Empire of Adammia
Empire of Adammia Imperium Adammiae | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Motto: Quaerentibus sapientiam et honorem (Latin: Seek wisdom and honour) | |
| Anthem: National: Chariots of Fire Emperor's: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor | |
 Approximate locations of central region and colonies | |
| Capital | Imperial City |
| Largest city | Adamsville |
| Official languages | English |
| Religion | Secular |
| Demonym(s) | Adammic |
| Government | Executive constitutional monarchy |
• Emperor | Adam I |
| Lord Charles Michael | |
| Sir Ned Hilton | |
| Legislature | Imperial Parliament |
| Ruling Council | |
| Establishment | 13 April 2013 |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.192743 km2 (0.074418 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Census | 50 (plus 134 honourary citizens) (22 citizens are territorial residents) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023-24 estimate |
• Total | £783.08 ▲ |
• Per capita | £15.66 ▲ |
| Currency | Pound Sterling (GBP) |
| Time zone | UTC |
Website Website | |
Member state of the Grand Unified Micronational | |
The Empire of Adammia, more commonly known as Adammia, is a micronation primarily located on the island of Great Britain, with some small parts located in continental Europe.[1] The nation is made up of 15 non-contiguous enclave territories surrounded by the counties of West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Greater London, the West Midlands and Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom, and by Brittany in France. Adammia has a surface area of 192,743m² (47.6 acres) and a population of 50 full citizens, of whom 22 are territorial residents.
Adammia is an executive constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system, defined by the Empire's constitution, the Supreme Directive. The current and so far only monarch is Emperor Adam I, who has ruled since Adammia was founded on 13 April 2013. Adammia's official capital is Imperial City. Other cities include Adamsville and Attenborough. The Empire consists of three provinces, four colonies and three territories.
The Empire's total size has fluctuated throughout its history, starting out with 5m² in Emperor Adam I's bedroom when it was first founded in 2013. It went on to annex five provinces over the following year, which are the only constant part of the Empire; colonies and territories come and go frequently. The majority of the Empire's area comes from the Jagstonian Plains and Ashoria, territories which cover large parks. All other subdivisions of the Empire are, for the most part, single residential buildings. The Empire's surface area peaked in March 2015 at 150,707m² (37.2 acres), then declined significantly after the former colonies of Creatuxia and Borealia left the Empire. Fresh claims towards the end of 2018 brought the Empire's size to a new peak. With the vast majority of its territory surrounded by the UK, English is the first language of most Adammic citizens, and this is reflected in the fact that it is the Empire's official language.
Adammia has a small services-based economy and the government's main source of income is a grant provided by the Emperor from his own private wealth, alongside taxes collected from a small number of private companies. Most citizens work in and import goods from their respective macronations, giving them living standards expected for a developed country. Intermicronationally, Adammia is currently in a period of heightened influence, and it is an active member state of the Grand Unified Micronational. Emperor Adam I has served an unprecedented five terms as Chair of the Grand Unified Micronational, serving a record cumulative total of over two years in the role. Adammia is currently considered to be one of the most influential nations in the MicroWiki community. Its military is fairly large by micronational standards, with 16 active servicemen and 3 reserves. It is a fifth world country under the Boodlesmythe-Tallini System. Under Dresner's System of Classification, it has a score of 4.0, and under Linden's Revised System it scores 4.0. Adammia is highly pro-European and claims to be an honourary part of the European Union as a protest against the Brexit process in the UK.
Etymology and terminology
"Adammia" comes from a fictional location created for an internet forum-based role playing game known as Xanada V Sportica. The founder, Adam Belcher, created this fictional location as the Empire of the Great Adammic Islands in January 2013. It was later used as the inspiration for the name of the real-life Adammia.
"Adammic" is the official demonym used to describe something belonging to Adammia, except for the noun which refers to a person from Adammia, the correct for which is "an Adammian".
Strictly speaking, "Adammia" can refer to the whole Empire, or to the country of Adammia, which excludes the colonies; there is a minor legal distinction between the two.
History
First Era
The Empire of Adammia was founded by Adam Belcher on 13 April 2013. The process of establishment took several days, and was completed when the original Supreme Directive was ratified by Sir Alex Helliker on 19 April, formally beginning the reign of Emperor Adam I.[2]
During the first month of its existence, Adammia grew rapidly with Tytannia, Maternia and the then Adammic Imperial Province all being annexed, and the Military, Treasury and official symbols all being created, followed by the nobility and territory system in May. May was also the month when democracy was formally introduced to the Empire for the first time with the First Amendment to the Supreme Directive being enacted, which made all future amendments require a referendum to pass. On 12 May, Adammia joined the Grand Unified Micronational.
Shortly after the state media was introduced in June, the Office of the Emperor announced a proposed new Supreme Directive to replace the old one, which was considered poorly written. After this was approved by a referendum on 30 June, Emperor Adam I ceased to be an absolute monarch as the Empire officially became a constitutional monarchy, with the Ruling Council as the new legislature. The first colony of the Empire, Creatuxia, was annexed in August. Later that month, Emperor Mother Jayne Belcher was elected the first Prime Minister on the 25th, who in September appointed Ministers to the newly created government departments in the executive National Government, creating the first Cabinet. September also saw the creation of the contributions scheme, which gave the Treasury a source of income for the first time which later enabled it to buy the official web domain in December, the first ever spending of public finances. Starting in October and lasting until December 2013, all of the legislation issued so far in the Empire was reviewed by the Office of the Emperor, which amongst other things resulted in the First Amendment amendment to the (new) Supreme Directive being approved by a referendum.
