Amity

Geography

Amity Isle has an area of , which makes it the third largest island in the Khaz Modani chain, right behind Florencia (1st) and Yardistan (2nd). It has a tropical, monsoonal climate, which traditionally gives it two seasons in the year, the dry and the wet seasons. Amity receives anywhere between 70-240 inches of rainfall a year depending on your elevation, and relies heavily on its monsoons to maintain its cash crops. It is bordered by the Shire Sea to the north and west, and the Central Sea to the east and south. Though it has high foothills, they don't technically reach high enough to count as true mountains. Nevertheless, many of the 'peaks' have been named as mountains by the locals. Some of these include Mt. Amity, Mt. Russell, and Mt. St. Anne. It has one peninsula on the northwest tip of the island, named Rholpelo peninsula. On the southern tip of Rholpelo peninsula lies Amity Bay, a natural harbour with many fine beaches, harbours, and shipyards. To the southeast of Amity lies a rather large, crescent shaped coral reef that contains more than a hundred species of marine life. It is protected by the county as a comital treasure, and has long been considered by the locals to be a sacred place around which considerable folklore has accrued. Nevertheless, many shipwrecks can be found there as well, as many a foolhardy captain tried unsuccessfully to navigate it.

Government

As a subject island of the Emirate of Sathrati, Amity is ruled by a High Reeve appointed by the Council of Sathrati. The High Reeve serves as effectively the bailiff of the island, collecting the appropriations decided upon by the Council of Sathrati and also distributing the allocations of resources and graciously permitted to the island in turn by authority.

Amity is broken down into city and town limits, and then into smaller districts called 'manors'. City limits constitute any urban area with a population greater than 200,000, whereas town limits are any urban or rural area with a population less than 200,000. Each city and town is ruled by a City/Town Reeve, which is a hereditary position. His rule over the city/town is only absolute when he is not overruled by the city/town council, which consists of all the local lords. The Lords of the Manors are members of the untitled nobility who are empowered to vote and to own land and contractually obligated servitors.

The peasantry, bound to their estates under the conditions of Shirerithian neofeudalism, are permitted to elect the reeve who is serves the lord of the manor whilst representing the interest of the peasantry to that self-same lord.

Economy

Agriculture, influenced by the interests of the lords of the manor, follow a plantation system. Cash crops are mangoes and cotton, but most any other tropical plant is also grown in Amity to some extent. Other commonly encountered crops include chili Peppers, bananas, vanilla plants, watermelons, coconuts, coffee, corn, and rice. As is to be expected most coastal communities rely upon fishing.

Culture

Manorialism

Amity is extremely divided by class. The lowest rung of society on Amity are the Protected Persons. Once you have been arrested and convicted, you are sent to the Amity Prison System, where you serve your time in the fields or factories. These forced labour camps are watched over by hired prison guards, who are a mixture of freemen and serfs, and also watched over by prisoners with elevated status called “Keepers”. Keepers are prisoners who are given the responsibility of watching other prisoners, and are in exchange given reduced sentences and better living conditions. This system ensures that the keepers always side with the guards in a riot, gives the guards an extra hand in keeping order, and that a quarter of the prisoner population stays docile.

Once felons serve their sentence, they are sent before a parole board who determine if he has learned his lesson, and reformed his ways. If so, they are released back into the care of his lord, or if he came from Mirioth, then he is released back to his clan.

The next rung of the social ladder is the serf. Serfs are tied to their lords for life, unless traded out or bought. They work for their lord in whatever business he has, and in exchange are clothed, fed, housed, and given a small amount of money. They must abide by the rules of the lord (who must abide by the laws of the land themselves), and must do as he says (within lawful reason). If they want to get married and have kids, the lord must pay a small fee to buy the serf from her previous lord.

After the serf, is the freeman. These are subjects of Sathrati who are beholden to no lord. They may come and go as they please, so long as they have the money and it does not violate any contract they are under. Some serfs have won their conditional freedom due to unusual circumstances, which means that they can quit working for their lord. This is a double-edged sword though, because it also means that they are no longer under his protection either.

Continuing up the ladder is the free-landholder. These are freemen who own their own land, but are not able to own serfs. The are not ennobled, but are not under any oath of fealty to a lord either. This social class is the smallest of all the classes.

Once a subject has reached the status of a Lord or Lady, they have become a part of the lesser nobility, having received a recognition of their noble blood but not necessarily a corresponding title. They are now not only allowed, but required to own at least one manor. They may now vote in local elections, and may hold leadership positions in their town or county. Children of lesser nobility also retain that status but must pursue a profession if they are not the first-born heir to the said manor.