The Commonwealth of Merchantile Guilds is a colossal, cultured nation, ruled by Ambiorix with an iron fist, and notable for its rum-swilling pirates, digital currency, and irreverence towards religion. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 9.237 billion Mercs are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

The tiny, corrupt, pro-business, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Industry, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Vyshtorg. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 1.7%.

The frighteningly efficient Merc economy, worth a remarkable 1,906 trillion Gold Skywhales a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Retail, Information Technology, and Gambling. Average income is an amazing 206,377 Gold Skywhales, but there is a vast disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 1,540,920 per year while the poor average 8,077, a ratio of 190 to 1.

Anti-government web sites are springing up, birdsong in the mountains has to be loud enough to drown out nearby jackhammers, people can get away with murder these days, and EULAs remind customers that "Private Mode" is a browser setting rather than a promise. Crime is a major problem, perhaps because of the country's complete lack of prisons. Merchantile Guilds's national animal is the Swan, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Choppyism.

Merchantile Guilds is ranked 235,008^th in the world and 2^nd in The World of Guns of Icarus for Highest Poor Incomes, with 8,077.12 Standard Monetary Units.