Mydelia
Mydelia, officially the Kingdom of Mydelia, is a small island nation located on the continent of Caleren. Established in 2000, Mydelia is a social democratic nation with a constitutional monarchy form of government. Until recently, Mydelia was an isolated nation. However, its government has recently sought connections with the other nations of Anteria.
Kingdom of Mydelia | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
Motto: Un Suvon Mutcap | |
Anthem: Pax in Valle | |
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| Capital | Perkinsbury |
| Largest city | Rankinshire |
| Language | Common, Argean, Mydelic |
| Ethnic groups (2022) | Argean 88.20%
Mydelic 8.62% Other 3.18% |
| Demonym(s) | Mydelian |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Queen | Eleanor of Argea (since 2000) |
• Crown Princess | Abigail of Argea (since 2000) |
• Prime Minister | Mary Madora Woodhull |
| Legislature | Roche |
| Formation | |
• Exodus from Argea | December 31, 1999 |
• Landing on Mydelia | January 3, 2000 |
• Establishment of the Kingdom | January 20, 2000 |
| Area | |
• | 712 km2 (275 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2020 census | 1,184,056 |
• Density | 1,663/km2 (4,307.2/sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | ₳33,038,714,568 |
• Per capita | ₳27,903 |
| Currency | Mydelian lena (LEN) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 |
| Date format | dd-mm-yyyy |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +032 |
| Internet TLD | .myd |
History
The Argean Exodus
In the late twentieth century, the Argean Republic was crumbling due to uncontrolled poverty, violence, and corruption. A coalition of Argeans led by progressive Eleanor Lauter, a legislator in the Obsunt, advocated for a social safety net, weapons control, and anti-corruption measures but were consistently ignored and silenced by the increasingly plutocratic and militaristic government. Ultimately, these Lauterites became such a force that the Argean government began a campaign to force Lauter and anyone suspected of sympathizing with her cause out of government office. As the nation continued to deteriorate, a number of concerned citizens began to write to Lauter to ask her to lead them in fleeing Argea.
Seeking to best serve those who admired and trusted her, Lauter decided that she would lead an exodus out of Argea. Lauter approached the president of Argea and offered to leave the nation silently in exchange for a ship to transport herself and those who wished to leave the country. The president of Argea hurriedly accepted this offer.
On December 31, 1999, Lauter and 1600 of her followers sailed away from Argea. Three days later, on January 3, 2000, they landed on an uninhabited island near the southern pole of Anteria. Just four years after the date of Lauter's voyage, Argea collapsed due to untenable inequality.
The Establishment of the Kingdom
After arriving on the island, the former Argeans named their island Mydelia in honor of the ancient Argean goddess of truth. Once they had settled onto the island, Lauter called for democratic elections to choose the first leader of Mydelia. Later explaining her decision, Lauter said that she did not want to found a new nation on a cult of personality. However, the people now known as Mydelians insisted that Lauter continue to lead them. Seeking to honor the people's wishes while staying true to her principles, Lauter agreed that she would play a ceremonial role if the Mydelian people would agree to hold an election to choose their political leader. The Mydelians then established a constitutional monarchy with Lauter being coronated as Queen Eleanor of Argea. With Queen Eleanor's reluctant permission, the Mydelians also coronated Eleanor's infant daughter Abigail as Crown Princess Abigail of Argea.
After the coronation, Queen Eleanor quickly oversaw Mydelia's first election. While all of the candidates swore to uphold Queen Eleanor's principles, the people ultimately elected Mary Madora Woodhull, a labor leader who had been a close adviser to Queen Eleanor when she was in the Argean legislature.
Isolated Progress (2000-2021)
From 2000 to 2021, Woodhull led the Mydelian people in keeping with their founding values of solidarity and security. Under her leadership, the Mydelian people developed their economy by utilizing their natural resources while seeking to protect their island's natural environment.
Given their history with the outside world, the Mydelian people sought to maintain their independence and distance from other nations. The island's unique geography allowed them to do so effectively.
Through these years, Woodhull routinely sought advice and counsel from Queen Eleanor who provided her opinions while encouraging Woodhull to make her own independent judgments.
