Saltstead
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Kingdom of Saltstead Königriħė Såutstedes (Saltsteadish) | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
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Anthem: Åverstanden ut ruinen (Saltsteadish: “Risen from ruins”) God orhåude König Wilheum (Saltsteadish: “God save King William”)[a] | |
| Location of Saltstead in Atlantian Oceania Location of Saltstead in Atlantian Oceania | |
| Capital and largest city | Ashwell |
| Official language | Saltsteadish |
| Languages of historical significance | |
| Demonym(s) | Saltsteadish Saltsteader |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• King | William Thomas |
| Alexander van den Hågen | |
| Johanna de Bur | |
| Jacob Rotstad | |
| Legislature | States General |
| National Council | |
| National Diet | |
| Currency | Shilling (HAS) |
| Time zone | SST |
| DST not observed | |
| Date format | dd-mm-yyyy |
| Driving side | left |
| Internet TLD | .ha |
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Saltstead (/ˈsɔ(ː)ltstɛd/; Saltsteadish: Såutstedė, /ˈsɑʊ̯ʔsteːʔ/), officially known as the Kingdom of Saltstead, is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy located on the north-eastern end of the landmass of Cyanea in Atlantian Oceania.
Etymology
The name Saltstead is a calque of the endonym Såutstedė, which itself derives from Old Saxon: såut derives from the Saxon salt and is cognate with the English word “salt”; the element stedė derives from stedi, meaning “city” or “place”. The name references the salt mines that were the source of Saltstead’s historic wealth and fame.
Other Germanic languages use calques such as Dutch Zoutstad and German Salzstadt, while Romance languages tend to use names derived from the Latin Salia, such as French Selie. Greek uses the similarly-derived name Aleia (Άλεια), from whose ancient form Haleia comes Saltstead’s two-letter country code.
History
Tribal era
Great Settlement
Medieval Saltstead
Union and Anarchy
Cornflower Revolution
Post-war Saltstead
Geography
Geology
Climate
Biodiversity
Politics
Saltstead is governed as a democratic, parliamentary constitutional monarchy with universal suffrage. The Saltsteadish political system operates within the bounds of and derives its legitimacy from the 1947 Constitution, which regulates the powers of state institutions and the relationship between the state and the people; it is founded on the principles of responsible government, judicial independence and the rule of law and guarantees fundamental and universal human rights that cannot be infringed upon by the state.
The Reigning King (de sittändė König), currently William Thomas, is the ceremonial head of state of Saltstead, acting as “the symbol of the realm and of the unity of the people”; unusually, the Saltsteadish monarchy is a popular monarchy in which the holder’s power is linked to a popular mandate. The monarch has few de jure powers, the most notable of which are the power to refuse a parliamentary dissolution and to refer bills to the Constitutional Court to test their compatibility with the Constitution.
The Chancellor of Saltstead, currently Alexander van den Hågen, serves as the head of government of Saltstead. The Chancellor initially possessed little power under the absolutist monarchy, but accrued significant power as the monarchy’s position weakened throughout the Saltsteadish Anarchy. The Chancellor later became the unchallenged leader of Saltstead in the aftermath of the Saltsteadish Civil War and the fall of the Regency, with the war resulting in the depoliticisation of the monarchy and democratisation of Saltstead. The modern Chancellor serves as the commander-in-chief of the Saltsteadish Defence Forces (SDF), negotiates the terms of treaties, appoints and dismisses government secretaries and exercises control over policies of the central government.
The bicameral States General exercises legislative power and control over the executive through its ability to withhold confidence and supply. The National Diet is elected by universal and secret suffrage for all Saltsteadish citizens over the age of 18 by closed list proportional representation. As the lower house of the States General, the Diet initiates most legislation and has the sole power to invest and dismiss the Government of Saltstead, the power to initiate monetary bills and declare war and peace on behalf of the realm.
The National Council is the upper house of the States General and is formed on a corporative basis, representing the interests of various sectors of society. The chamber has the power to delay legislation, but lacks veto power; decisions and amendments made by the house can be overturned by an absolute majority in the National Diet. The Council’s status as a non-partisan body and its insulation from public opinion gives it the power to act as a chamber of sober second thought and gives the body a more collegial atmosphere than its elected counterpart; as the Government does not need to rely on the support of the Council to remain in office and cannot rely on its automatic support, the Government commonly faces more serious scrutiny in the upper house than the lower.
Law and judiciary
Administrative divisions
Saltstead is divided into 34 administrative counties, which are grouped into three historic provinces: Walland in the north, Saxland in the south-east and Sealand in the south-west. The counties are in turn divided into 537 municipalities.
Municipalities are governed by a directly elected municipal council and have powers over housing, social service administration, planning applications, public transportation, utilities, leisure, recreation and waste collection. Counties are similarly governed by a county council and are responsible for roads management, waste disposal, policing, fire services, vehicle licensing, civil registries, transport planning, health services, tourism and water and flood defence. On the other hand, provinces exist largely as points of geographic reference, and retain only limited administrative significance.
Military
Saltstead maintains a military force with ??? active and ??? reserve personnel, built around a defence policy of deterrence and non-interventionism. Divided into the Army, Armada, Air Force and Guard, the Saltsteadish Defence Forces are headed by the Chancellor as commander-in-chief and the Defence Staff appointed by the Defence Secretary. The armed forces operate under a policy of conscription, with all Saltsteadish males and females (including those with dual citizenship) over the age of 18 required to serve at least twelve months in the military. Deferment is available for those entering higher education until three months after graduation, while conscientious objectors are permitted to do eighteen months of alternative civilian service instead of serving in the military, such as in the police, fire department, education, public hospitals, homes for the elderly or international humanitarian service.
The Saltsteadish Defence Forces are empowered by the National Defence Act and given the mission to “preserve the independence, sovereignty, peace and security of Saltstead”, “protect the interests of Saltstead” and “overcome any organisations or regimes responsible for aggressive acts that imperil the peace and security of Saltstead.” Saltstead maintains a strict policy of deliberate ambiguity on whether it possesses nuclear, chemical and biological weapons to aid in its deterrence strategy.