Crotenia, The Constitutional Monarchy of

[Crotenia]

• General Information

Official name: The Constitutional Monarchy of Crotenia
Short name: Crotenia
Demonym: Crotenian

Official Languages: Crotenian, English
Lingua franca: Dutch, German
Currency: Euro (€)
National Animal/Symbol: The Seagull

Cities & Provinces
Capital: Abriciuspolis
2nd largest city: Donkarum
3th largest city: Carcasia

Crotenia is divided in three provinces: Asrazia, Sivoras and Trilistria. The provinces itself are divided in municipalities (not shown on the map below).

Percentage of inhabitants by province
Asrazia: (41,4%)
Trilistria: (32,8%)
Sivoras: (25,8%)

Nationalities
Crotenian (82,7%)
Serbian (9,7%)
Dutch (3%)
American (2,3%)
Russian (1.3%)
Other (1%)

• Religion

The people of Crotenia nowaday's are mostly non-believers, but in ancient times the people that lived in the area that we now call Crotenia used to believe in The Three Golden Seagulls.
The legend of The Three Golden Seagulls says that when a Crotenian sees a golden Seagull it's a sign of good fortune. The story, that later became a legend, started somewhere between 2000 and 1000 BC in the southern part of Crotenia. Legends say that an outcast from a local tribe was starving to death on his journey to find a new homeland, until he fell down on the grass. When he openend his eyes there were three golden seagulls circling above him. This sight gave him immence powers and he was able to get up again and continue his journey. In the end the outcast was able to reach another Crotenian tribe and tell his story.

The story of the outcast from Southern Crotenia became widespread throughout the country and people continued to tell it from generation to generation. The Three Golden Seagulls became gods for the people in Crotenia and were even given names: Gyldus the god of love, Rigús the god of good health and Hálfic the god of luck. Until about 1300 AD The Three Goldens Seagulls were an official state religion in Crotenia.

Nowadays the people see The Three Golden Seagulls more as a fairytale and not really as a religion anymore. The Three Golden Seagulls, however, always remained a national symbol and were added to the nationial flag in 1798, when the first Crotenian Constitution was written.

Statistics of religon in Crotenia as of April 2020
Non-believers (78%)
Christian (16%)
The Three Golden Seagulls (3%)
Islam (3%)

• The Crotenian Flag

Since the First Crotenian Constitution in 1798 this has been the nation's official flag. The green color represents the fertile lands while the white represents safety, and prosperity. In the shield there are three seagulls which are based on the myth of the Golden Seagulls (read Religion above). The crown represents al the kings and queens that have ruled over Crotenia and is placed above the three seagulls. The year MDCCXCVIII (1798) can been seen above the crown and represents the year of the first constitution. The three golden stars in the shield symbolize the beautifull night sky that can been seen above Crotenia.

• A brief history of Crotenia

Middle Ages

A.D.
987 : After four years of bloody civil wars Magnus Abricius and his army managed to defeat the two opposing armies, and went on to unite the divided kingdoms of Crotenia. On July 29, 987 AD, Magnus was crowned as king and became known as The Great First King Magnus Abricus I of Crotenia. And so he formed The First Crotenian Kingdom. July 29 became a national holiday known as Formation Day and is still being celebrated every year.

1108: In the winter of 1108 an army leader and dictator from a neighbouring empire marched his troops into Crotenian land, on a mission to conquer it. The invasion totally suprised the Crotenian king Kalavius Anelus I and his army. After only three days of heavy fighting the Crotenians had no other option then to surrender themselves to emperor Vuslevicius who immediately executed King Kalavius Anelus I. After 121 years of peace and prosperity now followed years of terror, hunger and death.

1114: After six years of being part of the empire of Vuslevicius, the Crotenians have had enough of it. Led by Adriunsic of Crotenia, the rightful ruler, an army of 50.000 men marched towards the Crotenian capital where the tyrannical emperor was enjoying his lunch. This time the Crotenians would be the ones to launch a suprise attack. After only 5 hours of fighting the army liberated the capital and reclaimed their lands. Emperor Vuslevicius The Great, who actually wasn't really that great, fled into the wilderness with a small army of only 100 men who remained loyal to him, leaving behind his people, most of his soldiers and his empire.

