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| === Chapter I: The Very Beginning ===
| | Shireroth was founded April 24, 2000 by [[Erik Mortis]]. It spent the majority of its early history as a client state to the great powers of the day, including [[Audentior]], [[Jasonia]], and [[Tymaria]]. After the fall of Tymaria, Shireroth emerged as the most powerful of its successor states. It was both able to collect most of the remnants of the old [[Apollo Sector]] micronationalists and gather a native community of its own consisting mostly of students at Sonoma State University in California. |
| ==== Part 1: Founding ====
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| This history ought to begin at the beginning; that is, the founding of [[Shireroth]]. Unfortunately, exactly when that was is unclear. The official history of Shireroth fixes the date at twelve midnight on [[April 24, 2000]]. Since [[Apollo Standard Time]] had not yet been invented, we must assume this refers to the Pacific time used by [[Erik Mortis|Kaiser Metzler]]. The forum records back this up after a fashion - a post entitled "The Republic Of Shireroth is Founded" is dated 4/23/00 11:37:56 pm - not midnight, but close. The first post on the Shireroth forum, though, is [[April 21]]. And the [[Hegemony of Alexandros|Alexandros]] record lists Shireroth as founded 264 [[ASC]], which translates into [[April 26]] on the Gregorian calendar. My guess would be that the forum was created on the 21st, and an official proclamation made on the 23rd, which was then rounded off to the 24th. And the Alexandrians just didn't know what they were talking about.
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| ==== Part 2: Sequential Events ====
| | By 2003, Shireroth's post-Tymaria glory days were gone, and many observers thought it was being outcompeted by flashier micronations like [[Menelmacar]]. In response, [[Steward Nikkolo]] declared "[[Oustfest]]", a tradition of kicking out anyone with more than three citizenships as insufficiently loyal. The tactic worked, with a smaller, sleeker core of patriotic citizens more willing to place Shirerithian interests first, and became a yearly occurence. Around the same time, the unpopular [[Kaiser Mog I]] was overthrown by [[Kaiser Letifer I]], creating a Shirerithian tradition of revolting at the drop of a hat. |
| On the first day of Shireroth's existence it was greeted by the [[Istvanistan]]is and [[Hyperborea]]ns. It will also be noted that the Hyperboreans pointed out the first of Shireroth's spelling errors (the word "discussion") on that day. Hyperboreans pointing out Shirerothian spelling errors was later to become a grand tradition. [[Erik Mortis|Erik]] then left for two days, during which Shireroth's early history more or less stopped, since at that period he was the only citizen. The next important event of this period was the acceptance of a treaty with the [[Great Automatic Peoples' Republic]] by a 4-0 margin, in which both vowed never to attack each other. Shireroth was also recognized by [[Blackrock]], [[Jasonia]] and [[Istvanistan]].
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| ==== Part 3: Provisional Government ====
| | The next few years saw many highlights, including the [[War of the Wylthean Succession]], an ultimately failed pro-democracy movement by rebel [[Philip Locke]], and the reduction of and combination of the country's many Duchies into six "classic" ones: [[Brookshire]], [[Goldshire]], [[Elwynn]], [[Kildare]], [[Yardistan]], and [[Straylight]]. This era ended when [[Kaiser Yarad I]] attempted the brave but ultimately doomed "[[New Feudalism]]" experiment, in which the country's traditional feudal structure was turned on its head to allow more independence and bargaining between counties. Around the same time, many of Shireroth's traditional enemies allied into a "[[Grand Commonwealth]]" designed to check Shirerithian power; due to poor communication between the government's many ministries and branches, Shireroth's response was lackluster at best. For a combination of reasons including the new feudalism, a series of weak Kaisers, foreign stagnation, and bad luck, many Shirerithians departed and by 2007 the country was in a state of complete disrepair. |
| The government during this time was the Provisional Government. Erik was to be a [[President]] with dictator-like powers until the [[Republic]] gained its fifth citizen. At that time, a more representative government would be established. Shireroth joined [http://mnn.mncentre.net/wiki/index.php?title=Audentior Audentior] before that could happen. The only actions of Metzler's government were to appoint a [[Citizenship Minister]] and to create a [[Erb|currency]]. The Citizenship Minister was [[John Sager]], who said he would make a citizenship form (he never did), and the currency was the €, although there is no record of the name Erb until much later. Speaking of Sager, he tried to form a party called the [[Popular Front of Shireroth]] to bring Automatic ideals into the country, but he never really got around to completing this. | |
