Andros
The city of Andros is the most populous city on the most populous island in the Bahami Federation, and one of the most crowded. Tens of thousands of humans and catfolk live within the highly urbanized city center, acting as one of the largest ports and centers of industry in Federation waters. The city also hosts the largest corsair fleet, as what they lack in the quality of other mukarribs, the mukarribs possess in sheer numbers. Typically speaking, the majority of land forces and armies assembled for the largest conflicts of the islands come from Andros and its subordinate communities.
Demographics
The majority of the people living in Andros are Bahami humans, and a very large population of catfolk slaves who undertake a large majority of the manual labor. The city of Andros has a sizeable free catfolk population too, descendants of those freed by previous masters or ones who have even been freed recently. Due to the size of the city, a considerable amount of settlers from other races from the mainland have also made homes here, of all shapes and sizes. They occupy an awkward position of being typically craftsmen or sailors and are denied service in the town guard or upon the corsairs. Typically, those of other races find themselves sequestered with the catfolk slaves until they find a way off the island.
Government
The city of Andros is large enough that unlike most cities within the Federation, it requires a modicum of bureaucracy rather than the delegation system that other urban areas use. Although the Mukarrib of House Haxhi is the de facto head of the city, and rules it directly, in truth, the House employs a large number of administrators and bureaucrats to handle day to day affairs. There are a myriad of administrators, usually staffed by members of the family and lesser children of the mukarrib's harem. Each one maintains a department or organization responsible for an element of life within Andros. Due to the large size of past mukarribs' families, this has led to a significant amount of bloat in the city's governance as even the smallest matters and affairs of state have been staffed with Haxhi family members to draw pay from the taxes and tribute collected from the population.
Defences
Andros possesses the most formidable fortifications in the Federation. Unlike most other communities in the islands, Andros has occasionally found itself vulnerable to attacks from the land in addition to the seas. Therefore, two symmetrical keeps maintain a watch over the harbor and from those keeps a wall spans around the heart of the city itself, containing over three quarters of Andros' population. These are supplemented by smaller garrisons maintained by each of the town gates and watch towers that span along the northern coastline of the island, providing early warning of approach regardless of direction. These positions are held by the standing guard of the town, consisting of eighteen hundred retainers of House Haxhi.
In addition to the retainers of the city, who act as the guard and enforcers of the mukarrib, the local slaves and populace have been known to be mustered into a large militia or levies in the case of invasion. Although the militia does not train regularly, estimates indicate that nearly twenty thousand levies could be mustered in the case of a major battle or attack upon Andros or the rest of the island. In the rare circumstances that Andros has recently gone to war, these typically are ignored in favor of drafting the numerous corsairs based out of the city, usually including anywhere between a dozen to nearly a hundred warships and crews. At any given time, at least three of these warships are acting under direct orders of the mukarrib to protect the city's harbor.
Industry & Trade
The majority of commerce that takes place in Andros relies upon the great foundries and smithies that exist throughout the city. While other nations and races tend to favor quality weaponry, the weapons of the Federation are mass produced by hordes of workers, designed to get out replacements as quickly as possible. These weapons are sold across the Bahami islands, equipping the majority of corsairs and raiders that strike at the trading fleets of the mainland. The products of the foundries are not limited solely to weaponry, however, as nearly every nail, rivet, and anchor along with every other metal good is created in Andros. All of these are sold to the rest of the Federation, which lacks any other source of these materials outside of what is captured during raids.
Raiding is an important part of life for Andros as it is for every one of the Bahami islands. Dozens of corsair ships operated out of the city and the rest of the island, crewed with those uninterested in working under the constant cloud of smog from hundreds of forges. The goods taken from these raids often end up in the hands of private citizens rather than in the hands of the djinn, as the djinn of Andros Island prefers gold and gemstones as opposed to luxurious material goods. The majority of Androsan raiders tend to operate in the Circle Sea, away from the eastern coast of the mainland where most of the other raiders tend to focus.
