Ineland, the United Principalities of
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Principautés Unies d'Inelande
Verenigde Prinsdommen Inland
Motto: Pro rege et grege (Latin: For king and country)
Anthem: Royal Anthem
INDEX
- Main information
- Government and politics
2.1 Monarchy
2.2 Executive
2.3 Legislative
2.4 Judiciary - History
- Geography
- Defence Force
Quick information
- Administrative center: Hautcour
** Largest city: Kapstad - Population: 67.230.000
- Official languages: French, Dutch
** Recognised languages: Basconian, German - Currency: Crown (ck)
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Government and Politics
Form of government: Elective constitutional monarchy
- Monarch: Jean IV, king of the Inelanders
Cabinet
Office Incumbent Party Took office Minister-President Frederick Vandervelde Volkspartij May 21, 2014 Deputy Minister-President Roland Foch Parti Réformateur Minister of Foreign Affairs Kasper Merckx Volkspartij May 21, 2014 Minister of Defence Cyril Gagnot Parti Réformateur Minister of Economy Annemieke Claasen Volkspartij Minister of State Security Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Ciara Mulcahy Gaelic Interest Minister of Environmental Affairs Minister of Infrastructure Development and Transportation Matthias Kurz Recht und Freiheit Minister of Industry and Trade Legislature: Estates General (États généraux / Staten-Generaal / Generalstaaten)
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Upper house: House of Electors (Chambre des Électeurs / Kamer van Keurvorsten / Kurfürstentag)
** Seneschal: Gaston of Vierthune, Margrave of Casogne
** Composition: 31 prince-electors -
Lower house: Chamber of Commons (Chambre des Communs / Kamer van Burgers / Bürgertag)
** Speaker: Mr. Armin Meinhoff (RuF)
** Composition: 175 seats
-Reformist Party (Parti Réformateur - PR): 30
-People's Party (Volkspartij - VkP): 28
-Workers' Alliance (Alliance Ouvrière - AO): 27
-Labour Party (Arbeiderspartij - Adp): 22
-Ecologism/The Greens (Ecologisme/Les Verts - ELV): 18
-Democrats (Democraten - D): 16
-Monarchist Movement (Mouvement Royaliste - MR): 15
-Workers' Party (Arbeiterpartei - Atp): 7
-Justice and Freedom (Recht un Freiheit - RuF): 5
-Gaelic Interest (GI): 3
-Homeland (Vaterland - VL): 1
-Others: 3
** Last election: May 11, 2018
** Next election: April 2022
List of Heads of Government
King Head of Government Governing party Mandate Photo Jean IV 1997 - 1998 Jean IV 1997 - 1998 Jean IV 1998 - 2001 Jean IV 2001 - 2003 Jean IV 2003- 2007 Jean IV Emilie Sandieu (AO) AO, Adp, Atp 2007 - 2011 Jean IV Emilie Sandieu (AO) AO, Adp, Atp, GI (until 2013) 2011 - 2014 Jean IV Frederick Vandervelde (VkP) VkP, PR 2014 - July 4, 2018 Jean IV Frederick Vandervelde (VkP) PR, VkP, RuF, GI July 4, 2018 - -
History
Early human settlers
The oldest recorded instances of human presence can be found in Coomglenn cave, on the Witteberg mountains at northern Ineland. Small improvised tools have been found in that site, being dated by Carbon 14 testing as being approximately 35.000 years old. However, academics believe that humans arrived in the area much earlier, coming through the south and with first regular human presence occuring in or around the wide forested region, close to the country's southern border. Unfortunately, most records of such activity are believed to be gone due to intensive agricultural activity and forestry over the centuries.
