Archduchy of New Flanders
Archduchy of New Flanders | |
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Motto: For The King | |
| Anthem: This Land Is Mine | |
| Capital and largest city | New Flanders City |
| Official languages | Danubine |
| Demonym(s) | New Flanderen |
| Government | Constitutional monarchy |
• Archducke | Alexander I |
| Legislature | Council |
| Population | |
• Census | 1 |
| Currency | Loco Pace |
This nation's legal status is disputed. | |
The Archduchy of New Flanders is a state initially formed in April 2017, as a constituent part of the Desi Empire. Following the Treaty of Madaz-a-Maloom, the state's legal status has been brought into question multiple times. Currently, the state is under the de facto administration of the United Kingdoms of The Danube and New Flanders and Her Commonwealth, however, Shorewell maintains the state to be legally independent as per the Ehengntyre Accords and the Nozax Declaration.
History
Desi Empire, Nedland, and independence
Initially, the state was formed by Alex to serve as a constituent state in the Desi Empire.Following the ratification of the Treaty of Madaz-a-Maloom, New Flanders gained its independence, with Archduke Alexander von Hapsburg reigning over as monarch, and Shorewell acting as suzerain and protector of the newly independent state. During this time, New Flanders was in personal union with The Danube, as Alexander ruled over both realms, but separately.
Alexander had been on leave for a while, and as such had ratified the Treaty of Madaz-a-Maloom on the 28th of July, instead of the 20th, when the treaty was due to come into force. He had however previously assured Sultan Bilal of the state's future status under Shorewell's sphere of influence. Nevertheless, around the same Ned Gunderson, ruling politician from Nedland claimed Alex had also agreed to give him the state as a territory of Nedland. The Sultan and Mr. Gunderson held several diplomatic discussions, as Nedland claimed New Flanders as an unincorporated territory, while Shorewell argued that it was legally independent.
A few days later, Alexander came back and confirmed the state's status as a protected state of Shorewell, thus leading to Nedland withdrawing its claim on the state, and the two nations signing the Shoro-Nedlando-Khorasan Mutual Recognition Treaty.
Union with The Danube
Following months of inactivity in most of the newly-emerged states from the Treaty of Madaz-a-Maloom, the Sultan invited all leaders of the state into a Skype chatroom to discuss the future of the nations and their relationship. The Sultan went on to issue the Shehzadam Declaration on the 23rd of November, 2017. This declaration formally renounced all of Shorewell's rights onto the protected states, and released them from the aforementioned state's suzerainty. However, just a month later on 17 December, the Sultan announced that the Parliament had declared the Shehzadam Declaration illegal, as the Sultan had no rights to making such a proclamation. The Danube was caught unawares by this new development, as it had been planning a union with New Flanders for the past few weeks. As such, it opted to ignore this new issue, and passed the Act of Union, essentially merging The Danube and New Flanders into the United Kingdoms of The Danube and New Flanders and Her Commonwealth. King Alexander attempted to resolve the issue right then and there with the Treaty of Ehengntyre, however this proposal was withdrawn by The Danube shortly after.
Ehengntyre Accords, Nozax Declaration, and New Flanders Reconquest
Following the ratification of the Ehengntyre Accords and the Nozax Declaration, the Danubine government recognized the independence of the Archduchy in the lands that it occupied during the ratification of the Treaty of Madaz-a-Maloom. The rest of New Flanders was recognized by Shorewell as an integral part of the United Kingdoms of The Danube and New Flanders and Her Commonwealth.
A few days later, the United Kingdoms of The Danube and New Flanders and Her Commonwealth attempted to establish a military zone around the Archduchy to connect isolated parts of the Kingdom together. Shorewell protested heavily, maintaining that the Archduchy would effectively become an enclave of the Union. It proposed the establishment of a zone where neither side would station any military troops, thus allowing for access and an effective corridor to other nations for the Archduchy. The proposal was promptly rejected, followed by King Alex authorizing an invasion of the Archduchy in hopes of settling the dispute through military means.
The invasion was launched at about 5:24 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time), having notified the Sultan of his plans 15 minutes prior. 10 Danubine forces entered into the Archduchy, disestablished the government, and effectively occupied the state, as it remains till today. Shorewell believed that the ivasion proved the ill will harbored by the Union against the Archduchy, something which it had repeatedly expressed before during negotiations. The short conflict ended with a complete de facto annexation of the nation into the Union, though the Shorewellese government maintains such an annexation is illegal, and recognizes the complete sovereignty and independence of the Archduchy.