Silesian Confederacy

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

Infobox HonorverseOrganizations


name = Silesian Confederacy
formofgovernment = confederation
officiallanguage =
homeplanet = Silesia
capital =
headofstate =
headofgovernment = Prime Minister
seniormilitarycommander =
executivebranch = Cabinet,
Sector Governors
legislativebranch =
military = Confederacy Navy
establishment =
population =
currency =

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".

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.

* The People's Republic of Haven considered that Silesia was the next natural target for expansion in the 1900 P.D. (HH1).

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.

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.

See also

* Talbott Cluster

References