Curaçao - Revision history

Gigermann at 15:13, 20 February 2023

2023-02-20T15:13:55Z

Gigermann at 04:11, 20 February 2023

2023-02-20T04:11:58Z

Gigermann at 04:10, 20 February 2023

2023-02-20T04:10:16Z

Gigermann at 19:48, 16 February 2023

2023-02-16T19:48:31Z

Gigermann: /* History */

2022-12-26T20:21:40Z

‎History

Gigermann: /* Government */

2022-12-26T20:18:10Z

‎Government

Gigermann at 19:49, 26 December 2022

2022-12-26T19:49:54Z

Gigermann at 19:50, 23 December 2022

2022-12-23T19:50:33Z

Gigermann: /* History */

2022-12-23T19:46:58Z

‎History

Gigermann: /* History */

2022-12-23T19:45:24Z

‎History

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 |Location        = 12N 69W
 |Level           = 8
-|Population      = 2500 (-1)
+|Population      = Willemstad: 8000 (-0)
 |Forts           = 5
 |Commodities     = Hides, Slaves

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 [[File:Curacao1791-cropped.jpg|800px]]
 <p>See [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cura%C3%A7ao Wikipedia]</p>
-<p>Curaçao began as an anchorage for tradeships, but quickly grew into a sizable city governed by rich tradesmen. Soon the large companies own land there, and Curaçao becomes the major trading port on the Spanish Main. Here trading and smuggling earn a reputation that anything can be acquired for the right price; Spanish produce smuggled from everywhere along the Main is bought here by Dutch merchants, who happily exchange it for European products that can be profitably smuggled to the Spanish.</p>
+<p>Curaçao began as an anchorage for tradeships, but quickly grew into a sizable city governed by rich tradesmen. Soon the large companies owned land there, and Curaçao becomes the major trading port on the Spanish Main. The WIC made Curaçao a free port in 1674, giving it a key position in international trade networks. Partly because of this, it became one of the most prosperous islands in the Caribbean in the 17th century. Here trading and smuggling earn a reputation that anything can be acquired for the right price; Spanish produce smuggled from everywhere along the Main is bought here by Dutch merchants, who happily exchange it for European products that can be profitably smuggled to the Spanish.</p>
 =History=

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 |Population      = 2500 (-1)
 |Forts           = 5
-|Commodities     = Hides
+|Commodities     = Hides, Slaves
 |Merch           = -0
 }}

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 |Location        = 12N 69W
 |Level           = 8
-|Population      = 2500
+|Population      = 2500 (-1)
 |Forts           = 5
 |Commodities     = Hides

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 <p>The slave trade becomes the island-city’s most profitable trade, peaking in 1662. Not only are the natives sold here, but slaves imported from Africa are brought here for their distribution throughout the Caribbean to friendly colonies. It is not long before European rebels suffer the same fate in the city’s hastily dug dungeons. Strangely, only pirates remain exempt. Strange, at least, to the rest of the world, who doesn’t face the constant threat of the
 Spanish turning one wrong ledger into a declaration of war—plentiful pirates keep the city fortified as well as draw Spanish ships away to pursue them.</p>
 =Government=

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 =Government=
 <p>The city is run by tradesmen first and foremost, whether officially or not. Laws can be changed as easily as figures on an invoice, if it’s what is best for business. The Dutch West India Company holds all the true power here.</p>
 =Locations=

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 <p>The tale of this island is as old as the civilization in the Caribbean itself. The Spanish explorer, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alonso_de_Ojeda Alonso de Ojeda], landed here in 1499 while searching for the legendary ‘El Dorado’. Finding no gold, his men settled cattle farms along the southern coast of the island. The native tribes, known as the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arawak Arawak], were easily subdued by a combination gunpowder or disease.</p>
 <p>In 1634, with Spanish power dwindling, Dutch merchants fund a trade center in the natural harbor, creating the ‘city’ of Curaqao. Various names for the new city, like ‘Willemstad’ (a prominent backer of the enterprise) and ‘Schottegat’ (the name of the harbor itself) are debated, but as ‘curacao’ holds a double-meaning (‘land of the giants’ in Spanish, in reference to the tall natives, ‘heart’ in Portuguese, in reference to it being a center for trading), the appeal of a name in multiple languages (and thusly as many merchants as possible) just makes good business, and so makes good sense, and ‘Curaqao’ becomes synonymous with island and city.</p>
-<p>Due to the arid land here, agriculture isn’t at all profitable, so the pioneers (most of them Jewish families from Amsterdam and Brazil) begin trading in cotton, indigo, tobacco and slaves. This island-city quickly rises to prominence as a major center for trade. The Dutch West India Company makes it their unofficial base of operations throughout the New World, employing all manner of good sense (and business tactics) to secure their place.</p>
+<p>Due to the arid land here, agriculture isn’t at all profitable, so the pioneers (most of them Jewish families from Amsterdam and Brazil) begin trading in cotton, indigo, tobacco and slaves. This island-city quickly rises to prominence as a major center for trade. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_West_India_Company Dutch West India Company] makes it their unofficial base of operations throughout the New World, employing all manner of good sense (and business tactics) to secure their place.</p>
 <p>The slave trade becomes the island-city’s most profitable trade, peaking in 1662. Not only are the natives sold here, but slaves imported from Africa are brought here for their distribution throughout the Caribbean to friendly colonies. It is not long before European rebels suffer the same fate in the city’s hastily dug dungeons. Strangely, only pirates remain exempt. Strange, at least, to the rest of the world, who doesn’t face the constant threat of the
 Spanish turning one wrong ledger into a declaration of war—plentiful pirates keep the city fortified as well as draw Spanish ships away to pursue them.</p>