Geatland

Geatish Realm Götiska riket
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "För Gud och Kronan" (Geatish) "For God and the Crown"
Anthem: "Hör, o Nordmän!" (Hear, O Norsemen!) Royal anthem: "Möge sie lange regieren" (Long May She Reign)
Location of Geatland (in green), within Euclea (grey)
Capital and largest city	Blåstad
Official languages	Geatish
Recognised regional languages	Azmaran
Religion	Church of Geatland
Demonym(s)	Geats
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Brunhild II
• Premier	Karl Nilsson Jung
• Coalition Government	FOLK-Fråmat!
Legislature	Riksdag
• Upper house	Landsting
• Lower house	Folkting
Unification
• First Kingdom of Geatland	944
• Baptism of Olaf I	1057
• Geatish Unification	5 August 1545
• Annexation of the Line Islands	26 March 1855
• Current Constitution	13 July 1867
Area
• Total	90,819 km2 (35,065 sq mi)
Population
• 2019 estimate	6,192,106
• 2017 census	6,101,832
• Density	67.1/km2 (173.8/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2018 estimate
• Total	$307.1 billion
• Per capita	$49,588
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$262.675 billion
• Per capita	$42,421
Gini (2017)	40.1 medium
HDI (2017)	0.911 very high
Currency	Geatish krona
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Driving side	left

Geatland (Geatish: Gotland), officially the Geatish Realm, is a Euclean island country located in the North Sea. Geatland's territory comprises the Geatish Islands and the Line Islands. Its capital and largest city is Blåstad.

Geatland has an area of 90,819 square kilometres (35,065 sq mi) and a population of 6,192,106 people. Because Geatland is an island, its long shoreline affords it more mild temperatures than other countries on its latitude, though it may be much cooler in midland areas. The country is known for being mountainous.

Geatland is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The current monarch and head of state is Brunhild II, who has been on the throne since 1966. The Geatish Islands are divided into counties and municipalities.

Weranic peoples came to settle the Geatish Islands in the 3rd century BC. The largest and most prominent of these Weranic tribes was the Ancient Geats, who subdued and conquered their neighbors. The First Kingdom of Geatland was established in 944. Geatland was involved in various North Sea Empires until the 14th century AD. After the collapse of the North Sea Empires, the Geatish Islands were politically fractured until their unification in 1545. Around this time, Geatland colonized Eldmark. Following King Rudolf's War, Geatland annexed the Line Islands from Azmara in 1855. The rise of republicanism and democracy in continental Euclea triggered the Engström Revolt. Though the revolution was unsuccesful in deposing the monarchy, it resulted in the writing of a constitution and democratic reforms that ended absolutism. Geatland sided with Functionalist Gaullica during the Great War. Geatish governments after the Great War inagurated an expansive welfare state, which persists in most forms today despite cuts in the 1970s to the 1990s.

Geatland is a prosperous liberal democracy and popular tourist destination. The country maintains a comprehensive social security system. It has among the highest rates of citizen happiness and clear air in the world. It is a member of the Community of Nations, ECDTO, the Northern Forum, the AEDC, and the ITO, among others.

Etymology and terminology

Attestations of (left) "Geats" and (right) "Wederas" in Old Estmerish.

"Geatland" (Gotland in the Geatish language) is the standard short name for the Geatish Realm in Estmerish. The name refers to the lands of the Ancient Geats, one of the most prominent Sea Weranic tribes that migrated to the Geatish Islands as early as the third century before Jesus Sotiras. The standard adjective for things related to Geatland is Geatish, while people of Geatish origin are referred to as Geats. The denonym "Geats" traces its origin to Proto-Weranic *Gautoz, the exact etymology of which is unclear. The modern-day Geats draw their origins from the Ancient Geats as well as other tribal groups, such as the Gutes. However, since the Ancient Geats were the most powerful of the tribes and subdued the rest, their name survives in the country's name today.

