United Provinces (Kylaris)

United Provinces of the Golden Isles Provinces-Unies des Îles d'Or (Gaullican) Province Unite delle Isole d'Oro (Vespasian)
1945–1956
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Ever conscious of God
Anthem: In Plenty and In Time of Need
Location of the United Provinces (1946-1948)
Status	Sovereign state
Capital	Subercaseaux
Common languages	Gaullican, Estmerish, Vespasian, Chloésien Creole, Imaguan Creole
Religion	Sotirianity
Demonym(s)	Arucian
President
• 1945–1949	Lionel Hegan
• 1949–1954	Pierre Voloix
Prime Minister
• 1945–1949	Pierre Voloix
• 1953–1954	Raymond Rivière
Historical era	Great Game
• Establishment	4 May 1945
• Acquisition of the Assimas and New Accadia	17 October 1946
• Departure of Imagua	23 April, 1948
• Carucerean Revolution	3 September, 1953
• Departure of Sainte-Chloé	14 February, 1954
• Deposition of Pierre Voloix	18 November, 1955
• Reorganisation into Bonaventure	5 January 1956
Area
1948	153,505 km2 (59,269 sq mi)
Population
• 1948	4,233,970
Currency	Arucian shilling
Preceded by Succeeded by Arucian Federation File:ImaguaFlag.png Imagua Imagua File:ImaguaFlag.png Sainte-Chloé Carucere Bonaventure
Today part of	Bonaventure Carucere Imagua and the Assimas Sainte-Chloé

The United Provinces (Gaullican: Provinces-Unies), officially known as the United Provinces of the Golden Isles (Gaullican: Provinces-Unies des Îles d'Or) was a sovereign nation and political union of four countries in the Golden Isles which form the modern-day countries of Bonaventure, Carucere, Imagua and the Assimas and Sainte-Chloé.

The United Provinces was a post-colonial entity, comprised of the former Gaullican colonies of Sainte-Chloé and Saint-Brendan, the Estmerish colony of Imagua, and the Etrurian colonies of the Assimas Islands and New Accadia. It was formed in 1945 with the separation of the former West Arucian Gaullican colonies from the Community of Nations trusteeship of the Arucian Federation and the end of Estmerish rule over Imagua and the Assimas. It reached its height with the end of the Solarian War in 1946, when the former Etrurian possessions in the West Arucian were transferred to the Union. Imagua seceded from the provinces in 1948, Carucere left in 1953, and Sainte-Chloé left in 1954.

The United Provinces had a deep impact on the politics of the West Arucian, both in terms of positive and negative effects. The Union gave the countries with a common currency and political ties, which over the next few decades would lead to the creation of the Arucian Cooperation Organization, of which the United Provinces is seen as an ancestor. Its tumultuous politics and internal conflict, however, also provided animosity between the countries over the following years, and also would lead to the creation of several new independent states in the Arucian.

History

Origins

In the immediate aftermath of the Great War, the Community of Nation's Trusteeship Council placed the former Gaullican colonies of Sainte-Chloé and Saint-Brendan under the trusteeship of the Arucian Federation, which also comprised of the islands of Parane and the Îles Émeraude and the Îles des Saints, which today are part of Satucin and Gaullica respectively, as well as the the Île d'Émeraude.

As a mandate jointly administered between Estmere, Etruria, Rizealand, and Werania, the Arucian Federation was geographically split between the Western Arucian and the Eastern Arucian, which as Parane and the Îles Émeraude reverted to Satucine jurisdiction in 1940, meant that the possibility of a union between these former Gaullican possessions became unlikely. Sainte-Chloé, a dominant Gaullican loyalist stronghold and important colonial post, was put under the control of pro-Alliance business magnate Pierre Voloix and the liberal conservative Democratic Party in order to weaken its ties to Gaullica and liberalise the country. Carucere's lacking of Gaullicanisation and vibrant Gowsa community caused it to stand apart from the other Gaullican colonies.

At the same time, Estmere's colonial empire began to weaken, leading to the Colony of Imagua being given an "equal partnership" with Estmere in 1936, although Estmere still maintained some powers over Imagua. Despite Imagua effectively being a sovereign state, there were some concerns that the Colony of Imagua would not be viable as sovereign states, due to its small population in comparison with Sainte-Chloé. This led to proposals by certain Estmerish officials, most notably TBD, to incorporate Imagua with the neighbouring Sainte-Chloé, as it would not only address concerns about Imagua's viability, but also ensure Estmerish influence over the West Arucian Sea.

