Flandria

The Grand Duchy of Flandria is a small province located on Vallonia's east coast. It is considered an unimportant and easily forgettable region by most of the empire, although the fiercely independent populace would readily argue to the contrary. Unfortunately, in the grand scheme of things, Flandria plays a very small role. It has little strategic importance, with a low population, few cities, and bare natural resources, with no military tradition to speak of. Indeed, the Autarchs consider Flandria so insignificant that several of them have considered doing away with the province all together and merging it with Schwabia.

Unfortunately, Flandria also has a reputation for disloyalty, beginning with the Ducal Rebellion. The region was one of the first to join Schwabia in its fight against the Autarch, and though that was many years ago, it has not been forgotten by Vallonians.

The people of Flandria are a mix between Vallonians, who heavily colonized the area in previous centuries, and Flemings, the native tribesmen who peacefully became the Autarch's subjects in the early days of the empire. Flemings, who are still hold a majority in the province, are very individualistic people, with an ancient culture that is made promient by their individualism.

Geography
Comprising a small corner of Vallonia, the southern border of the province is defined by the Karpathian Mountains, which have long separated it from Karpathia and the constant turmoil that place endures. The other borders of the Duchy are drawn by rivers which separate it from Vallonia, Piktland, and Schwabia.

Flandria is a low land, and nearly every inch of it is covered by marshes, fens, and flood plains. Before it was a Vallonian land the province was a highly fertile place, owing to the many small rivers which snake across it, but since then multiple floods from the salt-water sea have rendered most of Flandria unsuitable for farming. Thus, originally a society centered around farming, similar to Wessia, the Flemings have found new purpose in the fishing industry. Whereas Daaneland had a monopoly over trading, shipbuilding, and even whaling, they found a virtually untapped market in the populous schools of good-tasting fish that abound in Flandria's coastal waters and streams.

Flandria is sparsely populated. There are only two places considered by the rest of the empire to be cities, Flanderburg and Sint-Gint. The rest of the population lives in tiny hamlets and single-family homesteads scattered across the whole of the province. Therefore, the vast majority of Flandria is rural and unindustrialized, and some Vallonians might even call it backwater. The road network is shoddy at best, and mainly consists of beaten dirt trails and a few cobblestone streets leading from Flanderburg which are in abysmal condition.

Inhabitants
WIP