TheEarCollector
March 5th, 2005, 10:18 PM
This is a worldbuilding question, because in the long process of my current worldbuilding project, I was forced to ask myself why cities are built in the places they are built. I thought about it long and hard, and I came up with a lot of reasons...
1. Military bases - The families of soldiers, and craftsmen who hope to sell to soldiers, set up towns around military encampments which can eventually grow into towns and then cities. I have a firm understanding of where military bases are built, so this is understandable to me.
2. Natural harbors - Along the coast you have ports because there are few places that form good natural harbors. Later on people can build their own harbors, but as far as medieval man goes, you have to make due with what you have.
3. The funnel effect - I call this the funnel effect, but it is basically just having one path that you are reasonably sure people are going to take. Mountain passes or clearings between forests would make a great type of "funnel effect" town because people are going to come through there and you can then trade with them.
4. Natural resources - Mining towns have always been a huge thing, if there is a resource you can exploit then the chances are that you are going to set up there and try to exploit it. Water in the deserts, gold and silver in the mountains, whatever is valuable.
5. Impassable terrain - If the settlers moving in one direction come to a high mountain range or a wide river they might just stop and set up their town there. It's not one of the best reasons, but it is a reason why people would set up in some places.
6. Change of weather - If people are travelling and bad weather hits, then they are going to be forced to stop for a bit. When the weather gets better they might just choose to stay and then a town begins to form because the houses are already there...
7. Religious experience - Kind of like why the Aztecs founded Tenochtitlan where they did... You get a sign from God and you just start building.
This covers a lot of cases, but then there are the cases I just don't understand.
Cities in the American west where settlers stopped for no apparent reason along the way... What made them stop there and what kept the cities around? Farming towns in Europe where castles emerged because someone needed to claim lordship over the serfs? Crusader castles along the way to Jerusalem, why not just have different roads that go around them?
I think there is something that I am missing when I think about the reasons why cities and villages spring up where they do, and maybe all of you can help me figure out what it is.
1. Military bases - The families of soldiers, and craftsmen who hope to sell to soldiers, set up towns around military encampments which can eventually grow into towns and then cities. I have a firm understanding of where military bases are built, so this is understandable to me.
2. Natural harbors - Along the coast you have ports because there are few places that form good natural harbors. Later on people can build their own harbors, but as far as medieval man goes, you have to make due with what you have.
3. The funnel effect - I call this the funnel effect, but it is basically just having one path that you are reasonably sure people are going to take. Mountain passes or clearings between forests would make a great type of "funnel effect" town because people are going to come through there and you can then trade with them.
4. Natural resources - Mining towns have always been a huge thing, if there is a resource you can exploit then the chances are that you are going to set up there and try to exploit it. Water in the deserts, gold and silver in the mountains, whatever is valuable.
5. Impassable terrain - If the settlers moving in one direction come to a high mountain range or a wide river they might just stop and set up their town there. It's not one of the best reasons, but it is a reason why people would set up in some places.
6. Change of weather - If people are travelling and bad weather hits, then they are going to be forced to stop for a bit. When the weather gets better they might just choose to stay and then a town begins to form because the houses are already there...
7. Religious experience - Kind of like why the Aztecs founded Tenochtitlan where they did... You get a sign from God and you just start building.
This covers a lot of cases, but then there are the cases I just don't understand.
Cities in the American west where settlers stopped for no apparent reason along the way... What made them stop there and what kept the cities around? Farming towns in Europe where castles emerged because someone needed to claim lordship over the serfs? Crusader castles along the way to Jerusalem, why not just have different roads that go around them?
I think there is something that I am missing when I think about the reasons why cities and villages spring up where they do, and maybe all of you can help me figure out what it is.