Empire of Meritia
Empire of Meritia | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
| Motto: “Deus Augebit” (Latin) "God will increase" | |
| Anthem: Oh Meritia, Free and Prosperous | |
| Capital | Patrickston |
| Largest city | Congrad |
| Official languages | English |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Demonym(s) | Meritian |
| Government | Unitary absolute monarchy |
• Emperor | Joseph I |
• Minister | Džözyp Trick |
| Legislature | General Assembly |
| Independence from the United States | |
• Declared | 7 September 2021 |
• Independence formalized | 13 September 2021 |
• Current constitution | 31 January 2022 |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.022 sq mi (0.057 km2) |
| Population | |
• 2023 census | ▲ 24 (196th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | ▲ $7,750 (USD) (217th) ▲ Ᵽ35,000 (MIP) (217th) |
• Per capita | ▲ $322.92 (USD) (190th) ▲ Ᵽ1,458.33 (MIP) (190th) |
| HDI (2023) | 0.921 very high |
| Currency | Meritian Pupa |
| Time zone | MGT (EST) |
| Date format | dd/mm/yy |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +1 |
| Internet TLD | .mi (proposed) |
The Empire of Meritia, commonly referred to as simply Meritia, is a country located in North America. It consists of 8 provinces, 2 territories, 2 protectorates, and 1 federal district. As of the March 2023 census, the Empire of Meritia had 24 citizens. The country borders areas surrounding the United States of America, with it having a Northern Region (Located in Northern Ohio), a New England Region, and a Southern Region (Located in Southern Ohio). It consists of roughly 0.022 square miles of Land; however, this is only a rough estimate which has not been measured by any official organizations. Meritia also claims to maintain its own airspace, but this is not typically enforced due to lack of proper equipment. The Capital City of Meritia is Patrickston, which is Located in the Capital Federal Administrative District.
Meritia is a unitary absolute monarchy, with the Emperor holding the supreme authority over the State, and with lesser powers being granted to the Government of Meritia. The Meritian Government consists of the Minister of Meritia, who is Head of Government and head of the executive branch, the Deputy Minister to serve as a junior advisor to the Minister and junior Head of the Executive Branch. There are also currently 8 Cabinet-level positions in the Merititian Executive Branch, each heading a different Federal Department. The legislature is made up of the Meritian General Assembly, a governing body made up of 16 Delegates, or 2 elected per Province. The General Assembly is led by the President of the General Assembly, who supervises all sessions and coordinates all logistics surrounding the Legislative Branch. The General Assembly also consists of a Clerk, whose duties are to keep records of the Legislature and provide easy access to its history. The Judicial Branch falls under the authority of the Supreme Court of Meritia, which consists of the Chief Justice of Meritia and 4 elected Associate Justices. When absent, the Internal Court of Meritia often takes the place of the Supreme Court as the primary court of the nation in all trials.
Considered to be a relatively well-developed nation, Meritia is often regarded as a first-world country, and additionally holds the rank of "first world micronation" on the FIMSS, maintaining a total score of 0.80. The state provides easy access to healthcare and educational services and has exceptional living conditions, granting it this portrayal of high praise by its peers. The current nominal GDP of Meritia lies at 35,000 Meritian Pupa in Circulation, the equivalent to roughly 7,000 USD, which is limited through the terms of economic law in order to avoid inflation. Much of the current population is considered to be a part of the middle-class, with the exceptions of some who fall under the working-class in their primary country of residency. The current per capita GDP of Meritia is 1,458.33 Pupa, or $322.92 in USD, surpassing only Burundi with its small national economy. Meritia currently does not export goods to other nations, however it plans to implement a trade system among its allies in the near future. Additionally, under this goal of economic expansion, is the planned introduction of a citizen's market, which would allow for the purchase of goods in exchange for Pupa. Private property is also to be included in this ordeal, which would allow the citizens of Meritia to become landowners.
