Bailiwick of Hak'hanna

Solidary Bailiwick of Hak'hanna
Flag Great Seal
Motto:  "Preserve and Progress"
Anthem: The National Anthem of Hak'hanna (Douglas Madenford - Susquehanna Waters)
Capital	Vilicus
Official languages	English
Religion	Catholicism (unofficial)
Demonym(s)	Hannock
Government	Unitary republic
• High Bailiff	Sepp Cervenius
Legislature	Forum Internus
Establishment
• Declared independence from United States	8 March 2020
Area
• Total	54,286.15 km2 (20,960.00 sq mi)
Population
• Estimate	2
Currency	U.S. Dollar (de facto) barter (de jure)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
Date format	mm/dd/yy
Driving side	right

Hak'hanna (pronounced: /hæk'hɑnə/), officially the Solidary Bailiwick of Hak'hanna, also more commonly known as the Bailiwick of Hak'hanna, is a self-proclaimed sovereign state or micronation enclaved within the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The nation was established in March 2020 as a successor state to the former Commonwealth of Wenonah, a project nation formed under Sepp Cervenius. Unlike it's predecessor, Hak'hanna is a one-party unitary republic, with Seneschal Cervenius serving as High Bailiff, the nation's head of state. The Bailiwick of Hak'hanna claims de facto jurisdiction over 20,960 square miles of ridges, streams and valleys within the Susquehanna Valley of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, however only makes claims de jure over an embassy of 0.88 acres within the southeastern portion of the state. English is the only official language spoken in the nation.

Hak'hanna's core values are deeply rooted in the ideologies of Vilicism, a sociopolitical theory formulated by Cervenius. In a Vilicist Party system, political and economic decisions are limited by ecological boundaries, as such proposed by advocates of bioregionalism. Cervenius describes the Vilicist system of the Bailiwick of Hak'hanna as "a society of free market environmentalism, in which conservative economic policy and social liberalism is applied to an entity maintaining stewardship of an ecological region." The primary objective of the nation is to preserve, maintain, and promote the trails, woodlands, and rivers within the watershed of the Susquehanna.

Etymology

The origins for the etymology of the Bailiwick of Hak'hanna are attributed to the indigenous peoples of the United States. Although the claims of the nation fall primarily within the historical territory of the Susquehannock people, the name "Hak'hanna" is derived from the Len'api (or Delaware Indian) term Sisa'we'hak'hanna, which means "Oyster River." This is in reference to the abundance of Oyster beds in the bay at the mouth of the Susquehanna River. The name of the Susquehannock (or Conestoga) people is derived from this Len'api word.

History

Prehistory

Federation of the Eastern Shores

On August 28, 2018, Sepp Cervenius, along with three other acquaintances, established the Federation of the Eastern Shores (also known as Shoresia), a micronation claiming territory on the Delmarva region of Maryland and Virginia. The nation had begun as an experiment between high school colleagues, drawing inspiration from time playing online nation-building simulations, such as NationStates. By the end of August 2018, the Eastern Shores had entered into several diplomatic agreements with other micronations, primarily within the League of Micronations. However, Cervenius found that the community within the League did not consist of individuals seeking "realistic secessionist motives", and the Federation withdrew from the organization.

Although the Federation of the Eastern Shores consisted of multiple territories, all authority was held by the Shoresian Council, a group of influential members within the nation. Basic rights were granted to citizens by de facto ruling, as no official legislation had been passed. The Council established their presence on social media platforms, including Twitter and Google+, in order to further publicize the Federation.

During the month of September, the Federation of the Eastern Shores was mostly stagnant. Besides a diplomatic mission to the southernmost territories of the Federation, no further progress had been made. With less participation from members of government, the Shoresian Council instated a federal shutdown and put development on legislative documents in a state of hiatus.

On October 5 of 2018, Councilmen Alex Gale and Joe Quart of the Shoresian Council resigned from their positions within the nation's government to form the Federation of Eastern Forests. The Eastern Shores and the Eastern Forests promptly solidified mutual diplomatic relations and recognition. The Federation of the Eastern Forests has since remained stagnant.

Commonwealth of Wenonah

In early October 2018, the Shoresian Council held its Seventh Congressional Meeting to discuss the future of the Federation. A decision was made between members of the Council to re-brand itself under a new name and governmental system. Through a democratic referendum, the Council affirmed this decision, and the Eastern Shores was renamed to the Commonwealth of Wenonah. All territories of the former Federation were granted quasi-autonomy under this new system and reformed into "realms", after which Wenonah declared itself a federal republic.

In the process of restructuring, the Shoresian Council was dissolved and replaced with the Free Assembly of Wenonah, a unitary model sharing resemblances to the Congress of the United States. Sepp Cervenius (then Jamison Ruz) declared himself President of the Commonwealth, and appointed Lynn Ruz as Superintendent of the Assembly, a position holding authority over arbitration within the Assembly. Chair delegates were chosen from all realms of the Commonwealth, and given the authority to appoint Deputy delegates and additional representatives. Changes were made to the social media accounts held by the former Federation, and the Assembly was given authority over them. The Assembly also published the nation's full Articles of Federation, detailing the rights of citizens and code of law.

After its reformation, Wenonah entered into several micronational organizations, including the North-Western Alliance, United Sovereignties, and Grand Unified Micronational. The Commonwealth of Wenonah laid claim to several areas within the State of New Jersey and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The largest of these claims were referred to as a "realm", while the term "territory" was used simultaneously for smaller claims or less proximal locations. The Realm of Sehconey, situated within the Southeastern portion of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, contained the Capitol of Chameau, the nation's largest fresh water body (Springfield Lake), and the former Presidential Estate. An additional claim was held over land within Southern New Jersey, which had port access to the Atlantic Ocean for the distribution of goods and services, and tourism. The Commonwealth at one point laid claim to Tangier Island, off the coast of the Delmarva Peninsula, but later rejected this claim.

