History of Uantir
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This page expands upon the history of the Kingdom of Uantir.
Founding
Uantir began before 25 October 2007 in the mind of His Majesty King Rook after having read about micronations online. Though he was interested, his attempts to get the idea of the ground were unsuccessful. There was little interest to participate from the few closest he approached about the subject. Nearly a year later his wife, now the Queen, brought up micronations after hearing about her friend, Colum McKenna, discussing starting one. Vexed at being a man before his time, but definitely excited that his friends had finally caught up to him, King Rook brought up the nation that had been brewing in his head for that year. Once the Queen was on board it became a game of friendly rivalry between the Uantir and McKenna to get their respective countries online first. The Uantir had King Rook's year of ideas to their advantage as less time was spent making decisions and more getting things on paper. It only took a few days to get the nation online, beating Colum to an operational forum by two days.
The Early Days
The first generation of citizens was, as most nations are, friends and family. Torsoboymansir and Frosty were some of the nation's first avid posters. Close family friends were named as Princes and Princesses of territories and everyone was eager to perpetuate the little gem being polished. At this time the Kingdom of Licentia was active and Uantir's closest ally. The coordination between them, both as friends and rivals, is attributed as the key factor that gave Uantir enough momentum to continue. Colum McKenna's visit to the states was hosted by Uantir, the Crown putting McKenna and his entourage up in lodging and giving them the tour of Southern California. Though the video has since been lost the first dual in Uantiri history was fought between Colum and Rook, His Majesty standing in as champion for the Queen. The dual involved an affront to her honor that none involved could remember the specifics of, even at the time of the dual. The dual was fought with wooden swords to the touch, not to the death, and King Rook, and by rights the Queen's honor, came out victorious.
The happy times between brother nations Uantir and Licentia did not last. A great civil war erupted in Licentia causing the nation to fall, despite Uantir's greatest effort on their part. The war was brutal because it was personal, the dispute that caused the war stemming from issues between Colum and Peter. The newly formed Veritalia didn't last long after its victory. In the end Deanna Williams, Colum's girlfriend now wife, started her own nation which Colum helped out with until it eventually disappeared due to inactivity. P. J. Gaffney, who began the revolution, temporarily left micronationalism after various incarnations of Veritalia failed.
Uantir accepted much of Licentia's territory as custodian and though it has long since been assimilated into Uantir's lands and the original borders no longer remain visible, Uantir still maintains that if the Kingdom of Licentia returned that land would be returned to them. As the void of activity from Licentia was never filled or replaced the novelty faded along with activity. At this time most of the first generation Uantiri drifted.
The Second Generation
The Monarchy set about to find more activity to replace what was lost. Posting advertisements in Craig's List, on DeviantART and anywhere else they could think of it managed to draw in some prospects. Though the numbers never increased significantly, these efforts were considered successful beyond the Crown's expectations. Their two most dedicated citizens, Mira O'Halloran and Nesslandria Haneh, joined at this time.
As time went on Uantir fell into a comfortable rhythm, weathering numerous challenges through the dedication of its subjects. Though the vigorous activity of Uantir's founding never returned this period is marked by numerous updates of cosmetic and practical influence. The artistry of Rachel Calkins replaced the old MSPaint national crest with the masterfully painted image used today. For his birthday 2009 King Rook's friends made him an Uantiri flag which now holds its place as the only micronational flag that has been flown from a ship under sail. The S.O.P. threads went up in this period, discussions on having set guidelines on how the nation should respond to certain situations. It was during the steady pace of the 2nd generation that the Colosseum, The Library, The Scullery and the Hall of Music were developed. The forums underwent a number of restructurings through the years.
September 2009 begun plans to re-district the provincial borders. As part of this King Rook called the first major Uantiri census to account for all those who were still even marginally active. The population of Uantir took a significant reduction after the grand census of 2010. His Majesty, frustrated with inactivity on the forums, called for all those who had not posted for half a year to have their account removed. He gave everyone time to put in a word for themselves and then went about removing those inactive members. The registered users went from 55 to 30 after the culling.
The Dark Age
On 1 March 2010, His Majesty shipped out for basic training in the United States Army. This brought on the deepest lull in activity in Uantir's history. In His Majesty's absence forum activity disappeared, discussions ceased and the nation's international voice was silent. His time away at basic training gave His Majesty ample time to think on what he'd created, and where he wanted to take it in the future. The months after his return from Basic Training were a time of reflection and reinvention. It culminated in the essay that fundamentally changed the national perspective of Uantiri citizenship.
Dawn of the Aristocracy
Though Uantir had always, as a feudal based monarchy, had nobility it was considered a position that was not immediately attainable by a new citizen. King Rook came to the conclusion that the average rank and file person joining micronationalism has no interest in being a rank and file citizen of a fake country. He drew inspiration from the notion long accepted in RecWar and Economic circles that a nation is made up of millions of unnamed simulated ‘citizens’ and a few key notable real life participants. In October 2010 His Majesty published an essay detailing his opinions of the nature of citizenship in the micronational community. King Rook's Essay on Citizenship redefined his stance on how citizenship and nobility should be handled in the nation.
The following month Uantir's system of nobility and citizenship changed drastically. No longer were participating members 'citizens.' He abolished the idea that the real people who participate in the nation are average citizens. They were classed as Aristocrats, to better symbolize the significance of active Uantiri. Among many other benefits being an Aristocrat means that the individual Uantiri represents a number of simulated people that they control, the number of people dependent on activity. This gives each Uantiri Aristocrat more autonomy in the administration of their area of culture. The word citizen in Uantir now refers to the individuals in the simulated population. This change unequivocally classifies The Kingdom of Uantir as a simulationist nation and dismisses any lingering interests at making territorial claims anytime in the near future.
Members can now maintain an easy, passive presence while at the same time getting the ego boost of being a titled lord and running an estate. This new dynamic has increased involvement if not activity. Much of Uantir's activity is now conducted through e-mails and Facebook messages with his Majesty being the primary hub for the flow of opinion and information instead of the forum. The most notable achievement of the change to Aristocracy is the emergence of Riverside, a budding luxury community run by Thane Noel. Thane Noel is a talented graphic artists who, in addition to the high class influences Riverside will bring has tackled a number of the cosmetic projects that Uantir has been lacking in the past.