Geatland has traditionally been referred to under different names. In Estmerish, it was common to refer to the country as Wedera or Wederia, from the Old Estmerish Wederas ("Geats"). Solarians referred to the Geatish Islands as Gothia, again after the Ancient Geat tribe. This name survives in Gaullican, in which Geatland is la Gothie.

The correct formal name for Geatland is the "Geatish Realm". The "Kingdom of Geatland" may be used in the place of the Geatish Realm, though this is typically seen as incorrect. This is because the Kingdom of Geatland historically only refers to the Geatish Islands and neglects Geatish sovereignty over the Line Islands. The Greater Geatish Realm may also refer to the extent of Geatish colonialism in North Asteria, particularly over Eldmark and Imagua and the Assimas.

History

Main article: History of Geatland

Prehistory

Bronze Age rock art in Geatland

The first human settlers on the Line Islands, Geatland's easternmost territories, are observed to have made landfall around the 7th millenium B.C. Most of these peoples were hunter-gatherers and fishermen from what is today Azmara.

Human settlement on the Geatish Islands was considerably later given the island's distance from mainland Euclea. The first attested evidence of habitation dates back to 1,500 B.C. The Geatish Islands were attested on some maps as early as 900 BC. Around the third or second century B.C., Sea Weranic tribes settled the islands. Some archaeologists dispute this date, however, and instead argue for habitation as late as the first century AD.

Solarian chroniclers and historians first make mention of the Geats around 110 AD. Solarian authors took note of the Geats' superiority over the other tribes, notably the Gutes, and their development of advanced naval technology, specifically longships. There are apocryphal accounts detailing the legendary kings of the Geats at this time. The most famous and best documented of these rulers was Alrik, a sea king and the legendary founder of the first major settlements on Gormö, the largest island in the Geatish Islands. Early Geatish societies were ruled by things, which were led by lawspeakers.

The inhabitants of the Geatish Islands were rather secluded and rarely traded with the outside world. If they did, they typically established small communities on the Euclean coast, around modern-day Azmara, Werania, and as far as Estmere to trade hides and ore with the Solarians. The runic alphabet was developed in the second century AD. Runes would be formally phased out in the 11th century, but they remained in informal use as late as the 18th century.

Middle Ages

Further information: Städ War, Gorm the Elder, and Sotirianization of Geatland

Gorm the Elder conquered the Gutes in the Städ War, integrating them into the newly-established First Kingdom of Geatland.

By the fall of the Solarian Empire in the 5th century AD, the Geats had succeeded in becoming the hegemon of the other tribes on the Geatish Islands. The beginning of the 8th century AD marked the beginning of the Age of Ghaillish Piracy. Ghaillish pirates known as Lochlannach from modern-day Caldia began conducting raids across Gormö, establishing a Gaillish raider kingdom on the island's north side by the 9th century. These pirates routed the poorly equipped and technologically inferior Geatish tribes.

The beginning the First Kingdom of Geatland is somewhat unclear. There had been many kings before the 10th century, legendary or real, who had asserted control over all of the Geatish tribes, but in practice very few of these claims were borne out. To combat the Lochlannach, various Geatish chiefdoms united under kings. The strongest of these kingdoms was Lågland. In 941, Gorm the Elder, king of Lågland, succeeded in convincing holdout Geatish tribes to unite under him. Following a brief war to conquer the Gute tribes, Gorm declared himself the first King of Geatland in 944. Before his death in 961, Gorm succeeded in diminishing the territory of the Lochlannach raider kingdom in Geatland's north, though it would remain a present force until the 12th century.

The baptism of King Olaf I in 1057.

Solarian Catholicism was introduced into the Geatish Islands in 839 by Saint Åke, the "apostle of Geatland." Sotirianity became the favored religion of the Geatish aristocracy and merchant class as it afforded them greater connections to continental Euclea. In 1057, king Olaf I was baptized a Sotirian and Geatland became a Sotirian nation. Paganism, however, would continue to be popular among the lower class until the 14th century, when the entirely of the island was effectively Sotirianized.

