Dowland City
| Population - Outlying Urbania |
29,670,098 32,763,201 | ||
| Province | Capital City | ||
| Country | Skinny87 | ||
| Area Code | 221 | ||
| Postal Code | Z, X | ||
| MCLs | 83 | ||
| MPPs | 26 | ||
Dowland City is the capital city of the Sovereign Nation of Skinny87. It is situated in the south-eastern sector of the nation and has a population of more than 30 million residents when the outlying areas are counted, and is home to the central government of Skinny87. Its is notable for such areas as Parliament Park and the Grey House in which the infamous President Xavier Martin once resided. The city also has within its limits Parliament House, the new seat of power for King Alexander I. The city was extremely damaged some years ago in the Guffingford bombing attack that killed hundreds of thousands, but has slowly been rebuilt and extensively modernised to such a degree that it has one of the most admired city designs throughout the nation. It is an important political, economic and military centre for the nation, and includes Fort Levin, the staging ground for the 95th Special Operations Regiment.
Contents
General Information
City History
Dowland City has long been named The Slumbering City because of its often deserted streets and urban areas. The city generally tends to come alive only in the morning and at night, as the government officials and petty bereaucrats who represent a vast majority of Dowland City go to work and end as the sun begins to set on the buildings. At any other time, the city seems relatively deserted, even during the tourist season; only certain areas of the city seem crowded, concentrating around the memorials and famous government buildings present in the coty, such as the Grey House and Parliament House.
The city was officially created in the year 1634 by Questarian settlers and named Jessel by these men and women, after the name of the entire colony. Begininning primarily as an agricultural centre for processing grain and slaughtered animals that came from the farmland that formed the outlying districts of the city, the city slowly evolved into a centre of government for the colony. In 1701, after contact had been lost with Questers, the city was renamed as Dowland City after the currency that the citizens had chosen to replace the Questarian one. The Grey House was built in the middle of the city in its original incarnation, one that was to change over the centuries.
The city evolved into the vast, sprawling urban centre that it is today over several centuries, but little of historical interest occured until 2004. It was in this year that the nation of Guffingford launched a large-scale missile attack on the city in reponse to foreign policy decisions by President Martin. The anti-aircraft defenses of the city were vastly inadequate to the task set before them, and more than a dozen ICBMs hit the city, leveling more than half of it. Close to three hundred thousand people were either killed or grievously wounded in the attack, and thousands of buildings were destroyed; the Grey House itself suffered severe damage and the West Wing had to be replaced.
Just over a year later, the city was to be the setting for an even greater act of evil. It was in Dowland City that President Martin arrested the Members of Parliament sitting in session in Parliament and decared himself President For Life. The city suffered a week of intense rioting as supporters of Parliament and the MPs protested violently in what became known as The Week Of Hell. Six months after the beginning of the Civil War, the city came under intense artilery and aerial bombardment as Parliamentarian Forces attempted to destroy the so-called Capital Pocket of Loyalist troops. It was only the dramatic capture of President Martin in Operation Husky that ended the bombardment. The damage was extensive, leveling much of the city and its outlying suburbs. The Grey House was nearly destroyed in thr fighting there, and has only revently ben rebuilt as a museum dedicated to opposing totalitarianism and fascism.
Today, the city has finally been rebuilt to its pre-Civil War glamour. Parliament House now resides opposite the refurbished Parliament Building, and a Rememberance Garden has been built that stretches through the width of the city. Tourism has reached a new high, and the city once again has resumed normality.
