United Kingdom of Ottonia
United Kingdom of Ottonia | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Capital | Sant Mikel |
| Largest city | Fredrikspurt |
| Official languages | Allamunnic Draakurae |
| Ethnic groups | Draakurae, Allamunnae, Eoni |
| Demonym(s) | Draakurae |
| Government | Constitutional Monarchy (de jure) Crowned Republic (de facto) junta |
| Vitus I | |
| Stevan Grimmeburger | |
| Establishment | |
| September 21st, 1872 | |
| January 1st, 1922 | |
| March 3rd to April 16th, 2022 | |
| Population | |
• 2022 estimate | 5,644,871 |
| GDP (PPP) | estimate |
• Total | USD$83.82 billion |
• Per capita | USD$14,848 |
| Currency | Ottonian Krown (official) Otomark (accepted) (OKR) |
| Time zone | Western Belisarian |
| Driving side | right |
Draakur, officially The United Kingdom of Ottonia and formerly colloquially-known as South Ottonia, is a country in the area of Ottonia on the Draakur Archipelago, next to the continent of Belisaria. The country has no land borders, but shares an immediate maritime border with Ottonia, and is neighbored to the west by Ghant and to the south by Sudemark. The country was created as a result of the Ottonian Civil War, being the portion of the country of Ottonia held by the [royalist] forces at the time of the ceasefire of 1922. It was territorially-reduced to the Draakuri Islands in 2022 following the South Ottonian Revolution.
The country is a executive constitutional monarchy, and has been since its founding, ruled by the House of Sproek-Kristhulm and the 200-member Ottonian Senate, now located in the city of Sant Mikel. The current monarch, called the Storkeneg or High King, is Vitus I, who, at present, governs through the Emergency Transitional Administration. Since March of 2022, the official language remains Allamunnic, but has been displaced as the most-widely-spoken language by Draakurae, an Allamunnic-Eonese creole. The state religion is the Sarpetic Honorian Catholic Church, although other faiths are tolerated within the country, and the persecution of certain minority faiths that was commonplace prior to March of 2022 largely seems to have ceased.
Geography
At present, the United Kingdom of Ottonia is confined entirely to the Draakur Archipelago, a set of thirteen islands (three major and ten minor) situated off the western coast of Ottonia in Northwest Belisaria.
The three principal islands of Draakur are, from west to east:
The ten minor islands are (north to south, grouped west to east):
- The Minor Home Islands
- Nordraakur (North-most)
- Tortukolm (North, between Fentyera & Gran Draakur)
- E'figlante (Directly north of Grennhulm)
- Tebrona (South, between Gran Draakur & Grennhulm)
- Ref'ye (South, large island east of Gran Draakur)
- Is'Ramoa (immediately north of Refuye)
- Laportunda (directly south of Gran Draakur)
- Puetarenke (southwest of Gran Draakur)
- The Outlying Islands
- Eltatira
- Vendimeno
History
See Also: Ottonian Civil War, Great Ottonian War, and South Ottonian Revolution
Post-Revolution
In the immediate aftermath of the South Ottonian Revolution, the government and its loyalists evacuated to the islands of Draakur, which had largely escaped the violent uprising which swept the rest of the country due to independent actions taken by the military governors of the islands, including the promise of reforms demanded by protestors. When the subsequent arrival of the UKO's government in the Flight to Draakur threatened a relapse in regards to public order, the military authorities on the island insisted on a provisional government to oversee the process of relocating the UKO's government and military onto Draakur, as well as implementing the reforms needed to prevent further violence.
Part of the process of implementing the ETA involved the abdication of Storkeneg Rodrik I in favor of his son, Vitus, who in turn named Draakur's military governor, Stevan Grimmeburger the Director of the ETA.
Politics
South Ottonia is nominally a constitutional executive monarchy, in which the monarchs of the House of Sproek-Kristhulm act as the heads of the armed forces and national police forces, charged with enforcing laws. Legislative authority is mostly vested in the unicameral legislature, the Royal Senate.
