Antari

Republic of Antari Respublica Antarīs
Flag
Motto: ye’nes ye’ni "From year to year"
Map of Antari
Capital and largest city	Sarawa
Official languages	Antarian, Anglian
Ethnic groups	Antarian, Anglian, Glasgic
Religion	Antarian folk religion Anglian religion
Demonym(s)	Antarian
Government	Parliamentary democratic republic
• President	Ammertīos Kyoma
• Prime Minister	Lēuki Gwerdu
Legislature	Legislature of Antari
• Upper house	Legislative Council
• Lower house	House of Assembly
Independence from Anglia and Lechernt
• Domestic autonomy	Mar. 2, 1879
• Foreign relations	Jan. 20, 1951
• de jure independence	Jun. 15, 1955
Population
• 2020 estimate	5,000,000
• 2015 census	4,973,392
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	$78,000,000,000
• Per capita	Int'l $15,600
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	$35,000,000,000
• Per capita	Int'l $7,000
HDI (2010)	0.65 medium
Currency	Antarian Pound (ANP)
Time zone	UTC-4
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1
Date format	yyyy-mm-dd (CE)
Driving side	left
Calling code	+563
Internet TLD	.at

The Republid of Antari or Antari is a country in Vinya, Septentrion. Its 22 counties extend from the southwestern coast of the Lom lake to its western border with Aill, being bordered on the south by Lom. The capital city of Antari is Sarawa, which is located on the coast of the Lom lake, and its other major cities are Kudra and Saptama.

Antarian-speaking people have inhabited Antari for more than 4,000 years, believed to have diverged from the Maverico-Casaterran group about 4000 BCE in the Neolithic period, but the Antarian cultural area was not limited to modern Antari. Writing was introduced to Antari from the Kingdom of Reynes around 700 BCE when Antari was primarily inhabited by Antarian-speaking pastoralists. Cities appeared around the same time, and the Old Antarian Kingdom, whose founding remains legendary, was ruled from Saptama until the start of the Common Era. The New Antarian Kingdom encompassed only parts of the Old Kingdom but lasted over 1,000 years. In 1758, Antari was annexed to the Anglian crown and became a colony. In 1879, Antari became an autonomous part of the Anglian Empire, but it only acquired control over defence and foreign relations in 1951. Full independence occurred in 1955 in a relatively peaceful process.

Antari is a parliamentary republic, with a ceremonial president as head of state and a prime minister who, with the Cabinet, holds executive power. The legislature of Antari is bicameral, consisting of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly. The Legislative Council, formerly appointed, has been indirectly elected since 1981, while the House of Assembly is directly elected by the electorate. The legal system of Antari is based on the Anglian common law and is administered by the Supreme Court, which is a court of first instance, and the Court of Appeal, which is the court of last resort after the Legislative Council's jurisdiction over the it was abolished in 1960.

Etymology

It is usually thought that the word Antari, which is antarī in the Antarian language, contains the Proto-Maverico-Casaterran root *h₂ent-, which means "front". The "front" may be linked to the front side or south side of the mountain range that dominates Antari today. The element -ar- has no satisfactory explanation, but the -i suffix is securely associated with the i-stem derivation, which is commonly used for proper names of countries and people.

History

Tyrannian rule

Aštrepánteš V, who came to the throne in 1710, was suspected of impotence as he was unable to father a child, even an illegitimate one, during his 48-year reign. Heirless, he became isolated at court as his reign fell further into doubt in his old age. In 1755, his treasurer's plot to depose Aštrepánteš in favour of his third cousin, Napatantri, was foiled, further straining the king's relationship with his court. Facing the intrigue of courtiers and ambitious princes, Aštrepánteš became reliant on the envoy from Kingdom of Anglia and Lechernt for advice in his last years. A last-ditch attempt was made by the Lord of Makate empower the king to declare any of his blood relatives the heir to his throne, but courtly reception to this proposal was unusually cold under heavy bribes from Anglia.

When he died in 1758, his will was revealed to contain the provision that his kingdom should go to the Anglian king. The terms of the will was evidently disclosed to Anglia years ago and legitimated by the Seal of the Sun, the royal house's fabled talisman, and additionally Anglian forces were readied near the kingdom's borders to suppress doubt of its legitimacy. Indeed, many of the king's barons believed he had no power to will the kingdom itself away to a foreigh monarch, though they did not pursue this position. Immediately after securing Antari, the Anglian parliament passed an act to add Antari to the king's titles. On Oct. 2, 1758, a governor was appointed and invested with full, viceregal powers in Antari. A general pardon was decreed to those who had initially opposed the Tyrannian king's rule and to court Antarian affection.

