Savoie Maritime

Savoie Maritime

A view of the Haute-Ville (Uptown) of Savoie Maritime.
Founder	Potato321
Map	Creative 1.12
Warp	SavoieMaritime

Savoie Maritime is a french-speaking island located in the south-west of the Project City Build (PCB) Creative 1.12 map. It borders the city of West Somewhere to its West, with Barcalos to its North.

History

Naming

The name Savoie, originally a region of France, is a combination of the french verb "to know"; Savoir, and the term for an intelligent or philosophical person; un Savant. This is the name of a current department of France, Savoie, which at the time of the island's discovery was under Italian control under the name Savoia. Being an island, along with the colonial style of the time, it only made sense to add the word Maritime to form Savoie Maritime

Early Times

The Island of Savoie, discovered in 1732 by the renowned French explorer Potato321, was at first nothing but a small, poor fishing colony to the French Crown, but when massive coal deposits where discovered in 1801, the island was flooded by immigrant workers from neighbouring colonies, and soon became an economic powerhouse in the region. After 20 straight years of overmining, the island's coal reserves where depleted, and with it, its status in the French Monarchy.

During that same time, the French Revolution was also taking place. The poor, unemployed and radical population of Savoie Maritime had an extreme lack of confidence towards the newly-forming French Empire, and staged a coup d'état in the streets of the city. Napoleon, the at-the-time emperor of France, established the Autorité gouvernemental de Savoie Maritime (Governmental Authority of Savoie Maritime) and made Savoie a self-governing autonomous overseas territory of France.

Economic Revival

At the fall of the French Empire and the establishment of the still current République Française, the economy of Savoie was still in shambles. With nothing but a long-abandoned coal industry, an uneducated and impoverished population, and little to no federal funding due to its self-governing autonomous status in the French Government, the island's future did not look prosperous. But, in 1914 when World War I broke out in Europe, the French mainland started beefing up its military establishments throughout its colonies. Savoie Maritime received much needed funds, which it used to transition its economy from industrial to service-based.

Part of the Centre-Ville (Downtown) of Savoie Maritime

Barely surviving the hardships of the Great Depression, the outbreak of World War II was a lifesaver for Savoie Maritime. The government of France immediately chose Savoie for its top-secret nuclear development program due to its remote location. This program Revitalized the economy and infrastructure of the island, with the construction of a massive nuclear research stronghold and bunker, and the island-wide Trans-Île Route 1 highway.

Modern district of Savoie Maritime

The french nuclear program managed to remain entirely undiscovered until construction was being done on the Casino and Hotel in early 2018, where part of the nuclear bunker was unearthed.

Modern Savoie

Modern-day Savoie currently has heavily tourism and oil driven economy, with the largest proven oil reserves on PCB in its Zone economic exclusive (Exclusive Economic Zone), and its delicate European architecture. With no sales, income, gambling or property taxes, it's also a haven for the wealthy. Foreign investment, especially in the banking sector, are also driving the once impoverished island to being once again a regional economic superstar.

Thanks to this, and regional diplomatic stability, the skyline of the city has changed drastically. In the Modern District of Savoie (right), there are the tallest and second tallest buildings of the island. At 9 and 8 floors respectively, they are by no means skyscrapers, but for the small island they are quite large.

Geography and Demographics

Savoie Maritime is a mountainous island located in the Phoenix Straight, and at it's highest point, [Mount. Savoie] has an elevation of 159m above sea level. The city itself is split between the Haute-de-Ville (Downtown) and Base-de-Ville (Lowtown) regions. There is only one staircase to get to the Centre-Ville, which has become somewhat of a tourist attraction. The island, being very rocky, does not have any beaches, but does feature an indoor waterpark.

Not many plants are native to the island, mostly mosses and shrubs that can grow in its harsh climate. The landscape is comparable to that of the island of Newfoundland, in eastern Canada.

View of the city from a helicopter, Potato Petrol oil rig in the background.

The most recent island-wide census conducted by the [Bureau officiel de la statistique de Savoie Maritime] (Official Bureau of Statistics of Savoie Maritime) from 2005 found the population to be just over 300 people. This may not seem like a lot, however the people of Savoie Maritime are some of the best-educated in the world, with average intelligence rivaling those of South Korea and the United States. In addition to that, GDP per capita is relatively high, at about $83,000 USD annually. To pair with this, the life expectancy is the highest on PCB, at 89 years for men and 96 years for women.

The small population of roughly 300 is nearly 100% white, and almost everyone is ethnically Northern or Western European, with a very small percentage of ethnic Slavs from the mining era of the Island. The median age is relatively young, at 29 years, and the youth (17 and under) make up 17% of the population. The elderly (55+) make up 9%, young adults (18-29) 42%, and adults/middle-aged (29-55) also make up 32% of the population. The island is predominately female, with men only making up 43% of the population. 97% of people identify as Roman Catholic, with the remaining 3% being divided between atheist/non-beleivers at 2% and all other religions making up <1% each.

Conveniently yet strangely required by the census, the average person owns 0.23 cats and 0.09 dogs, meaning that on a per capita basis cats are more common than dogs.

Government

The government of Savoie Maritime is a Democratic Republic, bound by Les lois fondamentales du Savoie Maritime (The Fundamental laws of Savoie Maritime) that acts as the island's constitution. Under this constitution, universal rights of the citizens and the responsibilities of the government, as well as the electoral system are proclaimed.

The island's Head of State is the Prime Minister, who is chosen by the people from one two candidates selected by the 5 elected representatives that with the Prime Minister form the government of Savoie Maritime. The Prime Minister and these 5 representatives meet daily in the Assemblée Nationale, the island's capital building, to: vote on, modify, and enact laws; manage the municipality of the Ville de Savoie Maritime; and manage the island's foreign policy.

There are no political parties in Savoie Maritime. Every candidate runs on their own principals and ideas of what changes they think the island of Savoie will benefit from the most.

In June of 2018, after an island-wide referendum, Savoie Maritime joined the nation of the Grand Republic of Diuettium. The vote was 29% to remain independent against 71% to join, mainly wanting additional funding for infrastructure and less barriers between inter-city trade and transportation.

The national anthem of Savoie Maritime, keeping in touch with its french roots, is La Marseillaise, the current national anthem of France.