Gallambria
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The Kingdom of Gallambria | |
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Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Motto: Tini whetu, e iti te pokeao. The stars are many, but a little black cloud hides them. | |
| Anthem: God Defend our Gracious King | |
 Location of Gallambria including the Gallambrian Adlantic Ocean Territory and the Ashford and Tarago Islands | |
| Location | Marenesia |
| Capital | Bromwich |
| Official languages | Anglish, Marenai |
| Demonym(s) | Gallambrian |
| Government | Constitutional Monarchy |
• Monarch | King Albert II |
| Nadia Burnett | |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| House of Lords | |
| House of Commons | |
| Establishment | |
• Colonisation | 18 April 1845 |
• Federation | 1 January 1890 |
• Constitution Act | 17 February 1891 |
| Population | |
• 2018 census | 57,990,940 |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | £2,895 Billion |
• Per capita | £49,927 |
| Currency | Pound (GBP) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (Gallambrian Standard Time) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (Gallambrian Daylight Saving Time) |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +463 |
| ISO 3166 code | GL |
| Internet TLD | .gl |
Gallambria, officially the Kingdom of Gallambria, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of Gallambria, and numerous islands. It is the largest country in Marenesia. The population of 58 million is moderately urbanised with a concentration of population on the western seaboard. Gallambria's capital is Bromwich, and it's largest city is Tamworth. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Port Hedland, Newport, Brighton, Walmington and Aberdeen.
Indigenous Gallambrians have inhabited the island for about 53,000 years prior to the first arrival of Great Burlington explorers in the early 19th Century.
Etymology
The 1884 Acts of Union declared that the colonies of Greater Bromwich, Mercia, Cambria and Kingsland were "... formed into one Kingdom by the name of Gallambria". Throughout the act and the Constitution the state is known by its long form, The Kingdom of Gallambria, and its short form, Gallambria.
History
Pre-Colonial History
Europan Arrival
On the 27th of March, 1842, Henry Brownlow, a former Great Burlington Naval Captain, explorer and privateer, landed on the east coast of what was then called "Novae Hiberia", in which he claimed a small portion of land for use as a base for his exploration of Marenesia. He named this portion of land, Kingsland.
Founding of Colonies
Before returning to Kingsland, Brownlow returned to Great Burlington to shore up support from fellow separatists to help him establish a number of separatist colonies throughout the island. Over the next 12 years, multitudes of people came to the island and further colonies were established.
Battle of Lake Camden
The Battle of Lake Camden (July 1st - August 3rd, 1861), also known as the First Border War, was an attempted armed incursion of Mercian colonial lands, by the Cambrian Colonial Forces. This incursion was founded in the belief of the Cambrian Side, that Mercia misinterpreted the demarcation of the boundary based on the 1858 Aberdeen Lands Agreement and that the original demarcation markers were tampered with.
Battle of Whitman's Bluff
The Battle of Whitman's Bluff (November 18th - December 5th, 1881), also known as the Second Border War was a skirmish between Cambrian and Kingsland Colonial Forces, as a result of disputed rights of natural resources located within Whitman's Valley. With a truce entered into by the two colonies, calls were made by heads of all three Colonies for a series of meetings to be held to explore the plausibility of federation.
Federation Conference of 1882
The Federation Conference of 1882 was organised as a result of the Battle of Whitman's Bluff. Various accounts of the calling of the 1882 conference mainly beginning with Paul Carrington, the Premier of Cambria, goading the ailing Brownlow at a luncheon. Brownlow the next day wrote to the premiers of the three colonies pushing for federation. The Premier of Mercia, William McDermont responded to Brownlow, stating that he would be willing to host the conference in Tamworth.
The Premiers of the three colonies met in Tamworth from January 5th to January 12th, 1882, with the aim of establishing a Federal Council. The purpose of the Federal Council was to provide an instrument for the Premiers to voice concerns and grievances until such times as a Federal Government could be established.
Federation Conference of 1888
Following discussions within the Federal Council of further pursuing the federation of the three colonies, the Premiers of the Colonies met in Newport to discuss the final plans for Federation.
With Henry Brownlow having passed away the previous year, his son Joseph served as the Conference's chairman. With his father's wishes in mind, he pushed the members of the Federal Council to establish the working mechanisms of the future Federal Government.
The document known as the McDermott Draft outlined the structure and formation of the new Federal Government that would later be adopted:
- The Brownlow Federation would be described as the Commonwealth of Gallambria
- The are three separate and equal branches - The Legislature, The Executive, and the Judicature.
- The Legislature consists of the House of Representatives and a Senate
- It specified the separation of powers and the divisions of powers between the Federal and State Governments.
Federation of the Colonies
Following the final meeting of the Federal Council in June of 1889, and following further consultation with people of the colonies, amendments were made to the McDermott Draft with changes including:
- That a Monarchy be established with Joseph Brownlow to be the newly formed country's first Monarch.