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| ==== Part 4: Analysis ====
| | In October 2007, Erik Mortis returned, took the royal name [[Kaiser Mors V]], and along with tech guru [[Ari Rahikkala]] led the "[[Great Reconsolidation]]", a reconstruction of Shireroth's institutions that shook off the inactivity of the past year. After Mortis' abdication, a long civil struggle began between a faction based in Shireroth's ally [[Babkha]] and a second faction that wanted to see ex-Cyberian [[Jacobus Loki]] on the throne. The early dominance of the Babkhan faction collapsed when it was revealed to be a front for a Babkhan plot to take over the country, and Jacobus took the throne as Kaiser Loki the Long-Awaited in 2008. |
| Shireroth didn't do very much in the pre-Audentior days. It didn't have enough time to. The [[First Republic]]'s major impact on history was to provide a base for future incarnations to work off of, to set the flag and currency, and to help facilitate the Audente merger negotiations, in which it played a major part and was one of the strongest voices for unity. | |
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| === Chapter II: The Audente Age ===
| | Through 2009, Shireroth gradually collected new citizens, repaired its relationship with Babkha, gained international prestige as the home of the Small Commonwealth, and otherwise enjoyed growing prestige and power abroad completely unmarred by a series of constant low-grade feudal struggles at home. Most recently, long-standing debates between traditionalists and liberals resurfaced in battles over Shireroth's beloved but graphically questionable flag and in [[Kaiser Agni I]]'s controversial disbanding of the Duchies in favor of a system of noble houses. These two arguments created an era of bad feelings that led to several Shirerithians "ragequitting", especially during the short but exciting reign of [[Kaiseress Anandja II]]. Her successor, [[Kaiser Ikol II]], has declared an "Age of Tranquility" in which he hopes to resolve some of these bad feelings. |
| ==== Part 1: Shireroth In The Merger ====
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| The age of the [[First Great Merger]] is a very misunderstood one, but unfortunately I cannot get into it here. Shireroth, ironically, was probably one of the most pro-merger countries in the whole bunch. It was mainly small nations who were willing to agree to the merge - in the beginning, Shireroth and Hyperborea. The addition of [[Tapfer]] as a small nation was also helpful. The large nations in the merger process, who were very conservative about the possibility of creating a new country, were Jasonia and the Automatics. With Shireroth, the small nations just managed to have a majority in the proceedings, and eventually Jasonia (though significantly, not Automatica) gave in. On [[May 14th]] Shireroth became an official Audente province. [[Greg Shaddinger]], who was strongly anti-Audentior, threatened to resign, but President Metzler said that this was a new nation and he didn't have to participate in Audente affairs if he didn't want to. [[John Sager]], who had his own reasons for being anti-Audentior, did emigrate.
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| ==== Part 2: General Politics ====
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| The [[Tetrapole Representative]] from Shireroth was Erik Mortis. He also won in a national election the [[Legislative Chair]] position, a victory which he celebrated in his infamous thread "[[I am got the chair]]!." His main policies in the Tetrapole were pushing for direct democracy and supporting anything [[Bill Dusch]] of Tapfer opposed. Another important political issue here is that [[Daniel K]], also known as [[VH Fenrir]], joined Shireroth for the first time.
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| ==== Part 3: The Manifold Conflicts ====
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| Shireroth in the AIN was, unfortunately, probably best known for causing a lot of trouble. The first bit of trouble was the [[Direct Democracy Riots]]. These riots were the first time that Shireroth used its infamous [[smiley bomb]], forcing [[Executive Chair]] [[Scott Alexander]] to declare martial law. This just got the Shirerothians angrier, and would have split the country had a last minute agreement not been brokered. What did end up splitting the country were the riots that occurred when Bill Dusch was elected President in a vote evidently run by the same people who did Palm Beach. These riots too were led by Shireroth.
