Estoca
Estoca | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Demonym(s) | Estocan |
| Government | Meritocratic Elective Autocracy |
| Stjepan Carne | |
| Alan Hapter | |
| Ypres Duvon | |
| Alezic Vuyskiv | |
| Legislature | National Assembly |
| Establishment | |
| 1224 | |
| 1748 | |
| 1876 | |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 58,338,010 |
| GDP (PPP) | 2021 estimate |
• Total | 2.18 Trillion |
• Per capita | 37,368 G$ |
| Gini (2021) | 36.7 medium |
| HDI (2021) | .538 low |
| Driving side | right |
Estoca, officially known as the Commonwealth of Estoca is an elective autocracy located on the continent of x in Greater Dienstad. It is bordered by Wallonia to the south and other nations to its north, east, and west.
History
1200s
The beginning of the nationstate that is known today as 'Estoca' would begin in the 13th century following hundreds of years of inter-house warfare within the region now known as the Estacza region, in which Aelial rests today.
In 1224, King Ivanof Kariek, the 12th monarch to reign over the kingdom of Aeria, signed the Treaty of Targu Govorh with his brother and the King of Husila, the kingdom directly to his south. Aeria and Husila were at the time considered to be two entirely different kingdoms and ethnicities, however the population of both kingdoms desperately needed the resources the other produced, and the support given by having a reliable ally. For centuries the two had been at eachother's throats, but the two brothers had decided to merge the kingdoms together to grant their family as much power as they could, and in order to eliminate the logistical nightmares their nations were suffering. Their plan worked, and the newly-formed Twin Kingdoms was birthed with minimal backlash from the few remaining noble houses in the region.
Following the unification, the Twin Kingdoms underwent major reforms by the new diarchy, with several social programs opening up with several hundred pounds of silver invested into developing the war-torn land into something workable. As the kingdoms had been suffering a food shortage to the south and poor quality material abundance to the north, heavy amounts of infrastructural work began, with many new major roadways and patrol camps being set up, and hundreds of new homesteads being subsidized in one of the first social welfare programs to be seen in Estoca, however simple it was. The military was also reformed, with the lord-raised armies being consolidated into a singular royal military and all castles being seized by the Crown to be repurposed into some of the first military bases for power exertion. High-quality gear was also issued to the soldiers and every soldier was also issued a salary of two talents of silver. However, this was accompanied by a mass discharge of soldiers to lessen the burden of a salary and standard equipment system, and soldiers were often made to be standing cadets, often kept away from home for months up to a year. However this system did significantly improve the Kingdom's ability to defend itself, and this would come in handy as the 15th century came.
1400s
As the year 1450 approached, the Twin Kingdom had enjoyed over a century of peace, and had recently reaped a more fertile than average harvest for the past few decades. This prosperity triggered an expansionist period for the Twin Kingdoms following a crisis in the neighboring kingdom of Nazamizg. The kingdom began to invade several neighboring states using its professional army, which crushed Nazamian and other armies with ease. The most notable battle to have occured in the period, which is still celebrated to this day due to the ramifications it caused, was the Battle of Czana Zgiu, in which the Royal Army of the Twin Kingdoms, though outnumbered by a coalition of different armies from the kingdom's enemies, managed to defeat the coalition with minimal losses. This decisive victory also saw the king of Nazamizg captured, and his freedom was negotiated for his kingdom's annexation. Several nearby states soon surrendered following the battle, and only ten years after the battle the Twin Kingdoms expanded to cover all of modern-day Estoca's mainland territory.
The prosperity that the Kingdom had enjoyed continued to flourish during and even after the 1400-1460 Expansionist Period, however it was beginning to show signs of strain, such as the food surplus beginning to stagnate, and the costs of maintaining public roads and social programs was beginning to catch up with the Crown's yearly income from taxes and trade.
1700s
Almost three centuries after the Twin Kingdom's peak in regional power, the cracks in the machine finally began to break it. Over the past few years the Crown had exponentially raised taxes to keep the coffers full, and after the past few centuries' population boom, hundreds of thousands of the peasants working the fields were starving, and a wealth gap between farm owners and the common folk had once again began to form, mirroring the times of noble houses controlling vast amounts of land.
In September of 1748, the unthinkable happened, and the event that took place would change history forever.
After two years of consistent negotiations and public protests by those most affected by the widespread poverty in the urban districts of the Kingdoms, a crowd of rioters carrying rocks, wood splinters, oyster shells, and hunting bows stormed the Koroda, the citadel in the center of Aelial, and killed several royal infantrymen. The crowd also seized rifles, balls, and even four loaded cannons from the armory, and handed out the gear to over seven thousand more men waiting outside the citadel. The men then hoisted up a flag bearing the Aerian Eagle, the representation of freedom that had long been used by peaceful protestors for the past few years, and stormed the Royal Palace in the center of Aelial. The Royal Guards fired back and a brief battle took place in the palace courtyard, in which hundreds of civilians died and at least two platoons of Guards met their fates. However the civilians overpowered the palace defenses, and soon they returned to the courtyard with the King's head on a spike.
Only two days after the storming of the palace, a council of leaders from the riot were established in the palace as the National Council, the new ruling party of the Republic of Estacza.
