Svalbard: a New JetPunk Empire

If you're even partially active on the blog scene you've likely heard of "Dawn of the JetPunk Empires." What a fine series it is; I even went and requested my own nation. And guess, guess, the request was granted. Now then, an empire popping up out of nowhere is bound to cause a little confusion, so I made this blog in order to present basic information about the country. Happy reading!

Svalbard has many national holidays; here is a complete list. Also included are some unofficial holidays that, while popular, are not officially recognized by the government.

Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean spread across 23,561 square miles. The nation, being an archipelago, is composed of dozens of islands, fjords, and skerries, the largest of which is Fallgrass Island (14,546 mi²). Most of the country's area is covered by ice sheets and glaciers, with mountains dotting the barren landscape. There is virtually no arable land as well, though various shrubs can be found around the islands. As a result of the North Atlantic Current, the climate is very cold, and the islands have cool summers and harsh winters.

The country's highest point is the summit of Newton Peak, at 5,620 feet tall.

The nation was founded by a group of Americans escaping the Civil War back home, around 1863. They had originally departed on a stolen Confederate steamer in 1862, intending to settle in the Caribbean; however they were incredibly unprepared for the heat and looked for someplace cooler. Traveling the seas for a place to settle themselves, they finally came upon Svalbard, the frosty archipelago north of Norway. Weary from traveling for so long, they figured they may as well throw the anchor and settle down. Though already named, it did not belong to any country, making the settlement process significantly easier.

For the first few years, life on the island was rough. Food was hard to come by and dozens either died of starvation or succumbed to the bitter cold. But when everything seemed lost, a light of hope arrived one frosty morning; when American president Ulysses S. Grant heard of the venture, he immediately sent a ship loaded with food, supplies, and men to support it. On this particular morning, the ship finally arrived! The settlers rejoiced and wrote up a Treaty of Friendship with the United States that would be signed the next day.

For the following decades, more and more settlers would come in on ships, eventually reaching the point where the country could produce its own food. The American government established an embassy in order to stay in contact; the embassy is still open to this day. After that the nation was rather uneventful, so let us move on to 1914.

Svalbard would become one of NATO's founding members in 1949, and its strategic position was a key point to keep the Soviets in check. Rumors circulate that the Soviet Union planned to invade the nation sometime during the 1970's, but no evidence exists to support these claims.

The nation remained isolated and maintained good relations with the NATO group until the fall of the United States in 2021, after which the United States government-in-exile became stationed in Svalbard. Since then, the nation has been greatly expanding its military capabilities in order to survive in this fiery new world of empires but has not yet joined any modern wars. However, rumors exist that Svalbard may be planning to enter WWIII at an unknown date.

Svalbard is a presidential constitutional republic. Unlike the United States, the states of Svalbard do not have quite as much jurisdiction over their own territory; this is because the populations of some states are much too small to sort their own deals. Much like the United States, it is a mostly two-party system. However, instead of Republican and Democrat, it is Republican and Federalist, thanks to a bad association with Democrats during the Civil War.

The Svalbardian government is made of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.

The legislative branch is, unlike the United States, unicameral — a single house, the Senate, given seats based on the population of a state. All legislators are directly elected by the people, and there is a total of 21 at the moment. Additionally, the Senate is led by the vice-president.

The executive branch is composed of the President and his cabinet — Presidents serving terms of four years and being elected directly by the people.

Finally, we have the judicial branch — it is composed of a Constitutionally-mandated four judges, each appointed by the President. Each judge serves a five-year term, and at the end of their terms they are held before the Senate in order to decide if they should get another term or be replaced.

Svalbard is composed of seven states and nine cities. Note that the cities listed are only the officially incorporated cities, and that there also exists several smaller settlements throughout the archipelago.

Svalbardian culture is based on, mostly, American culture. And it makes sense; the country was founded by Americans. Svalbardian culture is rooted in a strong work ethic and the democratic process; this standard has remain mostly unchanged as the vast majority of the country remains American, just as it was in its founding days.

Film, literature, and art has a rich history in Svalbard. Many art pieces and books were inspired by the arctic landscape, and filmmaking began in 1905 when the technology was imported from the United States. Since then, the mystery film "Eagle on the Rocks," noted for its shocking ending, has gone on to win an Academy Award, an achievement widely celebrated in the country.

While not many sports are played in Svalbard, they do have some presence. The most commonly played and national sport is Svalbardian baseball, which is a slight modification of the baseball we're all used to.

1. There are three bases, not four, creating a triangle instead of a diamond.

2. Pitches are thrown from behind the triangle, not from within.

3. The first three innings have three strikes, but every inning after that has only two strikes.

Besides Svalbardian baseball, the other most common sports are hockey and American baseball. At the Olympics, Svalbard has won several gold medals in hockey and baseball.

The Svalbardian economy is very large for a nation of its size, and many have attributed this to extremely friendly relations with the United States and western Europe. Coming in at an average GDP of $2,421,321,452 a year, it results in a GDP per capita of $139,244 per person, a very high number by world standards. The economy is based mostly on tourism, mining, manufacturing, and fishing. The largest imports are machinery / equipment, metals, and foodstuffs.

The currency of Svalbard is the Svalbardian Dollar (also known as "Rush" in slang), represented by the "$" symbol. 1 Svalbardian Dollar is approximately equal to 1.21 United States Dollars; however, most Svalbardian stores will accept both currencies. The Svalbardian Dollar comes in denominations of $0.01, $0.05, $0.10, $0.25, $0.50, $1, $3, $5, $10, $20, $30, $50, $100, and $300.

At first glance, the Svalbardian military seems rather small, with only 412 soldiers. And while this is true, you must remember that the American government-in-exile is stationed in Svalbard, giving it a de facto soldier count of 1.6 million.

But you're not reading this blog for information about the U.S. military, so let's stick to the Svalbardian Military alone. Of the 412 soldiers, 212 are registered with the Army, 135 with the Navy, 57 with the Air Force, and a squad of 8 soldiers are held for any miscellaneous needs. Most of the country's military equipment was purchased or given from the United States, though some arms deals have been made with France and the United Kingdom.

Here is a list of the wars the Svalbardian Armed Forces has fought in (officially, so not including small groups of soldiers under a foreign banner):

1. Anglo-Egyptian War (1882, as a part of the Egyptian Expedition)

2. Boxer Rebellion (1901)

3. WWI (1914 - 1917)

4. Russian Civil War (1919 - 1920)

5. War in Afghanistan (2007 - 2021)

To conclude this blog, here is a small gallery of pictures from the nation.

And that's Svalbard! Hopefully this has been a fair introduction to the newest JetPunk empire, and a great thanks to you all for reading.