Illuminarchal Union of Eruditia
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Illuminarchal Union of Eruditia | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Motto: Illustro est via | |
 The yellow star indicates Lumia, the capital province. Red dots show others provincial claims | |
| Capital and largest city | Lumia |
| Official languages | English, Spanish, Latin |
| Demonym(s) | Eruditian |
| Government | Illuminarchy (subject to change) |
• Illuminarch | Illuminarch Nicholas I |
| Legislature | Provincial Parliament |
| Establishment | 1 October 2010 |
| Population | |
• Census | 8 |
| Currency | American dollar |
| Time zone | Pacific Time Zone (American) |
Website Official website | |
This nation is a member of OAM | |
The Illuminarchal Union of Eruditia, formerly known as the Principality of Eruditia or simply known to most as Eruditia, is a micronation founded on October 1, 2010. It is a sovereign principality situated in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. Its form of government is an illuminarchy.
Etymology
The name "Eruditia" comes from the word erudite, which means "characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly". This name was given to the micronation because of its firm belief in scholarly seeking for scientific truths, relgious wisdom, and cultural preservation.
The name of the micronation itself has changed only twice in its existence. It was founded as the Principality of Eruditia on October 1; however, after annexing various regions and seeing as the land-size was beginning to swell, Illuminarch Nicholas I deemed that the term "principality" did not display the current state of the nation; thus, the name was changed to "Illuminarchal Union of Eruditia", showing the conglomerate of provinces now acquired by Eruditia.
Illuminarchy
The following tract is quoted from the Illuminarchal Union of Eruditia's homepage:
An illuminarchy (illumos = enlightened, archos = ruling) is a governing system ruled with emphasis on expanding the arts, philosophy, religion, and science. Its sole duty is to constantly gain new knowledge and to broaden its understanding of the natural world, the ethereal world, and the mind.
Illuminarchy was first proposed by Plato in his Dialogues and Republic. In it, he describes what he called at the time a noocracy: a social and political system that is "based on the priority of human mind".
One of the first attempts of a noocracy was by Pythagoras, when he planned on building a "City of the Wise" with his fellow mathematikoi in Italy. Plato described noocracy as the government of the future by which all humans shall be subject to. He predicted that this form of government would soon replace democracy.
In later times, scientists and philosophers like Vladimir Vernadsky and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin expanded on Plato's idea, creating what they called a 'noosphere', in which a collective educated mindset governed the world.
From these ideals come the basis of illuminarchy, in which the intellectuals of society rule, and special emphasis is placed on such things as culture, religion, and science.
In the Constitution of Eruditia's Preamble, it states:
"It is acknowledged that knowledge as a whole has become an ideal lost in this current generation and time"
Illuminarchists argue that, as time progressed, religion, philosophy, and science fell to the background, and instead of saving these essential lost objectives, the majority of mankind chose things like pop culture and mass media to fill the void. Such things are unacceptable, which is why Eruditia is taking these measures as a sort of "renaissance" revival.
In an illuminarchy, there is one leader, the Illuminarch, who presides, directs, and watches over the illuminarchy. He or she has two Consuls: these are the people who plan to succeed the Illuminarch. Aside from the Illuminarch and Consuls is a Provincial Parliament, who is the major legislative and judicial branch. The parliament is made up of at most 3 Local Governors from each Province of Eruditia. The top Local Governor is called the Erudite Counselor. It is this law-making body that helps propagate and proliferate the studies done in the country.
Illuminarchy focuses on knowledge and equality rather than power and authority. As such, the illuminarch and his or her Consuls and Parliament only exist for the sake of a rigid structure and to help ease the process of scientific and religious inquiry, nothing more.
History
Conception
For a long time, Nicholas had seen the degredation [sic] of intelligence and religion throughout the world. It seemed that, as if a giant switch had been turned off, all notions of the advancement of philosophy, science, and spirituality simply began to stagnate. As a result, Nicholas decided to take action.
