Difference between revisions of "Wahland"

Revision as of 01:35, 24 June 2014

United Federation of Wahland
Motto: "In fide, et honorem" "With Faith and Honor"
Anthem: "Oh, to Wahland"
Wahland in the Versutian Federation
Region		Versutian Federation
Capital and largest city		Stanford
Official languages		None at Federal Level
Recognised national languages		English, Wahlish
Demonym		Wahlsh
Government		Federal Presidential Constitutional Republic
-	Chief President	Connor O'Leary (M)
-	Executive President	Danielle Wahl (M)
-	Speaker of The Assembly	Johnston Greene (C)
Legislature		High Council
-	Upper house	Federal Assembly
-	Lower house	District Assembly
History
-	Discovery	1790
-	Independence from Alla Lega	March 10, 1864
-	First Red War	1892-1902
-	Aberdeen Empire	1902-1939
-	Second Red War	1939-1945
-	Unification (As the UFW)	February 10th, 1946
Area
-	Total	35,703,820 km2 22,185,325 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.2%
Population
-	March, 2014 estimate	349,000,000
GDP (PPP)		2014 estimate
-	Total	₩15,687,177,193,600.00 ($21,599,674,277,867.80)
-	Per capita	₩30,639.02 ($42186.86)
GDP (nominal)		2014 estimate
-	Total	₩18,459,267,058,159.00 ($25,416,564,812,379.10)
-	Per capita	₩34,921.67 ($48083.64)
Gini (2014)		38.7 medium
HDI (2014)		0.941 very high
Currency		Wahls (₩) (WHL)
Time zone		Versutian Continental Time (UTC+2/+8)
Date format		mm*dd*yyyy
Calling code		08
ISO 3166 code		WH
Internet TLD		.uf, .fw

The United Federation of Wahland(UFW)-commonly referred to as the United Federation(UF) or simply Wahland- is a federal crowned republic consisting of 13 district provinces. The 13 districts lie on a large island in the Aberdeen Sea. Wahland also governs one overseas territory known as Wahles. Wahland covers an area of 5,483,500 km2, and has a largely tropical climate in the south, and a Alpine climate in the north. With about 350 Million inhabitants, it is an average country in the Versutian Federation, but is very ethnically diverse, as a result of large scale immigration during the colonization and formation of the pre-states.

There is evidence of tribal communities on the island beginning about 30,000 years ago, but no native inhabitants have ever been contacted, and many scientists believe they were destroyed by a series of natural disasters around 200 AD. The island was discovered in 1779 by William Stanford, an Alla Legan explorer, and was colonized by several surrounding nations over the following decades. The country of Essex emerged from the pre-states to form the Essex Republic.

In the early 1800s, colonists on the island rebelled against their Alla Legan rulers, obtaining independence by 1818. Shortly after independence, in period between 1820-1825, several nations including neighboring nation Delmas, attempted to seize Essex and the unclaimed territory in the north of the island, which led to the outbreak of the Byderby Wars; a series of campaigns by Aberdeen to force Delmas and the foreign invaders off the island. The Byderby Wars resulted in Essex gaining control over 90% of the island.

Tensions stayed high with neighboring nations Delmas for the next few decades until they mounted in 1870, when Drake Aleksander Bok invaded an unprepared Essex, eventually forcing the Essaxon government off of the island, where they went into exile in Anhur. Drake the "Red" as he was known, forced his communist rule over the island, despite several insurrections that battled his forces over the courrse of his reign.

In 1935, following an attempted coup by the people of Delmas, the Essaxon forces invaded and retook Essex in the 2nd War for Independence, with support and aide from the Anhurians. The Essex government was then placed back in power, which renamed the country Wahland, after the hero of the revolution; Odin Wahl. The government was then transitioned into a presidential republic, of which Odin Wahl was unanimously elected as the first Chief President.

The Federation of Wahland is now a developed country, and is among the top nations within Versutia, with an estimated GDP of NSD $21.6 trillion. The economy is driven by an abundance of natural resources, and high worker productivity. It's economy is largely backed by the oil industry, which accounts for nearly 80% of exports, the other 20% being agricultural and milled products, although non-oil industries, specifically alternative energy and technology, are growing rapidly. Wahland has a high GDP per capita at about $41k. Wahland has a medium distribution of wealth as a result of slightly higher than average corporate taxes.

