Monterre

The Grand Republic of Monterre, known commonly as Monterre, is a Tortugan Region in Sparwood founded by Jean Montpelier (SamWhamBamTheMan) and Antonio Artaud (mellamojeff) on July 3rd, 2021.

Location
Monterre situated on the continent of Sparwood respectively the Tortugan (Akratian) peninsula. It sits just north east of Tortuga isle, south west of Valondor, and right on the Tortugan sea.

Early Stages and Independence
When Jean Montpelier first joined Rathnir, he settled in northern Tortuga. He quickly was welcomed to the Tortugan city of Loria City, where he lived until late June 2021. Towards the end of that June, he migrated southeast across the Tortugan border into the lands of Nocturia. He and friend Antonio Artaud began constructing The Montpelier Fortress on the coast, where Pareaux was to be. After a week, Montpelier reached out to 1Icey, leader of Nocturia, to ask for independence. 1Icey accepted and granted the lands of Monterre independence on July 3rd, 2021. He also agreed to militarily guarantee Monterran independence for the first month of their freedom. On the same day Montpelier was elected as the first President of Monterre. He chose Artaud to be his Vice President. On July 5th, Montpelier and Artaud ratified the Monterran Constitution.

With Monterre now an independent nation, Artaud and Montpelier accepted migrants to raise the population. Shortly after achieving independence, the town of Instour, led by than esteemed Monterran Lord and Grand Marshal Dermo, was discovered and incorporated into Monterre. By mid-July, the Monterran population had raised from its initial three (Montpelier, Artaud, and player assvaldo) to around a dozen. Around this time construction on the Montpelier Fortress came to a halt as outside commitments, server issues, and server queues led to Artaud and Montpelier being unable to log onto Rathnir often. The national anthem was composed by Robert Montpelier, and now a copy remains in the library of Kibbutz.

The Kibbutznik Crisis
Perhaps the greatest threat to Monterran sovereignty thus far came in the form of the Kibbutznik Crisis. In mid-July, multiple Monterrans began reporting noticed signs of activity in the abandoned town of Ozhaliz on Monterre’s eastern border. A diplomat was sent to scout out the area for people, and discovered that a commune of people known as the Kibbutzniks had just settled the area and founded the city of Kibbutz. Initially, all seemed well and the Kibbutzniks willingly joined Monterre. However after about a week, multiple spies within Kibbutz not loyal to it shared information with the Monterran government that the Kibbutzniks plotted to exploit the Monterran democracy and seize power. The Monterran government kept this information secret for another week as they chose a proper course of action, and afterwards they issued an ultimatum to the Kibbutzniks. Monterre threatened to bring in military forces from their historic ally, Tortuga, to expel the Kibbutzniks if they did not leave Monterre. Eventually a compromise was reached and no military action was taken. Following the demise of the plot, the Kibbutznik Golden Age ended and most of the Kibbutznik population became inactive. Those left, by and large, switched allegiances and agreed to remain Monterran. Kibbutz was granted a degree of autonomy by Monterre.

The Reformation
Following and during the Kibbutznik Crisis, many Monterrans became inactive. Having successfully negotiated with the Kibbutzniks and preserving Monterran sovereignty, Montpelier chose not to run for President in the September elections. Dermo, mayor of Instour, was elected unanimously. During Dermo’s term, Monterre’s inactivity led to a period of stagnation for the country. This came to a close in early October when new citizen Paullus Decker chose to run for president. He won in a landslide victory and began immediate reforms to the nation, helping rejuvenate activity and making plans to expand Monterre’s cities. Decker enlisted Kibbutznik mayor and adopted son of Dermo and Jean Montpelier, Panda Montpelier, to be his Vice President. And with the support of the Parliament he implemented the laws of the six tables, a more stable and better government for Monterre.

The Six Tables
The Six tables was initial thought up by Paullus Decker when he was in the old empire of Akratia. The tables provided Monterre with a new republic that would undo the old system of corruption that the Kibbutznik Crisis started with. This change in government, and thought process for Monterre, brought in many years worth of help and production to the area. The tables were formed under 6 sections; 2 tables for the courts and how they where to function, a table for the rights of property, another for the senate and its responsibilities, and additonally two more tables for trade, money, and the peoples rights. These 6 tables would form the basis of Monterre's government today. The lords were changed to senators, and Paullus stood as Consul. This brought the formation of the 1st Senate, a term that is to represent when the influence of one senate and its people are over and replaced with new senators.

