Much as in the Old World, in the New World most of the population is rural rather than urban, it simply takes too many people to grow enough food to support more than 10-20% of a population not engaged in agriculture. Therefore, even many of the inhabitants of towns and cities are going to be the farm and fisherman population of the area.

The Kingdom of Nessex is divided into a basic unit called a Hundred (5 miles by 5 miles). In each Hundred there are about 1000 people, divided into 100 hides or portions. Each Hide must provide 1 militia man when the Hue and Cry is given and 1 militia man in 5 can be called up for 2 months of service in the army of the king each year, with the remaining 4 then being responsible for supplying him and keeping up his farm (the essential set up of both the Anglo-Saxon fyrd militia and Charlemagne's army). So, out of each 1000 rural people, 100 are militia, approximately 400 are their immediate families, and the other 500 are either extended family or landless laborers (younger sons, new immigrants,etc.). In addition, there will be the Lord of the Hundred's Household, which could range from only 5 people to up to 50, depending on the lord's wealth.

The rural population, then is approximately 40 people per square mile of settled, farmed land, roughly that of all of Medieval England, but far smaller than that of Medieval France.

Most of the farming population will live in a village, a collection of houses. Each hundred might have between 1 and 6 villages. But, the Hundreds near the border with the wilderness will have fewer villages, and those villages will have a stout stockade wall.

A village with a wall and at least 1000 inhabitants is called a “burg”, “borough” or “town” and is likely to have some more craftsmen and businesses, although most of the craftsmen are also farm holders. If all the inhabitants of a Hundred live in the same village, it is likely to be a burg. Most burgs in the New World will have from 1000-4000 perhaps the most common situation is when 4 Hundreds meet at a point, half the population of each live at the central burg, giving it a population of 2000.

Jorvikburg is an example, it has a total population of 4000 made of about 3/4 the farmers of the Hundreds of East Jorvik, West Jorvik, South Jorvik and North Jorvik, plus and additional 1000 people who are permanent dwellers, craftsmen, servants, laborers etc, attracted by the Court of the Earl of Jorvikshire and his castle at the town. These are arranged as an Urban Hundred, with 100 or so business owners, shopkeeps etc acting as the town militia.

Anything larger than about 4000-5000 counts as a “city” of which there are only two in the New World. The first is Kingston, the capital of Nessex, where the royal court lies and the trade houses and most ship traffic comes. It has a population that varies from 8,000-10,000 depending on time of year, refugee traffic, etc., making it about half the size of London. The second is Leifsby, the first settlement in the New World, established by Leif Erikson on what we would deem as Newfoundland. Leifsby has recently grown to a population of about 6000 people, supported by the fishing population of the North East.

The structure of settlements outside of Nessex is similar, every 1000 people or so has a chief, the chief answers to an Earl or Prince of some kind. About 10% of the population are considered fighting material, but up to 30% might be pressed into service.

As a general rule the population breaks down as follows:

• 1% Lords and Knights (1 lord per 1000 people)
• 4% Soldiers—full time soldiers, usually garrison or guards of important places, most are 2 HD to 4 HD
• 10% Militia—the property holding class of men: farmers, shop-owners, trained to fight when called out by Lord or King.
• 10% Laborers: property-less men, not obligated to military service
• 4% Dirtbags—thieves, conmen, beggars, drunks, smugglers and the rest
• 1% Specials—wizards, priests, shape-shifters and other powerful weirdos.
• 70% Others—women, children old folks

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