Amandine

Federal Republic of Amandine République Fédérale d'Amandine
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Déclaration de la République ("Declaration of the Republic")
Location of Amandine
Capital	Colette
Largest city	Corneille
Official languages	Principean, Blaykish
Demonym(s)	Amand
Government	Federal semi-presidential constitutional republic
• President	Simone Lachance
• Prime Minister	César Perrault
Legislature	Congress
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	National Assembly
Independence from Blayk
• Belmont Revolution	30 September 1796
• Declaration	12 May 1802
• Treaty of Priscille	2 November 1807
• Confederal Articles	17 January 1819
• Current constitution	9 September 1835
• Treaty of Anne-Marie	26 July 1836
Area
• Total	3,318,987 km2 (1,281,468 sq mi) (1st)
Population
• 2020 census	97,810,727
• Density	29.5/km2 (76.4/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	$4.150 trillion (1st)
• Per capita	$42,429
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	$2.200 trillion (5th)
• Per capita	$22,495
Gini (2020)	41.9 medium
HDI (2020)	0.882 very high
Currency	Amand Federal Livre (AFL)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+24
ISO 3166 code	AMD
Internet TLD	.ad

Amandine (Principean: Amandine, pronounced /æmɛndiːn/), officially the Federal Republic of Amandine (Principean: République Fédérale d'Amandine), and also known as the R.F.A., is a sovereign state located in central Marceaunia Minor. It is bordered to the west by Rocia, to the north by the Adrienne Sea, and to the northeast by the Hesperian Ocean. The nation is southward of Audonia. Amandine has an area of 3,318,987 square kilometres, divided into twenty integral regions, and with a population of 97.8 million people. Its capital is Colette, but St. Laurine and Anne-Marie both possess larger populations. Other large cities in Amandine include Corneille, Belmont, Colombe, Nouvelle Marbonne, Nouvelle Valden, and St. Georges.

Amandine was originally inhabited by numerous indigenous nations since the fourth millennium BCE, prior to Auressian exploration in the 1500s. In 1510, the Imperial Port of Colette was proclaimed for the Kingdom of Vervillia by famed explorer Jean-Baptiste Amand II. While the territory was staunchly Vervillian in its identity, the Blaco-Vervillian Union's formation in 1530 sparked a debate over the formal claim to the territory, which lasted until the late 18th century. However, the Blaco-Vervillian Union greatly financially and infrastructurally benefitted the Imperial Port of Colette, which by now had grown its territorial boundaries well past the initial founding site. Between the 17th and 18th centuries, the Imperial Colony of Amandine became a vital trade and economic hub for the Auressian Power, but restrictive mercantilist policies and general sentiments of neglect progressively corroded the previously strong relationship between the territory and the motherland. Already feeling forgotten by the Union, Amandine was formally gifted to the Blaykish Monarchy as a result of the War of Tyrnican Succession (1785) without any local representation in the matter; the Blaco-Vervillian Union's dissolution from the war entirely severed Amandine's governmental connection to Vervillia, worsening the situation even further against the Blaykish Monarchy.

Independence was violently achieved in 1807, with the Republic of Amandine, a confederal representative republic, taking control of the territory and beyond. In 1819, the Confederation of Southern Marceaunia replaced the Republic's government, eventually leading to the First Continental War. During the conflict, the Constitution of 1835 was ratified, establishing the Federal Republic of Amandine. Since then, the country has maintained the same governmental structure as a semi-presidential democratic republic. While Amandine was intertwined in continental affairs for the majority of its history, the nation became a global power from the Second Great War in 1943 onwards.

Amandine is a federal semi-presidential constitutional republic. It is a founding member of the Assembly of Marceaunian States (AMS) and is involved in numerous bilateral economic and diplomatic agreements with foreign governments around the world. Amandine has cultural, ideological, and economic spheres of influence (SOI) around the continent of Marceaunia Minor, as well as island nations and territories surrounding the region. It has a high military expenditure which is primarily allocated to the Amand Navy and Aviation Force. The nation is a founding member of the Assembly of Marceaunian States and is a partner with numerous intergovernmental organizations dedicated to the furthering of global security and prosperity. Even though Amandine is not nuclear weapons state, the national government has expressed interest in introducing a program alongside its already-equipped allies.

