Escalia County, Alexandria

Escalia County, officially the County of Escalia, is a county in eastern Alexandria, in Cartadania. As of 2023, it had an estimated population of approximately 1,984,212, making it the second-most populous county in Alexandria. It has one city, Portsmouth, which is the county seat, but six total municipalities, the five others being towns.

History
At the time of earliest Caphirian colonization, the native tribes of the area that would become Escalia County were the Ettian, an Ancient Latin-speaking sub-group of the Adonerii and Cartic people. They lived in small city-states which were much smaller than those found on Urlazio, but it catalyzed the development of many cities that are today eastern Alexandria. Many of the small villages that formed as part of the city states still have some cultural significance today. The Adonerii's demise came with the rise in natural disasters and strengthening of other civilizations proximal to the league.

Creation and divisions in colonial and early statehood era
Escalia County did not exist prior to the creation of the Second Republic. It was a part of the much larger but now extinct Ettian Regio of Alexandria under the rule of Caphiria. It wasn't until Ettian Regio was split into the six counties that exist today that Escalia County came into existence. Created as part of the large scale amendments to Alexandria's constitution, Escalia County was one of the first few counties that existed in early Alexandria and its towns reflect the historic nature of the area, especially those near the coast.

In early Alexandria, Escalia County was the center of defense manufacturing for the Cartadanian Navy, and Valorica Marine has a shipyard in the city. It built many of the countries ships between the early 18th and 20th centuries. This role has lessened in modern times due to contraints from urbanization in eastern Alexandria, but the county still has a large defense manufacturing presence.

Present day
Today, the county is primarily a outer suburb of New Venceia, although not contained in it's metro area. The population exploded around the late 1950s, pushing it from Alexandria's 30th largest county to second largest county in just half a century. It is a well representation of Alexandria itself in that the eastern portions of the county tend to be more leisure and tourism geared, while the central and western portions are more aimed at the service and banking industries, and still yet the southern reaches are still somewhat rural in nature, a characteristic that is very uncommon in this area of the state.

Education
Escalia County Public Schools is the second-largest school system in Alexandria (having recently overtaken New Venceia City Public Schools). The system consists of 171 elementary, 48 middle, and 39 high schools, as well as a virtual high school, two traditional schools, three special education schools, and two alternative schools. The Superintendent of Escalia County Public Schools is Dr. Palmira R. Favara. The system has a television station called ECS-TV. It is programmed and operated by Escalia County Public Schools' Media Production Services Department and is accessible to Amplus and Veritas subscribers in Escalia County.

The county is served by three public universities, although only one is located in the county itself—Alexandria State University, Portsmouth. The University of Alexandria is just north of the county in New Venceia, and is the largest university in the state, and one of the most well known public universities in the country. The Alexandria Institute of Technology primary campus is located about 65 km south in Rieti County.