During the course of Tyrannian rule, much of the nobility of Antari that did not co-operate with Tyrannian merchants went bankrupt due to unfavourable trade policies from Hadaway. For example, Antari was forbidden from exporting wool and its products, an established industry, as it competed with Anglian wool; instead, the cultivation of wheat was encouraged, and export was forcefully restricted to Anglia. What Antari was permitted to export was often forbidden to be imported by other Tyrannian colonies in the region, reducing its price-competitiveness to foreign states. On the other hand, the policy of religious tolerance was preserved, though the Anglian state religion was given economic privilege and license to proselytize publicly.

In 1798, Antari's colonial government was reformed, partly dividing the Governor's powers into an executive, legislative, and judicial authority. A directly-elected House of Assembly appeared alongside the appointed Legislative Council, though only men who owned a sufficient amount of real property, had taken an oath of loyalty to the Tyrannian crown, and over 30 years could vote. Additionally, only towns specifically enfranchised by the Tyrannian crown participated in septennial elections, other areas being under the direct viceregal administration. The Governor was not required to obtain the assent of the legislature to pass laws, though this power was exercised with much caution as the legislature was usually dominated by Tyrannian merchants. The Court of Common Pleas and Court of Chancery were established at the same time, though appeal from them was to the Governor-in-Council.

The principle of responsible government was introduced after the revolt of 1844, which started over policies that disfavoured Tyrannian settlers who were sent to colonize the countryside. The revolt was a turning point for viceregal rule as native husbandmen and herders supported the colonists' revolt and led some of their own pockets of resistance, very much traversing ethnic and religious boudnaries that had been assumed in Antari. The royal governor was forbidden from passing laws and raising new revenues for local policies without the assent of the two legislative chambers, though the imperial parliament—in Hadaway—still periodically authorized the Governor to raise revenues in the name of the empire's defence, over which the local legislature had no power, and to make economic treaties on behalf of the colony. Fiscal power over domestic affairs promoted economic policies more equitable to rural communities in the colony, whereas they had hitherto favoured powerful merchants operating under royal license to export the colony's products.

The dual administration was not without significant drawbacks and critics. The Hadaway parliament often received lobbyists and made decisions hardly acceptable to locals, and the share of defence revenues the colony was expected to grant only increased steadily after 1844. Nathan Pim, who was the leader of the House of Assembly, sent an address to the Tyrannian crown asking to pay for one regiment rather than four regiments like the Governor's request.

In 1849, the Anglian king issued the Proclamation to Antarians, a milestone document that, for the first time under Anglian rule, deemed both the native and settler population groups equal as "our loving subjects of Antari" and called their elected represenetatives "citizens and representatives of our cities and counties". The document's wording was motivated by a desire to suppress tension between urban and rural Antarian economies which, in turn, necessitated the suppression of tensions between urban and rural demographics.

Government and politics

The Anglian Antari Act (abbr. AAA) is a statute of both the Anglian parliament and the Antarian parliament, coming into effect together on Jun. 15, 1955. It sets forth Antari's de jure independence and form of government and is regarded as part of the constitutional law of Antari. However, other elements of its constitutional law, such as regular elections, responsible government, and the basic rights and freedoms of citizens are found as political conventions or other statutes. Under the AAA, the President, elected every seven years, is head of state and serves largely the same functions as the Anglian crown in Antari; though laws and ordinances are often made in the President's name, these powers are conventionally exercised only with the advice and consent of executive and legislative bodies that are democratically accountable.

Executive

Executive authority is vested by the AAA in the President-in-Council, who exercises this authority only under the advice of the Government of Antari, which consists of ministers accountable as members of either house of the legislature. The Cabinet is its most senior committee of the Government and the one where most policies are made. The Government is collectively responsible to the Parliament of Antari.

The most senior member of the Government is known as the Prime Minister, who by convention holds the office of Minister of State Affairs (if a member of the Legislative Council) or Minister of Revenues (if member of the House of Assembly). Other members of the Government are known as ministers of specific portfolios or without portfolios.

See also

• Septentrion