Silk League

An alliance of city states, whose prosperity stems from the large-scale production of spider silk.

History
This land was once part of the ancient human Kingdom of Erdanor. But in P.I. 137 the burghers of the cities on the mainland rose up against the tyranny of their queen and banished her and the entire nobility to to the isalnd in the east (current Kingdom of Erdanor). The newly independent cities were easily conquered by the expanding Imperium, and under their rule the cities thrived. Their prosperity was mainly due to the discovery that the silk of giant spiders in the neighboring Jungle of Boas can be refined into a fabric similar to elven silk (but much cheaper and of a slightly lower quality).

After the fall of the Imperium these cities became independent, a moment of weakness that the king of Erdanor exploited in an attempt to take back the lands that were taken from his ancestors. But the threat of the return of the hated kings of Erdanor spurred the cities into action and they quickly organized into the Silk League and repelled the invader.

Life
The cities of the Silk League are ruled by the merchant class. Due to historical reasons there is no land based nobility in the League, but over the centuries dozens of successful merchant dynasties became so entrenched in society that they form a sort of hereditary ruling class. Still, unlike the feudal realms, in the Silk League everyone is equal before the law (in theory).

A significant fraction of the population is somehow involved in the production of silk: either by preparing the fabric, selling it, shipping it or by taming the giant spiders producing it.