Brettish Isles
| Commonwealth of the Brettish Isles | |||
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| Motto: "Acies Fida, Lamina Recta" "Steel True, Blade Straight" | |||
| Anthem: Libera Me | |||
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| Map versions | 15.3.1 - current | ||
| Capital | Baskerville | ||
| Largest city | Montfort, Willow, Port Watson | ||
| Official language(s) | Istvanistani, Calbic | ||
| Official religion(s) | Joveism, Calbain Church | ||
| Demonym | Brettish | ||
| Adjective | Brettish | ||
| Government | Commonwealth (OHL realm) | ||
| • Lord Steward | Robert Vernet, 6th Baron of Willow | ||
| • Speaker of Parliament | Sebastian Moncler | ||
| • Bisshop of Montfort | Sigrid Wendelmere | ||
| Legislature | High Court of Parliament | ||
| Establishment | 1605 AN | ||
| Area | 216,400 km² | ||
| Population | 10,394,722 (1752) | ||
| Currency | Crown (HUK) Calbain Arian Legal tender until I.1778) | ||
| Abbreviation | BRE | ||
| Driving side | left | ||
| Time zone(s) | CMT+12 | ||
| National animal | Lurcher | ||
| National drink | Tea | ||
The Brettish Isles, officially the Commonwealth of the Brettish Isles and informally known as Brettania, is an autonomous realm of the Order of the Holy Lakes. The Brettish Isles are geographically located on an island group in the North of the Great Western Sea, and an enclave on Faya Veronique Eiland known as Kilda. Founded in the early 17th century, the Commonwealth of the Brettish Isles has its cultural roots in the New Britannian and Menelmacari civilisations. Located in the northeast corner of Micras, the country seceded from Batavia following a difficult political struggle for Brettish self-determination. The Brettish Isles are a highly legalised constitutional democracy, and their parliamentary system has had significant influence on the development of democracy in Calbion. An island nation, the Brettish Isles only directly borders Shireroth at Kilda, but is proximate to the Benacian Union, Batavia and Mercury.
Government
The Brettish Isles are ruled as a Commonwealth under a Constitution ratified by Parliament. The head of state and the head of government is the Lord Steward. The title of Lord Steward was known prior to 1710 as the Lord Protector. In 1710, the Calbain state declared the Brettish Isles - long an autonomous state under Calbain control - a Grand Duchy. The role of Grand Duke was ceremonial, and held by the Prince of the Calbain. In practice, the Lord Steward would continue to function as the Head of Government. In 1752, Calbion officially renounced the status of Grand Duchy prior to negotiations between the Calbain, the Brettish leadership, and the Order of the Holy Lakes, acceded as a realm of the Order of the Holy Lakes the same year.
Founder and first Lord Protector Jack de Montfort served of head of state for the largest part of its existence, setting this precedent. Throughout the ages, the Brettish Isles have been part of various nations and have had various degrees of autonomy.
History
Delvenus
The very fist nation to inhabit the Brettish Isles was a country known as the Republic of Delvenus, founded by a man named Fax Celestis. The country had a strong relationship with the Apollo Sector, which at the time was still fractured and not the coherent Shireroth we know today. Delvenus also had a good relationship with Elvish stronghold Menelmacar, which was not far off to the south. The Delvenii were an elemental people who strongly believed in the natural forces - earth, water, fire, wood, metal. They had a patriarchal society ruled by a Solomirathius, a benevolent god-like leader. There entire society was modeled on the basis of elements, and each element had acolytes who specialized in there particular area. This elemental division was so strong that the country was divided into regions based on elements. Each of these divisions were tied together by the Elemental Lords who sat in council at the city of Urbia Delvenus. Among the earliest efforts of the Delvenii was map making, and they are indeed credited with this discovery and in being the first Micran cartographers. Although their maps were often skewed and disproportionate, they set a precedent for future cartographers.
Pax Brittania
The Kingdom of New Brittania succeeded in uniting the islands and forging a strong naval empire that spanned the oceans and centuries. Wherever wood could swim, there you could be sure to see the flag of New Brittania. New Brittanians were an offshoot of the Lovely Diaspora but stood out as an exceptional micronation thanks to the enigmatic leadership of King Jeremy, who founded the empire, initially as the fledgling Kingdom of Willow.
