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==Politics and Administration== | ==Politics and Administration== | ||
==Economy== | ==Economy== | ||
Whereas the mainland Hendalarskara economy is dominated by state and coöperative ownership, the Pentapolitan economy is far more deregulated and run on essentially ''laissez-faire'' lines. Although neither state nor coöperative enterprises are outright illegal - Hendalarskara law would not permit this even in a region as autonomous as the Pentapolis - they are strongly discouraged and liable to be bankrupted by privately-owned competitors whenever they emerge. Trade unions in the Pentapolis are also tightly bound in the actions they can lawfully undertake, with solidarity strikes and wildcat strikes both illegal and high turnout thresholds for ballots to be considered valid. Almost all facets of economic life in the Pentapolis are privatised, from public transport to pensions, with the conspicuous exception of education, which is managed by each Pentapolitan city and is supported even by the private sector for its value in generating a trained and skilled labour force. | |||
The Pentapolis' present-day prosperity is derived from its function as an economic linkage between the relatively autarkic Hendalarskara economy and the wider world, with competitive advantages in both directions. Farming is almost non-existent on the islands, partly due to their oceanic climate but mainly due to the influx of enormous quantities of cheap Hendalarskara agricultural produce, although much of Hendalarsk's blue-water fishing industry - such as [[Nagy István Vandarhalászatok]] - is headquartered in the archipelago. Lighter regulations make the Pentapolis a more competitive export market than most of the wider Hendalarskara economy, although goods produced for consumption on the Hendalarskara mainland must abide by Hendalarsk's far more stringent regulations; this inconsistency has lain at the heart of many commercial disputes between the Pentapolis and the metropole. The five cities are home to a small but specialised manufacturing base, with a particular emphasis on both military and civilian shipbuilding and shipbreaking; Pentapolitan vessels are considered (at least by Pentapolitans themselves) to be the finest on the Vandarch, with the [[Great Shipyard]] of [[Jendaburg]] one of the largest and oldest anywhere in the region. | |||
Beyond this signature industry, the Pentapolitan economy is largely service-driven. The Pentapolitan Stock Exchange in [[Hukenen]] is an order of magnitude larger than its counterpart in [[Frehmenwerth]], with many Hendalarskara businesses - including even the nation's sovereign wealth fund - represented on the Exchange as a means of increasing liquidity and soliciting foreign investment. The Pentapolis, via a windfall tax levied since the Great Bargain, is also a key source of foreign currency for the Hendalarskara state, a resource pool swelled by the role of the ever-growing Pentapolitan tourism sector (and its close cousin the gambling industry). Gambling in Hendalarsk proper is extremely tightly controlled, with a low absolute limit on the total monthly stakes any individual can place. These limitations do not exist in the Pentapolis, with [[Miledaas]] in particular (in)famous for its casinos and the near-omnipresence of betting terminals even in relatively sedate settings such as cafés and gyms. Tourists therefore come from far and wide to gamble in Miledaas; the [[Captain's Casino]] in the city centre is one of the largest in [[Levantia]], with an annual revenue in the billions. Online gambling firms headquartered in Miledaas enjoy almost no regulatory oversight, which is a source of both increasing concern in Hendalarsk proper and abroad and enormous wealth. All five Pentapolitan cities market themselves as luxury tourist destinations, with their ports able to accommodate even the largest cruise liners for refits and archipelagic excursions, although Miledaas has also acquired a reputation as a regional hub for nightlife, party tourism and - more controversially - sex tourism, the latter of which has drawn the ire of mainland politicians such as [[Judka Haller]] and even some groups in the Pentapolis itself. | |||
==Demographics== | ==Demographics== | ||
==Culture== | ==Culture== | ||
===Sports=== | ===Sports=== | ||
As in Hendalarsk proper, association football is the most popular sport in the Pentapolis. The Pentapolis, however, is not part of the wider Hendalarskara football pyramid, with the sport instead governed by the [[Pentapolitan Football Association]], the FFB ([[Pentapolitan Argot|Argot]] ''Fönferstadscher Fösbal-Bunt''). This separation extends to international football, where the Pentapolis is represented by its own [[Pentapolis national football team|national side]], which has enjoyed considerably less success than its mainland counterpart. Domestic football in the Pentapolis is likewise less globally prominent than the [[Hendalarskaras Bundesliga]], although this has begun to change in recent years with the advent of the [[Pentapolitan Premier League|Fönferstadscher Ensliga]]; exorbitant commercial licensing and TV rights deals have seen clubs in the Ensliga offering far higher wages than are available at any club in the Bundesliga, prompting fears of a "foot drain" out of Hendalarsk proper. | |||
In addition to football, baseball is popular across the Pentapolis, with a proportionally far greater following than on the mainland. This has been bolstered by the Pentapolis' barely-regulated sports gambling industry, and a consequent influx of baseball fans from other countries in Levantia where the sport is likewise popular but gambling on it is far more restricted. The [[Pentapolitan Baseball League]] is not a major player in a continental sense, but enjoys large matchday attendances and some international cultural recognition; this is particularly true of the [[Hukener Kestrels]], the richest, most popular and most successful team in the archipelago. | |||
Beyond terrestrial team sports, sailing is (appropriately for a maritime polity) popular across the Pentapolis, with even relatively déclassé Pentapolitan families often making a point of renting a space in the great anchorages of the archipelago's many natural harbours. Pentapolitan sailors have a long track record of participation (and success) at the [[Istroyan Games]], where they compete under the Hendalarskara banner due to IIGC regulations, and maintain a friendly and almost entirely one-sided rivalry with their [[Burgundie|Burgoignesc]] counterparts. Rowing as a sport, however, is not widely practised, as it retains a pronounced cultural stigma due to the role played by, and low status of, oarsmen on galleys during the Pentapolis' early-modern rise to power. This stigma has had little impact on the popularity of martial arts based on ritualised knife-fighting, as they are instead mostly associated with above-decks derring-do. The Pentapolis has also given rise to several prominent fencers such as [[Nadía Sígelman]], although fencing's popularity is mostly limited to the old merchant families of the Pentapolis and their ''nouvelles-riches'' counterparts. | |||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||