Mineria

Mineria
The map of La Rossa. Mineria can be found on its eastern coast.
Country	La Rossa
Administrative status	City-province
Government • Advisor • Legislature	Stefano Robusto Minerian Popular Council
Area • Total • City	31,073.16 289.11
Population (estimate) • Total • City	1,270,000 950,000
Demonym	Minero, Minera
Economy (42 PC) • GDP (total) • GDP per capita (average) • Median personal income	54.87Bꕥ 64552.94ꕥ 55299.12ꕥ

Mineria is a city-province in the Republic of La Rossa. Its eponymous capital is one of the oldest cities in the nation, and it has been inhabited continuously since the 3000s TT. The city-province also envelops Averno, believed to be the oldest. Numbering almost a million residents, the city-province has grown tremendously since the Rossan Opening in 41 PC, and currently ranks as the second largest in the nation, after only Padeno. Rising to be the nation's prime urban manufacturing center, Mineria has been home to many entrepreneurs and industries over the past octades, and continues to be a major hub for financial and industrial investment.

Since the early days of the city, in legend going back to the times of its founding, the city of Mineria has been ruled by the Minestrici Family, who are believed to be the city's namesake. Wars of conquests and a large mercenary army in the time of the city-states expanded its reach, allowing the conquest of major cities across the region. Following the eventual unification of the island, the Minestricis would become a major faction on the national stage, continuing to this day. Dux Leo Minestrici di Mineria would be the architect behind the Rossan Opening, when the nation opened up to and established connections with the Attu Archipelago.

History

See also: Averno#History

One of the most ancient settlements on the island, the city of Averno was established in 3250 TT, and remains today as the oldest lasting remnant of large human settlements. Founded on the river Ilm, by the shores of the Lake of Averno, the city's rise came as a drastic shift to the mostly nomadic way of life that had characterized the people of the island. Living in families or, at most, moving villages, the slow switch towards sedentary living had clearly achieved a full turn with the rise of a concentrated population center. Becoming home to hundreds, and later thousands, the cohabitation of people on such a scale called for organized living, institutionalized on a far greater level than an individual's closest neighborhood. Though hierarchical relationships are believed to have been present for far longer, the city undeniably set a path through the rise of the state. Sedentary agriculture proved itself easier to tax than nomadic pastoralism, and allowed an army to be raised to ensure peaceful cohabitation. Although law as written has little basis as to its existence at the time, the need for securing the local peace was met with the rise of a ruling elite, likely having arisen from wealthier men, which itself had a ruler among them, the now-commonly named Dux of Averno. The city's name, likely derogatory in origin, is believed to have originated among the remaining Montagneri, and signifies death and disease, likely moral rather than physical, as the traditional nomadic lifestyle was exchanged for the almost unrecognizable urban shift.

Within a span of a few centuries, the rising and expanding city-state founded in the mountains of Montesuvia began to see rising internal pressure. The ruling elite had entrenched itself deeply into the structure of the city, in reaction provoking thinkers and renouncers to reject the traditions they were tasked with maintaining. According to legend, though built on the foundations of finding peace among citizens and safety from danger of the outside world, which was heavily battered by the Perpetual Storm that has circled the coastline, the city's nobility soon had its goals corrupted by personal aims and convictions, working in their own favor rather than in favor of their people. Dux Serberius, claimed to have been particularly tyrannical and cruel, experienced a soft rebellion, as he provoked a group of several hundred renouncers into self-imposed exile, which he had cast as suicidal recklessness. The Minestricis, part of Averno's ruling nobility, led the march out of the city, to which the rest of the town had already resigned as being certain death for them. Indeed, they would lose dozens on their way. Yet the exiles, instead of finding nothing but the Storm's destruction on their path, had instead experienced a miracle, as they had stumbled upon the calm Gulf of Mineria, a shielded bay where the Storm would not touch them. In celebration of such a discovery, the exiles had chosen to establish a new city in this place. The Minerian Stone was erected, in its surface engraved twelve laws, which would come to represent the major distinction the town would seek to make against Averno - rule based by written law, rather than personal tyranny.

It is historically arguable whether such ideals were ever faithfully followed, or even had truly existed at the time. Nonetheless, the city of Mineria would come to attract people in search of the safety of the Minerian Gulf, both in its safe waters, abundant with food and resources, and the protection its laws provided. The cities laws, as written, applied to everyone equally. The Minestrici Family, whom the city is believed to have been named after, held significant sway in practice, and were often the ones making the decisions of whether they applied. Practicing a paternalistic form of nobility, the Minestricis were legendarily conceptualized as being the protectors of the city, their power justified by the burden of the weight of guarding it. In an ironic twist of fate, the Minestricis would become much like the Duxes of Averno, handing power to personal rulers who dictated action by decree, previous laws non-withstanding. Regardless, the city prospered, blessed by its geography and the richness in men it attracted. As the city expanded beyond even its border walls, expeditions out of the city in search of new land cropped up, slowly leading to the complete settlement of the island's coastline.

