The Caribbean [Region] [Crossroads]

[Steckie]

The Caribbean

"I'm sorry to see you here, but if you'd have fought like a man, you needn't hang like a dog."
- Anne Bonny to "Calico Jack" Rackham in prison after he had decided to surrender to pirate hunters instead of fight.
From: "A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates" By Captain Charles Johnson, 1724.

Introduction:
It was here that on the 12th of October 1492 that the Old World and the New World found themselves at the crossroads of something new. For better or for worse, it has happened and the birthplace of the world as we know it now is still a very interesting place.
It is a sea filled with islands of various sizes, bordered on all sides by very diverse nations. The Spanish, British and French all have holdings in and around the Caribbean. The Knights Hospitaller left Malta and are now protecting the Christians in the New World. A group of converted Native Taino and Carib people were allowed to create their own nation, a neutral haven for all who come to them peacefully.
Pirates still roam the seas despite the efforts of the seafaring nations to stop them. These pirates are often supported and supplied by nations that barely have naval power themselves. And then there is the legendary city of Blackbeard, a city on the back of a great beast of the sea, a safe haven for pirates.
The Voudou religion is spreading like wildfire, helped by the many Links that dot the islands. Slave revolts are brewing in many places.

And then there are the nations bordering this sea. Cahokia and France jointly rule over Nouveau Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi, bringing goods upriver to the greatest city on the world. Aztatlan is always looking for ways to weaken the Spanish in the hopes of kicking them out of Mesovespuccia. Spain is using it's hold over northern Cabralia to stay in power and is using Panama to trade with Fusang. The tribes on the Great Plains might not be able to make much of a difference on the political situation in the Caribbean, but they're still a force to be reckoned. And Mayatolli, well who knows what they are plotting in their jungle cities?

Actually, interesting doesn't even begin to describe this place.....



Nations present in the region:
Great Britain (Red)
France (Blue)
Spain (Yellow)
Knights Hospitaller (Green)
Kaya Salina (Purple)
Blackbeards Pirate Kingdom (Not pictured on the map)

Common trade goods:
Ambergris
Cocoa beans
Cotton
Mahogany wood
Rum
Salt
Slaves
Sugar
Tobacco

[Steckie]

Great Britain:


Colony of Lucayan Archipelago and Bermuda
(Consists of the Bahamas, the Turk and Caicos islands and Bermuda)
Dominant culture: British

Short history:
After being stripped of it's native population by the Spanish, the Bahamas were unofficially settled by British colonists.
In later years they became a nest for pirates and British privateers. Famous pirates like Blackbeard had their home on the Bahamas until they relocated when British authorities took over government of the colony.
The Bahamas are close to the sailing routes between Vespuccia and Europe, and shipwrecks are common there. Wrecking those ships can bring in a lot of money for the lucky person finding the ship. By law all salvaged goods are required to be sent to Nassau to be auctioned, the colonial government takes a rather large percentage on every sale.. The Bahamians are taking a very aggressive approach to wrecking, driving others away with violence if needed. They have also started wrecking in the Florida Keys, a Spanish colony.
The Bahamas colony is in a continuiing legal dispute with the Bermuda colony over who can collect salt on the Turks and Caicos islands.

The Turks and Caicos islands are a very popular pirate hideout, but there is no permanent settlement. Salt collectors from Bermuda built a permanent settlement on Grand Turk island, but they only live there for 6 months every year while collecting salt.
There has been massive deforestation by those salt collectors in order to improve their yields. The salt is sold an the whole Vespuccian coast, even up to Newfoundland.
The islands are frequently hit by hurricanes.

Bermuda has quite a different story. When the Flagship of the London Company, the Sea Venture, was caught in a storm they were forced to deliberatly drive the ship on the reefs in order to save the crew and colonists aboard.
The shipwrecked people succeeded in returning to Virginia colony, leaving two men behind to keep the English claim on the island, but they arrived in the middle of a huge famine. They were only saved by an English relief fleet. In later years an official colony was established in Bermuda.
In 1684 the colonial company governing Bermuda was dissolved and the colony became a self-governing colony with the House of Assembly ruling over it and the president of the council being the de-facto governor.
In 1681 the Bermudan salt collectors started building their first permanent settlement on Grand Turk Island, wich they only inhabited for 6 months every year. They are in a legal dispute over these islands with the Bahamas Crown Colony over the rights to collect salt on those islands.
The British government views the Turks and Caicos islands as uncolonised islands for common use because legally a colony can't colonise other places.
Bermuda relies on the indiginous Bermuda Cedar trees for shipbuilding but they only engaged in privateering and whaling for additional profits.

Points of interest:
- Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas. Capital of the colony.
- The Healing Hole, Bimini island, Bahamas. A pool that gets filled with mineral-laden fresh water from underground tunnel during outgoing tides.
- Andros Island, Bahamas. An island that consists of hundreds of smalls islets and cays connected by mangrove forests and tidal swamp lands. It is famous for it's Blue Holes, although those Holes appear all over the Bahamas. It was a pirate's hideout in earlier years.
- Pig Island, Bahamas. An uninhabited island populated by feral swimming pigs.
- Conception Island, Bahamas. An uninhabited island where birds and sea turtles make their nests.
- Kidd's Cove, Great Guana Cay, Bahamas. Named after pirate William Kidd.
- Great Inagua, Bahamas. A large island with several reefs around it. Several treasure ladenships got sunk on those reefs including Spanish galleon Santa Rosa and French Le Count De Paix.
- Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. Became a pirate hideout when the British took control of Nassau.
- Dean's Blue Hole, Long Island, Bahamas. A very deep blue hole about 200 meters deep.
- Acklins island, Bahamas. Contains various Lucayan native sites from before the islands were depopulated of it's natives.
- Town of St George, Bermuda. Oldest city and capital of Bermuda.
- Fort Cunningham, Paget Island, Bermuda. This fortress protects the route from St George Town to the Atlantic. Extensive fortifications have been built there.
- Tucker's Town, Bermuda. Small village of 35 families, has a whaling station.
- Natural Arches Beach, Bermuda. A beach filled with several natural stone arches.
- St David's Island, Bermuda. An island where many Native slaves were brought to and where they were eventually absorbed into the population. They are called 'Mohawks', although there were very few slaves of Mohawk ancestry imported.
- Turks and More than 300 small islands of mostly marches and mangroves.
- Ambergris Cay, where many valuable deposits of ambergris are found.
- Cockburn Town, Grand Turk Island, the capital of the Turks and Caicos islands.
- Salt Cay, and island in the middle of the annual migratory route of the humpback whales from and towards their nursing grounds north of the island Hispaniola.

Notable inhabitants:
John Tinker, governor of the Colony of Lucayan Archipelago and Bermuda

Link Sites:
Nassau, Bahamas. (1st ring)
Natural Arches Beach (1st ring)
The Healing Hole, Bahamas. (2nd ring)
St David's Island (2nd ring)
Morgan's Cove, Andros island, Bahamas. (2nd ring)
Cockburn town, Grand Turk Island (2nd ring)
Kidd's Cove on Great Guana Cay (3rd ring)
Town of St George (3rd ring)

Colony of Jamaica
(Consists of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands)
Dominant culture: British

Short history:
First colonised by the Spanish in 1509, the island was conquered by the English in 1655. The 1500 Spanish settlers were expelled. However the 7000 English troops that captured the island were wrecked by disease until only about 2500 of them where left. The Spanish made several attempts at recapturing the island but eventually they signed a treaty ceding Jamaica and the Cayman islands to England.
The English made Port Royal their main coastal town. It was a haven for pirates for most of that time but in 1692 an earthquake, and the landslides and tsunami that followed, destroyed the city. It lost roughly 3/4 of it's population to the disaster and the following diseases.
The northern part of the city fell into the sea. In 1703 the rebuilding attempt was destroyed by fire, then several hurricanes and a flooding in 1722. It is now 1750 and another fire has just burned down Port Royal again. Kingston, wich lies on the other side of the bay, is now the economic center of the Island.
Jamaica was the site of several large revolts of escaped slaves in the previous decades. A lot of these slaves lived in the mountains where there ancestors had fled to when the British conquered the Island from the Spanish. These so called Maroons used guerilla tactics and caves and canyons that could easily be defended to withstand the British soldiers sent to root them out. In 1740 the British, realising they could not defeat the Maroons, made an agreement with them. The Maroons are now allowed to live in their five free towns. They have their own rulers but there is a British supervisor present in each of those towns, they also agree not to harbor any runaway slaves.
The island is very valuable because of the great revenues of sugar cane and coffee it was able to produce.
It is governed by a crown-appointed governor and a House of Assembly that consisted of rich plantation owners to advice the governor.

Points of interest:
- Kingston, founded by the survivors of the 1692 earthquake it soon became the largest town and new economic center of Jamaica.
- Port Royal, the previous economic center of Jamaica, the ruins of this town are across the bay from Kingston. The latest rebuilding attempt has been destroyed by fire again.
- Spanish Town, capital of Jamaica.
- Accompong, a semi-sovereign city of runaway slaves and Taíno natives. The largest of the Maroon cities and probably the most important. There is a statue of Cudjoe, the greatest of the Maroon leaders here. Cudjoe was a short, dwarf-like man whose brother now rules over this city wich bares his name.
- Trelawny Town, Moore Town, Scott's Pass and Nanny Town. The four other Maroon towns on Jamaica. Of these Nanny Town is probably the most important, it is ruled by the 85 year old Queen Nanny. Nanny Town is the center of Voudou religion on Jamaica, most of the population converted after Queen Nanny did so first. Nanny is a genius when it comes to herbs, she has more knowledge about this than anybody else on the Island.

Notable inhabitants:
Edward Trelawny, Governor of Jamaica.
Sir Henry Moore, plantation owner and educated in law.
Accompong, brother of Cudjoe, the leader of the Maroon War. The city of Accompong is named after him. Current leader of that city.
Robert Duckinfield, plantation owner on Jamaica. He is married to Isabella Miller and has one daughter with her also named Isabella. He has a long standing relationship with Jane Engusson, a free woman of color and has two Mulatto children with her named William and Magaret. Jane and his two mulatto children all appear in his will and receive a significant part of his wealth. Robert is a member of the Colonial Assembly on Jamaica.
Queen Nanny, when she was younger she was a famous leader of the Maroons and is rumoured to have personally freed over 800 slaves. She established Nanny Town and while she is 85 years old she still rules over it. She is an amazing organiser. It is also well known that she is an Obeah woman, a powerfull spellcaster. She has converted to Voudou a few years ago and the religion has become widespread in Nanny Town.

Link Sites:
Port Royal, the Link site lies in the ruins of this city forcing people from Kingston to make the trip across the bay. (2nd ring)
Accompong (3rd ring)
Nanny Town (3rd ring)

Colony of Leeward Islands
(Consists of Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat and Anguilla)
Dominant Culture: British

Short history:
Several smaller islands that where originally discovered by the Spanish but later settled by the English.

Points of interest
- Codrington town, Barbuda island. Site of several slave rebellions during the 1740's. There is still a lot of tension there.
- Indian cave, Barbuda island. There are several native petroglyphs in this cave.
- Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat.

Notable inhabitants:
William Mathew, Jr. Governor of Leeward Islands.
William Codrington, plantation owner on Barbuda.

