Madison Isles

The Madison Isles are a small archipelago in the east of Micras.

Origins and Etymology

The Madison Isles were added in Series Three along with the rest of the Eastern Hemisphere. Like most Eastern Hemisphere islands, they are named after a famous past micronationalist - in this case, Ben Madison, former king of Talossa. With Madison's reputation, their name is hardly something to be proud of. Oddly, on the first few maps including the Isles, only two islands exist. The others seem to have been added by Delvenus, in a flagrant contradiction of usual MCS rules.

Geography

Their latest inhabitant, New Britannia, defines their geography as follows: the northernmost small island in the chain is Diana Island, the two small ones south Prince of Shalta and East Georgia Islands. The three small islands to the southwest are West George, Granfield, and St. John Islands. The bay in the west is Witham Sound; the straits in the northeast are the St. George and Churchill Straits.

History

The first occupant of these isles was Delvenus, a fanatically neutral state nevertheless usually considered a puppet of Shireroth. Because of its neutrality (cynics would say because of its subservience to Shireroth) it was the second location to be used by the MCS as a base in the days before the Society had its own forum, and is still very much associated with its role as a center of cartography. Delvenus was gone by Series Eight; Aryez briefly colonized it in Series Nine, but its most famous latter-day owner is of course New Britannia, which calls the islands Willow and locates its capital there. Under New Britannia, these icy islands have once again become one of the most influential locales on Micras.