Erb Nation

Erb Nation (commonly Erbland) is a sovereign island nation located within the North Atlantic Ocean. Erb Nation encompasses Erb Island, which is 900 miles southwest of Iceland, 940 miles west of Ireland, 600 miles south of Greenland, and 840 miles east of Labrador.

Erb Nation was first found by Jacques Cartier in 1534, who claimed the large island for France, though continued on to find a Western Passage to Asia. Cartier visited the island a second time, this time establishing a fort at what is now Lavender Bay, Bryon. What is now Erb Nation was settled by the French until 1614, when the French settlers revolted and established their own independent republic. The First Erb Republic was invaded by the British in 1621 with the Erb-British War ending in the creation of the Erb Crown Colony. Colonial Rule saw a mass influx of English peoples, which led to the creation of a mixed English-French demographic similar to that of the Channel Islands. The population of the island overthrew British rule with the Erb Revolution and the establishment of the Second Erb Republic in 1777 with assistance from France. The highly autocratic presidential republic faced a second large revolution in 1801, with the Redouénist Revolt establishing a gradualist direct democracy that functioned similarly to that of Ancient Greece. The Industrial Revolution played a large part in the nation's economy, with it becoming a shipping hub for goods between Europe and America. Erb Nation participated in both World Wars, and served a vital role of troop movements in the Atlantic Theatre. During the Cold War, the nation was largely neutral due to its historically socialist population in the midst of a capitalist alliance. With the introduction of the Information Age, new networking technologies has further provided economic and political integration within the nation, and the country remains a large center of communications, shipping, and transportation.

The nation's political system is based on that of Ancient Greece's; people in a community recommend by vote an issue within their community with a majority allowing the issue to become a bill. The bill is then sent to the next highest level within the region, and communities within the region become a larger body and vote collectively on the issue. If the region approves the bill, then selected representatives of regions and of communities meet in the capital to vote nationally on the issue. Bodies within the government then react accordingly if the bill involves them. The gradual progression of actions throughout communities allows for a sort of direct democracy, and the power of communities is only defined by the acceptance of the communities within the nation. Because of the nation's small size and its method of governance, all bodies of government within the nation are unitary. Every year a community is selected to represent the nation by a vote, and that community then selects a leader for the nation. The nation's economy is based largely on manufacturing, shipping, agriculture, and logging, and though historically socialist has become increasingly capitalist in recent years. Erb Nation places limitations on the size of foreign corporations within the country, leading to a stable domestic economy that has important international ties to create a trade surplus in terms of finance. The nation has a high standard of living and relatively low cost of living, and the entirety of the country is considered to be developed.

Erb Nation maintains diplomatic missions with around 180 countries around the globe, and it is a member of the United Nations, the IMF, and an observer of the Council of Europe. The nation is a supporter of free trade and globalization to some extent, though it is mainly independent of foreign companies to support is relatively localized economy.