Etymology
"Meritia" comes from the Latin phrase "Meriti" meaning "of merit", making Meritia the "land of merit" by definition. It since has been translated into various different languages, having the same meaning in all of these as well. It was first used to describe the successor state to the Principality of Northio on 7 September 2021, when it was declared that the new "Empire of Meritia" replace it. Following the creation of Meritia it has been used numerous times in the popular culture of various micronations and has been portrayed countless times in both positive and negative pieces of media across the community as a whole. Before this coinage of the word by Emperor Joseph I, very few uses of the term "Meritia" have ever been recorded, and those that have mostly came without any special distinct meaning to the word.
History
Pre-History
Originally inhabited by the Erie Tribe until the mid-17th Century, the region of northern Ohio for centuries has long been a populated and active area. The region was originally colonized by the Kingdom of France before being handed over to the British after their victory in the French and Indian War in 1754. After the American Victory in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain, the area would be organized alongside various other modern day U.S. States under the Northwest Territory. This system remained until 1803, when Ohio was admitted into the Union as the 17th State. Erie County, the area which modern day Meritia lies within, was originally part of Trumbull County until the formation of Huron County in 1809, to which it then remained a part of until it’s breakaway in 1838, during which it also gained a portion of Sandusky County. Modern Meritian area was settled as early as 1850, when the first house was built on the road which Meritia lies adjacent to. Growth in this area would continue for decades, reaching peaks in the 1960s, and another in the 1990s, before dying down in the 2000s.
Origins
Originally, the Meritian area was made up of three kingdoms, that of the Kingdom of the West, the Central Kingdom, and the Kingdom of the East. These three entities were ruled over by two major parties, with the Central and Eastern Kingdoms both being dual controlled by the same Royal House. Resulting from this was the Alliance between the Central and East Kingdoms, and their constant conflict with the Kingdom of the West with the goal to take the throne of all three states for the same House. The Kingdom of the West however repelled these constant attacks, holding an advantage over the opposing Royal House due to their mainland being located outside of the Central and East Kingdoms. The Capital of the Kingdom of the West would be established likely during the 1960s, known by the reigning leaders as the West Manor. This structure would be the base of operations for the defense of the kingdom against the two larger entities, adopting tactics that included burying their valuables to prevent them from being seized in war, and gaining an economic monopoly on slate, which they likely used in trade along the Bridge of Riches to obtain a great fortune. The warfare would drag on until some time in the 1970s or 1980s, when tragedy would strike the Kingdom of the West as a great fire completely destroyed the West Manor, leaving them without a Capital. As a result, the Royals of the kingdom would be forced to settle elsewhere, abandoning their mainland although they still ruled over it. Following this abandonment, the warring states would go dormant for the remainder of the 20th Century, and would slowly become more neutral to each other, with the descendants of the rulers of the West even eventually settling right next to the headquarters of their former enemy. This dormancy and neutrality, however, would come to an end with the start of the 21st Century, when a new power, titled simply the “Center” Kingdom, would begin their affairs in the region. Originally established in 2006 as a isolationist state alongside Lake Erie, the Center Kingdom would soon find itself the grandfather nation of modern day Meritia. The Capital of this entity would fluctuate throughout the years to follow, going from their original Erie Province to several other headquarters located in other areas of Ohio, and areas of Texas and Michigan over just a span of just 4 years. During this time, the newly-born Joseph I was in his infancy, and was heir to the throne of the Center Kingdom as the eldest in the family. The Center Kingdom finally found their permanent base of operations in 2010, when they would seek the purchasing of all three dormant Kingdom’s lands, consulting both Royal Houses on this proposal. This plan was eventually agreed to, as both descendants of the former leaders saw no more use for these undeveloped lands, and thus all were officially unified under the Center Kingdom by November of 2010. This kingdom would remain a powerful entity in the region for over a decade, enacting policies of mass development over these lands while additionally administering their still-owned Erie Province to the Northwest. These subsequent policies of mass development would lead to innovations in farming, and the creation of what is now the Meritian Road System. The Center Kingdom would continue to develop and grow until 2019, when they made the irrevocable decision to sell their Erie Province, seeing no further use for it and proclaiming it as “too hard to administer”. To this day, this decision was heavily opposed by Joseph I, who believes that the Province is simply “unrecognizable” today from what it once was. The second major loss of territory for the Center Kingdom would come in March of 2021, when Joseph I would form a breakaway state out of a large portion of the Center Kingdom lands, known as the Principality of Northio. This state would exist until September 7th, 2021, when it was declared a failed nation, and replaced by Meritia, which rules over much of the area to this day.