On September 28, 2010, Nicholas began to write the Constitution of Eruditia, which not only would outline the structure of his new micronation, but would also serve as a manifesto for the form of government which would eventually emerge as illuminarchy. Nicholas wanted to create a haven, both virtual and physical, where people from all walks could share philosophical ideals, scientific discoveries, and religious truths in an environment of complete tolerance. From these core beliefs arose the Principality of Eruditia.
On October 1, 2010, Nicholas completed the entire Constitution. He declared himself first Illuminarch of Eruditia, claimed a small portion of the Cascade foothills as the Principality, and issued the national website.
Beginning stages
In the ensuing weeks after its creation, Eruditia gained several highly interested citizens and joined the MicroWiki officially, making its presence known to several micronations, especially those in the surrounding area.
After its creation, the Principality began to gain citizens from other parts of the world, including Chile and China. Furthermore, the illuminarch's tie with several previous micronations, such as the United Republic of Greenlandic Icelanders and Capryca, gave him more citizens to cater to. Soon afterwards, on October 5, 2011, the illuminarch officially annexed the URGI, Capryca, and Surania. After the annexations of these newly-formed provinces, along with the creation of the capital province Lumia, Nicholas reformed the nation from a principality into an illuminarchal union. Hence, the Illuminarchal Union of Eruditia was fully formed.
After a short month-long "vicis pondero", or time of reflection, the illuminarch returned to the micronational scene with a new newspaper, the Ray of Light News. After several successful articles, Eruditia returned to the micronational arena yet again.
Micras claim, Cylera, Zephyr, and the 2011 Expo
During this same time, Eruditia sent a land claim for a tiny southern island in Micras. Thus, the unofficial province of Perma Luce and Cylera was annexed into the Union. The personal geofictional project of His Enlightened, Illuminarch Nicholas I, the Micras project was also highly innovative, spawning the projects of Cylera and Zephyr.
These projects were displayed in the 2011 World Expo, hosted on by the Bastion Union. They were praised for their inventive culture and innovative website design.
Half-way through the expo, in the month of March, Perma Luce, along with its side-projects, went into a state of inactivity. The prime attraction of the Eruditian pavilion, the Aeronautical Embassy of Zephyr, went into disrepair and was never completed. From this point until the end of the Expo, the Eruditian Pavilion lost considerable appeal and the entire ordeal went into disarray.
The Embassy of Zephyr was considered by the lore at the Expo to have lost control of its solar steam turbine engines and have gotten lost amongst the skies, taking it and its citizens with it. The illuminarch initially wanted to play upon this story by creating a derelict version of Zephyr and having it open to the people of the 2011 Expo; however, plans for this fell short. A demo website was still in the works, and showed Zephyr in a blacked-out state, with all of the auxilovisors stating that the Hephaestus Prime Generator had been turned off and deactivated.
In Eruditia's claim on Archipelago, the Omega Complex, it was hinted that they had found the wreckage of Zephyr at the bottom of the ocean, and that there had been a sinister plot to re-route the energy of the Prime Reactor to power up a space vessel to visit Eruditia's luxury space hotel, which at that time had been codenamed "Caelum". However, this story too was not pursued due to the inactivity of Eruditia.
Both Zephyr and Cylera utilized the advanced website-making tool Wix, which gave the website designers increased innovation and gave them the chance to experiment with different effects. For example, the Aeronautical Embassy of Zephyr used a new design that made every webpage look like a separate room. By clicking links on the bottom of the page, "passengers" could explore Zephyr as if they were walking through the rooms. Various amenities were offered in this virtual tour, including a comprehensive library, several exhibits, and an interactive museum with virtual fossils.
Initially, plans had been made to create forums for both Cylera and Zephyr, giving Eruditian citizens and ambassadors & visitors from other micronations a new way to communicate and interact with one another through an exciting new virtual world. Due to setbacks and the following state of inactivity, these forums were never created. In addition, Zephyr was never fully completed. Plans for Demeter Park (a botanical garden), The Atlas (a nightclub), and The 3 Furies (a luxury restaurant), along with various other amenities, were planned and drafted but neveer enacted. Illuminarch Nicholas I has expressed his desire to possibly continue and finish the Aeronautical Embassy of Zephyr, in hopes of created a virtual embassy for other micronational diplomats not in close proximity to Eruditia.
