Salisbury
This article is about the Gabon borough & capital city
| Salisbury The City of Salisbury | |
|---|---|
 View of the Capital from Portsmouth | |
| Sovereign state | Grand Duchy of Varkonia |
| Constituent country | Chancellery of Gabon |
| Region | Salisbury |
| Administrative HQ | Salisbury Town Hall |
| City Authority | BritishWanderer (Lord High Chancellor) Gobblin (Vice Chancellor) |
| Councillors | Tvman999 OstenVonStolz |
| Location | -3000 , -2300 |
Salisbury is a city and the provincial capital of Gabon, it is the largest city by area and second by population within the Grand Duchy of Varkonia. The local and provincial authority is Gabon's Lord Council, which resides in Salisbury proper and meets in Salisbury's historical town hall. The Capital boasts a varied array of builds, from grand to homely.
Salisbury is on the western side of the Elizabeth Bay and lies in the middle of the temperate forests which make up a majority of Gabon's territory. It was founded as a settlement town in June 2018 and formally became the capital city of the Chancellery of Gabon [Formally the Principality of Gabon] in July 2018.
Timeline of Notable Events throughout the History of Salisbury
Founding & Development of Salisbury Proper
June 2018
Queen GetSkinny's letters patentof 2018 announced the foundation of the land claims of Gabon and thus the settlement of Salisbury. Within its first period, Salisbury had excavated a large area in the centre of the forest, this set off the beginning of the quarry industry with reasonable sized mineral deposits located under the topsoil. The sizable quarry was the first large scale project of its kind in the mainland of Gabon, with the goals that the plentiful amount of stone and minerals would be utilised to jump start the construction industry.
Originally the citizenry was small-scale, with most notable citizens being GetSkinny as the Queen, BritishWanderer as Chancellor {Appointed in June 2018} and Tvman999 as the discoverer of the lands that would become Gabon. Soon after the founding of the state however, the prospect of grand new lands, the potential for wealth and influence in an upcoming nation attracted citizens from across the server, most notably Gobblin, who travelled from MTA to assist in the digging of the quarry and was crucial in planning the initial constructions of Salisbury. ComradeNick from the HJE was also a noteworthy figure who visited Salisbury in its early days and gifted the government diamond tools which greatly aided in the excavation of the quarry and in bringing Salisbury off the ground.
One of the earliest structures to be built was the factory building, with the first factory, a compactor being donated by Mount Augusta, created by Mayor Ahrimanne in particular. Following this, Salisbury's train station was slowly dug underground around 20 blocks from the quarry itself with the first completed rails to Bloom and Varkonia within this time period. This underground rail construction was overseen by Chancellor BritishWanderer who is also credited with the construction of the original Bakery, Storehouse and Mckinley gardens which were the projects built around the quarry and were the start of what we now know as Salisbury. The Bakery built at this time is the oldest building within the Chancellery of Gabon.
In late June, with vast construction underway to the southeast and within the capital of Salisbury, council concern was placed on the damage that local labourers were committing on the native flora and fauna. This opened a fierce debate within the Salisbury council, some councillors stating that protecting the native habitat from any further construction would hamper any economic growth and throw Salisbury and it's surrounding area into turmoil while others believing it necessary to protect the wildlife on a land that was not always theirs to begin with and could not be recreated in the future. This led Her Majesty to make a tough decision, ultimately siding with the native wildlife and by letters patent created defensive measures to protect the natural wildlife from any further destruction. The Queen later conceded a compromise to quell a minority of the councillors by allowing members of the privy council of Salisbury from time to time to authorise the destruction of any particular instance of flora so long as saplings of the respective fauna was planted elsewhere. This patent is generally regarded as saving the once rapid decline of the natural trees around the capital and set a track for development that is still followed to the present day.