This led to discussions about the possibility of Imagua establishing a political union with Sainte-Chloé and Carucere, particularly as many Imaguan businessmen felt that the resources present in Sainte-Chloé would help benefit the economy, while Voloix sought assistance in developing their industries, and most importantly, independence from the Community of Nations trusteeship.

By 1944, negotiations began in earnest, with the idea to establish a constitution and a common framework for the nascent federation. Despite some issues, these negotiations proved to be a success, particularly as Voloix and Imaguan business leaders were able to negotiate a deal that would ensure that the provinces would maintain most of the powers that they originally had, while guaranteeing official bilingualism between the Gallophones and Estmerophones.

With these negotiations a success, a constitution was drafted to help institute the agreement, while negotiations took place to allow Sainte-Chloé to leave the Asterian Federation, and for Imagua to terminate the reserve powers that Estmere still had over the country, in order to facilitate the merger into the United Provinces. These negotiations ultimately succeeded, with Estmere passing legislation in November 1944 to allow Imagua to join the United Provinces.

In March 1945, elections were held across the future United Provinces, which saw the emergence of several major political parties and groups: the Gallophone liberal Democratic Party and the right-wing Catholic Party and Labour group, as well as the Estmerophone Sotirian Democratic Party, with these four parties taking the most seats. Due to number of seats the Democratic and Sotirian Democratic Parties won, the two parties formed a coalition, with Pierre Voloix chosen to be the first Prime Minister of the United Provinces.

Union

President Lionel Hegan, 1947

On 3 May, 1945, the United Provinces officially came into being, with the last Governor of Imagua, Lionel Hegan, being sworn in as the first President of the United Provinces. The coalition government between the Democratic Party and the Sotirian Democrats was instituted, with the first Prime Minister being Pierre Voloix.

Initially, the two parties cooperated, with the Arucian shilling being officially adopted, a customs union established, and an agreement made to construct a planned capital in Subercaseaux (present-day Sainte-Chloé). However, as the months progressed, fractures began to emerge between the two parties on a whole host of issues, most notably cultural and linguistic issues, which was exacerbated by the fact that in Imagua, most politicians were of Euclean origin, in contrast to the Chloéois, who were dominated by the Bahian majority.

This came to a head in 1946, when following the conclusion of the Solarian War, the Assimas Islands and New Accadia, which had been part of Etruria since 1814, were transferred to the United Provinces. As Imagua declared war against the Greater Solarian Republic, who governed the islands at the time, Imagua and the Sotirian Democratic Party argued that the Assimas islands should belong to it, because Imagua had occupied the islands previously and also particularly as they feared that "having two Etrurian provinces would reduce us Imaguans to a minority." In contrast, the Democratic Party, as well as opposition parties, argued that the Assimas should be its own province, citing linguistic and cultural differences between it and Imagua.

When the SDP threatened to break their coalition agreement and table a motion of no confidence against Voloix's government, Voloix relented and allowed the Assimas to become part of the Province of Imagua. However, this crisis led to deteriorating relations between the two governing parties, as well as the province of Imagua with the federation, which was exacerbated further by labour unions from both sides criticising the United Provinces as it currently stood. Furthermore, the incorporation of New Accadia required the resizing of the legislature and a special election, which further altered the status quo and cause further tensions within the government.

The incorporation of the new territories caused the United Provinces to reach its greatest territorial extent. Vespasian was enshrined as one of the Union's three languages, making the United Provinces a multilingual country.

Imaguan Secession

President Pierre Voloix, 1949

By 1947, it became clear that the United Provinces, as it currently stood, was no longer viable to many Imaguans. With the Imaguan government and federal government being "at each other's throats," combined with a similar acrimonious relationship between the governing Democratic and Sotirian Democratic Parties, there was little political will remaining for the United Provinces to continue on with Imagua.

Thus, on 4 August, 1947, TBD tabled a bill to the Chamber of Commons, proposing the expulsion of the Province of Imagua from the United Provinces. With both the opposition and governing parties supporting it, it passed both the Chamber of Commons and the Legislative Council with ease, only for the President, Lionel Hegan, to veto the bill, expressing concerns that the bill could set a precedent for other provinces leaving the United Provinces, even though Hegan sought to "support the rights of my kith and kin [to leave the United Provinces]."