In December, the Empire expanded again with Watertopia being annexed. In January 2014, the Empire grew massively in size as Myway province was annexed, followed by the Jagstonian Plains and Astley Meadow being claimed a few weeks later, making the Empire increase fifty six times in size. Along with this came a substantial increase in the armed forces, with many new units being created. However, this did not come without opposition, as the Astley Meadow Insurgency began with the Skirmish of Astley Meadow on 23 January 2014. In February, Imperial City was established as the capital city. Preparations soon began for the Empire's first anniversary in April, Foundation Day. Held on the 12th, this was the largest gathering of Adammic citizens on record. After Foundation Day, the government began to focus on growing an economy, and allowed private companies to register for the first time. By the end of 2014, the Adammic GDP reached £100. The end of the Astley Meadow Insurgency saw the demobilisation of the armed forces which eventually led to half of all units being made redundant in November 2014.
Astley Meadow was all but abandoned by July 2014 and so was ceded back to the UK. It was replaced with the territory of Borealia in Devon, which soon became in integral part of the Empire's industry with a furnace capable of melting aluminium and later copper. In September, Adammia's foreign influence reached new heights when Emperor Adam was elected Chair of the Grand Unified Micronational. Other major achievements at this time included the unveiling of the Populus Imperium monument and the successful launch of the Adammic Imperial Space Agency's Andromeda 3 rocket. For these reasons, late 2014 is often considered a golden age for Adammic influence and prestige.
Adammia grew once again in early 2015 with Adammic Columbia joining in January followed by Dearneland in February. However, the collapse of the GUM left Adammia with only a shadow of its former intermicronational influence, whilst Creatuxia was forced to leave the Empire causing a loss of almost half the total territory, but much of the government's focus was directed inwards throughout the year, making its procedures more professional. In July, the Colonial Council was introduced as a way of giving the colonies a way to influence national legislation. For 2015's elections, the Emperor encouraged the formation of political parties on the basis that competition between them would incentivise people to come up with new ideas. This led to the Moderate and Labour parties being founded by Emperor Mother Jayne and Sir Reginald Hall respectively to challenge the Emperor's own Liberal Party. After two terms as an independent PM, Emperor Mother Jayne was re-elected to as the first Moderate Party Prime Minister in August 2015. On 18 October, travel writer Jonny Blair became the first tourist to visit Adammia, a huge milestone for the Empire.
2016 saw increased turmoil in the Empire and a further decline in its territory. Borealia and Adammic Columbia both left in August, though the latter would rejoin in November. The Emperor's grandmother, Madam Winifred Hall, passed away in April, which caused many functions of government to be suspended or delayed for some time. The political landscape also changed significantly, with Labour candidate Sir Paul McKenna elected as Adammia's second Prime Minister in the August election, and the emergence of the far-right Adammic National Party in the new colonies of El Grandens and Kappania which would frequently antagonise the Emperor, particularly over Liberal Party policy. Debate between the ANP and the Liberals came to a head in November over the Emperor's decision to suspend recognition of the United States following the election of Donald Trump, leading to a by-election for the Emperor's Council seat which he narrowly held, followed by Prime Minister McKenna's unprecedented and successful motion for the Ruling Council to overturn the Emperor's decision. Meanwhile, the Emperor moved away from the old provinces in September in order to study at the University of Birmingham, where he founded the Colony of Alluria.
The first few months of 2017 saw a state of inactivity caused by the Emperor's university studies and the physical distance from Alluria, where the Emperor was now based, and the old provinces. Inactivity measures were announced in March, which included the dissolution of the Colonial Council and Adammia being downgraded to observership in the GUM. In June, Adammic Columbia again left the Empire, this time for good. However, the Emperor began to find success recruiting new citizens at university, such as Ems Simpson and Luca Panconi. Elections were held over the summer, amidst a series of delays which eventually prompted the Emperor to announce in August that he would be relocating the central government to the new Birmingham territories as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Prince Jake of the Liberal Party was elected Prime Minister. During the autumn academic term, the government began to prepare for a transition, creating the new provinces of Serkatia and Paternia, as well as raising Alluria to province status. The transition itself took place on 28 October 2017, a date marked as the end of the First Era and the beginning of the Second Era of Adammic history. Primoria, Maternia, Tytannia and Watertopia were merged into a new province known as Greater Tytannia, whilst Myway became a colony.
Second Era
Following a referendum on the Fourth Amendment to the Supreme Directive, which removed the minimum term length of six months (amongst other things), early elections were called for November 2017. In the National Election, Sir Alex Helliker, who had now become the Emperor's housemate, was elected Prime Minister as the Moderate Party's new leader. Meanwhile, Admiral Ems Simpson's new Nuclear So-and-so Party temporarily replaced the Labour Party as Adammia's main left-wing party. With the new Ruling Council now fully assembled, it met for the first time in December 2017 in Serkatia.
Helliker's term in office saw extensive legislative reform and the introduction of a functioning judicial system and the Free Marriage Act. New public finance measures were introduced in the form of the Imperial Bank of Adammia and the Sovereign Grant, whereby the Emperor would grant some of his own money to the government. Lord Sam Maude resurrected the Labour Party and Lady Hermione Peace founded the novelty Dank Party after they joined the Council in June 2018. A month later, the Fifth Amendment to the Supreme Directive introduced instant-runoff voting for all elections, replacing first-past-the-post. However, many executive government procedures and agencies failed to be fully established in the new provinces, particularly the Contributions Scheme, which led to a second consecutive year of budget deficit and economic recession. This, combined with the unpopular merger of the Liberal and Moderate parties into the Liberal-Moderate Party in September 2018, sparked the creation of the populist, anti-establishment Storm Party, founded by new citizen Sir Juliano Saunders. Saunders won a shock landslide victory in the October 2018 national election and became the Empire's fifth Prime Minister, forming a coalition government with the Labour and Dank Parties.
The new province of Dank-upon-Bourn joined the Empire in September 2018, followed by Corellia and the territory of Ashoria in December 2018; meanwhile, the former ANP territories of El Grandens, Kappania and Midgard were dissolved. In November 2018, the Saunders government nationalised Capital Brewery Ltd., having accepted what had originally been a Liberal-Moderate manifesto policy. More contentious was the subject of foreign affairs, with the Storm Party engaging in a territorial dispute with the neighbouring nation of Wazakhstan over the territory of Goodbold, which was eventually defused by foreign minister Lord Maude. However, Minister of Patriotism, Lady Worthington, continued to advocate for war against Wazakhstan, arguing that it needed to be liberated from its "dictator", Ned Hilton. The Storm Party also criticised the Liberal-Moderates for its ties to Hilton, who endorsed the party in the 2018 election and later became a Ruling Council member for the party. Furthermore, the Ruling Council voted to condemn the Empire of Austenasia over its marriage policy in April 2019, triggering another diplomatic incident.
With Saunders and Maude both having promised sweeping constitutional reforms in order to limit the powers of what they perceived to be an oppressive monarchy, and with the Liberal-Moderates having pledged to reform local government, Adammic leaders gathered for cross-party talks in February 2019. The outcome was a proposal to introduce a bicameral Parliament, with the Ruling Council as the upper house and a new, online, proportionally-elected House of Citizens as the lower house. Though this did not greatly reduce the monarch's powers, it did satisfy the Storm Party's key demand to give citizens living abroad outside the Empire's territories more of a say. The Liberal-Moderates were also able to have direct democracy at the local level included as part of the reform. The Sixth Amendment to the Supreme Directive was approved by referendum in April 2019 and came into effect on 1 July 2019.
In July 2019, Lord Saunders stood down as Storm Party leader, stating that his work as Prime Minister was done, and handed over the party leadership to Minister of Patriotism Lady Anna Worthington. A month later, Lord Helliker stood down as Leader of the Liberal-Moderates, and new citizen Charles Michael was elected to take his place. In September, Lord Maude stood down as leader of the Labour Party, and was replaced by Billy Thompson, who rebranded the party as the Red Green Alliance, taking the party in a more socialist and environmentalist direction. In September 2019, Xanada joined the Empire as its first French colony.
The first general election to the House of Citizens took place on 21–23 September 2019. The election campaign was dominated by a data privacy scandal, where the Storm Party attacked the Emperor for violating the GDPR Compliance Act in making certain edits to MicroWiki. As Attorney General, Lord Helliker famously published the Helliker Report, concluding that the Emperor had broken the law, before crossing the floor to join the Storm Party, leaving the Liberal-Moderate Party he founded. In spite of this, the Liberal-Moderates managed to win a plurality in the election, which has been attributed to the large numbers of members of the House of Hall in North Adammia rallying around the Emperor in the face of pledges from the Storm Party to put him on trial, as well as general unease towards the Storm policy of war against Wazakhstan, and tactical voting amongst parties opposed to Storm. The Liberal-Moderates formed a coalition government with the Dank Party, and Lord Michael took office as the Empire's sixth Prime Minister on 10 October 2019. Lord Maude was elected as the first Speaker of the House of Citizens.
Lord Michael's term as Prime Minister saw increasing cross-party agreement on issues such as climate change, the Black Lives Matter movement and trans rights, particularly after a personal plea from the Emperor in December 2019 for citizens to tone down the increasingly toxic rhetoric that had surrounded that year's election. The Cardiff-based colony of Llanadda joined the Empire in March 2020. 2020 was dominated by Adammia's first ever state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Foundation Day being cancelled as a result. Many of the provinces in South Adammia were quickly evacuated as citizens rushed home to their families before the UK-wide lockdown was imposed, and as a result, the Ruling Council began to meet online for the first time. The term also saw sweeping judicial reforms promoted by the Emperor, and the appointment of the Empire's first judges. In September 2020, most of the Birmingham territories were abolished, with Corellia relocating to London, whilst a new province, Sheaffia, was founded in Sheffield.
Third Era
Lord Saunders left Storm to start a new Independent Party on 29 September 2020, and was joined by Lords Helliker and Maude. At the 2020 general election, held from 3-6 October, the Lib-Mods held the most seats (4). However, the Independent Party won the popular vote and, thanks to an "oven-ready" deal, formed the "Botanical Coalition" with the RGA and the dwindling remnants of the Storm Party. As a result, Saunders returned for a second term as prime minister. Despite the fact that most citizens had now graduated from UoB, online activity during the coronavirus lockdowns kept Adammia going through the first half of the second Saunders ministry. The Ruling Council held some Zoom-based sessions, and for a while the Emperor held monthly one-to-one online meetings with the Prime Minister. The most significant piece of legislation of this government was the Investigations Act 2021, which abolished the Adammic Police Force.
In July 2021, the Emperor and Lord Saunders collectively ended the coronavirus state of emergency. However, around this time, activity began to decline rapidly. Lord Gilmour retired from frontline politics in March 2021, whilst Lord Thompson resigned from all his Adammic positions in September 2021; the remaining members of the RGA decided to dissolve the party. With the RGA gone and many members of the other governing parties becoming inactive, the opposition Lib-Mods, now led by new citizen Lord James Green, began to force through bills of their own, and went into the 2021 general election extremely well-prepared. However, so few candidates stood against the Lib-Mod slate that all the candidates were elected automatically without citizens being able to vote, meaning that the Lib-Mods assumed a majority in the House, but had no underlying democratic mandate. Lord Saunders, anticipating this, deferred his planned retirement to stand as the sole Independent Party candidate, demanding that the Lib-Mods form a national unity government with a singular goal of constitutional reform which would allow a properly contested election to take place. Lord Green accepted these terms and became Prime Minister, with Lords Gurr and Bond, now the acting leaders of Storm, serving as co-Deputy Prime Ministers.
In February 2022, a referendum approved the Eighth Amendment, changing the voting system for the House to STV and reducing the number of seats available. A snap general election was immediately called for March, but after Storm's remaining members declined to stand, this election too failed to be contested. The election was cancelled, and Adammia subsequently spent the next six months in a state of almost total inactivity. The Ruling Council held its first in-person meeting since 2019 in June 2022 as part of a UBLD reunion, and considered more radical solutions to the inactivity crisis. The eventual solution, which was agreed to by the Emperor and Prime Minister Green in September 2022, was to abolish the House of Citizens and have a much smaller Ruling Council select the PM. Another referendum in October 2022 approved the Ninth Amendment to the Supreme Directive, which implemented this. Shortly before the 2022 general election, which would elect half of the members of the Council, Lord Green unexpectedly split from the Lib-Mods to form a new Radical Left Party, causing Lord Michael to return as the party's leader. At the election, the Lib-Mods won the popular vote and, with 3 out of 6 Council seats, was able to form a (technically) minority government. Lord Michael therefore returned as Prime Minister.
The second Michael ministry has been dominated by the Empire's tenth Foundation Day, which was celebrated on 15 April 2023. The event was commemorated by the publication of Adammia's first book, and Adammia hosted its first ever state visit, with James Frisch, Rector of the Serene Beaconite Republic, as part of the official celebrations in Imperial City.
Geography
The total surface area of the Empire of Adammia is approximately 192,743m² (47.63 acres). Eight of its total 15 non-contiguous areas of land that it owns are located in West Yorkshire, one in the West Midlands, two in London, one in North Yorkshire, one in South Yorkshire, one in Gloucestershire, and one in Brittany. The lowest point in Adammia is in West Corellia, which is 2m above sea level, and the highest point is in New Astonia, at 193 meters above sea level. With the exception of Sandal Castle, the exact locations of the Empire's territories in relation to the UK have not been disclosed by the government in the interests of the personal privacy of its residents.
Most of the Empire is empty grassland, with about 2% being urban. Land in the Empire is generally flat and has no distinctive natural features, except for Myway which contains a section of a large river. The vast majority of the Empire's surface comes from the Jagstonian Plains and Ashoria, which consist of large fields as well as some small wooded areas, and are completely uninhabited. Most other Adammic subdivisions are urban, generally consisting of a single residential building and often some small gardens and/or driveways, or sometimes a flat within an apartment building. Despite these territories being more numerous, most of them are over 100 times smaller than the Jagstonian Plains.
Climate
Adammia, like the rest of Great Britain, has a temperate climate. Temperatures are usually within a range of 2 °C - 7 °C in winter but can drop as low as -11 °C. In summer, the average temperature range is 12 °C - 21 °C, but can rarely reach as high as 33 °C. Winters are characterised by rain and, in recent years, moderate outbreaks of snow. Summers are warm and humid with occasional heavy rainstorms, though there are usually only one or two thunderstorms per year.
Borders
Adammia has extensive borders with the United Kingdom due to its many enclaves in Great Britain, measuring approximately 4.5 kilometres in total. It also has a 140 metre border with France due to the enclave of Xanada, and a 56 metre border with the Kingdom of Wazakhstan due to the Wazakhstani oblast of Goodbold, which is an enclave of the Adammic territory of Ashoria. This makes Goodbold a rare example of a second-order enclave in micronationalism.
Administrative divisions
The Empire is made up of its home region or "country", simply called Adammia, and its colonies and territories. The term "Provincial Adammia" has been applied to the country of Adammia in the past, along with the term "Adammic Home Regions". Although the country exists in the legal system, it rarely plays a part in the administration of the Empire. Based on the loose definitions given to the country when it was created in Imperial Decree IV, it currently includes all of the Empire's territory with the exception of the colonies. The country of Adammia also has a position of nobility attached to it, but this position is part of the Monarchy.
The next level of administration is Regions. The country of Adammia contains three regions: North Adammia, situated in Yorkshire; South Adammia, situated in Birmingham; and Outer Adammia, which includes all other areas of the UK. The nobility attached to regions are known as Archdukes or Archduchesses. They have very little power over their regions other than the ability to appoint the Dukes or Duchesses of the provinces within the region.
At the next level there are Provinces, Colonies and Territories. Of these, the provinces form the core areas of Adammia. The main type of administrative division, there are three provinces: Greater Tytannia, Corellia and Sheaffia. Nobles attached to provinces are known as Dukes or Duchesses. Local powers are exercised by a Local Council consisting of all residents in a form of direct democracy. Greater Tytannia is split into five non-contiguous counties: Tytannia, Primoria, Maternia, Watertopia and Normandensis. Sheaffia is also in North Adammia. South Adammia has no provinces, consisting solely of the territory of Ashoria, but contained several provinces in the past. Corellia is the only province in Outer Adammia.[3] Below provinces are counties, and below counties are municipalities, which can either be cities, towns or baronies.
Colonies are autonomous, inhabited areas of land outside the country of Adammia. Myway, Xanada and New Astonia are the current colonies of the Empire. Creatuxia, Burghlia, Borealia and Adammic Columbia are former Colonies which were located in Cheshire, Gloucestershire, Devon and Ohio respectively.[4]
Certain miscellaneous administrative divisions can be classed as Territories. These are areas 'shared' with a macronation that the Empire has much more limited sovereignty over. Territories can be either within or outside of the Country of Adammia. Legally, this land does not have to be owned by a citizen of the Empire, it only needs to have some sort of presence there. As a result, Territories are used with parks and over large areas of land, and they make up around 97% of the Empire's land. There are currently three Territories, the Jagstonian Plains, Ashoria and Sandal Castle; Astley Meadow and Midgard were former territories. A barony within the Province of Greater Tytannia, Tytannia Ulterior, is also considered a type of Territory.
Provinces
| Name | Pop. | Area (m²) | Establishment | Region | Duke / Duchess | Councilor | Counties | Municipalities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Tytannia | 10 | 2109 | 28 October 2017 | North Adammia | Lord Paul McKenna | HIH Emperor Mother Jayne |
| |
| Corellia | 4 | 151 | 31 December 2018 | Outer Adammia | Lord Gurr | - | ||
| Sheaffia | 2 | 130 | 5 September 2020 | North Adammia | Lady Sophie Crossthorn | - |
Colonies
| Name | Pop. | Area (m²) | Establishment | Region | Governor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myway | 3 | 1232 | 4 January 2014 | North Adammia | Lord Admiral Christopher Hall |
| Xanada | 2 | 851 | 19 September 2019 | N/A | Lady Amity Gilmour |
| New Astonia | 1 | 305 | 25 October 2022 | Outer Adammia | Lord Green |
Territories
| Name | Pop. | Area (m²) | Establishment | Region | Governor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jagstonian Plains | 0 | 90993 | 12 January 2014 | North Adammia | N/A |
| Sandal Castle | 0 | 24699 | 8 April 2018 | North Adammia | HIH Prince Jake |
| Ashoria | 0 | 72635 | 31 December 2018 | South Adammia | N/A |
Politics
Main articles: Politics of Adammia and Elections in Adammia
The Empire of Adammia is a unitary state and has a constitutional monarchy where the Monarch is the Head of State. The current Monarch is Emperor Adam I. The constitution of the Empire is called the Supreme Directive and it sets out the Monarch's powers as well as codifying the government system. The Supreme Directive can only be amended if it is approved by both a public referendum and the Parliament. The system in Adammia draws upon elements from the United Kingdom and the Empire of Austenasia.
Legislative power is invested in the Imperial Parliament, which consists of the Emperor-in-Parliament and the upper house, known as the Ruling Council. The lower house, the House of Citizens, was created in 2019 but was abolished in 2022.[5] By default, legislation - taking the form of Imperial Decrees or Acts of Parliament - only holds effect over the provinces, but can also be enacted over the Empire's colonies if this is explicitly stated.
Government
Main articles: Monarchy of Adammia, Imperial Parliament and Imperial Government
The Monarch of Adammia is known as the Emperor if male, and Empress if female. The position is hereditary. The Monarch has significant powers that can be exercised through Imperial Decrees, one of the two main forms of legislation in the Empire. In addition to this, the Monarch occupies a number of positions, such as Grand Marshal of the Military of Adammia. The Monarch is considered by far the most powerful and influential office in the country; so far Emperor Adam I has been the only Monarch, him being responsible for founding Adammia and for the vast majority of its development.
The Imperial Parliament is the unicameral legislature of the Empire. Its upper house is the Ruling Council, consisting of one representative from each province, and an equal number of national councilors who are elected annually in a general election. The provincial representatives are by default the province's landed noble (a Duke or Duchess), but provincial local councils can vote to adopt alternative procedures for appointing a representative, provided that such a motion is passed by a two-thirds majority. Greater Tytannia is currently the only province to elect its own councilor under this mechanism. Parliament can legislate through Acts of Parliament, which must be passed by the Council and then given consent by the Monarch. As a balance to this, the Ruling Council can vote to overturn Imperial Decrees.
As the Empire has a parliamentary system, the Imperial Government, the executive branch, is made up of and is accountable to Parliament. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who must have the confidence of the Ruling Council, and is usually the leader of the largest party or coalition within the Council. The current Prime Minister is Lord Charles Michael, who is leading a Liberal-Moderate Party minority government following the 2022 Adammic general election. The main opposition parties are the Radical Left Party and the Storm Party. The Prime Minister appoints the Ministers of various government departments known as Ministries. The Ministers form a committee known as the Cabinet, the political arm of the government, whereas all other government staff fall under the umbrella of the Imperial Civil Service, which is the non-political, administrative arm.
Adammia also has the Office of State, led by a Lord Chancellor or Lady Chancellor who is appointed by the Monarch and the Ruling Council.[6] It is mostly unique as an entity, acting as the main instrument for implementing and enforcing the Supreme Directive; it acts as a constitutional court (see below) and as an electoral commission, amongst other things. It is technically part of the Imperial Civil Service, but is not controlled by the political Cabinet, created with the intention of being completely independent and non-political. Interpretations as to the importance of its role range from being a quango to an entire branch of government.
Law and order
The legal system of the Empire of Adammia is a statutory civil law system. The main source of law is primary legislation, which takes the form of the Empire's constitution, known as the Supreme Directive, its subsequent amendments, Acts of Parliament and Imperial Decrees issued by the Monarch. A three-tier court system has jurisdiction over Adammic law, with separate first instance and appeal courts for criminal and civil cases, followed by the Grand Court, overseen by the Monarch themselves, as a court of final appeal. In cases where the Supreme Directive may have been violated or interpretation of the Supreme Directive is required, responsibility instead goes to the Office of State, which has the power to act as a constitutional court, with the Chancellor acting as judge. In theory, this is to prevent the Monarch from violating the Supreme Directive and then using their position as judge of the Grand Court to acquit themselves.
In practice, actual court cases in Adammia are extremely rare; crime is virtually non-existent and most issues that do arise are settled either by passing emergency legislation, or by arriving by consensus on an informal convention.
Political parties
| Party Name | Members | Leader | Foundation Date | Ruling Council | Local Councils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal-Moderate Party | 13 | Lord Charles Michael | 5 October 2018 | 3 / 6
|
5 / 16
|
| Radical Left Party | 2 | Lord J. Green | 25 November 2022 | 1 / 6
|
0 / 16
|
| Storm Party | 6 | Lord Callum Gurr & Lord Asher Bond (de-facto) | 6 October 2018 | 1 / 6
|
2 / 16
|
| Independent Party | 4 | Lord J. Saunders | 29 September 2020 | 0 / 6
|
2 / 16
|
| Dank Party | 2 | Lady Hermione Peace | 13 June 2018 | 0 / 6
|
0 / 16
|
| Independent | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 / 6
|
7 / 16
|
Foreign relations
Adammia is currently considered one of the foremost nations of the MicroWiki community. The nation signed its first official treaty, with Burnham, on 8 July 2013, and today it has mutual recognition treaties with a number of key MicroWiki nations. Enjoying an initial period of influence when it held the Chair of the Grand Unified Micronational in 2014 and 2015, it withdrew its full membership of the organisation to become merely an observer early in 2017. It returned as a full member towards the end of 2017 and the Emperor secured a third term as Chair in July 2018, followed by a second successive term in January 2019, the only time in history a GUM Chair has been elected to back-to-back successive terms. The Emperor's efforts to reform the GUM and move the organisation from Skype to Discord helped to seal Adammia's legacy in the history of the organisation. Throughout 2021, Adammia's delegation to the GUM was more critical of the Chairs at the time for a variety of reasons, and in 2022 Adam I was elected to a record fifth term.
The only micronation with which Adammia shares a land border is the Kingdom of Wazakhstan, another state within the so-called Birmingham Sector which is a close ally of Adammia. Wazakhstan claims the centre circle of a football pitch in the Adammic territory of Ashoria as the Oblast of Goodbold. Adammia and Wazakhstan are part of a small group of micronations whose leaders are members of the UK Young Liberals, alongside the Tsardom of Nolland and the Herbatrean Federation. Adammia also has close relations with nations they have interacted with at in-person intermicronational summits, particularly Austenasia and Lundenwic.
The only macronations that Adammia has land borders with are the United Kingdom and France. Adammia has not attempted to assert a full claim of independence from the UK due to the risk of being shut down. As a result, most accept that English law de-facto still applies over Adammia, with Adammic law being an additional layer on top of this.
Military
The Military of Adammia is fairly large for a micronational armed force, although it lacks experience, training and equipment. It has 16 servicemen and 3 reserves, split across three branches: the Adammic Army, the Adammic Navy and the Adammic Air Force.[7] The Army has 13 soldiers and two reserves, the Air Force has two airmen and one reserve, and the Navy has three sailors. The overall commander-in-chief is the Monarch, who holds the rank of Grand Marshal. The current Emperor also holds the ranks of Field Marshal of the Army, Grand Admiral of the Navy, and Air Chief Marshal of the Air Force.
The Adammic Army is the only branch that has seen combat, in two separate skirmishes in May 2013 and January 2014: the Skirmish of Tytannia and the Skirmish of Astley Meadow respectively. The army generally fights unarmed, though the younger members have been known to use plastic swords as batons.
Economy
The Empire has a very small market economy which is currently completely unregulated (this does not necessarily mean that the government adheres to a completely free market doctrine, but is mostly down to the fact that due to the size of the economy, issues do not tend to arise requiring legislation). A handful of government-owned and private companies exist. The Ministry of Finance is the government department responsible for public finance and the economy. The Empire does not have a central bank or its own currency, instead using the Great British Pound. Adammia is almost completely reliant on goods and services provided in the nearby United Kingdom, which may in turn come from other sovereign states. Utilities, almost all food, transportation and equipment are all imported in this manner. Citizens of Adammia are also reliant on the UK for full-time employment.
The service sector has the most potential in the Empire. The current Monarch, Emperor Adam I, runs a private limited company called AB Animation Ltd., which runs a channel on YouTube. This channel was formerly partnered with the Maker Gen network and was paid around £20 roughly every year and a half, though this arrangement was cancelled by the network in 2017, and the company has been financially inactive since. Computer programming is a possible future industry in the nation, with Top Hat Software set up as a private company which aims to begin large-scale software development in the future, but currently only occasionally makes money through IT-related odd jobs. Adammia became one of a select number of micronations to have reached the milestone of its first tourist visit in October 2015 when travel writer Jonny Blair visited Tytannia; this gave a small boost to the economy that year as stamps and a newspaper were sold to Blair. However, the Adammic government does not consider tourism to be a potential avenue for future growth, and the nation is effectively closed to tourism for the foreseeable future (this does not mean that the borders are closed - non-residents frequently come and go on purely macronational business).
The industrial sector is also partly active, mostly in agriculture. In the Tytannia province, pears, plums and peaches are all grown. Some of these, along with elderberries raided from various locations across the UK border, can be used to manufacture wines. Due to various restrictions and taxes imposed in the UK, the wines cannot be sold, but instead are given away with the option of voluntary donations in return. State-owned Capital Brewery Ltd. has a monopoly on the wine industry.
Adammia's financial industry first appeared in 2017 with the creation of Adammic Investment Ltd., a private equity fund owned by the Emperor. It has since grown to dominate the overall economy; in recent years, all of Adammia's economic activity has been attributable to the fund. Adammia's GDP has accordingly fluctuated with the fortunes of the fund.
The government's wealth is stored in His Majesty's Imperial Treasury in Tytannia. The Ministry of Finance administers the Treasury. Private companies are taxed 20% of their profits. Government-owned companies such as the Adammic Express and Imperial Mail provide all of their profits to the Treasury. Throughout its history, Adammia has never had a national debt. Due to its high level of integration with the British economy, Adammia enjoys a complete lack of poverty, and living standards are considered to be typical of a developed nation.
For the most part, Adammia is not known for conducting scientific research. Although the Adammic Imperial Space Agency (AISA) exists, it only rarely launches model rocket missions. AISA has only once successfully launched a model rocket, Andromeda 3 in October 2014.
Infrastructure
Utilities - including the electricity, gas and water supplies - and transport links are all provided to Adammia by the United Kingdom as a result of private transactions between Adammic citizens and British companies. Within Adammia, the Ministry of National Development operates the Transport Network Agency and the National Communications Agency; the former is responsible for the road network, and the latter is responsible for managing the postcode system as well as issuing broadcasting licences. However, these agencies are only responsible for categorisation - physical maintenance of the road network is undertaken by the private citizens who own the land in a macronational capacity. The road network is heavily based on the British road numbering system.
Demographics
The Imperial Statistics Office, an agency of the Ministry of Citizenship and Information, is responsible for collating statistics about the demographics of the Empire. The population of the Empire at the end of 2022 was 51. This is down one from the end of 2021. Most new citizens come from acquisition of new territory rather than immigration into an existing territory. The Empire had its first ever birth in 2019.[8]
At the end of 2022, 126 people held honourary Adammic citizenship, making Adammia's total number of citizens 177. However, these honourary citizens are not considered part of the population as they do not reside in Adammic territory and are not bound by its laws. Full citizens, who unlike honourary citizens have the right to vote in elections, include residents of Adammic territory, members of the Ordo Vladius, military servicemen who have served the Empire in battle (this is theoretical, nobody currently holds citizenship on these grounds), and a number of former residents.
Also distinct is the Empire's territorial population, which was 24 at the end of 2022. This excludes the Ordo Vladius, former residents etc., leaving only the current registered residents. Of these, 16 lived in the provinces and the remaining 8 lived in the colonies and territories. Some territories, such as the Jagstonian Plains, have no permanent population at all. Of the full citizens who are not territorial residents, 24 live in the United Kingdom, 1 in the United States, 1 in Ireland and 1 in the Netherlands.
As of the end of 2022, there were 51 full citizens of the Empire - 38 (74.5%) men and 13 (25.5%) women.[9] Due to the fact that a large number of citizens have been recruited at the University of Birmingham, young people dominate the population, with over 70% of the population inside the 20-29 age bracket. Most Adammic citizens receive both education up to the age of 18 and free healthcare in the United Kingdom, giving the Empire a 100% literacy rate and a high life expectancy (the statistical life expectancy is 70, but this is believed to be much lower than the true value since there is only one death on record).
Ethnic groups
The predominant ethnic group in Adammia is White British: 42 citizens (82.4%) are considered completely White British whilst those mixed with other ethnicities contribute a further 5. There are also 2 (3.9%) White Americans, 1 Dutch, and 1 Indian.
Languages
Adammia's official language, and the only language which is used in day-to-day life, is English. Latin is prominently used as a ceremonial language, mainly by the Monarchy. Due to the fact that most Adammic citizens have been educated in the United Kingdom, many citizens have a basic knowledge of at least one other language, usually French, Spanish or German; however, it is believed that only very few citizens speak a second language fluently.
Religion
36 out of Adammia's 54 current citizens (70.6%) have given their religion as atheist, agnostic or "None", or have not given their religion for whatever reason. A further 10 (19.6%) gave their religion as the Church of England, 2 (3.9%) as Roman Catholic and 1 as Methodist, putting the total Christian population at 13 (25.5%). 1 citizen simply gave "Theist", whereas 1 was categorised as "Other". The proportion of irreligion compared to Christian groups is much higher than in the UK; this is believed to stem from Adammia's generally younger population and the country's secular status. It is believed that, much like in the UK, many individuals who give their religion as something other than "no religion" do not actively practice their religion.
Adammia is a strictly secular nation, this being a result of Article XII of the Supreme Directive. All religions must be treated equally under the law (as long as they do not "present any risk to the rights of other humans or national security or stability"). It is unknown if this has had any effect on the religious composition of the Empire.
Culture
Adammia's culture is largely British in nature, being surrounded by the United Kingdom. However, it is slowly starting to diverge away from this, adopting some of its own eccentric quirks.
National Holidays / Events
- 1 January - New Year's Day
- 19 February - The Emperor's Birthday
- 1 April - April Fools Day
- 13 April - Foundation Day
- 21 June - Summer Solstice
- 30 June - Democracy Day
- 26 October - Topin Wagglegammon
- 31 October - Hallowe'en
- 21 December - Winter Solstice
- 25 December - Christmas Day
- 31 December - New Year's Eve
Literature
Adammia does not have much of a tradition in literature; although a number of citizens, including the Emperor, have written stories either as part of school work or as a hobbyist exercise, it is not believed that any Adammic citizen has ever had literature published by a macronational publisher. However, Emperor Mother Jayne has received acclaim from many within the Empire and elsewhere for her skill as an amateur poet.