Link Sites: Indian Cave (2nd ring)
Codrington town (3rd ring)

Colony of Barbados
(Consists of Barbados)
Dominant culture: British

Short history:
Discovered by the Spanish, this island wasn't settled until the English landed in 1625. It's economy was dependant on tobacco for the first years, but they later started farming sugarcane. The island generated a huge amount of trade, in 1660 it was as much as the other English colonies combined. In later years it got surpassed by other colonies but it remained very wealthy.

Points of interest:
- Bridgetown, capital of Barbados. Here you can find the St. Michael's Parish Church and Nidḥe Israel Synagogue, the only synagogue on Barbados. There is a large bridge over the careenage area swamp at the center of Bridgetown. The town takes it's name from this bridge.
- Speightstown, major port and commercial center of Barbados. Ships full of sugar leave here straight for London or Bristol.
- Gun Hill Signal Station, one of the 4 points where guns are stationed to signal in the event of an invasion.
- St Nicholas Abbey, Saint Peter. A large manor and sugar plantation house
- Bathsheba, fishing village. There is a large, mushroom shaped rock just out of the coast of this village.

Notable inhabitants:
Henry Grenville, governor of Barbados
Sir John Gay Alleyne, owner of St Nicholas Abbey through his marriage with Christian Dottin. Both are younger than 30.

Link sites:
Speightstown (1st ring)
St Nicholas Abbey (3rd ring)

[Steckie]

France:


Colonie de Saint-Domingue:
(Consists of Wester part of Hispaniola, Île de la Tortue (Tortuga), Île de la Gonâve, Île-à-Vaches (Cow Island), Les Cayemites, La Navasse)
Dominant culture: French

Short history:
Spain discovered and started to colonise of the island of Hispaniola in the 1490's, but when they started conquering lands on mainland Vespuccia their interest in the island started to decrease. This allowed French buccaneers to first establish a settlement on the island of Tortuga from wich they started raiding Spanish ships. In later years they started establishing colonies on the main island as well. The Spanish formally ceded the western part of Hispaniola to France in 1697.
It is now the richest and most valuable French colony in the Caribbean, it produces more sugar than all British Caribbean islands combined.
The island is the birthplace of the Vodou religion.
There is a large population of mixed-race free people that don't have the same rights as French-born colonists. There is tension between the two groups. These mixed-race people are mostly the offspring of white plantation owners and their colored mistresses.

Points of interest:
- Cap-Français, Hispaniola. Capital of Saint-Domingue
- Port-au-Prince, Hispaniola. A city that started out as a base with a hospital for French buccaneers.
- Léogane, Hispaniola. French harbor town built on the capital of a former Native chiefdom.
- Etang Saumâtre (Brackish Pond), largest lake on the island of Hispaniola.
- Île-à-Vaches (Cow Island), a small island off the southern coast of Hispaniola. It has several large swamps and a mangrove forest in a lagoon.The island is also surrounded by several dangerous shoals, reefs, and rocks that have been the cause of many shipwrecks.
- Fort-Dauphin, strategic fortification on the northern coast of Hispaniola.
- Île de la Tortue (Tortuga Island). This Island was formerly a famous pirate hideout and the capital of Saint-Domingue. The Brethren of the Coast were also primarily based on this Island. These pirates were never really controlled by France and used Tortuga to stash a lot of their booty.

Notable inhabitants:
François Mackandal, houngan (Vodou priest) and maroon leader. He is trying to unite the various bands of maroons and is developing plans to use slaves to poison the meals of their owners. Leads various raids on plantations. Has lost his right arm, it got crushed in a sugarcane press. Is very radical and wants to destroy white colonization on Saint-Domingue
Hubert de Brienne, Comte de Conflans, governor of Saint-Domingue. He is also a Chef d'escadre (squadron commander) of the French navy.
Marguerite Brunet (stage name Mademoiselle Montansier), a 20 year old actress that followed her love and his theater group to Saint-Domingue.

Link sites:
Cap-Français (1st ring)
Etang Saumâtre (3rd ring)
Fort-Dauphin (3rd ring)

Colonie de Grand Guadeloupe:
(Consists of Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, Les Saintes)
Dominant Culture: French

Short history:
Discovered by Columbus in 1493, this island wasn't colonised until 1635 by the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique. They crushed the local population military and seized control over the island. In 1674 the island was formally made a part of the Kindom of France.
Initially tobacco was farmed, but after the appearance of sugar cane on the Caribbean islands this soon shifted. The sugar plantations made Guadeloupe into a very profitable colony for the French crown.
The small islands nearby are named La Désirade, Les Saintes, and Marie-Galante and are under jurisdiction of Guadeloupe.

Points of interest:
- The islands of Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre together make the largest island of Guadeloupe, they are separated by a narrow sea channel named Rivière Salée (Salt River).
- Gourbeyre, Basse-Terre. A village that houses the Fort Louis Delgres, a very important fortification for the French. It was considered impenetrable during earlier British attacks.
- La Grande Soufrière (Big Sulphur Outlet), active volcano on Basse-Terre.
- Baillif, Basse-Terre. A part of land given to the Dominican Monks.
- Fontaines Bouillantes, a village named after the hot springs that reportedly have therapeutic virtues.
- Les chutes du Carbet, a series of three waterfalls
- Le Moule, Haute-Terre. Main commercial port of Guadeloupe, stronghold of the colonial aristocracy.
- La Pointe des Châteaux, a peninsula that extends into the Atlantic Ocean well known for it's strong waves and winds.
- La Désirade, an island near Guadeloupe that serves as a leper colony.
- Rocher de la Vierge, Les Saintes archipel. A rock formation that resembles the Immaculate Conception.

Notable inhabitants:
Gabriel-Mathieu Francois D'ceus de Clieu, Governor of Guadeloupe.

Link sites:
La Moule (2nd ring)
La Pointe des Châteaux (3rd ring)
La Désirade (3rd ring)

Colonie des Îles du Vent:
(Consists of Martinique, Dominique, Saint Lucia, La Grenade, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao)
Dominant Culture: French

Short history:
The French settled Martinique in 1635, three years later they started working on Fort Saint Louis, a large fortification. The French systematically increased control over the island over the next 20 years, killing or enslaving the Caribs that lived there and fiercely opposed them.
Now Martinique relies on it's agriculture to power the economy. Sugar, coffee, cotton, tobacco,.... are all cultivated on the island.

Saint Lucia was first used in the late 1550's when a French pirate François le Clerc, nicknamed Jambe de Bois (peg leg) set up camp on Pigeon island, a small island near Saint Lucia to attack Spanish treasure ships.
Saint Lucia would be deserted and re-colonised a few times in the following decades, with the island switching between British and French possession until the French finally established a successful colony and made it a crown colony in 1674.
In 1748 the British and French agreed that Saint Lucia would be neutral terrain, but it remained a de facto French Colony
Legally it is still neutral, but this is ignored by the French authorities.

In 1715 a revolt of poor smallholders on Martinique led to those people relocating to nearby Dominique. In 1727 French Commander M. Le Grand took charge of the island, installed a rudimentary government and made it into a formal colony of France. Fourteen years later the French government reformed the local government, making the Governor of Martinique the governor of Dominique as well and grouping both islands under a single colony. The people on Dominique are not happy about this.

La Grenade was settled by the French in 1649, but suffered from severe Carib resistance. And from Carib raids from nearby islands.
After most Carib resistance was put down the island produced coffee, sugar, indigo dye, nutmeg and cocoa beans.
Many Caribs resettled to the Grenadines or to Saint Vincent. The ones from Saint Vincent were later driven out to the Grenadines as well. Those Caribs married with the survivors of several shipwrecked slaveholders that struck the reefs. These people of mixed ancestry are called Garifuna or Black Carib.

Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao were all first claimed by the Spanish, who enslaved the Native population and deported them to more useful places. After that the islands were mostly ignored until the Dutch captured all three of them during the 1630's. They started developing and colonising the islands. During the Franco-Dutch war count Jean II d'Estrées was almost lured onto nearby reefs but eventually captured Curaçao with his fleet and used it as a jumping point to take Aruba and Bonaire as well. The French use the islands to smuggle goods in and out of northern Cabralia and have started to develop other industries as well.

Points of interest:
- Fort Royal, Martinique. Administrative capital the Colony of Martinique, overshadowed by Saint-Pierre. Roughly 4000 inhabitants.
- Saint-Pierre, Martinique. Cultural and economic center of Martinique. The first French settlement on Martinique and now has about 15000 inhabitants.
- Fort Saint Louis, Martinique. Important fortification on Martinique. Was attacked by the Dutch several times in the 17th century.
- Mount Pelée, volcano on Martinique.
- Roseau, Dominique. First settlement on Dominique.
- Lac Bouillant (Boiling Lake), Dominique. A very large lake filled with bubbling greyish-blue water. About 200 by 250 feet.
- Vallée de Désolation (Valley of Desolation), Dominique. A volcanic area of steam vents, fumaroles, hot springs and boiling mud pots that lies along the trail heading to the Lac Bouillant. There is no plant growth to speak of.
- Massacre, Dominique. A town named after a massacre of Carib Natives in 1674.
- Vieux Fort (Old Fort), center of Saint Lucia's sugar industry.
- Soufrière, capital of Saint Lucia.
- Sulphur springs, Saint Lucia. A dormant volcano with several hot springs and fumaroles
- Gros Piton and Petit Piton, Saint Lucia. Twin mountains on the seaside.
- Ville de Fort Royale, La Grenade. Capital of La Grenade, it was named after the star fort that the town has been built near.
- Sauteurs (Jumpers), La Grenade. A tall cliff where the last Caribs remaining on the island jumped to their deaths rather than live under French rule.
- La Soufrière, Saint Vincent. Active volcano that last erupted in 1718.
- Bequia, the Grenadines. A small and relatively inaccessible island still inhabited by Carib people and the shipwrecked slaves they intermarried with.
- Grotte Quadiriki and Grotte Huliba, Aruba. Two caves on Aruba that are close to each other. Legend says that a Native Chief locked up his daughter in one cave and the man that she loved but he didn't approve off in the other. They managed to meet each other underground, even though the caves aren't connected, but eventually both died in their cave.
- Snoga Synagogue, Curaçao. A synagogue built by Dutch and Portuguese Sephardic Jews from Brazil, it was already established in 1674 but a new building was erected in 1730. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Vespuccia.

Notable inhabitants:
Maximin de Bompar, Governor of Colonie des Îles du Vent.
Pierre Fedon, French jeweler and his free black wife. They recently moved from Martinique to La Grenade.
Longvilliers de Poincy, Vice-governor of La Grenade.

