Farleya

Farleya (pronounced as "FAR-LEE-AH", and sometimes known as the Farleyan Islands) is a Shopper colony located only 200 miles off of the Antarctic Peninsula's coastline. It's a popular trading hub and a rich fishing area. It was an independent nation for almost eight hundred years, until its economy plummeted in the early 2000s. The influential Shops Island bailed out the small country in exchange for annexing it. The governor of the colony is Tharnton345, who was also the country's former president.

History
Farleya was first discovered by Tharntus Farley on June 12, 1243, when he landed near the present-day city of Tharntonville. He named the land Farleya, after his last name, Farley. He was a renowned explorer of the great seas of the Antarctic, a High Penguin Lord, and a member of the High Penguin Confederacy's High Council as well.

Discovery and independence (1200s)
In 1243, Tharntus Farley and his crew set off to map the area now known as the Sub-Antarctic Islands, however, he made a wrong turn and was soon heading towards modern day Freezeland. After a while, his ship landed on Farleya Island, or Tharntus Island as we know it today. The eight-penguin crew of Tharntus' ship, along with Tharntus himself, set up a small settlement, which was officially recognized and claimed for the Confederacy in 1244. Tharntus was soon after granted a fief for the land, by King Kuruk of the Confederacy. Over the years, Tharntus and his crew made numerous trips to bring new citizens to the colony. In 1248, a group of penguins on Farleya, including Tharntus, wanted to split from the Confederacy, as a Kingdom of their own. So, the next month they declared themselves the Kingdom of Farleya, which brought an all-out war to the island.

Since the Kingdom had time to prepare themselves, they had stored enough munitions to fight off the Confederate army through a number of battles on land and sea. On day six, Confederate soldiers successfully landed on the island and burned most of the small Farleyan city to the ground. On the eighth day of fighting, the Farleyans ambushed the Confederate soldiers and pushed them back off the island. On day ten the last battle was fought, when the Farleyans outmaneuvered the Confederate ships and sunk their flagship, the Kuruk, causing a full retreat. On April 9, 1248, A Confederate ship returned with a treaty, giving the Farleyans independence- something that was extremely rare for the High Penguin Confederacy. That day is still celebrated as independence day, even though they are a colony of Shops Island.

Expansion (1200s-1500s)
From their time of independence until the 1500s, the Kingdom of Farleya prospered. Over the years of the 1200s and the 1300s, the Kingdom explored, expanded, and claimed most of the islands that are part of their territory today. Over time, their population also steadily increased- at its peak, the population was over 600,000 penguins. However, dirt and filth soon filled the already overpopulated cities, bringing about sickness and disease which caused many penguins to leave in the late 1400s.

Revolt and changes (1600s-present)
By the early 1600s, there were approximately 425,000 penguins living on the islands, a majority of which were fed up with the King and the Kingdom altogether. The King at the time had become selfish and greedy, and stopped caring about the condition of his citizens. So, the citizens had a revolt, and soon after changed the government into a republic of sorts.

The republic was stable for almost four hundred years, through numerous government changes elsewhere in Antarctica, including the fall of the High Penguin Confederacy, the rise and fall of Olde Antarctica, and the reign of Colonial Antarctica. When the time came for the Antarctic Revolution in 1999, the Farleyans supported the rebels and their cause. On August 8, 2003, shortly after the Treaty of Dorkugal was established, Farleya became a member of the Free Republic Union.

While the treaty had brought economic prosperity to the islands at first, the Farleyan economy had started to falter towards the end of the 2000s. This worsened in 2014, when rising competitors such as the Axle and Circular Powers started to dominate trade-based economy, which had been the nation's main source of income. In late 2014, inflation rates were sky-high and the Farleyan Dollar was about to collapse.

So, in January 2015, Shops Island bailed Farleya out of it's economic hardships, and in exchange they peacefully annexed the country into their realm. Some changes to the Farleyan Islands included the president at the time, Tharnton345, becoming the governorof the colony, a change to their flag, anthem and motto, and finally a change of Farleya's capital from Tharntonville to Colony Island.

Locations
There are many places to visit in the Farleyan Island, including different islands, cities, and landmarks. Some of which are listed below.

