Statenland

The State of Statenland is a state within the Republic of Redoriv. The state was admitted to the Republic on November 14th, 2021. It is ruled jointly by the President-Minister (PM) and Minister-President (MP). Its capital is Statenland City, located at the heart of the state.

Migration of Humans to Statenland
The area which currently comprises Statenland City was first settled by a group of humans migrating en masse from an unknown disaster west of Eldham into what are now the territories of the Republic of Redoriv. One of these migrant groups sailed into the lake in the middle of Astios and up the Staten River, settling in what is currently Statenland City.

Statenland City was one of the Redorivan city-states, along with Tuhrifel, Avalon, Omhanstad, and Balistar, to name a few. Though fiercely independent, they shared some form of identity as migrants from an unknown disaster west of Eldham and continued contact and trading with each other.

Duchy of Statenland
In the years following the the settlement of the continent by humans, The City of Statenland (The namesake of the State) thanks to it’s position along the Staten River and central position in the Valley it began to grow to prominence, This caused the city to have a boom in population and eventually caused the city to have to begin to expand outwards. This expansion of land resulted in the rise of a rich family within the city which funded expansion and grew into a respected family among the citizens of the city so much that the first Duke of Statenland is known as the “Golden Duke”. This family eventual became the Sovereigns of Statenland or “Dukes of Statenland”, resulting in founding the first documented united state within the Statenland region, The Duchy of Statenland.

Some say the Statenland Dukes charity and generous behaviour in the founding of the Duchy was only a front in a leap at power others say they truly at the founding had hearts of gold but after a few decades that image of charity changed. As the old saying goes “Everything that rises will fall. Empires, societies, governments. None of them lasts forever” and the same can be said about the Duchy of Statenland.

After 6 decades of ruling Statenland. The founding duke’s grandson had caused the catalysts for collapse. The Duke had turned his eyes from his subjects and precarious conditions for the lower classes and massing wealth disparities between those in favour of the Duke and those out of favour had begun to show cracks in the reign of the “Blind Duke” and the system that he was only at the top of through inheritance. These conditions caused those with less income to begin to struggle to supply food for themselves, Famine throughout the Duchy was fairly common. While those unfortunate suffered those who were fortunate (The Nobles and Friends of the Duke) began to prosper. Although it is unknown how word got out about the stockpiling of food and goods within Noble homesteads, all that is known is once the word got out strikes and protests began… and one of those protests will go down in history, The infamous Pinecone incident

Pinecone War
This was the flipping point in Statenland history. The power struggle between Monarchist Forces and Democratic/Socialist Forces, a seemingly shared event in all Eldham nations. All started with the “Throw heard around the valley”.

This war was sparked off the back of years of abandonment by the Duke of Statenland, Famine reigned over the duchy. All the pent up anger and frustration came to ahead during a protest at the Statenland Plaza (The Plaza which has come to be the memorial place for Statenland), where citizens of Statenland City protested in the Plaza. After 2 hours of shouting and yelling a truly bizarre event happened. One brave protester threw a fallen Pinecone towards the Royal Guards of the Duke which had taken up position around the Plaza to keep the protest contained and the action that many today still deem as an overreaction played out. The Royal Guard hit was Captain Keller, The Captain of the 3th Statenland Cavalry Company after being smacked across the face with the Pinecone he looked at the man who had thrown the Pinecone and called for a charge. The Mounted Royal Guards sallied forward and attacked the man, resulting in 28 stab wounds to the man’s torso. This action was witnessed by the crowd that had gathered to protest and this is where the peaceful protest turned violent. Protesters ran forward and grabbed at the mounted Guards and pulled them off their horses. A few Guards were dismounted resulting in deaths or injuries, Captain Keller had miraculously survived and led the remaining mounted men out of the Plaza. This is where the surrounding Guards opened fire on the advancing protesters, The first bloodshed of the War was sparked.

Right at the start of the War, two formerly underground organisations came to light. The S.D.U or Statenland Democratic Underground and S.S.F or Statenland Socialist Forces while at the beginning the two organisations argued and wrestled for leadership over the Rebellion leadership they eventually realised if they fought among themselves they would not claim victory over the Dukes Monarchist forces. And so, the two forces put aside their differences to fight for Statenland Change. Luckily for the Coalition after the first Pinecone Massacre the Dukes own council and government had turned on him, secret meetings between government officials and High ranking Coalition members began to happen. It is believed it was through one of these meetings that the most major turning point in the war was planned… The “Assassination of the Blind Duke” a event shrouded in so much uncertainty and mystery even 9 years after the event no-one is exactly sure what had happened. After the assassination power fell to the Dukes son and this is where the Monarchist began to lose, with a young and inexperienced leader at heart helm the defence of key positions began to collapse. After the “Young Duke” took the throne it was a matter of weeks before Coalition forces captured the last Monarchist held point, marking the ending of the Pinecone War.

