Principal Cities of the Confederacy

[Guinness]

The following are synopses of the principal cities of the Confederacy:

(All population figures are for the city listed, as well as their surrounding areas where appropriate, unless otherwise noted)

Richmond, Virginia - Population: 254,000

The capital of both the Confederacy, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond has never lost its essentially agrarian character. The business sector is dominated by companies concentrating in the tobacco and cotton trades, which has grown immensely in recent years as the Plantations of Northern Virginia have become "industrialized" and aligned with the large commercial entities in Richmond. This has also lead to the steady growth of the rail network of the area, which in turn is leading to development of heavier industries along the James River, including steel. Of late, there has also been growth in the import/export business as trade with the United Norman Kingdom has become easier and more prevalent.

The city itself is characterized by its affluent neighborhoods marked by parks and ornate fountains, as well as its largely Black tenement neighborhoods where in many cases electric light has yet to arrive. The Confederate government itself, once a relatively minor tenant, has with recent growth shown a voracious appetite for available real estate, which in turn has caused a steep rise in some real estate prices, and made local residents uneasy. There have been many whispers that maybe the city isn't big enough for the National government and Richmond's commercial enterprises.

Alexandria, Virginia - Population: 24,500

The once sleep town of Alexandria, located on the Potomac River which forms the border between the CSA and UNK, has awoken of late because of the accelerating international trade. Alexandria is booming, having added nearly 9000 residents in the last decade alone. The business sector is almost entirely import/export, as Virginia agricultural exports, especially tobacco are shipped north by boat, and much more recently by rail, and Norman manufactured goods and other items are shipped south. A new pair of bridges, one for road and foot traffic, and one for rail link the greater Alexandria area with its Norman twin across the river, Georgetown.

The city is characterized by the quaint Norman architecture of its old original waterfront street grid, and the new sprawling trolley neighborhoods to the north and west. Many still prefer to leave the city proper to flee inland away from the annually hot and humid weather, and the tropical disease that often accompanies it, though recent advances in sanitation and the new "Air Conditioning" are making the city more habitable year around.

Norfolk/Newport News, Virginia - Population 110,000

The twin cities of Norfolk and Newport News, on opposite sides of Hampton Roads at the mouth of the Chesapeake, continue in their principal historical functions as the main ports of Virginia. Here Virginian cotton and tobacco are exported to Europe and other parts of the world, and every imaginable good is imported, from tea, to furniture, to foreign automobiles.

Norfolk and Newport News are also principal naval bases for the CSA, as well as principal shipbuilding centers, and are home to the Confederate Naval Academy.

The cities themselves are dominated by their maritime trades, and are homes to great warehouses, factories producing items for naval construction and upkeep, and innumerable businesses selling provisions and stores. Both also have thriving immigrant communities where one can find a panoply of foreign cuisine to sample. Newport News is especially noted for its thriving Hatian community.

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina- Population: 411,000

These cities, at the heart of a prosperous agricultural region continue to serve as they always have, principally as a place for agricultural goods to come to market. Raleigh is the state's capital, and also a growing business center for North Carolina, which is home to a number of banks and other organs of commerce. It is also a city noted for its oak trees, and scenic tree-lined streets. Raleigh is linked by new streetcar and interurban rail networks to its many new suburbs, and to Durham.

Durham is a growing center for manufacture of goods, and home to a recently opened steel mill. All are supplied by Durham's rail links. It is also still prominent in its traditional role as a tobacco warehousing, packaging and shipping center, lead by the Bull Durham Tobacco Company.

Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, North Carolina: Population 382,000

These three cities, generally referred to as the "Piedmont Triad" mirror in many ways their neighbors to the east. Tobacco reigns here as well, as does the textile industry, which is largely reliant on cotton grown nearby. Newer manufacturing industries, especially wooden goods like furniture, are the primary avenues for economic growth, however.

While Greensboro continues to be primarily a railroad town, and High Point is increasingly identified as a manufacturing center Winston Salem has developed a reputation for being the more genteel of the three, and is home to the company headquarters of the Reynolds Tobacco company, which of late has branched out into food packaging as well. The city is known for its beautiful parks and museums.

Charleston, South Carolina: Population 120,000

At the confluence of  a number of small rivers and tributaries sits Charleston. The city has always been known for its charming downtown area, which is marked by a system of large squares, which also serve largely as city parks. Charleston is also the home of the Citadel, one of the two primary military academies of the Confederacy (along with the Virginia Military Institute in rural Lexington, Virginia). Charleston is in constant competition with Norfolk/Newport News for the title of largest commercial port in the Confederacy. Charleston is also the primary Atlantic Fleet base for the Confederate Navy.