Upon the end of the Era, Paullus had worked to build a new Instour. The elections of the Governor, and the original Townhall were built in this Era. The underground society was brought to the public's attention as it opened it's top floors to visitors and opened its Inn, and the shores of Instour were finally built, bringing the trade Monterre needed to its capital. Paullus' work, till he left that January, can be seen as a negative and positive impact. On one hand a single man had taken over as president with his persuasion alone, who stripped everything the original three members of Monterre had established besides its flags and name, brought the end to a independent Monterre, and brought his laws to them instead... on the other though, Paullus established long term relations with nearby neighbors and brought the people activity in the capital. It came to a close that following January as Paullus nearly demanded the senate to have them join Tortuga. Paullus had connections with the than leader Canadian and had him agree to let the Region join and keep the 6 tables in place, This decision was made after the fall of the alliance Monterre was in fell apart and Monterre with no ally's was sent out to find protection against larger bodies of government yet again. Paullus left a few weeks after to new lands.

The Era of Inventor Montpelier
Paullus, not long before departing, granted the role of consul to Inventor Montpelier, a well known and influential senator who served Monterre from its youngest days.

The new consul was left with a rather broken and inactive Monterre, which he had to fix. He appointed Kazad, the architect of instour, to be its governor after proving himself to be a competent planner. Then he worked on securing funds for Monterre by starting a brewing company and a nether mining operation. Another big issue for Monterre was its largely inactive Senate, which made Monterre unable to make progress. So Inventor replaced the inactive Senators with active and well respected Monterran citizens. This brought great change to the Republic in its terms of government, and the Republic started to see changes. The early days saw the improvements of Kibbutz form, as well as the Republic's growth in Citizens, Regional wealth, and development.

Soon after the increase of work in Kibbutz, Inventor was sat with Kazad to discuss a new project for the Capital, which up to this point in Monterre's story, was a long way from being a reliable capital for the plans that Inventor & Kazad had for the region. Buildings around the Republic started to be constructed. The Homes in the western side of Kibbutz, it's own city walls pushed far to the west. Temples constructed, Families thrived. All the while the mines below salvaged, bringing wealth and coin into the Republic.

The Instour Renewal Project
Right after Kazad was appointed the new a Governor, he started work with the help of UwU_Slayer69, a brilliant builder, and Inventor Montpelier, the Consul of Monterre, on rebuilding the decaying captial, and thus creating the "Instour renewal Project". This was the start of a grand rebuild of the capital which would over see nearly, if not all, of the old buildings removed from the Capital, and replaced with new and updated builds that the citizens worked hard to complete. The Project saw the Ports of Instour upgraded, fixed, and ships for the first time in years once again arrived in the city. Wealth, production, and influx of materials from the export of brews, alcohol, and other goods saw Instour gain the materials needed to start the next phase of the project.

After the docks where fixed the Townhall and higher elevated area of Instour was to be flattened and a grand plaza brought to the City. The Townhall remained for a long period of time, only being removed circa Sept. 2022 after the completion of the Plaza. Once again citizens saw more homes, shops, and places for leisure in its capital. With the townhall renovated, the grand architect has once again started making plans for a new housing district as the Senate building for Monterre breaks ground.

The 5 tables and Lex Code
In July of that year, the people of Monterre celebrated their nation's first year anniversary and the ending of the first senate. While Senator kazad was working on events, Paullus mentioned to Inventor Montpelier that Kazad worked better as an invite organizer than a Tribune for the plebs. While he took his job seriously and with great passion, it just seemed for fitting, and both the Aedile and Tribune worked day to day with the people. With this comment Inventor had the senate grant a secret meeting to promote Kazad to the title of Aedile. While the Election Reform Act had made it standard to vote certain people with certain positions, back in the day a senator was elected as a senator, and selected a role that was still available. Usually vowing to take office as that position and do right. Kazad did so with the first position of Tribune. However, when Paullus mentioned this to Inventor, he did so to run back into the senate. And following Kazad’s promotion that was announced at the festival of a year anniversary, Paullus announced his own Return to the Senate as a Tribune. Winning in the following weeks.