Geatland's isolation from the rest of Euclea meant that it was poor and had a reputation within the continent as a backward hinterland. Esholm, the kingdom's capital and a port city, was the only connection between Geatland and the rest of Euclea. Authority, though nominally vested in the monarch and his royal court, was decentralized into the hands of local barons. Thralldom, a system of slavery and serfdom, was widely popular from the 9th to the 11th century, but was slowly phased out thereafter. Thralldom would continue to become popular in iron mining towns until Eric the Great formally abolished the practice in 1553.

Around two hundred years after Gorm united the Geatish and Gutish tribes, the First Kingdom of Geatland began to fracture. In 1287, King Valdemar II died without producing male heirs. The ensuing succession crisis pitted Valdemar II's daughter Marta against her uncle Håkan the Bloody. This conflict led to the First Brutish War, a civil war that resulted in a stalemate. Håkan was declared King of Geatland, but lost the support of the nobles beneath him and was ultimately a lame-duck king. Rival factions continued to war against each other in the ensuing Brutish Wars. Civil and political strife between claimants, barons, and lords plunged the Geatish Islands into constant civil war.

Greater Realm

Main article: Greater Realm period

See also: Eldmark, Imagua and the Assimas, and Line Islands

Further information: Unification of Geatland, Eric the Great, and Geatish Reformation

Eric the Great united Geatland in 1545. He enacted land reforms, established the Church of Geatland as an independent Amendist church, and sponsored exploration in Asteria Superior.

In Geatish history, the Greater Realm period typically begins with Geatish Unification in 1545 and ends with the collapse of Geatish colonialism in the Asterias in 1777, though it may be extended to the democratization of Geatland in 1867. The Greater Realm period saw the rise and fall of Geatish colonialism in Northern Asteria, the height of Geatish naval authority, and the period of conservative absolutism.

By 1500, the Principality of Blåstad grew in prominence due to its connection as a port city to Continental Euclea, which offered it wealth and prosperity. In 1534, Erik Longbeard was made Prince of Blåstad and therefore the de facto hegemon on the islands. Erik succeeded in uniting Geatland in 1545, declaring himself Eric IV, later to be known as Eric the Great. Later into Eric the Great's reign, he would preside over various administrative reforms. In 1555, he officially severed the Church of Geatland from the Solarian Catholic Church in the Geatish Reformation, creating an independent Amendist church as the state religion.

Land Ho! by Mats Eriksson (1848) depicts Geatish explorer and pirate Hans Hammar Adelström spotting the Horn of Asteria in 1547. Adelström claimed the territory for the Geatish crown.

In 1546, Eric had conscripted Hans Hammar Adelström, an explorer and pirate, to voyage into the newly-found Asterias. By 1457, Adelström landed on the Horn of Asteria and established a settlement. Adelström attempted to bridge relations with the Yamuya and Odavli peoples, but his efforts failed and forced to resort to violence. Adelström's actions resulted in the genocide of the indigenous Asterian peoples. By 1550, Eric the Great formally created Adelström as the Viceroy of Eldmark, taking the title of King of Eldmark for his own.

Extent of the Geatish Greater Realm by 1610. The Geatish Islands (dark green) and colonial possessions (light green)

Geatland would grow rich off of the tobacco and gold it was able to produce in its Eldmarsk colony. In 1562, Caldia ceded Imagua and the Assimas to the Realm. Land purchases in 1610 grew Geatland's possessions to their height, making the Geatish crown among the largest landowners on the Asterias. The Geatish Islands, particularly the capital city Blåstad, became a popular trade hub where thousands of tons of tobacco and heretofore unseen Asterian crops passed through on their way to Continental Euclea. The Geats, once a closed-off and isolationist peoples, were increasingly exposed to foreign peoples and ideas.

Panorama of Blåstad in 1755.

By the turn of the 18th century, Geatland's colonial possessions and the influx of international and intercontinental trade proved to be massive boons for the Geatish economy. Excess profits from trade in tobacco typically benefited for the aristocracy and the upper class, but some welfare did translate down to the common folk. Living standards, particularly in the cities, improved, and the government's emphasis on trade created a strong and prosperous mercantile class. Growing material wealth stimulated greater cultural wealth; Geatish literature, which was previously censored and repressed by the government, saw a resurgence in the early 18th century, particularly of the play and satire. Likewise, Geatish art started to reflect the classical art syles of Euclea that emerged in the 15th and 16th centuries.

