Tortuga

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Tortuga
Nation: The Armed Republic of Costa Bravo
Function: Capital; National, Regional
Population: 20 Million
Leader: Red Oralléc

Tortuga is a postmodern port-city, capital of the Armed Republic of Costa Bravo and Coquille, the principal region of Costa Bravo. It encompasses the greater part of central Tortuga Island in the butt of Barbosa Bay, and is centralized around the Tortuga Canal, through which the city receives most of its income.

The city was either razed or destroyed on various occasions, in the Great Blaze of 1723, the Tortuga Incident in 1918, and during the Eugenics War in 2004.

History

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An aerial view of Tortuga. Larger picture is here
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Tortuga has a long-standing, rich history lasting almost a millenia. Originally founded circa 80 BCE, Tortuga was eponymously named Sophorium for the province it which it lay, Sophora. Although the shallow bays and inlets along the perimeter (chiefly the northwestern side) attracted the most inhabitants, due to their convenient accessibility to the outside world, Sophorium nonetheless became the capital of the province, and a centerpoint of trade throughout North Africa and the Mediterranean. However, due to various reasons; the Carthaginians, the Empire's collapse, et al, Sophorium became a ghost town, it's last inhabitants eventually cast out by variegated invaders and the like. By 300 BCE, no Roman citizens remained.

And so, Tortuga Island lay unclaimed for centures. Centuries, that is, until 1492, when Captain Finneas "Redrum" Arkham, a mercenary that sailed the Mediterranean aboard his trusty pirate ship, took notice of Tortuga Island's tactical importance. He laid claim to the island, and slowly turned it into a headquarters for his roving band of mercenaries. The name Tortuga came from the first animal Arkham spied upon landfall -- an apathetic-looking comatose tortoise. At that time, most of what once was Sophorium was in ruins, with notable exceptions (the Coquillan Spire, and various temples, libraries, etcetera). Finneas Arkham promptly either knocked down existing rubble-hewn buildings, or just built around the city as it were. In a manner of years, Tortuga was as modern a city as any other spot in the region.

Gradually, Tortuga drew in every manner of unpleasant persons, and it eventually grew into a full-fledged city-port, renowned for its raucous way of life, allegedly comparable to a giant brothel. The uncivility of the town reached its peak when Finneas Arkham's son, Finneas Arkham II, was himself publically throttled by a Spainard. Legend has it that his brother, Norbert Arkham, tied the Spainard round with a hefty rope and hoisted the man from the tallest point in all of Tortuga, the Coquillan Spire (now known as the Citadel). It was said that the famously irascable crows of Tortuga feasted mightily that day, and it spawned the Costa Bravan Revolution, against the established Spanish presence elsewhere in Costa Bravo. However, it is a more likely tale that the Two-Ten Massacre at Monte Carlo sparked the Revolution, and that Finneas Arkham died in his sleep of a coronary.

After the success of the Revolution, Norbert Arkham was elected the first Regent of the Armed Republic of Costa Bravo uncontested, and, in memory of his father, he made Tortuga, once again, the capital of Costa Bravo.

Demographics

2000 Census Tortuga Coquille Costa Bravo
Total population 20,103,113 39,420,000 200,000,000
Population, percent change, 1990 to 2000 +9.1% +10.2% +13.1%
Population density 32,403/km² 500/km² 113/km²
Median household income (1999) CBCØ60,293 CBCØ58,390 CBCØ59,994
Per capita income CBCØ58,402 CBCØ49,389 CBCØ60,587
Bachelor's degree or higher 58% 62% 42%
Foreign born 10% 20% 13%
White 75% 62% 70%
Black 5% 8% 10%
Hispanic 3% 9% 3%
Asian 15% 16% 12%

As of the census of 2000, there are 20,103,113 people, 8,526,222 households, and 8,702,567 families residing in the city. The population density is 32,403.0/km² . There are 13,150,219 housing units at an average density of 8,008.5/km². Asians are the largest ethnic group in the city of Costa Bravo. The racial makeup of the city is 75% White, 15% Asian, 3% Hispanic, 5% Black or African, and 2% mixed or assorted other races.

There are 8,526,222 households out of which 18.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.1% are married couples living together, 14.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 51.0% are non-families. 35.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.31 and the average family size is 3.01.

In the city the population is spread out with 19.2% under the age of 18, 16.8% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 29 years. For every 100 females there are 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is Ø59,293, and the median income for a family is Ø69,133. Males have a median income of Ø55,225 versus Ø53,171 for females. The per capita income for the city is Ø52,402. 8.5% of the population and 5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.2% of those under the age of 18 and 7.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Districts of Tortuga

An overlay depicting the separation of Tortuga into the various districts

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The Residential District, with the Citadel ostensible in the background. A larger picture may be viewed here
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Tortuga is divided, unofficially, into a handful of various districts, named for their primary mode of function (ex. the Residential District, obviously, is largely home to civilian residences). However, officially, the city isn't divided into districts at all. Rather, Tortuga is separated into a variety of numerically-designated sections, which correlate to the geographical positioning of said sections.

