Silesian Confederacy

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The Silesian Confederacy is a fictional star nation that appears in David Weber's Honor Harrington series of novels.

Main Honor Harrington series
HH0 Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington HH6 Honor Among Enemies
HH1 On Basilisk Station HH7 In Enemy Hands
HH2 The Honor of the Queen HH8 Echoes of Honor
HH3 The Short Victorious War HH9 Ashes of Victory
HH4 Field of Dishonor HH10 War of Honor
HH5 Flag in Exile HH11 At All Costs
Spin off Series
Wages of Sin Saganami Island series
WS1 Crown of Slaves SI1 The Shadow of Saganami
Anthologies
HHA1 More Than Honor HHA2 Worlds of Honor
HHA3 Changer of Worlds HHA4 Service of the Sword
Silesian Confederacy
Form of Government confederation
Home Planet Silesia
Head of Government Prime Minister
Executive Branch Cabinet,
Sector Governors
Military Confederacy Navy


Contents

[edit] History

The Silesian Confederacy was a vast interstellar government made up of several systems. It was located to the "north" of the Star Kingdom of Manticore and to the "east" of the Andermani Empire.

For the entirety of its history, the Confederacy was plagued by piracy and secessionist movements which aimed at breaking away from the almost powerless central Silesian government. Regional power in the Confederacy was in the hands of the System Governors, often corrupt individuals, who aided piracy or actively tried to secede. The level of violence in the Silesian Confederacy was such that hundreds of thousands died every year on its account.

Silesian pirates were considered amongst the most brutal and cruel of the human galaxy, having no compunction about murdering or raping the crews of captured ships.

During the First Havenite War, the Confederacy was a minor front of combat, which the People's Republic of Haven tried to inflame by sending a force of People's Navy warships to attack Manticoran commerce and protect Andermani merchant ships from piracy. The idea was to warm up relations with the Empire, adding pressure to Manticore in another front (HH6).

Im 1920 P.D. the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the Andermani Empire, allies against the Republic of Haven then, decided to put an end to their differences over Silesia by partitioning the Confederacy between each one. It was hinted that the actual takeover of Silesia consisted in major bribes to the Confederacy's System Governors (HH10).

A popular nickname for Silesians was "Silly" (plural "Sillies"), while those working with the Confederate government, especially the Navy, were known as "Confeds".

[edit] Foreign Relations

With so much internal infighting, the Confederacy was often prey to the ambitions of foreign powers.

  • The Andermani Empire considered that the Confederacy was its natural backyard and the next logical ground for expansion, and thus deployed a large portion of the Imperial Andermani Navy to the Confederacy, ostensibly to protect Andermani shipping but also to establish a foothold on Silesian space.
  • The Star Kingdom of Manticore was more concerned with piracy and the ineptness of the Confederate Navy to crush it, and also maintained sizeable detachments of the Royal Manticoran Navy in Silesian space to protect Manticoran merchant vessels. Also, the deployment of Manticoran military assets served as a warning to the Andermani Empire, whose expansion over Silesia was a major concern for the Star Kingdom. Honor Harrington conducted at least two anti-piracy cruises; one while commanding the Star Knight-class heavy cruiser HMS Fearless (between HH1 and HH2) and another in command of the armed merchant cruiser HMAMC Wayfarer (HH6). Her longtime rival Captain Pavel Young also was at one time assigned to fight piracy in Silesia. Between 1910 P.D. and 1919 P.D. Manticore established a naval station at Sidemore just outside the Confederacy in order to police it and protect shipping. It lied near the Triangle Route.

[edit] Military

See also: Confederate Navy at List of ships in the Honorverse.

The Confederate Navy was a troubled and powerless force when dealing with piracy and political violence. Corruption and political interference also prevented the Navy from accomplishing its mission. Confederate ships were also decades behind their equivalents in more modern nations such as the Star Kingdom of Manticore or the Andermani Empire. With the demise of the Confederacy, the Confederate Navy may be divided between the Manticoran and Andermani navies.

[edit] Allegory

Both the name (Silesia), and the general naming pattern in the star region suggest that Confederacy is an allegory for Poland and the Holy Roman Empire. The Confederacy perpetuates the usual stereotype of the Holy Roman Empire as a weak, divided country sliding in anarchy, and ultimately partitioned. The nickname 'sillies' is a subtle allusion to Polak jokes.

[edit] See also

[edit] References


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