Isle of Rupert

In Game
The Isle of Rupert is the prinicipal island in NORTHWIND. It serves as the starting Island until others, such as Ellesmere, are discovered.

The map itself is fairly small, but is rich in resources. Furthermore, it is very developed; it boasts 2 towns, many mines, and around a dozen shops/animal spawns scattered across the map. It also serves as the home base of the Hudson's Bay Company - which is garrisoned at Fort Rupert. Overall, though again, the map is quite limited, it is filled with things to do - life on the Isle of Rupert is seldom tedious or dull.

New players will spawn in one of three places: James Bay, the aforementioned Fort Rupert, and Home of the Spirits (for Colonist, HBC, and Native roles respectively). They are each in their own little corner of the map, with James Bay being in the top left, the Fort being in the top right, and Home of the Spirits being in the bottom right.

Travelling to other Islands from the Isle of Rupert requires a boat and lots of patience.

Features

 * Normal level looting
 * No house saves
 * 2 settlements, each featuring a NPC with a unique master profession
 * Several stores (with one being hidden)
 * Dozens of animal spawns, concentrated at Nigel's Cove, Home of the Spirits, and St. Paul
 * 4 safezones (5, including the boat)
 * A boat that takes you between the 2 towns for a small fee (if you can pay it, otherwise, it's free).

Historically
The Isle of Rupert is somewhere inside Hudson's bay (as it is an isle). This colony was established in the year 1670 by King Charles II, and was ruled by the Empire for around 200 years. Governance was turned over to the Hudson's Bay Company, which received a royal charter authorizing them to rule in the King's name.

The charter itself read as follows:


 * "The sole Trade and Commerce of all those Seas, [Straits], Bays, Rivers, Lakes, Creeks, and Sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie within the [area known as Hudson's Bay], together with all the lands, Countries, Territories, upon the coasts and confines [of the aformentioned area], are now [no longer private property of our subjects or any other state]... and that said land from henceforth be reckoned and reputed as [one of our American Colonies]..."
 * "The Governor and Company... and their successors, the true and absolute Lords and Propreitors, of the same territory, Limits, and Places foresaid... and all the other premises."

The area itself was a hotbed for the fur trade. The Hudson's Bay Company was given a monopoly on the fur trade within the local area - as local as the entire bay can be - provided they are able to enforce their claims. It certainly wasn't easy; Rupert's land stretched over 3,861,400 square kilometers, easily a third of modern day Canada. Furthermore, governance wasn't always peaceful: a series of armed conflicts erupted when Dutch Traders began infringing on British Interests (collectively known as the Pemmican Wars, between the Dutch Northwest Company and the Hudson's Bay Company).

Interestingly, due to the prevalence of the fur trade and the European's lack of geographical knowledge, it became a neccesity to hire First Nation and Metis natives in order to serve as guides and prospectors. This lead to one of the first systems in the British Empire where natives, commonly seen as subhuman and stupid, could advace in society.

As time went on, the fur trade became less and less profitable, and the Hudson's Bay Company was forced to liquidate more and more financial assets. This culminated in the Rupert's land act of 1868, where the company sold it's territory to the growing state of Canada. The Company formally surrendered it's charter to the crown in 1870, recieving 300,000 pounds in compensation. At that point, the company owned no land - the company charter merely conferred an enforcable monopoly on British subjects.