Samonios Islands

Ynysseth Havaenec
Samonios Islands

National motto: --
Languages
Official	Arvorec
Major Religions	Protestant Christianity
Capital	Porth Maesyf
Government Type	Armorican
Head of State	King Caradoc of Ceasear
Head of Government	Gwerchem ab Adeanad
Area	11,961 sq km
Population	2,121 (1991)
Currency	Arvorec denaer
Main subdivisions

The Samonios Islands (natively Ynysseth Havaenec) comprises the larger of Armorican Isles' two overseas colonies. Located in the South Atlantic around 480 km east of Riu de L'Argent, the Isles are administered as a colony of the Ceasaerec crown.

The islands are flourishing sheep-raising centers. The economy is dependent on the export of wool and the sale of Samonios Islands postage stamps and coins. Whales and seals abound in the littoral waters and formerly were heavily hunted. There are rich fishing grounds surrounding the islands and the government began selling licenses to foreign commercial fishing operations in 1987. Oil exploration around the islands began in the early 1980s.

History

The Islands owe their discovery and Arvorec allegiance to King Maesyf of Ceasaer. Devoid of any actual governing power, Maesyf devoted much of his time to the "natural sciences", and he was much taken by the discovery of America. Taking theories about the earth being round to their logical (if absurd) conclusion, he theorised that if you sail west you would eventually come out by the Indies, then if you sail south you would eventually come out by Norway. A band of adventurers set out from Landrewan in 1685 to test that theory, but the expedition was curtailed after the fleet came to Antarctica. However, at Havaen of that year they discovered a group of islands off the coast of South America. The newly discovered Ynysaw Havaenec were settled only five years later by the Protestant population of Ceasaer, their emigration funded by a huge grant from the Ceasaerec royal treasury.

Thereafter, the Isles treated the Samonios Islands with benign neglect, until the final two decades of the twentieth century. In 1982 the separatist group Ynysseth Haevenec Rydh (YHR) declared independence, shortly after large deposits of crude oil were discovered off the coast. Loath to lose this precious resource, the Seanad sent the Navy south again to put down the rebellion. The rebel leader, Taraen ap Ebonan was captured and imprisoned and the rebellion fizzled out.

Ap Ebonan was released in 1990 and immediately YHR began a bombing campaign in the Isles- a bomb in Porth Bychan killed five people in 1994. Ap Ebonan was found at the heart of the operation and was imprisoned in 1996. YHR remained dormant for around five years, until the Governor's residence in Porth Maesyf was bombed. Unfortunately the culprits have never been found and the "Samonios Problem" remains unresolved.