First permanent communities and the establishment of early political entities: the era of the mene
Latest archaeological evidence suggests that the first permanent settlements were established by fishing communities in the marshlands on the eastern side of lake Gra during the Neolithic period, around the seventh millenium BCE. Evidence suggests that those settlements engaged in some early form of trade amongst each other, which eventually led to the establishment of what has been dubbed by scholars as the era of the "communalities" or mene. These mene were originally loose alliances established by a series of communities located within close proximity, but eventually evolved into more complex structures that provided joint governance and worked on a common set of rules. Over time, these oral tradition-based rules gave way to the creation of Ancient Inish customary law.
[LOTS OF ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN HISTORY TBC HERE]
Times of revolt: the 1819 revolution
The early decades of the nineteenth century proved to be trying times for the kingdom. After centuries of existence, the antiquated social structures of the elective monarchy were starting to crack under the heavy weight of an ever increasing urban population and the initial stages of the industrial revolution. These social issues, coupled with an economic depression triggered by a series of failed colonial adventures overseas, led to extreme instability. General unrest finally exploded in the form of violent revolts in Hautcour and Aigues Calmes. These soon expanded into other urban areas around the country, with some examples of extreme violence occuring such as the overthrowing and public beheading of the Bishop of Zeevorde and the hanging of Guillaume de Legline, prince of Poiret.
In an attempt to calm the situation down, king Gabriel II called for the election and convening of the Estates General, a deliberative assembly under Inish legislation which provided a forum for the different social classes to consult and advise the monarch on several issues. Out of the 1820 Estates General came a series of petitions for the monarch and the prince-electors under the name of the "25 points of july" which listed several demands on political liberalisation, the most important being the calling of a constituent assembly to draft and vote on a constitution.
The "25 points" spurred intense debate in the royal court, but eventually king Gabriel and the prince-electors gave way and accepted the issued demands. On December 1st, 1820, the Constituent National Assembly convened in the Town Hall at Geldenstadt. After four months of deliberations and work in several committees, on June 1821 the king was presented with what's come to be known as the Lenau Constitution. This first constitution for Ineland, which established a parliamentary system under a bicameral structure, ensured the political representation the newly developed urban bourgoise groups had been looking for while also guaranteeing a continued relevance for the prince-electors.
Social change and struggle for further rights
In spite of the newly-achieved political and civil rights brought upon by the Lenau constitution, wide parts of society remained underrepresented or outright ignored in the political process. Women, industrial workers, farmers... Groups making up more than 75% of the population were de facto deprived of their basic right to political participation due to household franchise suffrage. From the mid-1840's several organisations of women and workers, such as the Front Ouvrier Leglandais, initiated a series of campaigns to claim their rightful place in society. The increasing pressure led the government and parliament to pass legislation extending suffrage to all adults above the age of 25. However, women and non-homeowning males were still left out of passive suffrage. This last hurdle towards fully equal political participation was finally eliminated with the passing of the Voter Enfranchisement Law in 1885.
Times of trouble: De Meer's dictatorship and the Inish civil war (1924 - 1927)
The economic collapse of 1912 threw the country into disarray. While the federal government was incapable of handling the situation, some of the principalities took matters into their own hands, many times exceeding their constitutionally-defined powers. The implementation of wide-ranging economic stimulus programmes by state governments put the federal government in a fragile situation. In the 1914 general election an authoritarian movement, the Fatherland Union, was organised around the figure of Vilan de Meer and achieved a plurality of seats in the lower house. However, a progressive government under the leadership of Rémi Delmer was set up by the Labour Party and the newly-created Workers' Front (WF), which also saw a surge in support during that election. The new government was overwhelmed by the severity of the economic situation and didn't manage to regain its constitutional competences in financial and economic policy back from the principalities. This failure led to a snap election taking place in 1917, which saw de Meer's movement increase its share of votes and get its leader elected Prime Minister with support from the conservative groups.
