Seafaring Confederation

This Nation is part of the Nearly Real World

Seafaring Confederation German: Seefahrerbund German Low Saxon: Seeföörndersbund Dutch Low Saxon: Zeevöardersbond Dutch: Zeevaardersbond Dogrish: Sjöfårende Ståterbund Howrish: Savvernden Sammerbandsrigi Scots Gaelic: Tìrean na Daoine na Marannan Faroese language: Sjóglondini Rockallian: Tirin na Dine na Mór Romic: Tirnan na Duaoine na Mara Welsh: Tiroedd Dynion Moroedd
Flag
Motto: Marium Of the Seas
Anthem: Across the Seas
Location of the Seafaring Confederation in Europe
Capital and Largest City	Hamburg
Official languages	English, German Low Saxon, Dutch Low Saxon, German, Dutch, Dogrish, Howrish, Scots Gaelic, Faroese, Rockallian, Romic, Welsh
Ethnic groups	Saxon, Frisian, Dutch, German, Dogrish, Howrish, Scottish, Faroese, Rockallian, Romic, Welsh, Irish
Government	Confederation
• High Leader	Eidith NicMheaoigh
• High Leader	Albert Evason
• Speaker of the House of Representatives	Lena Auermann
• Leader of the High Council	Máighi Gaoine
Established
• Creation of the Union	16 August 1820
• Ratification of Constitution	16 August 1920
Population
• 2014 estimate	44,560,811 (31st)
GDP (PPP)	2012 estimate
• Total	$2.128 trillion
• Per capita	$47,754.97
HDI (2007)	0.980 very high
Currency	krone (skr)
Time zone	Greenwich Mean Time, Central European Time, UTC−01:00 (UTC-+1, 0 and -1)
Calling code	+191
Internet TLD	.sf

The Seafaring Confederation [səˈfɛ:ɹɪŋ] is a confederation in Western Europe. It consists of the largely independent nations of Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland, Dogger, Howry, the Highlands, the Faroe Islands, Rockall and Rom. The capital city of the confederation is Hamburg in Saxony.

There are approximately 44,560,811 inhabitants, more than 17 million of which live in the nation of Saxony. Within the confederation there are 11 different native ethnicities and 12 different languages, the most commonly spoken of which is German Low Saxon with approximately 13 million everyday users.

Etymology

The name Seafaring that is used in most Germanic names is derived from the fact that the confederation was united by seafarers. Due to the scattered nature of many of the islands and the confederation's long coastline, it were the seafarers that kept the confederation together. Over the years, however, the original English pronunciation of [si:ˈfɛ:ɹɪŋ] morphed into [səˈfɛ:ɹɪŋ] for as of yet unknown reasons.

The Celtic names, however, lose the "-faring" aspect and instead all call it "Lands of the Men of the Sea". The reason for these names, however, is the same as the reasons for most of the Germanic names.

The Faroese name of Sjóglondini, meaning "Sealands", also carries the same reasons.

Member states

The Seafaring Confederation consists of eight member states.

Full name	Capital	No. of inhabitants	Form of government
United States of Saxony	Hannover	20,723,370	Federal parliamentary republic and consitutional monarchy in a de facto diarchy
The Most Preferable Earldom of the Island of Rockall	An Bhá nan Éirith Ghréine	7,521,807	Federal parliamentary elective monarchy
The Island Provinces of Dogger	Eyjittsmiddi	7,231,120	Template:Unitary state parliamentary republic
United Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Jutland	Kiel	6,230,981	Federal constitutional triarchy and parliamentary democracy
Principality of Howry	Síslá	630,434	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
The Highlands	Aberdeen	554,685	Unitary parliamentary republic
Republic of Rom and Islands	Minais na Mara	91,201	Unitary parliamentary republic
Faroe Islands	Tórshavn	49,864	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy

History

War of the North Sea

Prior to 1780-'85, the nations of Dogger, Howry and the Highlands belonged to the United Kingdom, by which they had been forcibly annexed in 1723, 1709 and 1707 respectively. This was a cause of great discontent amongst the local populaces. The discontent from Dogger and Howry came mostly because of their position of taxation without representation, whilst the major source of discontent coming from the Highlands was that their culture and heritage was oppressed by the British. This discontent was the cause of several clashes between the local populations and the British forces, like the Riots of Eyjittsmiddi and the Massacre of Howry.

