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I'm reading through Absalom, City of Lost Omens. And loving it!!!!
Thought it might be fun to open a Lore thread where we can ask questions or post interesting observations about the Lore of Absalom.
Okay, my first question: How does someone qualify as a Citizen?
Foreign Quarter indicates that foreigners are heavily taxed if they live anywhere else in the city. Only two specific mentions of citizenship in the book are, all ex-slaves freed in 4717 AR have full citizenship; and a certain troll hopes to be granted citizenship by a potential future primarch. (So it sounds like the primarch can grant citizenship. And foreigners who perform acts of exceptional heroism on behalf of the city might also receive this award.)
Meanwhile, the grandchildren of Lirgen refugees still live in their designated neighborhood of the Foreign Quarter, as do Taldan and Chelaxian expatriates from (in some cases, presumably) generations ago. Which could be because they're still "foreigners" or just because families tend to remain together.
So, do children born on the Isle of Kortos receive citizenship regardless of parentage? Or only if a parent is already a citizen/only outside the Foreign Quarter? That is, could one of those Lirgen grandkids, whose family moved here 100 years ago, decide to buy a house in Eastgate, or would they still be subjected to the Foreigner tax?
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I think I found my answer in the Founding Laws of Absalom:
"Grant all adult natives of the city (defined as those born on the Isle of Kortos, children of those born there, and adults who serve the councils or guard units of Absalom for no less than 10 years) protection from unwilling exile or imprisonment except as punishment upon conviction of a crime."
I think it's fair to assume "natives of the city" = "citizens"; so children of foreigners, if born in the city, have citizenship.
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Those are not necessary the same though.
True, but lacking other information to use, it's a good guess.
It's how things work in the US basically, be born here, be born to a parent who is already a citizen, or serve in the military to become a citizen. You can also patriate to the US through a much longer, expensive, and difficult process. However it sounds like Absalom doesn't offer that as a general option.