Residential District

The Residential District is home to some fifteen million of Tortuga's inhabitants, and located in the south-southeast quadrants of Tortuga. The centerpiece of the district is a collection of casual boroughs, consisting of a variety of low-rise contemporary apartment buildings, and a handful of intersparsed office buildings. Despite the relatively high amount of residents, some ninety percent of the populace, the massiveness and well-thought-out city planning negates any constricted feeling that the citizens might experience. On the southeastern border of the District, close to the edge of the city, there lies various suburban communities, inhabited by chiefly families and the elderly, and featuring contemporary urban housing in the stead of apartment complexes. A quarter of the district's residents reside there, and comfortably so.

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The Business District, in early 2004, during the Eugenics War. It lays in ruins after a vicious shelling from the opposing Dakkland Forces. Tortugan Police can be seen sleeping in the foreground. A larger picture may be viewed here
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Business District

The Business District is, in essence, the heart of Tortuga herself. It is home to the CBSE, as well as the headquarters of hundreds, if not thousands, of globe-spanning corporations (ex. Caldera Oil Company; Jaggedzombie & Bitch; Reliant Gaming Corporation, etcetera). In this district, as the kids say, "credits reign supreme". The CBSE, one the most prolific, diverse, and profitable stock exchanges in the region, if not the world, gathers masses that rival those seen at the NYSE, or any other reputable exchange. Almost one-hundred thousand people pass through the CBSE each day, and trillions of credits are gained or lost each day. The Business District is often separated into two "subdistricts" for clarification -- the "Cubicle" and "Credit" districts, respectively. The former consists of the greater part of Tortuga's office buildings and the like, hence the name, and the latter consists of corporate headquarters, and the CBSE.

The Business District hugs the area between the Citadel and the Residential District overflowing into the Commercial District, and curls an arm around to the canalbank, forming an odd J shape.

Warehouse District

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The Warehouse District, with the Citadel in the background, across the canal. Note the trains. A larger picture may be viewed here
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The Warehouse District, is, obviously, home to various warehouses of the assorted corporations and businesses present in both the Business and Commerical Districts. Tortuga's train system weaves through the district in a preconceived, smartly-arranged manner, as to provide accessibility to what otherwise would have been needlessly inconvenient. The Warehouse District has a small amount of roads, and so the greater amount of traversing through the district must be made by hopping onto one of the various passing automated cargo trains and hopping off when you near your destination (the trains in the Warehouse District themselves are not suited for human transporation, rather, they transport cargo and assorted wares throughout the district), or by renting a small cart, available at select places throughout the area.


Government District

The Government District is where the majority of government offices, buildings, and monuments are situated. For example, the Capital Building is located in the heart of the district, along the edge of the canal, opposite the Citadel. The district encompasses the area immediately surrounding the Citadel, and branches off directly onto the other side of the canal, beside the Warehouse District. Points of interest include the Eugene Memorial, commemorating the Costa Bravans who died in the Eugenics War, the Principal Judiciary, the High Courts, and, of course, the Citadel herself.

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The Capital Building, during the Eugenics War. A larger picture may be viewed here
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Commerical District

The Commercial District is located in the northeast quadrant of Tortuga, sharing borders with the Residential, Business, and Industrial Districts. As the Business District is home to the corporate headquarters of various entities, the Commercial District is home to the storefronts of such corporations. Points of interest are bountiful, as there are over a dozen large malls, strip and otherwise, restaurants and theaters galore, and hundreds of individual stores lining the streets. The few casinos in Tortuga are also present here, aside the rows of high-class hotels and similar amenities. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people line the main street of this district, the Champs Elysees of Tortuga, so to speak -- known as the Promenade.

Industrial District

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A series of refineries, with the contaminated tributary in the foreground. A larger picture may be viewed here
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The Industrial District is located along a tributary of the Tortuga Canal, and borders the Commercial, Business, and Warehouse Districts. It is filled with large refineries, factories, occasional warehouses, and more factories. Unfortunately for the ecosystem, and to the chagrin of tree-huggers everywhere, refineries and factores in the Industrial District have largely been given clearence to dispel their wastes into the Canal's tributary, which caused it to become filled with a yellowish, toxic ooze that is perpetually harmful to anyone who nears it without proper precautions. However, due to a series of revolutionary technologies, Tortuga has managed to prevent any contamination into the Canal itself, or into the city's water system. Any trawler or freighter that wishes to pass through the ooze in the tributary needs to properly fitted with an outer exoskeleton to its hull, to counteract any acidic corrosion that the ooze might cause to the ship's keel.


Sanctuary District

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Public housing units in the Sanctuary District, bordering a section of the Warehouse District, separated by a railway line. A larger picture may be viewed here
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The Sanctuary District is, according to the government of Costa Bravo, a marvel of civic planning and engineering. It consists of innumerable numerically-designated apartment complexes (referred to as "housing units"), in which the poor, elderly, and financially-inept may live. Government supply centers are intersparsed throughout the district, which consists of two sub-districts at the far northwestern corner of Tortuga, as well as the southwestern corner, on the east side of the canal. These supply centers, largely automated, supply the populace with government rations, various welfare amenities, and the like. They also contain automated tellers that allow persons to access a database of wanted jobs, based upon that particular person's skills and abilities, which had been catalogued upon his or her's entering of the Sanctuary. Many Sanctuary inhabitants find jobs in either the Warehouse or Industrial Districts, due to their proximity.