Connuriste

Les Etats Connuriste
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Working Together For A Better Tomorrow"
Anthem: Land of Hope and Glory
Capital	Lausanne
Largest City	Pearsonville
Official languages	English French
Recognised regional languages	Celtic Swiss German
Ethnic groups (2081)	67.1% White 20% mixed 5% Black 7.9% Other
Demonym(s)	Connuriste
Government	Absolute Monarchy, in tandem with Direct Democracy
• Emperor	Emperor Connor II of Connuriste
• Chancellor	Gabrielle Tousart (temporary) Aurelia MacDonald (on leave of absence due to injury)
Legislature	Imperial Council
Formation
• Re-adoption of Monarchy	2022
• Unification of Allied Castarcian States and Switzerland	2056
GDP (PPP)	2081 estimate
• Per capita	66,495 CHF
Gini	31.2 medium
Currency	Connuriste Franc (CHF)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.CNR

Les Etats Connuriste, more commonly known and referred to as the Empire of Connuriste, Connuriste, or simply Allied Connuriste States (ACS) is a sovereign state in Meillur. Connuriste is also often referred to as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederation, although in truth these lands only constitute a portion of the whole country.

Connuriste functions as an absolute monarchy, headed by Emperor Connor II of Connuriste since his ascension in 2061. The Emperor, as the Head of State, has the direct authority to make law and influence policy, sitting as the chief member of both the High Council and the Imperial Council. The reign of Connor II has seen the role of the elected government increase in importance, with particularly the office of Chancellor rising to prominence. The government is elected via a system of direct democracy, and the heads of political parties compete in elections for the office of Chancellor, who functions as the Head of Government. The current elected Chancellor is Aurelia MacDonald, though due to injuries sustained in an attack made against her in December 2082 she is on a leave of absence, and Gabrielle Tousart has been appointed as her stand-in. The Imperial Family and the Imperial Council are both based in Lausanne, which has been the official capital city of Connuriste since 2061.

The Empire of Connuriste is a highly developed country, considered to have a high-income economy. It has been categorised as very high in the Human Development Index (HDI) and is considered a world leader in several metrics of performance including civil liberties and quality of life. Connuriste is also a recognised nuclear weapons state and has recently become a space-faring nation with some interstellar holdings. Connuriste has no official state religion, although Catholicism is the most common faith held by citizens.

Etymology and Terminology

Connuriste as a name is in truth only a relatively recent invention, coined shortly after the unification of the Allied Castarcian States with Switzerland. The Allied Castarcian States recognised only English as an official language, with French as a secondary language, and as per a Swiss referendum they did not wish to be considered subordinate to an identity that did not represent them. This resulted in the creation of a new term for the nation state, Connuriste, which would consider both English and French as equal official languages. Connuriste is named after two major rivers that have their beginnings in the mountains that divided the old Allied Castarcian States from Switzerland. Flowing into Castarcia from these mountains was the River Conn, whereas in Switzerland the Riste river descends from the mountain tops. Connuriste, therefore, is merely an amalgamation of Conn and Riste.

According to historians, the River Conn likely derives it's name from the packs of wolves that were famed for roaming the open regions along the riverside. Conn is an anglicized form of an old Celtic word 'con', meaning hound, dog or wolf. Interestingly, this is part of the etymology behind the given name Connor, borne by the current Emperor and his father before him. On the other hand, there is more speculation behind the origin of the name given to the River Riste. Linguists have hypothesized that it may come from old Swiss German, possibly meaning 'rise'. The well known linguist Maria Hoult theorized that this may come from the river's origins in the mountains, which 'rise' high above the rest of the land, or possibly from the creation of life and growth that the river has facilitated, in the sense that it has given rise to settlements. However the ultimate origin of this name remains unclear.

History

Whilst Connuriste consists of several geographic regions, all of them have only ever existed as one unified state since 2056. Before Connuriste, the Allied Castarcian States and Switzerland had almost completely separate histories with little relations between each other, facilitated by the natural obstruction of the Swiss mountain ranges that divide the main island. For the purposes of creating a coherent article that is not too difficult to follow, Swiss history pre-connuriste will be addressed under it's own heading. The rest of the countries regions share a highly intertwined history of relations, which will be covered below.

