Editing Neebrachters (section)

== SOCIETY ==
The people of the Republiek der vijf verenigde Neebrachtelande, or the Neebracht Republic, are divided between the three estates: the nobility, the clergy, and the commons. The Neebrachters are unique for their lack of a truly entrenched landed aristocracy, with the lines exceptionally blurred between the nobility and the burghers. More often than not, this translates as a disparity in wealth, with many Neebracht aristocrats often being impoverished in comparison to the excessive wealth of the local merchant class who glut themselves on the profit brought into the ports of the Republic through their extensive trade networks.

While agriculture is most common in the rural ranges of the provinces, the cities are bustling with merchants, artisans, and artists of every variety. Among the most respected professions are those of enterprising merchants in the import and export business, bankers, moneychangers, and painters. There is a special reverence for the banking system in the Republic and some of the most wealthy and affluent people. Consequently, many of the representatives in the States-General own or work in the banking industry.

The Neebrachters are notorious for what many foreigners consider to be an utter lack of moral scruples concerning politics, commerce, and monetary gain. The Neebrachter Republic has established a thoroughly meritocratic system where a man’s worth is determined by his influence and, therefore, his wealth. This has led to a cutthroat attitude in handling both business and state, with merchants often cutting corners at their customers' expense for the highest profit margin. It is commonplace for interfamilial squabbles over inheritance, with some going as far as to assassinate their own fathers, or vice versa, fathers their own sons and daughters in order to secure a bountiful inheritance.

Neebrachters, for the most part, do not have an overarching loyalty to the Republic at large. It is more so a matter of convenience, as the confederated provinces exist to maintain protection against outside contenders and for a free flowing commerce into the port cities of the region. Instead, Neebrachters will place loyalty to the local Vroedschap, or city council, above loyalty to the federal government of the Republic and will work, in all things, to the benefit of their city above the larger Republic. While this does not imply disloyalty, it does, however, make the States-General a political quagmire where representatives vie for local privileges and autonomy over pressing for actual innovation or progress that might benefit the provinces as a whole.

Beyond government and politics, Neebrachter society is heavily organized along the lines of mercantile guilds. Guilds exist in each of the major city drawn along the lines of professions. The most influential guilds are the Guild of Sint-Letuun, to which the bankers and moneychangers belong; the Guild of Sint-Nikodemus, composed of the painters and engineers; and the Guild of Sint-Mordsleij, which hosts shipbuilders, sailors, and soldiers. The guilds vie with one another for influence within the local Vroedschap, and they are often the starting point for any prospective Neebrachter who desires to enter into a political career in the States-General or elsewise ply a trade legally within the cities.