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| ==== Part 4: Shirerothian Secession ====
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| Shireroth seceded, as mentioned above, after the tainted elections during which Bill Dusch was chosen as Audentior's first President. This was on July 11th 2000, after the three Shirerothian citizens of the period (Erik Mortis, Daniel K, and Greg Shaddinger) approved. It was then discovered by the Audentes that secession was not, technically, illegal. President Dusch decided it was important to keep the nation together anyway, and attacked Shireroth. Well, sort of. What he did was post a map of Shireroth that included an Audente attack force. The Shirerothians laughed at him and challenged him to resolve the matter by a game of StarCraft. Dusch continued his unorthodox tactics, which were mockingly called "GifWars", but Audentior fell a few days later, and he chose not to pursue the war further.
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| ==== Part 5: Culture During The Audente Era ====
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| Shirerothian culture during the Audente Era was primarily focused on [[Boomism]] (more properly called [[BO0O/\/\ism]]). This was both a [[religion]] and a [[political party]]. It began with the game of StarCraft, in which it was, in the words of Erik Mortis, a philosophy that "anything that's not Terran should go BOOOOM!". However, it evolved into a general pro-explosion way of thinking. The [[Boomist Party]] was for peace through armed strength and opposed the [[Demesos Party]] in Audentior's virtual two-party system. Of the foundationalist Boomist religion little has survived except the knowledge that the single holiday, [[La Fiesta De La BOOOM]], was celebrated on July 26. The Boomist symbol was a nuclear mushroom cloud.
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| === Chapter III: The Jasonian and Apollonian Ages ===
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| ==== Part 1: Integration With Jasonia ====
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| Why would Shireroth merge into a monolithic nation controlled by [[Jasonia]]ns when it had just angrily seceded from a monolithic nation controlled by Jasonians? While it would be nice to say that the archives held the answer, any appropriate threads were either deleted or never in existence. Luckily, we have a thread from the Jasonian side, which allows us to date the merge at [[July 13]] (making Shireroth independent for all of two days). And here Erik gives his answer to the question posited above: "Shireroth never lasted long enough before the [[AIN]] merger to develop. Now that we are free again. I see no reason why would should bother trying to develop. We are basically just the same thing as FIoJ, just smaller and less organized.(if that is even possible.)" {myriad spelling/grammar errors fixed} Shireroth joined Jasonia, it may be said, out of laziness.
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| ==== Part 2: On the Activities of Shireroth, Or Lack Thereof ====
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| Shireroth was completely inactive during the [[Jasonian Age]]. All states that were part of the Flying Islands were. The one burst of interesting news was that the Shirerothians [[secede]]d on [[September 24]] and then [[unsecede]]d two hours later before anyone noticed. This was due to Erik's anger at being put on trial for spamming, but apparently he changed his mind and decided not to dig himself deeper. Erik was the only really active Shirerothian-Jasonian, although Dan K popped up from time to time. Both took the [[Hellish side]] in the [[Infernal War]] but were content to rejoin Jasonia after the [[Treaty of the Gods]].
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| ==== Part 3: The Apollonian Era ====
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| Shireroth, as a part of Jasonia, was not involved in the formation of the [[Union of Apollo States]]. It may be remembered by the student of history that Jasonia did not actually join the Union but rather sent a "[[dummy state]]", [[New Jasonia]], to participate. Thus, Shireroth remained technically a part of an independent Jasonia, although all the action took place at the UAS. Not a single purely Shirerothian action or post can be found from this era, so it's safe to say nothing really happened.