The Original Empire

Whilst Connuriste in the current day is ruled first and foremost by the monarchy, it is not the first iteration of a royal system in these lands. Most of the area in what is now known as Connuriste was formerly governed under one monarchy in what was known as the Empire of Castarcia (Celtic: Impireacht na Castarcia), established in the year 876 AD by Empress Jane, commonly referred to as 'The Conqueror' in national historical accounts. The Empire was created from the conquest and subsequent unification of several states which now form some of the subordinate regions of Connuriste. The Castarcians under Empress Jane over time bested the Lyraleans, the Cyprenians, the Paroveans and the Casturonians on the battlefield before assimilating them. The Empire lasted until 1703 when the death of Empress Emilia occurred in a civil war.

A Castarcian Empress of the times had complete control over the territories of the Empire, although standard practice was for an Empress to allow her sister(s) (if any) to rule the principalities of the Empire, where they would serve as a vassal. For example, during the reign of Empress Emilia, Princess Annabelle ruled the area of Lyralea, whereas Princess Angelina ruled the area of Casturonia. If an Empress had no sisters to fill positions, brothers were allowed to rule if they were married. It was not uncommon practice for cousins, nephews or nieces, or an Empress's own children to be placed in charge of sub-queendoms. If there were no suitable relatives, oftentimes members of noble families were chosen if the Empress viewed them favourably.

Across 827 years, the Castarcian Empire had a total of 45 Empresses, all of the same dynasty. The Castarcian Empire was well known for functioning as a matriarchal society, only a woman could sit on the Throne of Roses. The Castarcians believed that men were secondary to women, and that a man's physical strength made him useful for manual labour, whereas women had increased schooling and made up the intellectuals of the society. Common roles for men included foot soldiers and builders, whereas women typically were the leaders of projects and were the military strategists. The gender divide in Castarcia did cause tensions and at least three major civil conflicts, but for the most part it was a functioning system that the majority accepted. This is partially why even in Connuriste today women are generally considered superior, despite the legal equality of the sexes.

However, in spite of the legal inferiority of men in the Empire of Castarcia, they still had opportunities for advancement. They were expected to be subordinate to women, and in fact dependence was often encouraged. Those who accepted their position and displayed loyalty and skill would be given opportunities that were few and far between for the common man.

The Castarcians did keep a record of their history and how their society functioned, however many of them were lost or destroyed in the fall of the Empire at the beginning of the eighteenth century. There is also an added difficulty in deciphering any surviving documents because they may have partially degraded over time and the almost dead languages these were written in. Some of the best kept records are those that detail the actual royal lineage and the system of succession. An Empress of Castarcia was expected by her court to name her most capable daughter as her successor, not simply the eldest. This led to alliances and conflicts between sisters that occasionally included other family members. Dueling with a blade was considered a fair and legitimate way to determine who might inherit after the death of their mother if both parties were willing to partake - for example, in the National History Museum there is a tapestry that illustrates the tale of Empress Julia being challenged by her sister, only for Julia to slay her and express regret at having her hand forced into committing such an act.

The Republic

The Empire of Castarcia fell in 1703, in what is classified as the third major civil conflict of the time period. Empress Emilia ascended in 1700, and had been initially challenged by her sister Alannah, though Emilia had refused to have a battle of blades with her. On horseback, Alannah left the court and sought to plot against the rest of her family, finding sympathy from a collection of noble houses who saw an opportunity to be favoured heavily if they could help her achieve her goal, sparking the conflict which lasted three years. Against the odds, Alannah seemingly emerged victorious, having been willing to commit acts that her sister would never have sunk to. In an ironic twist of fate, Alannah too ended up being betrayed and murdered by the armies she had mustered, who wanted to improve the position of men and live in a more free, less autocratic nation. This was the initial birth of the Republic, founded upon the ideals of democracy.