Etymology

Wahland, in English means the 'land of choice', or 'land of Wahls'; referring to the people of Wahland. It is formed from the Wahlsh words Walhe(Choice), and Loend(Land). In the native Wahlsh language it is written as Walhlloend. It was named in honor of Odin Wahl, a decorated war hero, and founder of the modern Wahlsh state.

History

Pre-History

Little is known of the native inhabitants of the island. Some fossil and archaeological evidence suggests they were a large group of island tribes on the southern tropical part of the island. Scientists believe these aboriginals were wiped out by a series of natural disasters. The Northern part of the island is very mountainous and alpine, and is believed to never have been inhabited.

Discovery & Colonization

After discovery in 1779 by Alla Legan explorer William Stanford, other expeditions and settlements followed into the West and Southwest of the island. The first major settlements began with the town of Stanford, in the Essex colony, where the first government was established. This governing body, known as the Essex Assembly, established precedents for the parliamentary government that would develop on the island.

Alla Legan Explorers Land in Stanford

Most of the colonists set up plantations and exploited the island's tropical southern climate, which was ideal for growing cash crops. These cash crops included citrus fruits, bananas, tobacco, cocoa, and sugar. Extraction industries also grew in furs, fishing and lumber. Manufacturers produced rum and ships, and became the region's largest producer of rum. The population of the island grew rapidly, supplemented by waves of Europeans, and All Legans. As local trade and industry grew, several large cities and trading hubs developed along the western and southern coasts, most notably, Stanford, Calais, and Berkeley.

By 1805, with the colonization of Delmas, the four major colonies that had been established were Essex, Almeria, Lorraine, and Delmas. Each colony had some form of self government, with elections open to most men and women. The colonies of the Island were some of the first to have complete social equality. Women and people of all races were guaranteed the same civil rights, as well as rights to practice any religion they wanted. With widespread colonization, low death rates, and high birth rates, the island's population grew rapidly. The four existing colonies had claimed about 2/3 of the island, and the population had grown to an estimated 3 million. The colonies great distance from Alla Lega allowed the development of their governments, but their increasing self reliance pushed the Alla Legan government to attempt to reassert their authority over the Island.

Independence

General Aberdeen on her march to Stanford

By 1815, many of the colonies were eager to have economic independence. At that time, all trade and economic growth in the colonies was overseen by the Alla Legan government. In response to the growing unrest, the Alla Legans sent a large amount of ships and soldiers to police the colonies. The colonists demanded a right to self government, which escalated into the Essex Revolution. The colonies officially declared independence from Alla Lega with the Essex Declaration in 1816, which united the colonies into the Republic of Essex.

The Alla Legans recognized the Sovereignty of Essex after their defeat at the 2nd Battle of Stanford. In the Treaty of Stanford of 1818, the Alla Legans relinquished all authority over the Island. In 1819, the Essex Assembly met to write an official constitution, ratifying the Articles of Essex on Feb. 15th, 1819. These articles unified the Colonies of Essex, Almeria, and Lorraine under one federal constitutional monarchy. Delmas went through a socialist movement led by Aleksander Bok during the war, and rejected the unification in order to form a socialist union. Valentina Aberdeen, the Commander of the Essex military and hero of the revolution, was named as the first Queen of the Republic, and later Empress of the Aberdeen Empire.

Aberdeen Empire(1820-1874)

Queen Aberdeen c1860

Many world powers feared the spread of Essex's revolutionary ideals and declared war on the new nation, aiming to claim control of the island, while also seizing unclaimed territory in the Northern parts of the island. Valentina led her Grand Army to several victories over the foreign armies in the north, simultaneously expanding Essex in the process. Delmas, as an attempt to seize territory in the north, and strengthen their nation, allied with the foreign powers, and assisted them in harassing Aberdeen's forces. The wars, known as the Byderby Wars lasted from 1820-1824, and by 1824 Valentina had expelled all the foreign Armies from the island, and a peace treaty was signed with Delmas. During the war Delmas had lost a large amount of their territory to Aberdeen's Empire, and Delmas was reluctant to sign into peace with Essex.

In honor of her victory's, the Essex Assembly named Queen Aberdeen the Emperor of the Republic. The nation thrived under Aberdeen. Aberdeen's empire became a Regional power and had one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the region. Over the next several decades her Empire continued to grow and advance technologically.

