New Westmore
Democratic Republic of New Westmore Kakama Sadoriwymmu | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
| Motto: Per Ardua Ad Astra | |
| Anthem: The Internationale | |
| National Animal Fox | |
 Map of New Westmore | |
| Recognized languages |
|
| Demonym(s) | Westmorian |
| President | |
• 2034- | Esther Lynn |
| History | |
• Established | 1855CE |
| Area | |
• Total | 392,333.31 km2 (151,480.74 sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2034 estimate |
• Total | $600 billion |
• Per capita | $30,545 |
| HDI (2034) | 0.643 medium |
| Currency | Westmorian Dollar (WM$) |
| Time zone | Demetric Standard Time |
| Date format | DD/MM/YY |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +61 |
| ISO 3166 code | WM |
| Internet TLD | .wm |
The Democratic Republic of New Westmore, also known as New Westmore or simply Westmore, is an archipelagic nation led by President Esther Lynn that spans the length of the South Demetric Ocean. It is bordered by Omonia to the west in East Aislada, and shares sea borders with various nations such as Malvekia. New Westmore was officially founded in 1910, and was first inhabited by humans over 49,000 years ago.
In the contemporary era, Westmore has struggled with political extremism, having been crippled twice by fringe political groups such as the Freedom Party and the One Republic.
Etymology
The name of Westmore is derived from colonial settlers from the Demetrian Imperium who discovered the island in 1855, naming it as such due to the simple observation of how far west it was of the mainland continent. Formerly, indigenous Djarramhan civilisations named the island Sadoriwymmu, which translates to "country" in Djarramhan Monachiko, one of two recognised national languages of Westmore.
History
Prehistory
The island of Westmore was first inhabited by seafaring peoples over 49,000 years ago, with such groups using the island sometimes as a temporary settlement and as a jump point between other islands in the Aisladan continent. It was then permanently settled 47,500 years ago under five distinct peoples, the most dominant being the Djarramha. It is not exactly known what happened to the minority peoples on the island, as in the modern era the only surviving race is the Djarramha; the most popular theory about their disappearance was that they were either hunted into extinction or forced off the island by the Djarramhans somewhere down the track, possibly 25,000 years ago.
Organised society to a degree began anywhere of upwards of 27,000 years ago under the Djarramhan tribes, with basic laws and social conventions believed to have been enforced in some tribes around this time. Djarramhan tribes then eventually stopped being a seafaring group of people around 5,000 years ago, and permanently settled themselves in Westmore. These tribes remained uncontacted for a very long period of time from any other external groups, up until 1855 when pioneers from the Demetrian Imperium landed on the shores of Westmore with the intent to colonise it for their nation.
Some of the oldest sites of human activity in Westmore are the Arnhem Islands, a place of high religious worth to the natives, and the Lake Westmore Burial Grounds, a stretch of land along Lake Westmore which had a number of 18,000 year old human remains buried there. Both locations are listed as a Place of National and Indigenous Heritage, and are directly protected by the Federal Government.
Colonial Period under the Demetrian Imperium
Around the 1830s, the Demetrian Imperium, a defunct imperial state which existed in Aislada for much of the 19th Century, discovered the island of Westmore as part of their expeditions into the South and North Demetric Seas. It was not colonised by the Imperium until around 20 years after its initial discovery, where pioneers led by Hirane Williams, a famed explorer of the Demetrian Imperium, landed on the shores of Westmore and first established the colony of Dalesburg City, the oldest modern city in Westmore. The flag of the Demetrian Imperium was raised in the city on the 7th of February 1855, which then became the national day of the country.
In 1867, the Demetrian Imperium collapsed due to extreme civil unrest which resulted in a civil war, and left the colony of Westmore in its wake as a colony without a mother state. The colonists were left to continue the work of annexing the entire island without further guidance from the Imperium, this effort taking an extra 38 years to complete due to the resistance faced from the native population of the island.
Over a course of 107 years, the Djarramhan population on the island decreased by downwards of 53%, mainly due to the effects of disease brought to the island by the Demetrian colonists, the Frontier War, the subjugation and abuse of their people and the further colonisation of the island.