By this point, the people of both kingdoms had begun to feel unity in national identity, with many people proclaiming themselves as being 'Estaczan' instead of 'Aerian' or 'Husilan'. As many people from territories conquered centuries prior had difficulty with the native language, and as diplomats had to come up with a denonym that foreign kings and queens could easily pronounce and write, the name 'Estocan' was then born.
The newly proclaimed Republic however would immediately face turmoil, as the coup had destabilized the whole state, with the military often refusing to carry out orders from the Council, and when they did, they often found ways to protest the coup, with a few cells even committing mutiny. However after viscious crackdowns and public executions, the chaos finally ended in the 1770s.
1800s
Less than a century after the formation of the republic, Estoca's true test of national unity and resilience would finally begin. In the year 1876, after the nation had once again expanded, this time into several northern Islands and into the far-eastern Vodoczag region, the nation had finally stabilized the economy enough to begin re-instating social programs and increasing military salary back to what it had been way back in the 1200s. The National Council had ruled with an iron fist, however had also written into law many of the social programs and safety nets that Estoca still enjoys in the modern era. The biggest change they made, however, was the Anti-Tyranny Proclamation of 1794, which would eventually become the Redeker Tests, and would set the meritocratic standard of Estocan culture and law forever.
As 1876 came to a close, the true test would begin. In December of 1876 several border forts in the Timisoara region were attacked by [nation needed] soldiers, and although they fought bravely they were quickly captured. Soon after, over two hundred thousand [nation needed] soldiers crossed the border, and the First Timisoara War began.
The Estocan military, which had been renamed to the Republican Army of the Interior (RAI), had been reformed greatly in the 1700s. This included organization, in which the army was decentralized and instead split up into several Army Corps, each with their own commander which answered to High Command back in the capital. There were six total army corps with a total of 150,000 men serving in the RIA. Two of these corps were on the [nation needed] border at the time of invasion, and they would be the ones to contest the attacks. However as they repeatedly met the [nation needed] in battle, they lost engagement after engagement and continued to flee back toward Castle Ozhalin, which sat closeby to the city of Salient. By january of 1877 they had been pushed back to the city, and 15,000 Estocans stood their ground against over 185,000 [nation needed] men. Estocan long-range artillery, canister demicannons, and even hot air balloons armed with muskets resisted against the invaders, and for over six weeks Salient was under siege and assault. However, on January 24th, 1877, the remainder of the Estocan military finally arrived and relieved the city. After that, they trapped the [nation needed] against the Vadim mountains, and the Battle of Salient ended in the slaughter of over 120,000 [nation needed] soldiers. After that, the First Timisoara War was over, and Estoca had claimed victory against the continent's primary military power. Following this, the government proclaimed a change in government, as corruption within the high command and army had caused major setbacks during the first weeks of the war, and proclaimed the Commonwealth of Estoca. With this proclamation the government was radically reformed, becoming the government that rules Estoca to this day.
Geography
The Geography of the Commonwealth is one of the key reasons it has been able to maintain its sovereignity even throughout the aftermath of the September Coup and the conquests of the [nation needed] Empire.
The center of southern Estoca, leading up to the north and the coast is the Raska Valley, a massive valley with several rivers, forests and fertile fields spread throughout it. At it's northern edge it is met with the coastline and the Northern Ocean, and to the south by Vadim Mountains. The Raska Valley is the heartland of Estoca, and contains the highest percentage of its population, industrial sectors and agricultural centers within the whole country.
The Vadim Mountains to the south, the barrier that protected the then-newborn Commonwealth against the [nation needed] in 1901, are the single most important feature within Estoca, barring the heartland itself. The Vadim Mountains have major mineral deposits such as tungsten, lithium, platinum, iron, tin and other minerals, and also have several underground water deposits and even several historical sites from early Estocan history. The Vadim provide over 68% of Estoca's raw resources and are heavily protected by the Commonwealth's armed forces.
Politics
The governing system of the Commonwealth is a complicated one, but one that has allowed Estoca to maintain a political climate devoid of even noticeable corruption and incompetence, making most news stories of corruption headline news.
The center of it all is the Strategos, the leader of the Commonwealth. The position is an elected one that serves for life, but though it is granted great power, it is not immune to the consequences of misuse. The Strategos, if found guilty by the National Assembly of tyranny, corruption or treason, can be brought before the assembly and put on trial for dismissal. If a dismissal occurs then a new election is immediately held, and during the inter-election period the Head of the Assembly handles all matters of state. The Strategos is able to appoint ministers within his administration and is the head of diplomatic affairs, military affairs and domestic affairs, handling all institutions indirectly through his ministers, whom are entrusted to handle their respective institutions in place of the Strategos.
The National Assembly is the main democratic body of the government and is the single most important body of legislation within the Commonwealth. The National Assembly is comprised of twelve representatives from each of the major regions in Estoca, all of whom are drawn from the administrative bodies of those regions. The Assembly is immune to any and all legislation changing its function or changing its fundamental rules without the approval of 1/3 of the representatives. The Assembly holds the power to charge a Strategos with the three main crimes which can give the Assembly the ability to remove them: Tyranny, Treason, and Corruption. The Assembly is also able to launch an investigation into any minister or military official appointed directly by the Strategos, and it is the only legislative body in which only the Head of Institution needs to take a merit test.
Although the Assembly wields much power over the Strategos and his appointed offices, the Assembly is incapable of proposing any policy, law or plan at all and therefore cannot affect matters of state or foreign relations without having the correct Minister or the Strategos propose/ratify the bill.