Oceani Empire

The Oceani Empire
Flag
Capital	Küsteburg
Largest city	Port Oceania
Official languages	Oceani, Inland Oceani, Spanish, French, Kijidees, English
Demonym(s)	Oceani
Government	Imperial Dictatorship
• Lord President	Alexander Sieger
• Lord Admiral	Magnus White
• Lord High Commissioner	Guy Dufort
Legislature	Imperial Senate
Area
• Total	2,485,510 km2 (959,660 sq mi)
Population
• 2027 estimate	346,000,000
• Density	139/km2 (360.0/sq mi)
Gini (2027)	54.3a high
HDI (2027)	0.91a very high
Currency	Danu (ODN)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+21
ISO 3166 code	OCN
Internet TLD	.oc
Data from Slavacian Institute of Statistics

Oceanion officially The Oceani Empire is an empire that spans parts of Valtameri and the islands in the Sovereign Charter's southern seas, with additional territories on Strei-Ar and Epilo. It is the successor state to the Federated Republic of Oceanion.

The capital city of the Empire is the historic fort-town of Küsteburg in Wnescia. On top of a cliff towering over the city is the Forum, a square where the legislature and government were all based, including the ancient castle High Fort where the government was based. That castle was destroyed during the latest fighting and the imperial government seats in a new building atop of this site.

History

Republic of Ships

Oceanion is generally accepted by historians to have come into existence as a fleet of ships. Made up of merchants, mutinous naval vessels, pirates, and others who joined them, the fleet became a self-governing (although not entirely democratic) entity. Modern historians generally recognise that the fleet were ultimately a band of pirates, rather than a fully-fledged nation on the sea. Literacy rates were low and there is little written history of this period, with the first references to the Republic of Ships being in the records of the countries whose ports and coastal cities the fleet looted. The first reference to the name Oceanion is in Vnijser's Histories, written in 40BK* where the ancient historian claims to have seen the words "Oceen-yeon'd Rez Publick" (Republic founded on/by the Ocean) etched onto the prow of the flagship, which in his day still existed.

Landfall and Admiralty

In the year -66BK, after a naval battle against the Wnes people in the Bosey Bay, the Admiral of the Oceani reached an agreement with them. The Oceani agreed to stop raiding the cities of the Wnes in return for being allowed to inhabit their country as equals. Thousands of Oceani settled in Wnescia. This became known as the landfall. While many continued raiding, using the newly built city of Küsteburg in Wnescia as a base, many more Oceani began to turn inland for their livelihoods. The Oceani explored along the Valtamerian coast, even outside of Wnescia, and founded new cities of their own. Port Oceania was founded in -31BK. In -16BK and -11BK respectively, Hummerland and Brundt reached similar agreements with the Oceani as Wnescia. Despite many Oceani now living on the coast or inland permanently, the Admiral of the fleet continued to act as the leader of the Oceani people, whether or not they were active with the fleet. Many Oceani living in Wnes cities came to identify more as Wnes than Oceani and rejected the authority of the Admiral. In response, Oceani forces would invade and take over the administration of these cities. Fearing domination by the Oceani, Wnes leaders and inland Oceani appealed to King Douglas, who ruled over much of the land south of Wnescia to help them. Douglas had dealt with much Oceani raiding and had destroyed Oceani colonies in his territory.

The Douglosi War

King Douglas agreed and began to mobilise forces. Hearing of this, Oceani families were evacuated to Mount Hostel and High Fort was constructed in Küsteburg. The attack happened during the raiding season of -2BK while much of the fleet was out of the area. Aside from the refugees on Hostel and some forces in Küsteburg, which he besieged, all Oceani were expelled from Wnescia and driven onto their ships. The fleet returned from their raiding and attacked several Wnes, Douglosi, and formerly Oceani cities but were unable to regain their foothold on Valtameri. Dependant on using Hummerland as a base, their capabilites were limited. In the spring of the year -1BK, however, General Sician led his besieged troops out of High Fort in Küsteburg and managed to take over the city against overwhelming numbers (the first Battle of Küsteburg). This marked the turning point in the war and the Oceni would regain several other key cities. Recognising the strategic and symbolic importance of Küsteburg, King Douglas launched an attempt to retake it in 0BK (the second Battle of Küsteburg). With his Wnes and inland Oceani allies defecting to the Oceani side, King Douglas lost the battle decisively and was forced to agree to the first constitution of Oceanion.