Representatives of the populations of these three nations made a pact with the Republic of the Netherlands in 1760 and with the nations of Rockall, Rom, Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland in 1761, later joined by the local population of the Faroe Islands, then still under the rule of Norway, in 1762. These nations were united against the United Kingdom and especially England under the Pact of Hamburg and started building a collective navy in secrecy.

The British expected an uprising, and increased their naval capacity as well. However, due to the fact that they also faced discontent and rebellion in their North American colonies, they focused more power on those colonies due to the fact that they had a greater value to the economical position of the United Kingdom. This soon proved to be their downfall.

On the morning of 7 September 1771, a joint naval attack of the Dutch, Rockallic, Saxonian, Slesian and Norwegian forces quickly took over control of Dogger and Howry, whilst the Norwegian and Rockallic navies and armies started taking over the Highlands. The British were caught by surprise, but within hours started to retaliate, taking back the southern half of Dogger in the Battle of the Dunes of Idunna and the island of Drogey in the Battle of Drogey Strait. Subsequently areas of several sizes altered between being in the possession of the British and of the Joint Navy in what became known as the War of the North Sea.

In the meanwhile, both the British Navy and the British Army suffered major losses in what came to be known as the Taking of the Highlands, where the Joint Navy and Army managed to take over control of all the lands and islands belonging to the area designated as the Highlands, just short of the slopes of the Grampian Mountains bordering the Scottish Lowlands.

Hostilities continued until the British faced a revolution in their North American possessions, where too they were on the defeated side. Due to heavy losses and military weakness, the British accepted defeat in 1783, together with the acceptance of defeat in the North American colonies. Parliaments were immediately instated in Dogger, Howry and the Highlands, and the Joint Forces remained there until 1802 to protect the newly formed nations.

Treaty of Hamburg

In the same year, 1802, the nations of Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland, Dogger, Howry, the Highlands, Rom and Rockall expressed interest in tighter international ties, which lead to the drafting of a treaty. In 1803, the islands of the Faroe Islands as well as the island of Anglesey expressed their interest in joining the treaty. This led to the drafting of a treaty in which it was set out that tighter ties and cooperation would be promoted amongst the signatories, and also was the basis of the creation of the Confederation in that it set out 10 years to create a supranational governmental organ to oversee the ways and means of the Confederation.

In 1810, in Hamburg, the signatories came together and there signed the Treaty of Hamburg, under which Anglesey was put under the rule of the Highlands and the Faroe Islands was officially made an independent nation.

After the signing, representatives of the various nations started working on a draft for a confederal constitution.

Ratification of the Constitution

In 1820, the signatories of the Treaty of Hamburg returned to Hamburg and officially signed the Constitution of the Seafaring Confederation. The Constitution set out several aspects and views that were unique at the time, fuelled by the Enlightenment at the time. The Constitution created a parliament, wherein every vote counted whilst still ensuring that every nation had representation. It also set out that everybody was equal, meaning that men and women had equal rights in all matters. It also created the position of High Leader, which it described as being half masculine and half feminine, hence the existence of two leaders, one of which is a man and one of which is a woman.

The Ratification officially created the Seafaring Confederation, which immediately took in a powerful place within European politics. It chose, however, to remain neutral in most aspects and only to use its navy and army in order to protect the integrity of the possessions of the Confederation.

Three Navies War

This stance of neutrality was soon put under fire by challenges from the Kalmar Union against the incorporation of the Faroe Islands and from Britain against the incorporation of Anglesey. This escalated and in 1832, the Three Navies War commenced, wherein the navies of Britain, the Kalmar Union and the Seafaring Confederation faced each other on the sea around the contested areas. The Confederation managed to retain all the integrity of the Confederation and in 1847 the three navies decided that it was a draw.

In the decades to follow, the Confederation managed to keep their stance of neutrality, promoting the solving of international conflicts through diplomacy.