By the 1750s, the Geatish crown took more interest in governing the colonies directly. Geatish governance in Eldmark in particular promoted native-born Geats to Eldmarsk Geats, breeding animosity. Increased exploitation of the land, incompetent governance and a burgeoning desire for home rule soured relations between Geatland and her colonies. Eldmark declared independence in 1765 and fought a successful revolutionary war. Geatland was forced to recognize Eldmarsk independence in 1771. After Eldmarsk independence, Geatland was reduced once more to a conservative and isolationist island nation. However, the beginning of the 19th century saw a thawing of relations between Geatland and its former Eldmarsk colony; business and trade ties, both formal and informal, were resumed.

19th century

Further information: King Rudolf's War and Engström Revolt

The Battle of the Line Islands was a decisive victory for the Geatish navy. Geatish naval forces later bombarded and annexed New Aalmsted, one of the Line Islands, in November 1844.

Despite Geatland's insularity, the nation maintained a strong and stable navy, which was originally responsible for guarding the coast of the Geatish Islands. However, in 1831, the Geatish Navy took to the policy of Havfångst, literally "sea capture," which entailed acts of state-sanctioned sea piracy. Geatish naval vessels or merchant marine would raid foreign ships under the pretext of asserting territorial sovereignty, curbing piracy and enforcing tariffs.

A Geatish naval patrol attempted to raid the Ryksby, an Azmaran naval vessel, in 1852. The Ryksby fired upon and successfully outmaneuvered the Geatish naval patrol, sinking one ship and damaging another. The confrontation wounded national pride and pressured Rudolf V of Geatland to declare war on Azmara. The war that followed, known in Geatland as King Rudolf's War, was a decisive victory for Geatish naval forces. In the Treaty of Esholm, signed in 1855, Geatland was ceded control of the Line Islands.

Henrik Engström (left), influential farmer who led the eponymous Engström Revolt against the Geatish monarchy; and Leo von Heidenstam (right), military commander and field marshal who quelled the Engström Revolt and became Geatland's first premier.

Despite Geatland's victory in King Rudolf's War, the country was left in serious debt. The rise of republicanism and republican governments in Euclea promoted similar movements in Geatland. Although the Riksdag, a legislature, had been established, its membership was selected among the aristocracy. Furthermore, ultimate authority remained in the monarch, who was empowered to reject the advice of the Riksdag. When Gunnar III acceded to the throne in 1860, he dissolved the Riksdag and resolved to rule as a true absolute monarch.

In 1966, Gunnar resolved to levy oppressive taxes on independent Geatish farmers. In response, Henrik Engström raised a militia to protest against the crown's policy. Although Engström was not republican initially, his movement was adopted by various anti-monarchist factions. Backed by modest popular support, Engström's militia grew in size and was able to capture towns, proving to be a threat to the crown. The anti-monarchist violence, known as the Engström Revolt, proved to be a failure and was successfully put down by the Geatish Armed Forces in February 1867.

The Constitution of Geatland was signed on 13 July 1867.

The social and political climate following the Engström Revolt strongly favored democratization and the end of absolutism. Facing public, private and political pressure, Gunnar III formally reconvened the Riksdag and called upon it to draft a constitution. The resultant Constitution of Geatland created the office of the premier, divided the Riksdag into two houses—the upper house Landsting and the lower house Folkting—and ensured universal male sufferage. Although absolutism was formally over, the monarchy continued to retain broad powers and was active in politics until the onset of the Great War.

Leo von Heidenstam, field marshal who crushed the Engström Revolt, was selected to become the realm's first premier. In that role, von Heidenstam balanced the desires of the nobility and the powers of the crown with popular reform that sought to further democratize the country. Von Heidenstam fiercely defended the nobility's property monopolies in Northern Geatland while liberalizing the Geatish fishing industry, lifting taxes on the sale of beer and reopening trade. Despite wide public support, von Heidenstam declined to stand in election as premier for a fourth term, creating a precedent in Geatish democracy that remains today.

