay an annual membership fee of one Silver Coin. Any member of the Outer Council may run for the office of Inner Council by paying an application fee of 10 Gold Coins. Inner Council members hold office for a maximum of five terms in a row and a maximum of thirty terms total. These terms are one year long, and the Outer Council must elect the fifteen members each year. The Mayor is elected by the outer council and is required to have served on the Inner council for a minimum of five terms. Those who wish to run for Mayor must pay an application fee of 10 Gold Coins.

The above fees and an annual head tax of 1cc for non-land owning and 1sc for land owning resident raises considerable funds for public works and city guards. Three types of buildings dominate Argentum: The warehouses and other large buildings line the shore of the island nearly all the way around. The manors and estate of the wealthy merchants are sprawled out on the top of the large hill that dominates the center of the island. The remainder of the island is covered with crowded and mostly run-down buildings of two, three, or four stories with shops on the first floor and tenements above. Most of the buildings are constructed of cut stone with tiled roofs (70%), the remainder are of field stone and mortar or wood with a variety of roofing materials (wood shakes, wood lap-planking, or thatching). Most buildings in the area have sloped roofs of between 4:12 and 8:12 pitch (15° to 30° angle) to shed the rain and snow. The first settlement on the Island that is now the city of Argentum was founded as a simple trading post for an empire that was located far to the west. It was meant as a place for traders to operate out of while dealing with the various local peoples that inhabited the channel area. The fact that there was already a small settlement on the group of islands in the southern most portions of the channel was a good sign of things to come. That small trading post eventually broke away from the empire that had founded it as corruption swept through the empire, bringing it to its knees. By that time, other settlements had started to form on the mainland along the channel also, thus strengthening its economic future. Population: 62,240 (Aquilai: 20% Gambed: 30% Balmast: 30% Anistali: 5% Others: 15%)