Ksardom

The constitution was the first time that Oceanion was established as a nation-state with a territory. It made the Admiral into the Ksar of Oceanion. Wnescia, Hummerland, Brundt, and "Douglas" were made the four provinces of Oceanion. Though subject to the Ksar, King Douglas continued to directly rule his lands as King and Wnescia became a unitary entity (instead of a loose collection of city-states) under a Dukedom. Throughout the Early Ksardom (0BK-144BK), the four provinces prospered. The state's reliance on piracy and raiding diminished and eventually disappeared as the population grew and Oceanion began to focus on exports and trade. Brundt and Hummerland became industrialised economies while Douglas alone produced enough food for the whole nation, thanks largely to the immensely productive "Bucklands" in the south. The first universities were founded in Wnescia, and Oceani expanded inland from their coastal settlements on the Aeben peninsula. Aeben was made Oceanion's fifth province in 60BK. In 144BK, Ksar Argo II ascended to the throne and began a programme of consolidation of power. This is taken as the start of the Middle Ksardom (144BK-201BK). The King of Douglas was exiled, the Douglosi monarchy abolished, and a Dukedom with Argo's son as Duke installed there instead. In 150BK, Argo invaded the archipelago nation of Kijidan, Oceanion's main trading partner, and forcibly incorporated it into the Ksardom as it's sixth province. This marked a clear change in Oceani policy which continued after Argo's death. Argo's successor, Ksariska Solveig I continued to expand the Ksardom, pushing westwards and claiming more inland territory. Inland Oceani culture had, by this point, become almost totally distinct from the politically dominant coastal culture. Solveig saw this as a threat to national unity and her expansion. The speaking of the inland Oceani dialect was banned and some inland populations were relocated to new coastal areas and coastal populations inland. Thousands of people from inland areas of Douglas, Aeben, and Wnescia were settled in new colonies along the coast of the Northern Peninsula. In 190BK, Solveig's westwards expansion reached the Ksarkan wastes where she was assassinated by her generals who were angry that she had taken them so far from the sea. She was succeeded by her son Ksar Arta IV who responded to her death by implementing a political crackdown. Vast numbers of senior military figures were exiled and the Dukedoms of each province were dissolved. Oceanion became a unitary state. In 201BK, Arta was overthrown and the dynasty was changed for the first time since landfall. Inland Oceani was recognised as an official language of Oceanion and the provincial Dukedoms were reestablished.

Federated Republic

For centuries, Oceanion was a relatively stable democratic federation. Under Prime Minister Harris Vmon the nation formed alliances and friendships across the region. The nation also expanded, adding provinces administered by controversially unregulated provincial governors. The country stood with Yolkia against alien invasion. However, Vmon was ousted from power and exiled from Oceanion after his love affair with Duchess Isabelle d'Orleans of Nouvel Acadie was revealed.

Chaos

Prime Minister Kieran Heath, who ousted him from office, was then ousted from office himself when Siegerland, a province to the North, invaded the Federated Republic. Provincial Governor Alexander Sieger even declared himself Emperor of Oceanion in the period known as the Chaos. He was swiftly deposed by revolutionary Gretchen Greene however. She and an alliance of revolutionaries managed to take control of the whole country, restore democracy, and hold an election. However, the election ended up being interfered in by the Roman Empire (who had been harbouring Sieger since his deposition) and the Imperial Party were able to gain a majority.

Empire

With the aid of Roman troops, Sieger took control. The Parliament voted to dissolve and instead create the Imperial Senate. Only the Imperial Party were able to stand for election to this body. In its first session, the Imperial Senate ratified 18 powerful individuals' legal right to rule over various parts of Oceanion. Thus, democracy was over and continued fighting was suppressed. These individuals were granted the title Autarch and meet as the Council of Autarchs. However, as the Imperials' consolidation of power progressed, some Autarchs were made subservient to "High-Autarchs" and the Triumvirate now dominate the Council and the Empire.

Government

The Oceani Empire, sometimes styled as 'the Thalassocratic Empire of Oceanion', is a dictatorship ruled by the mysterious and elusive Alexander Sieger. 'Thalassocratic' simply refers to the Empire's naval might and is not a description of the political organisation of the Empire.

A government-in-exile led by Jack Archipov and Gretchen Greene is based in Haja-Mishu.

The Imperial Senate Officially, the country is governed the Imperial Senate. Only members of the Imperial Party are permitted to stand for election to this body, making Oceanion a one-party state. All decisions of the Imperial Senate require the assent of the President of the Imperial Senate, a position held for life by Alexander Sieger, to become law. The President also has the power to overturn any decision of the Senate and to rule by decree.

The Imperial Senate is located in a grandiose palace built upon the ruins of the High Fort in Küsteburg. Following the Imperial Party's success in the first elections of the reunited Oceanion, however, various parts of the country made it clear that they would rather secede than become an Empire. This resulted in small-scale fighting across the Empire, referee to as the 'second chaos' or 'little chaos'.

The Senate ended this fighting by voting to invest supreme power over different areas of the Empire in various powerful individuals to be known as Autarchs. This effectively removed its own power. The Imperial Senate is mainly now used as a forum for debates and for show.

Autarchy Autarchy, or Autarchic Empire, is the name for the political system used in Oceanion. This is distinct from the unrelated but phonetically identical concept of Autarky. Under this system, certain individuals are given supreme power over various areas of Oceanion. They are called Autarchs and the area they control is called their Autarchy. All Autarchs pledge alliegance to and are subservient to the Emperor and send troops to the Imperial armed forces, though many also have their own small scale defence forces.

Each Autarch is given the title of Lord before the highest rank they hold.

The Triumvirate Three individuals with extreme power bases effectively dominate the governance of the Empire: Alexander Sieger, Lord President of the Imperial Senate; Magnus White, Lord Supreme Admiral-Director of the Imperial Navy; and Guy-Pierre Dufort, Lord Minister of State. They are known as the Triumvirate.

Alexander Sieger The most powerful of the three triumvirs who control the Empire. Officially, Sieger is known as Lord President Sieger, because of his role as President of the Imperial Senate. Unofficially, however, he is referred to across much of the Empire by loyal troops as "the Emperor". Indeed, he is referred to as such in the national anthem. Sieger divides his time between the Imperial capital of Küsteburg, his Autarchy of Siegerland, and his hidden personal stronghold. In addition to Lord President of the Imperial Senate, Sieger holds the titles of Autach of Siegerland, Commander-in-Chief of all Oceani Forces, and Saviour of the State. Despite ruling the country, little is known of him, and few photographs exist of him.