State of Greater Ridd
State of Greater Ridd | |
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Motto: Unity, joy, progress | |
| Capital and largest city | Riddlesden |
| Official languages | English (de facto) |
| Demonym(s) | Riddite |
| Government | Federal semi-presidential republic |
• Commission President | Dafydd Jones |
• Assembly President | To be elected |
| Legislature | General Assembly |
| Establishment | 2011 |
| Population | |
• (plus 4 non-resident citizens) census | 6 |
| Currency | Pound Sterling (GBP) |
| Time zone | UTC |
Greater Ridd, officially the State of Greater Ridd, is a landlocked federal semi-presidential republic comprising four autonomous areas, bordered entirely by the United Kingdom.
Greater Ridd was originally founded in mid-2011 as the "Federated Republic of Dafelonia" by self-declared President, Dafydd Jones. The Federated Republic of Dafelonia was a unitary presidential republic which occupied largely the same borders as the current State of Greater Ridd. The Federated Republic of Dafelonia would become the Kingdom of Dafelonia in 2013, and adopting the present name "Greater Ridd" in the same year.
Greater Ridd, within its current borders, has been variously a federal parliamentary republic, a unitary presidential republic and a federal semi-presidential republic with the current system giving the administrative areas of Riddlesden, Gatesgarthdale, Elam Wood and East Riddlesden considerable autonomy within the State.
History
Foundation
The Federated Republic of Dafelonia was founded during the year 2011 after the founder of the country, Dafydd Jones, discovered the existence of the micronation Sealand. The country was founded with considerable support from friends and relatives of the then self-declared President of the Federated Republic of Dafelonia. Dafelonia initially created its own currency, the "Dafelonian Shilling", which was never put into circulation due to a lack of acceptance as a currency by businesses and the citizens of Dafelonia. The Federated Republic of Dafelonia would make numerous online interactions with other micronations, most of which existed almost entirely online and are now mostly defunct. The Federated Republic of Dafelonia existed until the 3rd of November 2012, when the President decided to assert further control over the country by declaring himself "King of Dafelonia".
Monarchy
The first substantial reform of Dafelonia took place on the 3rd of September 2012, when the Federated Republic of Dafelonia became the Kingdom of Dafelonia, radically altering the government of the country. Through foreign relations with the now-defunct nation of "Scotannaea", the Kingdom gained additional land in the form of the uninhabited island of "Kanjistan", located in an area adjacent to a beach in Cornwall.
The Kingdom of Dafelonia changed its official currency from the Federated Republic-era Shilling to the British Pound, as it was more widely available and exchangeable for goods and services. The Kingdom of Dafelonia had a system of local government, where "Viscounts" would be appointed to represent Viscountcies which covered the various parts of Dafelonia.
After a considerable period of inactivity, the Kingdom of Dafelonia would be disestablished entirely in October 2013.
Federal Union
After a short period of disestablishment and absorption into the United Kingdom, a new nation, the "Federal Union of Greater Ridd" was founded on the 26th of November 2013. This country would start almost exclusively as a conversation on the social media site Facebook, between the friends of Dafydd Jones, in which topics such as space exploration and baking were discussed. This period would be the first to adopt the name "Greater Ridd" - which relates to the area in which it is located - rather than "Dafelonia - which is based on the name of its founder.
The Federal Union of Greater Ridd would briefly continue relations with the country "Scotannaea", only to relinquish its claim to the small island which had been given to it in 2012, which by 2014 had been renamed the "Southern Republic Special Administrative Region of Greater Ridd". The Federal Union of Greater Ridd would once again fall into inactivity by November 2014, leading to the eventual reformation of the nation into the neutrally-named State of Greater Ridd.
Constitutional era
The modern "State of Greater Ridd" was founded on the 30th of August 2015, again with friends of the founder, Dafydd Jones taking part. A new constitution was adopted on the 2nd of April 2016, The constitution represents first foundations of the present iteration of the country. New laws were created by the "Imperial Director" including a Metrication Act, an act to enable the establishment of Statutory Corporations and acts relating to local government. Greater Ridd entered a period of heightened activity, when the National Transport Corporation was established, to regulate and manage the transportation of goods and people around the area of Riddlesden. Numerous plans were created for the promotion of public transport in Greater Ridd, such as a ban on private vehicles in rural areas and plans for a railway system around the country. A new Institute for Standardisation was created, which ensured that full metrication of Greater Ridd would be completed by the end of 2016, having previously used both metric and imperial units of measurement. The Institute for Standardisation also ensured hamronisation with the regulations and directives of the European Union, in an effort to promote travel and business with other countries around the continent.
A new constitution was adopted on the 27th of July 2017, which established the Riddite Commission (the executive branch of government), changed the function of the General Assembly and gave greater autonomy to the regions.
Geography
The State of Greater Ridd's claimed area covers approximately 45.51km2, which is divided between four administrative areas: the Free City of Riddlesden; the Commune of East Riddlesden; the Republic of Elam Wood and the Republic of Gatesgarthdale. The majority of land in Greater Ridd is uninhabited, with administration taking place for the purposes of agriculture and conservation with just 0.5% of land being urbanised.
The State of Greater Ridd lies mainly in hilly areas, with the majority of land being within the Pennine region of Great Britain, along with an area in the mountainous Lake District.
Climate
The climate in Greater Ridd is similar to other parts of Great Britain, with temperatures reaching lows in the winter of around -5 °C and summer highs of around 30 °C. Precipitation is experienced by all parts of Greater Ridd at all times of the year, with spring and mid-summer bringing particularly heavy rains and thunderstorms at times. Snow is a yearly occurrence in Greater Ridd during the winter months, causing travel disruption.
Regions
The State of Greater Ridd is divided into several administrative regions, called Free Cities, Republics or Communes. Each type of region is considered equal under the constitution. Collectively, the regional divisions of Greater Ridd are called the "Confederal Structure".
| Flag | Coat of arms | State | Capital | Citizens | Area (km2) | Official language(s) | Leader |
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Riddlesden |
Capital Area | English | Unelected | ||
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Elam Wood |
Culvert | English | Unelected | ||
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Gatesgarthdale |
Honister View | English | Unelected | ||
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Commune |
Shed | English | Unelected | ||
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Greater Ridd (Disputed) |
Marx-Engels-Stadt | English | Monkey |
| People | Dafydd Jones | ||||||
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| Government | General Assembly · Riddite Commission | ||||||
| Administrative Divisions |
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