Westman Islands

The Westman Islands is a fan-made character in the anime and manga series Hetalia: Axis Powers / '''Axis Powers Hetalia. '''He represents the archipelago of Vestmannaeyjar (English: Westman Islands), located in the southern coast of Iceland. His given human name is Bjartur Ægisson.

Appearance


Westman has ashy blonde hair that is often messy and "bedheaded" in a way, having become this way due to the frequently strong gale present in his area. At the top of his head is a small ahoge which represents the island of Surtsey, which came to the ocean surface during a volcanic eruption in 1963. Just as Surtsey today remains strongly restricted and inaccessible to the public, touching Westman's ahoge irritates him greatly. His eyes are a deep hazel color.

His usual uniform is a navy blue jacket with red cuffs and matching pants. Underneath his jacket is a grayish dress shirt and a blue tie. He also wears dark gray laced-up boots, which come in handy either during his hikes up Eldfell, or when climbing up the surrounding islands.

On his left arm is a burn scar received from the 1973 eruption of Eldfell, which completely buried the town and destroyed hundreds of houses. Also on his back is another scar appearing as a large slash, coming from the Turkish raids ("Tyrkjaránið" in Icelandic). Having taken the most damage in Iceland from the raids, the scar still remains, but has faded a bit over time.

Personality and Interests
Westman lives a simple and quiet life in his islands, often taking pleasure in the nature around him. He often makes an attempt to act serious and responsible, but is in reality quite clumsy and immature at times. He is somewhat quick-tempered and blunt, not even realizing it himself. Despite this, Westman is for the most part carefree and light-hearted, attemping to make jokes occassionally with his odd sense of humor. A little mischievous, he is a prankster at heart. He can be somewhat shy towards strangers at first, but is secretly welcoming. It takes a while for him to open up, but once he does, he'll feel more comfortable and act freely.

During the early half of August is his festival known as Þjóðhátíð, which is well-known in Iceland. At this time Westman shows his wilder side and things may get out of hand. After the festival is over, however, he's back to his regular self.

He's a great fisher and is known for his excellent agility in scaling up steep slopes and cliffs in order to gather bird eggs- a necessity in survival in his islands. It has been a tradition in his islands for centuries, and could be considered the municipality's own little national sport, despite it being dangerous and challenging. Another thing he is known for in Iceland is his sports team called IBV Vestmannaeyjar. Despite there being other sports, the main focus is football ("soccer"). Westman tends to get competitive over that particular sport when it comes to competing with his siblings. From time to time he may also go out to play golf, as his place is known to be one of the best and top-rated golf areas in the world.

For much of his past he was known for his poverty and difficult to access land. Despite his poor state, foreign sailors/pirates continued to rob him of goods, building a sort of paranoia among the population. Seeing as the attacks could come at any time, Denmark offered help in defending the Westman Islands and teaching him how to fight.

The livelihood of the Westman Islands is highly dependent on the fishing industry. Being one of Iceland's most profitable ports, Westman works hard to keep business going. Although he doesn't voice it out openly, he also does believe in elves and the other beings from Icelandic mythology. Sometimes he could be found at the outskirts of town, sitting by some large rocks and seemingly talking to himself. Foreigners may think it is strange, but it surprisingly isn't uncommon in the rest of Iceland to hold such beliefs.

Iceland
Main article: Iceland 

Iceland is Westman's older brother whom he gets into arguments with often, but still cares about deeply. In the past Iceland didn't seem to be too fond of Westman, describing him as a "sluggard" and "drunkard", but as time passed the two became closer. Despite being Icelandic territory Westman was mostly cut-off from the rest of the country due to being hard to access at the time. When transportation between the archipelago and the mainland was improved, the two took this opportunity to visit each other more freely, although Iceland himself is mainly interested in Westman's Þjóðhátíð. During the months long evacuation of the Westman Islands following the eruption of Eldfell, he seeked Iceland's help in getting his people to safer locations. Westman sometimes may call Iceland "Norðurey" (literally "north island") as a joke just to annoy him. Calling Iceland that makes it sound as if Westman has ownership over Iceland, although it is obviously the other way around.

Denmark
Main article: Denmark 

Unlike the majority of the Nordics, Westman actually admires Denmark and openly shows it. During Denmark's control of Iceland, he taught Westman how to defend himself from foreign invaders to prevent an incident like Tyrkjaránið happening again. Denmark sent over a man named Andreas August von Kohl ("Captain Kohl" as Westman refers to), in order to raise an army in the islands. The base of the army would be located at Skansinn, which was originally built by the English and later restored for use. A number of times disease struck the Westman Islands and children were dying at a young age. Because of this Denmark sent over someone to investigate the cause and hopefully find a cure. Both communicated through Reykjavik, as letters couldn't be brought directly to the Westman Islands due to the stormy sea. Denmark had also helped in freeing some of the Westman Islanders who were brought to Africa as slaves. After the destruction of Westman's town in the Eldfell eruption, Denmark became the biggest benefactor, directly donating $1,488,000 to help Westman get back on his feet. Although a little restraining and overbearing, Westman still found a way to look up to Denmark, and the two remain friendly today.

Norway
Main article: Norway

Around 1000 AD, shortly before Iceland's adoption of Christianity, Norway built a stave church on the Westman Islands as a way of converting the Icelanders. The original church is now gone, but a modern replica was built as a gift from the Norwegian government in 2000 to mark the millennium of Christianity in Iceland. Although Westman does appreciate Norway's gift, he admits that he is not particularly religious but still stops by the church once in a while. Unlike Iceland, Westman willingly calls Norway "big brother" without much hesitation.

Turkey
Main article: Turkey

Even as centuries passed after the Turkish raids in Iceland, Westman continued to loathe Turkey. During the piracy attacks on Iceland, the Westman Islands took the most damage, having a third of the population either kidnapped or killed. Houses, farms, and the church that Norway had built in the Westman Islands were burned down as islanders were captured and taken away to northern Africa. Although it's been a long time since then, Westman sometimes feels nervous whenever Turkey is near, despite claiming to have forgiven him. It was Turkey's attacks which finally led to Denmark coming to Westman's aid.

England
Main article: England

England for a while occupied Westman, building the stone fort Skansinn on the main island. He was fond of looting Westman of his goods all throughout the 15th century until he eventually abandoned him. One Englishman in particular who was dubbed "Gentleman John" arrived in the Westman Islands, stole the valuables of the church, and then set it on fire. This man was later hung and Westman took back the valuables. Upon the discovery of America, England had seemingly lost interest in Westman and Iceland in general.