Beyond the Shore (2021-2022)
On July 22, 2021, Crown Princess Abigail turned twenty-one. To celebrate, the Mydelians threw a large ball in her honor. Near the end of the Birthday Ball, Crown Princess Abigail approached the podium. The crown princess began her speech by thanking the people for their kindness and hospitality. But, at the end of her speech, Crown Princess Abigail made a surprisingly political statement. She said, "While I am grateful to live on the beautiful island of Mydelia, I believe it is time for our people to reach beyond our shores and seek connection with the other nations of Anteria." This was the first time in Mydelian history that a royal had made such a political statement in public.
Shortly after the Birthday Ball, the young people of Mydelia began to call for international diplomacy and trade. Like the crown princess, they wanted to experience the world beyond the shore. The young Mydelians began to organize and protest the government's isolationist policies. Led by Crown Princess Abigail, they demanded an ease to trade and immigration restrictions. Older Mydelians who had experienced the fall of Argea opposed such liberalization out of concern that it would bring harmful influences to the island. During these events, Queen Eleanor remained intentionally silent on the youth movement to avoid an apparent conflict of interest. This left the Woodhull government to decide how to respond to the youth's demands.
On November 26, 2022, Prime Minister Woodhull announced the establishment of a Ministry of State to explore how Mydelia might open itself up to international cooperation and exchange. On December 4, 2022, Minister of State Daisy Owen, standing before the television cameras alongside Woodhull and Crown Princess Abigail, read the government's "Commitment to Comity and Neutrality." In this policy statement, Mydelia committed itself to friendship to all nations of Anteria but entangling relations with none.
Government
Mydelia is a constitutional monarchy. The crown passes through matrilineal primogeniture. The current monarch is Queen Eleanor of Argea. The current crown princess is Abigail of Argea.
While the monarch is the head of state, political power primarily rests with the people. Every year, the people of Mydelia elect members to the national legislature called the Roche. After these legislative elections, the members of the Roche elect a prime minister to serve as the head of government. As the head of government, the prime minister may appoint their own advisors to serve as cabinet ministers. While the prime minister has broad discretion, their decisions may be rejected by the monarch. However, since the establishment of the kingdom, the prime minister and the monarch have enjoyed close consultation and shared an agenda such that disagreements have been rare and minor.
The current prime minister is Mary Madora Woodhull. The following table lists her cabinet ministers along with their respective portfolios.
| Ministry | Minister | Portfolio |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of the Economy | Rose Tayloe | Economy, finance, trade, labor |
| Ministry of State | Daisy Sampson | International relations, diplomacy, national security |
| Ministry of the Interior | Annette Lockwood | Justice, crime, domestic security |
| Ministry of Education | Alice Bethune | Schools, training, research, technology |
| Ministry of the Environment | Marjory Edge | Environmental protection, energy, natural resources |
| Ministry of Health | Elizabeth Dix | Public health, nutrition, housing |
| Ministry of Social Affairs | Florence Addams | Youth affairs, family affairs |
| Ministry of Culture | Margaret Lewis | Culture, arts, sports |
Geography
Mydelia is located on an island in the Kaldaz Ocean. The island features a tundra climate. It lies southeast of Old Soldiers and the Ganji Islands and west of East Alyeska. The perimeter of the island is lined by a circular mountain system called the McLeod Mountains. The beaches outside the McLeod Mountains are known as Stanton Shoals. Inside the McLeod Mountains, the foothills form a bowl-like plain called Wells Valley.
The Mydelian capital of Perkinsbury is located at the geographic center of Wells Valley. Many Mydelians work in the urban capital in the kingdom's large public sector. However, a large number of these Mydelians work in the capital but live in the suburban areas around the city. The nation's largest city of Rankinshire is in this suburban area. Beyond these suburbs lies a ring of rural communities inhabited by farmers who care for the native McLeod rabbits and harvest their famous Mydelian wool. whose sheep grow the famous Mydelian wool. On the Stanton Shoals, a few farmers grow the aquatic plants that are delicacies in the nation.
People
As of 2022, most Mydelians were part of the original group of settlers from the Argean Republic. As such, 88.20% of the population are ethnically Argean. However, in the years since the establishment of the kingdom, a number of children have been born in the kingdom. These children comprise 8.62% of the population. People born in Mydelia are considered to be ethnically Mydelic. Since Mydelia has developed international connections, many immigrants have traveled to the island. These immigrant of diverse ethnicities comprise 3.18% of the Mydelian population.