World War I

During World War I, several areas of Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland were taken over by German forces; the remaining areas of these nations as well as the rest of the nations of the Confederation managed to retain their neutrality throughout the conflict, providing access to all powers of the conflict and keeping them under control with their own military forces.

One attempt to take over control of the nations of Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland and Dogger was stopped in the Night of the Full Moon.

Although World War I had an economical impact on the Confederation, this impact was not large enough to cripple the confederation in the post-war era, where it managed to hold an important economical position within Europe and the world. They financially aided the rebuilding of most affected areas in Europe.

After the end of the World War, Germany returned the areas it had taken over from the Confederation to the Confederation. In addition, the Confederation annexed a small part of what is now the German-speaking community of Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland. The nation saw a stable economic growth throughout the entirety of 1920s.

Economic Recession

The Seafaring Confederation was not directly hit by the 1929 stock market crash, although it did start to feel the effects of the Great Depression from 1930 onwards. The effects were different on different nations within the Seafaring Confederation, with Saxony and Rockall hit the hardest whilst the island nations managed to go through it relatively unscathed.

The economic recession was the hardest to hit the Confederation, however, it was relatively weak in comparison to how it affected other nations in the world. Around 1935, the Confederation had managed to get back to as it was beforehand. It started to improve military defence due to the rise of Hitler and his Nazi Party around the same time.

World War II

The preparation of defences proved to be in vain, however, when Germany invaded Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland in 1939 in Operation Nightingale, on the same day it invaded Poland. All employees of the Confederation as well as the governments of the Confederation and the two invaded nations fled their capitals and spread across the remaining nations, in so doing joined by large amounts of refugees. The government of Saxony took exile in Dogger, the government of Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland in the Highlands and the government of the Seafaring Confederation in Rockall, together with their military forces.

It turned out to be impossible to remain neutral, as Nazi Germany attempted to take over Dogger and Howry as well. Due to this, the confederal government, with the agreement of all other governments, decided that it would side with the allied forces, although the Confederation's military forces would still only focus on the defence of the integrity of the remaining territory.

The years between 1940 and 1944 saw several heavy bombings on areas in Dogger, Howry and Rockall, as well as an attempt to take over the Faroe Islands. This attempt was struck down by the Allied forces, which got a major strategic position in the North Sea and in the Atlantic Ocean by having the Seafaring Confederation as their ally.

From 1943 onwards, the coast of Rockall was one of the places where practice for the Normandy Landings took place, eventually resulting in the D-Day on 6 June 1944. A day later, Allied forces attacked Germany from Dogger, landing in along the Frisian coast and quickly taking back Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland.

The Seafaring Confederation retook their two nations and then returned to its policy of military defence only. However, they did allow allied forces passage through their territory, which proved to be a key strategic position to take down Nazi Germany. At the end of the war, the Seafaring Confederation had retaken all of their territory and refused to accept any annexations.

Post-World War II

The Iron Curtain (black) as located around the Seafaring Confederation (blue), with East Germany (red) and West Germany (green).

The other nations helped Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland rebuild, and by 1951 these nations were fully functioning again, and their governments, as well as the confederal government, had returned to the territory. It was also at this point that the Seafaring Confederation refused to join the European Economic Agreement and the NATO, in fear for losing its neutrality. It did however participate in creating closer ties with its neighbouring nations, including West Germany.

The States under the control of Russia soon came apart from the West, which created certain tensions because of the situation Saxony found itself in, namely wedged right in between two halves of East Germany. These tensions rose in 1956 when countless East Germans tried to escape their country into Saxony, which eventually led to the building of the Iron Curtain, which spanned around much of Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland.

1960s

In the 1960s the Seafaring Confederation saw a surge in liberalism as the younger inhabitants started a cultural revolution, which initiated an era of sexualization and anti-war sentiments.

The 1960s also saw an increase in tensions between Western and Eastern Europe, and Saxony, located right in the middle of it, suffered various threats during this Cold War. This threat rose until 1967, when large military forces had piled up at both sides on the border, but a timely intervention stopped it. After this, the Seafaring Confederation and Eastern Europe returned to a no-armistice agreement.