Amandine is a developed country with the world's fifth largest economy by nominal GDP ($2.2 trillion) and the largest by purchasing power parity ($4.15 trillion). It is a high-income mixed economy that is one of the world's largest breadbaskets, with a focus on agriculture, petroleum extraction, manufacturing (including technology manufacturing), and service among other industries. Amandine has a very high Human Development Index (HDI) rating of 0.822, with concerning income disparity rankings. Amandine is a staunch protector of civil rights and conducts significant work towards the achievement of a high quality of life, both domestically and abroad. Additionally, the nation is well-regarded in terms of its education and economic freedoms.

Etymology

The name Amandine was first referred to early 1518, where the Vervillian colonial territory extending beyond the Imperial Port of Colette was titled. The name originates from the famed explorer Jean-Baptiste Amand II. Amand, a wealthy cartographer, was contracted by the Vervillian Crown to survey the New World for any viable natural bays or ports. While his birthplace is contested between Vervillia and Blayk, Amand's proclamation of the Imperial Port of Colette has enshrined him as the founder of modern Amandine and Marceaunian society, as a whole.

The Vervillian turned Blaykish territory was generally titled "Vervillian Marceaunia," with Amandine being relegated to obscurity. However, as anti-Blaykish sentiment and a growing sense of national identity rose throughout the late 18th centuries, Amandine as a title simultaneously grew in popularity. During the Belmont Revolution (1796-1797), rebels' flags often had the word "AMANDINE" painted or sewn. By the National Assembly's declaration of an independent state in 1806, the Republic of Amandine was unanimously chosen to show solidarity with their origins and Vervillian superiority over the Blaykish government.

History

Indigenous & Pre-Auressian History

Dating back to the fourth millennium BCE and possibly even further, Marceaunia Minor has been home to a diverse array of native civilizations. Humans likely migrated to the continent via passage from southern regions of Marceaunia Major, or what is now controlled by Audonia. While still a theory, researchers also believe that early sea faring groups from Demontean Ocean islands also entered the land. The multitude of native societies in modern day Amandine contributed to the well-documented interactions between them, largely contributing to river-based trade, cultural mixing, and conflict in the region. Chiefly among them, the Tatankan Empire was the first to control a substantial territory, subjugating the minor native societies that fell within its domain. Lasting for centuries, the empire eventually collapsed into warring dominions that competed against one another. Historians categorized the Tatankan Empire's collapse and subsequent period the Post-Tatankan Shift. Lasting for over one hundred years, Post-Tatankan Shift saw the rise of the Iraceman, Pipaluk, Ameyalli, and Siqiniq Empires. These four civilizations, categorized as the Four Grand Dominions, existed in a near constant state of warfare, barring sporadic periods of peace. Eventually, however, the Ameyalli and Siqiniq people culturally and genetically merged into the contemporary Maiarans. As the final great empire to predate Auressian colonial rule, the Maiaran Empire exerted control over vast swaths of northern Marceaunian Minor, even reaching into portions of the rainforests. The expansion of the Maiarans lasted around 150 years until the empire's dissolution in the 16th century.

Belmont Revolution & the Great Upheaval

Amandine was a contributor to the Great Upheaval in the Marceaunian Theater, with the colony having two significant political and social revolutions and formally gaining its independence during this volatile period. It also brought the New World and Old World closer than ever, with new alliances and international relations rising to the forefront of affairs, such as the budding relationship between republican Rythene and Amandine. Amandine, as well as other successive Blaco-Vervillian Union colonies on the continent, would be the second in the Marceaunias to gain independence behind the Aillacan-Rocian Union in 1797.

The collapse of the Blaco-Vervillian Union and the Rythenenean Revolution were the primary macro-events for Amand independence; they highlighted the distancing relationship between the New World colonies and the seemingly collapsing Old World order that came about from radical anti-monarchist movements. However, they also represented the increasing class disparities, inpermanent borders and continual border disputes, and depletive mercantilist policies that drained Amandine’s financial & natural resources with little in return (leading to the rise of more laissez-faire economic theory to take its place post-independence). During and after the Rythenean Revolution, stories from the revolutionaries as well as veterans from the conflict largely found refuge in Amandine. Finding an opportunity in a disgruntled population within the Amand colony, these Rythenean veterans became entrenched in Amand liberation. Charles Belmont, a Beaufort-born aristocrat, lawyer, polymath, and sympathizer of the Rythenean republicans, became the leading figure in the initial fight for a free Amandine. The eventual named Belmont Revolution kickstarted in 1796 after support continually grew across the territory. The revolution was initially damaging to the Sarbeliard Monarchy and their financial security after a few major ports were occupied by the rebels. Though, because it was highly unorganized, it only took approximately one year for it to be suppressed. Many of the revolutionaries were hanged for their contributions to the effort while Charles Belmont and a group of other instrumental radicals successfully escaped to the Rythenean Republic and across Marceaunia. In Rythene, Belmont wrote extensively of his experiences, shaping his political beliefs along an Auressian model of republicanism.

