Republic of the Esterlands
 | This article refers to a nation which is currently in a state of inactivity. You can help make the article reflect that or ask on the talk page for further information. |
| The Republic of the Esterlands | |
 Flag of the Esterlands | |
 Map of the Esterlands | |
| National Anthem: O, Esterlands! | |
| Capital | Colchester |
| Government | Semi-Presidential Parliamentary Republic |
| –President | The Hon. Lord Joe Peacock HGO |
| –Lord High General | The Hon. Lord Robert Parry HGO |
| –Prime Minister | Aidan Hilton |
| –Seats | 50 |
| Established | |
| – State Foundation Day | 29 April 2007 |
| – Esterlandian Reformation Day | 3 October 2010 |
| Area claimed | |
| – Mainland | 2880 mi² (approx.) |
| – Entire Esterlandian Empire | 3675 mi² (approx.) |
| Population | |
| – Registered Citizens | 21 |
| – Residence | 1 500 000 (2011 estimate) |
| Supreme Body | |
| – Legislative | Parliament of the Esterlands |
| – Executive | Esterlandian High Cabinet |
| – Judicial | The Supreme Court |
| Currency | Esterlandian Crown (ꇸ /EC) |
| Official languages | Esterlandian English, Esterlandian and Germanic Esterlandian |
| Demonym | Esterlandian |
| Time zone (Summer) | ENT (Esterlandian National Time, UTC-4) |
| Time zone (Winter) | EWT (Esterlandian Winter Time, UTC-3) |
| EWT is observed from the 1st Sunday of November until the 2nd Sunday in March. This puts Esterlandian time in line with the US Eastern Time Zone throughout summer, and 2 hours ahead of it throughout winter. | |
| Government Website | |
The Republic of the Esterlands (or simply The Esterlands, Mandarin Chinese: 埃斯特兰共和国, Arabic: جمهورية أسترلندا) is a micronation which declared its full secession from the United Kingdom on the 3rd October 2010. Although the nation used to mainly be part of the county of Essex, the territory claimed also includes a large portion of Suffolk and a small overlap into both Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. The Esterlands also claims Bir Tawil in North East Africa, an area rejected by both Sudan and Egypt (its two bordering countries).
History
Back in April 2007, the President Joe Peacock formed a nation, originally named the Blackwater River State, claiming a small amount of territory under him as King. After several months, this nation was largely forgotten by Peacock, and did not see much activity. For a brief period during 2008, the then-King resurrected the state, mainly for the purposes of fun, and united with the newly formed Sqeden. Sqeden lived mainly in the mind of it's leader, Robert Parry (to become Lord High General of the Esterlands in the future), but was, along with the BRS, also largely forgotten.
In October 2010, having recently moved residency from the original location of the Blackwater River State, Joe Peacock decided to once more bring back the nation. The name no longer being relevant (as well as the lack of seriousness associated with the nation), he decided instead to completely reinvent the nation. With Rob Parry on side, the new name, the Republic of the Esterlands, was chosen. Rather than moving its territory to a combination of his new residence and that of Parry, he instead chose to expand the territorial claims to include much of the region of East Anglia claimed by the government of the United Kingdom.
The new country, with its capital at Colchester, tied in well with the recently designed of the Colchester Metro. With a new government presiding over it and supporting its creation and development, it would prove easier to get the ambitious plans of the Colchester Metro Corporation realised.
Over the coming months, the President Joe Peacock and Rob Parry (newly-appointed as Lord High General, Head of the Esterlandian Armed Forces) formulated many aspects of the government. An official website was created, the flag designed and many governmental procedures laid down in writing. The Esterlandian Government started to accept applications for new citizens in early 2011, and it was around this time that the president started to formulate the Official Constitution of the Republic of the Esterlands.
A summit was held over the summer of 2011 in order to discuss the future of the Esterlands, and following this the website was expanded, with citizenships being accepted in Mandarin Chinese. In the few months after, several new citizens joined the Esterlands, with an interest clearly being expressed for the long-promised National Elections to be held. As a result, in October 2011 (approximately a year of the original foundation of the Republic of the Esterlands in its current state) proper plans for elections were put in place, and by Late November 2011, the three political parties had their applications formally granted. These elections took place in Late January 2012.
Government and Politics
The Republic of the Esterlands has a particularly complicated system of government, with several people in positions of power only differing slightly in role from one another. It is also quite a unique system, in that while there is no Monarch, the official Head of State, the President, is a somewhat ceremonial role, being elected for life. In addition, the title of Lord High General is even more of a ceremonial one, the official title being Lord High General, Absolute Commander of the Esterlandian Armed Forces, Defender of the Nation, Leader of the People. The separate position Head of Government is given to the Leader of the largest party in Parliament, following the annual elections.