Links
Period of inactivity
Following the inactivity in the Micras Sector, the Illuminarchal Union of Eruditia went into a large period of inactivity, spanning from March/April 2011 to November of 2011. In that time, Eruditia suffered serious cultural damage and citizen loss as interest slowly waned in Eruditia. It slowly faded into obscurity for 6–7 months.
Reintegration, the Self-Awareness Movement, and political restructuring
After several months of inactivity, the illuminarch, with newly-found vigor, restarted Eruditia. Having been a micronation for over a year (the majority of which had been spent inactive, though) Nicholas I felt that Eruditia should have been a major micronational player. In a significant effort, Nicholas rallied several of the previous citizens and was able to provide a steady provisional government once more.
In light of events occurring at the time, Nicholas wrote several more articles in the Ray of Light News. Starting in mid-November, Nicholas penned two fictitious parables: "The Plight of Anna Fontaine" and "Drama in an Enclosed Environment", whose messages touted individualism and disdain for micronational conflict.
Then, on the one year anniversary of the Ray of Light's creation, Nicholas published his essay "Why": a Must-Read for Any Micronationalist, in which Nicholas proposed the foundations of what would later become the Self-Awareness Movement. In it, he urged nations and leaders to gain a purpose and to direct their nations with reason. The work also shared anti-micronational war sentiments shared in previous works.
In total, Nicholas published 7 works in the Self-Awareness Movement during the month of December, 2011. Five of these were essays describing various philosophical viewpoints in the Self-Awareness Movement, such as support for reason, micronational camaraderie, and leadership purpose; it also gave readers stances against extremism, war, and close-mindedness, warning that such actions would lead to "xenophobia, isolationism, and eventually, extinction".
During this same time, Eruditia went through a series of reforms, including a re-writing of the constitution. Illuminarch Nicholas I has stated that once he has formulated the Self-Awareness Movement into a complete philosophical entity, he will enact more reforms into the illuminarchal union.
Politics
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Foreign relations
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Military
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Culture
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Provinces and geography
The Capital Province of Lumia
The capital of Lumia was the first province to be inducted as a province; it was created October 1, along with the then-called Principality of Eruditia. Lumia consists of the Illuminarchal Botanical Gardens, which consist of many Northwest flora and the Illuminarchal Palace. The palace houses the Instrumental Room, the Illuminarch's Quarters, the Guest Foyer, the Dining Hall, and the Entertainment Plateau outside.
Lumia has inherited the general weather patterns of Northwest micronations: mostly cloudy, with sunbreaks throughout the day. It rains much during the fall, winter, and spring seasons, which results in constant flooding (it is not uncommon for Eruditian mainland to become an island for weeks at a time). Snow can also become debilitating at times; due to its hilly/mountainous terrain, Lumian territory in the winter can become treacherous to all forms of locomotion save walking. As such, Eruditia has braved through many storms, including the Cataclysm of 2006: a back-to-back flood/windstorm/blizzard that left Eruditia an island for over a month and without electric power for over 2 weeks. Lumia now has back-up generators that insure safety of all its denizens.
Lumia serves as the primary area for the Illuminarch to move about and inhabit. Most of the Illuminarch's manifestos, writings, and literature (including the Constitution) were penned in Lumia.
Lumian culture is much different than the other provincial cultures. Lumia is an urban wonderland, contrary to the colonial feel of provinces like Surania and New Nordica. Lumians value music and literature above all other secondary needs.
The Province of New Macau
The Province of new Macau was started with the advent of a population of Eruditians living in the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. As soon as word spread of a growing colony there, Nicholas I inaugurated the area as a protectorate.
The Province of the New Nordica
Previously the United Republic of Greenlandic Icelanders. The URGI has been around since December 2008. After going a succession of 4 Presidents, Illuminarch Nicholas I being one of them previously, the Republic, under the guidance of Svava-Anna Lena, decided to merge with Eruditia. The URGI gained such notoriety that there is even a parody of its history on its Uncyclopedia page.