Per constitutional procedure, the legislation returned to Parliament, where a supermajority of legislators, including the entirety of the Imaguan delegation, voted in favour of the bill to expel Imagua. This led to the start of negotiations between the federal and provincial governments to come to an "amicable agreement" on the separation of Imagua from the United Provinces. After coming to an agreement covering various topics, including Imagua's share of the debt and the continued usage of the Arucian shilling as its currency, Imagua officially exited the United Provinces on 23 April, 1948.

The five remaining provinces continued as members of the United Provinces. Six Imaguan Legislative Councilors, including Cyril Hackett, were granted special permission to keep their seats in the legislature. Hegan continued to serve as President until 1949, when the second elections of the United Provinces were held. Hegan refused to stand for a second term, and Pierre Voloix was elected to the Presidency in the elections. The Parliament was reduced to its original size, although with New Accadia having representation. The Democratic Party won enough seats to coalition with the New Accadian Republican Alliance, and Narciso Mastrogiacomo was appointed as Premier.

Constitutional Crisis

Although the system worked for several years, problems began to manifest themselves. With three out of the five provinces made up of Chloéois and without Imagua to offset it, the Union operated practically for Chloéois interests most of the time. However, the Democratic Party had to closely follow the wishes of the Republican Alliance to keep the government coalition alive, which resulted in some tensions between the two governing parties. Furthermore, Voloix's practice of institutional corruption and undercutting the popular Chloéois opposition parties began to erode the support Voloix had in the provinces. Voloix used his Presidential authority to appoint councilors to not allow the opposition parties any seats in the upper house, a move which was seen as under-handed and unjust.

Movements for Chloéois and Carucean independence grew in size and popularity over the next four years. This would culminate in 1953 with the merger of the two primary opposition parties, the Labour Party and the Catholic Party, into the Catholic Labour Party, under the leadership of Raymond Rivière and Camille Pètain. Campaigning on a platform of constitutional reform and independence if it failed, they would take control of Parliament in the third elections of the United Provinces, being the first party to win complete control of Parliament without need of a coalition. However, Voloix managed to very narrowly secure the Presidency with New Accadian support, and still had the support of the Legislative Council.

Rivière was appointed Premier, against Voloix's wishes, and immediately began to push constitutional reform for the United Provinces. Voloix and the Council opposed the reform, blocking it from passing; however, Rivière pushed hard for the constitutional change with popular backing. Thus, a constitutional crisis began to develop between the Chamber of Commons and the other branches. With the situation at an impasse, Rivière passed a bill which would have had allowed the Chloéois provinces to secede as Imagua had done. This too, however, was rejected by the government. In frustration, the provincial governments held referenda to declare independence from the United Provinces, all of which were successful. With overwhelming public support and protests against the government, President Voloix finally relented and allowed the provinces to secede, with the date of departure being fixed for early 1954.

On 3 September 1953, the Carucerean Revolution overthrew the provincial government of Saint-Brendan and declared their independence from the United Provinces. With the ongoing political crisis, the United Provinces was unable to respond to the revolution, effectively letting the new country of Carucere gain de facto independence. The departure of Sainte-Chloé in 1954, left New Accadia as the only remaining province after the separation. After negotiations were complete and a new constitution was written, Sainte-Chloé and Carucere departed from the United Provinces on Febuary 14th, 1954, gaining formal independence.

Politics

Government

File:UP Parl building.jpg

Former parliamentary building in Subercaseaux as of 2018

The governance of the United Provinces was governed by the Constitution of the United Provinces, which made it a federation.

The head of state was the President of the United Provinces, who was elected every four years. While in theory, the President wielded extensive powers, these were tempered by the fact that the head of government, the Prime Minister was required to advise the President before the President could act, which effectively curtailed the President's independent authority.

The Prime Minister came from the bicameral Parliament, which was divided into two chambers. The Legislative Council, whose members were appointed by the President and served for life. The lower house, the popularly elected 49-member Chamber of Commons, served for four years alongside the President and were based on the population of each province. The Prime Minister was a member of this house.

The judicial system was based off of Estmerish law, in particular using the Imaguan legal system as a basis for the United Province's legal system. This led to the Federal Supreme Court being the highest court in the federation.

Per the constitution, the federal government had powers over defence, foreign relations, immigration, and monetary affairs, as well as the federal capital, Subercaseaux, while the provincial governments had all other powers.

