The Patroonship of Watervliet is a colossal, cultured nation, ruled by The Patroon with an iron fist, and remarkable for its enslaved workforce, soft-spoken computers, and disturbing lack of elderly people. The hard-nosed, cynical, devout population of 2.897 billion Watervlietians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The medium-sized, corrupt, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Watervliet. The average income tax rate is 53.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The strong Watervlietian economy, worth 269 trillion Old Colonies a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized, fairly diversified black market in Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, Tourism, and Furniture Restoration. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 93,158 Old Colonies, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Factories place endangered birds in their rafters in pursuit of government protections, requests for government aid can be forwarded to the beach, pro-democracy protesters are shot on sight by state police, and the nation has an international reputation for compassion. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Watervliet's national animal is the Beaver, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Watervliet is ranked 74,497^th in the world and 6^th in Upstate for Most Eco-Friendly Governments, scoring 1,348.3 on the Dolphin Recycling Awareness Index.