Blayk
Grand Kingdom of Blayk Rouoyaume Graund dé Blayc (Blaykish) | |
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 Flag
 Coat of Arms
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Motto: "Audeamus" "May we dare" | |
 Location of Blayk (dark green) – in Auressia (green & dark grey) | |
| Capital and largest city | Montigné |
| Official languages | Blaykish Vervillian |
| Recognised regional languages | Litavin Sarbeliard Tyrnican |
| Demonym(s) | Blaykish |
| Government | Unitary Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy |
• Monarch | Leopold III |
| Pierre Édouardais | |
| Legislature | Parlement (Chambres des Députés) |
| Establishment | |
| 15th January 920 | |
| October 6th 1802 | |
| 3rd February 1822 | |
| Area | |
• | 676,719 km2 (261,283 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | 1.34 |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 81,652,690 |
• 2017 census | 79,310,821 |
• Density | 117/km2 (303.0/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $3.956 trillion (5th) |
• Per capita | $49,881 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2018 estimate |
• Total | $3.473 trillion (3rd) |
• Per capita | $43,795 |
| Gini (2018) |  29.1low |
| HDI (2018) |  0.902very high |
| Currency | Commonwealth mark (CMR) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (Western Auhr Standard Time) |
| Date format | dd-mm-yyyy |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +06 |
| Internet TLD | .blc |
Blayk (Blaykish: Blayc, pronounced: /ˈbleɪk/), officially the Grand Kingdom of Blayk (Blaykish: Rouoyaume Graund dé Blayc) is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy located in Western Auressia. The country extends from the Hesperian Ocean to the Khovaar Strait and borders Rythene to the north west, Avilême, Vervillia and the Imperial Confederacy to the south and is connected to Tyrnica through the Arden-Karsfjord bridge. Blayk consists of sixteen provinces further spilt into three hundred and nineteen electorates, covering a total of 676,719 square kilometres. It has the second highest population within Auressia with 79.31 million inhabitants as of 2017. Blayk's capital is Montigné, the country's largest city and main commercial and cultural hub. Other important urban centres include Elberné, Marbonne, Fluery, Alberrai and Arden.
The present day state of Blayk has its origin in the 10th century Treaty of Breun, which established a Cuscaire hegemony over the region, co-ruled by Mathilda, Queen of the Blakes and William, Lord of the Cuscaires. Blayk would go on to secure its place as one of the leading Auressian powers through the middle ages, extending Blaykish influence to Rythene and the Northern Regions of Western Auressia, while contending with Tyrnica for control over the Strait of Khovaar. The early modern period saw the nation become the foremost naval power after the War of the Khovaarian league, the foundation of one of the world’s first colonial empires and the creation of the first Blaco-Vervillian union.
The eighteenth century saw the beginning of a period of slow decline in Blayk's influence with the collapse of the Blaco-Vervillian union, later followed by the costly War of the Tyrnican Succession and finally the end of the Phillipean line of Kings ultimately culminating in the Blaykish Civil War and the declaration of the Blaykish Republic at the turn of the century. The newly founded republic would later join other republican forces in waging war against Auressian monarchists during the War of the Commons, their defeat however would see the reestablishment of the monarchy in Blayk at the Congress of Vedayen and the loss of its vast colonial empire. Throughout the rest of the nineteenth century the nation kept its neutrality in foreign affairs and had limited success in regaining its influence on the continent. Blayk was allied with Rythene through the conflicts of the early twentieth century re-securing its place as a major power on the global scale and despite the devastation of the conflicts it has experienced a unprecedented period of stable post war economic growth.
A developed country, Blayk has a high income liberalised free trade economy primarily dominated by it's service sector. It is the world's third-largest economy by nominal GDP and fifth-largest by purchasing power parity. The first nation in the world to industrialise, it remains to this day as an important exporter of steel, machinery and motor vehicles. The nation also has a notable agricultural sector, being one of largest producers of garlic and of multiple varieties of wine and cheese. It ranks highly in multiple international rankings of health, education, life expectancy, civil liberties and human development.
Blayk plays a prominent role in global economic, cultural and diplomatic affairs, being recognised as both a regional power and a great power. The nation is a founding and leading member of the Commonwealth of Northern Auressia, with the Blaykish city of Sarbeliard serving as one of the three cities holding the infrastructure of the international organisation. It is also a founding member of the Auressian Community and a leading participant in numerous international organisations devoted to cooperation in health, development and national security. Blayk is seen as a centre for the arts with a rich cultural history that has made it one of the top tourist destinations in the world.
Etymology
Originally applying to whole northern region of the Holy Sabarine Empire, Blayk derives from the Sabarine Blacia or "country of the Blakes". The Tyrnican name Blachland and Litavin (Bro) Blaeg share the same meaning.
There are a few theories on the origins of the name Blake. Many have linked the word Blake to Rythenean black or bleak. The name Blake thus may have been adopted from proto-isaric *blakaz meaning dark or black haired, a trait noted by Sabarine writers or *blaikaz meaning pale perhaps meaning in contrast to the nomadic people who inhabited Central Auressia prior to the Isaric tribes.
History
Prehistory (Before 4th Century BC)
Antiquity (4th Century BC - 5th Century AD)
Early Middle Ages (5th Century - 10th Century)
Late Middle Ages (10th Century - 15th Century)
Early Modern Period (15th Century - 1799)
Blaykish Civil War (1799 - 1822)
With the outbreak of the War of the Commons in early 1799 and the subsequent death of Phillip III later that year, tensions were high in Blayk. Phillip III's only son had succumbed to dysentery in 1795, leaving the succession of the throne to Gilbert of Sarbeliard, his cousin twice removed, and a de facto vassal of the Tyrnican King. Gilbert ruled in stark contrast to Phillip, creating unrest by vetoing a constitutional draft proposed by Parliament and attempting to remove the large degree of autonomy granted to the Blaykish colonies.
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The change of power and ongoing involvement in the war against Rythene saw riots and general protest from the Blaykish population culminating in the massacre at Ymonville in January of 1801. Demonstrators marching from Alberrai to Elberné, led by the Marquis of Garlande, a popular liberal leader, were shot down by the Royal Guards upon entering the town of Ymonville north of Elberné. The massacre marks the beginning of the Blaykish Civil War, as shortly after news of the massacre spread through the nation, the royal residence in Montigné was ransacked, mimicking the beginning of the Rythenean Revolution ten years prior.
The Liberals, generally referred to as 'Phillipeans' based themselves around the highly developed industrial cities and ports of the south and west, while the Absolutist 'Gilbertines' held power in the less developed north and east of the country. From the beginning the Phillipeans had the upper hand, the early months of civil war saw mass desertions from the Gilbertine forces, forcing them to desert Breun in October of 1801 and leaving a clear march to the capital. Gilbertine forces were only further demoralised when, fearing the approaching liberal army, the King fled Blayk for his native Tyrnica in the December of 1801.