Gotham Colony was founded in the mid-1630s. The initial site for the colony was chosen largely on the prompting of one Nathaniel Wayne, who had extensively scouted the area beforehand. While having many positive qualities, the deciding factor in Wayne's choice was that the local Indian tribes shunned the area; in Wayne's mind, this meant that the primary source of conflict between settlers and natives could be avoided, and peaceful relations could be maintained.
Unfortunately, while Wayne's intentions were pure, he failed to understand the reason why the Natives avoided the place, namely that they were convinced it was cursed, haunted by an evil spirit. When the colonists began settling in, the Natives concluded that they were doomed, and resolved to do the humane thing and put them out their misery. The resultant bloody conflict left dozens of colonists dead, and several tribes reduced almost to extinction.
Though the colony quickly recovered and became prosperous, Wayne took the bloodshed badly, and found comfort in religion. Unfortunately, his pursuit of absolution drove him to fanaticism. Ten years later, an outbreak of sickness and a bad harvest drove Wayne to suspect witchcraft. The resultant hysteria ended with the deaths of a woman of the colony named Annie and a stranger named Mordecai. Once again having the blood of innocents on his hands finally quenched the madness that had consumed Nathaniel Wayne, and he dedicated the remainder of his life to ensuring the colony's safety and prosperity, a quest passed on to his descendants.
Ironically, Annie actually WAS a witch, albeit of the white variety, and her death was orchestrated by small group who had come to worship the entity the Natives believed dwelled on the site of the colony, a demon they dubbed Barbatos. The Cult of Barbatos was unable to capitalize on their victory, however, due to the interference of another occult society that had arrived with the second wave a colonists, a group that called themselves the Court of Owls...