Frontier War
The Frontier War was a conflict between the Demetrian Imperium, then the Colonial Westmorians and the native Djarramhan population which lasted for much of Westmore's colonial history from 1855 to 1905. It is better known as the colonial expansion of Westmore. During this time period, colonial settlers explored and claimed land they believed was "terra nullius," as the settlers and by the extension the Imperium did not recognise the natives as the true claimants of the land. The Frontier War is largely attributed as a leading cause of the significant decrease in indigenous Westmorians during the colonial period of the nation.
Not much of the Frontier War is documented, and very few records of it exist in the current day and age. It is largely remembered through the oral history of the Djarramha. The few records of the Frontier War that have survived detail events such as the Credence Forest Massacre, where upwards of 270 Djarramhans were taken into Credence Forest, the largest forest in Westmore, and then killed by colonial settlers as part of a campaign of hate against the natives of the island.
While it is said to have officially started in 1855, from the first landing of the settlers of the Demetrian Imperium, it is largely believed to have truly started in 1865, when the Crown Colony of South Westmore expanded rapidly into the island and continued to seize land the native Djarramhan tribes laid claim to as well. Around this time, the first Westmorian armies and navies were founded, these defence forces being based out of South Westmore and mostly aiding in South Westmore's expansion throughout the island.
Establishment of Current-day Borders and Early 20th Century
After the collapse of the Demetrian Imperium in 1867, the state that would become modern-day Westmore, then called the Colonial Republic of South Westmore, broke off all ties associated with their former motherland and continued to annex the island in the Frontier War up until 1905, when the entire island was deemed to be under the control of the settlers from the south. During this time, it often went to war with other Demetrian colonies on the island, which did not want to join South Westmore's colonial state under a unified banner.
In early 1910, 5 years after completely claiming the island, the Democratic Republic of Westmore was proclaimed a sovereign state. From there on out, it would not get heavily involved in Aisladan politics for quite a long time, remaining a minor figure in the region's political landscape.
Contemporary Era
In the early 1960s, an effort to rejuvenate the nation's aging air force was made to widespread national acclaim. Many of the aircraft that the government commissioned were built by local companies within the state. Later on in the same decade, in 1967, a Djarramhan movement to break away from Westmore was proclaimed after racial tensions in the country hit an all time high, resulting in a race war nearly happening and causing a catalyst of change in society that paved the way for the multicultural Westmore that exists today.
In 2032, Westmore collapsed as a sovereign state when a violent fascist separatist movement known as the North State proclaimed itself and caused a civil war which dismantled authority for a period of a year. It was destroyed in 2033, and a while after Westmore eventually re-emerged back to functioning order.
"Autumn of Terror"
In February 2034, Westmore was involved in a conflict with the neighbouring Federacy of Omonia after a sovereignty dispute caused by an oil company owned by Omonians resulted in the Governor of Darwin illegally ordering for the destruction of an Omonian oil drill in Darwin's waters. The conflict saw the total destruction of Darwin and the partial destruction of Sydney in the Autonomous Republic of East Aislada at the hands of Omonian fighters. Part of East Aislada was also ceded to Omonia as part of reparations.
From March to April 2034, Westmore was ruled with an iron fist by Christian Hart, who was the leader of the One Republic, a far-right political party that held extremely racist and nationalist beliefs. During this month, Westmore saw violent and radical changes in its policy and beliefs, and lost half of Mareuvia to a separatist movement led by former General Harold Savoy, who was displeased with Hart's rule in the mainland. As well as this, thanks to international sanctions piled on by the international community, Westmore's economy took a turn for the worse and by April 2034 had lost $400 billion dollars.
The One Republic was eventually couped in April 2034 by rogue units of the Westmore National Guard under Major-General Esther Lynn, who ascended to the premiership days after officially ousting Hart and his party from the government.
Society
Government and Politics
Westmore is considered a federal parliamentary constitutional presidential republic. Governance in the nation is split into three tiers of government, these being the federal government, the state governments and finally the local governments. Autonomous territories of Westmore are considered to also be a form of state government, albeit more autonomous than normal state governments in the homeland.
