The Burgue is the eponymous capital city of the Republic of The Burgue. For centuries it has stood as the preeminent center of human culture in northern Mesogea, long serving as a beacon to human peoples from a variety of nations and backgrounds, ranging from old moneyed aristocracy to shipbuilders. But in recent decades, as warring human powers have driven the faerish folk and others from their homelands, more and more have sought refuge in The Burgue, particularly in the city’s Gloamingside neighbourhood, now called Carnival Row. Barred from advancement in human society, they are relegated to service jobs and manual labour. Increasingly, this has lead to mounting tensions between the newcomers and working class humans.
Flag
The Flag
of the Republic of the Burgue consists of a azure equilateral triangle on the hoist. An eight pointed star encircled by eight more eight pointed stars. Red stripes along the top and bottom. An azure bear rampant on a field of argent, and ending into a swallowtail fly.
History
The Burgue was founded nearly 1,200 years ago by a nomadic human tribe called the Beorn, a word meaning bear in their tongue — as evidenced in the bear flag that still flies over the city, as well as in the ethos of its people. Early on, theirs was a simple village on the muddy banks of the river that shares the tribe’s name, but The Burgue quickly grew from a cluster of wattle-and-daub huts into a city-state hewn from stone. For much of its history, it was home to a powerful monarchy, governing a belt of territory still known (somewhat wistfully) as the Beornlands. And as the city’s sphere of influence grew beyond the Beornlands, so too did its ambitions. An age of discovery blossomed. Ships were dispatched across the Great Main to the homelands of the fae and the fauns, where the Burguish Crown added a wealth of colonies and protectorate states to its holdings. It was around this time that the King declared himself Emperor, inaugurating the Burguish Empire. So it remained until around 150 years prior to the events in our story, when a Parliamentary uprising ended the monarchy and the city transitioned to become the centre of a democratic republic, with an elected Chancellor in place of the Emperor. However, in the intervening century, as other ascending human powers (such as the Pact) began to chip away at The Burgue’s former Empire, a great cultural anxiety has welled beneath the proud veneer of Burguish life, fuelling a growing nostalgia for the city’s imperial legacy.
Politics
- see main article
The Burgue is ruled by a Parliamentary Republic that consists of two factions of politicians vying for control of the city, with the rights of the immigrants at the forefront of political debate. Above it all rules the Chancellor, who sets the schedule for Parliament and is able to strike down any motion that he sees fit.
Behind the scenes
Most of the characters of Carnival Row reside in The Burgue.