The harbor of King's Landing is the busiest port of the Seven Kingdoms,[1] with its only rival being that of Oldtown.[2]
Layout
The harbor of King's Landing is found on the northern shore of the Blackwater Rush. The fish market is west of the harbor and the River Gate is to its north.[3] The waterfront has a hundred[4] quays, which are made of stone.[5]
Ramshackle bait shacks, pot-shops, warehouses, merchants' stalls, alehouses, and whorehouses have been raised between the quays and the city walls.[6]
History
As the new city of King's Landing grew during the reign of King Aegon I Targaryen, wharves and storehouses rose along the banks of the Blackwater Rush. Construction of city walls took place between 20–26 AC. [7]
Jaehaerys I Targaryen replaced the harbormaster of King's Landing after becoming king.[8] Lord Edwell Celtigar, master of coin, tripled port fees.[9]
The Shivers reached Blackwater Bay in 59 AC, with the disease believed to be carried to ports by rats.[10]
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During the Dance of the Dragons, Ser Perkin the Flea led his gutter knights in looting wharves and warehouses and any ships not out to sea amid rioting in the city.[11]
Winter Fever reached King's Landing through its port in 133 AC, with the disease first afflicting sailors, ferrymen, fishermongers, dockers, stevedores, and whores.[12]
Prince Viserys Targaryen returned to King's Landing aboard Lady Baela, meeting his brother, King Aegon III Targaryen, at the docks.[13] Traffic at the docks boomed during the Lysene Spring, especially with ships from Tyrosh, Myr, Pentos, Braavos, and Lys. Tessario the Tiger was arrested at a dockside tavern near the River Gate while seeking passage to the Port of Ibben.[14]
King Aerys II Targaryen doubled the port fees at King's Landing against the objections of his Hand, Lord Tywin Lannister, though the king reversed his decision after being approached by a delegation of small lords and rich merchants.[15]
Recent Events
A Game of Thrones
Catelyn Stark sees the busy port when she arrives at King's Landing aboard Storm Dancer.[16]
Lord Eddard Stark sends Vayon Poole to the docks to find a ship for transport back to the north.[17] Sansa and Arya Stark are to travel on the Wind Witch,[18] but the ship's departure is halted because of Eddard's arrest. When Arya visits the harbor, she sees fewer ships than she remembered.[19]
A Clash of Kings
Princess Myrcella Baratheon sails from King's Landing to Braavos on Seaswift.[20]
Tyrion Lannister, the acting Hand of the King, orders Bronn to have everything between the city walls and the water's edge burned in preparation for the Battle of the Blackwater.[6]
During the battle, Ser Davos Seaworth sees that the Lannisters burned the riverfront, sank hulks to block access to the stone quays, and retreated to the Mud Gate.[5] Tyrion sees the desolation of the fishmarket and the wharves,[21] and he leads a charge down the riverfront and among the quays.[22]
A Storm of Swords
Tyrion and Bronn visit the riverside in the battle's aftermath, and Tyrion thinks the cost of rebuilding will be ruinous.[2] Tyrion reports to his father, Lord Tywin Lannister, that the Blackwater will need to be dredged of ruined ships before the port can be reopened. Three-quarters of the quays will need to be repaired, with some potentially needing to be replaced.[2]
A Feast for Crows
Queen Regent Cersei Lannister approves the construction of new dromonds on the Blackwater.[23]
Quotes
Trade flourished as well, as ships from Tyrosh, Myr, Pentos, Braavos, and especially Lys crowded the docks along the Blackwater, offloading silks and spices, Myrish lace, jade from Qarth, ivory from Sothoryos, and many other strange and wondrous things from the ends of the earth, including luxuries seldom seen in the Seven Kingdoms before.[14]
—writings of Gyldayn
A hundred quays lined the waterfront, and the harbor was crowded with ships. Deepwater fishing boats and river runners came and went, ferrymen poled back and forth across the Blackwater Rush, trading galleys unloaded goods from Braavos and Pentos and Lys. Catelyn spied the queen's ornate barge, tied up beside a fat-bellied whaler from the Port of Ibben, its hull black with tar, while upriver a dozen lean golden warships rested in their cribs, sails furled and cruel iron rams lapping at the water.[4]
—thoughts of Catelyn Stark
The salt sea was at her back, and to the south was the fish market and the docks and the swirling torrent of the Blackwater Rush.[24]
—thoughts of Sansa Stark
King's Landing was the realm's principal harbor, rivaled only by Oldtown. The river had to be reopened, and the sooner the better.[2]
—thoughts of Tyrion Lannister
References
- ↑ George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Harbor.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 32, Tyrion IV.
- ↑ The Lands of Ice and Fire, King's Landing.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 18, Catelyn IV.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 58, Davos III.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 49, Tyrion XI.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, A Time of Testing - The Realm Remade.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, A Surfeit of Rulers.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - The Hooded Hand.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - The Voyage of Alyn Oakenfist.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Fire & Blood, The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys II.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 18, Sansa II.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 33, Eddard VIII.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 45, Eddard XII.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 65, Arya V.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 41, Tyrion IX.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 59, Tyrion XIII.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 61, Tyrion XIV.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 28, Cersei VI.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 67, Sansa VI.