This return was long overdue. Paullus returned to realize that his tables did not stand the test of time as he had hoped. Crime ran the streets, and due to lack of certain laws and a very limited in-depth definitions for many of the tables laws. He worked close with the Monterre citizens Jay and SirISABravo to establish the "Lex Code". This was a long piece of legal paperwork that defined nearly every aspect of the Republics laws, and established nearly every punishment level for different types of crimes, how each part of the government functioned, and those parts limited powers. It allowed the senate to now officially gain the ability of proper positions besides senator and consul, and created the Senate Hierarchy that was required as to not allow short term members of the senate to gain rapid power within the Republic. Paullus created this document, and with the very fast and quick reelection to the senate as Tribune, Paullus helped stabilize the legal system of the Republic.

The 2nd Senate
The Second Senate is a term referred to in Monterre history as the senate that has lasted the longest in time, and saw the most changes. It brought more traditions to the senate, and lead the Region from Late Spring 22 to the end of the next October. This senate is mainly brought to power by its 4 main senators. Consul Inventor Montpelier, Preator Robert Montpelier, Aedile Kazad, and Tribune Paullus Decker. These four senators worked together to complete many of the projects, and agreed unanimously to stay apart of Tortuga during its collapse that fall. The 2nd Senate was the start of the Monterre judical system finally being used in two different cases, and the Senate saw many changes and decisions enacted in its time.

The Inventor-Paullus Bickering
With the Second Senate though, came a lot of bickering and drama. Inventor was known to be the prosperous leader of Monterre, rightfully so. He worked tirelessly for months to build Monterre, working side by side with Builders to complete the plans for the Instour Renewal Project, and continued to function day to day on the needs of the people. However, Paullus, a lawfully minded man, sat mostly in the halls of the senate. Sure he worked with builders, using the blue prints to build and complete the senate building and town hall, and even some of the housing in the city, but he was a writer of laws. It was a disconnection from reality at times, and Inventor was always the one to snap him out of it. The Head of the Deckers and the Montpelier’s never really got along, and this would show time and time again as each of them wished for a different vision of Monterre.

There are a series of issues that the two would debate on. Whether or not the Fort of Homa was a town or not was always brought to question. Paullus believed a more unified population is better for towns, it was similar practice that had served nations like Bardonia well in its’ early days. Inventor, and many other senators over time, agreed it was a town because it had housing. Paullus had different plans for it, wanting it to serve as a food production facility for the republic, and a storage site for the Tortugan / Monterre military. He even went far as to legalize it when he edited the The 6 tables to the 5 tables. The issue of Farms came into question over time too, a centralized farm was seen as best by inventor, but paullus felt that if that main farm was down, raided, etc, each city should have a small and sustainable farm of their own. A separate act was passed on that as well. Many issue would plague these twos friendship to something very bitter over time.

These issue may not seem worthy of the history books, and in most cases aren’t, but their debates and interventions into countless issues would decide so many of the senate’s issues and prolong even more actions from being finished. Paullus himself may have appeared young, but over time he had become more and more hard headed in his ways, goals, and vision for the future of Montpelier, at times so did Inventor. The Balance of these two really did bring a new job for Kazad to redirect the focus of the senate, to find a solution, and become a middle man.

The Tortugan Collapse of Fall 22'
In the drama of the Isle, the sea's of Tortuga collapsed. A vortex of power, a sink hole that consumed so much of Tortuga's integredy and honor. The Hero known as Pirate lord Joseph plugged that sink whole, fixed the mast, and the clouds cleared. During that storm though a fellow known as Spades from Valondor asked the Senate of Monterre to join him, to abandon the ship, to save themselves from the collapse. The Senate respectfully held a meeting on the matter, weighed the options, and came to a solid conclusion. No. Absolutely not. Inventor himself would've done the unthinkable and thrown out the tables and killed the instead of join Valondor and sink the ship. It was a notable decision in the Region's history. The love and appreciation would be felt for months, and the next year as Tortuga rebuilt it self from the ground up.

