Great Families of Apex
"There are ten seats on the Great Council. There are a hundred families competing for those seats. This creates some tension." - excerpt from A Guide to Apex Political Culture
Structure
There are a number of Great Families who compete for power and wealth in the Republic. These families are usually led by a patriarch also called a dominus. Families are often split into branches and can have dozens or even hundreds of members. Great families posses financial assets, landed holdings, and even small private armies. Most are in control of large trade empires and fleets of trade ships.
Some Great Families include:
House di Maggio : Famous from an incident in 1760 when a doge from this house was murdered in the senate. House di Maggio holds extensive lands in the north of Apex. They have a palace in Drydale, and currently have a seat on the council of ten, held by Giovani di Maggio.
House di Donato : Famed from the same incident mentioned above. Di Donato are one of the oldest families in Apex. They hold a number of lucrative trade monopolies, but are rumored to be heavily indebted. The family's prestige has never quite recovered from the incident in 1760 when the family arranged for the murder of Nicolo di Maggio, and attempted a coup. The family has not held a council seat since that time but has often been represented in the Senate. Their base of operations is their villa outside Apex City.
House di Vallentinia Formerly the most prominent of all the families of the republic. This family was said to be wealthier than the Gods. It all came crashing down in 1811 when their scheme to eliminate the government's debt led to disaster. Murder is one thing, but messing with the finances of the merchant princes is quite another. Most of the family fled overseas in the aftermath. They still posses lands and assets in the Republic, but administer them through proxies.
House di Floranna : A house composed of former Dead Sea Collective pirates. These "reformed pirates" used their ill-begotten gains to set themselves up as a major newcomer in Republic Politics in the late 1700s. They were credited with exposing house Vallentinia during the North Sea Trade Bubble. The family was credited with the economic recovery of the republic in the decades after, and holds a prominent position in the republic today. They have a position on the Council of Ten.
House di Valletta : This House has traditionally been more focused on money than on politics. recently they have come to prominence after acquiring much land in the new provinces in Western Haru .
Alternative Names
The Great Merchant Families
Parent Organization
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