Setting:History

From DevilshireWiki

The Black Swan by Frederich Strause features the ship nearing to port at Devilshire.

In 1630, a decade after the Mayflower landing at Plymouth rock, the King of England granted the Seekers of Biblical Truth, commonly called just the Seekers, a charter for colonizing a small portion of New England. Led by the religion's founder, James Devlin, the Seekers boarded the Black Swan, a cargo ship going to America to load up on raw materials for production in Europe.

On June 6, 1631, the Black Swan came ashore just long enough to offload the Seekers. It then moved off to Plymouth for trade. The Seekers founded their colony, called Devilshire on the lip of a small bay, along the Chien de Chasse Noir river. The Seekers worked hard, setting up as much of the settlement as possible before winter came. By the time the first snows fell, most of the housing, the temple, and the meeting hall were built and the fields were prepared for the next growing season.

Nearly a year to the day of the colony's founding, the Black Swan returned, only to hit a rock outcropping and sink offshore. The survivors, including Captain Hans Swann, had little choice but to join the settlement. In time, some were able to leave and find work on other ships but many, Swann included, sent for their families and became members of the community. Both an Anglican and a small Catholic church were built in Devilshire. As time went on, the settlement grew and prospered as others came from England to join it.

Eventually, in the late 1600s, Devilshire was absorbed into the Massachusetts Bay Colony and grew into a township. While the town had more than it's fair share of odd happenings, it remained relatively peaceful. In time, the Seekers shrunk into a minority though the wealthy Devlin family continued to play a dominating roll in town politics.

In 1705 Sherman Devlin, great-grandson of founder James Devlin, granted the money and land needed to found Devilshire College. While the town bay provided a haven for fisherman and light industry could make use of the river for power, the chief draw of the town quickly became the college. By the time of the Civil War, Devilshire College had become Devilshire University and had established a reputation for academic excellence throughout the country.

Devilshire contributed men to the Civil War, the Mexican-American war, and the Spanish-American war. The town weathered the Great Depression, mostly thanks to the generosity of the Devlin family. During World War II, three separate rope making factories opened in Devilshire, providing much of the rope used by US troops in Europe and the Pacific.

The 60s marked the only major, open unrest in the town's long history. A march down Main Street by college protesters, calling for a cultural revolution, was met by an angry mob of locals. Before police broke up the clash, five college students and two locals were dead and many more were injured. No one was ever charged because no one was able to bear witness to any specific acts of violence.

Today, Devilshire remains primarily a university town. Much of the town's business caters to the student and faculty population of Devilshire University in one way or another. Because of the international reputation of the school, Devilshire has some things most small towns do not, including a variety of different ethnic restaurants, a cybercafe, houses of worships for several faiths, including a Reform Jewish Synagogue and a Muslim Mosque, and a nightclub or two. Despite its name, Devilshire projects an aura of peace, calm, and academic serenity to the world.