Adriunsic was crowned as king the day after the battle, and was now the ruler of both Crotenia and the lands of Vuslevicius. King Adriunsic I of Crotenia renamed his kingdom to The Greater Crotenian Kingdom and promised the people of Crotenia to find and capture Vuslevicius and deliver him to the people. This promise eventually came true in 1117 when Vuslevicius and his remaining army were captured and put on display in front of the palace only to be ripped apart by the furious Crotenian crowd.

1120: 133 years after the death of King Magnus Abricius I, the capital city of Crotenia is renamed to Abriciuspolis in honour of the Great First King.

1198 - 1202: The periode between these years is known as the Crotenian Plague Years. A mysterious disease killed almost 50% of all Crotenians. The years that followed were used to bury all the death and rebuild the economy, which had totally fallen apart.

1284 King Adriunsic II of Crotenia declares 2 weeks of national festivals as the dark ages after the plague years are finally over and the economy is restored.

1299 King Alexius Horasic I, son of King Adriunsic II, is only 23 years old when he fell extremely ill. Knowing that he would probably not survive, he did something that would decide the course of history in Crotenia. Two days before his death he passed a new law which said that from the moment he died, daughters of the king and his wife could become queen. Which meant his 5 year old daughter would become queen if she's old enough, And thereby making his wife the first female ruler of Crotenia, Queen Adrianna I Of Crotenia.

Renaissance

1356: The construction of a canal from Carcasia, on the southern coast, to Donkarum, in the central part, was started to increase trading between the two cities. The construction finished 6 years later.

1370: King Adriunsic III of Crotenia, who as a young boy was already fascinated by the Christian faith, was crowned as king on February 1. Two months into his reign, he became the first ever Crotenian ruler to invite the Pope to visit Crotenia. Crotenia, in contrast to most other countries, was a country of mostly non-believers. This being said it became a scandal to Crotenians, who weren’t satisfied with the thought of being forced to believe in something they don’t believe in. So, the Crotenians in Abriciuspolis, started riots and terrorized the city for 4 months long. On July 3 the riots came to a peak. A crowd of around 5000 forced themselves into the palace. King Adriunsic III knew he only had two options, one of them is to flee through the palace’s underground tunnels, the second option is to die a horrible death. He chose the second. The thought of living without the presence of a god was way more terrifying for him than to die for something he believed in. So, he became the shortest ruling king of Crotenia in history, but at the same time becoming, a legend.

1377: Following new law in Crotenia the monarch can no longer (directly) decide about the punishment that is given to criminals. This responsibility is now in the hands of a local commission of 5 lawgivers. The law giving commissions are locally appointed in the biggest cities of Crotenia by the monarch. Which still made it possible for the king/queen to indirectly decide the outcome of a sentence, but however was a turning point in the legal system of Crotenia.

1401: The start of the Crotenian Century of Queens, in which from 1401 to 1500 there were only female rulers. The century is known for it’s immense welfare, trading and city growth.

1406: Commissioned by a prominent professor from Abriciuspolis named Garban Hasatar , the first university is built in Donkarum . Unlike the other universities in Crotenia at the time, this is the first that provides non-Latin education. Which, for the first time, makes higher education possible for the ones that do not speak Latin but do have the capacity for higher education. Garban Hasatar thereby laid the foundation for the current Crotenian education system and nowadays has universities all over the country which carry his name.

1496: The Crotenian Trading Company (CTC) is established. The organization’s goal is to increase trading with other countries. Which before, was mostly done with close neighboring countries, but thanks to the ships of the CTC could now be done overseas. Enabling Crotenian merchants to sell their products in more distant countries, in exchange of only a small fee to pay the CTC.

