History of Subdivisions

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Since earliest times Shireroth has been made up of many territorial and legal Subdivisions. There have been several changes in terminology over the years, so you can think of Duchies, Houses and the contemporary term Imperial States as roughly equivalent. Today, under the Charter, lands actively maintaining themselves are given a great amount of autonomy as Imperial States, with any other territory being under the protection of the Kaiser, along with the Imperial Capital territory

Over the years a three-tiered system has evolved where subdivisions are generally divided into three levels:

  1. First-Tier Subdivisions - The Imperial States themselves today. They are directly "under" the Kaiser and Imperial Government.
  2. Second-Tier Subdivisions - Subdivided areas of First-Tier Subdivisions, often called Baronies. As seen in Kildare's Thanedom system, these are often just administrative groupings of Third-Tier Subdivisions.
  3. Third-Tier Subdivisions - Often the smallest category of subdivision that is used in Shireroth and visible on the MCS map, these are usually called Counties

Note that due to Loki's blessing, these terms are often not applicable at all, because each division of Shireroth can now use its own terms and methods of organisation. For example, currently the Imperial State of Elwynn refers to itself as a Coordinated State (before it was a Duchy) and contains no counties but 182 Bailiwicks or Circles as seen [[1]]. But this three-tiered system is reflected across some parts of Shireroth and is a good guide to understanding the history of how we divide up territory.

Each subdivision is a locus of cultural development, often with their own religious beliefs, political systems, traditions and customs.

History

Origins

A map showing Shireroth's subdivisions during the Late Tymarian Period, 2002

In the earliest periods of Shireroth's history, early Kaisers started creating subdivisions and appointing other citizens to rule over portions of the nation. The two first Duchies were Brookshire and Goldshire, but as Shireroth's population and activity grew, so did the number of subdivisions. Naturally, while the Kaiser divided his lands into larger, the Dukes themselves had their own residents to whom they wanted to give land and places to develop culture, and so they created their own vassals from within their territory. And so the historic feudal system of Shireroth's government exploded downwards. This system and its development has been called Old Feudalism (spoiler alert: because there was a New Feudalism, see below).

Another source of subdivision is annexation: in the past and to some extent today, Shireroth draws other smaller nations to itself. For example, Mar Sara, founded by Thomas Hubert in 2000, was conquered by Ryan and made a part of Shireroth. (This is probably the point in our history, by the way, that 'County' became a lower administrative unit than 'Barony', bucking real-life noble ranks.) These territories need to be included in the feudal architecture, so the Kaiser would grant the holders of these lands relevant titles compared with their size. How to deal with these annexed territories has long been a problem for Shireroth, but thanks to Kaiseress Mira Raynora Minor ([2]) we have no laws concerning Dominions or Protectorates, so the only legal option at the moment is for nations to join an Imperial State or become one, as happened with Aryasht through the Treaty of Mahapur. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

New Feudalism

New Feudalism was a system instituted by Yarad I through Imperial Decree 200. It shook the foundations of the system of Shirerithian territorial organisation by making every citizen, after a period of probation, a Count, and allowing citizens themselves to reconstitute the Imperial Republic as they saw fit according to Noble Contracts. Three Counts could band together to form a Barony and two Baronies could form a Duchy. This system certainly saw a much less skewed distribution of land-to-citizens, and with its disregard for ancient arrangements has been noted for its democratic and meritocratic nature. Another democratic aspect of this reform was that it allowed some Landsraad influence based on population. (The relevant sections of the decree are not exactly transparent, but trust me, phrases like "a non-subservient Baron receives one vote for each County within Zir fiefdom" and "pre-alliance votes of zir subservient Barons" really just mean more influence for larger subdivisions.)

However, it should be remembered that the Kaiser was still technically the fons honorum, the person who gave out countships - in this way still a nominally autocratic system. On the other hand his lack of power was seen in another example of annexation, the case of the Duchy of Antica. The terms of its annexation treaty, the Treaty of Aquilaria, especially Art.4 make clear the relationship between the Kaiser and his people: "The Kaiser of Shireroth supports in principle the creation of an Antican political unit within Shireroth, either at the Barony or the Duchy level and according to standard Shirerithian feudal law. The Kaiser also agrees to do his best within reasonable limits to allow Antica to fulfill the legal qualifications for full Duchy-hood as quickly as possible." The Kaiser was not in a position to promise the Anticans anything except confirm their countships and wish them good luck in the big bad world of New Feudalism.

This volatile and democratic system jolted along, with the next Kaiser after Yarad, Semisa I, almost immediately dissolving the Landsraad due to general pandaemonium. Over the months that followed, the relationships between territories became harder to track, noble contracts were not followed, and it essentially proved to be too much. Due to an overwhelming lack of interest and after only a few Kaisers, New Feudalism was brought to an end (exact date/decree unknown, but by the time of Alejian II it was regarded as dead weight).

Great Consolidation

House System

http://shireroth.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13079

Loki IV

Imperial States

In the past, Duchies were divided into Baronies and further into Counties. After the House System (which had dissolved the existence of Baronies), the Barony-status didn't return (at least, not in national law).

Originally, Duchies were the only subdivisions in Shireroth. This made for simpler Landsraad voting, but it did not allow for many positions for deserving people. So, they began to be divided and Baronies appeared. Nowadays, being a Duke does not give you an extra vote in the Landsraad anymore, but it gives you the power to still rule the Duchy. Plans are on the way to give the Dukes their own, new council which should veto Imperial and Landsraad decisions.

There have been numerous duchies in Shireroth's history, and the number keeps changing as subdivisions are annexed, merged, promoted and demoted. Around 4040 ASC, Elwynn and Straylight became independent and were no longer Duchies. Some pieces of their territory was annexed by other Duchies.

In 4557 ASC, Kaiser Loki IV brought back the ancient, traditional Duchies of the Imperial Republic (Brookshire, Elwynn, Goldshire, Kildare, Yardistan).


Current Imperial States


The Imperial County, consisting of the capital (Shirekeep) doesn't belong to any Duchy.


Former Duchies


See Also