Red Wars and Drake the Red's Reign

In the mid-1860s Drake A. Bok came to power in the neighboring country of Delmas. Drake was the son of the Premier of Delmas, Aleksander Bok, and inherited his position after Aleks' death. Drake's father had raised him on communist and socialist ideals, and a hatred of Essex. Aleksander Bok was a young officer in Delmas during the Byderby wars, and had served in some of the bloodiest battles of the war. Drake's father was a very weak leader and had let the country fall into deep economic and political turmoil before his death. Drake's blamed his father's death on Essex and accused them of assassinating him, although it is now widely believed that Drake had poisoned him in order to take power of Delmas. Drake was a strong military leader and strategist, and was very charismatic. Drake had gone to the Delmas military academy and became a General at only 30 years old. After becoming Premier he revitalized the economy, and began to vastly expand, build up Delmas' military.

"Drake the Red" c.1868

In 1870 Drake swiftly invaded Essex, quickly capturing territory in the South. Drake earned his name early on in the war, after brutally executing hundreds of Essex's soldiers, earning the nickname of "Drake the Red". Essex's military was very unprepared for the war, and suffered several defeats early on. Essex had been at peace for several decades and was very stunned when Drake's Army attacked. After mobilizing her full military force to fight Drake, Essex's military began to push back, coming to a standstill in Navassau, in 1873. The war became a stalemate from April 1873 until October 1873, when Drake sent all of his remaining forces for a final offensive. Drake's forces outnumbered Essex's 3-1, and overwhelmed them in Navassau. In early November 1873, the remaining Essex forces in the city surrendered. The surrender at Navassau resulted in the loss of the majority of Essex's forces, and the rest of Essex being largely unguarded. In January 1874, Anhurian officials offered Aberdeen and her government sanctuary. Empress Aberdeen and her family, most of her government, and the remaining military used the remaining Essex naval forces to flee, in order to form a government-in-exile. Empress Aberdeen, however, died of illness during travel. Aberdeen's husband Henrik Wahl set up an unofficial government in Anhur, and formed a group of freedom fighters that would go on to harass and attack Drake's government. Drake the Red's forces then occupied Essex and brought it under his harsh rule. Drake massacred hundreds of thousands of people and ruled with an iron fist. The government-in-exile refused to give up, however, and carried out bombings and attacks on government and military installations in Delmas for the next several decades. These fighters came to be known as "Aberdeen's Liberation Forces".

During his reign, Drake transitioned Essex and Delmas into a communistic government. Drake was a very good General and military leader, but he lacked in his position as a dictator. During the decades following his rise to power the country fell into a massive depression, and hundreds died every day of starvation. Drake attempted to recover the economy, but his plans all failed. Odin Wahl, son of Henrik Wahl and Empress Aberdeen, led the ALF against Drake. The ALF operated as an underground opposition group. They assaulted Drake's forces, government buildings, and military installations. Odin's father directed them personally from Anhur. Drake failed to counter these attacks, and he began to crumble under the pressure. The ALF was aware of this, and used it to their advantage. Most of his military advisers began to lose faith in Drake and began to resent him. Around 1915, many of these military leaders were contacted by the ALF to be recruited, of which most of them accepted. They operated under cover, however, supplying important Intel and information to the ALF.

In 1935, Henrik Wahl began preparations for a Coup in Delmas. The ALF worked with groups in Delmas to incite a revolution to overthrow Drake. The ALF planned to use the Coup as a diversion, so they could retake Essex. Around mid-July 1936, groups within Delmas began protesting Drake's government. Drake quickly attempted to quash the protests, ordering secret police to break up the protests, which in turn incited riots. On November 19th, 1936, Drake's secret police fired on a large group of protesters, killing dozens of people. Hours later an all out firefight erupted in the streets of Havenport, the Capital of Delmas. The ALF had large cells of fighters waiting for the war in Delmas to break out, and on the morning of November 20th 1936, Odin Wahl was ordered to activate the resistance and to attack. This marked the beginning of the 2nd Red War and the second war of independence for Essex. With most of Drake's forces concentrated on the revolution in Delmas, the ALF quickly took strategic military bases within Essex. Many of Drake's forces sided with the rebels, and defected to help the ALF and the Delmasian rebels. By the beginning of 1937, most of Essex was retaken. One of the last remaining strongholds was Stanford, which had a strategic Naval Base, and was heavily guarded by Drake's forces. The battle for Stanford lasted over 6 months with thousands of casualties on both sides, but on August 18th 1937, Odin Wahl ordered all of the ALF's forces on a final assault into the city,and within hours, the remaining forces in the city surrendered. The Navy fleet there had already retreated to Delmas however, with a large ground force embarked on the fleet. The ALF immediately sent forces to assist the rebellion in Delmas to insure that Drake was removed from power.