On 11 October 2019, Cervenius announced via Twitter that he would be suspending the Commonwealth of Wenonah indefinitely, and taking a hiatus from micronational affairs. Immediately after, Wenonah withdrew from the Grand Unified Micronational and all other organizations.

Beginnings

Establishment of Hak'hanna

In early March 2020, Sepp Cervenius made a return to micronationalism. After spending five months on hiatus, he returned to form a new nation. On March 7, 2020, the "@WenonahGov" Twitter handle was changed to "@hakhannagov", and the process began of converting the account over to a new project. At 6:59 PM Eastern Standard Time, the account tweeted out "The ball is rolling once more. We welcome Hak'hanna into fruition. Stay tuned for updates.", teasing Ruz's return to the page.

The following day, the Bailiwick of Hak'hanna released an "Inaugural Decree", establishing itself as a micronation in the community. The decree outlined the formation of the Solidary Bailiwick as a sovereign state according to the 1933 Montevideo Convention, proclaimed Cervenius as head of state, proposed the drafting of a Constitution, and defined state symbols.

The Bailiwick of Hak'hanna has since published information regarding origins of the state via Twitter, and re-applied for membership to the United Sovereignties.

Geography

See also: Geography of Hak'hanna

The West Branch of the Susquehanna River, in the western region of Hak'hanna.

The Bailiwick of Hak'hanna, while not making full territorial claims to the region, holds "stewardly jurisdiction" over the Susquehanna Valley region of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which in itself is part of the greater Appalachian Structural Front. This area of the country lies within the watershed of the Susquehanna River, the 16th-largest river in the United States. The diverse topography includes many valleys and ridges, with gaps in the elevation where the Susquehanna cuts through.

The Hannock Embassy to the United States (also known as Vilicus) lies outside of the nation's stewardly jurisdiction in the southeastern region of Pennsylvania. This region of the state, referred to as the Atlantic Coastal Plain, is flat and near sea level. The area lies within the watershed of the Delaware River, with Tohickon Creek and Neshaminy Creek as the largest tributaries.

Climate

Because of the diverse topography within the jurisdiction of Hak'hanna, a variety of climates are present. The majority of the region falls within a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa). The most southern portions lie in a humid subtropical climate, and the region surrounding the Hannock Embassy (Vilicus) is characteristic of a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa).

Summers are commonly hot and humid, and winters composed of cold, cloudy days. Severe weather is frequent from spring through fall. The interior regions of the nation receive greater amounts of snowfall than the exterior portions, though precipitation is commonplace throughout.

Climate data for the Bailiwick of Hak'hanna
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	85 (29.4)	83 (28.3)	92 (33.3)	98 (36.7)	102 (38.9)	107 (41.7)	111 (43.9)	108 (42.2)	106 (41.1)	100 (37.8)	88 (31.1)	82 (27.8)	111 (43.9)
Record low °F (°C)	−42 (-41.1)	−39 (-39.4)	−31 (-35)	−5 (-20.6)	10 (-12.2)	20 (-6.7)	28 (-2.2)	23 (-5)	17 (-8.3)	7 (-13.9)	−15 (-26.1)	−29 (-33.9)	−42 (−41.1)
Source: http://climate.psu.edu/data/state/staterecords.php

Flora and fauna

The extinct subspecies of Eastern mountain lion, national animal of Hak'hanna, was once found abundantly in the Susquehanna Valley of Pennsylvania.

Within Hak'hanna's extensive forests, native trees of maple, walnut, poplar, oak, pine, ash, beech, and linden are most prevalent. Sassafras, sycamore, weeping willow, and balsam fir can also be found dispersed throughout. Among the shrubbery and small trees, Mountain laurel, June-berry, dotted hawthorn, New Jersey tea, and various dogwoods are seen. There are approximately 2,100 native plants in the Bailiwick.

Approximately 480 species of wild birds and mammals call Hak'hanna their home. Among them are the white-tailed deer, elk, black bear, red and gray foxes, opossum, raccoon, muskrat, mink, snowshoe hare, common cottontail, and red, gray, fox, and flying squirrels. Native amphibians include the hellbender, Fowler's toad, and the tree, cricket, and true frogs; among reptilian species are the five-lined and black skinks and five varieties of lizard. Game birds include the ruffed grouse, wood dove, ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail, and mallard and black ducks. The robin, cardinal, English sparrow, red-eyed vireo, cedar waxwing, tufted titmouse, yellow-shafted flicker, barn swallow, blue jay, and killdeer are common non-game birds. More than 170 types of fish have been identified in the regions of Hak'hanna, with brown and brook trout, grass pickerel, bigeye chub, pirate perch, and white bass among the common native varieties.

Diplomacy

Foreign Relations

As of March 2020, the Bailiwick of Hak'hanna has yet to publish any official legislation regarding the recognition of foreign macronations and micronations. However, the Bailiwick does recognize the sovereignty of all member states within all inter-micronational organizations the nation is involved with, especially those within the Grand Unified Micronational and the United Sovereignties.

Organisations

Name	Entry to Organisation	Status of Membership	Members' Positions within Organization
United Sovereignties	13 March 2020	Inactive (Left on 1 April 2020)	Member
Grand Unified Micronational	14 March 2020	Inactive (Left on 6 March 2021)	Full Delegate

References

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