Garvik
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| Flag of Garvik | |
| Motto: "Compassion, Consideration, Commitment" | |
| No Map Available | |
| Region | Hampshire |
|---|---|
| Capital | Victoria |
| Official Language(s) | Garvik |
| Leader | Representative Arjan van Schotte |
| Population | 6 Million |
| Currency | Crown |
| NS Sunset XML | |
The Peoples Republic of Garvik (t'Volkeren Lýðveldið van Garvik) is a Distributist Nation currently in the region of Hampshire. It occupies the main island of Garvik, and several smaller outlying islands. It has been lead by Representative Arjan van Schotte for the last 16 years.
Contents
History
Settlement
The island was first settled in bizarre circumstances in 1497 when two ships were wrecked off the coast of what is now Victoria. During a heavy storm, the ships took refuge in the natural harbour. The first ship, the "Hammerun" carried Norsemen bound for Shæland, the second, the "Ledrensen" was a Dutch Navy frigate that had got hopelessly lost. During the storm, the Hammerun began to sink, so the Ledrensen came to the rescue - saving almost all of the crew. Unfortunately, the added weight aboard the Ledrensen casued it too to take on water, causing the captain to beach the overloaded vessel. In total, 412 sailors reached safety that night.
Development
The crew of the two ships decided that they must repair the Ledrensen. However, the boat was badly damaged and took a year to rebuild. During this time, the two crews became one and democracy was instigated from the first day, the first elected leader being the Hammerun's ship's doctor - Kai Garrison. Once the Ledrensen had been repaired, a vote was taken and only 6 of the islanders voted to return home. The Ledrensen set sail for Oslo and Amsterdam carrying mahogany which is abundant on the island and returning with new islanders captivated with the talk of a democratic paradise.
Demographics
The original population of Garvik was of Nordic and Dutch origin. This is evident by literary evidence from the settlement period as well as from later scientific studies such as blood type and genetic analysis. The modern population of Garvik is often described as a "homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Dutch" but some history scholars reject the alleged homogeneity as a myth that fails to take into account the fact that Garvik was never completely isolated from the rest of Europe and actually has had a lot of contact with traders and fishermen from many nations through the ages.
Garvik has extensive genealogical records about its population dating back to the Age of Settlement. Although the accuracy of these records is debated, biopharmaceutical companies such as deCode Denetics see them as a valuable tool for conducting research on genetic diseases.
The population of the island is believed to have varied from 240,000 to 360,000 in the period from 100 years after initial settlement until the mid-19th century. During that time, cold winters, ashfall from volcanic eruptions, and plagues adversely affected the population several times. The first census was carried out in 1703 and revealed that the population of the island was then 350,358. Improving living conditions and immigration triggered a rapid increase in population from the mid-19th century to the present day - from about 360,000 in 1850 to 5,300,000 in 2006.
In 2004, 300,669 people (7% of the total population) who were living in Garvik had been born abroad, including children of Garvikian parents living abroad. 150,636 people (3.6% of the total population) had foreign citizenship. The most populous nationalities are Poles (120,000), Danes (12,090), ex-Yugoslavians (6,870), Filipinos (1547) and Germans (1240).
Language
The island's spoken language is Garvikian, a North Germanic language. In terms of etymology, the Garvikian language is a mixture of Old Norse and Dutch. In the very early days of the settlement, a Language Committee was formed to sensure that neither of the langauges gained dominance in Garvik.
Prominent foreign languages include Norwegian, Dutch, English, Polish and Danish.
Politics
Coat of Arms of Garvik: 
The country follows a distributist eceonmy, which devolves as much power as possible to as low a level as possible.
Electoral System
All persons aged over 15 or over are able to vote for their Street Committee (SC). The elctorate of a street committee is made up of around 50 people, who elect 5 representatives. This is the only directly elected level of Government.
A group of around 5 SC's will then vote for 5 representatives on the Neighbourhood Committee, and so on up the chain of authority.
| Committee | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| National Committee | Legislation, Foreign Policy, The Economy, Defence |
| Canton Committee | Roads, Transport |
| County Committee | Local Economy |
| Town Committee | Local Justice, Education, Libraries |
| Neighbourhood Committee | Social Welfare |
| Street Committee | Street Cleaning, Building Planning |
Poltical Parties
Political parties are banned in Garvik.
Culture
Sport
Football (Soccer) is the national game in Garvik, and is administered by the Votbal Forening Garvik (VFG). There are 22 professional teams in the national leagues, with the most successful team being VK Victoria Limburg.
Rugby League is also played at national level with 10 professional teams. The most succesful team being RK Nieuwestad Verenigd.
Culture
Ballet is very popular in Garvik, with the nation producing several of the world's greatest dancers, including Persephone Heidsdottir. The main theatre in Victoria - Et Ledresen Theatr is world renowned for its architecture.
Armed Forces
General
There are three branches of the armed forces in Garvik - the Home Guard, the Navy and the Air Force, although the Navy incorporates a large force of Marines. During peacetime, the Ministry of Defence (FM) in Garvik employs, 15,450 in the Naval Marines, 15,300 in the Navy, 6,050 in the Air Force and more than 55,000 in the Home Guard following completion of their conscript service. During wartime, there are over 45,000 men and women in the Naval Marines, 25,300 in the Navy, 6,050 in the Air Force, and over 355,000 in the Home Guard. Women are eligible to volunteer for military service as of 1962, though the first woman in the military appeared in 1971. There are 955,168 males and 935,643 females aged between 18 and 49 fit for military service. (2005 est).
Equipment
The standard personal weapon of the Naval Marines is the Canadian made Diemaco C7 or C8 Rifle. The Marines also use Leopard 2 A5 Battle Tanks, M113 Troop Carriers and M109 self propelled howitzers.
* 4 Thetis-class ocean patrol vessels * 3 Agdlek-class ocean patrol cutters * 3 Flyvefisken-class patrol vessels;[1] length 54 meters, displacement 450 tonnes * 8 Barsø-class patrol vessels * 3 icebreakers * 2 Gunnar Thorson-class environmental protection vessels * 2 Mette Miljø-class environmental protection vessels * 1 transport vessel * 2 Holm class multirole boats * 2 Svanen-class sail training ships * 2 Absalon-class command and support ships;(destroyer size) + 4 LCP, Landing Craft * 3 Niels Juel-class corvettes * 8 Flyvefisken-class patrol vessels * 4 MSF-class drone minehunters * 6 MRD-class drone minehunters
Naval Home Guard
* 4 (+7) MHV900 class patrol boats
* 18 MHV800 class patrol boats
* 6 MHV90 class patrol boats
Other
* 1 Dive tender (converted Barsø class)
* 2 Arvak class station tenders
* 2 RO/RO vessels (chartered)
Air Force
* 3 AgustaWestland Transport/Rescue Helicopters * 3 Bomardier Challenger VIP Airplanes * 12 Eurocopter Fennec Observation Helicopters * 3 Lockheed c-130 Tactical Transport Airplanes * 48 Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon Fighters * 28 Saab Safari Trainers * 8 Sikorsky S-61 Rescue Helicopters * 8 Avro Vulcan B2-K Bombers *
