Empire of Austenasia
| Empire of Austenasia (eng) Imperivm Avstenasiæ (lat) Αυτοκρατορία της Οστενασίας (el) | ||||
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| Motto IMPERATOR ET POPVLVS AVSTENASIÆ | ||||
| Anthem God Save the Emperor | ||||
| Capital city | Wrythe | |||
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| Official language(s) | English (de facto, unofficial) | |||
| Short name | Austenasia | |||
| Demonym | Austenasian | |||
| Government | Constitutional parliamentary monarchy | |||
| - Monarch | Emperor Jonathan I | |||
| - Prime Minister | Lord John Gordon | |||
| Legislature | Parliament of Austenasia | |||
| Established | 20 September 2008 | |||
| Area claimed | ~3,483,672 sq ft | |||
| Population | 79 2018 estimate | |||
| Currency | Pound Sterling | |||
| National animal | Bullmastiff | |||
| Patron saint | Saint John the Apostle | |||
Official website | ||||
Austenasia, officially the Empire of Austenasia, is an autonomous territorial entity which claims to be a sovereign state but is more commonly referred to as a micronation by external observers. Founded on the island of Great Britain, Austenasia declared independence from the United Kingdom in September 2008. It is an enclave and exclave country, consisting of twenty eight non-contiguous pieces of land: nine in Great Britain, three in the rest of Europe, eleven in North America, one in South America, one in Africa, one in Australia, and one in the Indian subcontinent.
Austenasia is an officially Christian country which views itself as a successor to the Roman Empire. Much of its cultural trappings and many government positions reveal a classical or medieval Roman influence on the nation.
Austenasia is the foremost diplomatic and military power of the Carshalton Nations, with its Monarch being either sovereign or suzerain over them. Austenasia is considered by many to have been the most influential nation in the MicroWiki Community since mid-2014, having risen to a high level of diplomatic prominence in said community during late 2011.
History
Reign of Terry I
At 11:30am on 20 September 2008, the town of Wrythe declared independence from the United Kingdom as the Empire of Austenasia. Emperor Terry I was unanimously proclaimed the nation's first Monarch, and his son Crown Prince Jonathan was unanimously proclaimed the first Prime Minister. A Declaration of Independence was sent via e-mail to the local British Member of Parliament – after recieving no reply another was sent to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and to the British Home Office in October and December of that year respectively.
In February 2009, a square foot of land in the Scottish Highlands (now known as Glencrannog) personally owned by Crown Prince Jonathan was ceded to the Empire. Coincidentally, the Kingdom of Shiloh was founded in the same area of Scotland and under the same premise. Two months later the house of one of Crown Prince Jonathan's friends joined the Empire as the town of South Kilttown (now known as Zephyria).
Reigns of Esmond III and Declan I
On 15 February 2010, Emperor Terry announced that he wished to abdicate the Throne. HIH Crown Prince Jonathan refused to inherit the Throne so that he could remain Prime Minister, and so it passed to the second in line, Dark Lord Esmond (the Supreme Companion of the Heir, who had been made second in line as a symbolic gesture). He ascended to the Throne at roughly 14:40 on 16 February 2010.[6]. This resulted in the Austenasian Civil War, declared on 7 March 2010 by Lord General William of South Kilttown in support of the claim to the Throne of Terry's daughter, Princess Caroline. The war ended on 24 May that same year with a victory for the legitimate Esmondian government through the signing of the Treaty of Ruskin Road (2010).
In December 2010, Esmond III announced a plan to transform Austenasia into a "communist dictatorship", with him in absolute control. Later that month, the Empire went to war after being threatened by the Midget Nation-in-Exile over the claims of Esmond III over another local nation, Orly, in the War of the Orlian Reunification. This war had been planned by Crown Prince Jonathan, intending to remove Esmond III from power before he could enact his plan of communist revolution, and ended with the capital city being surrendered to the local supporters of King Declan I of Wilcsland, who was then appointed as a jointly ruling monarch. Foreign nations and all Austenasians outside of Wrythe were informed that the capital had been invaded and forced to surrender, rather than have the plan revealed while Esmond III was still in power. The true events were revealed by the Crown Prince a year on, mere days before the December 2011 General Election.