The Republic made quick early progress, though mainly in the name of basic rights and other such formalities. However, after several years, the shiny new front of Castarcia had become just that - a front. The sudden transition from a monarchy that had lasted for nearly one thousand years was not the smoothest, and it left many discontent. The Republic had perhaps caused a nation more divided - there were many who chose to simply disregard it. It proved difficult to establish control over the whole country with the new system, with many of those experienced in running the country with and for the Empress either dead or staunchly opposed to republicanism. It became problematic to organise fair elections on a large scale and those people elected tended to implement something in one term only for it to be repealed in the next.

The people mostly reverted back to the ways things had been - rightful heirs and heiresses assumed control of their countships, duchies, kingdoms and queendoms. These areas acted predominantly independently, as the Imperial Line of Empresses had been thought to have died out long ago - thus there was no reformation of the Empire of Castarcia. At the time, there were a few small scale conflicts centred mainly around Kings and Queens enforcing their power over subordinate duchies who wished to resist their influence. The government of the Republic was therefore left little choice except for accepting that this was the state of affairs and doing their best to co-operate with local leaders, and many of these local leaders endorsed those faithful to them to represent them democratically. The Republic had not exactly become the state its founders had conceived, but it ended up becoming a working system for many years.

In the mid to late nineteenth century, industrialism began to emerge in the Republic, which brought a whole new set of benefits to society as well as issues and problems. The council began to find themselves at an impasse on certain issues such as the regulations that could be put on factories and large mines, and the rising crime rates and social disorganisation that came with the rise of cities. Taxpayers became annoyed at the apparent lack of results their funds were bearing and discontent began to brew, people started to become sentimental and nostalgic about the old Imperial era of strong and decisive leadership.

In July 1903, two-hundred years after the establishment of the Republic, unrest and dissatisfaction with the bureaucratic and inefficient ways of the government resulted in a popular uprising. It consisted of demonstrations, marches, plaza occupations, riots, non-violent civil resistance, acts of civil disobedience and strikes. Millions of protesters from a range of socio-economic and religious backgrounds demanded the overthrow of Castarcian President David Jones. In total, protesters burned over 90 police stations in retaliation for police brutality around the country in the largest riots in national history. The protester’s grievances focused mainly on economic issues including high unemployment, food-price inflation and low wages, but also social issues such as the position of ethnic minorities in society. The primary demands of the initial protesters consisted of the end of the Jones regime and societal reform, they ended up getting the former.

During the riots and unrest Empire Bay was described as ‘a war zone’ and the city of Portstock saw frequent violent clashes between pro-government police forces and protesters. Many defied a government imposed curfew, which was largely unenforced by the police and military. A famous incident of police brutality occurred in Portstock, in which a protester was hit across the face with the butt of a rifle. Nearby protesters came to the aid of the citizen and actively engaged the offending police officers with bats and petrol bombs. In return, the police fired at protesters, killing eight. This action proved to be a turning point when the majority of the National Guard and the Castarcian Police Force took matters into their own hands - after their police stations were targeted by the angry mob, many refused to carry out the orders given to them by their superiors. Ultimately this saw the resolution of the conflict as President Jones was forced to stand down and be replaced.

The New Empire

After the large scale riots of 1903 died down, there was a minority of people who began to firmly advocate for the restoration of the monarchy. Beginning in 1930, Duke Jeremy of Casturon, well known at the time for his outspoken charismatic personality and rather distinctive political beliefs began to enact his plan of unifying and annexing neighbouring 'states' with the ultimate goal of forging a new and glorious Castarcian Imperial era. He had outlined this concept in his 1927 book in which he wrote at length discussing how a contemporary state could theoretically become a geopolitical power amongst other themes. He began to achieve this goal by putting innovative military theory into practice ; primarily the implementation of a combined arms doctrine in which armoured and mechanized units were complemented with aerial power and shock infantry, simultaneously supported by artillery, similarly to ideas published in contemporary literature about professional armies.