The Esterlandian National Election Voting System uses a first-past-the-post system, as the Party Leader of the party with the largest number of seats becomes the Prime Minister, though if the Prime Minister's party has less than a majority in Parliament, a coalition must be formed. Seats are awarded using a variation of the proportional representation method, whereby initially, 1 seat is allocated for every whole 2% gained of the popular vote. If the total number of seats given then adds up to less than 50, any remaining seat(s) is/are given in order to the party/parties with the largest remaining percentage.
The first National Elections of the Republic of the Esterlands were held at the end of January 2012. In November 2011, three parties had registered to the President for the running, and each prepared their campaigns. The official ballots opened on 29 January 2012 at 15:00 ENT, and closed at 21:00 ENT the following day, running for 30 hours as provided for in the Constitution. The election results, announced at the official Inauguration Ceremony on the 31st January, were as follows:
| National Election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political Party | Leader of Party | Seats in Parliament | Popular Vote (%) | Electoral Vote | |
| LPMB Party | Aidan Hilton | 22 | 45.00% | 36 | |
| Esterlords Party | George Reynolds | 17 | 33.75% | 27 | |
| TWHFIL Party | Freddy Billowes | 11 | 21.25% | 17 | |
| Total | 50 | 100% | 80 | ||
| LPMB Party attained largest proportion, Aidan Hilton elected as Prime Minister. | |||||
Territorial Subdivisions
The capital city of the Esterlands is Colchester, which is, in turn capital of the whole region of Colland, and the province of Central Colland. The other two regional capitals are Ipswich (of Gippesland) and Chelmsford (of Chelmsland). In total, there are 7 provinces, though while these provinces retain a nominal degree of power, in reality there is very little decentralised government in the Esterlands. Although the Esterlands is not a very large country, it retains a distinct, yet notably similar, culture from that of the United Kingdom, the nation from which it succeded.
Culture
The inhabitants of the Republic of the Esterlands have a culture which is generally similar to that of the United Kingdom, though the country is often said to have distinctive regional character that is notably separate from that of the rest of the British Isles. Esterlandians are generally known as sociable people, and in summer the fairer weather makes the capital a vibrant place to be.
English is the first language of the majority of inhabitants, though there are substantial numbers of foreign born residents in the Esterlands - in Colchester, making up approximately 10% of residents - whose first languages are not English. The learning and use of foreign languages is strongly encouraged by the government, and such study forms a crucial part of the education system. Esterlandians are relatively well-educated in comparison with the British, and education is free but compulsory until the age of 18.
Law and Order
Law enforcement in the Republic of the Esterlands is divided between 3 separate entities:
- The Police Service, a civilian agency of the government, responsible for keeping general order among the population. Typical duties of members of the Police Service include patrolling public areas, ensuring civilian safety, enforcing the common law and investigating criminal cases, as they do have the right to arrests and search warrants.
- The Home Guard, a military agency, technically under the jurisdiction of the Esterlandian Armed Forces. Responsibilities of this agency include customs and immigration control, highway law enforcement, anti-terrorism, national security operations and patrol of high-threat areas. They have legal powers including, and extending beyond, those of the Police Service.
- The Civil Enforcement Service - a small civilian agency responsible for overseeing civil law and investigating infringement of it. The more limited special powers of its officers include access to civilian police/medical records, access to corporate accounting records and power of arrest (pending transfer of the detained to the Police Service) in certain circumstances.
Foreign Relations
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the nation which currently administers and lays claim to the area also claimed by the Republic of the Esterlands; as such, it does not officially recognise the sovereignty of the government of the Republic of the Esterlands in the area. Despite this, it does de facto respect the right of the Esterlands to call itself a nation, in accordance with the opinions of the Badinter Committee which the European Union (of which the UK is a member) follows. This right to definition is also respected by all nations signatory to the text Montevideo Convention.
The Republic of the Esterlands recognises the sovereignty of all UN member states over most of the territories which they claim, however it rejects the following:
- British claims to all Esterlandian territory
- The People's Republic of China's claims to Taiwan, recognising the sovereignty of the Republic of China (Taiwan) over the island of Taiwan and its outlying islands
- Turkish claims to Northern Cyprus, recognising only the government of the Republic of Cyprus
- Georgian claims to Abkhazia, recognising only the claims of the Republic of Abkhazia
- Morrocan claims to the Western Sahara region, instead favouring those of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
- Israeli claims to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, instead supporting the creation of a Palestinian state in peaceful co-operation with the current Israeli administration
In addition, the Republic of the Esterlands once again fully rejects other micronational claims over the Esterlandian foreign territory of Bir Tawil. On this matter, the negotiations of December 2011 with the Norse Kingdom of Vestrland fell through, and as such the Esterlandian position remains as before.