Sleevania

Sleevania is a small democracy of several islands about 200 miles west of the coast of France. It started out small but now has a population of 6,829,340.

Founding

Sleevania was founded in 1956. The Sleevania Expedition(so named afterward) was the expedition that originally founded Sleevania. The 'expedition' was very small. It consisted of 13 men and 7 women in two helicopters. Their names were:

Thomas H. Jordan	29
Richard Anderson	24
Jackson B. Harshman	24
Noel F. Carver	23
Quinn Thomson	25
John Robinson	21
Zack Swenson	23
Antonio Conti	22
Harper Sheppard	22
Rob Dare	27
Arthur Combsbey	25
Jack Wheaton(Amelia Wheaton's brother)	24
Jacob Savage	23
Amelia Wheaton	22
Yvonne Sardar	22
Elizabeth Blue	26
Patti Burke	22
Celeste Brown	23
Amita Murphy	24
Veronica Thomsen	28

The Idea

While scanning an old map, Thomas H. Jordan, a moderately rich fellow, came upon an unclaimed island in international waters. He decided he wanted to found a country there. He wasn't quite sure how to do it. Luckily, his friend Veronica Thomsen, had some ideas. They eventually decided that they would gather their friends and fly them there.

The Trip

Thomas made a flag and got his twenty-person expedition into two helicopters. In eight hours, they arrived. They found that the islands were bigger than they had even hoped. And, in addition to the island he had seen on the map, there were seven others its size. They got out of the helicopter onto the largest island (later named Aartarius) and crowned the islands Sleevania.

The News

Word of this new country reached many of his friends back home, and they passed it onto their friends, and so on. Everyone who heard about it wanted to come, and within a year of its founding, the tiny Sleevania had a population of 5,440. The people kept coming for three years, at the end of which Sleevania had spread to all eight islands and had a population of 25,630. It was around this time that France (but only France) began to respond to Sleevania as a country.

Politics

See: Sleevanian Events

The Past

After the people stopped coming, the Sleevanians lived in peace for several years, but with a very low population increase. Thomas H. Jordan (by now President) decided to take action. In 1960, inspired by the effectiveness of the space promise of the Americans, he started the Sleevanian Immigration Project. He took several large loans and built an airport on the main island Aartarius. He then spent the rest of his loans on advertising his project and making Sleevanian Immigration Forms widely available. There was a boom in Sleevanian Immigration. In the first year, the population jumped from 25,750 to 49,982. The airport also created lots of tourism. The interesting food, way of thinking, and extreme diversity were great tourist attractions. With funding from tourism, the renewed support of all Sleevanian people, and worldwide attention, Thomas knew that he should "just keep running with it." He commisioned parks, buildings with amazing architecture, and gave government subsidies to create the Sleevanian Air airline. Sleevania continued increasing in population, and in 1967 the population was half a million. The tourist business was booming, and was making almost $100 million a year. But Thomas didn't stop at that. He created the Sleevanian Space Program. In 1972, after multiple probes and unmanned craft, the first Sleevanian astronaut orbited the earth. Many tourists came to watch the launches, so the space program was well funded. But Thomas Jordan had already been president for three terms. He had two years left. In his last two years, Thomas set aside a fund so that the tourism could continue. His farewell speech was televised internationally. As soon as he was out of office, his fellow founder and good friend Veronica Thomsen ran for president. She won the election and continued in the ways of Thomas, promoting tourism. But the new, exciting idea of this new country wasn't so novel anymore. The tourism industry started failing, and with it went the economy. The space program came to a halt. The Sleevanian people needed tourism. But it was gone. For three years, the Sleevanian economy fell as the people hoped for renewed interest. The stock market bottomed out, and the education system was running on almost no money. The Sleevanians used up the entire trust Thomas Jordan had left, but it didn't work. After several years of this, people began to realize they needed a new industry. That was when the diversity began. People started branching out, and soon all types of shops were appearing in Sleevania. The diversity continued. In 1990, Veronica Thomsen maxed out her term. In the new election, a senator by the name of Yaamar Udyar was elected. Yaamar Udyar increased the military and created trade with many countries. Sleevania grew in fame and stature and was thriving until 9/11. After 9/11, nobody would ride planes, once again removing tourism. Also many companies shut down for several months trying to review their trade methods. The economy dropped, and Yaamar tried desperately to get Sleevania back on its feet. After a very rough 19 days, Sleevanian companies opened again, and the stock market jumped up dramatically.

The Present

Right now the president of Sleevania is Raanan Giliion. He was elected in 2006. The agency heads are:

Sleevanian Economic Agency(SEA)	Unliie Farquad
Sleevanian Agency of Enviromental Protection(SAEP)	Liision Guriis
Sleevanian Agency of Citizen Welfare(SACW)	Tiiar Voniie
Sleevanian Agency of Military(SAM)	Yaamar Udyar
Sleevanian Agency of Food and Nutrition(SAFN)	Yaliie Elliie

Customs

Food

Sleevanian food is largely an international mix, with only several unique dishes. Almost every meal consists of rice, a side, and an entree. Sides are often fruit, vegetables, or small quiches or bits of cornbread. Scones are also common. Entrees range widely from sandwiches to dumplings. Most restaurants serve at least two foreign cuisines.

Art

Art is largely pastel in Sleevania. All the most famous artists use swirls and rigid lines in the same painting, creating a specific thing or (most commonly) an abstract pattern of multiple colors. Most Sleevanian art has very bright oranges and blues, and darker greens, usually olive. Sleevanians enjoy new ideas and also paintings that don't quite make sense.

Gestures

Sleevanians usually greet each other with a simple hello, but part with a formal bow. Any kind of threat or threat of making a threat is extremely rude. Sleevanians take great pride in people (children especially) who have great manners.

Language

Almost all Sleevanians speak Sleevanian as well as French and sometimes English. All three are taught in schools.