Why does Morthal exist?

[Chellsea]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvJpB3_tQ80&index=1&list=PLfYWNFvV8e9rwzO9UA6lFtGf_6XKW5XXf

Whiterun has farming and hunting
Marharth has mines
Falkreath has lumber
Riften has fishing
Windhelm is a port
Dawnstar is a port
Winterhold has College and was much larger before the Great Collapse
Solitude is a port

Can someone explain to me why was Morthal ever established?

[A Rock Seller]

Beth probably didn't care about it enough to make it meaningful. Like many other things in this game they generaly don't care about and only made (half a*sed) for money. Don't be surprised.

[Jespoo]

vampirism cure.

[Docsprock]

Well, there is a lumber mill and an overly-stocked alchemist in town. I use Morthal as a waypoint in no-fast-travel playthroughs.

I do agree there is very little else there.

I did discover that it would be possible to take a small boat from Morthal to the sea. They connect.

[GIJoe597]

Middle of a swamp, many herbs and plants to be used in alchemy. Only populated swamp in game, where else are you going to get so many Giant Lichen, Deathbells and Swamp Fungal Pads. :)

[Delta 1038]

Perhaps it was chosen to be colonised because it is so remote in a mosquito filled swamp; competition wouldn't be that hard. I mean we do have settlements that sort of follow this reasoning (see Jamestown, Berlin, Washington). Also according to this map:

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111127145803/elderscrolls/images/8/88/Skyrimmap.png

Fort Snowhawk is closeby and because we lack any information regarding Morthal's history (such as the founding unlike the mythologised Whiterun) it wouldn't be out of the question that Morthal was build in addition to said fort as some civillian or labourer's settlement.

Side Note: Credit where credit is due, the forts in Skyrim generally make sense as to where they're placed.

Speaking of lack of history and location, Morthal seems to be a stop along a major road and it could of have even be a major pitstop before merchants and caravans found a safer route.

I would go further but I'm pretty tired and in pain at the moment and I am not particularly knowledgable of swamp-cities so yeah.

[Chellsea]

Originally posted by Delta 1038:

Speaking of lack of history and location, Morthal seems to be a stop along a major road and it could of have even be a major pitstop before merchants and caravans found a safer route.

Yeah, you're right. Labitynthian was one of the largest cities in Skyrim, and there's a road that leads directly to Morthal from there

[Rüdiger J Simpson]

hjaalmarch in general is supposed to be the poorest and smallest of all holds (bad mouths could say that's bc it's run by a woman :P) and therefore morthal is the poorest and smallest capitol (not counting winterhold, it is kind of special bc of the collapse). plus not to forget, it's right in the swamps ^^

but it's not like there's nothing: besides the "industry" Docsprock mentioned, they also have several boats. so i would say they are pretty independent with most basic stuff, what makes sense bc they are poor and can't go crazy with imports from other holds.

btw i did not watch the whole video, but this guy seems not to know that much about the game in general (at least not enough to rant on a yt video), or why is he referring multiple times to the jarl of hjaalmarch as "he"?

[Chellsea]

Maybe because Jarl implies a man, a woman would be... jarlette? I don't know. Kind of like you can say "he" at a human, whether that human is a man or a woman. Same with other animals.

I put this video because that's where I got this idea from. He isn't a lore nerd, he just plays games.

[GIJoe597]

I am not sure where you are from, but it has never been ok to call a female "he" where I am from. In fact, might get you slapped. :(

[Chellsea]

Originally posted by GIJoe597:

I am not sure where you are from, but it has never been ok to call a female "he" where I am from. Infact migt get you slapped. :(

It''s not about culture, it's about language. In my language, there are distinctions in words, the words are feminine or masculine or neither, based on what letters they end with. Human is a masculine words, so it can be described as "he".
I'm talking about Polish. There is MUCH MUCH less gender distinction in English.
Quote from a random website:

There are several ways to convey self in the Polish language, with gender, animacy and personhood. There are three genders in Polish, which are masculine, feminine and neutral, while there are two forms of animacy, which are animate or inanimate. Personhood refers to how personal something is to you, whether it is personal or non-personal. Personhood and animacy are only used within the masculine gender, and not the feminine, so we can see that there are five gender classes that can be used.

And hey, he might've just forgot. I visit Morthal so rarely I can't even remember her name :D

[Chellsea]

Originally posted by GIJoe597:

I am not sure where you are from, but it has never been ok to call a female "he" where I am from. Infact might get you slapped. :(

Also, you can't call a female a he, when you know she's a female under any conditions. But when you don't know the gender, you usually use "he" or other words related to men. When someone is raging in game, people might say "this dude is pissed off", even though it might be a woman, in which case it's incorrect, but they don't know any better. Same with Jarls, they're the rulers, and most rulers in medieval times were men

[Cousin Okri]

I know in French that there are gender-specific stuff (i.e belle and beau) but English doesn't for most words, but Jarl isn't gender-specific. Jarl Elisif, etc. Same with Daedra, although their genders fluctuate, no matter their widely-believed gender, (i.e Azura's believed to be female, but has been seen as male in the early stuff) they are still called Princes.

[Cousin Okri]

Oh, and on to the OP: Morthal was most likely supposed to be like, a Hold ruled by vampires and mystics and stuff, hence the whole grim swamp scene. Swamps are portrayed to be mysterious, with all the unseen stuff hiding in the muck and all that, hence why Morthal has a mystic Jarl and all that. But Morthal itself is broken and unfinished, for example that one Vampire chick who has a major point in the quest isn't even flagged as a vampire, and when she goes to the hideout (which was prolly part of a larger quest since as it stands she doesn't do anything there) sh gets attacked by vamps since she isn't actually a vampire to the Engine

[Doggsen]

Maybe because of his plants around the swamps, which Morthal is in.

[jreese46]

I lean toward the pit stop concept, as Delta mentioned. I grew up in one of the many towns, mid way between two major destinations, which used to be busy and fruitful before the highways were built.