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| ==== Part 4: On the Revivication of Shireroth ====
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| I am happy to say I can pinpoint the exact moment in which Shireroth was revived. It was [[December 18]], [[2000]], in an ICQ chat between this historian, [[Jason Steffke]], and Erik Mortis. Mortis was complaining about how much he disliked FIoJ, and Scott suggested "I wouldn't mind seeing Shireroth again. It was one of the few micronations I ever liked". The Kaiser’s exact response, one for the history books, was "MUAHAHAHA! SHIREROTH SHALL RETURN!" It is a very interesting piece of historical trivia that Jason Steffke was offered the [[Kaisership]] of Shireroth in that chat, and he declined. Other names were thrown out, including John Sager, Daniel K, and (may Gahg have mercy) [[Eoin Dornan]], but in the end, everyone thought that it had to be Erik. Which brings us to:
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| === Chapter IV: The [[Direct Democracy Constitutional Monarchy]] of Shireroth ===
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| ==== Part 1: Formation ====
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| The information here is taken from ICQ transcripts between Scott Alexander and Erik Mortis. The new Shireroth originally was to use the same Provisional Constitution as the [[Old Republic]] and, significantly, would ban [[dual citizenship]]. Originally Metzler decided at the last second not to create Shireroth after all, but then he got "n
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| ew information" which he refused to tell me and which I suspect was just him changing his mind without wanting to admit it, and he started a vote to free Shireroth from Jasonia at 9:39 PM on [[December 19]]. The vote was almost ruined by [[Thomas Hubert]]'s opposition, but Erik threatened Hubert and he changed his mind. At 11:00 PM the same day, Erik stated he wanted Shireroth to be a combination direct democracy and constitutional monarchy. It was decided that King was too bland, and Baron, Shah, Czar, Prince, Pope, Big Kahuna, Pharoah, God-King and even Ayatollah were all considered before Erik decided on Kaiser due to his German background. (although it was all that Scott could do to keep him from choosing "[[Lizard-KING]]!".)
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| ==== Part 2: Government Specifics ====
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| In the words of Erik, Shireroth was a "direct democracy constitutional monarchy". The Kaiser appointed [[Minister]]s who were confirmed by the people. The people voting directly formed the legislative branch, and a judicial branch was planned but never realized. The first minister was Daniel K, [[Ministry of Immigration|Minister (or Miniter, according to the forum) of Immigration]]. [[Patrick Foley]] tried to become head of the military without being a citizen, but was rebuffed (he did become the [[CinC]] after the [[Kildare]] annexation). There was no foreign affairs minister, but the Kaiser took care of it, and Shireroth had mutual relations with Jasonia, [[Babkha]], and [[Treesia]] at the time.
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| ==== Part 3: The Duchy System And The Mass Annexations ====
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| The [[Duchy]] system started off very simply: Daniel K. was [[Duke]] of [[Brookshire]], and the other Duchy, [[Goldshire]], was vacant. It was then that the [[UAS]] collapsed, and Shireroth was all too happy to pick up the pieces. What it got from the [[Apollo Republic]] was the main land mass (which became Kildare, under Duke Patrick Foley) and the islands surrounding it (which became [[Gong Li]], under [[Tony Au]], who was originally an [[honorary citizen]] but then joined officially) With Patrick Foley's joining, [[Norfolk]] was added to the Shirerothian holdings, and became part of Gong Li.
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| ==== Part 4: Culture During This Period ====
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| Little to none. There was some remnant of the old [[Novi Dalmacija]]n culture for a while, but no one except [[Stjepan]] understood it, and it died fast. Its one lasting contribution to [[Apollo]] Micronationalism was the famous [[golden Zlatni Rat]], which turned out to be a beach, to Scott's extreme relief, but which was later found in mousetraps all over the land. Economics prospered, thanks to "Economics God" Tony Au. The Erb reached a record high of 5.5 on the [[ICEO]], which everyone was very happy about, and the stock market had the usual brief flurry of activity before disappearing never to be seen again.