- The Houses of Parliament be called, The House of Commons (Lower House) and The House of Lords (Upper House).
Following the acceptance of these changes to the draft constitution, a constitutional referendum was held throughout the three colonies, with a majority of people voting 'yes' to the constitution.
With the Federal Council signing off on the final draft of the constitution, January the 1st, 1890 would be the day that the Federation of the Colonies would come into effect.
Politics and Government
Although Gallambria is a constitutional monarchy, the King holds wide executive and legislative powers. He serves as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Gallambrian Armed Forces, and appoints the executive branch of the Government, which consists of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The current monarch of Gallambria is King Albert II.
The Parliament is bicameral, consisting of an upper house (the House of Lords) and a lower house (the House of Commons). The Sovereign forms the third component of the legislature (The Crown-in-Parliament). The House of Lords includes two different types of members: The Lords Spiritual, consisting of the most senior bishops of the Church of Gallambria, and the Lords Temporal, consisting mainly of life peers, appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister, and elected representatives of the hereditary peers.
The House of Commons is a democratically elected chamber with elections held at least every four years. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Woolwich (commonly known as the Houses of Parliament) in Bromwich. By constitutional convention, all government ministers, including the Prime Minister are members of the House of Commons - or, less commonly, the House of Lords - and are thereby accountable to the respective branches of the legislature. Most cabinet ministers tend to be from the Commons, whilst junior members are from both Houses.
Law
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Gallambria is the supreme law, and the legal system is based on the principle of civil rights, governed by the code of Civil Law. The Constitution was adopted by an assembly of citizens on 2 October 1890, approved by referendum on 20 November 1890, and came into effect on 17 February 1891. It guarantees a multi-party state, the freedoms of religion, speech and assembly. The Constitution requires public officials to pursue economically, financially, and rationally sound public policy and acknowledges the inviolability of life, the home and possessions.
Military
The armed forces of Gallambria - officially, His Majesty's Armed Forces - consists of three professional service branches: the Royal Gallambrian Navy, the Gallambrian Army and the Royal Gallambrian Air Force. The forces are managed by the Ministry of Defence and controlled by the Defence Council, chaired by the Minister for Defence. The Commander-in-Chief is the Gallambrian Monarch, to whom members of the forces swear an oath of allegiance.
The Armed Forces are charged with protecting Gallambrian and its overseas territories, promoting Gallambria's global security interests and supporting international peacekeeping efforts.
According to various sources, including the Nowy Institute and the Gallambrian National University's Strategy and Security Institute, Gallambria has the sixth-largest military expenditure in the Region with its total defence spending at 1.5% of the national GDP.
States and territories
Gallambrian has three states - Cambria (CMB), Mercia (MRC) and Kingsland (KLD) - and one mainland territory - the Gallambrian Capital Territory (GCT). In most respects the GCT functions as a state, except that the Federal Parliament has the power to modify or repeal any legislation passed by its parliament.
Each state and the GCT has its own parliament. The states are sovereign entities, although subject to certain powers of the Federation as defined by the Constitution. The lower houses are known as the Legislative Assembly; the upper houses are known as the Legislative Council. The head of the government in each state is the Premier and in the GCT, the Chief Minister. The King is represented in each state by a Governor; and in the Gallambrian Capital Territory, the Administrator.
The external territories of Ashford & Tarago Islands and the Gallambrian Adlantic Ocean Territories exercise the same level of sovereignty as the mainland states and territory. The King is also represented by a Governor to each of the territories.
Economy
Gallambria is a wealthy country; it generates its income from various sources including defence, aerospace and automotive-related exports, commodities, agriculture and tourism. It has a market economy, a relatively moderate GDP per capita, and a relatively low rate of poverty. The Gallambrian Pound is the currency for the nation, including Gallambria's external territories. In 2017, Gallambria had the sixth highest per capita GDP (nominal) at NS$49,927. The country is ranked second in the Region's 2017 Human Development Index.
An emphasis on exporting commodities rather than manufactured goods has underpinned a significant increase in Gallambria's terms of trade since the start of the 21st Century, due to rising commodity prices.
Demographics
Gallambria has an average population density of 114.5 persons per square kilometre of total land area.
Ethnic Groups
Languages
Although Gallambria has no official language, Anglish is the de facto national language. Gallambrian Anglish is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon, and differs slightly from other varieties of Anglish in grammar and spelling.
According to the 2018 census, Anglish is the only language spoken in the home for 88.35% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Marenese (4.6%), Khaymer (3.2%), Gallambrian Indigenous Languages (1.46%), Huang and (1.02%). A considerable proportion of first- and second-generation migrants are bilingual.
Religion
The Church of Gallambria is the established church in Gallambria. It retain a representation in the Gallambrian Parliament and the Gallambrian Monarch is its Supreme Governor.