Early History
The Empire of Meritia was Declared and first established on the 7th of September 2021. It was Preceded by the Principality of Northio,a Nation with a Principality-Based Government that Governed over all of the same Territory as Mainland Meritia. The Northern Region of Meritia originally Existed as a Plot of Vacant Land, owned by Private Sources until 2009, where the Territory was Acquired by the Immediate Family of the Emperor. Part of this Plot is still under U.S. Ownership, however the other half has been under Micronational influence since March of 2021, when Northio was first Declared. The U.S. half of the Plot is the Official Location of the Meritian-U.S. Embassy, where the Empire of Meritia Diplomatically Communicates with the U.S. and its Diplomats. The Southern Region of Meritia has a long History as a smaller part of a Large Private Plot that has been in existence since an unknown time during the 1800s. It remained in Private Ownership until 1990, where it was then Acquired by the Grand and Great Grandparents of the Emperor. Most of the Land Portion currently is Privately Controlled by the Grandfather of the Emperor, with the small Province within the Territory being under Micronational Influence and Control since July of 2021, where it came under Occupation by Northio as a Province commonly known as "Southio".
The theorized idea of a Micronation Governing under these Territories has been one in the Emperor's mind since 2020, where they became very interested in the concept of Government and Countries. Many Departments now Commissioned by The Empire of Meritia have also existed in Informal Forms since earlier Years. The Department of Natural Resources, for example, has existed in Informal Form since an Unkown Date in 2013 (which is also the reason for the DNR Emblem displaying "2013" on it). Governing of the Southern Region of Meritia is not a new concept either, and this concept was originally Informally Carried Out by the Unofficial Provisional Government of The Southern Region. The concept of separation of the Territory by Administrative Districts has existed since Circa 2015, and the Independence of the Region still remains a Prominent Topic in Today's Time, under the Theorized Empire of Laniatus.
Annexation of Sinumia
Since the 7th of November 2021, a Portion of the Creek Region down by the end of the Road that Borders alongside the Meritian Mainland has been an Official Territory of the Empire known as "The Territory of Sinumia". This Territory prior to its Establishment has been a Common Hangout spot of the Emperor of Meritia, and has been deemed to be very easy to Govern over by Meritia's Government, due to the fact that nobody is ever down there other than the Emperor, which led to the Establishment of a Portion of it as a Territory. Although this Territory is owned by a Private Owner, they never appear to Enter the Claimed Part of the Territory, which gave Meritia justification for Seceding Part of one's Territory from their Ownership, just as they had done with all the rest of their Land Claims.
Annexation of Meritian Dilu and Purple Island
On February 15th, 2022, through two Official Documents Passed both by the Meritian Empire and Kingdom of Fontasia, the Territory of Purple Island and the Protectorate of Dilu were Established as Official Administrative regions of the Empire of Meritia. Along with Meritia the Dilu area was also Partitioned among the Kingdom of Fontasia, the Kingdom of Scynja, Nexus, and the Democratic Christian Republic of Melite (as a Leased Territory). Recently, the Conservative Creek Republic has also been given a Portion of the area, Partitioned out of Nexus land. Purple Island was split in halves among Meritia and Nexus. This Partition was a result of a failed compromise between Fontasia and Zeprana to make the Territory an International Zone, to which the Zepranan Leader Terry McKeen responded to by Claiming the entire Portion of Dilu Island. This sparked the Dilu Island Dispute, which after just days seemed to dissipate as all Powers now with Territories on the Island agreed that Terry had no legitimate Claim over the area, and he also began making his stance on if he still claimed Dilu confusing, denouncing his Claims but then insisting on them again time after time, which essentially ended the Dispute and assured the Dilu Island was now Legally part of all the Nations with Territories there, with the Borders defined in the Partition of Dilu Island Treaty.