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| === Chapter V: The Seventh Republic And The Seeds Of Benacia ===
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| ==== Part 1: The [[Amity]] Crisis ====
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| The seeds of the Amity crisis go back to before Shireroth even existed. Jasonia wanted a space program, so they created [[JASO]], the [[Jasonian Aeronautics and Space Organization]], and gave its command to Erik Mortis. It needed a base, so Erik "discovered" the island of Amity, along with nearby [[Mirioth]], and set up operations there. When Shireroth seceded from Jasonia, it was unclear whether Amity went with it. The Shirerothians apparently assumed it did, and the Jasonians assumed it didn't. On [[December 23]], the Kaiser of Shireroth "politely demanded" that it be given to the Shirerothians. The Jasonians said no, and the Kaiser said he respected the Jasonian decision. On the [[December 27|27th]], Shireroth occupied Amity anyway, causing an international incident. Jasonia threatened Shireroth, and Shireroth laughed off the threats. For a while, it seemed like war was inevitable. But on [[January 3]], a compromise was reached between Jasonian foreign minister [[Greg Nordman]] and the Kaiser. Jasonia would sell Amity to Shireroth for 225 erb. Although the Jasonians grumbled a little, the deal was accepted, and war averted.
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| ==== Part 2: The Seventh Republic ====
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| [[The Seventh Republic]], the name given to the Shireroth government around this time, is widely considered the [[Golden Age]] of Shireroth. On [[January 18]]th, Shireroth was accepted to the [[League of Micronations]] with a 14-1 vote. This was mainly thanks to Patrick Foley, Shireroth's many-talented foreign minister of the period. This was also the age of the [[Shireroth Boomers]], champions of the [[Intermicronational Football League]], for what it's worth. And of mass annexations and the [[Micronational Cartography Society|Micronational Cartography Board]]. But it came to an end around the [[February 1|first day of February]], when the Kaiser's sporadic mental illnesses reared their ugly head once again. Erik passed out due to some kind of problem and had to start seeing a psychologist, and decided that continued involvement in micronations would not be appropriate. Unfortunately, this was only revealed in mid-March, so for the month of February people just sat around doing nothing and wondering where the Kaiser had gone. This would be enough to destroy most micronations, and it did destroy Shireroth. Until the fateful day of [[March 26]], [[2001]], Shireroth lay inactive and abandoned, the greatness of the Seventh Republic all but forgotten.
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| ==== Part 3: The Crisis And The Seeds of Benacia ====
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| Jasonia, decided, out of the goodness of their hearts, to make the dead Shireroth a [[protectorate]] so that "no one could snatch it up and add it to their empire", ironically enough. The [[Rasinate]] noticed, and had the same idea - make Shireroth a protectorate of the Rasinate so Jasonia couldn't take it (though to be fair, the Rasinate had Eoin Dornan as their [[Prime Minister]], so they really can't be held accountable for their actions). And finally, a new nation called [[Machiavellia]], newly arrived from that fertile source of micronations called the [[Apolyton fora]], decided to claim it so that neither Jasonia nor the Rasinate could. And they had a secret weapon - [[General Trantor]], a man who claimed to be a former Shireroth citizen, although he refused to give any more information and there was certainly no former Shirerothian citizen named General Trantor. Jasonia gave in pretty quickly, but the Rasinate and Machiavellia seemed ready to go to war over the issue. The Rasinate even made a lot of threats and began to rally its various allies. Then General Trantor revealed that he was none other than Kaiser Metzler I of Shireroth, recovered from his ills (well, as recovered as he'd get) and come to usher in an [[Eighth Republic]]! The Rasinate quickly backed down, and Shireroth and Machiavellia signed a lasting alliance.
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| === Chapter VI: The Benacian Age ===
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| ==== Part 1: The Gap In The Records ====
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| There is an effective gap in records between late March and early June. It is my belief that Shireroth unofficially merged into Jasonia at this time, but the historical evidence of this is sketchy. It is based only on my personal recollection of events and some obscure references in the Jasonian fora. It seems to make more sense than anything else I've come across, though, so I'll let it stand and leave it for future investigation. Some evidence points to [[Benacia]] being formed before the [[Paramount War]] (May), but nothing concrete, and the Benacian fora were made on June 2, so I'll consider that the official date of Benacia's formation.
