| Hibernian Maritime League | |
|---|---|
| Flag of the HML | |
| General | |
| Name | Hibernian Maritime League |
| Capital | Tara |
| Largest City | Wicklow |
| National Abstract | |
| Government | |
| Government Type | Distributed Representative Democracy |
| Head of State | |
| Legislature | |
| Demographics | |
| Demonym | Irish |
| Population | approx. 1.6 million |
| Official Language(s) | English, Gaelic |
| Spoken Language(s) | English, Gaelic, Ulster Scots |
| Ethnic Groups | Irish, Welsh, English, Scott, other |
| Official Religion | No state religion |
| Major Religions | Roman Catholic, Protestant |
The Hibernian Maritime League is an organization representing the common interests of the Hibernian islands, created in order to keep the trade-waters of the islands safe, and to provide a consistent public face in matters of international relations.
History[edit | edit source]
Practically every city in Ireland came under water as the oceans rose. As an island nation, Ireland had been built where every city was a port city. With their city-centers gone, the large export industries of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and communications technology quickly evaporated. Inland, the countryside -- mostly farmland -- was happy to grow production to support the island's population -- now cut off from the rest of the world without working ports. However, without a good source for steel, farmers had difficulties keeping up maintenance. The whole nation was in trouble. With the EU gone, and no way to support their welfare state, the entire economy finally collapsed, leaving what was one unified island as fragments -- small islands with even smaller communities separated from each other.
Nothing ever truly goes away. As a nation built previously built on the capability of their ports, shipping had no difficulty staying afloat as it were. The harbors and offices were gone, but the ships and their crew were ready to facilitate the transport and trade of food and goods between the many new islands in their sea. Sadly, just like looting had become prevalent in the early days of the flood, piracy became a reality that had to be met. Traders began needing to arm themselves with what they could, and coordinate to make sure their routes were free for transit. This was the beginning of the Hibernian Maritime League, named in honor of the old island, broken up but unified once more.
Slowly, businesses began to form once more in the medical and communications fields, now refocused to develop solutions to the islands' needs for long range wireless networks and increasing health problems due to the cataclysm. Though slow, radio teletype and fax came in use as a low-tech approximation of the internet, and helped keep the islands together. The lack of good steel, aluminum, or resins (for fiberglass) pushed ship design back to the wood, and a general fear against using fossil fuels extensively brought back the popularity of the tall ship schooner. The large Tara ore mine was flooded, but other lead and zinc mines were able to keep running. With exportable goods on the table, the islands once again look towards international trade.