Flag of the City-State of Birts (1837-56)
The City-State of Birts was the first attempt at widespread settling of the Birtish people. The capital, Birtsmorton, was founded by Chieftan James Wilkinson I of the Marjn in 1837. During Chieftan Wilkinson's rule, Birtsmorton never grew particularly large, remaining a township of only a few thousand permanent residents. The town grew seasonally, as the still nomadic tribes would gather there at various times of year, pitching their tents around the edges. Birtsmorton would be a major trading point for the Birtish tribes throughout this period, as it was only here that a major exchange of goods between foreign merchants and the tribes could ever take place. the establishment of a permanent market place helped to create a boom of imported goods from abroad to the Birtish.
This period was also the second attempt to convert the Shamanistic Birtish people. Chieftan Wilkinson I was a Daoist convert, and attempted to convert his fellow Birtish. Within the confines of Birtsmortons borders, Shaman practices were outlawed, and only Daoism was permitted. This is often thought to be one of the causes for Wilkinson's failure to expand the City-State further, as many nomads would have been put off by having to forsake their beliefs.
Chieftan Wilkinson's power was always quite limited, with authority over his own tribe, and the few others who settled in Birtsmorton, and it was in 1856 that he was overthrown by his son, and the Theocracy of Birts-Dao was founded.