Since March of 2022, the country has been under the administration of the Emergency Transitional Administration, headed by Stevan Grimmeburger, following the South Ottonian Revolution and the subsequent Flight to Draakur. Although ruling in the name of the Storkeneg, the ETA largely governs as it sees fit, and has embarked on a number of dramatic reforms following the UKO's collapse on the mainland.
Emergency Transitional Administration
In the immediate aftermath of the South Ottonian Revolution, the government and its loyalists evacuated to the islands of Draakur, which had largely escaped the violent uprising which swept the rest of the country due to independent actions taken by the military governors of the islands, including the promise of reforms demanded by protestors. When the subsequent arrival of the UKO's government in the Flight to Draakur threatened a relapse in regards to public order, the military authorities on the island insisted on a provisional government to oversee the process of relocating the UKO's government and military onto Draakur, as well as implementing the reforms needed to prevent further violence.
Part of the process of implementing the Emergency Transitional Administration involved the abdication of Storkeneg Rodrik I in favor of his son, Vitus, who in turn named Draakur's military governor, Stevan Grimmeburger the Director of the ETA. The ETA includes Grimmeburger, who reports to the Storkeneg, as well as an assortment of civil servants and administrators, tasked with restructuring the government and consolidating Draakur as the sole remaining territory of the UKO, as well as the drafting and issuance of a new governing charter.
Monarch
The UKO's executive position is held by the High Royal House of Sproek-Kristhulm, which was established via dynastic marriage between the Houses of Sproek and Kristhulm in the late 19th century. The current monarch is Vitus I following the abdication of the previous monarch, Rodrik I in April of 2022.
Some observers have noted that the monarch appears to have been reduced to a figurehead under the governance of the ETA, although it is unclear if this indicates a new power dynamic or a desire by Storkeneg Vitus to allow the ETA to carry out necessary reforms.
Senate
Prior to March of 2022, the Senate consisted of a mix of 100 members selected by the various constituencies of South Ottonia, as well as 50 high-ranking military officers, 50 clerical officials from the Honorian Church, and 100 life members from amongst the aristocracy, and served as the country's legislature in tandem with decrees from the Storkeneg.
Since March of 2022, the Senate has been made defunct by the ETA. Director Grimmeburger has indicated that the Senate may, at the conclusion of the emergency, be restored in a diminished capacity, but that it "serves as an impediment to good governance" in its original form and will not be restored to such a state.
Military
Originally organized as the Ottonian Royal Armed Forces, following the March 2022 collapse, the armed forces of the UKO have undergone radical restructuring to accomodate their new realities.
Home Guard
The Royal Army was functionally abolished in April of 2022 by the ETA, reorganized into the Home Guard, a hybrid army and gendarmerie. The Home Guard also incorporates the now-defunct Ottonian Royal Air Force's land-based elements.
Compared to the Army, the Royal Navy survived March 2022 mostly unscathed, and in large part transferred to Draakur, giving it a very large navy relative to its size and population. As part of the reorganization, the Royal Navy also absorbed the Ottonian Royal Air Force's sea-oriented elements.
Economy
During its time as a part of the larger United Kingdom of Ottonia, Draakur was largely considered something of a backwater. Although it was a port (or, more accurately, a series of ports) of significant importance, and developed some industry correspondingly (including some shipyards of significance, and, accompanying that, a major South Ottonian naval base), a significant amount of Draakur's economy remained tied to fishing and agriculture.
Now that the UKO is confined to Draakur, the economy is already beginning to diversify, including more demand for administrative and civil service jobs.
Demographics
As of July 1st, 2022, the UKO is estimated to contain approximately 5.6 million persons. The majority of this population is concentrated in the Bay of Draakur area, a multipolar urban zone surrounding the central bay separating the northern and southern halves of the Island of Gran Draakur, as well as the island of Fentyera, and typically extended to the Bronnsburk metropolitan zone on the island of Grenolm.
Human Geography
Although each of the 13 islands have human settlements upon them, an estimated 4 million of the archipelago's estimated 5.6 million inhabitants reside in the immediate coastline of the Bay of Draakur or in the immediately-adjacent western peninsula of Grenolm.