Meritian Border Crisis of 2022
At 4:00 PM MGT on March 6th, 2022, the Empire of Meritia was disrupted by Foreign United States Citizens, who according to the Emperor posed a possible threat of harming the Empire, by illegally entering the Borders of either Province District 01, or the Territory of Sinumia. Since then, the Emperor has declared a buffer zone or "No Entry" zone for any of those grouped as part of the threat. The Meritian Military has been Deployed to Patrol these areas and Guard the Border since, and the situation has been named the Meritian Border Crisis. By June of 2022, the Original Foreigners who put the Territorial Integrity of Meritia at risk have been seen only a few more times, however the Crisis continues to Rage on as Summer reaches it's peak, and more new Foreigners continue to put Meritia's Borders at Risk.
Dilu War
On March 30th, 2022, the Dilu Island Dispute quickly turned to active Warfare as the Kingdom of Fontasia Declared War on Zeprana, Officially starting the Coalition against Zeprana and the Dilu War. This War would directly involve Meritia, as the Empire owns a Portion of Dilu known as the Protectorate of Dilu. Due to this close proximity to the Conflict, Meritia quickly after Fontasia's Declaration would also Declare War on Zeprana, an action which many Nations would take, forming the Allied Faction of the Coalition against Zeprana. However, just a couple days after the breakout of this Conflict, Zeprana would Announce Unconditional Surrender, ending the Dilu War, with it becoming known as the "62 Hour War" in Meritia, referring to it's very brief 3-Day Duration, making it the shortest Conflict that Meritia has been involved in, even shorter than the iconic 14-Day War, which lasted a mere two weeks.
Arcadian War of Liberation and Anti-Zepranan Coalition
On June 4th, 2022, the Meritian Empire Officially joined the Coalition against Zeprana, Worrell, and Averna, all of whom began to disrupt the Peace between New England Micronations. The Leader of Zeprana, Matthew Cunningham, separated from the Main Zeprana Government during the Civil Conflict of Zeprana, in which 4 New Illegitimate Governments were formed, including Cunningham's Dictatorial State. This led to an escalation into an Armed Conflict, which has since become known as the 2022 Arcadian War of Liberation. Meritia Officially Declared War on all 3 Enemy States at 4:15 PM MGT (EST), and the entirety of the Meritian Military has been put on Active Readiness.
Merito-American War
On October 4th, 2022, Meritia Published an Official Declaration of Warfare to take Effect the following day, October 5th, at 12:00 AM MGT (EST). Meritia would lay immediate Claim to the entire forest regions surrounding its borders, currently owned by the United States, and began an Offensive Line in the Eastern Areas on October 8th, 2022, starting the Meritian Eastern Offensive with the subsequent Battle of Blue Oak. The Meritian Flag would be planted in the region, and it would be Formally Occupied under Army Administration following its Capture which began at 2:30 PM MGT (EST) and concluded by 3:50 PM MGT (EST), just over an hour later. Meritia would continue the attack on the United States later on November 2nd, 2022, changing the focus area to the Northern Regions and inciting the Northern Offensive. The Battle of North Timbers would be the result of this attack, once again being a resounding Meritian Victory, completely unopposed by the US. This area too would see the Meritian Flag being planted in the region, Occupying it as the second area of Military Administration in the War. Meritian Advancements into the West would commence following a third and most ambitious buildup of troops in the area on November 9th, 2022, with the goal of taking larger amounts of territory than obtained in any of the previous attacks. This would turn into the resulting Battle of Sticks and Barbs in the Western Front, which similarly to the previous attacks was also a resounding Meritian Victory. The Government would plant the Meritian Flag in the region, and it would become the largest amount of territory seized during the whole War, again with no casualties.
