Ellesborg: Difference between revisions
→Later History
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==== Later History ====
At the outbreak of the Great War, Ellesborg was defended by some 3,750 soldiers, drawn from the Naval Infantry and Foreign Legion garrisons as well as local militia. The local naval presence consisted of four gunboats and a torpedo boat, though this was reinforced by a pair of torpedo cruisers prior to the commencement of hostilities. In recognition of the outpost's isolated nature, a series of fortresses had been established in the hills surrounding the city as well as over the harbor. Cryrian entry into the Great War would bring Ellesborg into the conflict as well against neighboring Imperial Coalition colonies and nations. The postwar settlement would see the significant inland expansion of the Mandate, one of the few Cryrian gains in the war, though the subsequent turmoil of the Cryrian Anarchy would once again cause Leidenstad's interest in the area to evaporate, and the EMC was left on the brink of insolvency due to the long disruption in trade.
With the formation of the Union of Free Cities, Ellesborg would become an area of shared sovereignty between Cryria and the UFC, though for the most part the Cryrian side of affairs would be effectively run by the EMC. By this time, the mines had practically run dry, but the Mandate's unique legal status would offer new routes to prosperity. Exempt from many of the regulations of normal Cryrian life yet still maintaining full and direct access to the Cryrian system, Ellesborg would transform itself into a tax haven, becoming an important financial hub for the ever more notoriously secretive Cryrian banking system. Loose restrictions and frequent visits from the wealthy allowed for the development of a thriving gambling industry as well, and the city would go from a mining town to a resort town.
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