Link sites:
Saint-Pierre (1st ring)
Mount Pelée (2nd ring)
Lac Bouillan (2nd ring)
Vieux Fort (2nd ring)
Massacre (3rd ring)
Ville de Fort Royale (3rd ring)

[Steckie]

Spain:


Capitanía General de Cuba:
(Consists of Cuba)
Dominant culture: Spanish

Short history:
The island was discovered by Columbus on his first journey, but the first settlement wasn't built until 1511 when Baracoa was founded. The native Taíno people fiercely resisted Spanish occupation, there were even refugees from the island of Hispaniola that escaped Spanish occupation to help with the resistance on Cuba. In the end this all proved to be futile since the Spanish defeated the Taíno resistance and massacred the population.
In 1513 the Spanish started experimenting with the Encomienda system where a person would receive a number of natives to work under him. He would take tribute from them but in turn be responsible for feeding, protecting and converting them to Christianity. Because the Natives kept dying from Spanish diseases, even those that were imported from other Caribbean islands, the system was not very successfull. In 1549 the new Spanish governor freed all Natives from encomienda and considered them to be free vassals of the crown. Several towns were set up for the Natives and their descendants still live there, although most of them now have a bit of Spanish blood flowing through their veins.
The Spanish then started importing African slaves as labor for their sugar plantations.
Cuba was a popular target for pirates and privateers from the 16th century onward. There were also several invasion attempts from other nations, some of those even partially successfull, but the Spanish were able to hold on to Cuba.

Points of interest:

- La Habana, capital of Cuba and one of the most populous cities in the New World. It has somewhere around 100000 people living there. The city is a very important port with the facilities to refit ships and one of the few drydocks in the New World. The city is a designated stopping point for the Spanish convoys back to the Old WOrld.
- Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro, La Habana. A fort guarding the entrance to Habana Bay. It has a chain strung out across the bay to Catillo San Salvador de la Punta.
- Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Gerónimo de la Habana, La Habana. One of the first universities to be founded in the New World. It has royal and papal authorisation.
- Castillo de la Real Fuerza, La Habana. Residence of the governor of La Habana.
- Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis, La Habana. Home of the Fransiscan brothers.
- Plaza del Mercado, La Habana. Large commercial market square.
- Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe, a city moved inland because of continuous attacks from pirates. It is built with many winding alleys, forked streets, blind alleys and various squares of different sizes making for a very confusing design and a maze-like city. There are also many clay pots or tinajón of various sizes in the city for capturing rainwater. Local legend says that if you drink water from a girl's personal tinajón, you will fall in love with the girl and never leave her.
- Moròn, a city on the norhtern coast of Cuba first settled by Creoles and a group of Spanish sailers that sailed all around Cuba.
- Laguna de Leche (Milk Lagoon), Moròn. The largest fresh water lake in Cuba, it has a white color caused by the lake's limestone bed.
- Alquízar, coffee plantation.
- San Carlos y San Severino de Matanzas. A city on the norhtern shore of Cuba, it is situated on the three sides of a bay. There are three rivers flowing through the city and many briges over those rivers, the city is often referred to as the City of Bridges.
- Isla de Pinos, large island south of Cuba. It is known for it's pirate activity in and around the island. The Spanish mostly ignore it and the Knights can't do much about the problem because it is in Spanish territory.
- Villa de la Santísima Trinidad, a city on the southern coast of Cuba ruled over by the Iznaga family who reside in the Casa de los Sánchez Iznaga. The city is a center for sugar and slave trade coming in from the Valle de los Ingenios, a series of three interconnected valleys that are a center for sugar production in the region. There are about 30 sugar mills in the valleys and roughly 20000 slaves working the plantations.
- Sancti Spíritus, a city inland from Villa de la Santísima Trinidad that is ruled by the Iznaga family as well. The family has a large manor here mostly used for entertaining guests. There is also a green-towered church in the city.
- Bayamo, an inland city that uses it's trade up and down the river to remain an agricultural and economical center. Because of it's inland location it is relatively safe from pirate attacks. It used to trade over the Cauto river, but a huge flood choked the river with trees, mud and wreked vessels in 1616. Currently it trades through the coastal town of Manzanillo, but there are plans to open up the river for deepwater vessels again.
- Santiago de Cuba, one of the oldest cities on Cuba and for a short time even the capital. Hernan de Soto and Hernán Cortés left on their expeditions from this city. It is protected by the Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca, a fortress that has recently been renovated into a powerfull bulwark.
- Baracoa, a city on the east coast of Cuba. It's isolated location makes it perfect for illegal trade with the English, French and even pirates.
- Ciénaga de Zapata (Zapata Swamp). A huge swamp near the southern coast of Cuba, it's a dangerous place to traverse. The this is the only place where the indigenous Cuban crocodiles are found, they're very dangerous creatures.

Notable inhabitants:

Link sites:
La Habana (1st ring)
Santiago de Cuba (1st ring)
Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe (2nd ring)
Moròn (2nd ring)
San Carlos y San Severino de Matanzas (3rd ring)
Isla de Pinos(3rd ring)

Capitanía General de Santo Domingo
(Consists of Santo Domingo)
Dominant culture: Spanish

Short history:
This was the first permanent Spanish, and thus European, colony in the New World. Before the Spanish arrived the island of Hispaniola was divided between five Native chiefs and despite several disputes over Spanish leadership of the colony they were eventually defeated.
In the early 1500's sugarcane was introduced Santo Domingo and the first African slaves were imported. The colony became relatively rich, but around the 1540's the Caribbean started to get infested with pirates. Spain started to send it's trade back to Europe by large convoys that were heavily guarded.
La Habana was selected as the designated stopping point for these convoys, a decision that would devastate Santo Domingo's sugar industry.
And when the Spanish captured Panama and started to earn more money by moving trade over the isthmus to Fusang, the decline of Santo Domingo really started. Population stagnated and profits decreased. It came so far that Spain forcibly resettled a lot of the inhabitants coastal towns frequently raided by pirates to the Capital of the colony. This resulted in the death of more than half of these resettled people by famine and diseases. The French took the western part of the colony and Spain eventually ceded it to them in 1697.
It was only in the early 1700's, when Spain started to introduce some economic reforms, that Santo Domingo started to recover. New immigration towards the colony was encouraged and the towns that were forcibly emptied a century earlier are being repopulated.

Points of interest:
- Santo Domingo de Guzmán, capital and largest city of Santo Domingo.
- Casas Reales, Santo Domingo de Guzmán. Home of the governor and captain general of Santo Domingo as well as the Real Audiencia, wich represents the king in his role as maker of laws and dispenser of justice
- Alcázar de Colón (Columbus Alcazar). Built by Diego Colón, the son of Christopher Columbus when he became viceroy of the Spanish colonies. Because of the decreased importance of Santo Domingo it hasn't been used in decades and is now abandoned and in danger of rotting away.
- Catedral de Santa María la Menor, home of the archbishop of Santo Domingo. He has the honorary title of Primate of Vespuccia because this was the first diocece in the New World. The remains of Christopher Columbus are housed in the cathedral.
- Monasterio de San Francisco, Santo Domingo de Guzmán. Home of the Fransiscan brothers in Santo Domingo. The remains of conquistador Alonso de Ojeda and Bartholomew Columbus are burried here.
- Isla Beata. An island on the southern tip of Santo Domingo. The Spanish keep feral cattle here so their ships can resupply. Pirates often prey around this island because of the ships resupplying and there are often skirmishes between them.
- Azua de Compostela, a city on the southern coast. There's a madman roaming the streets saying that the town will be destroyed on 16 October 1751. There are few that believe him.
- El Santuario San Dionisio de Higuey, a church in the town of Salvaleón de Higüey that houses a large collection of gold and silver antique items.
- Boca de Yuma, a city on the eastern coast of Santo Domingo. Its port has been quite important in several battles in the Caribbean. There's a Spanish fort overlooking the bay on a highly defensible spot.
- El Maniel (Haven). A name given by runaway slaves to the high sierras where they hide from their former masters. There are several small villages here populated by former slaves.
- Cotuí, an inland city in Santo Domingo. There are several mines here where gold, silver, iron and marble are mined. There are several caves around the city with Native rock-art.
- El Despoblado, a dry region with very little population. Some people illegally moved here with their cows when the population of the north coast was forcibly moved. There are a few ranches scattered over the area populated by people that don't want to be disturbed.

Notable inhabitants:
Juan José Colomo, governor and captain general of Santo Domingo.
Ignacio Padilla Estrada, Archbishop of Santo Domingo and primate of Vespuccia. He is also a member of the Inquisition and a fierce supporter of their cause. This is part of the reason he got in power.

Link sites:
Santo Domingo de Guzmán (2nd ring)
Cotuí (3rd ring)
Isla Beata (3rd ring)

Capitanía General de Puerto Rico
(Consists of Puerto Rico)
Dominant culture: Spanish

Short history:
Columbus colonised Puerto Rico on his second expedition to the New World, his lieutenant Ponce de Leon was later made governor. The island has always been very strategically located for the Spanish and suffered many attacks because of it. The Enlgish and French made several attempts at capturing the island, but the Spanish were able to hold on to it. There were also numerous pirate and privateer attacks, perhaps even more than 'legal' attacks.
Because of this several forts were erected on Puerto Rico's shores. After the 1670's and 80's the attacks lessened even more, the Knights that had purchased some of the nearby islands started regular patrols to decrease pirate activity and this benefited Puerto Rico indirectly.
All these attacks defined Puerto Rican society. They depend on themselves more than on Spain to save them and are far more independant minded than other Spanish colonies. The Knights Hospitaller are held in very high esteem by the common folk and most of the clergy. To them they're heroes. The Island is, contrary to most Spanish colonies, dominated by the Inquisition but by a bishop that supports the Knights Hospitaller in the Curia. In fact the Bishop of Puerto Rico has petitioned the Spanish crown a few times to sell the island to the Knights. Spain has always declined the request, they aren't too keen on selling a strategically important island full of expensive fortifications. The population of the Island is deeply divided about this issue, the wealthier Merchants and colonial administrators are all very loyal to Spain. They wouldn't want their primary source of income to suddenly sell them and most of them are firmly on the side of the Spanish Inquisition. The lower clergy and common people mostly support the bishop in his wish to transfer the Island to the Knights Hospitaller. Although tensions about this topic are high, people are not too keen on starting an outright rebellion, the Spanish would quickly quell a violent upsring and destroy all hope of getting sold to the Knights.
The island's economy isn't blooming at the moment, but they're not doing bad either. The population is currently a bit over 50000 and only about one in ten of those are slaves, wich is rather low compared to other Caribbean islands.

Points of interest:
- San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico, capital of Puerto Rico.
- Catedral de San Juan Bautista, San Juan Bautista. A cathedral with a school attached to it where people can learn Latin language, literature, history, science, art, philosophy and theology without needing to pay for it.
- Palacio de Santa Catalina, or as it is usually called: La Fortaleza (The Fortress). The unofficial residence of the captain-general of Puerto Rico. It is also an important fortification.
- San José Church, San Juan Bautista. An old church that holds the tomb and remains of Juan Ponce de León
- San Germán, an inland town with a high population. It's starting to get a nickname as founder of towns, or 'Fundadora de Pueblos', because three towns have already been established by people from this city and with the way the population has increased in the previous years another town will most likely get founded in the near future by people from San Germán.
- Coamo, an inland city near the southern coast. The San Blas de Illescas de Coamo church, one of the oldest churches on the island is here. Near the city are a series of natural hot springs with sulphur-rich waters that are believed to give good health.
- Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Fortín San Juan de la Cruz, San Juan Bautista. Two forts protecting the entrance to San Juan Bay and the capital that lies there. Cannonfire from both forts creates a crossfire that is hard to penetrate. There is also a huge chain between the forts that can be raised to barricade the bay entrance.
- Aguada, or as it is officially called San Francisco de Asís de la Aguada, is a stopover point for ships travelling between Spain and northern Cabralia. Since 1737 a royal decree states that all mail travelling from and towards Cabralia must pass through Aguada's port. The economic benefits of this are one of the reasons the town is booming. If you need Spanish mail, you need to visit Aguada.
The city was built near a Fransiscan monastery that was established earlier and the Fransiscans are still very important in the area.
- Añasco, a recently founded town near the western coast of Puerto Rico, it was founded by the rich landowner Don José de Santiago.
- Arecibo, an older town on the northern coast. There are several caves in the area, like the Cueva Ventata wich has a large mouth overlooking a valley formed by the Rio Grande de Arecibo. And the Cueva del Indio were paintings of prehistoric natives have been found. The city is nicknamed 'Villa del Capitan Correa' (Captain Correa's Village) because of their famous protector that later became their mayor.
- Isla de Mona, an island that is part of the Captaincy General. It is a flat plateau surrounded by sea cliffs. There are currently no permanent inhabitants, but the island is a known pirate hideout and the famous pirate Captain Kidd once hid there. The island holds many caves and several of those have Native cave drawings.
- El Yunque (The Anvil). A mountain on Puerto Rico that holds religious importance to the Taino. They believe that Yokahú, their lead deity, uses this mountain to divert the stormwinds sent by the god-like entity Jurakán away. The Taino often try to come to this mountain to honor Yokahú, but the Spanish have forbidden this heathen practice.