Post War Recovery and Reconstruction

On September 30th 1937, Drake Bok surrendered to the rebels in Delmas, marking the end of the war. He was publicly executed the following day. Due to the ALF's aid in the rebellion, the new Delmas government had strong relation with Essex. Following the end of the war, Odin Wahl brought the government back to Essex and established a loose federation. It was quickly realized that a new government needed to be formed however. The government met at the National Federation Convention in January 1938 to decide on a new government. Delegates from Delmas also attended the convention to discuss unification.On March 10th the Constitution of the United Federation of Wahland was written, forming the government that is in place today. The nation was separated into 13 semi-autonomous districts, with Delmas keeping it's then current borders, and Odin Wahl was unanimously elected the first Chief President of the Federation, as well as having his name be the namesake of the newly formed nation.

The war had severely devastated the country, hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, cities destroyed, and the economy completely drained. As the new President, Odin sought to rebuild the country from the ground up. The economy was reverted to a capitalist system, and new private companies began popping up all over the country. The country was largely demilitarized in order to focus solely on the reconstruction process. Wahl was a strong Chief, and many of his policies are still in force today, and he is regarded as the most influential figure in the modern day Wahland.

War of Wahles

In mid-April, 2014, a referendum was held to vote on whether or not Wahles, a Wahlsh territory, should get independence. The referendum was voted down in Wahland with 55% voting against independence, in Wahles, the referendum was also defeated by a a majority of 52%. Shortly after, large demonstrations occurred, protesting the defeat of the referendum. Shortly after demonstrations broke out, a 9.2 earthquake struck in the South Versutian Sea, devastating Wahles. Just days after the earthquake and Tsunami, Yasul Bashir led an insurgent army against the local government in a Coup, successfully taking over the island, resulting in the executions of several government officials. Two days later, 15,000 Wahlsh Marines invaded the small Island, taking over the Island in just three days. Insurgent forces still remain in the Mountains of Northern Wahles, and Yasul Bashir has not been captured, but is still believed to be operating on the island. Soon after the invasion of Wahles by Wahland, Aglrinia threatened military action if Wahland did not withdraw from the island. On April 22, after refusal by Wahland, Aglrinia began a military invasion of the island, sparking the Second Battle of Wahles, in which they quickly overwhelmed the Wahlsh forces through superior air power, taking the island in just two days, capturing 12,500 troops, and killing 7500 in the process. After Generalisimo Menon's death just a few weeks later, Aglrinia withdrew all military forces from Wahles, leaving Bashir to take over control of the island. On June 2nd, 2014 a civil war between Bashir and rebel fighters broke out, and the island remains contested.

Geography/Environment

Wahland is a large island in the Northeastern region of Versutia, with Jenlom to the North, Black Hat to the West, the Kandun Islands to the South, Scorpions Army to the Southeast, and Tanith to the East. The island has an area of 1,255,130 km2, with several rivers and lakes running to the South.

Elevation ranges from the Högfjäll Mountains(highest point: the Rienspitz at 2,482 Metres or 8,143 feet) in the North, to the shores of the South Versutian Sea in the south. The forested lands of central Wahland and the tropical coastlines(lowest point: Rorke Valley at 3.54 metres or 11.6 feet below sea level) have several major rivers and Lake Caspiain that run across them.

Climate

Wahland has three distinctive climates. In the North, is an Alpine climate, but the climate is slowly changing rapidly. Glaciers in the lower elevation of the Högfjäll Mountain range are moving almost 900 metres per year, and are melting quickly as the average temperatures increase each year. In central Wahland, the climate transitions from a temperate climate in the North central areas, into humid tropical climate in the the central areas and along the southern coasts.