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| ==== Part 2: The Paramount Wars ====
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| Whether Shireroth was independent, part of Benacia, or part of Jasonia during the Paramount Wars, it certainly played a major part in them. The first Paramount War was precipitated by [[Paramount]] declaring war on Jasonia because it wanted certain territories that had formerly been Paramountian back (although this was the official reason, the unofficial reason was that John Sager hated Jason Steffke and wanted to harass him). Shireroth and Machiavellia took the side of Jasonia, and used spamming techniques to spam Paramount out of existence. Unfortunately, Paramount, n
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| ever having really been too much in existence anyway, didn't care, and John, with his usual obstinacy, declared that he had won and Paramount was perfect. The usual disputed-lands-go-to-the-[[Foundation]] compromise was reached, but just weeks later, the second Paramount War started. The [[Paramount Demolition Duo]], as Kaiser Metzler and [[Prince Conway]] called themselves, went to work again, but it was revealed after the end of the war that it was just a ploy by Steffke to build activity. After this the Benacians got very angry at Jasonia and hoped for its downfall, which sure enough happened a month or two later.
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| ==== Part 3: The Structure Of Benacia ====
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| Benacia had three members - Hyperborea, Shireroth, and Machiavellia. It was governed by a council of the three heads of state, and one of them each month was the Chair, who presided over the meetings. Kaiser Metzler was the first chair. The council usually met in [[ICQ]] or [[AIM]] chats.
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| ==== Part 4: Shireroth During The Benacian Age ====
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| Not much happened. There were a few foreign relations things - the Benacians entered treaties with Babkha and the [[PUR]], and went through the bimonthly ritual of threatening Thomas Hubert only to have him back down at the last second. Patrick came back and left again. Yeah. That was about it.
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| === Chapter VII: The [[Hegemony of Alexandros]] ===
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| ==== Part 1: Formation of the Hegemony ====
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| The best answer for "Why did the Hegemony form?" is probably "Because of the cycle". The [[Apollo Sector]] tends to have large mergers every so often, and at the time of Alexandros, it was overdue. Originally, it was going to be a strengthening of Benacia without changing the basic culture or theme. However, when a chat started which included [[Jason Rhode]], the new Prince of Machiavellia, although not, significantly, Kaiser Metzler, the participants found they all like ancient Greece and, specifically, Alexander The Great. Thus, it was decided that the merged nation would be the Hegemony of Alexandros rather than just Benacia (Hegemony was added because it was much more original than "Kingdom" or "Republic" or "Empire"). There was some debate over who ought to be the leader, but eventually Jason Rhode was decided upon.
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| ==== Part 2: Structure of the Hegemony ====
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| The Hegemony's government was based on four high officials, with the [[Hegemon]] as a fifth high official above all of them. These were the [[Archon]], in charge of the site, the fora, and general information related stuff; the [[Polemarch]], in charge of war and the military; the [[Kristarch]], in charge of economics; and the [[Strategos]], in charge of foreign affairs. During the Hegemony these were Scott Siskind, Erik Mortis, Tony Au, and Edward Conway, respectively. There was also a [[Landsraad]], the classicists' single concession to a more Shirerothian naming system and a [[Demes]], a direct-democracy house of the people. All kinds of complex interactions were supposed to take place between them, but in reality the five officials together made all the policy and the Demes went and approved it.
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| ==== Part 3: History of the Hegemony ====
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| The Hegemony expanded pretty quickly with some mass annexations. Tapfer was annexed at the request of Bill Dusch, since Jasonia was fallen by this time. They also took some of [[Ryan Caruso]]'s old territories, including a place called [[Cimmeria]]. There was a minor conflict when Caruso demanded greater rights for Cimmeria and it looked like he was threatening the government, but it turned out he wasn't and everything was fine. Thomas Hubert tried to take back [[Rulzcentia]], but the Hegemony claimed it and Hubert gave in after some tense moments. There was also a revolt over the [[Color Revolt|colors of the forum]]. That was about all that had time to happen before the Hegemony joined with [[Tymaria]].
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| === Chapter VIII: The Pax Tymaria ===
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| ==== Part 1: The Formation of Tymaria ====
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| The formation of Tymaria was a minor miracle. The [http://mnn.mncentre.net/wiki/index.php?title=Free_Republic Free Republic] and [[Interland]] were going to merge, and the Hegemony of Alexandros decided they might as well merge with them, which brought the Rasinate in, leading to the biggest merger in history. It was managed at a [[Constitutional Convention]] that lasted from late September to late October [[2001]], and the final draft of the Constitution was agreeable to all delegates, and on [[October 31]] (or thereabout) the [[United Republic of Tymaria]] was proclaimed.