Notable inhabitants:
Antonio de los Reyes Correa, defender and former mayor of Arecibo. He is 75 years old and retired from his mayor duties in 1744. He is still living in the city, people still look to him for advice even though he doesn't hold an official position anymore.

Link sites:
San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico (1st ring)
Coamo (3rd ring)
Aguada (3rd ring)

[Steckie]

The Knights Hospitaller:


Sanctus Crux
(Consists of Sanctus Crux)
Dominant Culture: Maltese

Short history:
Bought from the French in 1651, the island was made into the new capital of the Knights Hospitaller. Here they have built their new island fortress, even grander than Malta used to be.
The council and Grandmaster both reside here.

Points of interest:
- Lascaris, capital city of the Knights Hospitaller. Named after the grandmaster who bought the islands.It has the most renowned hospital in the New World within it's walls. Hundreds of people come here every year in hopes of getting healed.
- Palatio Magistri Generalis (Palace of the Grandmaster), Sanctus Crux. The official residence of the Grandmaster. In this palace the council of the Knights gathers and makes it's decisions.
- Armamentarium Palatio (Palace Armory), Sanctus Crux. The armory that stands next to the Palace of the Grandmaster. It houses a massive collection of arms and armor from the history of the Knights. Originally all these items were located on Malta, but they have been shipped over to the New World. - - The Armory houses among others crossbows, swords, arms, guns, bronze cannons and many other weapons and armor.
- In Archivo (The Archive). The archive of the Knights, it is housed in the catacombs under the Palatio Magistri Generalis. There is also a large collection of books and manuscripts.
- Gerard Hospitium, Lascaris. Named after the founder of the Knights this is the best hospital in the New World.
- Montem Falcon, highest point of the island. The famous Maltese Falcons are bred and trained on this mountain.
- Sinus Madonna Stella Maris (Bay of Our Lady, Star of the Sea), a bioluminescent bay on Sanctus Crux where the Knights harvest bioluminescent water.
- Castellum Madonna Stella Maris (Fort of Our Lady Star of the Sea), a fortress built by the French in 1617 and later taken over by the Knights to protect Sinus Madonna Stella Maris.

Notable inhabitants:
Manuel Pinto da Fonseca, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller. A Portuguese nobleman by birth, he is currently 69 years old.
Cassar, bodyguard of the Grand Master.
Princess Marie Auguste of Thurn and Taxis, Dame Grand Cross. The former regent of the Duchy of Württemberg, when her son came of age she lost most of her power and as a Dame of the Order she moved to the New World. She is 44 years old, corresponds with philosophers like Voltaire and Marquis d'Argens and is renowned for her excessive spending.

Link Sites:
Lascaris (1st ring)
Sinus Madonna Stella Maris (2nd ring)

Insulae Latus Oceanus (Ocean Side Islands)
(Consists of Sanctus Christophoros, Sanctae Mariae ad Nives, Sanctus Eustachius, Regina Saba, Sanctus Martinus)
Dominant culture: Maltese

Short history:
Sanctus Christophoros was colonised by both the French and British, with the French holding the northern and southern tip of the island and the British the part in the middle.
They even worked together against the Carib population on the island, discovering a plot to kill them and ambushing the Caribs before they were able to pull it off. They massacred the Carib.
The French sold their part of the island to the Knights Hospitaller in 1651, the English held on to their part for a while longer.
They had colonised Sanctae Mariae ad Nives in 1628 from their holdings on Sanctus Christophoros. It was named after the Our Lady of the Snows, a legend about the holy Mary. The English used Nevis because it was shorter. It didn't have the violent history that it's neighbour had. Instead by 1660 it had become the most profitable colony the English owned because of it's production of sugar.
Sadly, a massive earthquake struck the English capital of Nevis, Jamestown, and destroyed it.
The Knights started sending troops and supplies to help the survivors. Then they started helping them build another town into the new main city.
The English viewed this intervention as an invasion. The Knights disputed those claims and in turn claimed that the English had neglected to help their fellow Christians. The Knights refused to leave the island to what they called a 'neglecting governor' and the English refused to give up an island that was rightfully theirs.
There was a lot of argueing back and forth and even a small naval skirmish that the Knights won. In the end the English sold Nevis and their part of Saint Christopher to the Knights. They were in the middle of fighting the Nine Year's War and couldn't afford to open up another front. The sale was seen as a great diplomatic victory for the Knights, albeit by playing dirty.
The Knights officially renamed the island to Sanctae Mariae ad Nives, the Latin name for the island. Common people call the island Nevis.
By 1750 soil erosion and soil depletion are causing the profits from Sanctae Mariae ad Nives to decrease. Fortunately the yields from Sanctus Christophoros are increasing immensely.

Sanctus Eustachius has was colonised by the Dutch who made the island into a neutral zone and free port, making it into a flourishing economy. The island was nicknamed 'The Golden Rock' for this reason. Being forced to sell Sanctus Eustachius during the Rampjaar was a huge blow for the Dutch. The Knights closed the free port and once they owned it the island was no longer considered a neutral zone. The island's economy went into a serious recession after this and has only recovered since the early 1700's when its large and well protected harbor made it into the distribution center of goods coming and going from the nearby islands. Because of this it is able to support a population of over 10000.

Regina Saba was sold to the Knights in 1672 as well, it is the only island in the posession of the Knights that isn't named after a saint. Instead this island is named after the Queen of Sheba from the Old Testament. The island was colonised by the Dutch but changed hands a couple of times until the Dutch sold it during the Rampjaar. After that the English and French never claimed the island again.

Columbus discovered Sanctus Martinus on November 11, the day of Saint Martin of Tours, after whom he named the island. The Spanish had a small settlement on the island, but it was never a priority.
In 1631 the Dutch established a settlement on the island and started mining salt. The French and English established settlements themselves.
But the Spanish wanted to keep their island and get in on the salt trade. Since they were already at war with the Dutch because of the Eighty Year's War, they attacked and seized the island. When the war ended they deserted the island, their interest laid elsewhere. The Dutch and French took the opportunity to re-establish their colonies. In 1648 they agreed on a border between their colonies.
The French sold their part of the island to the Knights, but the Dutch held on to the south until 1672. That year is the Rampjaar (Disaster Year) when the Dutch found themselves at war with the French, English and several German Princes with a revolution on top of that.
Desperate for money the Dutch sold their half of Sanctus Martinus to the Knights who have since then held on to the whole island.

Points of interest:
- Baseterre, Sanctus Christophoros. Made into the capital of Sanctus Christophoros by De Poincy, the governor that arranged the sale of the islands to the Knights. When the Knights aquired Nevis, Baseterre was made into the capital of that island as well.
- Montem Miseria, Sanctus Christophoros. Highest mountain on the island.
- Castellum Montis Sulphure (Brimstone Hill fort), Sanctus Christophoros. A fort on the top of a very high and steep hill that overlooks the sea. It has a reputation for invulnerability.
- Tomb of Thomas Warner, Sanctus Christophoros. This tomb holds the founder of the English colony on the island.
- Ruinae de Jamestown (Ruins of Jamestown), Sanctae Mariae ad Nives. They are somewhere near the northwestern shore of the island, either underwater if the city sank or under the sand if the coastline shifted. From time to time undead appear near where the city used to be, but nobody ever sees them appear. The exact location of the ruins are still unknown. Often treasure hunters are looking in the area to find the city that is reputed to still hold various riches.
- Apex Sanctae Mariae ad Nives (Nevis Peak), Sanctae Mariae ad Nives. A Volcano that hasn't been active in years but there are still fumaroles and hot springs on the island.
- Charlestown, Sanctae Mariae ad Nives. Founded by the English this is the former capital of Nevis.
- Fovea, Sanctus Eustachius. A dormant volcano with a lush rainforest growing on it's flanks.
- Sinus Aurantiaco, Sanctus Eustachius. A large and well protected harbor on the leeward side of the island, up to 200 vessels can lay anchor at the same time.
- In Peluis (The Bowl), Regina Saba. The Main city on Regina Saba, it is in a valley surrounded by hills.
- Ruinas In Lapsus Terrae (Ruins of the Landslide), Regina Saba. The ruins of the old settlements from the first half of the 17th century, the village was swallowed by a landslide in the late 17th century.
- Sinus Castellum (Fort Bay), Regina Saba. The only harbor on the island and the only way in and out of the interior of the island. It is a small harbor with only one pier.
- Montem Scaenarum (Mount Scenery), Regina Saba. A potentially active volcano on Regina Saba, it last erupted in 1640 with explosions and pyroclastic flows.
- Fort Amsterdam, Sanctus Martinus. A fort built by the Dutch.
- Sinus Rubeus (Red Bay), Sanctus Martinus. A bay where the sand has a reddish hue.

Notable inhabitants:

Link sites:
Sinus Aurantiaco (2nd ring)
Baseterre (2nd ring)
In Peluis (2nd ring)
Sinus Rubeus (3rd ring)

Sanctus Ioannes Baptista
(Consists of Sanctus Ioannes Baptista)
Dominant culture: Maltese

Short history:
The island was first named San Bartolomé by Columbus, after his brother. The French later settled the island, translating the name to Saint Barthélemy. In 1651 they sold the island to the Knights Hospitaller.
The Knights didn't want the island to be named after somebody who wasn't a saint, so they renamed it after their patron saint, John the Baptist. The island became increasingly important when the Knights started making it into a powerfull naval base and ship repair center. The island holds one of the three holy relics the Knights own.

