Benarbor
| Benarbor | |
| Metropolitan Area | |
| Flag of Benarbor | Coat of Arms of Benarbor |
| Flag | Coat of Arms |
| Country | File:Freethinker.png The Freethinker Commonwealth |
| Established | 1688 |
| Mayor - Special Representative |
Dale Windrush - Abha Amris |
| Legislature | Benarbor Assembly |
| Population | 2,359,000,000 |
| ISO | - |
| Postal code | (FTC) BE01 - BE99 |
| Website | www.cityofbenarbor.gov.ftc |
Benarbor is a large 'City State' and the principal city and port on the southern coast of the Freethinker Commonwealth. It is the second largest urban conurbation in the country, and is the cultural and economic heart of the Green Valley region, the most heavily populated area of the Commonwealth, and a significant centre of trade, industry and the arts nationally. It is the largest transfer point by volume in the country in terms of trade, both internal and external, and is also home to many government and private institutions and corporate bodies.
Founded originally as "Saint Benedine" by the Pantocratorians in 1688 (Standard Calender|SC), the city is one of the original eighteen colonies of the Mainland Dominion, and famously was the last of the great city states to enter the established Commonwealth at the end of the Freethinker Secession War. The legacy of these conflicts, and the location of Benarbor as the seat of the displaced government during the Second Moonstone War, has fostered the image of the city as Navarre's great rival, and the metropolice is fiercely independent of the northern capital.
The city retains large scale industrial and service sector companies, and in the aftermath of the Fargon Crisis regained a significant amount of its former power and influence, alongside the other, non-Navarrian metropolices.
History
Toponymy
The city was named after St Benedict, the slight corruption of the name deriving from placeholder maps. The distinctive spelling was adopted to differentiate from other places named for the same figure. It became common to shorten this to "Benedine" or even just "Bene".
Residents of the city as known by two distinct names; Arborians and Benedines. The official distinction is that "Arborian" is used to denote institutions, placenames and descendents of the Midlonian colonisation, and "Benedine" likewise for the earlier Pantocratian period. However, the differing words are more likely to be used to denote a socioeconomic standing or viewpoint, "Arborian" being indicative of an upper- or middle-class body or sporting institution, with "Benedine" likewise used for working-class or industrial purposes. Both labels can be used as a perojative in some contexts.
Geography
Benarbor sits at the lower end of the Green Valley, stretching from the Eastern shore of the Crescent Sea to the Western extremity of the Green Sea.
Political Geography
Government
As with most of the large metropolices of the Commonwealth, the city has its own elected Assembly and Mayor, with local legislative and judicial powers. There is also an elected Special Representative to the Freethinker Parliament.
Economy
Benarbor, like the rest of the Commonwealth, has a mixed industrial and service economy, with a wide range of industries represented. GDP per capita is second only to Navarre within the Commonwealth, and the city is the major economic hub of the South.
Benarbor is a major centre of Freestian industry, and has the highest concentration per capita of heavy and hi-tech manufacturers in the country.
Major firms based in the area include: