Mayo

Independent Region of Mayo
Onafhankelijke Regio Mayo

Official language	Dutch, English (administrative), Esperanto, Basque (official)
Capital	Iban (briefly Iñigo)
Largest cities	Egoi, Unai, Diez
Website	Mayo Website
Forum	Mayo Forum
Number of citizens	10
Number of active citizens	0 (Nation Inactive)
Date founded	June 23rd 2004 (as a province of Charlotta) August 6th 2004 (as an independent state)
Government	Republic
Current leader	President Joxin 'Charly' Diez
Currency	Mayoo (Mj)
National animal	unknown
National fruit/food	unknown
National drink	unknown
Map versions	6.7.5 - 7.0.4

Mayo was one of the most successful Dutch micronations on Micras and is remembered for being a political hostpot during the 2004 Cold War on Micras which also included fellow Dutch micronations Charlotta and the Red Antilles. Prominent citizens of the nation included the founder, Joxin 'Charly Diez, Dorian Anarkiazale, and Thomas Heyndericx.

History

Mayo started out as a province of the Republic of Charlotta, which was founded by Joxin Diez on June 23, 2004. The region was mostly inhabitated by social democrats and liberals. The two other Charlottan provinces of Flores and Landaluze were dominated by the Communist Party of Charlotta. Tensions between those two groups eventually culminated in a communist-led coup d'état on August 4, 2004, which resulted in the seccesion and independence of Mayo. These events would long remain the source of enmity in the Dutch Sector, and would even have ramifications in the Anglophone Sector.

Mayo was declared independent by Joxin Diez on August 6, 2004 and was henceforth to be known as the Independent Region of Mayo. Due to the weak position of the Charlottan communists on the intermicronational forum, there was not much they could undertake to prevent the seccesion. It would take months before officials of Mayo and the People's Republic of Charlotta (Flores–Landaluze) signed a treaty of peaceful coexistence. The Treaty of Gorospe was eventually signed on December 6, 2004 and included this paragraph:

IX. Agree to disagree The Independent Region of Mayo and the People’s Republic of Charlotta recognize that this treaty doesn’t constitute a (mutual) point of view concerning the coup d’état which took place in Charlotta in the night from August 3 – 4, 2004, on its legitimacy nor on its necessity

The region would long be dominated by the social democratic Unio Popola Social (Social People's Union), which was the succesor of the Progressive Alliance of Charlotta (PACE). The transition cabinet and the first two elected governments were all formed by UPS officials Joxin Diez and Dorian Anarkiazale. The first pluralist cabinet was formed on December 12, 2005, when the populist Mayoan People's Alliance entered the cabinet. Political parties did not have a lot of influence, though, since Mayo was a direct democracy.

Mayo would differentiate itself from the other Dutch micronation by succeeding in creating an active economy. The region housed all the major media enterprises of the Dutch Sector, most notably Nieuws.net and ERAm. The latter would publish dozens of weekly and monthly magazines on current affairs which were sold and read throughout the Dutch Sector. Two editions of the weekly 'Nieuwsweek' were even translated and sold in the Anglophone Sector (primarily in Antica). These powerful media enterprises generated a lot of subsidiary economic activities, like opinion takers, advertising and investment firms.

One of the other strong points of Mayo was its well-developed culture and national sentiment. The cultural components were largely drawn from the use of Esperanto and the Basque language for legal terms, company and personal names. The government was thus known as the 'esku', the largest investment firm was the Societo de Investadoj de Mayo (SIMay) and Mayoan citizens had names like Dorian Anarkiazale, Mixuel Askatasuna and Aingelu Hiltzaile. The national sentiment was forged as a result of the coup in Charlotta and the resulting desire to make a success of Mayo.

As 'capital' of the Dutch Sector, Mayo was involved in many constructions of intermicronational cooperation. It formed the Mayoan-Victorian Confederation with the Principality of Victoria and was a founding member of the Universities Association, which encouraged academic cooperation between the universities of Flanders (VUV) and Mayo (VUMa). The Dutch-Flemish Economical Conference of February 2005 was also hosted in Mayo.

The region of Mayo would eventually be reunited with the People's Republic of Charlotta when they both entered the Low Countries Confederation in December 2005 (along with the then leading Republic of Flanders), but a declining citizenry would soon lead to the demise and end of the nation on January 3, 2006.