Atlanta, Georgia: Population 1.1 million

Atlanta, the Capital of Georgia and its principal city, is the booming center of commerce of the Confederacy. Still a very young city, it was founded only in 1847. At the city's core is the confusing fusion of three street grids in the Downtown area, each built to align with one of the three principal railroads that converge there. Along these three rail corridors, and spilling outside the city limits proper are every sort of industry imaginable. New very tall buildings of 20 stories or more have begun sprouting along the ridge that runs north to south through the middle of the city, along Peachtree Street. In these building operate many banks, investment houses, import export concerns, accounting firms, and the many law firms for which Atlanta has become famous.

North of the downtown area the new district of Midtown has grown quickly, and is the site of the newly constructed Atlanta Stock Exchange building. Along Ponce de Leon Avenue in this section of the city thousands live in tenement apartment buildings, and still newer, better appointed buildings served by elevators. Still further north is the sprawling Great Exposition Park, usually referred to by residents as Piedmont Park, for its position along Piedmont Avenue. Across Piedmont Avenue from the Park lies the new residential suburb of Ansley Park, which was built there to take advantage of the street car lines that converge nearby.

Lying to the west of downtown is the Georgia Institute of Technology, famous for being the Confederacy's primary school for the training of engineers. Immediately nearby is the headquarters campus of the Coca-Cola company. Still further west is the largely industrial district of Atlanta lying along the railroad tracks of the Western and Atlantic railroad, including the Confederacy's largest steel mill, Atlantic Steel.

Lying to the east of downtown is the city's first "streetcar suburb", Inman Park, which is marked by its many large mansions, and still further east are many new residential districts growing quickly as the streetcar tracks are extended. This includes the district of Grant Park, home to the city's zoological park.

Lying to the south are many residential neighborhoods, which with the exception of the independent town of College Park, are almost entirely black. De facto if not de jure segregation still dominates Atlanta's neighborhoods. Near College Park is the city's new aerodrome, which was donated by the Candler family of Coca Cola fame.

Key West, Florida: Population 25,000

Florida's Capital is the sleepy panhandle town of Tallahassee, but its principal city is Key West, which is also the southernmost point of the Confederacy. This port town, lying as it does out in the Gulf of Texas, has always been a main fishing port, and a crossroads for seaborn commerce in the area. It also serves as a primary naval base for the Confederacy.

A mini-boom has erupted on the island of late, as construction of the "Overseas Railway" to connect Key West with the mainland is well underway. It is expected that the railway will bring more business opportunity to the island, and increase its importance in shipping, as goods that today are unloaded elsewhere on the gulf coast could instead be unloaded here for transhipment by rail to the rest of Florida and the nation.

Key West is characterized by the annual hurricane season, and because of the threat of storms, most buildings on the island have hurricane shutters, and are built up on high foundations or stilts to combat flooding.

Nashville, Tennessee: Population 118,000

Nashville, at the center of Tennessee and its state Capital, has benefited greatly recently from trade with the nation's neighbor to the North. This growing metropolis is also the center of a traditional horse-breeding industry, and is the home to the new industry of music recording. Vanderbilt University, possibly the nation's best known liberal arts university can be found here. Immediately next to the university is a large city park, which is home to a recently built exact replica of the Parthenon in Greece.

Nashville is also known as the city that has produced many of the Confederacy's great historical figures. Andrew Jackson's home, the Hermitage, is now a museum. Also Abraham Lincoln practiced law in Nashville.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Population 513,000

The second largest city in the Confederacy, New Orleans is also among the oldest. Originally settled by the French, its architecture is still marked by that influence. The city is known for its charm, beauty, and culture, and is a frequent destination for honeymooners. New Orleans also has a proud military tradition, and has contributed many noted military heroes to the Confederacy.

New Orleans' economy is based on the trade passing through the city on its way up and down the Mississippi river. Lodging and tourism is also a growing sector.

Galveston/Houston, Texas: Population 324,000

Galveston is historically the primary port of Texas, and was for years the largest city in Texas. It is a city noted for its genteel architecture and its beaches. It is a city built on an island facing the Gulf of Texas, with Galveston bay behind it. Because of its location, Galveston has served as a primary port of embarkation for oil brought there by pipeline from inland Texas. This has contributed greatly to its prosperity.

In 1900 a large hurricane hit Galveston, inundating it, and devastating the city. Nearly every structure was either severely damaged or destroyed, and thousands died. At the same time, commerce that formerly passed through Galveston was being siphoned off by its inland neighbor, Houston, which had the advantage of being astride the Southern Pacific Railway. Since 1900, Galveston's population has declined, as Houston's has continued to explode. Today Galveston itself, with a population of barely 50,000 is only one constituent in the much larger Houston area.