Annexation of Turtle Island and Dispute with Northwood-Oregon
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On December 3rd, 2022, Meritia would discover an island in Lake Erie which appeared to be abandoned. Following this discovery, the Nation would take interest in this island, as it was the only claimable and easy to enforce island that Meritia could find within the US Borders of Lake Erie. A referendum would soon follow which asked the population of Meritia their opinions on Annexation, to which in a landslide vote of 6-1, the population approved the decision entirely unanimously. At 6:00 PM MGT (EST) on the 4th of December, Meritia would Formally Annex the island, named Turtle Island, as the Protectorate of Turtle Island, a Commonwealth Territory of the Empire. However, this claim was not finished at that, as it would soon be found out that a nearby Nation Headquartered in Toledo, the Kingdom of Northwood-Oregon, had already claimed the island prior to Meritia's claim. The Empire would then assert their claim to the entire island, stating that due to the fact that Northwood-Oregon never set foot on the territory, it still technically had only been observed rather than officially claimed by them. Joseph I would inform the Monarch of Northwood-Oregon of this power change on the island, to which the Co-Sovereign, Carson I, would reject after Meritian attempts to conduct a Diplomatic Resolution to divide the island fairly, asserting their claims over the whole island. With both powers asserting individual claim over this area, the Turtle Island dispute, which came to be known as the Turtle Island Troubles, would officially begin on December 4th. Northwood-Oregon would continue to reject Diplomacy following an Official Treaty created by Meritia to split the island in a fair 50/50 way, still giving no signature on the document despite Meritia's agreement with their Nation's Diplomat to Establish these Terms to end the dispute and the chaos which ensued as a result of it. In the end, the Dispute finally awoke the Meritian Government into realizing their lack of Official Standards for the Recognition of Sovereign States, and changed this Policy at last, "ending" the Dispute with the Nation's refusal to recognize or make any actions recognizing Northwood-Oregon, or any Micronations who have not proven their legitimacy for that matter. The actual Dispute would come to a formal end with Meritia at last revoking claim over the area, seeking closer islands to Govern and dissolving the Protectorate of Turtle Island to create the much less controversial Protectorate of the Sandusky Isles. This would enter Meritia into a new era of peace, taking a vow to never again get entangled in pointless conflicts.
Expansion and reorganization period
Following an end to all conflicts after a peace treaty ending the Merito-American War was signed with the US on 25 December 2022, Meritia came into the possession of various new portions of land and emerged from 2022 ready for a new chapter in its history. Joseph I soon began to plan for the reform of the economy, which was unstable by the end of 2022 due to the massive inflation caused from a lack of USD to back up the value of the Pupa. Additionally, plans to incorporate 3 new provinces of Meritia were underway as by poll among the citizens it was determined that the 3 new main areas gained from the US should become provinces. After the renaming of the Consulate to the General Assembly in late 2022, the soon proposal was also made to change the name of all 5 current provinces, as they were deemed too generic and lazy. The first action of change occurred on 5 January 2023 when Meritia revised the design of all IDM flags and its emblem, and also created emblems for every military branch just a few days later. This subsequently was met with the creation of the very first physical Meritian Flag, obtained by citizen Conor Newman in January of 2023. Into early February, the process for admitting the 3 new provinces was finally complete, with all of them being added as the 6th, 7th, and 8th provinces of Meritia respectively, known as Blue Oak, Cayuga, and Ostevia. It was also declared by this act that they would be renamed and have their flags redesigned by the end of the month, which was eventually completed by the federal government, making the provincial flags as popular opinion describes it, "better by a factor of ten". After this also came the reorganization of the broken economy of Meritia, which was done by utilizing the large stockpile of slate that the country had and tying the Pupa to its roughly $7,000 USD worth of it. During this time, Joseph I also vowed to change the names of many other bodies within Meritia, which was carried out later on in order to complete this new era of reorganization and change the structure of Meritia forever.