The Senate Crisis
If the Kibbutz crisis was the biggest threat to Monterre's integrity, the Senate Crisis of Feb. 23 was the biggest taint on Monterre's reputation.

In October of 22, Inventor Montpelier died of old age. A Consul election was held, and Paullus Decker won. With that, the third senate was formed, which did not last long. The second Paullus era ultimately led to Paullus's demise. He became unpopular because of his senile attitude and his clenching onto the 5 Tables and Lex Code. During this era, Taernos, another Tortugan Region, was merged into Monterre as a district after agreements between Paullus, the leader of Taernos Ayerdren and Pirate Lord Ulifer. The Taernosi mingled well with the Monterrans, and Paullus organised new senate elections, which formed a 4th senate composed of both Taernosi and Monterrans. The merge brought a surge of activity to Monterre, and doubled its territory. Monterre prospered economically, but the senate room was tense, as Paullus made controversial decisions and big mistakes. He tried to make reforms but they were refused by the population, which led Paullus to force the laws into the 5 Tables. This led to an uproar amongst the population and a drastic decrease of Paullus's popularity. However the senate managed to reform the senate and consul elections process.

In the beginning of 23, the Valondori-Tortugan war erupted from a decleration of independence from Tortuga by Valondor, which fragmented the Tortugan regions into two factions: separatists, who left Tortuga seeking more freedom, and loyalists, true pirates who recognised the Dominion's generosity. As Valondor's ranks were growing in size (but not in strength), some Taernosi citizens wanted to secede from Monterre, fearing Tortuga's defeat. The Taernosi leaders made it clear to Paullus that Taernos was probably going to leave Monterre to join Valondor. Paullus was left with a choice: keeping the Republic whole or staying loyal to Tortuga. He decided to hold a vote between the senators, and to read them in 24 hours, as per the tables. However, lies has been spread throughout the night.

The night before the vote Paullus had visited Kazad on their way to their rooms in the senate building. Kazad was the magistrate of the the capital district. He asked him about what he and the town leaders would do if the vote passed. Kazad, using his words carefully, simply said he would follow where Monterre went. Paullus took it as a sign of following the republic, as a sign to not split the institution that has stood for so long. It’s important to take note of what Paullus and Ayedren referred to as the “Back door deal” when they first merged the two regions, which allowed any party to leave when they wanted, no questions asked. Paullus was a man who was deeply loyal to tortuga, but was traditional, and recognized that Monterre themselves were once a nation. The tables were his creation, and either move here was a poor one. Bring a collapse the region he had just built the last few years building up, or keep it together as a unloyal state. He figured the war, given his knowledge being a first mate, would lead to a tortugan victory and a reinstatement into tortuga as a whole region after the war. His own reputation sacrificed for the betterment of the republic and the region, short term sacrifice, and a long term beneficial goal.

But, while the night was over for paullus, senator and governor of Instour Kazad made a meeting with Fransesco, the two spoke long into the night, and despite the words of loyalty to the republic that Kazad had portrayed to Paullus, Kazad would inadvertently seal Paullus’ fate. In the morning Paullus sat with the tarneos senators, waiting for the Monterre senators. Kazad walked in, hedgehog behind him. A quiet tone on his face as he sat across from the tarneos leaders. Paullus announced the votes, and in a questionable act leagally, broke the vote himself. He chose to keep the republic together, but did not voice his opinions on what would happen to Kazad the night before. Within moments, Kazad stood from his seat, “The capital will stay in Tortuga no matter what.”

Paullus having been lied to sighed, and leaned back. The one person he trusted most had just lied to him, and moments prior to Kazad entering the senate room a letter was already on its way to Ulifer signed by Paullus himself. He immediately spoke with the tarneos, and with agreement they used the back door deal. Paullus vetoed the vote, defaulting to plan B, which would split the population and his months of work. He declared that main Monterre would stay in Tortuga, accepting Taernos's departure. He looked at Kazad, and quietly without word left the senate room.

