Kingdom of Estmere
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Kingdom of Estmere Kingdom of Eastmarchon Rouoyaume estme | |||||||||
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| 1737–1937 | |||||||||
 Flag
.svg) Coat of arms
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| Motto: Dieu defend le Droit "God Defends the Right" | |||||||||
| All territories that were part of the Kingdom of Estmere Estmere and Buckland The New Empire (after 1760) Estmerish possessions in Coius (after 1880) Colonial-puppet administrations All territories that were part of the Kingdom of Estmere
Estmere and Buckland The New Empire (after 1760) Estmerish possessions in Coius (after 1880) Colonial-puppet administrations | |||||||||
| Capital | Ashcombe | ||||||||
| Common languages | Estmerish Swathish Flurian | ||||||||
| Religion | High Embrican Church Low Embrican Church Catholicism | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Estmerish | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
• 1737-1769 | Clovis Richard I (First) | ||||||||
• 1794-1827 | Clovis Richard II | ||||||||
• 1904-1920 | Charles II | ||||||||
• 1920-1935 | William III (Last) | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1737-1772 | The Count Fairmaiden (First) | ||||||||
• 1820-1849 | Sir Frederick Connington | ||||||||
• 1921-1928 | H. H. Arterbury | ||||||||
• 1928-1937 | Edmund G. Norcross (Last) | ||||||||
| Legislature | Parliament of Estmere | ||||||||
| The High Chamber | |||||||||
| Chamber of the Commons | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Establishment | 4 April 1737 | ||||||||
• Dissolution | 1937 | ||||||||
| Currency | Shilling | ||||||||
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The Kingdom of Estmere (Swathish: Kingdom of Eastmarchon; Flurian: Rouoyaume estme) in northeast Euclea that emerged after the Esmterish Civil War. It bordered Buckland and Werania to the north, Sunrosia to the west, and Hennehouwe to the south. It was established by the victorious Vernonite faction, led by the House of Vernon-Dryden. Its first monarch, Clovis Richard I, oversaw the creation of liberal institutions, parliamentary governance, and increasing civil rights. It was among the most limited monarchies, with the monarchs exercising little power. Instead, power was vested in the civilian government led by the prime minister.
Liberalism emerged in the Kingdom of Estmere, with the Estmerish Civil War considered as the start of the Springtime of Nations and broader liberalization of Euclea. It was built upon Estmere's long tradition of parliamentary governance, which began with the States Council during the Anarchy and was succeeded by the Estates of Estmere. Soon after the states' establishment, The Count Fairmaiden, sought to reestablish Estmere as a leading global power. Fairmaiden established the New Empire, consisting of seized Hennish and later Gaullican colonies in the Asterias and later protectorates throughout Coius. Estmere was one of the first industrialized countries, along with Gaullica and Hennehouwe, and became a leading economic power.
Starting in the late nineteenth century, it began to compete with the Gaullican Empire for influence in Coius and tensions between the two powers grew. It led an anti-Gaullican alliance in the War of the Triple Alliance and grew its influence extensively in Badawiya, Bahia, and Southern Coius. While attempts to cool tensions between the two nations were made, they were ultimately unsuccessful and in large part contributed to the outbreak of the Great War. Estmere fought with the Grand Alliance during the war but was unable to fend off a Gaullican offensive in 1929. Ashcombe was captured and both the king and government had fled. Gaullica then established the Estmerish Authority over much of the territory it controlled, with Admiral Michel Dumaresq acting as the High Warden of Estmere. The military maintained control over the Estmerish panhandle and the government met in Longwood. After the country's liberation, the Provisional Government was established. William III had abdicated in 1935 and the kingdom was left without a monarch. A leftist uprising threatened the fragile post-war government. It was suppressed with assistance from Werania. However, as part of the reproach process and to prevent further discontent the Provisional Government made concessions, one of which was the establishment of a republic.