Attack of Gloomy Wednesday
On 22 February 2023, at approximately 12:50 PM MGT (EST), Emperor Joseph I returned to the Empire of Meritia from the United States of America, where he subsequently discovered the local government of the US, coordinated by the State of Ohio, actively tearing apart nature protected under the sole Meritian National Park, under the authority of the Department of Natural Resources and located in the southern corner of Province District 01. In response to this shocking discovery, the Imperial Government would declare a full State of Emergency in the entire country, as it was the first time in months that the Meritian Border Crisis had been met with such a threat. The full mobilization of the Border Security Agency of Meritia and Meritian Armed Ground Forces was additionally declared in this State of Emergency, promoting retaliation by border enforcement and the military in just minutes. The primary goal of the MAF in their deployment was to secure the nearby Capitol City of Patrickston, which was carried out by 1:15 PM MGT (EST). After the threat left the area prior around 1:10 PM MGT (EST), the DNR was called to inspect the damage of their administrative region after the attack by the US, and all military mobilization had concluded at 1:30 PM MGT (EST). This attack gave Meritia only further justification against the United States of America following their recent war from October to December of 2022, and allowed for the creation of the Retaliation Act, which annexed far larger portions of US soil in right of Meritia per the terms of the Christmas Peace Treaty.
Economy
The Empire of Meritia has a stable national economy, with a nominal GDP of around 35,000 Pupa in circulation as of 2023 (7,000 USD). The Pupa is the official currency of Meritia, and is used in all 5 Provinces of the nation as well as in the Capital Federal Administrative District, both Territories of the Empire, and both Protectorates of the Empire. The Current Notes of Meritian Pupas Printed by the National Bank include the 1PU note, the 5PU note, the 10PU note, the 15PU note, the 20PU note, the 35PU note, the 50PU note, and the 100PU note. The majority of the treasury's Pupa is owned through an online banking service, with very limited actual printed notes known to currently exist in the nation. There are no current forms of Cryptocurrency in The Empire of Meritia, however this could change if the concept is ever introduced to the nation through private Crypto Owners/Investors, though it is looked down upon by the government due to it promoting laziness through quick effortless economic gain. Large portions of the Meritian Economy are centralized under the Federal Government and controlled/maintained by the State. While this is true, Meritia still maintains a free-market mixed economy, and has a couple of private businesses known to exist in the country, with the most notable being the state-owned Meritian Excavation Company, headquartered in Patrickston.
Geography
A primarily temperate nation, Meritia is home to vast forests that stretch across many parts of North America. It hosts many common species in its environment, which include but are not limited to whitetail deer, eastern gray squirrels, chipmunks, common coyotes, foxes, raccoons, blue jays, northern cardinals, sparrows, common buzzards, bobcats, and possibly even bald eagles. With all these species that make up the mainland of the country, it is often viewed as important that its land be preserved in the name of not destroying the habitats of these animals. This is administrated and maintained by the Meritian Department of Natural Resources, a Cabinet Department created to enforce environmental regulations and uphold the protection of nature. In the New England portions of Meritia exists the nation's only beaches, in which a more humid subtropical climate can be found. Species known to this area are typically found off the shore in the Atlantic Ocean, and no land animals have ever been recorded roaming around Meritian Dilu, although such is possible due to the beaches alongside the Atlantic being a major habitat of variants of crabs and beetles. In Meritian Purple Island exists a swampy biome, which is mostly flooded over with water during high tide and hosts little vegetation. Certain types of fish can also be found around the parts of the Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie that surround the Protectorate of the Sandusky Isles. There are currently 3 major DNR-enforced areas in Meritia, with only one of them being a National Park.