History of Bailen Island

The first families come to the island seeking fortune (including the Foracks and the Weekes.) The base is built up. Over the two years, four more expeditions go to the continent. No one returns. The base is called Fort Bailen, which leads to the name Bailen Island.

Three French ships show up and establish a military presence on the island. The British claim they discovered the island; the French claim that no one has claimed the continent yet and thus it’s all open. It’s very, very tense. The Baudin family arrives with the first French troops. The French send their own expeditions to the continent, and they all fail too

In a remarkable move, after months of negotiation, the French and British decide to join forces to try to conquer Umbra. This is the start of the Stonesthrow War. The two bases are opened into a single divided settlement with two colonial governments. The words “Ecumene” and “Umbra” become the de facto names of the city and Obscura, based on testimony of the most cogent returning soldier

Weekes and Outterridges and Foulds win the right to create a canal to bridge the island. Dutch families arrive to build the canal, with influx of Brazilians and Argentines. The Houses become established as forces in this period as their wealth becomes astronomical. The Canal Council comes into being, with the Canal Police, which are the foundation of the Ecumene government. The docks grow into a separate community as only experienced sailors can navigate the Sound between Umbra and Ecumene, and they quickly become insular and unknowable. During this time, memory work is discovered by Forrack research and integrated into army practice, crudely, to relieve phantom wounds in soldiers.

Ecumene flourishes in the post-Dobby Affair peace. The university is founded, which bears immediate fruit in the development of new drugs (including Whisper Teas) and better memory refinement techniques, many of which are outgrowths of crude inventions during the Dobby Affair. The surviving Houses solidify power and gather new industries. The military has been slowly increasing the occupation, and more new goods are starting to come back to Ecumene. Panpsychism becomes more popular, and panpsychist rituals start infiltrating common practice.

Rebuilding after the storm solidifies the Council’s power. Over four years, the majority of the damage is fixed and the colony is back on track, but better provided for storms. Military operations resume. The first blush of Objectivism appears in responses to the growing culture power of Panpsychism. All modern infrastructure of the city is built during this period, notably the docks and factories in the south, and the waterfront on the French side in the north, as well as the more efficient farms around the city and the coastal vacation and fishing area to the east. It’s a period of peace and cooperation mostly, but the military grows in strength and colonial support makes all of Bailen a bit dependent on the French and British.

The new detente creates a more efficient system of law for Bailen, and ironically everyone thrives. The military increases operations and systematizes shipping off island with a “bucket” system to divide unknowable goods as they are found and shipped. The Council grows and gets influence from academia and faiths. The Houses start a long, slow, and mostly bloodless sniping over projects and power grabs. University research unleashes flora-pharmaceuticals for real, and florists start springing up all over Ecumene. Panpsychism continues to grow, and a number of small faiths pop up around Ecumene from time to time. Memory research produces modern Archivists, after a number of earlier, less efficient forms.

The canal tax brings a flood of money into Ecumene, making the main families even richer. Development continues on the island with minor sniping between Houses. The university grows into a world-class institution under Forack guidance. LaPointes discover wildly successful perfumes and become the dominant cultural force on the French side, ushering in wild new cultural movement. At the same time, Palermo Baile and Little Brazil get “discovered” by the rest of Ecumene, and a new generation of Ecumenes start visiting those areas for drugs, music, and dance. An ugly, ugly gang war happens that creates a lot of violence and death in the criminal sector that rarely touches the upper class. Objectivism organizes with force early in this period, becoming the social club of the rich and influential.

It becomes clear the Baudins lost, and they turtle to prevent becoming a minor House. A detente exists between Houses, but it’s clearly a breather while people figure out what to do. The Harrimans are becoming established in Ecumene society. Criminal families have begun to shift because of funds that slipped into the underworld during the last House fight, but no move has been made yet. There are moves by the British and French to escalate the occupation for reasons unknown. Everyone is waiting for a shoe to drop.