Points of interest:
- Navalia Magnificus (Grand Shipyard). This city was named Le Carénage (The Careenage) before the Knights purchased the island. They expanded the existing naval repair facilities into the best harbor for ship repairs in the New World.
- In Tria Castella (The Three Forts). Three forts guarding the harbor of Sancta Ursula. Castellum Cotoner guards Pharos Bartolomé, the huge lighthouse that has been given the former name of the island. Castellum Wignacourt guards the city itself and the third, Castellum Carafa, is on the peninsula west of Navalia Magnificus. All three forts have been named after the grandmaster that had them built.
- Capellam Madonna de Philermos (Chapel of Our Lady of Philermos). This inland chapel is where the Knights keep one of their holy relics: the Icon of Our Lady of Philermos. The icon is used in a secret process where cotton is blessed and woven into sails and tunics. The Maltese cross on the tunics and sails is then able to produce a bright flash of light or glow as a continuous light source. The Knights use cotton for this because regionally grown cotton gives better magical results, they are the only ones using cotton sails.
- Textrinum Byssum (Cotton Weaver). This is a large manufactory where cloth for sails and tunics is woven. It is close to the chapel.

Sancta Ursula ad Undecim Milia Virginum (Saint Ursula and The Eleven Thousand Virgins)
(Consists of Sancta Ursula(RL Saint Thomas), Sanctus Benedicti (RL Saint John), Sanctus Georgius (RL Jost Van Dyke), Sanctus Iacobus Iustus (Saint James the Just) (RL Culebra), Sanctus Paulus Tarsensis (Saint Paul of Tarsus) (RL Vieques) and hundreds of small and medium sized islands, cays and rocks in the ocean)
Dominant culture: Maltese

Short history:
Sancta Ursula was first colonised by the Dutch in 1657 and in 1672 sold to the Knights together with Sanctus Martinus.
In 1687 the Knights renamed the island to Sancta Ursula and made it into the capital of Sancta Ursula ad Undecim Milia Virginum (Saint Ursula and The Eleven Thousand Virgins). It was named after the legend that Columbus originally named the Virgin Islands for. This capital is used as a central hub from where the hundreds of small islands are administrated.

Sanctus Benedicti was an island colonised by the Knights themselves. They settled in 1703 and have held on to the island ever since. The same thing happened with Sanctus Iacobus Iustus, wich was first settled by the Spanish but abandoned in 1511 after a Carib revolt. It didn't get resettled until the Knights claimed the island in 1703. Before that it was used as a refuge for pirates but the Knights put a stop to that. Sanctus Paulus Tarsensis was claimed by the Spanish but eventually colonised by the Knights. The Spanish did some minimal protesting but eventually just ignored the matter.

Points of interest:
- Sinus Cinnamomi (Cinnamon Bay), Sanctus Benedicti. There is a plantation here with a dwelling house, storage building, a sugar mill and a boiling house. They grow sugar cane, cinnamon and food on the plantation.
- Nova Valetta, Sancta Ursula. Originally named Taphus (Beer houses), this city was renamed after the old capital of the Knights on Malta. It is located on a very fine natural harbor. In 1687 this city became the administrative capital of the Virgin Islands.
- Castellum Villaret, Sancta Ursula. The fort that protects Nova Valetta, named after the Knight that captured Rhodes.
- Caelum Turrim (Sky Tower), Sancta Ursula. A tower overlooking the harbor of Nova Valetta and castellum Villaret. The Castellum is at sea level and while it is ideally placed to protect the harbor it doesn't have a good sight on incoming ships. That's what the tower is for, without it capturing the harbor would be a lot easier.
- Aquam Insulae, Sancta Ursula. An island best known for it's many ponds of fresh water, making it a popular stop for travelling ships.
- Sanctus Iacobus Iustus is a small archipelago consisting of the main island and 23 smaller islands. Although it has been colonised by the Knights, pirates still use the small islands from time to time.
- Sinus Sanctus Lux (Holy Light Bay), Sanctus Paulus Tarsensis. The second bioluminescent bay under control of the Knights where the bioluminescent water is harvested as well.

Notable inhabitants:

Link Sites:
Nova Valetta (1st ring)
Sinus Sanctus Lux (3rd ring)

[Steckie]

Reserved for Tobago & Trinidad

[Steckie]

Reserved for Blackbeards Pirate Kingdom

[Steckie]

And that's all i've got for now. You may now post.

This is the end result of several weeks of research, but this is still a rough draft. There are things that are probably redundant and ready to remove. There are things that will probably need to be added. Most of what you read here is historical, i'll need to add some more flavorfull fantasy.

I'm not a native English speaker, so there's probably a whole heap of spelling and grammatical errors. Probably syntax errors as well. Please point out any mistake you find so that i can correct it.
Same thing goes for all the French, Spanish and Latin translations i did, i used an online translator for that and we all know how trustworthy those are...
Obivously i need to add more notable inhabitants, i'm just having a huge amount of trouble finding historical people from the Caribbean. I may need to start making up people, and i would love to have some help for this.

[Mith]

The overall looks good. The suggestions I have right now is more grammatical, spelling and formatting. (I skimmed over to get the idea of the area, not a full in depth read). I didn't think there were any problems with the write up. I have a question before I go over the grammar and spelling edits that can be done (It's easy to do with an English Spell Checker. Do you have/are able to get access to one?): Are Points of Interest potentially going to be expanded to have some interesting significance that could form a plot hook?

Note: I'm Italicizing Ship Names if I remember, and am ignoring Voudou, since I think that is just an alternate spelling.

Introduction:
It was here that on the 12th of October 1492 that the Old World and the New World found themselves at the crossroads of something new. For better or for worse, it has happened and the birthplace of the world as we know it now is still a very interesting place.
It is a sea filled with islands of various sizes, bordered on all sides by very diverse nations. The Spanish, British and French all have holdings in and around the Caribbean. The Knights Hospitaller left Malta and are now protecting the Christians in the New World. A group of converted Native Taino and carib Caribpeople were allowed to create their own nation, a neutral haven for all who come to them peacefully.
Pirates still roam the seas despite the efforts of the seafaring nations to stop them. These pirates are often supported and supplied by nations that barely have naval power themselves. And then there is the legendary city of Blackbeard, a city on the back of a great beast of the sea, a safe haven for pirates.
The Voudou religion is spreading like wildfire, helped by the many Links that dot the islands. Slave revolts are brewing in many places.

And then there are the nations bordering this sea. Cahokia and France jointly rule over Nouveau Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi, bringing goods upriver to the greatest city on the world. Aztatlan is always looking for ways to weaken the Spanish in the hopes of kicking them out of Mesovespuccia. Spain is using it's hold over northern Cabralia to stay in power and is using Panama to trade with Fusang. The tribes on the Great Plains might not be able to make much of a difference on the political situation in the Caribbean, but they're still a force to be reckoned. And Mayatolli, well who knows what they are plotting in their jungle cities?

Actually, interesting doesn't even begin to describe this place.....

Great Britain

Colony of Lucayan Archipelago and Bermuda
(Consists of the Bahamas, the Turk and Caicos islands and Bermuda)
Dominant culture: British

Short history:
After being stripped of it's native population by the Spanish, the Bahamas were unofficially settled by British colonists.
In later years they became a nest for pirates and British privateers. Famous pirates like Blackbeard had their home on the Bahamas until they relocated When whenBritish authorities took over government of the colony.
The Bahamas are close to the sailing routes between Vespuccia and Europe, and shipwrecks are common there. Wrecking those ships can bring in a lot of money for the lucky person finding the ship. By law all salvaged goods were required to be sent to Nassau to be auctioned. The Bahamians are aggressively wrecking, driving others away with violence if needed. They have also started wrecking in the Florida Keys, a Spanish colony.
The Bahamas colony is in a continuiing legal dispute with the Bermuda colony over who can collect salt on the Turks and Caicos islands.

The Turks and Caicos islands are a very popular pirate hideout, but there is no permanent settlement. Salt collectors from Bermuda built a permanent settlement on Grand Turk island, but they only live there for 6 months every year while collecting salt.
There has been massive deforestation by those salt collectors in order to improve their yields. The salt is sold an the whole Vespuccian coast, even up to Newfoundland.
The islands are frequently hit by hurricanes.

Bermuda has quite a different story. When the Flagship of the London Company, the Sea Venture, was caught in a storm they were forced to deliberatly driven on deliberately drive onto the reefs in order to save the crew and colonists aboard.
The shipwrecked people succeeded in returning to Virginia colony, leaving two men behind to keep the English claim on the island, but they arrived in the middle of a huge famine. They were only saved by an English relief fleet. In later years an official colony was established in Bermuda.
In 1684 the colonial company governing Bermuda was dissolved and the colony became a self-governing colony with the House of Assembly ruling over it and the president of the council being the de-facto governor.
In 1681 the Bermudan salt collectors started building their first permanent settlement on Grand Turk Island, wich they only inhabited for 6 months every year. They are in a legal dispute over these islands with the Bahamas Crown Colony over the rights to collect salt on those islands.
The British government views the Turks and Caicos islands as uncolonised islands for common use because legally a colony can't colonise other places.
Bermuda relies on the indiginous Bermuda Cedar trees for shipbuilding but they only engaged in privateering and whaling for additional profits.

Points of interest:
- Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas. Capital of the colony.
- The Healing Hole, Bimini island, Bahamas. A pool that gets filled with mineral-laden fresh water from underground tunnel during outgoing tides.
- Andros Island, Bahamas. An island that consists of hundreds of smalls islets and cays connected by mangrove forests and tidal swamp lands. It is famous for it's Blue Holes, although those Holes appear all over the Bahamas. It was a pirate's hideout in earlier years.
- Pig Island, Bahamas. An uninhabited island populated by feral swimming pigs.
- Conception Island, Bahamas. An uninhabited island where birds and sea turtles make their nests.
- Kidd's Cove, Great Guana Cay, Bahamas. Named after pirate William Kidd.
- Great Inagua, Bahamas. A large island with several reefs around it. Several treasure ladenships got sunk on those reefs including Spanish galleon Santa Rosa and French Le Count De Paix.
- Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. Became a pirate hideout when the British took control of Nassau.
- Dean's Blue Hole, Long Island, Bahamas. A very deep blue hole about 200 meters deep.
- Acklins island, Bahamas. Contains various Lucayan native sites from before the islands were depopulated of it's natives.
- Town of St George, Bermuda. Oldest city and capital of Bermuda.
- Fort Cunningham, Paget Island, Bermuda. This fortress protects the route from St George Town to the Atlantic. Extensive fortifications have been built there.
- Tucker's Town, Bermuda. Small village of 35 families, has a whaling station.
- Natural Arches Beach, Bermuda. A beach filled with several natural stone arches.
- St David's Island, Bermuda. An island where many Native slaves were brought to and where they were eventually absorbed into the population. They are called 'Mohawks', although there were very few slaves of Mohawk ancestry imported.
- Turks and More than 300 small islands of mostly marches and mangroves.
- Ambergris Cay, where many valuable deposits of ambergris are found.
- Cockburn Town, Grand Turk Island, the capital of the Turks and Caicos islands.
- Salt Cay, and island in the middle of the annual migratory route of the humpback whales from and towards their nursing grounds north of the island Hispaniola.

