Armada is the name of the fictional floating city in
China MiévilleChina Tom Miéville is an award-winning English fantasy fiction writer. He is fond of describing his work as "weird fiction" , and belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist Workers Party...
's novel
The ScarThe Scar is the third novel written by China Miéville, a self-described "weird fiction" writer from London, England. The Scar won the 2003 British Fantasy Award and was shortlisted for the 2003 Arthur C. Clarke Award. Miéville won both these awards in 2001 for his previous novel, Perdido Street...
. The city is part of the fictional universe
Bas-LagBas-Lag is the fictional world in which several of China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic and steampunk technology exist, and is home to many intelligent races...
. It is over a thousand years old, and little is known of its origins. In
The Scar, Armada is seen and described through the eyes of several recently-press-ganged citizens, notably
New CrobuzonerNew Crobuzon is a fictional city-state created by China Miéville and located in his fictional world of Bas-Lag. It is prominently featured in both Perdido Street Station and Iron Council, and serves as a plot device and background for The Scar....
Bellis Coldwine and
RemadeThe Remade are a fictional group of bio-engineered people in the novels and stories by China Miéville set in the world of Bas-Lag. Bas-Lag itself is a mix of magic and technology, and the Remade are an example of this...
prisoner Tanner Sack.
Description
Armada is made up of hundreds of ships, airships and other sea vessels all interconnected, existing as a movable pirate state on the oceans of Bas-Lag. The ships, the oldest having been part of Armada for more than a thousand years, are mostly built-upon, factories and residences built up on their decks (and in some cases, within their gutted hulls). The city's population is at least a hundred thousand, and is made up of humans, cactacae, khepri, ab-dead,
RemadeThe Remade are a fictional group of bio-engineered people in the novels and stories by China Miéville set in the world of Bas-Lag. Bas-Lag itself is a mix of magic and technology, and the Remade are an example of this...
, scabmettlers and many other races. People considered criminals (or otherwise being of lower classes) in their former home states of Bas-Lag are recast as equals upon joining Armada, and often go on to hold positions of power.
Armada thrives on piracy, and through this method adds wealth to itself. Piracy of the seas also leads to acquisitions of knowledge in countless languages (all books are stolen for the Grand Gears Library), and the growth of Armada's population, for any ship intercepted by Armada's forces is assimilated into the city and its crew and passengers are press-ganged into citizenship for life. The language of Armada is Salt, a
constructed languageA planned or constructed language—known colloquially as a conlang—is a language whose phonology, grammar, and/or vocabulary has been consciously devised by an individual or group, instead of having evolved naturally...
deliberately made easy to learn, and consisting of vocabulary from the languages of the many races who inhabit the city.
Ridings
Armada is divided into separate ridings (boroughs of the city), each governed by a different body. The ridings are as follows in the time period of
The Scar.
Garwater
The most powerful of the ridings, led by the Lovers, two nameless scar-covered pirates who influence most of Armada's decisions. Garwater's
flagshipA flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
is
The Grand Easterly. It is also in possession of two enormous airships, the
Arrogance and the
Trident, as well as the stolen
New CrobuzonNew Crobuzon is a fictional city-state created by China Miéville and located in his fictional world of Bas-Lag. It is prominently featured in both Perdido Street Station and Iron Council, and serves as a plot device and background for The Scar....
deep-sea rig
Sorghum.
Dry Fall
Governed by a vampir called the Brucolac, Dry Fall's residents are prosperous and have the most security and individual freedoms of any of the ridings in Armada, but they pay for this way of life through a "goretax" - they donate their own blood to their vampiric leader. Dry Fall, along with Curhouse, stands against Garwater's plans to raise the avanc. Dry Fall's flagship is the
Uroc.
Booktown
Run by a khepri triumvirate. Booktown houses the Grand Gears Library, Armada's immense stronghold of knowledge.
Curhouse
Curhouse is the most democratic of the ridings, and is governed by a large Council, who tend to oppose the Lovers. Curhouse is where Bellis Coldwine's ship the
Terpsichoria ends up, and it is also the location of Croom Park, a large public garden spread over several ships that have been gutted and filled with soil.
Thee-and-Thine
This riding is led by a trader-king named Friedrich, whose favour is easily bought by the Lovers. It is regarded as a lawless slum-like neighbourhood by the greater populace of Armada, but Bellis observes that it is more mercantile than lawless. The flagship is the
Salt Godling.
Bask
Bask's flagship is the
Tailor's Moan. It is home to the menfish.
Jhour
This riding is led by a Cactacae queen named Braginod. Its flagship is the
Saskital.
Shaddler
This riding is governed by a general, and is home to the majority of the Scabmettler population. Its flagship is the
Therianthropus.
The Haunted Quarter
A deserted riding of ancient ships, believed to be inhabited by all manner of ghouls and other supernatural beings. It was used as a hideout for Silas Fennec.
The avanc
In the course of the events of
The Scar, the Lovers devise of and carry out a plan to raise the legendary avanc to give Armada ultimate power over the seas. This has been tried once before in Armada's history, as evidenced by five enormous chains attached to the undersides of the city's largest ships. Along with a team of scientists and engineers, and against the voices of several of the other ridings, Garwater is able to summon the avanc using a great deal of physical and magical energy. This gives Armada the means to travel to the mythical "Scar".