Infrastructure
The oldest piece of construction on the entire island is the basis for the city itself, a paved road called the Queen's Highway. Although no one is quite sure who this queen is or was, the name has persisted over the centuries of rule since the fall of the Nameless Empire. The town was built around the road, as the island's population had weathered the storm of chaos considerably better than those upon the mainland, and congregated to the natural harbor that had been formed on the north side of the island. The road has been ritually maintained with a reverence typically reserved for religious rites. Thanks to harvesting of stone from the island's mountains and hills, the rest of the town possesses the luxury of stone walls and paved roads, even including the typical slave quarters.
Outside of the high quality of roads, Andros possesses the most sizeable industry of any island in the Federation. As their island is blessed with a djinn of the earth instead of the seas, a plethora of high quality ores have been found lining the entire landmass. Iron and coal have fueled the massive forge and furnace complexes that cover the city in a persistent layer of smog and industry. Nearly every metal object or sword in the Federation has its origins from Androsan steel. The majority of workers and laborers in the city work for the forges, and demand is constantly high for new weapons and armor for the corsairs and raiders of the Federation.
Assets
Although officially known as the "Queen's Market," the Smoke Market takes its informal name from the constant stream of smoke and dust poured into the air over it from nearby ironworks. The Smoke Market is the largest stockpile of weapons and armor available for purchase in the Federation. The devices of war that Bahami adventurers require alongside those that corsairs need upon their ships are purchased here, and nearly every raider captain needs to stop in to buy. Therefore, there are over fifty inns and hotels that offer accommodations to captains and purchasers of goods, accompanied by hundreds of bars and taverns for their crews. Adventurers from outside the Federation will find little to offer here, as the mukarribs require the sale of a trading license to anyone not born of the Bahami Federation in Andros. Buying or selling anything as a foreigner without a license will quickly land a naïve captain in a life of servitude.
Guilds and Factions
House Haxhi is the dominant political force in Andros and throughout the rest of the island. Their connection to the djinn and material wealth has given them the indisputable position of leadership. The family is large and a force in its own right, maintaining the employment of the city's guard and bureaucracy, but there are enough of them that they are often swayed through bribes and familial connections with other nobles and wealthy. Therefore numerous other groups and noble houses constantly attempt to sway the decisions of House Haxhi and the mukkarib. Of the various plots and cabals, most tend to exist in one of three different factions: the forgewrights, the corsairs, and the slaves.
The forgewrights are what most people would refer to as the middle class of Andros. These are the skilled laborers and workers who either man or own the forges and foundries that fuel the city's economy. They are well aware of the essential nature of their operations to the success of the Federation as a whole, and have used this position to sway influence over the mukarrib and the positions he holds among the others of his class and with the djinn. Their ability to theoretically shut off the production of metal goods to most of the islands is a major factor in their power, and they have chose to use it sparingly, focusing on increasing metal prices and improving conditions for the middle class in the city.
The corsairs represent those who make their livings in the traditional Bahami way: raiding other nations and communities for wealth. As the population of the Federation has grown and the demand for metal grown in kind, the corsairs of Andros have been fading out as the primary generator of riches for the people of the city. They retain most of the weapons and combat experience, however, and this makes them an important counterbalance to the economical weight of the forgewrights, and the two groups are often at odds. The corsairs seek to maintain a traditional lifestyle for the city, and resist the influence of the middle class at each turn, often gaining the support of the lesser noble houses. They advocate a more militarist line, and believe that the forges should be simply used to maintain and project might rather than being an economic force in their own right.
Lastly, the catfolk slaves and other humanoid races besides Bahami humans make up nearly half of the city's population. Their conditions are often viewed as harsh and demanding, forced into some of the worst labor present in the islands for days at a time. Dozens of catfolk slaves die each day in the forges and foundries, often from heatstroke or other ailments. The free population does little better, typically only able to barter goods and services to their own folk, for the meager amount of coin that provides. Despite their circumstances, their numbers are telling, and the nobles of Andros live in fear of a day when the catfolk could rise in rebellion, giving the occasional agitator a bit more leverage than otherwise expected. Typically, however, any agitators are quickly caught and executed, but the unrest seems to always be there, ready to boil up to the surface.
Founding Date
6 AF
Type
City
Population
215,000
Related Ethnicities
Inhabitant Demonym
Androsan
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
Comments