July 2018
Remarking on the quantities of resources and minerals being extracted from the central quarry, Her Majesty The Queen GetSkinny informed her then Privy Council {BritishWanderer, Gobblin & Tvman999} of her desire to construct a palace fit to house the royal family and council meetings, later to be known as Balmoral Castle. There were numerous debates on the placement of Balmoral, with its initial construction site being moved and adjusted at her Majesty's request, settling on a stretch of land located 100 blocks west of the quarry. In July, construction officially began with the approval and the laying of the first stones by Gabon's government. The original designs of Balmoral were drawn up by Councillor Gobblin who envisioned a stunning castle on a grand scale, containing nearly fifty rooms, wide corridors and boasting a sizeable courtyard. It was planned to have the capacity to hold not only the Queen's residential quarters but the internal and external government gatherings, with three large meeting halls. In order to meet the demands of such an ambition project, a glass factory and concretery were constructed on Worchester road, these two buildings would mark the foundation of what would later become the suburb of Winchester within the Capital.
However due to budget constraints and a skilled labour shortage as of an outbreak of dysentery, only a brief foundation of the castle and a small meeting room was ever laid down and as such construction was ceased in late July at the dismay of the Queen.
As Queen GetSkinny enriched the lives of her and the royal family, the privy council {Made up of BritishWanderer, Gobblin & Tvman999 at this time} was appointed by GetSkinny to better the life of much of the citizenry. The council followed through excellently with the construction and renovation of the Grand Station and Royal Factory, positioned on Balmoral avenue and Worchester road these buildings provided ambitious entrepreneurs the foundations needed to improve the quality and quantity of their goods while providing a transport network from with to export and import to the international stage. Rail connections to Salisbury were expanded to include Alpoko in the south, Westmore in the north and the excavation of a rail line to MTA.
The construction of these two buildings set the tone and direction from which Salisbury would take while under the Monarchy, following to improve architecture and infrastructure under the policy of productivity for the local economy while the concerns of the local citizens were brushed aside. The roads during this time were constructed as medium sized 5 block wide, straight plain passages out of stone slabs built for the sole reason of passing wagons and large amount of citizenry, leaving no room for greenery or public spaces. These roads would make up the three main avenues of Salisbury as, Worchester Road, Balmoral Avenue and Warwick Drive.
In late July, the Principality of Gabon formally joined governments with the Grand Duchy of Varkonia and while not explicitly having an immediate effect upon the city of Salisbury due to its size, the economical and social benefits that have come since the signing of the treaty cannot be understated. The treaty bought with it the investments of great sums of wealth internally and abroad, funding large scale public projects such as the construction of Salisbury's second international station, upgrading the total number of rail lines from three to eight.
During this time, Salisbury's leading government ministers and monarchy had been playing an instrumental role in drafting the original Charter for the United Northern Congress, which reflected upon the capital of Salisbury with the document being signed by each contracting party at the location of Balmoral Castle. This was displayed at the bottom of the Charter alongside the date.
The Gabonese Lord High Chancellor, BritishWanderer served the United Northern Congress for 118 days as the Alliance Spokesperson and was the last serving Spokesperson at it's disbandment on 13th July 2019
Period of Economic & Political Stagnation
August 2018
Around this time, Salisbury's leading government ministers and monarchy especially that of GetSkinny and BritishWanderer had been playing an instrumental role in drafting the original Charter for the United Northern Congress, which reflected upon the capital of Salisbury with the document being signed by each contracting party at the location of Balmoral Castle. This was displayed at the bottom of the Charter alongside the date. The Gabonese Lord High Chancellor, BritishWanderer served the United Northern Congress for 118 days as the Alliance Spokesperson and was the last serving Spokesperson at the alliance's disbandment on 13th July 2019.
During August the initial productivity slowed down in Salisbury, with much of the Council taking up residence in neighbouring Varkonia to assist in policy due to their appointment as Varkonian Senators representing the Province of Gabon. This left Salisbury somewhat stagnant, with no buildings being constructed during this time. Although Councillor Gobblin was hard at work making blueprints of the borough of Winchester, continuing on the construction of the surrounding areas of the concretery.
September 2018
The most pressing issue during this period was that the capital government was currently in debt to Varkonia and other neighbouring countries and was struggling to find the payment even after implementing measures to cut all unnecessary expenditure, all construction projects had been halted the previous month due to the lack of resources and lack of active councillors. In order to assist in the payments, the council implemented the royal tax which was a strict diamond tax levied on all Gabonese citizens and their wealth every month, out of all the laws passed to remedy the situation, the royal tax would end up being the most controversial of these. These unfavourable factors in Salisbury led to many citizens leaving to spend this duration in Varkonia or other provinces.
