Major Provinces of the Free Worlds League
The Duchy of Andurien
The water-rich worlds of Andurien bear the marks of their history as a prize long fought over by two great star empires. Alternately conquered by Capellan and Free Worlds forces since the late twenty-third century, catalyst for three major wars between 2398 and 2551, given to the Capellan Confederation as inducement to join the Star League and retaken by the Free Worlds League in the First Succession War, this region has brought the League great wealth and great trouble. The ruling Humphreys family, once staunch League loyalists, soon came to favor independence as an alternative to constant attack. To quote the late Duchess Catherine Humphreys, instigator of the Andurien Crisis of 3030: "We are not a scrap of meat to be torn apart by two snarling dogs. We deserve better than to have our lives shattered every time some crazy Liao or pompous Marik gets the itch to play conquering hero. We'll go our own way, and a plague on both their Houses!" Though such forthright secessionist sentiment has largely died down under Thomas Marik's reign, the history that gave rise to it remains a powerful emotional force for many Andurien citizens. Others reject separatism with equal force; eager to live down what they feel is an unjust reputation for treachery. Either way, the people of this region tend to be fiercely proud of their Andurien origins and extremely touchy in matters of politics.
Blessed with large bodies of water, a valuable resource, the Andurien systems should have been among the most prosperous League worlds. Centuries of border wars, however, forced planetary governments to rebuild damaged infrastructure again and again over the years. With the latest wave of rebuilding largely complete, the duchy is finally beginning to take part in the League-wide economic boom. Demand for exported water and seafood is running high on more crowded and less resource-rich planets, enriching Andurien governments and businessmen alike.
Optimism fueled by the good times took a brief nosedive during Isis Marik's nine-year engagement to Sun-Tzu Liao; anti-Liao feeling runs high on many Andurien planets, and the prospect of a Liao Captain-General came close to reviving a moribund separatist movement. With the engagement ended and Isis Marik displaced as the Marik heir, local sentiment swung firmly back into Thomas Marik's camp. Pro-independence and even pro-Liao pockets remain, the latter mostly among large Chinese enclaves on border worlds. However, most Anduriens of whatever ethnic origin are happy to stay part of a prospering Free Worlds League for the foreseeable future.
The duchy's location on the Capellan border has given it a large Asian population, dominated by Chinese, Indians and Koreans. Welsh and Spanish influences also abound, though the former diminished with the plunge in fortune of the Welsh-connected Humphreys clan. Andurien planets closest to the Periphery see considerable traffic with the Magistracy of Canopus, a Periphery realm known for its anything-goes attitude. Cultural and scientific exchanges between the two regions, along with frequent travel by citizens of both, have imbued daily life in rimward Andurien with an easygoing air utterly foreign to many other League regions, whose citizens are more driven to hard work and accomplishment.