In the subsequent years, the Sarbeliard Monarchy attempted to further quell riots and civil unrest by instituting economic reforms: chiefly, the Immunity Act of 1799. This was meant to give the Amand population greater control over international trade, allowing them to cooperate with other national powers in Auressia beyond just Blayk. In reality, though, the Immunity Act (1799) was never effectively implemented and only bolstered the royal Blaykish Upper and merchant class. Instead of these reforms ending the unrest, the anti-monarchists saw them as failed, backhanded bandages over the greater societal fabric of a collapsing colony split between long-time Vervillian settlers and more recent Blaykish elites. The reforms eventually became penal, when known anti-monarchists were imprisoned and indefinitely held without a fair or impartial trial. Colonial leadership became more anxious, paranoid, and authoritarian when the Blaco-Vervillian Union was visibly in peril. The Blaykish Civil War (1801) and Vervillian Revolution (1805) were the straws that finally severed relations. Charles Belmont and the other revolutionary refugees also returned in 1800, where they saw an opportunity to inspire a second, more effective revolution. During his four year refuge in Rythene, Flavien learned from revolutionary groups how to create organized bodies that could effectively unite under a common cause. It also became common legend that the blue-white-yellow flag was inspired by the sight he described when returning to Amandine’s northern coast, later painted and designed by fellow radical Frédéric Yves Arthur.

Upon the Blaykish Civil War’s outbreak in 1801, the Necessary Conscription Act of 1801 and the Royal Proclamation of 1801 came into law. The former enforced a conscription policy where healthy men of age were forced to serve against the proclaimed Blaykish Republic. Months later, the Royal Proclamation of 1801 asserted King Gilbert II of Blayk had ordained complete authority over the Amand colony, supplanting centuries of relative autonomy enjoyed by the colonists. Belmont and other outraged aristocrats and common people sympathetic to the Blaykish republicans rejected the administration’s authority which they saw as a violation of their natural right to self-governance and association. Another reason for such outward anger toward direct Blaykish control came from Amandine’s transfer from the War of Tyrnican Succession’s end in 1785, which saw the largely popular Vervillian Monarchy replaced. Mass demonstrations against the Acts sparked bloodshed in the populated port city of Nouvelle Valden, where the colonial military opened fire on the protestors allegedly without warning after the crowd grew in size and power. The news of this spread around the territory, essentially kickstarting the new revolt. While proper fighting began by 1801, the National Assembly declared the Republic of Amandine a sovereign state in 1802, with the unfurling of the blue-white-yellow tricolor to be used by all regional revolutionaries/republicans in the National Symbol Standardization Act of 1802, the second official act passed by the National Assembly. The Amandine War for Independence lasted until 1807, where it capitalized on the destabilizing situation in Vervillia following their own revolution. The Treaty of Priscille (1807) formally resolved the Amandine War for Independence and resulted in the Blaykish Republic, Vervillia and other Auressian powers recognizing the new nation’s sovereignty, along with the dissolution of the House of Sarbeliard’s claims to the territory.

Confederation & the Continental War

Considered the first major intra-regional war within Marceaunia Minor, the Continental War, also known as the Separatist War or the Amand Civil War, was a large-scale conflict involving nearly every nation on the aforementioned continent. The Continental War was an indirect consequence of the independence movements decades after the Great Upheaval alongside the rise of political factions that drove Amandine’s confederation apart.