Of those who stayed, their taxes were used to fund projects such as Balmoral Castle and the surrounding area, foreign trips and material imports on behalf of the royal family. Very little was left to the council to pay off the outstanding debts that were owed by Salisbury. Understandably the citizenry were beginning to become discontent with the royal family's practices and their apparent apathy towards Salisbury's situation, although republicanism was not uncommon within Salisbury, it was especially heightened during this time.
October 2018
Perhaps one of the least active periods in Salisbury's history
November 2018
After being settled in and becoming an integral part of the Varkonian Senate, BritishWanderer, still Chancellor of Gabon returned home to Salisbury to continue to work on the city alongside Councillor Gobblin. Im
September - December 2018
The frenzy of construction that had taken place to accommodate the influx citizens slowly ground to a halt in late September due to varying factors. The most pressing being that the capital government was currently in debt and was implementing measures to cut all unnecessary expenditure, all construction projects were halted, with the builders being out of the work this had a profound effect on the capital and its local service economy. In order to remedy the situation, some of the council concluded that while cutting taxes and increasing the debt may be the most radical solution, it might be enough to jump start the economy, the royal tax being the most controversial of these.
The royal tax was used to fund projects such as Balmoral Castle and the surrounding area, it was also spent on foreign trips and large food & material imports for the royal family. The royal family, whose usual place of residence was in Salisbury, were not seen since mid august and the citizenry were beginning to be discontent with the royal family and their apathy towards the potentially disastrous situation which could befall Salisbury. This reached a boiling point with the peaceful Green Flag Protests which occurred in Mckinley park and the surrounding streets, the Council's response to this was to officially cancel the royal tax and set the path out to jump start Salisbury's economy again. This act by the council of Salisbury would be the first domino in which would eventually result in the Gabonese Civil War.
In early November, tensions between her majesty and her councillors had reached its boiling point and civil war was declared. With Her Majesty allowing the military forces of Gabon to commit what they must for a victory, they quickly attempted to stamp out rebel sympathisers within the capital with small skirmishes taking place in alleyways and parks. Many sympathisers tried to hide from the loyalists however most were found, arrested or murdered in cold blood. Rebel forces led by BritishWanderer entered the capital from the south alongside the bombing raid ordered by Mickale of Varkonia. This act devastated the centre of the city, with many buildings such as the train station and church being obliterated beyond recognition. The devastation and the horrific scenes that they witnessed was said to have put the rebel forces into a shock upon their entrance to the city.
With the capital being seized by the rebels and the royal family surrendering, peace was officially announced by BritishWanderer on November 14th. The citizenry, although disgusted in the actions that the rebel forces and BritishWanderer took to achieve victory, mostly accepted the new government, with others emigrating to neighbouring nations. The abolishment of the monarchy and the establishment of an executive lord's council freed up a lot of wealth that was held by the royal family, which the council swiftly used for the betterment of Salisbury.
Period of Internal Recovery & Stabilisation
January - March 2019
The end of the Civil War in Gabon bought about a much-needed period of growth to the nation. The construction industry was given the go ahead once again with Vice Chancellor Gobblin leading the efforts. One of the larger projects took place on the grounds of Salisbury's ruined church which was reconstructed into St Varkanos Cathedral, which stood as the tallest building in Gabon at its construction. While the rebuilding efforts were continuing, Chancellor BritishWanderer took it upon himself to revisit the policies of Salisbury and restructure them from the ground up, cutting taxes and establishing the Sovereign Fund which would be used as a safety net for the capital government and its citizenry.
The impoverished housing district of Melbourne was built to house those left homeless by the Civil war, the messy-style apartment buildings were built in a close knit fashion to allow as many citizens to inhabit as humanely possible. The apartments are homely and are purely funded by the Gabonese treasury allowing residents to forego any worry about housing payments. Grants were also provided to the district of Winchester to provide more environmental benefits to the local housing and businesses. Winchester is widely regarded as one of the prettier parts of Salisbury thanks to the additions of the BnB and the Gloriana Cafe, both constructions overseen by the Chancellor and his Vice counterpart.