The other city-states, which began to arise over the centuries, would not hold particular loyalty to birthplace of their founders, even as they relied on trade. With their own local and critical interests, wars between the city-states were not uncommon. Mineria would rapidly become militant as a response. Practicing a particular form of mercenary warfare, Mineria pioneered the state of war on the island, with men not being forced into an army by the local powers, but rather greatly paid for their service, used to motivate soldiers and keep them loyal, as they had counted on their enemies being unable to outbid them for the service of their men. The violence ensuing after the Silver Rush of 1296 TT saw great need for armies, as neighbors began to frequently wage war upon one another in hopes of damaging their rivals. Mineria, however, would not be satisfied by mere defense against their neighbors, and took on a prolonged campaign lasting several octades to conquer the region as their own, especially the Montesuvian plateaus.

The unification of La Rossa, once it finally arrived, left Mineria in a strong position, capable of exerting great influence upon the other surviving city-provinces that had claimed the land for themselves. This had, in turn, created great friction, as other Families began to fear the Minestricis sought to centralize power for themselves. It was not uncommon that a Dux came from a weaker Family, such as the Morelios, in a deliberate effort to keep the competing interests of the larger ones limited. Even in such circumstances, the Minestricis continued to pragmatically seek to keep their own grip on Mineria firm, knowing that the organization of the city, made to be as libertine and just as possible without compromising their rule, was by far its greatest strength. Over the centuries, going as far as the Industrial Age, the Minestricis and all of their Family branches functioned as not only a cohesive family unit, but also one of government, with those deemed too damaging or corrupt being disowned, their Family name being taken away from them. The liberalization of the local polity, which came to be one of the earliest democratic governments on the island (alongside Padeno and Salino), was done with the purpose of instilling trust in the city, attracting business with the rule of law as backing.

Following La Denunzia, which affected Mineria much like the rest of the nation, wealth seizures from the Minestricis took away a great sum of their wealth. However, they had avoided being as scarred as some of the other Families, such as the Miglios, allowing them to once more reassert themselves in local and national politics. Dux Leo Minestrici di Mineria would become the first national leader from the Families since the revolt, using his powers to advance an internationalist agenda that finally saw La Rossa integrating into the rest of the world, an event now named the Rossan Opening. However, the following years would diminish their position once more, especially following the involvement of some members of the Family in propping up the regime of Dux Vincenzo Barozzo di Tolia. Regardless, the Minestricis continue to hold onto significant holdings in business. Other entrepreneurs made use of many of the reforms undertaken over the past few decades, however, allowing a new industrial elite to begin to emerge within the city, which has now become a major manufacturing and innovation hub.

Government

The government of Mineria has followed a democratic structure from as far back as 195 TT, at the advent of the Industrial Age. Taking on a parliamentary structure, the Minerian government consists of a popularly elected legislature, which is given the power of creating, amending and repealing laws, and an executive, tasked with enforcing the laws, and given the power to prevent their passage. Although the position is now in the hands of the Minerian Advisor, historically the role has belonged to a smaller corpus of the Minestricis themselves, who had, in the switch to democracy, continued to give themselves the ultimate power of veto to ensure any laws that pass in the city had their own approval. Although they had historically rarely used or abused this power, its existence was heavily criticized, and the corpus was abolished after La Denunzia, being replaced in its role by the Advisor.

Geography

Although most of the Minerian region is mountainous and swept by cliffs, the major cities themselves have been constructed on flat ground. Mineria proper lies on the coastal flatgrounds, covered with soft, arable earth and smaller vegetation. The Gulf of Mineria, a great body of water that has protected the region from the Storm and has provided port and food to the city for millennia, has served as a major tourist attraction, despite the pollution it has taken over the octades. The mountainous areas, though high in altitude, predominantly consist of high-up plateaus suitable for human living and animal grazing, which is why the Montagneri community continues to hold a significant presence in the region. The smaller city of Morna in the north of the city-province lies surrounded by cliffs, which rapidly descend from the plateaus, creating a sheltered beach that has protected the city from wind. Across the city lie the Twin Isles, two semi-inhabited islands (mostly on account of local fishermen) that enclose a passage, which served as an important trade route to west coast of the island prior to the Calming.