Following its independence in 1802, the Republic of Amandine spent the next two decades uniting the Blaykish revolutions under the same government and flag. This was primarily the project of Amand statesman Augustin Olivier III who sought to bring about cultural hegemony, economic standardization across the continent, and a collective military capable of maintaining pan-continental sovereignty. Despite first President Charles Belmont’s objections, Amandine’s Constitution intentionally weakened the national government as a result of opposing the old monarchist system. Then President Olivier believed that a larger confederation would bypass these pitfalls of a centralized order. By the late 1810s, Amandine’s political hegemony was coming into question as regional governments demanded greater autonomy to make more representative decisions; such decisions included the State of Lorena’s plans to alleviate the 1826 Banking Crisis, State of Armelle’s border disputes with the State of Kawisenhawe, and the State of Baissi-Matthieu’s attempt to establish Perendism as a national religion. In 1819, the National Emergency Committee established the Confederation of Southern Marceaunia (CSM) to bolster the confederal-style government of Amandine. With greater distinctions between the newly formed provincial states and the new national government, it was believed that this new structure could give greater power to local authorities. Conversely, it only accelerated the union’s decline as political power was unfairly delegated to very few states. It also solved very few issues that it sought to resolve, with state borders arbitrarily redefined, banks left untrusted, and the economy splintered. In just 12 years, the Confederation of Southern Marceaunia fell into civil war after regional political parties with separatist leanings ripped the country apart.

The First Continental War was sparked in 1831 with the secession of [insert_nation_here], followed by the secession of Lorena and Armelle. Since the Confederation of Southern Marceaunia’s military was largely supported by the collective input of its member states, the separatists were able to overrun the loosely built federal government in only a couple years. Only two years into the war, the CSM was effectively defunct, with a faction fracturing into the Order of the Statesmen who sought to re-establish the Republic. In 1835, the re-established Republic of Amandine restructured its government into the Federal Republic of Amandine, where it largely abandoned the prospect of maintaining a continent-wide confederation. The First Continental War officially ceased with the signing of the Treaty of Anne-Marie in 1836. Most notably, the Confederation of Southern Marceaunia was formally dissolved and the young Federal Republic of Amandine was to recognize the independence of the freely declared governments. The Treaty also established the Organization of Belmont-Lavigne as the new state-mandated civic belief system. While some of the allied governments sought to reunify with Amandine, financial burdens of the war and reparations delayed this process either temporarily or indefinitely. The Order of the Statesmen, colloquially called the Statesmen, would establish themselves as the State Party until 1836 when it was renamed the Federalist Party.

The Continental War established the political, military, and economic order for Marceaunia Minor’s nations for decades until the War of the Adrienne Sea in the 1880s. The international conflict was also a jumping off point for many independent countries, while for Amandine, it introduced a period of internal development and eventually its return to the forefront by the end of the 19th century.

Great Wars

The Federal Republic of Amandine came of the War of the Adrienne Sea as a Great Power in the New World. While the nation was publicly opposed to Auressian imperialism, especially in the Rum Gulf and Marceaunia Minor, Amandine refused to go to war without a direct attack or threat on her sovereignty. Simultaneously, Amandine was also a major trade nation at this point and would have been commercial partners with both the Coalition and the Galene League. It aligned more with the Coalition nations, however, providing more resources to Blay and Rythene compared to Tyrnica.

Amandine maintained a neutral stance for the majority of the war until 1911. Both repeated attacks on Amand supply shipments to Auressia and skirmishes in the lower Hesperian Ocean would shift the Federal Republic into the column of the Coalition Powers. However, the Audonian Port Crisis brought the conflict to Marceaunia, forcing Amandine into the war. Most of Amandine’s wartime efforts consisted of funneling funds and resources exclusively to these Coalition nations and severing ties to the Galene League, while also engaging in naval campaigns in the Hesperian Ocean. Amandine’s dominance in the War of the Adrienne Sea came largely from a modernized naval force, so this same force was similarly successful in the Great War. Ultimately, Amandine’s support role allowed it to secure Marceaunia Minor’s waters and the Hesperian Ocean for her Coalition allies.

Upon the Great War’s conclusion, Amandine found an opportunity to increase its global presence beyond Marceaunia Minor. Without conflict on her borders, Amandine’s newfound stability allowed it to lead Auressian rebuilding initiatives alongside other New World countries like Albrennia. Meanwhile, Amandine would have heavily aligned with the newly created Vervillian Confederation based on cultural ties, becoming a close ally to the union’s member states. Onward from then, Amandine began to expand its foreign economic interests to political and cultural interests beyond the continent.