De Meer's government quickly initiated a public works programme under the 'Strong Economy, Strong Society' scheme in order to curb massive unemployment. At the same time however, de Meer enforced a hardcore authoritarian programme through extensive surveillance by federal police forces. In the first six months of his mandate, politically-motivated street violence skyrocketed all across the country as fascist thugs and WF-affiliated militias battled one another openly. This proved a perfect justification for "vehement police action", which was short of an euphemism for government-sanctioned violence against labour and anti-fascist organisations while FU thugs' violence was left unchecked. Violence against political oponents quickly escalated, with a notable episode being the assassination of former PM Delmer in broad daylight after a parliamentary session on November 24, 1917.
The escalation in political violence led to a tightening of restrictive policies by the government. In June 1918, police arrested leaders of socialdemocratic and workers' organisations. The weak position of leftist groups was taken advantage of by De Meer, who pushed the already ill king Johan II to dissolve the Chamber of Commons and scheduled a snap general election for August 21st. The election led to a plurality of seats for the FU (52/120), which still needed support from certain conservative groups. This renewed mandate for the FU came with an even greater attempt by De Meer to extend his grip on power. FU's grayshirts militias dealt a final blow to organised political oposition on the night of October 4th, 1918 in what was known as the night of the sharp knives. More than 700 left-leaning intellectuals, sindicalists and politicians were murdered, while another 1200 were injured to different extents. The tense and violent environment brought conservative parties into the fold to support an extensive power grab by De Meer and the FU. On October 14th, and using the events on Oct. 4th as an alleged reason, the Chamber of Commons passed an emergency powers bill granting De Meer absolute powers.
Over the following few years, the dictatorial regime steadily tightened its grasp over the country. The death of Jean II in 1921 and the subsequent election of Jean III by the House of Electors brought a brief glimpse of hope for the political oposition, but the newly elected king quickly appeared ineffective in opposing De Meer's government. On Tuesday, December 23 1924, agents belonging to the secret police performed an assassination attempt on the king. Though Jean didn't die at the moment, he fell into a coma, passing finally on February 4th, 1925.
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The 2010's financial crisis
The impressive performance of the Inelander economy during the 1990's and 2000's had come at the cost of a quietly expanding real estate bubble. Between 1985 and 2005 the price per sqm of a newly-built accomodation grew from the equivalent of 200€ (in 2022 euros) to approximately 3.200€, while wages only doubled and the overall cost of life increased during said period.
[UNDER DEVELOPMENT]
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Geography
Regions
- Legline (0)
- Miedebant (1)
- Carniellian Coast / Côte Carniellaise (2)
- Zotteren (3)
- Saaland (4)
States
The United Principalities are composed of 31 constituent states.
Code State Capital Head of State Language community Region 01 Free City of Hautcour Hautcour Lord Mayor French-speaking Leglina 02 Duchy of Serqueux Duke Mixed (Dutch, Germand and French-speaking) Leglina 03 Principality of Serre-Nieuw Voorland Julianshaven Prince Mixed (Dutch and French-speaking) Leglina 04 Commune of West-Legland Mixed (Dutch and French-speaking) Leglina 05 Principality of Legline de l'Est Prince French-speaking Leglina 06 Principality of Sousair Prince French-speaking Leglina 07 Principality of Linthaut Évere Prince Charles of Évere-Dancourt French-speaking Leglina 11 Free City of Zeevorde Zeevorde Lord Mayor Dutch-speaking Miedebant 12 Duchy of Walholm Kapstad Duke Dutch-speaking Miedebant 13 County of Vaaland Count Dutch-speaking Miedebant 14 Kingdom of Voorland Den Brugge King Dutch-speaking Miedebant 15 Principality of Oudenhem Prince Dutch-speaking Miedebant 16 County of Bovenvoorland Count Dutch-speaking Miedebant 17 Bishopric of Overvloedighof Frederick, Bishop of Overvloedighof Dutch-speaking Miedebant 21 County of Maraban