One of the Nine Free Cities
The Free City of Tortuga
Passage, for a price.
At a Glance
| Founding House | House Tortuga |
|---|---|
| Ruling House (present age) | House Tortuga; the founding house still holds the seat |
| Karthaav (present age) | Edvard Tortuga, the pirate-lord |
| Trade | Harbors, tolls, and transit fees on all shipping; privateers; mercenaries for hire |
| Custom | A curved blade at the hip; silver rings threaded through the beard mark Tortugan nobility |
Overview
Tortuga is the pirate city, and it does not mind the name. Its harbor crowds with merchant vessels, privateers, and the occasional naval frigate that has chosen to overlook the city's flexible reading of maritime law, and its prosperity rests on a principle the rest of the Free Cities find distasteful and profitable in equal measure: profit without participation. Tortuga neither buys nor sells slaves, and its law forbids the sale of them within its borders. It simply charges everyone who passes through its waters and harbors for the privilege, whatever their cargo, and the tolls have made it rich.
Tortuga is one of the few of the nine still ruled by the house that founded it. Its karthaav in the present age is Edvard Tortuga, the pirate-lord who has spent thirty years building the city into something that matters, and who has survived coups, assassins, and three separate attempts by the Inner Triumvirate to bring him to heel. Tortugan nobility wear silver rings threaded through their beards, and a curved blade at the hip is a tradition no Tortugan of rank goes without. Edvard's has been with him since his father's death.