However the ill had already been done: news spread fast of Paullus's decision of leaving Monterre, and in no time he was thrown out of the Tortugan government and stripped from his First Mate title. Monterre, whos pride had been its eternal loyalty to Tortuga, was now seen as a traitor region by the remaining Tortugan regions. The senate needed to act fast in order to stop the spread of rumors, so praetor Kazad took the matter into court. The trial opposed Paullus to Inventor Montpelier's son, Fransesco Montpelier, who accused Paullus of treason against Monterre and Tortuga. It was considered that Paullus had acted in favour of the Monterran people, prioritising the region's integrity, however by voting in favour of leaving Tortuga he had put the final nail in his coffin. Declared guilty of treason towards Tortuga, Paullus Decker was sentenced to death and hanged on the 5th of Feb. 22. The trial reassured the Monterran population and Pirate Lord Ulifer pardoned Monterre, however the region's reputation had been deeply wounded, and certain Tortugan Captains were still distrustful of the senate, who was now in shambles.

The Era of Kazad
Following the Senate Crisis, Monterre's senate was dismembered. Only Hedgehog and Kazad were left, and there was no consul to represent Monterre. After taking in consideration his contribution to Monterre, Kazad was chosen as Consul of Monterre to replace the now buried Paullus Decker. Kazad is to be consul until the next consul elections on the 15th of Jun. 23. For now he has not done much, as he is one lazy guy.

Government
Monterre has a Representative Republic, led by a Senate. The Senate is comprised of the senators and a consul who handles most of the diplomatic matters, while senators focus on internal issues outside of wartime.

The 5 tables & Lex Code that the Government is standing on today is stronger than the original 6. The Government can be split into two equally important documents, the tables, and the Lex Code, they cannot exist without the other. The Tables where original 6, but most laws in the than 5th table, "Powers of Money & Wealth" were unusable in Monterre since the region wasn't to grow into anymore than its two main cities. It was shortened to 5, and the prior mentioned table was moved to the Lex Code.

The Tables are a sort of constitution for the Republic. It founds the ideals, laws, and nature of the Republic, says what can and cannot happen, and gives its power to the people. The Lex Code is an expansion on the Tables, and brings the procedures, explanation of the tables, and severity of punishment to the Courts and its people. The tables need the Lex Code in order to give it structure and stability in the courts and senate, and the Lex Code needs the Tables in order to have a reason to give the citizens rights and protect them from all judges overstepping their power. It's a dynamic system, which spans 22 pages of law and order set by the Monterre Moderate Party in the Summer of 2022, and approved by the 2nd Senate.

The laws in general, besides the boring laws over crime, brought in a lot of needed order to the tables that wasn't written in to the nation that Paullus had not thought needed as he believed on honor and doing everything correctly because of traditions he tried to set in the Republic. With his return and another reform of his, the Lex code brought about proper procedures, and clear instructions to the senators what jobs and responsibilities they have.


 * Tribune of the Plebs- The Starting position for any Senator, who's role focused on the needs and activity of the people. This role also ran the Public Assembly, a way to pass all laws by the people.
 * Aedile- This position worked on public projects and events in the region. Traditionally working with the Tribune of the plebs on activity and making sure that the people are happy with breads and circuses.
 * Questor- This position managed the Region accounts and made sure everything could be properly funded that the senate and people needed. Including builds, events, jobs, businesses, etc.
 * Preator- The head of law in the court rooms, the Preator is in charge of all judges in the region, and is the head of the Region Court. A powerful court in the republic that settles Regional matters, and is single handedly one of the most powerful positions in the Republic. The current Preator is Robert Montpelier.
 * Consul- While the face of the Republic, and leader in foreign affairs, the Consul is limited in many powers. The Consul, unlike any other senator, may not vote, and the Consul cannot try to persuade the Senate in his favor during a senate vote, but can debate. The Consul though, due to Tortugan law, is also the captain of Monterre. Although in practice, the Consuls do not use the tools and powers of a captain while in Monterre unless heavily required. The Consuls biggest job though, is making sure every position runs according to plan. The Activity of the Region must be taken care of, the foreign policy must be kept to the Senate's standards, and the events must continue, and his people pleased. Consuls are some of the eldest members of the Senate, and command so much respect that when a Consul steps down and another begins, the government begins a new Era under his / her name.

Towns

 * Instour, the capital Monterre
 * Kibbutz, a town in East Monterre
 * Homa, a fort southeast of kibbutz
 * Pareaux, an abandonned fort in west Monterre