Music
Modern pop music is very popular in the Empire, much as in the UK. However, there is a much greater following for other forms of music than in the UK. Metal is popular amongst some members of the military and in the Ordo Vladius. Progressive rock is popular in Primoria. Classical music is also popular in Primoria and Maternia. Some forms of jazz are popular in Primoria.
Adammia also has its own small music industry. Sir Cavan Garfield, the governor of El Grandens, produces vaporwave music under the name "Succ", whose 2016 album of the same name was the first album to be produced in Adammia. A number of full and honourary Adammic citizens also have a history in music. Emperor Father Kevin, Emperor Mother Jayne, Lord Sir Andrew Hall and Sir Tom Bennett have all been part of brass bands (the Emperor Father as a conductor); the former two were also members of the small 1990s pop/rock band Isis (Andrew Hall was the lights operator for the said band). The Emperor Father is a proficient guitarist who played with a number of small bands in the 1980s which were the predecessors of Isis. He is now a guitar teacher and taught former Adammic Army corporal Michael Mellor, who is now a member of the metalcore band Goodbye Graceful. Meanwhile, the Emperor Mother spent some years in the folk band The Durbervilles after Isis disbanded.
Arts
Adammia has several amateur artists. Colour drawings by Emperor Mother Jayne, such as the Kingfisher drawing, feature prominently in the Chambers of the Ruling Council. Adammia also has a National Gallery to feature artwork by Adammic citizens. Currently it contains work by Crown Prince Daniel, Madam Becky Spencer-Smith and Lady Madam Chloe Robertson.
Adammia's traditions in other art forms such as cinema is much more limited. No feature film is ever known to have been filmed in Adammia.
Media
Adammia has a national newspaper called the Adammic Express on Wordpress, which has been operating since the first week of the Empire's existence.[10] The Adammic Express is written and edited completely by the Emperor, and it posts 2-4 articles per month. The state's official broadcaster is Adammic Online Broadcasting, which uploads occasional videos and news segments from the Empire on YouTube. AOT is also operated exclusively by the Emperor. Other, private YouTube channels which operate from Adammic territory include "ABanimationLtd" (operated by AB Animation Ltd., well-known for The Micronations Show), "Matties Gaming" and "JakeACake". The state also has an official Twitter account which posts updates every few days.
Sport
The Empire's current national sport is Esports. The national sport has been changed twice in the past - first it was Fencing, then Auto racing. Despite this, Adammia has never hosted sporting events for any of these sports nor any other sports. On the other hand, many Adammic citizens are sports fans. A number of British football teams are popular in Adammia; rugby and Formula One also have smaller followings. The Grand National often coincides with Foundation Day and it is Adammic tradition to watch the horse race on TV in Imperial Square as part of the Foundation Day celebrations.
State symbols
Adammia's flag is made up of a green circle on a dark cyan background, much in the style of the Empire of Japan, only based on the favourite colours of its creator, Adam I. The state animal is the Meerkat which appears on the Coat of Arms. The present Coat of Arms was produced by Emmanouil Tsompanoglou of the Ashukov Federation and in March 2014 replaced an earlier design by Emperor Adam I. The full blazon of the present Coat of Arms is:
Party per pale Vert two swords palewise crossed Argent with hilts Gules, and Azure the side sinister of a nine leafed twig Vert; for a Crest, the Holy Roman Imperial Crown modified with sides Or; for Supporters, two meerkats rampant; Motto "IMPERIVM ADAMMIAE" below the shield and motto "Quaerentibus sapientiam et honorem" below the first motto.
There are two anthems associated with the state: the main theme from the film Chariots of Fire is the national anthem. The Emperor's anthem, which is associated with the Monarch, is Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. The original national anthem was Sim Broadway from the soundtrack to SimCity 3000, and was replaced with Chariots of Fire following a referendum in March 2014. The Empire's first Patron Saint, from May 2013 to January 2015, was Jebediah Kerman, a character from Kerbal Space Program infamous for his bravery. Since then, the Patron Saint has been Gabe "Gaben" Newell, the director of the Valve Corporation and a key figure in PC gaming, which is popular in Adammic culture.
Heraldry
Heraldry has become a key part of Adammic culture with every knight and dame of the Order of Adammia, the Order of the Meerkat and the Ordo Vladius, Adammia's three chivalric orders, entitled to bear a coat of arms, alongside the Imperial Family. The Order of Adammia and the Order of the Meerkat serve as the Empire's main honours system, whilst the Ordo Vladius is an independent entity aligned with Adammia, assisting the Emperor with ambassadorial and security concerns in exchange for full citizenship. Most members of the Order of Adammia are friends and family of the Emperor and he sometimes makes coats of arms for these people. Most Adammic coats of arms follow a common format with the individual's father's family represented in the top left, their mother's family represented in the bottom right, and the remaining two quarters available for something of their choosing.
References
- ↑ Empire of Adammia national website, Retrieved 13 July 2017
- ↑ "History", Empire of Adammia national website, Retrieved 13 July 2017
- ↑ "Provinces", Empire of Adammia national website, Retrieved 13 July 2017
- ↑ "Colonies", Empire of Adammia national website, Retrieved 13 July 2017
- ↑ "Government", Empire of Adammia national website, Retrieved 13 July 2017
- ↑ "Office of State", Empire of Adammia national website, Retrieved 13 July 2017
- ↑ "Military", Empire of Adammia national website, Retrieved 13 July 2017
- ↑ "Demographics Report 2020", Imperial Statistics Office, Retrieved 4 January 2021
- ↑ Demographics Report 2022, Imperial Statistics Office. Retrieved 5 January 2023
- ↑ Adammic Express, Retrieved 13 July 2017
