Raglan

Grand Duchy of Raglan Raglanese: Storhertigdömet Raglän
Flag of Raglan Flag Coat of Arms of Raglan Coat of Arms
Motto: Med Tiden With the Times
Anthem: Farväl, mitt hemland Farewell, my homeland Royal anthem: Hertigmarsch March of the Dukes
Raglan (dark green) in Euclea (light green and light grey) and in the Euclean Community (light green). Raglan (dark green) in Euclea (light green and light grey) and in the Euclean Community (light green).
Capital and largest city	Raglan City
Official languages	Raglanese
Recognised regional languages	Raglanese
Ethnic groups (2012)	Svelts (77%), Other (23%)
Demonym(s)	Raglanese
Government	Grand Duchy
• Grand Duke	Karl II
• Prime Minister	A. M. Kappel
Unification
• Declaration of the Norse Realm	10 May 1449
Area
• Total	4,800 km2 (1,900 sq mi)
Population
• 2014 census	2,472,000
• Density	515/km2 (1,333.8/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Total	$0.326 trillion
• Per capita	$69,425
Gini (2014)	21.8 low
HDI (2014)	0.919 very high
Currency	Norrdaler (nÐ) (=100 öre) (RGB)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy B.C.E.; C.E.
Driving side	right
Calling code	+808
ISO 3166 code	RAG
Internet TLD	.rg

Raglan (/'rag.lahn/; Raglanese: Raglän) officially The Grand Duchy of Raglan (Raglanese: Storhertigdömet Raglän) is a sovereign country located in Euclea in the world and region of Kylaris. Raglan is completely surrounded by the sea. The capital and largest city is Raglan City, which holds about 90% of the microstate's population. Raglan covers an area of approximately 300 km² and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. Raglan consists of a sole island, the Island of Raglan, which forms 100% of Raglan's territory. With a population of about 418 thousand, Raglan is one of the least populous nations of the world. Even so, and despite lacking official recognition from some countries, Raglan holds membership in various prominent international organizations in the world, such as the Euclean Community and the Community of Nations.

The lone island of Raglan was uninhabited until about 2,000 B.C.E., when the Nordic tribes of what is now Sveltlana colonized the island. However, documents proving that the location of the island was known date back to about 2,800 B.C.E. During the Bronze and Iron ages, the settlement grew in relative peace and stability while the rest of the Nordic mainland remained fractious and quarrelsome as tribes battled for power. Raglan was one of the leading raiding tribes that terrorized Euclea in the Varangian Age. Thus, Raglan became one of the more prosperous cities in the region. In 713 C.E., Raglan gained a foothold in mainland Sveltlana as it invaded a small rogue tribe. From 813 C.E. to 1449 C.E., the power of Raglan began to increase exponentially until the whole of the Nordic realm was unified under the Raglanese banner. In 1449 C.E., Raglan declared the establishment of the Nordic Empire at the ancient capital of Herfast As the three islands of the Norse were unified, the House of Raglan came to rule the First Empire. Thus, this government was known as the Empire of Raglan.

The Empire of Raglan existed in relative stability and expanded outside of its original islands for approximately four-hundred years. In the 19th century, however, there were multiple rebellions and revolutions that shattered the Pax Raglanica in the North. On a first note, radical jacobins took hold of the capital and proclaimed the short-lived First Republic in 1821, even if the First Constitution had been forced upon the Emperor by a manipulative Parliament in 1799. The uprising was rapidly quelled. In 1897, a powerful Socialist and Communist uprising almost managed to topple the nation, and would have indeed done so were it not for foreign aid. In 1917, another Communist uprising took hold of the capital and proclaimed the Second Commune, although this uprising received much smaller rural support than its predecessor, and eventually failed. Finally, in 1927, shortly after Raglan joined the Restoration Coalition against the Democratic Powers, radical nationalists rose against the Empire, declaring the United Kingdom of the Svelts and demanding the abdication of the emperor.

This opened the so-called Northern Front in the Great War. Nations from both sides dispatched aid to either faction, as the Nationalists—and later the Republicans under the Second Republic—remained fighting against staunch Imperialists who fought for the Empire. By 1931, the Imperialist base of support had collapsed and the Second Republic obtained the diplomatic support of the Democratic Alliance, and duly joined the fight against the Restorationists. Raglan remained with the single enclave of the Island of Raglan, which was unable to be taken as the Republic lacked both a navy or a powerful airforce (and the Empire had both). To this day, Sveltlana claims that Raglan should be yet another state in its Republic.

History

Main article: History of Sveltlana

Varangian Age

From the 7th to the early 11th century, the Svets, Ogoths, Lugoths, and other Norse tribes and kingdoms were collectively known as Varangians, or Vikings. During this age, the Nordic tribes entered a golden age in which they colonized large tracts of land and became rich through trade and commerce. However, they also became infamous through Euclea by their characteristic raids on towns across the continent. The Varangians established several kingdoms outside of their native land, such as Jårnland (Old Norse: Land of Iron) in the west and Vinland (Land of Wine) in the East.

File:SvVarangianRaid.jpg

Impression of a Varangian raid. Notice the tip of a Longship on the background left. The speed and versatility of those vessels largely helped the Vikings dominate the seas.

In 781 C.E., the Varangians established Jårnland in what is now Tykeshire in the High Kingdom. The Iron Realm, as it was known to the natives, rapidly expanded to become one of the foremost military powers in the Caltari isles and often conducted raids against the neighbouring realms. This, unsurprisingly, earned Jårnland the spite of the natives. Nevertheless, the Iron Realm remained the strongest military power in Caltarania for more than a hundred years.

During the Varangian age, these raids and conquests were only possible because of the establishment of certain coalitions in mainland Sveltlana. The effect of these establishments was a general increase in stability in Sveltlana. There were, in total, four coalitions, although their members often fluctuated from one to another (even though, from 701 to 997, these coalitions co-existed in relative peace). These were the Blooded Realm, the Realm of the Shield, the Thunder Realm, and Raglan and its system of client states and vassals.

File:Norse Conquest (Kylaris).png

Varangian domains in 997 C.E., at their greatest extent. In green, land directly controlled; in dark grey, areas of heavy activity.

This system collapsed in 997 as Raglan, now Christian, attempted to impose its Hegian faith on the Thunder Realm. In less than four years, Raglan had smashed the Thunder Realm and imposed its faith on the Thunderlands, as well as dissolving the Thunder Realm, annexing some of its members, and forcing the remainder of them to vassalage. The war was followed by another strike on the Realm of the Shield. However, a secret pact drafted with the Blooded Realm came into effect, and eventually the war ended in a stalemate. For 300 years, except for brief lapses of peace, the Norse were locked in a state of internal warfare.

By 1021, the influence exerted on the exterior began to wane. The frequency of raids decreased, and aid supplied to the transoceanic realms decreased radically. This was because the rise of the power and influence of Raglan in Sveltlana began to alarm the viking tribes. The tribes then shifted most of their energy and resources to combat the rise of Raglan rather than to expand the power of their domains, or continue their raids.

Meanwhile, Jårnland had begun to face rising economic and political internal pressure. In an effort to alleviate the economic situation, Harald Eriksson, the last Iron King, decided to increase the frequency of raids on the neighbouring realms. The War of the Three Crowns broke out as a result in December 1065. In February 1066, the Iron Kingdom, devoid of support from the Norse other than a small army led by the warrior-princess Freja Hardrada, was decisively defeated at the battle of Northford Bridge and then promptly collapsed. After the fall of Jårnland, most of the other transoceanic realms overthrew their Nordic overlords. This signalled the end of the Varangian or Viking Age.