Notable inhabitants:
John Tinker, governor of the Colony of Lucayan Archipelago and Bermuda

Link Sites:
Nassau, Bahamas. (1st ring)
Natural Arches Beach (1st ring)
The Healing Hole, Bahamas. (2nd ring)
St David's Island (2nd ring)
Morgan's Cove, Andros island, Bahamas. (2nd ring)
Cockburn town, Grand Turk Island (2nd ring)
Kidd's Cove on Great Guana Cay (3rd ring)
Town of St George (3rd ring)
Various other Link sites scattered over the islands (2nd and 3rd ring)

France

Colonie de Saint-Domingue:
(Consists of Wester part of Hispaniola, Île de la Tortue (Tortuga), Île de la Gonâve, Île-à-Vaches (Cow Island), Les Cayemites, La Navasse)
Dominant culture: French

Short history:
Spain discovered and started colonisation colonizationof the island of Hispaniola in the 1490's, but when they started conquering lands on mainland Vespuccia their interest in the island started to decrease. This allowed French buccaneers to first establish a settlement on the island of Tortuga from wich they started raiding Spanish ships. In later years they started establishing colonies on the main island as well. The Spanish formally ceded the western part of Hispaniola to France in 1697.
It is now the richest and most valuable French colony in the Caribbean, it produces more sugar than all British Caribbean islands combined.
The island is the birthplace of the Vodou religion.
There is a large population of mixed-race free people that don't have the same rights as French-born colonists. There is tension between the two groups. These mixed-race people are mostly the offspring of white plantation owners and their colored mistresses.

Points of interest:
- Cap-Français, capital of Saint-Domingue
- Port-au-Prince, a city that started out as a base with a hospital for French buccaneers.
- Léogane, French harbor town built on the capital of a former Native chiefdom.
- Etang Saumâtre (Brackish Pond), largest lake on the island of Hispaniola.
- Île-à-Vaches (Cow Island), a small island off the southern coast of Hispaniola. It has several large swamps and a mangrove forest in a lagoon.The island is also surrounded by several dangerous shoals, reefs, and rocks that have been the cause of many shipwrecks.
- Fort-Dauphin, strategic fortification on the northern coast of Hispaniola.

Notable inhabitants:
François Mackandal, houngan (Vodou priest) and maroon leader. He is trying to unite the various bands of maroons and is developing plans to use slaves to poison the meals of their owners. Leads various raids on plantations. Has lost his right arm, it got crushed in a sugarcane press. Is very radical and wants to destroy white colonization on Saint-Domingue
Hubert de Brienne, Comte de Conflans, governor of Saint-Domingue. He is also a Chef d'escadre (squadron commander) of the French navy.
Marguerite Brunet (stage name Mademoiselle Montansier), a 20 year old actress that followed her love and his theater group to Saint-Domingue.

Link sites:
Cap-Français (1st ring)
Etang Saumâtre (3rd ring)
Fort-Dauphin (3rd ring)
Various other Link sites (2nd and 3rd ring)

Colonie de Grand Guadeloupe:
(Consists of Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, Les Saintes)
Dominant Culture: French

Short history:
Discovered by Columbus in 1493, this island wasn't colonised until 1635 by the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique. They crushed the local population military and seized control over the island. In 1674 the island was formally made a part of the Kindom of France.
Initially tobacco was farmed, but with the appearence appearanceof sugar cane on the Caribbean islands this soon shifted. The sugar plantations made Guadeloupe into a very profitable colony for the French crown.
The small islands nearby are named La Désirade, Les Saintes, and Marie-Galante and are under jurisdiction of Guadeloupe.

Points of interest:
- The islands of Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre together make the largest island of Guadeloupe, they are seperated separatedby a narrow sea channel named Rivière Salée (Salt River).
- Gourbeyre, Basse-Terre. A village that houses the Fort Louis Delgres, a very important fortification for the French. It was considered impenetrable during earlier British attacks.
- La Grande Soufrière (Big Sulphur Outlet), active volcano on Basse-Terre.
- Baillif, Basse-Terre. A part of land given to the Dominican Monks.
- Fontaines Bouillantes, a village named after the hot springs that reportedly have therapeutic virtues.
- Les chutes du Carbet, a series of three waterfalls
- Le Moule, Haute-Terre. Main commercial port of Guadeloupe, stronghold of the colonial aristocracy.
- La Pointe des Châteaux, a peninsula that extends into the Atlantic Ocean well known for it's strong waves and winds.
- La Désirade, an island near Guadeloupe that serves as a leper colony.
- Rocher de la Vierge, Les Saintes archipel. A rock formation that resembles the Immaculate Conception.

Notable inhabitants:
Gabriel-Mathieu Francois D'ceus de Clieu, Governor of Guadeloupe.

Link sites:
La Moule (2nd ring)
La Pointe des Châteaux (3rd ring)
La Désirade (3rd ring)
Various other Link sites (2nd and 3rd ring)

Colonie des Îles du Vent:
(Consists of Martinique, Dominique, Saint Lucia, La Grenade, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao)
Dominant Culture: French

Short history:
The French settled Martinique in 1635, three years later they started working on Fort Saint Louis, a large fortification. The French systematically increased control over the island over the next 20 years, killing or enslaving the Caribs that lived there and fiercely opposed them.
Now Martinique relies on it's agriculture to power the economy. Sugar, coffee, cotton, tobacco,.... are all cultivated on the island.

Saint Lucia was first used in the late 1550's when a French pirate François le Clerc, nicknamed Jambe de Bois (peg leg) set up camp on Pigeon island, a small island near Saint Lucia to attack Spanish treasure ships.
Saint Lucia would be deserted and recolonised re-colonizeda few times in the following decades, with the island switching between British and French posession possessionuntil the French finally established a successfull successfulcolony and made it a crown colony in 1674.
In 1748 the British and French agreed that Saint Lucia would be neutral terrain, but it remained a de facto French Colony
Legally it is still neutral, but this is ignored by the French authorities.

In 1715 a revolt of poor smallholders on Martinique led to those people relocating to nearby Dominique. In 1727 French Commander M. Le Grand took charge of the island, installed a rudimentary government and made it into a formal colony of France. Fourteen years later the French government reformed the local government, making the Governor of Martinique the governor of Dominique as well and grouping both islands under a single colony. The people on Dominique are not happy about this.

La Grenade was settled by the French in 1649, but suffered from severe Carib resistance. And from Carib raids from nearby islands.
After most Carib resistance was put down the island produced coffee, sugar, indigo dye, nutmeg and cocoa beans.
Many Caribs resettled to the Grenadines or to Saint Vincent. The ones from Saint Vincent were later driven out to the Grenadines as well. Those Caribs married with the survivors of several shipwrecked slaveholders that struck the reefs. These people of mixed ancestry are called Garifuna or Black Carib.

Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao were all first claimed by the Spanish, who enslaved the Native population and deported them to more usefull usefulplaces. After that the islands were mostly ignored until the Dutch captured all three of them during the 1630's. They started developing and colonising the islands. During the Franco-Dutch war count Jean II d'Estrées was almost lured onto nearby reefs but eventually captured Curaçao with his fleet and used it as a jumping point to take Aruba and Bonaire as well. The French use the islands to smuggle goods in and out of northern Cabralia and have started to develop other industries as well.

Points of interest:
- Fort Royal, Martinique. Administrative capital the Colony of Martinique, overshadowed by Saint-Pierre. Roughly 4000 inhabitants.
- Saint-Pierre, Martinique. Cultural and economic center of Martinique. The first French settlement on Martinique and now has about 15000 inhabitants.
- Fort Saint Louis, Martinique. Important fortification on Martinique. Was attacked by the Dutch several times in the 17th century.
- Mount Pelée, volcano on Martinique.
- Roseau, Dominique. First settlement on Dominique.
- Lac Bouillant (Boiling Lake), Dominique. A very large lake filled with bubbling greyish-blue water. About 200 by 250 feet.
- Vallée de Désolation (Valley of Desolation), Dominique. A volcanic area of steam vents, fumaroles, hot springs and boiling mud pots that lies along the trail heading to the Lac Bouillant. There is no plant growth to speak of.
- Massacre, Dominique. A town named after a massacre of Carib Natives in 1674.
- Vieux Fort (Old Fort), center of Saint Lucia's sugar industry.
- Soufrière, capital of Saint Lucia.
- Sulphur springs, Saint Lucia. A dormant volcano with several hot springs and fumaroles
- Gros Piton and Petit Piton, Saint Lucia. Twin mountains on the seaside.
- Ville de Fort Royale, La Grenade. Capital of La Grenade, it was named after the star fort that the town has been built near.
- Sauteurs (Jumpers), La Grenade. A tall cliff where the last Caribs remaining on the island jumped to their deaths rather than live under French rule.
- La Soufrière, Saint Vincent. Active volcano that last erupted in 1718.
- Bequia, the Grenadines. A small and relatively inaccessible island still inhabited by Carib people and the shipwrecked slaves they intermarried with.
- Grotte Quadiriki and Grotte Huliba, Aruba. Two caves on Aruba that are close to each other. Legend says that a Native Chief locked up his daughter in one cave and the man that she loved but he didn't approve off in the other. They managed to meet each other underground, even though the caves aren't connected, but eventually both died in their cave.
- Snoga Synagogue, Curaçao. A synagogue built by Dutch and Portuguese Sephardic Jews from Brazil, it was already established in 1674 but a new building was erected in 1730. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Vespuccia.

Notable inhabitants:
Maximin de Bompar, Governor of Colonie des Îles du Vent.
Pierre Fedon, French jeweler and his free black wife. They recently moved from Martinique to La Grenade.
Longvilliers de Poincy, Vice-governor of La Grenade.

Link sites:
Saint-Pierre (1st ring)
Mount Pelée (2nd ring)
Lac Bouillan (2nd ring)
Vieux Fort (2nd ring)
Massacre (3rd ring)
Ville de Fort Royale (3rd ring)
Various other Link sites (2nd and 3rd ring)

That's all for now. I left the French for other who are more fluent in written French than I. While there are a few sentences that may have to be re-worded, I think that it reads OK for now.

[Steckie]

Are Points of Interest potentially going to be expanded to have some interesting significance that could form a plot hook?

My idea was for some of them to be expanded into plot hooks and others to remain the way they are.
For example you'll probably notice that i've listed about several volcanoes, plantations and small villages but haven't given much more information than where they are. These are all meant to get expanded into something more interesting. And if they don't get expanded i either remove them or just leave them be as flavor.
I think it's best that we keep some of those places withot padding or plot hooks associated with them so that a DM can use them for his own plot hooks.

Thanks for the grammar and spelling check, i'll start correcting as soon as i have the time.

[Admiral Squish]

I gotta admit, this is a lot of great material!
I haven't gotten to read all through it just yet, but I'm definitely gonna go over it with a detailed analysis/commentary soon.

[Steckie]

I gotta admit, this is a lot of great material!
I haven't gotten to read all through it just yet, but I'm definitely gonna go over it with a detailed analysis/commentary soon.

Take your time, it's quite a lot to read.
I've started to do some research to hopefully find more notable inhabitants. So far i've found 3.... But during that research i've also found 26 people that could show up in Columbia and New Spain, so i consider it time well spent.

[Admiral Squish]

Alright, time to get to work!

Britain

Lucayan Archipelago and Bermuda

History
I'm slightly confused by the term 'aggressively wrecking'. Are they forcing ships to wreck, or is wrecking being used as a term for salvaging here?
Also, does the individual who discovers the wreck get the money, or is it profit for the colony?

I'm tempted to make a plot hook from the Bermuda story: They left two men to maintain the claim, but the relief fleet only found one. It was assumed he'd died after moving into the forest to look for food and never coming back... until he stumbles out of the woods a hundred years later in exactly the same condition he left in, and seems completely unaware that more than a day has passed.

