Valland
Valish Empire | |
|---|---|
| 1863–1989 | |
 Civil ensign | |
| Capital | Skövde |
| Official languages | Valish, Valden, Saarvalish
Other spoken languages: Kreiss, Tynic, Mindrasic, Suavian |
| Demonym(s) | Valish |
| Government |
|
| King | |
• 1863–1878 (first) | Karl Magnus I |
• 1984–1988 (last) | Oscar III |
| Minister-President | |
• 1863–1890 (first) | Bernhard Klas Holgersson |
• 1985–1989 (last) | Kasper Stenbock |
| Legislature | Parliament House of Censors House of Magnates House of Representatives |
| History | |
• Establishment | 7 October 1863 |
| 1 December 1867 | |
| 12 November 1954 | |
| 5 January 1968 | |
| 20 July 1985 | |
| 8 August 1988 | |
| 7 October 1989 | |
| Population | |
• 1980 | 63,800,000 |
| Currency | Gulden |
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Valland, officially the Valish Empire, was a sovereign state that existed in central Aldinea through the latter half of the 19th and the majority of the 20th centuries. Formed in 1863 during the Great War of the North, Valland was considered a major power for much of its existence until the Second Continental War eroded much of its geopolitical power, setting off a long series of conflicts between centralists and federalists that would culminate in the dissolution of the empire in the 1980s. A multinational state, Valland was made up of two archduchies (Valgravia and Valden), three principalities (Valmark, Lingenburg, and Saarvalland), and one imperial territory (Assynt).
Rooted in the pan-Valish nationalist movement, itself a response to the decline of the North Sea Realm, the Empire's formation was spearheaded by the Archduchy of Valgravia. With the near-expulsion of Sjealandic forces from mainland Aldinea in 1863, the Constitution of Bremer was signed by the rulers of the Valish states on 7 October, establishing a federation under the rule of the House of Nyköping. Valland emerged from the Great War of the North an influential power in central Aldinea, nominally aligned with Ambrose and Engatia. It cemented this position with the Valo-Mindrasian War of 1887-1888; the resulting Treaty of Majaceite saw the annexation of the Saarvalland as well as Assynt.
In the early 20th century, Valland was rocked with civil unrest; a catastrophic economic and agricultural downturn known as the Great Famine withdrew the country from the world stage, largely isolating it from the effects of the First Continental War. In the 1920s and 1930s, tensions erupted between reactionaries, preferring the centralized, autocratic system, and reformists, advocates of the Sjealandic parliamentary system. The Valish Civil War, from 1939 to 1943, saw the forced abdication of the Emperor, Oscar II in favor of his uncle, Karl Magnus II; the new emperor was largely a figurehead installed by the nationalist movement under Teodor Löfgren. Valland participated in the Second Continental War from 1949 to 1954, after which Löfgren's regime was deposed. The Perpignan Compromise kept the empire and its monarchy intact, restoring Oscar II to the throne and implementing parliamentary government.
Despite the Perpignan agreement, conflict between the different constituent ethnic groups of the Empire remained, manifesting itself the January Crisis of 1968; the aftermath of the crisis saw Karl Hjalmar Hammarskjöld named Minister-President. Hammarskjöld was able to maintain a fragile coexistence between the Valish nations until his death in 1983, which was followed by the death of Oscar II the next year. Spiraling economic crisis manifested itself in ethnic nationalism, which the new Regency Council failed to effectively deal with. Following the suspension of the House of Censors (representing the constituent states), independence referendums in Valden and Saarvalland saw their secessions from the union in early 1986. The ensuing breakup of the empire along federal borders saw symmetric and asymmetric warfare, inter-ethnic violence, and war crimes until the Treaty of Campo Piave in 1989 ended the fighting and officially dissolved the union.