1505-1507: Only a few years after the establishment of the CTC it has now become one of the world’s largest trading companies. With almost 400 ships in their possession, and only around 350 active on their trade routes, there are more than enough possibilities for a new mission.

A few years before, Christopher Columbus discovered The New World and this was something that spoke to the minds of Crotenian explorers, sailors and merchants. Unlike 10 years before, overseas exploration was now an actual possibility thanks to the rise of the CTC.

On March 17 in the year 1505, with the approval of the king, a convoy of 15 ships sailed away from the harbor in Carcasia. All this happened under command of Olop Ocram , who had worked for the CTC since 1497, and now got the opportunity to become a national hero.

Two years after the convoy’s department from Carcasia, eight ships sailed back into port. Five ships were lost in storms, one lost to pirates and another one stayed behind to establish a colony on a newly discovered island. In total 246 men lost heir lives due to sickness, accidents, storms and 13 were killed after attempted mutiny. The mission however was a success, with three suitable islands for colonies, of which one was already being used by the ones that stayed behind. Thanks to the CTC and Olop Ocram, Crotenian trading and settlements continued to flourish.

*****Work in progress/Factbook not finished yet

[Crotenia]

• The Crotenian Political System

Form: Constitutional monarchy, Parliamentary democracy
Current head of state: King Bernard Aleksandar I of Crotenia
Current head of government: Prime Minister Marko Prodan

The Monarch
I. Constitutionally, the monarch is head of state and has a role in the formation of government and in the legislative process. He has to co-sign every law to make it valid. The ministers, and not the monarch, are responsible for the acts of the government, and the ministers are accountable to Parliament for what he says and does. The ministers, who together make up the cabinet, are responsible for decision-making.

House of Representatives & Senate
II. There are 75 seats in the Senate and 150 in the House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives & Senate (Parliament) together form the General-States of Crotenia.

Crotenian elections for the House of Representatives are held every four years under a system of open party list proportional representation. For example: A political party that wins 10% of the votes, will win 10% of the seats in parliament and a party that wins 20% of the vote, will win 20% of the seats.

The 75 Senators are elected every four years by the members of the General-States Of Crotenia of the country's 3 provinces. The Senate’s seats are distributed in one nationwide constituency using party-list proportional representation. Remainder seats are distributed using the highest averages method.

III. The House of Representatives: Is mainly engaged in day-to-day politics. As such, it calls ministers to account, holds debates on new policy and undertakes detailed examination of bills. The 150 members of The House of Representatives are directly elected by Crotenian voters every four years.

IV. The Senate: Has a revising role in relation to draft legislation. Its members do not have the right to amend bills. They can only vote on them and either accept or reject them.

V. Legislation can only come into force after it has been passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

VI. The House of Representatives and the Senate meet in joint session once a year, at the opening of the parliamentary year, when the King/queen gives his/her speech from the throne on Monarch Day, which is the birthday of the ruling king or queen. The rest of the time they meet separately.

Council of ministers
VII. The Government of Crotenia constitutionally consists of the King and the cabinet ministers.

The Council of Ministers is the executive council of Crotenian government, formed by all the ministers including the Deputy Prime Ministers.

The Cabinet is composed of all government ministers. Its job is to take decisions on overall government policy and promote the coherence of policy.

Electoral system
VIII. Crotenia has a multi-party system, with numerous parties, in which usually no one party ever secures an overall majority of votes, so that several parties must cooperate to form a coalition government.

Cabinet forming: The formation of a Crotenian cabinet is the process of negotiating an agreement that will get majority support in parliament for the appointment of the council of ministers and gives sufficient confidence that agreed policies will be supported by parliament.

Crotenian provincial governments
IX. Each of the 3 provinces in Crotenia has its own regional government, with executive power in the hands of the King’s provincial governor. The King’s governor is appointed by the Cabinet and is responsible to the province’s legislature.

X. The 3 provinces are divided in municipalities. Every municipality has it’s own mayor. Mayors are elected every 5 years in the form of local elections. Inhabitants can only vote for a mayor in the municipality they live in.

XI. Overview