Aftermath Of the Pinecone War
After the Young Duke signed his abdication from the throne, the Leaders of the Coalition announced the establishment of the Republic of Statenland which until the first elected President could be declared, a Council would convene to act as the head of state. In the rubble of the war, a power vacuum was created and the coalition almost immediately collapsed after the first council meeting. The S.D.U presenting their own candidate the organisation second-in-command Marnix van Breen while the S.S.F presenting their opposition candidate, Nicklaus Geisser. The election commenced 4 weeks after the end of the War and Marnix van Breen was announced as the first president of Statenland.

Republic of Statenland
Although a sour taste remained in their mouth after the nation shifted towards a more democratic government, The S.S.F used their favours from the war to persuade the S.D.U to agree to a Dual Leadership. 4 months after the war President van Breen announced “The nation’s leadership to mirror the dual leadership that lead us through the War, our State shall become a diarchy to remember the efforts of the S.D.U and S.S.F”. So another election was held to install a President-Minister. Given the short notice and the fact the two dominant “parties” within the nation were the S.D.U and S.S.F, The only acceptable candidate was a S.S.F one, and as of recently a new member of the party had been growing in popularity, Java. A strange dwarf dragon. Although their kind of sudden appearance they were put forward as the S.S.F candidate. So, the nation was back to the dual leadership of the S.D.U and S.S.F.

Five years after the von Breem and Java Presidency was inaugurated, The citizens decided they wanted change called for an election from the presidential administration. One that von Breem who has growing older and older and wanted to spent time with his family was glad to accept. And with von Breem stepping down, the elections for both positions commenced. The newly rebranded S.D.P or Statenland Democratic Party put forward a new candidate, It was a young former intelligence officer from the days of the Pinewar called Diamond van Hoeven. The S.S.F was having a internal dispute over who was to be their candidate… many said Java was to run again but a many also disagreed, this uncertainty from the party led the people to vote for a third option, a independent candidate named Vortex von Statenland.

So after 5+ years under a dual S.S.F and S.D.U leadership the normal was changed with two democratic leaning leaders elected to office. This shameful leadership from the S.S.F cause the front to disperse… those who voted for Java to be the S.S.F candidate decided to slip and form a new party called S.U.S or Socialist Union of Statenland.

Diamond and Sayori after a year in office decided to follow suit and formed a New Democratic Party as well, SNV or “Statenland Naar Voren” (Statenland Forward) the S.D.P falling to the wayside although is still a minor party. Fearing the invasion of Rathnirian empires after their discovery of Eldham and of rising expansionist empires like Aristios, Diamond and Sayori, under this new party, decided Statenland should align itself with another major power in the region, the Kingdom of Florandia. Florandia had previously acquired a huge swath of land from the Dwarven tribes in Southwestern Astios and Avalon, Statenland's previous ally in fighting against the Kingdom of Ryvier, had joined Florandia during its expansion into northern and central Astios.

State of Statenland
After the collapse of the Kingdom of Florandia, the State of Statenland became one of the many territories, later one of the states, in the Republic of Redoriv. It is one of the few republics in the nation alongside Earrach. As a state, it has representation within the Redorivian Federal Government with one senate seat for Statenland.

Geography
The State of Statenland is a state located within Central Redoriv in the continent of Astios. The City of Statenland was built by the Staten River, located within the center of the state. It is spread widely on both banks of the river. The city is relatively flat compared to most other big cities in Redoriv.

Situated within the taiga, Statenland City and Erusea's main natural resources are their spruce trees. Spruce is a significant part of Statenlander identity as most buildings in the cities are made of spruce. Because of their ubiquity within the cities, Statenland is a significant lumber exporter, providing spruce wood to other states within Redoriv and Erusea has a lumbermill working on spruce products.

Government
The Government of Statenland functions in accordance to the Constitution of the State of Statenland. The constitution contains thirteen articles pertaining to the executive government, elections, amendments, and revolutions.

It is currently a purely executive government lead jointly by the President-Minister and Minister-President. Both leaders appoint various ministers to the Cabinet, such as the Interior Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Finance Minister.

The legislature and judiciary of Statenland can be amended via referendum if necessary.