The Joyeux Archipelago of Portmanteau is a colossal, cultured nation, ruled by Queen Passeʻencore with a fair hand, and renowned for its national health service, ban on automobiles, and multi-spousal wedding ceremonies. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful, devout population of 6.514 billion Manteaus are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, liberal, socially-minded, outspoken morass — juggles the competing demands of Administration, Environment, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Port Manteau. The income tax rate is 100%.

The frighteningly efficient Manteau economy, worth a remarkable 1,257 trillion cowrie shells a year, is highly specialized and led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Tourism and Basket Weaving. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is an impressive 192,974 cowrie shells, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Queen Passeʻencore is refusing to make decisions until the Moon is out of Capricorn, tipsy fans frequently invite themselves to the board meetings of sports clubs, the Museum of Blackacrean War Crimes is located on "Blackacre Did Nothing Wrong Avenue", and the nation continues to depend on foreigners for food. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Portmanteau's national animal is the Insular Pangolin, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Pau Hana Time.

Portmanteau is ranked 3,399^th in the world and 15^th in Refugia for Lowest Crime Rates, with 126.67 law-abiding acts per hour.