In late December, the Council came together to formalise and negotiate the funding and construction of a sturdy wall, 12 metres in height and 6 metres in width, surrounding Salisbury. The negotiations took 13 hours and ended with a fully funded wall, slight changes were made to the design which made it overall more defensible, in line with the policy set out by the government. As of early May, the wall is completed around all of the districts, with the erection of flags and their poles being the last remaining tasks. The wall outlines the city boundary of Salisbury while providing a defensive benefit to all of Salisbury's citizenry.
Under Chancellery decree in January, the quarry was safely filled in with large amounts of stone, sand and topsoil, aiding in the construction of what would become Salisbury Square with the infamous Great Oak as the centrepiece of the square. The underground section would later become the newer Salisbury International Station in late April 2019.
The recovery of Salisbury after the outbreak of the civil war was swift under the careful administration of the new government. Books and art were heavily encouraged, which such works of 'Tender Night in Gabon' & 'Gabon in Spring' were written during this time. Salisbury's growing cultural habits later led to the push of the construction of the Nox Theatre in Hackney and the capital museum in Portsmouth in May 2019.
Period of Growth & Expansion of Salisbury Proper
April - June 2019
Capitalising on the vast progress that the Lord's Council had made in regards to expanding the amount of available wealth to the government, Vice Chancellor Gobblin designed extensive renovations and new additions to the centre of the Capital. Most notably was the Capital Depository, swaths of Winchester ,
Manmade islands/theatre/
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finishedwall arch
Administrative Boroughs
Independent Assessment Committee Survey (IACS)
In early April of 2019 to November of 2019, an independent assessment survey was conducted on the six boroughs within the capital city boundaries. This survey assessed the quality of education, housing and service facilities, additionally touching on the economical benefits and social aspects of individual residents. The committee released ratings in each category for each borough and advice on how to improve or to continue the current state of the districts.
Melbourne
'A town within a city'. The administrative division of Melbourne is 98 blocks crosswise with the highest point of the district standing at 17 blocks above ground level (70). There is a clear display of a lack of safety regulations with rampant violations on the residential buildings, overhanging structures are not sufficiently supported, stairs to reach other stories act more as a climbing frame than a reasonable flight of stairs. Vines and vast stretches of leaves have overrun the walls and roofs of Melbourne, the district is in a dilapidated state with no form of active education, sports or other service facilities besides an inn, the 'coughing swine'.
Quality of Life
The QoL within Melbourne is nowhere near acceptable levels, the residents of this particular area can expect to be at the lowest rung on the social ladder, with a majority of inhabitants being unemployed with little to no wealth to their name.
Most residents shall be born and die in this borough, unable to be buried in the grounds of St Varkanos Cathedral, many residents will be buried in the unmaintained graveyard in the centre of Melbourne. There is a single public toilet within the district of Melbourne, in close proximity to the graveyard however in no better shape, the potential for diseases and festering bacteria leaves the toilet a mockery of the more advance toilets seen in other parts of Salisbury. No educational facility exists within this borough, with most parents taking to home schooling their children or allowing them to learn on the streets.
The culture of Melbourne is that of a very close knit community, almost all residents know each other and gossip spreads like wildfire through the tight alleys and over balconies. Happiness is surprisingly above average, a majority of residents rating their individual happiness averaged around 6.3/10~, many remarking on the hard working and community collective of the borough in contrast to the more individualistic styles of the other boroughs. There is a real sense of family within the close knit streets which is compounded further by the government's unnatural desire to construct tall and externally pretty looking buildings to effectively wall in the impoverished area of the district, blocking the view from anyone outside. In addition to the boundary constructions, higher quality streets and numerous gardens have been laid down though at no adverse benefit to the residents and more serving a facade for residents in neighbouring boroughs. Because of this, residents of Melbourne hold strong opinions about not only the government however on their neighbouring districts as well, with many residents hurling abuse at anyone seen to act 'above' the inhabitants of Melbourne.
Notable Buildings
Serving the residents of Melbourne with drink, food and a place to sleep is the aforementioned inn, the 'coughing swine'. A butchers, 'Paps Meat' is also within the vicinity, serving fresh cuts of meat from various animals for affordable prices. Although lacking in major industry, Melbourne is home to the Gabon Florist which produces 80% of Salisbury's output of grass and various flowers.
Government Statistics
These government statistics have been have been collected over 6 months and all surveys included have a sample size of (10)
It is known as the '
Overall citizenry happiness index ~ 6.3/10