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| ==== Part 2: Shireroth's Place In Tymaria ====
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| Shireroth was one of eight original states in four original regions of Tymaria. Each state got a different number of votes depending on its regional distribution, with Shireroth getting only one. As a state, Shireroth had considerable control over its internal affairs, but could not print its own money nor conduct foreign relations nor war.
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| ==== Part 3: Changes And Revolutions ====
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| On [[November 25]], Shireroth was annexed to its own [[Duchy]], [[Yardistan]], and its Duke, [[Nick the Yardistani]], who had joined about a month before. Why the change? In the words of former Kaiser Metzler, "Shireroth didn't fall. I simply find Yardistan more fun." However, the reversed situation was soon set right again with the ascension of [[Kaiser Gaelen II]] to the throne. Unfortunately, Kaiser Gaelen too left, leaving the throne vacant. It passed to [[Ari Rahikkala]], but he faked his own death, making [[James Raine]] the [[Steward]]. Then another Yardistani revolt happened...
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| ==== Part 4: Culture ====
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| This was a great time for Shirerothian culture. In a posts like "History and Culture of Shireroth" and "Kaisers of Shireroth", Kaiser Metzler fleshed out the formerly deficient background of the nation. It was formerly a group of warring chiefdoms before the first Kaiser started the Republic 2000 years before the founding of the Sector. There was also some stuff on [[Goldshire]] and name origins, some of which are in the appendix.
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| === Chapter IX: The Mors Restoration ===
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| ==== Part 1: [[Kaiser Mors I]] ====
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| When Erik Mortis returned after his long absence, he did so as [[Kaiser Mors I|Kaiser Mercator Mortis I]] (Merchant of Death) or Mors for short. He bore an ancient Shirerothian sword called [[Sword of Vengeance|Vengeance]] which marked him as the true claimant to the throne. Both [[Fax Celestis]] and Nick the Yardistani, who at the time were in a civil war for power, gave up their claims in favor of Metzler's new avatar.
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| ==== Part 2: Decrees And Changes ====
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| Kaiser Mors made a number of decrees and radically reshaped the Shireroth government. Among the decrees were to kick all foreign (which means the Tymarian government and other Tymarian states) armies out of Shireroth, a decree to make James "Fax Celestis" the new heir, a decree taking Shireroth unilaterally out of the Hegemony of Alexandros, and a decree to create a new Duchy, [[Straylight]], for former Kaiser Ari Rahikkala. He then tried to convince the [[House of Nations]] to give Shireroth another [[Senate]] seat, which resulted in another debate over proportional representation. Also, he revived the old forum and the Landsraad and started construction of a great temple.
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| == History Part 2 ==
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| === Prologue: The Fall of Tymaria ===
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| What has come before: in April 2000, a time of chaos and change around the micronational world, Erik Mortis founds the small and peaceful democratic country known as Shireroth. Within a few weeks, Shireroth is absorbed by the rising superpowers of Audentior and Jasonia, an all but forgotten backwater region of these far-flung empires. But in December of that year, they abruptly spit it back out again, and Erik once again takes the helm of leadership, declaring himself Kaiser and instituting a feudal system. There is a brief period of prosperity before the nation crumbles to dust once again. A few months later it is revived as part of the Benacian Commonwealth, and soon after this it merges into the land of Alexandros, which in turn merges into Tymaria. Once again, Shireroth is a small province of a hegemonic empire – but this time, it has both the will a
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| nd the ability to be able to transcend its minor role and catapult itself into the global spotlight.
