Albeinland

Kingdom of Albeinland
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Libertas quæ sera tamen "Liberty albeit late"
Anthem: Albish National Anthem
Albeinland (dark green) in Lorecian Community (light green)
Political map of Albeinland
Capital and largest city	Castelby
Official languages	English
Ethnic groups (2018)	82% Albish 6% Noordenstater 2% Auroran 6% other
Demonym(s)	Albish Albian
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Catherine II
• Chancellor	Vincent Lloyd
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	House of Commons
• Lower house	House of Lords
Establishment
• Foundation of Castelby	5th century AD
• Unification	12 December 1016
• Oxford Revolution	16 August 1652
Area
• Total	1,291,800 km2 (498,800 sq mi)
Population
• 2019 estimate	30,969,622
• 2018 census	30,968,221
• Density	23/km2 (59.6/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2018 estimate
• Total	£4.028 trillion
• Per capita	£29,072
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	£5.109 trillion
• Per capita	£34,011
Gini (2018)	29.9 low
HDI (2018)	0.911 very high
Currency	Sterling (£)
Time zone	UTC+1 (UTC)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+36

Albeinland, officially the Kingdom of Albeinland but also known as Alba or Albion, is a sovereign state in west Lorecia, bordering Noordenstaat and Fyngaria to the south, Arstotska and Aswick to the northeast and the Aurora Confederacy to the northwest. The geographical location of Albeinland corresponds to the western part of the continent of Lorecia known as the Alban Plateaus besides owning three islands in the Albish Channel. The country have a population of approximately 30 million inhabitants according to its latest census, with the largest portion of the population living in the capital and largest city, Castelby. Albeinland has been a member state of the World Assembly since 1999 and was one of the founding states of the Lorecian Community in 1994.

Albeinland has its origins in the beginning of the settlement of several Arlethian tribes in the modern-day Albish territory in the early 1st century BCE. With the growth of these tribes and the increase of foreign influence by several countries, the tribes began to evolve with the founding of the first Albish kingdoms and cities taking place in the 6th century, being the Kingdoms of Anglea and Cambria and the Duchy of Lencester one of the most influential in the region. In the 11th century, after several wars and conflicts, the House of Annesley of Anglea managed to unify all the region and thus establishing the Kingdom of Albeinland. The Middle Ages were a scene for military conquests which helped to solidify the territory of the Albish state in Lorecia.

The country converted to Protestantism during the Reformation, but, despite the establishment of the Church of Albeinland (also known as Albyanism), the absolutist monarchs and the parliament continued to confront one another, leading to the Oxford Revolution (also called as the Albish Civil War) between 1661 and 1663, with the constitutionalists overcoming the absolutists and introducing a constitutional monarchy into Albeinland. The 18th century was a golden age for Albeinland's politics, economics and philosophy, maintaining its position as a wealthy nation in Lorecia despite political instabilities at the end of the century due a growing radicalism inside society. The 19th century witnessed the establishment of modern democracy in the country, with universal male suffrage being enacted in 1872 and the vote for women in 1919.

Today, Albeinland is a democratic constitutional parliamentary monarchy, with the Chancellor acting as the head of government. The national legislature is the Parliament, which is divided into two chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is elected by popular vote, being a lower house while the House of Lords is a upper house appointed by the sovereign with the consent of the Chancellor, the Leader of the Opposition and also by the Privy Council. The country have a semi-written constitution based on the Common Law enacted in 1665, but also uses charters and conventions in its legal system. The Kingdom is divided between seven provinces, each being governed by a Royal Commissioner appointed by the sovereign also under the consent of the Chancellor and the Privy Council. The provinces are: Anglea, Cambria, Lencester, Bedfordshire, Greater Castelby, Zuidland and Saint Laurent.

Etymology

The origin of the name "Albeinland" doesn't have a proven and unique origin, since its geographical position facilitated that diverse tribes coming from Aurora Confederacy crossed or established temporary settlements on several occasions before the 1st century BCE, which culminated in different names for the same region. The most likely and acceptable theory by etymologists is that Albeinland comes from the Old English Albaland, meaning "land of the Albans". The Albans are considered one of the predecessors of the current Albish people who had direct descent from the Arlethians, an ethno-linguistic group which are also the ancestors of several other modern peoples in Lorecia and Astyria.

It is not well known where the term was exactly created, but chronicles dating from the 6th century CE by Christian monasteries already used the name Albalonde. The origin of the term Alba still pretty unknown, meaning "white" in several languages and then probably referring to the white from snow during the long winters, which are traditional due the local climate. So, it's reasonable to say that the term had a geographical and climatic origin, with local tribes beginning to call themselves as Albans soon after to distance themselves from Arlethian terms during the Christianization of the region and the founding of the first Albish kingdoms, since such terms were classified as pagan by Christians.

The first use of Albeinland happened in 1466, being a modern anglicisation of the old term. Previously, in the Arlethian occupation between the 1st century BCE and 7th century CE, the term Albalanda was used, meaning white earth or white land. The terms Alba or Albion and their demonym Albian are not classified as wrong neither by the Government and Parliament, but being more used poetically.