The Province of New Nordica incorporates unclaimed or uninhabitated islands from the countries of Iceland, Greenland, and Great Britain, forming a ring of islands under one sovereign rule. As the URGI, this country calmly situated itself, making sure not to enter into any diplomatic tangles with the countries its islands surround.
The Province of New Nordica is mainly oceanic in nature, and is home to many fantastic ice shelves, glaciers, and volcanoes. Although a harsh place to live, fishing is a major industry, as the islands encircle the lush Atlantic Ocean. Pines grow in this hardy environment, and mostly arctic mammals inhabit this region.
The Province of Surania
Previously the Chilean Archipelago of Surania. The etymology of Surania comes from the Hispanic word sur, which means south, and ania, a simple Latin suffix meaning land or region.
Surania encompasses 6 islands: one large main island surrounded by an archipelagic chain of 5 lesser islands. These islands are located in the southern portion of Chile, near Tierra del Fuego, approaching Antarctica (note however, that Eruditia has no claims in Antarctica at the present time).
Surania is famous for its presence of the monkey puzzle tree, a tree nearly extinct in other regions of the world and found almost exclusively in Chile. Like the Province of New Nordica, hardy trees and antarctic animals populate its winding coastlines and such.
Suranian culture is directly affected by the surrounding culture of Chile. One such it the myth of the Ghost Ship, an eerie vessel piloted by a witch. It is said to sail along the numerous channels and waterways that lace the islands of southern Chile and Surania. It is said that whomever looks upon the Ghost Ship is sentenced to die in the near future.
Surania produces much seafood, much like its northern cousin New Nordica.
Media
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Television and film
Eruditians enjoy watching various informative programs on television. Such popular channels like the Science Channel and National Geographic provide Eruditians the informative sustenance they require. Eruditians can watch any news outlet for political and news topics; popular channels include NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN. For entertainment, late night comedy shows are universally loved.
For films, a wide variety are viewed. Most romantic films aren't viewed for lack of actual digestible material; the same goes for most horror and action films (although there are exceptions). The most popular films are thrillers, sci-fi, and dramas, as these contain either intrigue, suspense, or innovation in a medium that causes one to think and digest.
Ray of Light News
Eruditia has one major news outlet, called the Ray of Light News. In it, various articles ranging a gamut of topics are written and explored. The primary author of the news and essays on the Ray of Light is the incumbent illuminarch, who provides philosophical writings along with the ordinary news.
The Ray of Light has gained notoriety for its essays and analyses of philosophical views. Used to explore themes and reasons in micronationality, it explores the new concept of illuminarchy, a governmental system still taking form that takes science and culture into great consideration. Illuminarch Nicholas I has gained considerable praise from his writings, and has continued to influence the micronational sphere with his essays.
More recently, the Ray of Light has also hosted the writings of the Self-Awareness Movement, an ideological movement that stresses micronations to have an actual purpose and to work towards something of value. These recent articles have gained both widespread acclaim and critiques, as progressive micronations clash with anarchists and extremists.
Popular articles
- Objectivism, Ultranationalism, and the Threat of Xenophobia
- The Plight of Anna Fontaine
- "Why?": A Must-Read for Any Micronationalist
- Micronational Insular Extremism: an Outsider's Opinion
- What Unifies Us?
Flora and fauna
The capital province of Eruditia, Lumia, hosts a menagerie of wildlife and plant life. Living in the fertile and biologically active Pacific Northwest, the local area teems with life. The vast majority of the land surrounding Eruditia is forested land, giving the biota plenty of space to expand and maintain their ecosystems.
Invertebrates
Invertebrate life in Eruditia varies with the change in seasons. With its placement in the Pacific Northwest, insect life in particular ebbs and flows in concordance with the weather around. During the summer season, invertebrate life is abundant. Common invertebrates that can be seen during the summer months are honeybees, wasps, millipedes, centipedes, butterflies, dragonflies, mosquitoes, ants (black), snails, and slugs.