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| On [[April 6]]th, the first complete history of Shireroth is published, ending with a note on the recent restoration of Kaiser Mors I to the throne and the possibilities for future growth his reign opens. On [[April 11]]th, the forum of Shireroth, along with much of the rest of Tymaria, is destroyed in a terrorist attack, wiping the historical slate clean. [[Philip Locke]], the perpetrator of the attack, is dutifully expelled from Shireroth – but not before he has had time to propose to the Mors government a plan to leverage its size and activity to become the dominant Tymarian state. Over the next few months, as the other areas in Tymaria are plagued by civil war, dissension, inactivity, and [[Earl Washburn]], Shireroth expands in all senses of the word. [[Lothlaria]], [[Lac Glacei]], [[Jaris]], and [[Hyperborea]] are added to its growing empire, and the Kaiser begins to listen less and less to the federal government in [[Tymaria City]].
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| Gradually the power of the Tymarian Federal Government waned. First Jason Rhode dropped off the face of the Earth, then the [[Free Territories]] started attacking, and finally the provinces started getting restless. The formation of [[Baracao]] didn’t help either, nor did the so-called [[Anti-Tymar Council]] that advocated rebellion and separatism wherever it could find a foothold. At the same time, Shireroth’s already exponential growth went through the roof, despite the bizarre spectacle of four Kaisers in a single month. Although [[Los I]], the most notable Kaiser of this period, was staunchly pro-Tymaria, it began to grow clear that the contradictory relationship between the ailing superfederation and its most prominent state could not continue forever.
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| Finally, with the election of Tony Au as [[Prime Executive]] on a “let the states secede” platform, pro-secessionist feelings snowballed. On the eve of Au’s election, the Landsraad convened to discuss the independence question. In one of their fastest decisions ever, the Landsraad bowed to the overwhelming sentiment of the Shirerithian populace and sent to the Kaiseress a resolution that Shireroth should resume its position as a free and independent state. On [[July 12]], [[Kaiseress Viviantia I]] issued [[Imperial Decree 30]], stating:
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| <blockquote>
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| With the blessings of the Landsraad and in light of the suspension of the Tymarian Constitution, I, Kaiseress Viviantia I, ruler of Shireroth, officially decree the secession of the Imperial Republic of Shireroth from the United Republic of Tymaria. Shireroth is now a free nation independent of Tymaria and its remaining states.
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| </blockquote>
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| After eleven months of foreign rule, Shireroth was once again ready to take control of its own destiny – a path that would lead them further than they could imagine.
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| === Chapter One (July 2002) ===
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| ''In which the new Republic is forced to confront a worrisome number of problems long before it is at all fair to expect them to be able to do so''
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| Retooling Shireroth’s governmental machinery for independence was not as major a task as it might seem. The [[Apollo Skyline|Skyline]] remarked a week after the decision that it was “almost like Shireroth had planned this beforehand, eh?” All that was needed was a foreign ministry, which was quickly created under the capable leadership of [[Stjepan Aracic]], and an accompanying foreign policy, which in the Republic’s first week took the form of recognizing Babkha, Interland, and Istvanistan.
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| A typically Shirerithian response to the new conditions was a new Kaiser. Kaiseress Vivantia, an incarnation of Erik, stepped down in favor of [[Kaiser Mors II]], also an incarnation of Erik. The rationale for the new name, according to its holder, was that “Vivantia brought us back to life…and now Mors shall dispense the death!”
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| Death, unfortunately, was exactly what might soon have to be dispensed. Two other Tymarian states, Interland and the Free Republic, had seceded along with Shireroth, and their sudden introduction into an already chaotic micronational world threatened to cause some sort of massive cataclysm. Particularly problematic was the Free Republic, which was claimed by Baracao despite its own belief in its independence. Shireroth and Baracao came to the brink of war – luckily, at the last second a peace conference began and the two countries managed to come to a satisfactory conclusion, although nowhere in the historical record is it listed exactly what that conclusion was.
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| Meanwhile, on the domestic front, things were hardly less troublesome. This remains that period of history in which trouble was spelled P-H-I-L-I-P L-O-C-K-E, and indeed, scarcely had he been admitted to Shireroth after a four month ban when he began to agitate for democracy. He accused the Republic of truly being an [[autocracy]], and proposed his [[Unified Shireroth Proposal]]
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| [[Category: History]]
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