1970s

The 1970s saw an increase in liberalization and a decrease in religiousness, although still a solid majority identified itself as of a particular religion. It was also the beginning of the liberalization of the media.

The Seafaring Confederation was hit hard by the 1973 Oil Crisis, but quickly resolved to its own oil reserves to ensure that the key components of its economy and social system kept working. It also provided the necessary oil to other European nations, ensuring that Europe was not struck down by the oil shortage.

The Seafaring Confederation strengthened ties with West Germany and the Netherlands in 1975, and in 1979 even managed to get some form of interaction with East Germany, especially with its exclave of Thuringia. It also provided a road from Thuringia to the rest of East Germany, the East German Corridor, that was only accessible to East German vehicles and saw no exits to any Saxonian roads.

1980s

The 1980s saw calls but not yet action upon calls of especially the youth for improvement of women's rights, sexuality and environmental issues, although in contrast with other nations there was little call for disarmament of the national forces. Ties with East Germany were increased as well, right until the Fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989.

In the meanwhile the Seafaring Confederation chose to increasingly distance itself from the United States, severing but not completely abolishing economic ties. Rockall initiated the short-lived 1984 Seafaring Confederation-United States Conflict when it executed a group of spies discovered by DMIS, however, this was quickly resolved and relations returned to how they were.

Social Reforms

From the beginning of the 1990s government responded to the calls of social reform, which saw heightened liberalization on abortion, drugs, and social security, as well as an increase in the recognition of LGBT rights right until the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2002.

As of 2014, the Seafaring Confederation remained opposed to joining both the EU and NATO.

Politics

For more information see: Politics of the Seafaring Confederation.

Politics in the Seafaring Confederation consist of the famous Trias Politica: the Legislative in the form of the House of Representatives, the Executive in the form of the High Council and the judiciary in the form of the Judiciary of the Seafaring Confederation.

Internal politics differ greatly amongst its member nations, however, all member nations are democracies as it is a requirement for membership of the Confederation. Furthermore, all national legislatures directly answer to the confederational legislature when the confederational legislature so desires.

House of Representatives

For more information see: House of Representatives of the Seafaring Confederation.

Each nation has a population-based number of representatives in the House of Representatives. The smallest nation sends 10 representatives, the largest nation sends 80. The second largest nation sends 70 representatives, et cetera. There are thus a total of 360 representatives chosen in that manner. These members are elected using the cumulative voting system and are known as Members National.

In addition to this, another 360 representatives are elected using party-list proportional representation and can come from anywhere in the federation. These members are known as Members Ordinary.

High Council

For more information see: High Council of the Seafaring Confederation.

Unlike the House of Representatives, the High Council is not elected. Instead, the High Council consists of all ministers of every member nation of the Confederation. Depending on the legislation that needs to be passed, every nation sends its ministers that are in charge of the matter that it addresses. They debate on the subject at hand and, if they consider it necessary, send it back with amendments to the House of Representatives for another reading. This then may go to and fro until the High Council is satisfied. The High Council can send legislation back to the House of Representatives, but cannot veto it or propose its own legislation. It can be forced by the House of Representatives to not send back a piece of legislation by a three-fifths supermajority vote.

When ministers sit on the High Council they lose their official national titles and are instead titled Lord or Lady High Councillor.

Head of State

For more information see: High Leader of the Seafaring Confederation.

The Seafaring Confederation is not led by one, but by two individuals. These individuals together form the Head of State and are considered one individual for legal purposes. By convention the High Leader is one man and one woman, even though the law does not specifically state that this is a requirement.

On the international stage, the High Leader is the formal representative of the Confederation. Any confederational legislation must pass the High Leader's judgement, which is done through an aye-vote of both individuals. Both individuals can, for any piece of legislation, vote "aye" to accept it, vote "nay" to reject it, or vote "abstaining" to abstain. An "aye" counts as two points, a "nay" as zero points and an "abstaining" as one point. In order for legislation to have passed judgement of the High Leader it must have been given at least three points by the High Leader (so one "aye" and one "abstaining"). If it has less than three points, it is rejected and sent back to the House of Representatives. If it is accepted, both individuals are required to sign the legislation into law.