Houston with the lion's share of the area's population, is the Confederacy's fourth largest city. It is a boom town, characterized by hastily constructed buildings, men wearing cowboy boots and hats, and many disreputable establishments. It is also an engine for tremendous commerce. Here most of the nation's oil refining takes place, as well as considerable commerce related to the railroad. For five years, the Texas Stock Exchange operated here in open competition with the exchange in Atlanta, but was ultimately driven out of business by the construction of the new exchange building in Atlanta. The grandiose Texas Exchange building itself has today been rehabilitated as a grand new hotel indicative of Houston's grand aspirations.

Those aspirations include broadening and dredging out the San Jacinto river so that ships may come all the way inland from Galveston Bay for loading and unloading, and a bid to locate a new national napital in a new twin city to Houston.

Guyamas, Sonora: Population 53,000

The once sleepy little town of Guyamas saw its own explosion of growth when a spur of the Southern Pacific Railway arrived. The city grew from a population of only a few hundred to well over 15,000 in just 5 short years. Today Guyamas' explosive growth continues, fueled by the oil industry, the railroad, and a large Navy presence. There is also a significant and growing international trade through the port as shippers look to take advantage of the cheap shipping rates offered by the railroad as it seeks to relieve pressure on San Diego and the ports around Los Angeles.

Guyamas is every bit the boomtown that Houston is, but manages to have a sleepier, more laid back character. Some attribute this to the dryer, even less accommodating climate, and also the prevailing attitudes of the original indigenous peoples of the settlement. Still, Guyamas is far from a genteel place, and of late several prominent citizens and naval officers have made efforts to open a proper public school system in the City.

Phoenix/Tempe, Arizona: Population: 48,000

The largest city in the new state of Arizona, Phoenix is important as the center of the region's mining industry. Additionally, businesses in the city concentrate on bringing citrus and cotton grown in the surrounding area to market. The region is marked by an especially harsh desert climate, where high temperatures above 120 degrees Fahrenheit are commonplace in the summer. Indeed, it is a source of regular debate as to whether Phoenix or Guyamas are the hottest cities in the Confederacy.

Phoenix itself is subdivided by a system of "urban villages", a forward thinking arrangement which affords a higher sense of local community and more local control for the inhabitants of the sprawling municipality. These villages are linked to one-another by a system of streetcars and interurban railways. Also connected is the nearby independent city of Tempe, the site of the brand new Arizona State University.

The main impediment to further settlement in the valley, known as the "Valley of the Sun" is the available water supply. To that end, a nationally sponsored effort is underway in Arizona and neighboring Nevada and New Mexico to dam available water supplies to provide a reliable source of water to both the urban populations, but also to agriculture in the region. The recent Salt River Project was completed in 1910, and has already allowed a nearly 40% increase in population in the last 3 years. It is expected that similar growth will continue in the future.

San Diego, California: Population 34,000

This sleepy little city on the Pacific coast of California was founded by Franciscan monks. It is noted for its beauty and consistently sunny, moderate weather, which is guaranteed by the cool Pacific current off the coast.

San Diego, not being on the Southern Pacific's mainline, hasn't seen its population grow as quickly as its newer neighbor to the north, and is now eclipsed in population by Los Angeles. Still, the trades of the sea, including shipping and fishing, continue to be important industries here. Newer heavy industries have grown up around the shipyards and navy yard in San Diego's harbor. Above all, San Diego continues to be a navy town, and is the primary base for the Navy on the Pacific coast.

San Diego is noted for its cuisine, which is an eclectic mix of many different ethnicity and cultures. It is also famous for its Rohirim community, which has been present in the city for as long as anyone can remember.

Los Angeles, California: Population 415,000

Already the nation's third largest city, after Atlanta and New Orleans, Los Angeles is a city of pleasant weather and boundless opportunity. The terminus of the Southern Pacific, downtown Los Angelese is marked by giant railroad depot buildings, and new towering commercial buildings, known to the locals as "skyscrapers". Los Angeles is the center of banking and commerce for the Western Confederate states, with literally hundreds of banks incorporated within the city. Consequently, it is also the nation's capital in bank robberies, a problem which the fast growing police force has difficulty controlling. It is said that Los Angelese hires 50 new police officers every day.

Los Angeles is bordered on its inland side by a large ridge, which up until now has confined the population in a fairly compact area near the Pacific Ocean. On the other side of the ridge is some of the most fertile farmland in the country. Transportation of the products of that farmland to other parts of the Confederacy is a prime task of the great railhead downtown.

Bordering Los Angeles proper to the south is Long Beach, and to the west is Santa Monica, bustling towns in their own rights. Both are homes to fishing and shipping concerns, as well as important naval bases. The President recently embarked from Santa Monica for an historic trip to Maoria, causing quite a sensation and drawing crowds estimated to be in excess of 50,000.

Recently, geologists at the new University of Northern California have been researching the frequent small earthquakes in the area. Thus far, scientific consensus seems to be that only small earthquakes can be expected. This contradicts the stories of the original inhabitants of the area...