Parliament

The size of the Legislative Council fluctuated over time. Seats in the Legislative Council were based on linguistic differences, with 13 seats allocated to Estmerophones and 12 seats to Gallophones prior to 1946, for a combined 25 seats. With the admission of New Accadia and the Assimas in 1946, an additional 12 Etrurophone seats were added, expanding the Council to 37 seats. After the secession of Imagua in 1948, most Imaguan Estmerophone councilors resigned, but six chose to remain and were allowed in their posts for the remainder of their life. An additional Gaullican seat was added, bringing the Council's size to a temporary 29, though with a future 25 seats envisioned. By the constitutional crisis of 1953, only 4 Estmerophone Councilors were left.

By custom, the linguistic seats were divided between Provinces of the same language. According to custom, 5 Gaullophone seats were from the province of Sainte-Chloé, 3 from Carucere, 3 from Sainte-Geneviève and 1 from Trinité. When the Gaullophone seats were expanded, Sainte-Chloé gained an additional seat. The Etrurophone seats were divided, with 9 seats alotted to New Accadia, and with 3 seats allotted the Assmimas Islands as part of Imagua.

The Chamber of Commons began with 49 seats. With the former Etrurian colonial expansion of 1946, 16 seats were added to the Chamber, brining the chamber up to 65 members. After the Imaguan seccession, the districts were readjusted and the Commons returned to 49 seats for the 1949 elections.

Administrative divisions

The United Provinces was divided into five or six provinces, each with extensive powers per the constitution.

Provinces of the West Arucian Islands

Province		Capital	Union		Population			Land area in km2	Chamber of Commons Seats
			Admission	Departure	1945	1946	1949		1945	1946†	1949/53
Imagua	IM	Cuanstad	May 4, 1945	Apr 23, 1948	936,918	1,198,513	N/A	24,494.7	11	2	N/A
New Accadia	NA	Sermoni	Oct 17, 1946	Jan 1, 1956	N/A	1,569,255	1,678,233	40,015.36	N/A	14	16
Saint-Brendan	SB	Kingston	May 4, 1945	Feb 14, 1954	150,619	159,450	187,292	8,165.51	3	N/A	3
Sainte-Chloé	SC	Port de la Sainte	May 4, 1945	Feb 14, 1954	2,455,834	2,473,633	2,535,031	56,824.44	27	N/A	23
Sainte-Geneviève	SG	Sainte Geneviève	May 4, 1945	Feb 14, 1954	543,252	556,465	584,353	6,522.88	6	N/A	5
Trinité	TR	Citadelle	May 4, 1945	Feb 14, 1954	203,766	204,902	207,619	1,630.6	2	N/A	2

†These represent the division of the 16 additional seats from the 1946 special election after the addition of the Assimas and New Accadia.

List of Executives

List of Presidents of the United Provinces

  Independent
  Democratic Party (PD)

No	Picture	Name	Term	Tenure		Prime Minister	Notes	Affiliation
President of the United Provinces
1		Lionel Hegan (1886-1976)	1	4 May 1945	3 May 1949	Pierre Voloix (PD)	From Imagua and the Assimas. Continued serving even after Imagua left the UP, before retiring in 1949.	Independent
2		Pierre Voloix (1893-1968)	1	4 May 1949	3 May 1953	Evandro La Barca (AR)	From Sainte-Chloé. When the PCT was elected to office in 1953, his refusal to reform and to grant independence to Sainte-Chloé caused a constitutional crisis. Although he remained President post Chloéois independence, he was eventually forced to resign in November of 1955.	Democratic Party
			2	4 May 1953	18 November 1955	Raymond Rivière (PCT) Narciso Mastrogiacomo (AR)

List of Prime Ministers of the United Provinces

Democratic Party (PD) (1)   Catholic Labour Party (PCT) (1)   Republican Alliance (AR) (2)
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election	President (Term)
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Pierre Voloix (1893–1968)	4 May 1945	3 May 1949	3 years, 364 days	Democratic Party	1945		Lionel Hegan (1945-1949)
2		Evandro La Barca (1886–1960)	4 May 1949	3 May 1953	3 years, 364 days	Republican Alliance	1949		Pierre Voloix (1949-1955)
3		Raymond Rivière (1922–2017)	4 May 1953	13 February 1954	285 days	Catholic Labour Party	1953
4		Narciso Mastrogiacomo (1912–1992)	13 February 1954	18 November 1956	1 year, 277 days	Republican Alliance