The High Leader also has the power to veto legislation, if they consider the legislation to be in conflict with the basic rights as set out in the Constitution of the Seafaring Confederation. Such a veto can only be overridden by a four-fifths majority from the High Council.

Ministries

The Seafaring Confederation's government consists of 16 ministries, each headed by a Confederate Minister, in some cases known as a High Minister or Minister Universally Plenipotentiary. These ministries execute regulations passed by the Government of the Seafaring Confederation.

Geography

Also see: Geography of the Seafaring Confederation.

Subdivisions

For more information see: Subdivisions of the Seafaring Confederation.

The Seafaring Confederation consists of eight independent nations: Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland, Dogger, Howry, the Highlands, the Faroe Islands, Rockall and Rom. Depending on the nation, these are then further divided into semi-autonomous states, provinces or viscountcies. A tier lower than the one of semi-autonomy are counties or baronies, which have a council which is regulated by higher governmental bodies with legislative power. Below that tier municipalities, civil parishes or baronetcies take the role of local government. The lowest tier consists of townships. Depending on the nation, one or more of these tiers may be omitted.

Landscape and geology

View on the west coast of Suðuroy on the Faroe Islands.

Due to the shattered nature of the Confederation there exists a great variation between the landscapes and climates of the confederation. Climates differ from continental in eastern Saxony to predominantly oceanic in Rockall to maritime subarctic on the Faroe Islands. Landscapes differ from hilly and open as in parts of Saxony to forested as in Dutch Lower Saxony to the Dunes of Idunna on Dogger, the mountainous lands of Scotland and Howry, the rocky islands of the Faroe Islands and Rom and the rainforests of Rockall.

Much of middle and southern Saxony is dominated by the Teutoburger Wald and the Harz Mountains, while the northern part is mostly dominated by low-lying land and polders as well as river estuaries. The island of Dogger is mostly dominated by dunes and forests on a base of sand, whilst the Highlands and Howry are dominated by the Caledodine mountain ranges and the Highland Boundary Fault, as well as numerous skerries on the Highlands' west coast. Rockall consists mostly of the same Caledodine rock as the Highlands and Howry but especially the southern part shares the same Devonian-aged geology as southwest Ireland. Rom and the Faroe Islands consist entirely of the same Caledodine rock as the Highlands, Howry and much of Scandinavia, but are mostly dominated by fjords and cliffs.

Climate

The climate greatly differs between different nations and areas. The eastern and southern parts of Saxony are governed by a ontinental climate, whilst the western and northern parts as well as Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland are influenced by a maritime climate, with especially the coasts suffering under westerlies.

The island of Dogger is completely maritime and generally cool without large temperature differences due to the warm stream surrounding the islands. Howry and the Highlands are under the influence of a colder maritime climate, whilst the Faroe Islands and Rom are generally cool and mild. Rockall is oceanic with nearly continuous rainfall.

Protected Areas

For more information see: Protected Areas of the Seafaring Confederation.

The Seafaring Government has created several protected areas within the Seafaring Confederation, most have which are considered to be culturally, naturally or ecologically important. There are several degrees of protection and denotations, inclduding that of National Park and of Historical Site.

Peculiarities within the Seafaring Confederation

The Seafaring Confederation holds within its borders several unusual natural phenomina, which include forms differing from meteorological to topograhpical to geological to marine.

An example of this is the Valley of Eternal Rain on Rockall. In this valley, it has rained uninterruptedly ever since its discovery 360 years ago, and due to its isolated nature there are countless endemic species of plant and animal which are thoroughly studied by local and international scholars.

Notorious are the famous Highlands-Lowlands Border irregularities, with several (practical) enclaves and exclaves as well as several panhandles, oddities and towns divided between the two countries.

Demographics

The Seafaring Confederation holds a confederation-wide census every 15 years, in which age, gender, language, ethnicity and religion are polled and counted.