For the first few months, the joint reign was a success, but in late March 2011 increasing concerns were raised after more of the various eccentric schemes of Esmond III came to light, an infamous example of which is when he demanded tribute of cake from the army. On 31 March a Vote of No Confidence was passed in Parliament in response, removing Esmond III from the powers of the Throne and establishing Declan I as the only effectively ruling Monarch, although Esmond III remained titular joint Emperor.
Barely a week after this, on 9 April, the Midget Nation-in-Exile (a local militaristic nation in personal union with Declan I) was annexed by Austenasia. As they had no land claims, the Empire did not physically increase in size, but the Austenasian Army was joined by five new Midget recruits. The Empire from then on began to claim the status of a successor state of the Midget Empire, and therefore of the Kingdom of Rushymia.
On 20 May 2011, Crown Prince Jonathan met with the local British MP, Tom Brake, to whom the Austenasian Declaration of Independence had originally been sent, and discussed the stance of the United Kingdom towards the Empire. Tom Brake MP wrote to the British Foreign Office on behalf of Austenasia, and the Austenasian Foreign Office is now attempting to enter into negotiations with its British counterpart regarding recognition of Austenasian autonomy, if not national status or even sovereignty.
In early September 2011, Act 155 was placed before Parliament to organise a referendum in which the population of the Empire would vote on whether to keep the original Constitution or to adopt one of two proposed replacement constitutions. The Austenasian Constitutional Referendum took place on 18 September, with the "Wrythian Constitution" recieving 86% of the votes and entering into force two days later. One consequence of the new Constitution was that Esmond III was removed completely from the office of Monarch, leaving Declan I as sole Emperor. In November, a General and a Local Election were called, which took place on 23 December 2011 and resulted in Crown Prince Jonathan being re-elected Prime Minister but losing his position as Representative of Wrythe to Princess Caroline.
2012 saw much focus on foreign relations. Diplomacy was built up with numerous micronations in the MicroWiki Community, and the Empire rose to a prominent position in the Grand Unified Micronational. On 20 January 2013, Declan I abdicated for "personal reasons", and Crown Prince Jonathan ascended to the Throne as HIM Emperor Jonathan I, with Lord Marshal William becoming Acting Prime Minister.
Reign of Jonathan I
Since the ascension to the Throne of Jonathan I, the Empire has seen a huge territorial expansion. On 25 January 2013, New South Scotland formally joined the Empire as a Crown Dependency, having previously been a colony of the United Kingdom of New Wessex.[19] This marked the first territorial expansion of the Empire since Commius Flats was re-annexed in March 2011, and was followed less than a month later by the annexation of Axvalley, a Brazilian farming estate measuring nine hectares with a population of seven, greatly increasing the territory and citizenship of the Empire.[20] This was followed in May, June and July by the annexation of Corinium Terentium and Emperorsland as Territories, and Thanasia and Palasia as Towns. Further annexations took place on 16 August and 16 November, with New Richmond and Terentia respectively both being annexed as Crown Dependencies.
A crisis in New South Scotland arose at the end of May 2014 and lasted into the start of the following month due to a movement in Zealandia which wished to annex the crown dependency. A compromise was reached whereby the already autonomous land was given over to full Zealandian administration whilst remaining under de jure Austenasian sovereignty; this arrangement lasted until September 2016, when a treaty was signed with Zealandia restoring full and exclusive Austenasian governance to New South Scotland. Yet another expansion took place mere days after the conclusion of this crisis, with the Town of Porthbokon joining the Empire on 5 June, followed by the Crown Dependencies of Oregonia on 30 June and Heischierland on 17 July.
On 3 March 2015, a general election was held in which Lord Dux Joseph Kennedy, Chancellor of the Empire and Representative of New Richmond, defeated the incumbent Countess Eritoshi and became Prime Minister. Following the general election, the Imperial Navy was re-established and Treasury reform was announced.
Foreign relations
The Empire of Austenasia establishes and maintains diplomatic relations with other nations through the Foreign Office, led by the Chief Ambassador. The Chief Ambassador has the power to grant "states of friendship" and tacit recognition, but official recognition of another nation can only be granted by an Act of Parliament or Imperial Decree.
Austenasia has since late 2009 sought diplomatic relations mainly through the MicroWiki Community, but also holds friendly relations with other nations such as Molossia, Vikesland, Westarctica and Ladonia. Austenasia is the foremost power of the Carshalton Nations, with the Austenasian Monarch overlord of the nations the thrones of which are not held in personal union with the Empire. Austenasia has friendly relations with several small nations, including but by no means limited to Wildflower Meadows, Orly, Uberstadt, Juclandia, the Reylan Imperial Triumvirate and Landashir.