During the winter months, invertebrate presence drops significantly, as rain and cold weather creates conditions that are typically too harsh for most invertebrate life. However, life persists in the form of snails, slugs, and earthworms, who emerge en mass after heavy rainfall.
A trip to the nearby Puget Sound also yield a variety of maritime invertebrate, including crabs, sea stars, seas cucumbers and mollusks such as cephalopods and gastropods. Octopi and "gooey ducks" are common in the Puget Sound. In particular, the Puget Sound regions of Eruditia are home to the Giant Pacific Octopus, the largest octopus species in the world.
Fish
Fish are common in the rivers, lakes, and oceans that surround the Eruditian claim in the Pacific Northwest, and are also a source of food for many Eruditian natives. The most well known of the fish in the Eruditian area are the salmon, the national fish of the Union. Considered a delicacy when grilled or smoked, salmon in Eruditia is a favorite food amongst the natives, especially with a light sprinkling of lemon juice.
Due to the Asian influence of the Pacific Northwest, koi fish are also quite common, and are usually added as aesthetics to manmade ponds and lakes. Other fish of note in the Eruditian area are cod, bass, and sturgeon.
Reptiles
Due to the generally cold and mild climate of Eruditia's location, reptilian life doesn't have as much of a presence as it does in other parts of the world. Garter snakes are a common reptile, often found slithering in grassy areas, such as the Botanical Gardens. Simple pond turtles also make their home in the various ponds, rivers, and lakes in and around the Eruditian claims. Snapping turtles have also been seen in the outlying areas.
Mammals
Mammals are a common sight in Eruditia, with a variety of famed indigenous species living in close proximity to many Eruditians. Deer are a common animal that are encountered, and many deer-crossing signs are posted on the roads of Eruditia; many car crashes in and around Eruditia are due to collisions with crossing deer. While not as common, the same applies to many native elk species.
In addition to deer, other small mammals such as squirrels, chipmunks and raccoons inhabit the outlying forested areas. Raccoons are considered pests by Eruditians.
Eruditia is also home to a variety of carnivorous mammals. Animals like coyotes, grizzly bears, and mountain lions (known colloquially as "pumas") are known to inhabit the exterior and uninhabited regions of Eruditia; in 2006, there was a famed incident where a puma entered the grounds of the local middle school, causing a lockdown of the facility until the feline left the campus.
Avians
There are a variety of native bird species in Eruditia. They include crows, cardinals, woodpeckers, and seagulls.
Eruditia is also home to many introduced species of birds. Pet birds such as cockatiels inhabit some residencies of Eruditians. Peacocks also freely wander some parts of Eruditia. In a farm on Eruditian land are a small group of emus. This emu population has successfully laid a clutch of eggs.
Plant & Fungal Life
There is an abundance of vegetation in the capital and main province of Eruditia. While not as heavy as popular opinion believes, there are extended amounts of rainfall in the Union, spanning from September until April–May. These bouts of persistent precipitation give way to myriads of different plant life.
Plant life in Eruditia can be split into two categories: low-lying and arboreal plant life. Low lying plants include the various flower species that grow on domestic properties, such as roses, daffodils, and tulips. Other low-lying plants include mosses, grasses, and a large number of ferns.
Eruditia, as a micronation in the Pacific Northwest, is famed for its wide expanses of forests. Hardy conifers and evergreens fill vast swaths of land, creating a damp canopy that supports many fern and mushroom species. Mushroom-hunting is a popular past time, with a variety of rare truffle species living in secluded portions of the forests.
Blackberry bushes, also known as sticker bushes, are widespread in many of the uninhabited regions of Eruditia, and are considered a weed. Oftentimes, heavy machinery will be brought in to combat the creeping advances of blackberry bushes, since their thorns make manual labor difficult. Still, in the summer, it is a popular activity to pick, clean, and eat the berries. Salmonberries, which are similar in shape to blackberries but are an orange-ish hue, are also eaten.
Philosophical views
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Scientific efforts
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External links
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