Age

The results for age were as follows:

• 0-5: 6.3%
• 5-15: 4.2%
• 15-25: 13.3%
• 25-35: 11.8%
• 35-45: 16.9%
• 45-55: 17.4%
• 55-65: 15.5%
• 65-75: 7.7%
• 75-85: 3.8%
• 85-95: 2.9%
• 95+: 0.2%.

Gender

According to the census statistics, 53.2% of the population of the Seafaring Confederation was female, which comes down to a total of 23,706,351 women, as opposed to 46.8% of the population being male, which comes down to 20,854,460 men. This leaves a gap of 2,851,891 more women than men.

The Seafaring Confederation enjoys full gender equality.

Ethnicity

For more information see: Peoples of the Seafaring Confederation.

The results for ethnicity were as follows:

• Saxonian: 35.5%
• Rockallic: 14.8%
• Dogric: 13.4%
• Dutch: 8.6%
• Slesian: 4.9%
• Frisian: 4.8%
• Holsteinian: 3.5%
• German: 2.3%
• Jutlandic: 1.9%
• Howrish: 1.8%
• Scottish: 0.9%
• Danish: 0.6%
• Romic: 0.5%
• Faroese: 0.4%
• English: 0.3%
• Other: 5.8%.

It may be worthwhile to note that the census is carried out under the laws of the local nations, so it is possible that what is considered a separate ethnicity in one country is categorized under "other" in another. These numbers in total are not thought to constitute more than a standard deviation of more than 0.2% of the total population.

The Seafaring Confederation is also the last nation of Europe to still officially have tribes within its borders, especially located on Dogger, Howry, Rom and Rockall. There are a total of 19 officially recognized tribes, each with their own respective jurisdiction.

Religion

The results for religion were as follows:

• Norse: 24%
• Protestant: 18%
• Catholic: 16%
• Not religious: 34%
• Other: 8%.

Economy

Domestic

The Confederation was created because of the extraordinarily intensive cooperation between the member nations, so it is no more than usual that still is extensive trade between the member nations to this day.

Nowadays most trade comes in the form of academic exchange and exchange of services. There is also however quite a vivid exchange of wares, especially crops and alcoholic beverages.

Saxony

Saxony comes with a fair share of (academic) services and wares for consumption. Academic services come from the many universities and specialized institutes located within the country, for instance the Maritime Institute of the Seafaring Confederation in Hamburg or the highly prized University of Hannover.

Wares for consumption are, amongst others, the famous wines from the provinces of Dutch Lower Saxony and Lower Saxony and the beloved jams from the province of Saxony-Anhalt.

The presence of the harbours of Hamburg and Bremen also greatly contribute to the prosperity of Saxony, creating a significant counterweight to the importance of the Harbour of Rotterdam.

Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland

Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland's economy focuses mainly on agriculture and services. Many industrial and technical companies are located in the cities of Kiel, Lübeck, Flensburg, Kolding and Fredericia, all located on the shores of the East Sea.

Cities located in the south are mostly sattelite cities of Hamburg, located in Saxony.

The North Sea coast is mostly focused around tourism, with especially the Wadden Islands being a popular tourist destination.

Dogger

Dogger's economy is mainly centered around fishing and agriculture, wherein the export of cranberries and common sea-buckthorn and products of consummate and medical nature made of these fruits.

A lot of Dogger's economy is also focused on tourism, with approximately 10.2 million tourists visiting the country each year. The most visited areas are the capital of Eyjittsmiddi, the Dunes of Idunna and the Slyvter.

Howry

Howry's economy is centered around fishing and tourism. Although the soil is quite fertile, due to the steep slopes it is nearly impossible to use it for agricultural purposes. This is why the agricultural economy mainly focuses on the cultivation of fruits, bringing the famous Howry Apples, Howry Pears and Howry Prunes, as well as cherries and strawberries. Howry also has a marginally viable cultivation of oysters.

The main income of the state comes of the presence of oil in the national waters around Howry, the wealth of which is redirected to the inhabitants of Howry and to the Seafaring Confederation under the social security system.

The Highlands

The economy of the Highlands focuses mainly on small-scale agriculture and larger-scale logging, although the export of wool is also quite an important aspect. During the past few decades, several international IT-companies have settled down in the capital of Inverness, which has created an interest for the technical population of not only the Highlands but also Howry and the Faroe Islands.