Emperor Jonathan I (while still Austenasian Prime Minister) has been on a state visit to Moylurg, Dorzhabad and Landashir, in August 2010, February 2011 and August 2012 respectively, and took part in the 2011 Intermicronational Summit in August 2011. The then Crown Prince also attended the Polination Conference in July 2012, meeting with several foreign politicians and diplomats between 13-15 July. On the 15th, Austenasia was host to a state visit for the first time in history when Will Sörgel, James von Puchow and James Stewart were all given a tour of Wrythe by the then Prime Minister. Sebastian Linden visited Wrythe in October the following year.
Government
Austenasia is an imperial monarchy ruled by the House of Austen. The Throne is officially hereditary, but out of the four Monarchs that Austenasia has had in its history, the second and third were not related to Terry I, the founding Emperor, instead ascending the Throne by Acts of Parliament.
HIM Emperor Jonathan I is head of state as Monarch, and holds vast executive, legislative, and judicial powers. He is held accountable by the Austenasian Senate, a body which can pass advisory resolutions and ultimately has the power to depose the Monarch should they be considered incapable of ruling. The Monarch is also advised by the Privy Council, a body which he can consult for and which can issue the Monarch with non-binding advice and suggestions.
On a daily basis, most executive power is exercised by the Monarch and Cabinet of Austenasia, with the Prime Minister helping to co-ordinate the activities of Cabinet in accordance with policies decided by himself and the Monarch. Legislative power is vested in Parliament, which is comprised of the Monarch, Prime Minister, and House of Representatives. The judiciary is comprised of Town Courts, High Courts, and an Imperial Court, to try differing degrees of crimes, with the Consuls issuing sentences for those found guilty.
Prime Minister Gordon
Lord John Gordon, Viscount Thetford, was appointed directly to the position of Prime Minister by Emperor Jonathan I on 1 June 2020 following the previous Prime Minister's resignation. This was done under the provisions of the emergency powers that the Emperor had temporarily assumed during the political crisis at that time. Lord Thetford had previous served as Deputy Prime Minister, making him the natural successor to the office.
He was elected again as Prime Minister in February 2024.
Prime Minister Wilson
The incumbent Prime Minister, Lord William Wilson, Count of Oribrazos, was elected to office on 18 September 2018 defeating rival candidate Lady Addison Dillon with 76.6% of the vote.
Lord Wilson’s first involvement with Austenasia came in April 2019, when he was appointed the Empire’s diplomatic Consul to Texas. He became an Austenasian national in January 2020 upon founding the Town of Nahona, which he represents to this day as Representative. He was further instrumental in arranging the annexation of the Town of North Nahona in June and the March of Campo de Jonatán and Territory of Jackson in August late that year.
Appointed Deputy Prime Minister on 1 June last year, Lord Wilson also served as Home Secretary from August 2020 to February earlier this year, and has held the office of Chief Herald since 3 June 2020. He chose not to run for a second term in 2024.
Crown Dependencies
The Empire of Austenasia also contains six Crown Dependencies, which fall under the direct and absolute authority of the Monarch, with Governing Commissioners being appointed to represent him and exercise his power; the governing commissioners of Oregonia and Dekker report to the Caesar Lord Admiral Joseph as the Emperor's deputy in North America on all non-urgent matters. Acts of Parliament and other Austenasian laws do not apply to Crown Dependencies unless explicitly stated, with the Governing Commissioners exercising near-absolute domestic power.
Military
The Austenasian Armed Forces are the military of the Empire of Austenasia, administrated and partially funded by the Ministry of Defence. The main branch of the AAF is the Austenasian Army, founded in May 2009; in January 2011, the Austenasian Army underwent reforms to become modeled more on the Imperial Roman army. The AAF is also comprised of the Imperial Navy and the Imperial Air Force. Lord John Gordon currently serves as Minister of Defence, and command of the AAF during wartime is the responsibility of the War Council.
There are currently thirty nine enlisted soldiers in the Austenasian Armed Forces: twenty two in the Army, thirteen in the Navy, and six (two of whom also serve as officers in the Army) in the Air Force. The AAF can also rely on various foreign volunteers from Orly, the United Kingdom, and the United States, making the potential overall military strength of the Empire over 60 strong.