Barony of Southwark

Barony of Southwark

Founded	817 TA
Size	Minor Kingdom
Fealty	Western Reaches
Ruler	Flynn, Baron of Southwark
Hex	6827

The town of Harrowport was founded in the mid-sixth century TA as a logging port, shipping timber from the Endless Forest which stretched southeast from its current extent to the shores of Tormod Bay. The town was isolated from other towns by the dense forest and quickly became a haven for pirates and smugglers looking for a remote harbor.

Over the next several hundred years, the forest was cut back to its current boundaries and roads were built south into Sandal and northwest into Grimsby. During this time, the port was ruled by a number of short-lived governors - mostly retired buccaneers and pirate captains. With little economic value to the Crown, Harrowport was bustling and mostly left alone.

In 817 TA, the city was sieged and occupied by the barons of the Southern Reaches, most notably the Baron of Overton who sought a shorter trade route to the sea that avoided the high tariffs levied at Freeport. The trading port on the eastern side of Sandal also provided a shorter route to the Tang Empire. During the takeover, the deposed the Governor of Harrowport, a former pirate by trade, was hung on a gallows by the docks as a sign to other buccaneers of the fate that awaited freebooters and brigands.

A retired Crown captain, Silver Southwark was appointed the first baron of Southwark. After his mysterious death, Baroness Eva Southwark assumed the throne. It was rumored that the pirates returned to the city shortly thereafter. However, the Southwarks have supported the Crown while keeping free trade flowing from the port.

To this day, Harrowport is the only significant town in the barony. The Land of Izuz and the Tomb Kingdom to the northeast provide a constant threat while the giants and big folk of Sandal to the south retard expansion of Southwark in that direction.

The current ruler of Southwark is Flynn Southwark.