Francistown 2011 | A Paradise of Wonder

King-Emperor Charles I wrote:"I'd like to make a statement about our grand and wonderful capital of Francistown. Francistown's history goes back to the early 19th century, when our King Francis III sent out scouts to find a good location for a new city to help relieve the capital city of Mousford, which was suffering from overcrowding. The newly-founded city quickly grew, and by the year 1900, had become a showcase of all the best that Grand had to offer, with magnificent Posilliponian buildings on every corner, buildings in authentic Grandian style in many other places, and parkland and tree-lined canals everywhere. This would all change with the invasion of Grand by Trentannia in 1941.

During the war, much of Francistown was devastated by the bombing. When the Trentannians took over Grand, they made Francistown the new capital of the 'Republic of Grand', and intended to make it a showcase of how Trentannia could improve even devastated countries. Their mark can still be seen in the numerous Trentannian buildings to be found all over the city.

In 1952, after over a decade of being a puppet state of Trentannia, a combined force of Free Grandians and Posilliponians finally liberated Francistown from the Trentannian Empire, though at a heavy price: over 65% of the city was destroyed in the especially fierce battle, with an especially heavy toll taken on the historic Posilliponian structures. In many cases, 'gaps' in places in the Posilliponian areas of the city where it seems like there was once a large building there were created when the remains of the destroyed buildings were cleared after the war, with new, smaller buildings going up in their place.

The 1960s were a period of turmoil for Grand, with the death of King Francis V, who had guided the Free Grandians through the war, and his wife Queen Jennifer, the former Crown Princess of Puget, as well as an invasion of the nation by the communist People's Republic of Belluterra. During this time, Francistown's population grew substantially as scores of Belluterran refugees immigrated to Grand, many of them choosing to stay in Francistown. Also, during this time, construction began on one of the most famous landmarks of the city today, Saint Josephine's Cathedral.

Saint Josephine's Cathedral under construction

In the '70s, King Daniel III, the Grandian King at the time, drew up plans for making Francistown his new capital, replacing Mousford, which had been the capital since the 17th century. The plans called for a complete rejuvenation of the East Side of town, which had been a primarily industrial area since the turn of the century, but was becoming abandoned as many industries relocated farther west, or even in other countries. However, the half-completed Project Rejuvenation was indefinitely postponed when King Daniel III died in 1997, leaving the throne to his second son, who became King Daniel IV.

The new King continued to postpone Project Rejuvenation for the time being, focusing instead on completing his lifetime goal of uniting Grand and Belluterra, which had so fatefully seperated in 1790. However, after the reunion took place in 1998, with himself being crowned as Emperor Daniel I of Belluterra, he re-embarked on Project Rejuvenation. The project was finally completed in 2010, over 34 years after it began.

In 2005, Francistown celebrated its bicentennial, with great celebration. A monumental statue of King Francis III, who was the original founder of Francistown, was unveiled in King Francis Plaza as part of the celebrations. It would also be on this square, six years later, that one of King-Emperor Daniel IV's personal bodyguards attempted to assassinate the Imperial Family. In this, he was only partially successful, killing Princess Royal May's husband, as well as fatally wounding my father, King-Emperor Daniel IV & I, who died a few weeks later.

King Francis Plaza

Not too long ago, Francistown submitted a bid for the 17th ISC Session; however, we lost to Barnanova. This time, we hope to win this bid, as the next step in our goal of hosting the Summer Simlympics in this magnificent city of ours. In ten days, bidding for the ISC Session will close. In these ten days, we shall present more of our city, in the hopes that we will win this bid. All that said, I now officially open Francistown's bid for the 18th ISC Session! Now, until we present the accommodations, farewell! Khot hap ee ko!"

An ethnically Posilliponian area of town