Puffle Island


 * NOT to be confused with its owner, Puffle'and.

Puffle Island is a Puffish owned island for puffles located off the coast of Trans-Antarctica. For centuries, the island has become the "Paradise for Puffles" as the island is purely inhabited by puffles. Originally discovered and colonized by Puffle'and, the island was lost to the USA in 2000 at the end of the Colonial Antarctica War. However, due to the citizens' desire for Puffle rulers, the USA ceded Puffle Island back to Puffle'and in 2010.

Background
Around 1670, a Puffle explorer from Puffle'and named Sir Baldwin Waters discovered the island. Sir Baldwin, who had interests of expanding his homeland's colonial territory, immediately claimed the island for his homeland, naming it Puffle Island, since he intended to make the island a truly homogeneously inhabited island of only puffles. Hence, the island was kept a secret from all penguins and crabs, inside and outside Puffle'and. Sir Baldwin left several puffle settlers and a few soldiers to establish the island's first colony that became known as Puffle Town. Puffle'and began sending more and more settlers to the island, and many of them began to plant O-Berry Orchards and form small villages outside of the capital. The island was a great success as several merchants and craftsmen arrived to the island's capital, Puffle Town. However, one day, in 1683, a Zhouese junk full of Penguin soldiers submerged from the coastline and docked at the harbor of Puffle Town. The inhabitants of the island, afraid of the Penguin foreigners, asked the Zhouese soldiers to leave. However, due the fact that the Zhouese junk had gotten lost in a storm and was pulled off course, the soldiers were starved and they needed food. The Zhouese, believing that they were superior to the Puffles, began to raid Puffle Town's taverns for food. Immediately, the Puffish Army arrived and arrested the Zhouese and placed them in a prison and placed them on trial. The judge, who saw that the Zhouese soldiers were very strong, decided to send them all into slavery, which was considered a fair punishment for the day. Hence, the soldiers were sent to work as slaves for the Puffish provincial government and were forced to do menial labor. Then, Puffle'and's King had an idea of sending several Castillan prisoners of War to the island as well. Hence, several Castillan prisoners of war, both male and female, were sent to Puffle Island as slaves. The abundance of new slaves allowed the inhabitants of Puffle Island to establish a slave trade. By the year 1700, every household on Puffle Island had at least one Penguin slave, while most households owned at least a family of Penguin slaves. Many of the Castillan slaves had intermingled with the Zhouese Slaves and had several offspring. It was known that the Penguins were not treated the best and had to live in small, cramped quarters. If they lived on a farm, their very small, one room houses were located within the property of their master. Penguins that served masters in Puffle Town or the villages either had to sleep in the attic or the basement. The use of Penguin slaves to do most of the work on the island helped to produce more abundant and cheaper goods that would be exported back to the Mainland. Major products made during this time period include O-Berries, cotton, indigo, squash, pumpkins, and wheat. The Puffle inhabitants were living in extreme luxury on the island, and many of them lived like kings. Penguins had to clean their house and dishes, maintain their gardens, harvest crops, build more buildings, and they were even subject to carrying large carriages as if they were pack animals. However, when several Puffish soldiers and tourists visited the island, they were shocked to see the reverse lifestyle of the island. Though at first they found the slavery of penguins to be amusing, they later saw the cruelty that they were oppressed with. Several of these Abolitionist Puffles from the mainland began to speak out against it in Parliament, and the issue completely angered the Penguin representatives and several Puffle representatives. However, the Puffle representative for Puffle Island, which became its own province by 1770, stated that the abolitionists were stretching the truth and that the reality was that all puffle masters were always fair to their slaves and allowed them the liberty to leave. In fury, one abolitionist returned to Puffle Island and attempted to start a Slave Revolt. Though at first it seemed a success, the Puffish Army was fearless and began shooting down rebellious slaves as if they were enemy soldiers. Eventually, the slaves surrendered, and the abolitionist puffle was executed for government treason. The abolitionist's story was brought back to the mainland, and the Parliament soon was brought to a big debate that lasted several years. Then, in 1867, the King of Castilla decided to visit Puffle'and and demanded to have the Penguin slaves of half-Castillan descent to be released. In return, the King of Castilla gave the King of Puffle'and a chest of gold as a gift. The Castillan King had won the Puffish King and Parliaments's favor to the abolitionists' side, hence an Emancipation Bill was passed by the Parliament and approved by the King, which permanently ended slavery in all parts of Puffle'and's empire, especially Puffle Island. Puffle Island's slaves were immediately freed, and many puffles became devastated economically. Almost all the Slaves made their escape to Puffle Town and began to overpopulate it's few available buildings that were for sale. Many other penguin slaves had no choice but to live in the streets as beggars. In 1869, Puffle Island's governor asked the Castillans to take the former Slaves into their country since almost all of them had Castillan descent. The Castillan government eagerly agreed and removed all the penguins from the island as soon as possible, and they were taken to live in Varcelono, where they had to adapt to a new language and blend in. Meanwhile, that same year, the Provincial Government of Puffle Island passed a "No Penguin" Act to ensure that penguins would not be able to live on the island ever again. For the next decade, Puffle Island's citizens had to adapt to their new life, and many crops such as indigo and cotton had to be completely eliminated since it took too much labor. Puffle Island increased its O-Berry, wheat, and apple production, and since indigo and cotton were eliminated, they began to plant more potatoes and strawberries. Puffle Island lived peacefully for many decades later. When the Khanzem War broke out in 1913, several Puffish soldiers were stationed on the island, and an airfield was built for the Puffish soldiers to land their aircraft. Luckily, the island was never touched by the Naughtzee due to its strategic location, and the Puffish were able to successfully raid nearby Naughtzee towns on the Trans-Antarctic coast. After the war, the military airfield was converted into an Airport and began to have flights to and from Puffle'and in 1920. For the rest of the 20th century, Puffle Island continued to stay economically strong, and as the decades went by, more and more tourists began to visit the island since it has beautiful beaches and a lot of countryside. When Colonial Antarctica was established in 1990, the Puffish readily advertised the island to the Puffle population of Antarctica, and many of them moved to the island. During the Colonial Antarctica War, Puffle Island stayed Loyalist, though several Revolutionists lived on the island. At war's end, many of the revolutionists told the USA's government about the island's existence, and the USA pressured Puffle'and to cede the island to them that same year. The change of government separated the island from the whole world for a while, since no one visited it. Then, in 2001, 24Keyser was on his ship on a trip to Shiverpool. He wanted to stopover at the border to check on any details, therefore using the ship as his transportation. Suddenly, in the midst of nowhere, the island popped out of the fog. He told his captain to sail him there, and therefore, they were the first inhabitants besides the puffles to discover the island after many years. 24Keyser readily represented the island in the South Pole Council ever since he discovered and decided to settle the island, and international trade resumed. As Trans-Antarctica was still in a growth spurt, the island was annexed to the Sub-Antarctic, the only state before 2008 to lie on water. 24Keyser was elected as the mayor of Puffle Town. In 2005, Trans-Antarctica filed a lawsuit against the Sub-Antarctic for property handling, as 24Keyser was the leader of Trans-Antarctic but had to handle an island other of his own. After seeing that the Sub-Antarctic had not done it's part to maintain the island, a year later, the island was annexed to the Trans-Antarctic. After 24Keyser was knocked out as he quit being in the South Pole Council, Bob McGoo took over. Bob McGoo, also a penguin, was not favored by Puffle Island's population, and the citizens of the island began to stage large protests in the Town Square in 2010, demanding to be sent back to Puffle'and's rule. Seeing that the whole island did not like their presence, the USA agreed and ceded Puffle Island back to Puffle'and. Today, the island is a popular tourist destination for puffles only and puffles are the only creatures allowed to live there, though 24Keyser is an exception.