Politics/Government

Wahland is a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic republic. The Wahlsh political system operates under a framework laid out in the 1938 constitutional document known as the Baziq Layores (Basic Law). Amendments generally require a two-thirds majority of both chambers of the High Council; the fundamental principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the rule of law are valid in perpetuity.

The Chief President is the is the head of government and exercises executive power, similar to the role of a President in other parliamentary democracies. He is elected by the Fedarolies Kanvetion (federal convention), an institution consisting of "electors" who are responsible for electing the Chief President. The number of electors in each Provincial District is equal to the number of members of the High Council to which the state is entitled. The second-highest official in the order of precedence is the Kouncilagspräsident(President of the High Council), who is elected by the High Council and responsible for overseeing the daily sessions of the body.

The third-highest official and the head of government is the Executive President, who is appointed by the Chief President after being elected by the Federal Convention. The Executive President is invested primarily with representative responsibilities and powers, similar to a Prime Minister in other governments.

Federal legislative power is vested in the High Council consisting of the Fedarolies Assambloeis (Federal Assembly) and Provincholies Assambloeis (Provincial Assembly), which together form the legislative body. The Federal Assembly is elected through direct elections, with two assemblymen for each Provincial District. The members of the Provincial Assembly represent the governments of the thirteen provincial districts and are members of the state cabinets, with the amount of representatives of each province apportioned by population. Federal Assemblymen are elected for a term of five years, while Provincial Assemblymen are elected for two years.

Since 1940, the party system has been dominated by the Liberal Democratic Union and the Conservative Social Party. So far every Chief President has been a member of one of these parties. However, the smaller liberal Socialist Democratic Party (which had members in the Federal Council from 1942 to 2013) and the The Green Party (which has had seats in parliament since 1983) have also played important roles.

Law

Germany has a civil law system based on Roman law with some references to Germanic law. The Federal Constitutional Court of Wahland is the Wahlsh Supreme Court responsible for constitutional matters, with power of judicial review. Wahland's supreme court system is specialised: for civil and criminal cases, the highest court of appeal is the inquisitorial Federal Court of Justice, and for other affairs the courts are the Federal Labour Court, the Federal Social Court, the Federal Finance Court and the Federal Administrative Court. The Völkerscrawt regulates the consequences of crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, and gives Wahlsh courts universal jurisdiction in some circumstances.

Criminal and private laws are codified on the national level in the Strafgescrawt and the Bürgerliches Scrawt respectively. The Wahlsh penal system is aimed towards rehabilitation of the criminal and the protection of the general public. Except for petty crimes, which are tried before a single professional judge, and serious political crimes, all charges are tried before mixed tribunals on which lay judges(Schöffen) sit side by side with professional judges.

Many of the fundamental matters of administrative law remain in the jurisdiction of the provincial districts, though most districts base their own laws in that area on the 1960 Administrative Proceedings Act, covering important points of administrative law. The Provincial Courts are the highest level of administrative jurisdiction concerning the provincial administrations, unless the question of law concerns federal law or district law identical to federal law. In such cases, final appeal to the Federal Administrative Court is possible.

Political Divisions

Wahland comprises 13 Provincial Districts. Each provincial district has its own state constitution and is largely autonomous in regard to its internal organisation. Because of differences in size and population the subdivisions of these states vary, especially as between city states (Cittstaaten) and states with larger territories. As of 2009 Wahland is divided into 403 counties (Kreise) at a municipal level; these consist of 301 rural counties and 102 urban counties.

Foreign relations

Wahland is a member of V-TO, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Treaty of Islandia. It has played a large role in V-TO since its inception and has maintained a strong alliance with member nations since the Wahlsh-Aglrinian war of 2014. Wahland seeks to advance the creation of a more unified Versutian political, defense, and security apparatus.

The development policy of the United Federation of Wahland is an independent area of Wahlsh foreign policy. It is formulated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (FMECD) and carried out by the implementing organisations. The Wahlsh government sees development policy as a joint responsibility of the international community. It is one of the Versutia's biggest aid donors. Tensions between the nations of Anhur and Jenlom have made it a symbol of tensions and a political battleground in Versutia. In 2014, Chief President Connor O'leary's government defined a new basis for Wahlsh foreign policy by leading the creation of the Versutian treaty Organization(V-TO).

Military

Economy

Demographics

Culture