Legislature is passed in the following chain of succession:
Local Government → State Commons → State Senate → Federal Commons → Federal Senate → Office of the President
Legislature may be drafted by a local government. It can then be passed on to the State Commons for review. If it passes in that house then it is referred to the State Senate for review and scrutiny much like the State Commons. If it passes in that house as well, it is then referred to Federal Parliament, where it undergoes the same process as it did in the State Parliament. Finally, it ends up in the office of the President, who acting on advice from the Senate and from public opinion can choose to either pass it into law or nullify it entirely.
The drafting of legislature can start anywhere on the chain of bureaucracy, but it does not and cannot go backwards down the chain. For example, legislature can be drafted in a State Senate, but it won't be run through the State Commons or through the local governments below them. Legislature cannot be passed into law if one of the houses of government does not pass the legislature. This means that if legislature fails in, for example, the Federal Commons, but passes in other houses, it cannot progress any further and will be struck null and void. This can be repealed by a Federal Commons vote which must reach a two-thirds majority to successfully revert the decision.
Federal Government
The Federal Government of Westmore, officially called the Westmore National Government, is the ruling executive body of the Democratic Republic of New Westmore. It has absolute authority in the creation and the nullifying of legislature. For example, these powers give the Federal Government the ability to nullify any State Government legislature the government sees fit. The power of the Federal Government is divided between the Federal Parliament and the Office of the President. Power is then further shared in parliament between the House of the Senate, made up of the heads of each department of the government, along with the Premiers of each state of Westmore, as well as each political party's executives, and the House of Commons, which is made up of each state government's delegation and representatives of the political parties of Westmore. The Parliament and both of its houses are preceded over by the Head of Government, the Prime Minister, which is considered a ceremonial role.
State Government
In Westmore, the State Government is a generic term used to refer to the four constituent state governments of Westmore proper and the governments of Westmore's external territories. Each government's parliament consists of a State Senate, which is made up of the State Government's party members, and a State Commons, which is made up of the representatives of each local government within the state. State Governments by default have a degree of autonomy in their own affairs, being able to draft its own legislature and being able to rearrange its second-level subdivisions, removing or creating new ones as they wish. The State Governments are led by the head of the political party elected in the state, with them gaining the title of Premier once done. For autonomous territories, they exercise a degree of autonomy almost comparable to that of the Federal Government, however the structure of government remains unchanged.
Local Government
Local governments are the lowest tier of governance. These governments are usually the organisational body of every second-level subdivision in Westmore, and are tasked with the maintenance of settlement facilities and with the enforcement of State or Federal Government policies in their respective areas. Local governments can take in the input of their local populace on political matters, and can refer it to the State Government for review in the State Commons. Local Governments are led by a Mayor, though this term can sometimes change depending on what title the head of the local government chooses to name the office - for example, Dalesburg City's local government is headed by a Lord Mayor, while the local government for Point Whiskey is led by a Staffer-General.
Subdivisions
Westmore is divided into four States and three Autonomous Republics. A fourth territory of Westmore, known as Freeville, is not recognised internally by the nation as a part of the country, but has international recognition as an external territory of Westmore.
All first-level subdivisions of New Westmore possess a high level of autonomy which grants them the power to create and modify legislature as they please and rearrange second-level subdivisions in their territory. Every State Government is built the exact same way as the Federal Government, having a bicameral Parliament formed up of a Senate and a Commons.
The Autonomous Republics are territories of Westmore that are situated outside of Westmore proper, which is considered to be the island of Westmore, off the coast of mainland Aislada. While there is no official measure for how far a territory has to be from New Westmore be granted this status, it is generally assumed that any territory of Westmore more than 70 nautical miles of the mainland is to be given this status by the Federal Government. Autonomous Republics are often ruled directly by the Westmore National Guard in their infancy, but eventually this rule is replaced by native representation anywhere from three to six months in Westmorian rule. The governments of Autonomous Republics are structured the same way the Federal Government is structured, giving them the highest level of autonomy in New Westmore.
As of April 2034, there are three Autonomous Republics that are officially associated with New Westmore.