Difference between revisions of "The Weegies"

From NSwiki, the NationStates encyclopedia.
Jump to: navigation, search
(Geography)
Line 20: Line 20:
 
The islands, named from the westernmost to the easternmost, are as follows:
 
The islands, named from the westernmost to the easternmost, are as follows:
  
==Weegia==
+
===Weegia===
  
 
Weegia is , and is an oddly comma-shaped island that contains the majority of the population, with around 10.5 million of the Weegie people living in Weegia, the majority of the trade, with the old trading post of Port Gustav, and the majority of the industry, with the shipbuilding sector of Buchanan, now in decline from its glory days whilst still producing ships for the Svea Rigans.  
 
Weegia is , and is an oddly comma-shaped island that contains the majority of the population, with around 10.5 million of the Weegie people living in Weegia, the majority of the trade, with the old trading post of Port Gustav, and the majority of the industry, with the shipbuilding sector of Buchanan, now in decline from its glory days whilst still producing ships for the Svea Rigans.  
 
   
 
   
==Fairgh==  
+
===Fairgh===  
  
 
Fairgh has been unpopulated since the last eruption of Cithu'canhain in 1947, when 570 people died in the ensuing pyroclastic flow. For a long period of time, this gave the island an eerie, dead air, more like the surface of the moon than a tropical island, but by now the plants have begun to reclaim Fairgh and Weegie vulcanologists claim that Cithu'canhain is unlikely to erupt again for at least another 250 years, if at all.
 
Fairgh has been unpopulated since the last eruption of Cithu'canhain in 1947, when 570 people died in the ensuing pyroclastic flow. For a long period of time, this gave the island an eerie, dead air, more like the surface of the moon than a tropical island, but by now the plants have begun to reclaim Fairgh and Weegie vulcanologists claim that Cithu'canhain is unlikely to erupt again for at least another 250 years, if at all.
  
==Lylia==
+
===Lylia===
==Strammach==  
+
===Strammach===  
==Achtil==  
+
===Achtil===  
==Farentan==  
+
===Farentan===  
==Costach==  
+
===Costach===  
==Stemil==  
+
===Stemil===
==A'handran==  
+
===A'handran===  
==Sark==  
+
===Sark===
==Dreich==
+
===Dreich===
  
 
There is oil just a few kilometers off the coast of Dreich.
 
There is oil just a few kilometers off the coast of Dreich.

Revision as of 21:56, 8 October 2004

The Weegies
the_weegies.jpg
Flag of The Weegies
Motto: Those who give up liberty for security deserve neither.
The Weegies.
Region Anticapitalist Alliance
Capital Mackintosh
Official Language(s) Weegie, Rigan, Celdonian
Leader Council Leader Alan Sharkey
Population 16.5 Million
Currency Siohanhla 
NS Sunset XML

The Tropical Socialist Republic of The Weegies is a democratic socialist republic, comprising of a chain of twelve islands in the very south of the Rigan Sea, halfway between the southern tips of the continents of Aperin and Eugenia, and lying just north of the equator. The largest island in the group is Weegia, and none of the other islands come close to matching Weegia for size, the largest of them being 4 or 5 times smaller, which has led the other islands in the chain to be known as the "Lesser Isles" since time immemorial. Many of the islands are thought to have been volcanic at one point volcanic, but most are considered either dormant or extinct now.

Around two-thirds of The Weegies is covered in rainforest, less in Weegia, more in sparsely inhabited islands, which due to its relative isolation from the nearby continents contains a vast array of unique wildlife and plantlife. It also makes The Weegies a land of contrast, the dense, wild, quiet jungles a far cry from the bustling cities and array of farms that have been developed wherever land is clear. Back during the days of Svea Rigan colonialism, however, a lot of land was cleared of jungle by colonists slashing and burning the rainforest to make way for their own plants. It is thought that before the colonisation, at least three quarters of Weegia was covered in rainforest. It is now closer to half, but this kind of rampant environmental destruction has now been made illegal in the islands, and any further development that does encroach upon the rainforests is held under close scrutiny by the government. The Weegies has an abundance of unique natural resources in its jungles; despite the investigations of the most hardy botanists and zoologists, it is still thought the jungles hold many secrets yet to be revealed. A lot of medicines used in the Weegies still use compounds developed from those discovered in the rainforests; knowledge of medicinal plants handed down from generation to generation throughout the various clans is still utilised today.

The Twelve Islands

The islands, named from the westernmost to the easternmost, are as follows:

Weegia

Weegia is , and is an oddly comma-shaped island that contains the majority of the population, with around 10.5 million of the Weegie people living in Weegia, the majority of the trade, with the old trading post of Port Gustav, and the majority of the industry, with the shipbuilding sector of Buchanan, now in decline from its glory days whilst still producing ships for the Svea Rigans.