Early 20th century

See also: Great War (Kylaris)

Adolf Ahlmann drives in the last spike of the RGR, 1911

The beginning of the 20th century saw an increased period of industrialization and modernization in Geatland. Industrialists like railway tycoon Adolf Ahlmann spearheaded the development of public works projects and infrastructure-based development. In 1911, Royal Geatish Rail completed its "Main Line" and provided cost-effective transporation to towns across the Geatish Islands. Rapid changes in Geatish society, the economy, and culture engendered new political movements. FOLK, a conservative and nationalist party, was established in 1911 to combat against growing social progressivism and the women's suffrage movement. Likewise, growing concern for labor rights spawned the Labour Party.

Geatland was modestly affected by the Great Collapse, though it was able to weather the recession better than most nations in Euclea. In 1919, the Constitution of Geatland was amended to give women the right to vote. Developments in technology saw the rise of radio as a means of national communication. Geatland entered the 1920s with among the highest standards of living in the world.

Geatish soldiers in Estmere, 1930

When a functionalist government wrested power in Gaullica, various conservative movments in Geatland imitated functionalism or adopted outright. The rise of FOLK saw a resurgence in pro-functionalist literature and polticial activity in Geatland. In 1927, the Great War broke out, and Geatish leaders began to fall in pro-Gaullican and anti-Gaullican camps. Premier Johannes Lindqvist supported stronger ties with Gaullica, a historical ally. Labour Party leader and staunch non-interventionalist Melvin Ekdahl opposed involvement. The Geatish nobility led by King Otto IV, whose family has longstanding historical ties with the monarchs of Estmere and Werania, likewise opposed entering into the war.

In October 1928, Ekdahl was assassinated, and a string of early Entente successes gave Linqvist the political capital to officially declare war against the Grand Alliance. Otto IV was dethroned and exiled to Wernania, replaced by his functionalist-sympathizing younger brother Albert. Throughout the course of the war, Geatland participated in various Entente victories along with Gaullica, notably the occupation of Estmere in 1928. Geatish forces were stationed along with Gaullican forces across Euclea, though most of the Geatish war effort focused on defending Geatland from Allied invasion. The Geatish economy experienced rapid growth as Geatish industries supplied materiel to the Entente powers.

In 1932, Swetania entered into the war as a member of the Allies, and the tide of the war began to turn. The Battle of Geatland was an unsuccesful defense of the islands against Allied Forces, who occupied Geatland from 1934 until the war's end in 1935.

Contemporary era

Further information: FOLK Fever

Oil was discovered in Geatish waters in 1951. The Geatish oil industry has since declined, though it remains a large employer.

The Great War left Geatland severly crippled and destroyed much of the nation's industry. Otto IV was restored as the rightful monarch in 1935, while Albert was sent into permanent exile. Geatland joined the Community of Nations in 1936 and later the World Agreement for Trade in 1938. The post-war consensus saw successive Labour governments nationalized various crucial industries and innagurated a strong welfare state. In 1956, oil was discovered in Geatish waters, sparking an economic boom and the creation of the Royal Investment Corporation, Geatland's sovereign wealth fund.

A stagflated economy and the 1972 Geatish constitutional crisis contributed to the revivication of FOLK and the election of Ebbe Afzelius. The resurgence of national conservatism and economic liberalism following Afzelius's election became known as FOLK Fever. FOLK Fever saw economic deregulation and privatization, but also protectionist measures to protect vulnerable Geatish industries, such as fishing. In 1986, Geatland rejected membership of the Euclean Community, and it remains a non-party.

From the late 1980s, the Line Islands saw a period of political unrest and the rebirth of a strong scessionist movement. This period ended when the Line Islands rejected independence or reunification with Azmara in a 1996 independence referendum. The Line Islands were reclassified as a semi-autonomous division of the Geatish Realm in 2001.