Batavia
After the fall of New Brittania, the Kingdom of Batavia, based nearby on Benacia, absorbed and colonized the islands, renaming them Nova Batavia. The remaining New Brittanic population dwindled under the Dutch influence of Batavia, being supplanted throughout the isles. Those few New Brittanians that remained flocked to places such as Wilgenburg (Willow City) built on the ruins of the former capital, although a great majority fled north to what would become Willowshire. During this time Jack Montfort became Governor of Nova Batavia and began the slow process of reasserting Brettish dominance over the isles.
Brettania Rises
In 5190 ASC (October 21, 2013), the Brettish Isles seceded from the Kingdom of Batavia and formed an independent government under the leadership of Jack Montfort. This was not recognized by what remained of the Batavian government, and subsequently led to a tense relationship as the Brettish struggled to assert their freedom while Batavia, also struggling to re-establish itself, adamantly refused to recognize their independence. The two eventually reached an accord of grudging recognition, which after several years warmed into a understanding of mutual trust; especially after the rise of Jingdao.
Civil War
In 1626, near the end of the second term of Richard Amherst as Lord Protector, the Brettish government became controlled by the Avalonian Party, which touched off a political conflict resulting in the Partition Act, dividing the country into Avalon and Calbion. While Calbion flourished as an independent state, the Avalonians led a stagnant government, nominally led by James Sherrinford, that ultimately became far out of touch with its people. As a result the Avalonians were overthrown by their own subjects, led in part by expatriates based on Benacia and by Benjamin Rivers, descendant of the prominent Arthur Rivers and family. The expatriate population established itself as Mountbrettan, acting as mercenaries from the highlands of central Benacia and striking at the Avalonians. Their leader, Ira Altain, eventually formed an alliance with Willowshire and Rivers, invading Westminster and laying siege to the isles.
The United Kingdom
The Avalonians were eventually defeated by combined forces from Mountbrettan, Willowshire, Jingdao and Calbion. As a result of the victory the Avalonians emigrated from the isles and the population of Mountbrettan relocated from Benacia to Brettania. A further development was the consolidation of power over Brettania through the formation of two kingdoms. Brettania Proper would be ruled by the Kingdom of Great Willow, while the outlying islands would become the Kingdom of Eiland.
Decline and Rise
The United Kingdom was not succesful in maintaining internal order. The institutions of Brettish government largely collapsed in 1643, with Ira Altain being the last Lord Protector, but losing grip over the various corners of the islands. At the same time, the Madison Volcano on Sussax island erupted, and a massive plague spread throughout the land. According to chroniclers of the time:
"After the plague had ravished the land, the survivors made certain to finish the devastation. Those who did not die of disease and starvation turned to looting and pillaging. Rogue bands of mercenaries, raving lunatics, thieves, rapists, murderers. The few good souls banded together under King Rivers, making a stand in the oldest part of Brettania, Willowshire. The Great Willow, still standing after countless millennia, became a beacon of hope for those who remembered the days of prosperity, the Golden Age of the Brettish Empire. But it was a dream tortured by the ever-present shadow of darkness."
Despite the efforts of the Willowshirians, a group of peers around the Lord Protector, they did not succeed in restoring order. After a period of regional leadership, and formation of semi-tribal government structures, the Commonwealth officially fell in 1657.
Following the negotiations surrounding the Second Elwynnese Civil War, the sovereignty of the Brettish Isles were transfered once again to Calbion. Under Calbain control, the Brettish were able to rebuild their realm. The government was again established according to democratic principles. Calbion was designated a Grand Duchy, where the Ducal crown was nominally granted to the Prince of the Calbain. However daily government resided with the Lord Steward, who in turn was elected by the Brettish parliament. In 1752, Calbion officially renounced the status of Grand Duchy prior to negotiations between the Calbain, the Brettish leadership, and the Order of the Holy Lakes.
Culture
Culturally, the Brettish Isles embrace strong elements of Victorianism while many elements of government borrow from Cromwell's Republic. The country also incorporates elements of Victorian Steampunk.
Geography
The Brettish Isles are composed of seven islands: Brettania, Sussax, Essax, Holmes, Watson, Cornwallis, and Doyle. The island is further divided into six administrative counties that are then divided into fifteen shires. The islands are located in the northern hemisphere close to the Arctic on the planet Micras. They have a cool, temperate climate bordering on tundra, with wet, rainy summers and dry, cold winters.