Islands

 * Tharntus Island - The central island, sometimes known as "Farleya Island", was the center of Farleya for centuries, and was the first island discovered.
 * Silver Island
 * Colony Island - Farleya's current capital.
 * Providence Island
 * Griffin Island - One of the northernmost and arguably the largest of the Farleyan Islands, Griffin is somewhat the tourist hot spot of Farleya, having numerous beaches, beautiful sights, and Adamsburg, a resort town.
 * Royal Island
 * Fish Island
 * Harris Island

Cities

 * Adamsburg (Pop. 25,000) is a city located on Griffin Island, and is a large resort town as well.
 * Colony Island was a less advanced island before Shops' annexation of Farleya in 2015. After the annexation, Colony Island was renamed as Farleya's capital, and is currently being developed into a proper city.
 * King's Bay (Pop. 100,000) is the second largest city in the country, and the main port of the country as well.
 * Tharntonville (Pop. 400,000) is the most populated city on the islands, housing more than half of the country's population. It is also the former capital.
 * Williams Town (Pop. 55,000) is the third largest city in the country, and is home to the majority of the country's fisheries and main military base as well.

Landmarks

 * Tharnton Square is a large public square located in Downtown Tharntonville, which is host to many concerts, government speeches and some small shops as well.
 * Williams Military Base, which is located 12 miles northeast of Williams Town, is one of the main military bases for Shopper forces.
 * Caisleán Ag Na Farraige, a large castle near Williams Military Base. It was built in the 1300s, and was used as a military outpost before it was rededicated as the home of the King in the early 1500s. No penguin has lived there since the early 1900s, at which time it was a private retreat for the President and their family. The government has operated tours here since the 1970s.
 * Adams Mountain is the tallest mountain in all of Farleya at 4,782 ft.
 * Tharntonville House, which is located in Tharntonville, was the former seat of the federal government. It was built in 2004 to replace the small, cramped capital building nearby.
 * Port Kingsley is a major port located in King's Bay, and has many ferries and cargo ships.

Currency
Prior to Shops' annexation, Farleya had used the Farleyan Dollar (₳), which at its peak was worth about 20 cents more than a USA pebble. There were one, five, ten, and twenty-five cent coins, as well as one and two dollar coins, and five, ten, twenty, fifty and one hundred dollar bills. In the early 2000s, Farleya had a high GDP per capita (§ 78,000), and a high GDP as well. The country retired one dollar bills in 2003 when they became a free republic, and also used to utilize the 1000 dollar bill until it was discontinued in 2005, due to fraud convictions.

Since the value of the Farleyan Dollar was worth almost nothing when Shops took over, the official currency became Wikibucks (WB$). At that point, citizens were given the WB$ that their dollars were worth, according to the currency exchange rate at the time, and Farleyan Dollars were no longer accepted.

Tourism
Farleya attracts many tourists from Shops Island and the USA, mainly due to the fact that Farleya is quite old in comparison to these other places. Farleya has Gothic architecture dating back almost 1000 years, which is very popular among sightseers. The tourism industry accounts for a fairly large amount of the Farleyan economy.

Fishing
Fishing is one of Farleya's main industries, and Farleya is one of the main fish producers/exporters in Shops' empire. Farleyan fish gets sent all over Antarctica. Farleyan culture is also heavily centered around the fishing industry, and most Farleyans live close to the sea.

Geography
The islands experience a taiga/boreal climate. There are many jacklon, pine, and some deciduous trees as well. The islands also are home to many fish, sharks, whales and jellyfish as well, much to penguins' dismay (except for the fish). It is estimated that the islands were formed about 6 million years ago, with the eruption of an ocean volcano. The islands are made of mainly sedimentary and igneous rocks, which form the valleys and coats of the islands. Overall, Farleya contains eight separate islands, all in varying sizes and shapes. Some have called it an archipelago, while others say the islands are too small for it to be considered an archipelago.

Inhabitants
There are currently about 760,000 creatures living in the country. 74% of the population are penguins, 22% are Puffles, and other species make up about 4% of the population. From 2006 to 2007, the population changed by -.0021%.There are 34 known species living in the country, mainly Adelie and Emperor Penguins. Currently, there are only 3 walruses in the entire country, according to the National Statistics Bureau.