Williamsburgh
Williamsburgh (wɪljəmsbərə) is the capital city of Saint Albans. It is situated in the ceremonial Capital District, in the central south of the island of Great Albanum. It is the most populous city in Saint Albans, and one of the largest within the region. In the 2010 census, the population was 14,838,761; the population of the Greater Williamsburgh Area stands at roughly 28,500,000, making the GWA the most populous and densest urbanisation in the CDN.
Williamsburgh is the fourth distinct settlement on the site. There is evidence of human activity in the area for as much as 15,000 years. The first recorded settlement was Latinized as Verapudos Oppido (town on the Ver) by Hibernia in 29AD. This settlement grew to around 10-15,000 by 80BC but was razed by invading Denud tribes. The Denud erected a fort downstream but adjacent to the farmland of the exterminated Verapudos Oppido residents. This fort became known as Uictoriae Arce (citadel of victory) once the Denud departed in around 60BC. The fort supported a growing town that by 10AD was known as Verlamion. Colonised during the Roman invasion, Verulamium thrived and grew to a population of 35,000 that supported a continental pottery trade. During the Roman occupation, the settlement gradually grew downriver, closer to the estuary of the River Ver. In around 209AD, a Roman soldier, Alban, became the first Christian martyr in the land, and the cult that grew around him led to the adoption of his name on a national basis.
The city of Verulamium was officially renamed Saint Albans in around 550AD after the Roman Occupation had ended. The central location of St Albans made it a natural candidate as a power base, and the city became the de facto capital in around 600AD. Though the River Ver was lined with docks, a second settlement on the estuary, 15 miles downriver, sprang up in around 800AD. Known simply as Port Alban, this settlement went through periods of growth and contraction depending on the state of trade across the channel to Santen. In around 1300 it was noted that the name had been contracted to Portaban.
A rather nondescript town, Portaban had developed into a dirty and cramped town rife with poverty, in contrast to the clean St Albans with it's glittering palaces and wealth of fine architecture. The exception to this rule was the large Romanesque cathedral of Saint Mary the Virgin. The current Williamsburgh Cathedral is the third church on this site and the largest church in the country and region.
Upon the Union of the Crowns in 1620, the influx of Santenese to Saint Albans fuelled an explosion in the population of Portaban. Though wealthy and educated, the Santenese were not initially permitted to own land in the capital, so the majority remained in Portaban. Here, they were responsible for the building of infrastructure that the ruling dynasty had failed to account for. This investment led to many modern facilities being found in Portaban that were lacking just a few miles down the river. In 1717, Prince William cemented the rise of the town when he decided to purchase a home their, and Portaban became the base from which the heir to the throne operated. Less than a year later, William decided that his home was unworthy, and initiated the construction of New Hall, a grand Gothic structure on the banks of the Ver that would become the largest palace in the region. When William acceded to the throne in 1734, he embarked on an ambitious reconstruction scheme, and much of the centre of Portaban was swept away and replaced with the wide boulevards and large plazas that characterise the city. In 1766, while being repaired and renovated following the death of William's mother Queen Charlotte, the Palace of Greenacre burned down. The loss of the official residence of the monarch (and by default the seat of power in the nation) spurred William to extend New Hall. On his death in 1769, New Hall was the location whereby Williams courtiers negotiated the formal union of the two nations. Subsequently, New Hall became the centre of government, and Portaban became the de facto capital. In 1773, in honour of his massive influence on the revitalised town, Portaban was renamed Williamsburgh.