Seems nicely accurate, though.

POIs
I gotta say, I love these, and the kind of details they add to the setting. Really make the places feel more complete, and there's potential in so many of them.

Notables
Is that the guy's actual name? Because that is a fantastic name.

Links
Very complete list. I don't think you need to mention 'various other sites', I think that could just be a general rule of thumb.

Jamaica

History
Man, Port Royal just does not want to stay up, huh?
You should mention the Maroon War in the history, I believe, it's an interesting story.

POIs
Very nice! I'd like to see a few more features on the list to go with the cities, though.

Notables
I like the details here a lot. Particularly the thing about the guy with mulatto children, it really helps illustrate the time period more clearly.

Links
The link being in port royal really helps explain why they keep trying to rebuild it, great touch.

Leeward Islands
Overall, this entry seems kinda short, but I can understand your position. I'll see if I can dig up some more details sometime.

Barbados

History
Short but not too short, gives the important points without stretching them. Excellent.

POIs
Very nice, very nice. Again, a few features to go with the cities would be nice, but not strictly necessary.

France

Saint-Domingue

History
Good stuff, detailed, and a couple fun points.
You may need to specify the island you speak of in a couple places, the colony's made of a number of islands, after all.

Notables:
Excellent! I love the inclusion of the actress, good to see non-leaders make the list.

Grand Guadeloupe

POIs
These are great! Volcanoes, mysterious rock formations, leper colonies, really helps get the ideas a-flowin'.

Iles du Vent

History
*whistle* That's an impressive write-up!
Lots of detail, and none of it seems to be wasted. Like, you din't fluff anything out needlessly, there's just a lot of stuff happenin'. Which is always good.

POIs
This is just awesome. Lovin' it. So many great features.

Spain

Cuba

POIs
A very nice list! One thing in particular caught my eye, the cuban crocodiles mentioned in that last one. If we still have ground sloths, we could have packs of mostly-terrestrial crocodiles prowling through the forests in search of prey.

Santo Domingo

POIs
Great list! I particularly like the madman claiming the town will be destroyed.

Notables
Oooh, inquisitor-archbishop, there's plot to be had there, certainly.

Puerto Rico

History
Nice, wasn't expecting a more-independent sort of colony. It all seems to jive properly.

POIs
I like the forts on opposite sides of the bay. Perhaps they should have a running competition over who sinks more ships?
Aguada doesn't send mail along, or it it just this is where you'd wait for a reply to come as fast as possible?

Knights Hospitaller

Santus Crux

History
Technically speaking, they were given the island in the will of De Poincy, who purchased it from the french.

POIs
Very fond of this list!
Maybe add a thing to the Montem Falcon line mentioning a falcon breeding/training setup?

Insulae Latus Oceanus

History
Long one, huh? I suppose it has to be since we're making it up.
Is the ex-capital of Nevis the one that sank into the sea? Because that seems worth mentioning. (oop, see you mention it in POIs, nevermind.)
I think that break between the last and second-to-last paragraphs could go away, since the two discuss the same subject.

POIs
Very cool! Lots of variety, plenty of features, a couple scenes of natural disasters... excellent all around.
Hmm... I wonder what happens if you use bless water on the bioluminescent water...

Sactus Ionannus Baptista

POIs
I think this list is in the wrong place, or you've miss-adressed some of these. A lot of the locations mention being on Sancta Ursula.


Sancta Ursula ad Undecim Milia Virginum

History
What happened to the caribs that did the revolting that moved the spanish out?

POIs
Seems solid to me, nice balance between features and settlements.

__________________________

Overall, pretty dang solid, lots of great illustrative details, my only complaints generally amount to 'I WANT MORE OF THIS' and some mentions of typos/omissions. Excellent work! can't wait to see what you do with Trinidad/Tobago and Blackbeard's Island.

[T.G. Oskar]

Puerto Rico

History
Nice, wasn't expecting a more-independent sort of colony. It all seems to jive properly.

Interesting, since it contrasts a lot with real history (Puerto Rico has always been dependent, or so it goes, from the metropolis). Also, one of the most loyal colonies compared to those on the south, with revolts being quelled almost instantly - a reason why other conquerors often couldn't shift their power, even though people like Hendrick and Clifford, count of Cumberland did set foot on the capital. Also, Puerto Rico is (indirectly) responsible for the death of Francis Drake (even though he was indirectly weakened).

Quite surprised that you nailed the Coamo thermal baths and places like Aguada, often claimed to be the landing spot of Columbus on his second voyage. Not surprised, though, to see a distinctive lack of San German: its moniker is "Fundadora de Pueblos" (Founder of Towns) because it was the second official establishment and the seed from where many of the island's current municipalities emerge. There's also a very, VERY awesome landmark in the Porta Coeli Convent church: maybe it's part of a permanent Gate to the Upper Planes (or whatever is its counterpart in Pathfinder)? In fact: if it weren't because of the construction (and eventual partition of the island) of the settlement of San German, Aguada would have never existed. Thus, it's strange that such an important settlement isn't even made a brief mention.

Another missing point of interest is La Fortaleza (The Fortress), also known as the "Palacio de Santa Catalina" (Palace of St. Catherine), the (unofficial) residence of the captain-general of Puerto Rico and one of its most important fortifications.

Finally, a third (and natural) point of interest would be El Yunque. While not the tallest mountain on the island, it is traditionally considered to be of religious importance to the Taíno culture. Some consider it the equivalent of Mt. Olympus for the Taíno zemis, or deities, and others have a folk belief that the lead zemí, Yokahú, diverts the storm-winds from the god-like entity Jurakán from this spot. It works as an awesome plot hook, as most Tainos would want to reclaim this divine spot from Spaniards and empower their deity to protect the Caribbean from storms, a reason why storms often turn out to be very powerful. It may also be a site of importance to the followers of Vodoun, depending on how you interpret the Loa.

Sactus Ionannus Baptista

The original name of Puerto Rico was the one of its capital (San Juan Bautista), and viceversa: the names changed after people started to switch the names, but the strongest evidence is on the island's Great Seal, which is also similar to its heraldic emblem .There is a reason why the seal's motto is "Ioannes est nomen eivs" - "John is its name". So, essentially, the Knights Hospitaller took a name that was officially taken, even if it doesn't apply. What will happen if the plot of the islanders succeeds and the island becomes a part of the holdings of the Knights? Will its original name remain, or will its new name remain, considering that you already mentioned that the Knights prefer giving names of saints to their holdings?

As a final bit: with the Knights Hospitaller and Spain in play, does that mean Paladins are fair game? Spain (and to an extent Portugal) spearheaded the evangelization of the New World, and with what's essentially an entire country of holy knights on the land... Also, Inquisitor-Archbishop? I expect the Inquisitor to be there, at least. And...because of that, why not go for the trifecta and add the Cleric as well? Cleric and Paladin would be limited to Spain and the Knights, while Inquisitor would be limited ONLY to the Spaniards.

[Steckie]

Lucayan Archipelago and Bermuda

History
I'm slightly confused by the term 'aggressively wrecking'. Are they forcing ships to wreck, or is wrecking being used as a term for salvaging here?
Also, does the individual who discovers the wreck get the money, or is it profit for the colony?

Wrecking is going into a shipwreck and taking out all the valuables. If possible they would even take the wood. Salvaging is a more modern word, wich mostly meant the same but when people actually started to raise ships from the bottom of the sea to use them again the meaning shifted.
For use in the setting the term wrecking would be more appropriate i think, but since i'm not a native English speaker you're better suited to make that call.

Aggressively wrecking means that they're willing to get pretty violent to protect the wreck they've discovered. Sometimes fighting or perhaps even murder if the wreck is valuable enough. These people often work in groups.
The people who take the goods from the wreck own the goods, just discovering the wreck isn't enough. The colony benefits because all items taken from a wreck are required by law to be sold at Nassau auction where the colony can get taxes from the sale.

I'm tempted to make a plot hook from the Bermuda story: They left two men to maintain the claim, but the relief fleet only found one. It was assumed he'd died after moving into the forest to look for food and never coming back... until he stumbles out of the woods a hundred years later in exactly the same condition he left in, and seems completely unaware that more than a day has passed.

Interesting, that could work.

Notables
Is that the guy's actual name? Because that is a fantastic name.

Yes, it's his real name.

Notables
I like the details here a lot. Particularly the thing about the guy with mulatto children, it really helps illustrate the time period more clearly.

I like that guy as well, it's a plot hook you can take in a lot of directions, very versatile. Plus, the whole thing is completely historical.

POIs
A very nice list! One thing in particular caught my eye, the cuban crocodiles mentioned in that last one. If we still have ground sloths, we could have packs of mostly-terrestrial crocodiles prowling through the forests in search of prey.

Sounds good to me. It's a lot more interesting than packs of roving wolves that seem to show up in a lot of campaigns.

POIs
Great list! I particularly like the madman claiming the town will be destroyed.

Fun fact: the town was historically destroyed on that date. It just seemed logical to add a madman yelling about the destruction

POIs
Aguada doesn't send mail along, or it it just this is where you'd wait for a reply to come as fast as possible?

They do send mail along, but all mail just passes through this place. If you want to know about a reply as fast as possible you should wait here and perhaps bribe a post office worker to get your mail even faster.

POIs
I think this list is in the wrong place, or you've miss-adressed some of these. A lot of the locations mention being on Sancta Ursula.

Woops, you're right that's wrong. A leftover from when i was still juggling around names.

History
What happened to the caribs that did the revolting that moved the spanish out?

I have no idea. If i had to guess they were probably taken into slavery at a later date.
Or they could have survived there until they moved to Tobago and became one of the powerfull maffia families?

Overall, pretty dang solid, lots of great illustrative details, my only complaints generally amount to 'I WANT MORE OF THIS' and some mentions of typos/omissions. Excellent work! can't wait to see what you do with Trinidad/Tobago and Blackbeard's Island.

More is going to be difficult, making this list took me a couple of weeks. Once i find (or make up) some more notable inhabitants i'll start working on Tobago and Trinidad, those should be interesting to make.
I'll fix the typos and things that Mith mentioned somewhere this week.

Interesting, since it contrasts a lot with real history (Puerto Rico has always been dependent, or so it goes, from the metropolis). Also, one of the most loyal colonies compared to those on the south, with revolts being quelled almost instantly - a reason why other conquerors often couldn't shift their power, even though people like Hendrick and Clifford, count of Cumberland did set foot on the capital. Also, Puerto Rico is (indirectly) responsible for the death of Francis Drake (even though he was indirectly weakened).

I don't know if you've followed the main thread of this setting, so i'll explain the reasoning behind this:
The Inquisition (not just the Spanish one, the whole papal institution) and the Knights Hospitaller have a long standing disagreement over wich direction Christianity should take. They are both powerfull factions, but neither is able to control the Curia.
The Knights Hospitaller own most of the Virigin Islands and use them as a base to combat piracy and various other magical and mundane threats to Christianity (this includes Protestants).
Puerto Rico suffered far less from pirate attacks because of the patrols of the Knights, their bishop is (and has been) somebody that supports the vision of the Knights in the Curia. Combine this with the fact that they're friendly neighbours and you have a Puerto Rico that likes the Knights more than they like Spain. They wont do an outright revolt, they know it's going to get quelled quickly. But they continuously nudge the Crown towards selling them to the Knights.