Rockall

Rockall comes with a fair share of (academic) services, with many important academic institutes as well as industries located around the capital of An Bhá nan Éirith Ghréine. It is also fuelled by the presence of natural resources in the surrounding waters, as well as by being a central port for a lot of cargo and passengers.

Rockall also has a viable tourism industry, most of which are attracted to the National Parks and National Landscapes on the islands.

It is also a major exporter of medicinal wares, due to the presence of many medicinal plants in the rainforests and the existence of a major medical institute.

Faroe Islands

The economy of the Faroe Islands is largely focused around fishing and fish farming, although the discovery of several petroleum deposits has risen the hopes of the nation to have a more viable source of income.

Rom

Rom's economy focuses mostly on tourism, fishing and the presence of natural resources. It has also set up a company for the extraction of sulphur on the Eòlanna Dàiteich.

Education

For more information, see: Education in the Seafaring Confederation.

Within the Seafaring Confederation there are three forms of education: Confederate Education, National Education and Private Education. All of these forms of education are subsidized and regulated by the Department of Education.

Types of schooling

Confederate

Confederate Education is education offered directly by the Confederal Government and is thus under the direct governance of the Department of Education of the Seafaring Confederation proper. This means that the legal requirements of lesson material that has to be taught and provided in these schools is regulated by Confederate law rather than by national or local law. These educational institutions are free of charge and include primary and secondary education as well as several forms of higher education.

Institutions offering Confederate Education are most often created for those who do not agree with their local or national education criteria or requirements, as well as for those who intend to use their Confederate Education to be able to work in other parts of the Confederation.

These institutions are part of larger Seafaring Confederate School Districts.

National

National Education is education offered by the governments of the nations themselves, or if the nation so orders, offered by their subordinate subdivisions. It is thus regulated by local law rather than by Confederate law, and even though it the institutions that offer National Education have to comply to certain Confederate regulations and requirements, the materials provided and taught are set out by the Educational Departments of their nation or their education-regulating institutions. Most of these institutions are free of charge and include primary and secondary education, as well as most of the non-university institutions providing higher education.

In some nations, these institutions may be part of a School District.

Private

Private Education is education offered by private institutions, which, although subject to the Confederate requirements and criteria, are free to create their own curricula, which are usually based on a religious principle. The institutions offering private education are not free of charge and usually require the students to wear a school uniform.

School systems

Primary school

Primary school is schooling meant for children between the ages of 5 and 12, although it is possible to start at 4 or even 3 if it is so desired. Primary schools provide the basis for secondary education by educating basic mathematics, basic modern languages and basic biology.

Culture

For more information see: Culture of the Seafaring Confederation.

The different parts of the Confederation have different local cultures, however, due to the history of cooperation and cultural exchange there is also a distinct culture that is spread amongst parts or the entirety of the confederation.

Cuisine

Seafaring cuisine is largely focussed on meats, fish, root and bean vegetables, apples and cherries, cheeses, and milk. These are mostly made into quiches, gravies and oven dishes. Fish is usually smoked and dried, meats on the other hand are generally salted and roasted. Vegetables are generally cooked.

Language

For more information see: Languages of the Seafaring Confederation.

The Confederation has 12 official languages, namely, in no particular order, English, German Low Saxon, Dutch Low Saxon, German, Dutch, Dogrish, Howrish, Scots Gaelic, Faroese, Rockallian, Romic and Welsh.

In addition to these 12 official languages there are also several recognized languages. These languages are considered to be languages of their own but do not have official representation within the confederational institutions. These are, in no particular order, the Frisian languages, Jutlandic, Lowland Scots, Fernolian, Astrallic, Heligolandic, and the countless local dialects of Saxony.

The lingua franca of the Confederation is English, however, confederational education requires its students to be proficient in at least three official or unofficial languages that are not native to their own nation, as well as the ability to speak to a certain extent all the official and unofficial languages of their own nation. This effectively means that approximately 97% of the population possess the ability to have conversations in at least four languages.