History
Establishment
The Kingdom of Estmere was established following the Estmerish Civil War, which lasted from 1732 to 1737. It was triggered by Estmere's defeat in the Gilded Wars and the Pereramonic Wars. The National Republicans organized a revolt against the Vernon Prince-Bailiff William IV. The revolt was strongest in the west of the country. Within National Republican territory, a de facto military dictatorship was established. It was headed by a Presidium, a council of twelve members. Neither faction was able to establish full control over the entire country. Borders constantly shifted along the front lines of the conflict. In 1735, ethnic Swathish separatists revolted in territory controlled by the National Republicans. The separatists were able to capture a significant portion of the Weald. As the Swathish threat grew, Jean Le Fondré, an ethnic Flurian who served as General of the Republican Army, seized control and killed all twelve members of the Presidium. Initially, he was able to restore order and saw success in battle. The William IV was killed in 1737 at the Battle of Crossing. However, his attempts to reestablish control over the Weald failed and in early 1737 a Vernonite offensive retook much of the territory held by the National Republicans. Facing defeat, the National Republicans surrendered in late March 1937.
While they were successful, the Vernonites faced a series of devastating defeats. William IV, who was the only child of his late father Clovis XII, was killed in the fighting as were most of his uncles. Upon the death of William IV, the principal Vernon line had gone extinct. Clovis Richard Vernon-Dryden, a distant cousin of William IV, had been installed as the Vernon's representative in Buckland. After William IV's death, Clovis Richard was selected by the Estates as the new Prince-Bailiff. Clovis Richard sought to reorganize the United Estmerish Counties into a more centralized kingdom. Following several weeks of debate within the Estates, a vote in favor of establishing the state envisioned by Clovis Richard was successful. The Kingdom of Estmere was then established, with Clovis Richard as its monarch. The new state put a strong focus on parliamentary governance and liberal institutions. The monarch had little authority, with executive power vested in the prime minister and the civilian government. A personal union over Buckland was established and continued despite political attempts to reunify it with Estmere.
Age of Liberty
The Age of Liberty began with the establishment of the Kingdom of Estmere in 1837. It saw the establishment of a formal, bicameral parliament, known as the Parliament of Estmere. It was created as the successor to the Estates of Estmere, which were established in 1195. The High Chamber, which was the upper house, consisted of the landed nobility, members of the royal family, and the bishops from the High and Low Embrican Churches. It combined the First and Second Estates. The Chamber of the Commons, which served as the lower house, represented the burgesses and peasants, previously represented by the Third and Fourth Estates respectively. The monarch was granted minimal executive authority, with power instead being invested in the civilian government. The monarch only maintained authority over foreign affairs, acting as the head of state. The Foreign Secretary was appointed directly by the monarch and all ambassadors were nominated by the monarch.
Civil rights were increased during the Age of Liberty by successive governments. The Bill on the Rights of the Citizen, also known as the Estmerish Bill of Rights, was an act of the parliament pursued by the nation's first Prime Minister, the Count Fairmaiden in 1739. It set out the rights of the citizens, including protections for free speech, a free press, and limited freedom of religion. It also limited government authority over property owners and strengthened the right of the citizens. Rights of all individuals included prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. It also focused on the establishment of the rule of law.
The Age of Liberty also saw the implementation of liberal economic policies and limited government intervention in the economy. It was influenced by the works of Cornelius Pearson and James Swift, who challenged fundamental mercantilist doctrines. The belief that the world's wealth remained constant and that a state could only increase its wealth at the expense of another state was effectively dismantled by Pearson and Swift, who successfully lobbied successive governments to pursue capitalist policy.
Suffrage under the parliamentary government of the Age of Liberty was not universal. Initially, the taxed peasantry was represented in the Parliament in the Chamber of the Commons, which was created in 1737. However, representation was initially limited to landowning males who owned more than 10 acres of land. As such, very few peasants actually qualified for suffrage or to sit in the chamber. It was dominated by the lesser nobility and burgesses for over half a century. This was reformed in 1802 to include all property owning males. Commoners without taxed property had no suffrage at all until 1835 when all males were given the right to vote. Historians generally agree the Age of Liberty was one for Estmere's emerging middle class more than it was for the common man or woman. However, it built upon the long-developing parliamentary tradition in Estmere, which first began with the Estates of Estmere. Further reforms to suffrage and the expansion of citizenship came in response to greater unrest throughout Eastern Euclea as part of the Springtime of Nations.