Quite surprised that you nailed the Coamo thermal baths and places like Aguada, often claimed to be the landing spot of Columbus on his second voyage. Not surprised, though, to see a distinctive lack of San German: its moniker is "Fundadora de Pueblos" (Founder of Towns) because it was the second official establishment and the seed from where many of the island's current municipalities emerge. There's also a very, VERY awesome landmark in the Porta Coeli Convent church: maybe it's part of a permanent Gate to the Upper Planes (or whatever is its counterpart in Pathfinder)? In fact: if it weren't because of the construction (and eventual partition of the island) of the settlement of San German, Aguada would have never existed. Thus, it's strange that such an important settlement isn't even made a brief mention.

I did found out about San German, but didn't really know how to fit them into the picture. Oh, and their nickname Fundadora de Pueblos wouldn't be appropriate yet, the setting takes place in 1750 and most of the towns founded by people from San German were founded after 1750.
If you know some interesting things about San German that existed before 1750 i would love to know about them because i agree that it's an interesting place to add to the list.

Another missing point of interest is La Fortaleza (The Fortress), also known as the "Palacio de Santa Catalina" (Palace of St. Catherine), the (unofficial) residence of the captain-general of Puerto Rico and one of its most important fortifications.

I also found out about this one and i'm surprised that i completely forgot to add it.
Thanks for bringing this up, i'll add it later this week.

[QUOTE=T.G. Oskar;18466643]Finally, a third (and natural) point of interest would be El Yunque. While not the tallest mountain on the island, it is traditionally considered to be of religious importance to the Taíno culture. Some consider it the equivalent of Mt. Olympus for the Taíno zemis, or deities, and others have a folk belief that the lead zemí, Yokahú, diverts the storm-winds from the god-like entity Jurakán from this spot. It works as an awesome plot hook, as most Tainos would want to reclaim this divine spot from Spaniards and empower their deity to protect the Caribbean from storms, a reason why storms often turn out to be very powerful. It may also be a site of importance to the followers of Vodoun, depending on how you interpret the Loa.
Didn't know this. I'm definitely adding this one, it's indeed a great plot hook.

The original name of Puerto Rico was the one of its capital (San Juan Bautista), and viceversa: the names changed after people started to switch the names, but the strongest evidence is on the island's Great Seal, which is also similar to its heraldic emblem .There is a reason why the seal's motto is "Ioannes est nomen eivs" - "John is its name". So, essentially, the Knights Hospitaller took a name that was officially taken, even if it doesn't apply. What will happen if the plot of the islanders succeeds and the island becomes a part of the holdings of the Knights? Will its original name remain, or will its new name remain, considering that you already mentioned that the Knights prefer giving names of saints to their holdings?

Well Saint John is the patron saint of the Knights, so they are going to have an Island named after him.
I think that if this situation happens they could change the names of those islands to Sanctus Ioannes Baptista Magnus and Sanctus Ioannes Baptista Exiguum. Meaning Big John the Baptist and Little John the Baptist.
Hmm, maybe i should add this to the list somewhere....

As a final bit: with the Knights Hospitaller and Spain in play, does that mean Paladins are fair game? Spain (and to an extent Portugal) spearheaded the evangelization of the New World, and with what's essentially an entire country of holy knights on the land... Also, Inquisitor-Archbishop? I expect the Inquisitor to be there, at least. And...because of that, why not go for the trifecta and add the Cleric as well? Cleric and Paladin would be limited to Spain and the Knights, while Inquisitor would be limited ONLY to the Spaniards.

This is more Admiral Squish's terrain but here's what i remember:
Paladins aren't in the game, there's a new class that combines the paladin, fighter and barbarian into one class where you can take different paths. I think there's some sort of holy warrior among the paths, but since i can't seem to find the link to the class i'm not sure.
Clerics aren't in the game either, they're going to be replaced by a new Priest class. I don't think Squish has built this one already.
Inquisitor class..... no idea what he plans with them. Personally i love the inquisitor class and would like to see it in the setting. But since i suck at mechanics i don't know how well it would fit. I'm just here to do research and share ideas

And thanks again for commenting, take a look at the main thread if you're interested in more.

[T.G. Oskar]

I don't know if you've followed the main thread of this setting, so i'll explain the reasoning behind this:
The Inquisition (not just the Spanish one, the whole papal institution) and the Knights Hospitaller have a long standing disagreement over wich direction Christianity should take. They are both powerfull factions, but neither is able to control the Curia.
The Knights Hospitaller own most of the Virigin Islands and use them as a base to combat piracy and various other magical and mundane threats to Christianity (this includes Protestants).
Puerto Rico suffered far less from pirate attacks because of the patrols of the Knights, their bishop is (and has been) somebody that supports the vision of the Knights in the Curia. Combine this with the fact that they're friendly neighbours and you have a Puerto Rico that likes the Knights more than they like Spain. They wont do an outright revolt, they know it's going to get quelled quickly. But they continuously nudge the Crown towards selling them to the Knights.

Don't follow it that much, though I saw the main page for a few things, namely the rules changes, the actual date of the setting and the meaning of the link sites, which apparently doesn't appear in the main page (then again, it was a cursory ring).

That said: the independent movement really didn't strengthen until the campaigns of Bolívar and de San Martín, which are more of a 19th century situation. That's what I feel is the big thing: 18th century in the Americas isn't as interesting as the 19th century speaking in terms of events - even the revolt of the 13 Colonies happened on the latter half of the 18th century, so it's mostly the pot starting to boil than the kitchen being on fire.

I did found out about San German, but didn't really know how to fit them into the picture. Oh, and their nickname Fundadora de Pueblos wouldn't be appropriate yet, the setting takes place in 1750 and most of the towns founded by people from San German were founded after 1750.
If you know some interesting things about San German that existed before 1750 i would love to know about them because i agree that it's an interesting place to add to the list.

As I said, Porta Coeli Convent could be a sort of Gate to the Upper Planes, owing to its name, though there's very little of interest to be honest. That said, the division of administrative regions (or Partidos) happened early on the 16th century, and at least three towns were founded before the 1750s: one of them is Aguada, the other is Ponce, and the third is Añasco. You're already speaking of one of the towns founded from San Germán. Even if it feels boring, it HAS to be mentioned in terms of how Puerto Rico was divided.

I also found out about this one and i'm surprised that i completely forgot to add it.
Thanks for bringing this up, i'll add it later this week.

Didn't know this. I'm definitely adding this one, it's indeed a great plot hook.

Kind of a shame that most of the interesting stuff didn't happen during the 1750s - Miguel Enriquez died seven years before (one of the greatest privateers for the Spanish crown), Roberto Cofresi wouldn't be born until more than 40 years later, and Capt. Antonio de los Reyes Correa was already old and known, his (third? fourth?) stint as mayor of Arecibo concluded. He's the closest thing to a Person of Interest at that moment. Also, it'd take at least a century for the discovery of the Camuy River Cavern system (and its subterranean river), or the proper discovery of "Caja de Muertos" (the Dead Man's Coffin). Those are two landmarks that I found were interesting, alongside Porta Coeli.

Well Saint John is the patron saint of the Knights, so they are going to have an Island named after him.
I think that if this situation happens they could change the names of those islands to Sanctus Ioannes Baptista Magnus and Sanctus Ioannes Baptista Exiguum. Meaning Big John the Baptist and Little John the Baptist.
Hmm, maybe i should add this to the list somewhere....

That'd be interesting: returning the original name of the island would be a must, but it'd be interesting to see how they'd deal with the capital. Would they rename the capital Puerto Rico (or its Latin equivalent), or would they use the name of an earlier settlement, Caparra (coincidentally where the ruins of Ponce de León's house are located)?

This is more Admiral Squish's terrain but here's what i remember:
Paladins aren't in the game, there's a new class that combines the paladin, fighter and barbarian into one class where you can take different paths. I think there's some sort of holy warrior among the paths, but since i can't seem to find the link to the class i'm not sure.
Clerics aren't in the game either, they're going to be replaced by a new Priest class. I don't think Squish has built this one already.
Inquisitor class..... no idea what he plans with them. Personally i love the inquisitor class and would like to see it in the setting. But since i suck at mechanics i don't know how well it would fit. I'm just here to do research and share ideas

I didn't saw the combined warrior class, but the way it seems to be built, it goes beyond a campaign setting for Pathfinder. I know this isn't the right place, but since it emerged, it seems odd that there's a complete arrangement of classes without using the native (and adopted from 3.5) classes of Pathfinder. Just saying, since it mentions it's meant to be a campaign setting for Pathfinder, but there's a lot of new content (one that could become a system of its own).

That said, I checked the new classes, and the Brute definitely does NOT look like the Paladin at all. There's only four paths, and all four paths fit the idea of the Barbarian or the Fighter, but not the Paladin. Even if Admiral Squish intends to make a spell-less Paladin variant, the mechanics work greatly against it, particularly when it's a class meant to use Strength while the Paladin uses mostly Strength AND Charisma, with the latter being an important bit. There's also no proper commander-esque class, like 3.5's Marshal or, to an extent, PF's Cavalier. Merging 3.5's Marshal, PF's Cavalier, the Paladin and the Knight would make for a collapsed counterpart to the Brute; else, it would be pointless to have a class specifically devoted to replace the Monk with a fluff-stripped version. Particularly when the flavor of the Knights Hospitaller definitely works to its favor. Can also work with the Spanish armada, since it retained some of the chivalric flavor though it made good use of firearms and pikes (as with every other class).

The Inquisitor can exist as-is, IMO, but this isn't my project so it's mostly my 2 cents. As it seems, it might be a path for the Priest.

[Admiral Squish]

To be fair, I was judging off internal consistency and trusting Steckie did his research. Spain's very different in this setting, and I'm willing to trust Steckie's assessment of the alternate progression of the island, since I can be reasonably certain he's put more thought into how the island fits into the mix than I at this point.

Knights, inquisitors, and paladins
Yeah, the brute is undergoing a dramatic overhaul at the moment, into a class I'm calling Warrior, though I'm still open to hearing a better option for a name. I'm not going to get too deep into the planned changes here, but overall, it's probably going to end up more similar to the Hunter class that's already posted than the original brute. There will be some mystical/holy options included, but they're intended to be less like spell casting and more like supernatural abilities. A limited list of abilities that can generally be used freely.
I have considered some sort of warrior-priest options for the priest class, but priest is still an idea, not really mechanics at the moment.
I have a couple reasons for not wanting to use the inquisitor. The main one is actually the teamwork feats. I'm fine with the feats, but they're not core material and I don't want to force players to buy extra books if they want to use this setting.

As to it not being much like PF, well... that's a discussion of it's own. I won't get into it here, but I'm probably going to start a conversation in the main thread soon.

Moar
Trust me, I completely understand. You've got a new kid and plenty of other priorities before this. I would love to see more, but I'm certainly not in any position to demand anyone to hurry up.

[Steckie]

Had a surprisingly busy week so i've only just finished working through all the remarks and editing things.

@T.G. Oskar: i've changed Puerto Rico a bit to include the loyalty you were talking about. The wealthy and powerfull people are very loyal to Spain (that's where the money comes from) while the lower clergy and common people look to the Knights as heroes.
I've also added the locations you mentioned to the list, and yes this includes San German