Places

 * Puffle Town - The capital of the island. Puffle Town retains its Old World charm and is reminiscent to the Puffish mainland. There are a few buildings that are rather modern that were built during the USA's rule on the island from 2000 to 2010. The town is home to a beautiful harbor with a famous boardwalk and a large town square home to the City Hall, the Telenacle Cathedral of the island one pub, one restaurant, and one cafe. The city has narrow streets and has many other popular pubs and boutique shops home to many skilled craftsmen. Puffle Town is overlooked by a large hill that is home to the Governor's Palace.
 * Puffle Beach - A popular beach about 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from Puffle Town. It is home to a few small, secluded resort hotels and is the top destination for tourists. It may not be a tropical beach, but it is very peaceful getaway.
 * Waters Castle - A large fortress located in the center of the island. It was built in the 1670's for Sir Baldwin, the founder of the island. It is know a military base and a tourist attraction.
 * Puffle Island International Airport - A small airport located not far from Puffle Town. It has flights that mainly go to Puffle'and, Snowzerland, Castilla, and Trans-Antarctica. Though penguins are prohibited to visit the island, they are allowed to stay in the airport for connecting flights.
 * Hayes Plantation - One of the oldest remaining commercial plantations on the island, Hayes Plantation has become a historical tourist attraction. The plantation features the Owner's Mansion, the former Slaves living quarters, and a small shop that sells some of the products of the plantation. The plantation produces mainly O-Berries, Apples, and Tea.

Politics
Puffle Island is considered to be an Overseas Province and Crown Colony of Puffle'and. It has its own Provincial Government with a Governor that is elected every four years, and a small provincial Parliament. Puffle Island has two seats in the Parliament back in the mainland of Puffle'and. Along with the island's provincial Parliament, it's capital, Puffle Town, has its own city council that any citizen may attend. Outside villages and remote clusters of neighboring farms have their own meetings, where they typically meet twice a week at the village center to discuss local issues and propose/repeal local municipal laws.