Bridgeport (Westridge)

Bridgeport is a prosperous trading center located along the coast of western Elwynn, inside the Duchy of Westridge. It is one of the larger towns within the Duchy. Bridgeport benefits both from access to the sea and also a small river route that runs along the town's eastern edge. Maritime trade, fishery, and thriving industry has made the town a wealthy source of income and goods for the Duchy.

In addition, the town has also mustered a local garrison to serve in the First Regiment of the Elwynn Brigade. The garrison, formally known as the 31st Battalion of Foot, has taken on the moniker of the Bridgeport Blackpowders. It continues to serve to this day under the leadership of the Duchy's ruler, Lord Maxen Montclair.

History
The town can trace back its origins to even before Stormwind's independence. When the region served as a colony for the Arathorian Empire, the town used to be called Mare Potesta. In old Arathorian, this roughly translates to "sea power", or strength found in the sea. This may have alluded to the port's prime location along the western coast, which allowed the Empire's trade fleets and navies to patrol the southern edge of the continent with few concerns regarding the overstretching of supply lines. In those times, Mare Potesta was ruled by an Imperial Magistrate, and was also the base of operations for multiple naval squadrons and mercantile guilds. When the War of Stormwind's Independence came to be, the town was quickly seized by local rebels against the Empire. The Imperial squadrons were sent back out to sea, and any ships that remained were seized for the rebellion. A small skirmish occurred on an unfinished stone bridge crossing over a rocky gap leading into town, which led to the locals renaming the town Bridgeport. This was done to both honor the fallen Stormwind rebels that fought to defend the town from the Imperial forces, and also for the sake of convenience -- since most travelers crossed the bridge to arrive at the main highway running through the realm.

After the war, the town fell under the control of the House of Montclair, and began its efforts towards reconstruction. Bridgeport was not horribly affected by the conflict, sans for some minor damaged sustained during minor skirmishes or naval raids conducted by the Arathorian Imperial Navy. Regardless, the local populace began to rebuild the local docks, finish the bridge into town, and encourage trade of all sorts in the town itself. What began as a small fishing town eventually became a thriving center for workshops and trading guilds.

The First War & Reconstruction
Bridgeport, like all other towns and territories within the realm, suffered greatly during the First War. Most of the town had been burnt to the ground, with the docks being dismantled to serve as construction materials for the Orcish Horde. However, once Second War came and the lands were liberated, the efforts towards Reconstruction lead to a second resurgence in Bridgeport. Now armed with new tools for industry, the town of Bridgeport began to see the benefits of outside technology. The dwarves and gnomes of Ironforge began to assist the realm by providing access to new industrial methods for forging and manufacturing. Bridgeport took to these developments quickly, and managed to create a strong industrial base for itself. This would lead to not only Bridgeport but the whole of the Duchy to serve as a key source for wealth and trade within the Kingdom of Stormwind. In addition to manufacturing methods, Bridgeport also adopted the use of new technologies -- specifically, firearms and blackpowder. Famously, it was written that dwarven merchants traded the town of Bridgeport twelve muskets for them to use. As time passed, the art of musketry was refined and new techniques such as rifling were introduced. This made Bridgeport not only a key supplier of raw and manufactured goods, but also now a key component of the Duchy's and Stormwind's arms market. Their most popular product to this day still is the renowned Bridgeport rifle -- known for its quality and durability. The arms market in Bridgeport became so successful, that the town was able to charter its own official foundry: the Bridgeport Arms Foundry.

The Bridgeport Blackpowders
As the Alliance-Horde War and the factional violence that came along with it began to flare up along all of Azeroth, the armies of Stormwind began to mobilize in an effort to assist their fellow allies in the Grand Alliance.