Count French-speaking Côte Carniellaise 22 Principality of Poiret Princess Grace of Poiret-Merignac French-speaking Côte Carniellaise 23 Free City of Aigues Calmes Aigues Calmes Lord Mayor French-speaking Côte Carniellaise 24 Margraviate of Casogne Merignac Margrave Gaston of Vierthune French-speaking Côte Carniellaise 31 Burgraviate of Bühlsdorf Bühlsdorf Lord Mayor German-speaking Zotteren 32 Lordship of Bergen Bergstad Lord Dutch-speaking Zotteren 33 Grand Duchy of Noord Zotteren Roosendam Grand Duke Dutch-speaking Zotteren 34 Lordship of Áthmaigh Lord Irish-speaking Zotteren 35 Free City of Clochdún Tanaiste Irish-speaking Zotteren 36 Duchy of Heuvel Duke Dutch-speaking Zotteren 41 Margraviate of Waldenach Margrave German-speaking Saaland 42 Electorate of Augenheim Archbishop German-speaking Saaland 43 Principality of Roderingia Prince German-speaking Saaland 44 Duchy of Bargen-Zotteren Duke Mixed (German and Dutch-speaking) Saaland 45 Electorate of Feldenbach Archbishop German-speaking Saaland 46 Principality of Bäder-Giesmold Prince German-speaking Saaland 47 Margraviate of Lenau Geldenstadt Margrave German-speaking Saaland -
Monarchy
The elective monarchy of the United Principalities, commonly known as the federal monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which an elected sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Principalities of Ineland. The current monarch is Jean IV, who ascended the throne in April 1985 after his election by the House of Electors.
Powers and duties
The monarch and their immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic and representational duties. As the monarchy is constitutional, the monarch is limited to functions such as bestowing honours, exercising limited diplomatic representation duties and appointing the minister-president, which are performed in a non-partisan manner. Some of the representation duties are shared with the sovereign's consort. The monarch is also, in a ceremonial way, Supreme Commander of the Inelander Defence Force.
Electoral system
After the passing of the sovereign, the House of Electors, upper chamber of the Inelander Parliament which gathers the heads of state of the 31 territories that make up Ineland, is tasked with the election of the next holder of the title from among its members. This election needs to take place no later than 30 days after the throne has been left vacant.
After a new sovereign has been elected, that person is allowed to keep its title as the head of his state, though he/she may no longer exercise his powers as such and designate a regent or a regency council to take over head of state functions in said state. Generally, the heir pressumptive is designated regent.
Residences
The oficial residence of the sovereign in Hautcour, the de facto capital, is Montagnevue Palace.
Current holder
The sovereignty of Ineland is currently exercised by Jean of , prince of. He ascended to the throne in . His spouse is Arianne, queen consort of Ineland.
List of Sovereigns of Ineland
Regnal name Name Accession to the throne End of reign House Johan I 1786 1802 Gabriel II 1802 1836 Willem IV 1836 1853 Erich I Erich II, prince of Bäder-Giesmold 1853 1875 Willem V Willem II, king of Voorland 1875 1902 Johan II Johan Alexander, prince of Bäder-Giesmold 1902 1921 Jean III Jean II, prince of Sousair 1921 1925 Guillaume VI Guillaume II, margrave of Casogne 1925 1939 Vierthune Elise I Elise III, grand duchess of Noord Zotteren 1939 1958 Martin II Martin, count of Vaaland 1958 March 23rd, 1985 Jean IV Jean III, prince of Sousair April 15th, 1985 Incumbent -
Judiciary
The Inelander legal system is structured on civil law with an abundance of statutes and codified norms that act as the basis of the judiciary. In the Inelander system, judges take active part in the investigation of the facts of the case under what is commonly known as an inquisitorial system. Under Inelander law, verdicts can be appealed by both parts in a trial.
Institutions
Supreme Council of the Judiciary
It is the main institution overseeing the functioning of the judiciary and the tasks carried on by judges and courts. It is an independent institution dependant on the Ministry of Justice.
Royal Court of Justice
The Royal Court of Justice (Cour Royal de Justice) is the supreme court and final instance in civil and criminal cases. This court also holds supreme authority over interpretation of the Inelander constitution.