Fairgh

Fairgh has been unpopulated since the last eruption of Cithu'canhain in 1947, when 570 people died in the ensuing pyroclastic flow. For a long period of time, this gave the island an eerie, dead air, more like the surface of the moon than a tropical island, but by now the plants have begun to reclaim Fairgh and Weegie vulcanologists claim that Cithu'canhain is unlikely to erupt again for at least another 250 years, if at all.

Lylia

Strammach

Achtil

Farentan

Costach

Stemil

A'handran

Sark

Dreich

There is oil just a few kilometers off the coast of Dreich.

Easter House Island

People

People who inhabit The Weegies are known as Weegies, rather than the more commonly thought Weegians. The reason for this is due to the largest island of Weegia, which used the descriptive term of Weegians for those people who strictly come from Weegia far before the complete unification of The Weegies. In fact, due to various inter-island rivalries, mostly by held by the "Lesser Isles" against Weegia, it is a major faux pas for a native of the "Lesser Isles" to be referred to as a Weegian - it gets many of them very irritated. Old grudges die hard.

Most of the people of The Weegies are of Weegie origin, whose decendants can be traced far back into the islands' history. They are by far the majority, making up around three-quarters of the population. The rest are mostly Svea Rigan or have Svea Rigan descendants, although people from other CACE nations, economic migrants, asylum seekers, and other sentient species also make up a sizable minority, especially in the major cities.

While of course it is not always the case, Weegies are generally considered to be talkative, honest, compassionate, friendly, and open people, passionate about their beliefs, who will certainly talk for hours if you strike up a conversation with them, especially if it's some sort of debate, since they also find arguing a good way to pass the time. They also have a heavy disrespect for authority, and their tendency towards savage satire of authority figures (their friendliness does not extend to them, unfortunately), especially those who are pretentious, snobby, or patronising, have left many egos punctured once they have entered Mackintosh. Sometimes Weegie honesty goes beyond bluntness, however, and this combined with their love of irony and exceptionally black humour does leave some visitors wondering whether the Weegies like them and are merely kidding, or dislike them, and are going to confer upon the visitor some sort of personal injury. Don't worry - nowadays it's always the former. A tendency to hold a grudge, which has led to the various inter-island, inter-city, and inter-family rivalries that have sprung up over the years, is a more unfortunate trait of most Weegies.

Almost all Weegies speak Celdonian as well as the old language of the islands, although the way many Weegies speak it, many visitors would be hard pressed to understand any of the Celdonian the Weegies speak. Weegie Celdonian is a curious dialect, formed from the slang of the Svea Rigan workers most Weegies learned Celdonian from, corrupted forms of Celdonian words, celdonification of Weegie words to different meanings, and outright incorporation of old Weegie words into Celdonian. Which all adds up to a dialect where not even many of the small words like "and" or "all" are intact, and since it is often pronounced in a thick, fast accent, language problems for any visitors, even those for whom English is their first language, are painfully apparent. All Weegie diplomats do speak Celdonian "perfectly", as well as other major languages, to smooth communication, so it's quite likely that in most incidents the Weegie Celdonian dialect will be kept under wraps. Unless the diplomat gets angry. Or drunk.

History

Weegia Divided, Weegia United: approx. 750 B.C.E. to 376 C.E.

The Islander's Clannate: 377 to 1710

From Clannate to Colony: 1711 to 1856

The Native Revolts: 1857 to 1898

War, Uprisings, and the Rise of Socialism: 1898 to 1920

From Federation to Fragmentation: 1920 to 1973

The Struggle for Weegie Equality: 1974 to 1993

Far From The End of History: 1994 to now.

Notable Current Weegie Figures

A list of people who hold important positions in the Weegie government, or with alliances or other organisations.

Alan Sharkey, Council Leader.

Mary Burns, Deputy Council Leader.

Samantha Fung, Liaison to the Anticapitalist Alliance (ACA).

Jane McKinnon, Delegate to the Coalition of Anti-Capitalist Economies (CACE).

Lewis Roper, Delegate to the International Fair Trade Agreement (IFTA)

Gustav Johansson, Director of the Nialachan Fladh.

General Fergus McLean, Commander-In-Chief of the Taoisan Railch.

Christine Janus, Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Nadine McAlpine, Head of the Weegie Diplomatic Service.

Iain Rianti, Head of the National Security Committee.

Kerrie McCann, Head of the Economic Affairs Committee.

James McKenzie and Paula McFadden, Delegates to the International Mediation Council (IMC).

George Merrick, Director of the Weegie Football Association (WFA).

Anthony McDonald, Director of the Weegie Artistic and Press Network (WAPN)

Tony Robinson, Director of the Weegie Archaeological Survey Team (WAST)