Whilst these forces were met with initial overwhelming successes, the element of surprise quickly wore off after the first few campaigns had came to a close, and the forces of the Duke, who was by now a rightful King by conquest, were heavily outnumbered. Their advances began to slow and gradually grind to a halt. However, after subsequently withstanding a large Spring offensive mounted by a coalition of remaining states, primarily the Queendom of Lyralea, the upper hand had been once again gained and the odds became firmly in favour of Jeremy. His final opponents duly surrendered, not wishing to prolong and draw out a conflict which they had no hope of winning after the decisive defeat in the offensive. Consequently, Jeremy had unified the lands under himself, and declared a new Empire, with him at the head of it, becoming an Emperor by right of conquest.

When Jeremy published his book in 1927, he gave the Castarcian populace one thing - hope. In the twenties and the decade before it, many politicians tried to step up and solve the problems but they were all impaired by one of the very things they sought to solve - bureaucracy. They simply couldn’t operate in a pragmatic manner, even if they wanted to. After the Duke's book was released, which was a hit to a generally politically active nation ; it inspired many, and some say it sowed the seeds of the initial rebellion against the Republic because of this hope. Many took to the streets to celebrate what was the potential beginning of a new golden era after his final victory.

Using his newly found near-absolute power, Jeremy set about repairing the damage in the nation that had been caused from the conflict. He temporarily raised taxes by a considerable amount, causing some annoyance. Jeremy claimed that this going to be used "for the development of the Empire", which happened rather quickly. Under his direction, many of the national industries were built up and after the uncertainty of the republic in its decades there was finally prosperity. He also created a highly militarised state, whereby the country had disproportionate military assets for its size. It was almost a policy of armed neutrality that earned the respect of several states internationally. This new system of taxation allowed a national health service to be established in 1932, which was finally implemented nationwide in early 1933.

Jeremy was the first male monarch in the nations history, and he had a great desire to secure his legacy. He became a man obsessed with control, and wholeheartedly refused to marry any foreigner whose loyalty towards Castarcia could not be guaranteed. In 1934 he announced his engagement to Duchess Harriet of Lyralea and married her in 1935, with whom he had one son, Alexander. In 1942, Emperor Jeremy was visited by the Baron of Castaris, who brought news that there were living descendants of the old Imperial line. Jeremy became paranoid that if there were those who had a more legitimate claim to the throne than he did, his own line might be threatened and began to plot to eradicate the last members of the First Empire's lineage, aided by the Baron of Castaris who became one of his most trusted allies. However, the Emperor's younger sister, Leona, learned of his plans and was appalled for the need for such cruelty of violence and secretly helped some of those descendants go into hiding, for which she was imprisoned. In 1970 his wife and son were killed in a car crash and all his efforts to exterminate potential threats to his line had been for nothing, he became filled with regret at his corruption from power. He would die heirless in 1974 at the age of 81.

Interregnum

Upon the death of Emperor Jeremy I in 1974, the Grand Admiral - at the time the highest rank in the nations armed forces - seized control of the state and no imperial successor followed. The Grand Admiral, a man by the name of Gerrard Steele, was a firm believer in the corruption of monarchy, having witnessed it first hand. He continued to actively hunt down members of the old Imperial Family as Jeremy had done, even going to the lengths of torturing Jeremy's younger sister who had hidden them over thirty years ago. This happened behind closed doors, though many members of the nobility fled the country or went into hiding at this time at his 'encouragement', which consisted of constant surveillance and monitoring of their activities.

After the death of Grand Admiral Steele, the state of affairs returned to a mostly normal one, with the country functioning once again as a democratic republic. The Council actually began to regain its power and influence and ran the country as its highest authority, like it had done at the beginning of the century, and whilst the populace was glad to see the Grand Admiral's military rule over, there was an older generation who had remembered the successes and prosperity that the wider people had enjoyed under Jeremy's rule and looked back on this very fondly. In 1995 the national health service was abolished much to the disappointment of the people and the century ended as it had begun, with discontent towards the republic.