The New Empire
18th century
Early 20th century
The Great War
Despite attempts to cool growing tensions between Gaullica and Estmere in the lead up to the Great War, the government of Prime Minister H. H. Arterbury continued to maneuver against Gaullica's global influence. Arterbury was enabled by a weak monarch, William III (Estmere), who, unlike his predecessors, gave the civilian government near total control over foreign affairs. The King only 19 years old at the time of the war’s onset in 1926. His father, Charles II, was killed six years prior in the Taverly Rail Disaster, which saw the Royal Train derail. He was young unprepared, and occupied with personal matters. William III was a homosexual who maintained a relationship with the Viscount Greyton, son of the powerful Count Ashdale. This made him widely unpopular and the target of social conservatives within the country, whose party remained in opposition at the time of the war. He often sparred with his mother, HM Sophia the Queen Dowager, who resented her son’s attitudes and lifestyle. This weakened the executive at a time in which a proactive monarch was needed as a check on the civilian government, which had the ability to conduct foreign affairs without question. This allowed the government of Prime Minister H. H. Arterbury to undermine Gaullican influence in the Berseri Empire. Aware that the Republic of Negara had a serious military advantage over Berseri and fearful of reprisals against Estmerish concessions which bordered Republican territories, the Arterbury government negotiated a secret agreement with the Republicans whereby Estmere would provide tacit support to Negara in the case of another civil war, and would also openly support Negaran reclamations of the concessions of foreign powers, in return for an extension of the loans on certain key concessions, to which the Negaran government agreed. Following the May 15th Kelang Incident, the Negaran Civil War resumed as relations between the Berseri and Republican governments broke down. On May 30th, Negara seized control of Gaullican territorial concessions along the coast. The Gaullican government delivered an ultimatum to Negara on the 31st on the condition of withdrawal from the coastal territories, and declared war on the 6th of June, leading to a Estmerish declaration of war on the 7th and triggering the Euclean alliance system.
Start of the war, occupation of glytter, fighting in Henn., first Gaullican attempt to take Ashcombe and Estmerish efforts to bring Etruria into the war.
In 1929, the Gaullicans were able to launch a successful offensive into Eastern Estmere, capturing Ashcombe. As the city fell, Estmere's principle fleet was ordered to flee north. However, the Dumaresq Mutiny saw fighting among the fleet when the Flurian Admiral Michel Dumaresq led a pro-Gaullican mutiny. Almost half of the fleet was scuttled. For his efforts, Dumaresq, who previously served as Warden of the Fleet, was appointed to lead the Estmerish Authority by the Gaullicans. The Estmerish Government was forced to flee north and Arterbury tendered his resignation fearing a defeat in a vote of no confidence. The wartime coalition chose Edmund G. Norcross of the Conservative and Imperial Party as his successor. William III chose to go into exile in Glytter. This triggered a crisis as the nation was left without a monarch, a crucial position in terms of foreign affairs under the Estmerish constitution. Parliament, which had reconvened in the northern city of Longwood in the Weald, deemed William unfit to rule and appointed a regent, the Count Darymore. He assumed the full authority of the monarch and worked closely with Norcross to establish order. Queen Dowager Sofia fled to her native homeland of Werania with her youngest children, the twins Princes Michael and Richard. The flight of William III to Glytter and his general unpopularity caused support for the monarchy to collapse. The public came to resent the actions of the King and many politicians began to use William as a scapegoat.
Despite the fall of the capital, the Royal Estmerish Army was able to hold on to much of the country until late 1929 when Gaullica was able to establish authority over the vast majority of Estmere. The Royal Estmerish Army fled north into Werania and assisted their northern ally in preparing its defenses, helping prevent Gaullica from forcing Werania to capitulate. The Estmerish Panhandle remained under Estmerish control, but it was threatened several times by Gaullican advances.
Many of the Estmerish colonies that went unoccupied were given de facto independence in the form of home rule after the capital fell to the Gaullican army as they were allowed to conduct their own affairs. Estmerish Badawiya-Bahia was invaded by Gaullica and saw heavy fighting until it was eventually relieved by the Negaran Republic Army in WHENEVER.