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	2,842 (2012)
Currency	Arvorec denaer
Main subdivisions

The Samonios Islands (natively Ynysseth Havaenec, As Islas Malbinas in Aragonese, and originally as Les Îles Malouines in French) comprises both the larger of Armorican Isles' two overseas colonies and as a partido of Buen Ayre Province in Riu d'Archent. Located in the South Atlantic around 480km east of the mainland of Riu de L'Argent, the Isles are a condominium jointly administered both by the Ceasaerec crown and Riu d'Archent as per the agreement signed in the year 1980. Armorica handed Riu d'Archent titular sovereignty over the islands, which Buen Ayre promptly leased back to the crown for a term of 99 years.

The Armorican and Archentine flags are flown side-by-side on public buildings on the islands. Armorican administration continues with a view to guarantee the islanders and their descendants "uninterrupted enjoyment of their way of life".

The islands are a flourishing sheep-raising center. 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 but have made a comeback after legislation severely curtailing (but not outlawing) the whaling industry by setting very strict quotas and approved equipment to minimize suffering on the part of the marine life. 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 1982, two years after the deal reached with Riu d'Archent. The islands are famous for the Warrah, aka the Summer Islands Fox (Ar Louarn an Inizi Samom or simply Ar Bleiz-Louarn: scientific name Dusicyon australis), the only native land-mammal of the island chain.

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 requested help from Buen Ayre and its much larger navy to put down the rebellion. The rebel leader, Taraen ap Ebonan was captured and imprisoned at Caseres Prison (A Garchola de Caseres) and the rebellion fizzled out with the swift interment of its leader.

Ap Ebonan was released in 1990 and immediately YHR began a bombing campaign in the Isles- a bomb in Porth Bychan killed five Archentine peacekeepers 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. This time, swift action was taken by Asperanza Rius' government and now Archentine troops greatly outnumber soldiers from the Armorican Islands.