New Town and Crown Dependency join the Empire
Monday 5th October saw the new Town of Procyon and the new Crown Dependency of Kaiomenia annexed by Austenasia. Procyon is a residential property claimed from the Texan city of Killeen by its two residents, Lord Michael Simpson and his wife, the former of whom has been appointed the new town’s Acting Representative. Lord Simpson already served as Governor of the Territory of Florencium Carolina, which is situated just over six miles to the south-west of Procyon. The second claim, Kaiomenia, has been ceded to Austenasia by Ovrestlia, a Greek nation ruled by Thomas Marios I. As part of negotiations to formalise diplomatic relations between Austenasia and Ovrestlia in September, it was agreed that the latter would cede an area of land to the Empire. This was finalised with the creation of the new Crown Dependency, which will be governed autonomously by Thomas Marios I. Kaiomenia is composed of an area of undeveloped land to the north-west of the Greek city of Agrinio.
Further expansion with land ceded from Gradonia
Saturday 1st August saw the Kingdom of Gradonia cede two areas of land to the Empire of Austenasia. Gradonia is ruled by King William I, who serves as Deputy Prime Minister in Austenasia, where he prefers to be known by his title Lord William Wilson, Count of Oribrazos. Austenasia and Gradonia have held strong friendly relations since June last year. The first land claim, Campo de Jonatán, is a house inhabited by Wilson’s father – who has now become an Austenasian subject – and recently moved into by Wilson himself. Campo de Jonatán has been annexed as a March of Wilson’s hometown of Nahona, of which he serves as Representative. The second land claim, Jackson, is composed of uninhabited land situated in front of the home of Wilson’s uncle. The land contains a fallout/tornado shelter, which previously served as the Gradonian military installation Fort McLaughlin. Wilson has been appointed Governor of Jackson and Margrave of Campo de Jonatán.
Two new Territories annexed from southern U.S.
An Act of Parliament passed yesterday annexed two new Austenasian Territories after two areas of land were claimed for the Empire by their owners. One, Blue Ridge, is composed of the garden of a residential property whereas the other, Florencium Carolina, is composed of an area of private rural land. Both new territories have been annexed from southern states of the USA, with Blue Ridge from Florida and Florencium Carolina from Texas. The two landowners who claimed the territories have been given noble titles and made governors of their respective claim. Lord Michael Simpson is Governor of Florencium Carolina, and Lord Aydan Dillon is Governor of Blue Ridge.
Expansion in North America as Tricornia is dissolved
An Act of Parliament passed yesterday enacted territorial changes which saw the creation of a new Town, the expansion of another, and the dissolution of a third. Tricornia, a town annexed only in April, has been dissolved after its founder, Nikola Jovanovic, revealed that he had supplied incorrect information to the government while claiming the land and forged the signatures of its alleged residents. When claiming new areas of land, the government must strike a fine line between respecting the privacy of applicants while also being able to verify their claims. It is not believed that any changes to the current system are planned, but this incident has shown that it is not impossible for it to be abused. Tricornia now holds the unfortunate record of being the land claim with the shortest duration as a part of Austenasia. However, alongside the departure of Tricornia, a new Town has joined the Empire. The new Town of North Nahona has been founded with the annexation of two properties from Texas. A third property has been annexed to the already existing Town of Nahona, which the new town is named after. Each property is inhabited by two people, with a total of six people thereby joining Austenasia. This offsets the loss of the (alleged) same number from the dissolution of Tricornia. Both Nahona and North Nahona now consist of two properties, each inhabited by two people, and form a roughly eighteen mile long line stretching approximately north-west to south-east, with the southern two properties in the older town and the northern two in the new one. In other news, the Pontifex Maximus, Pope Queranus I – better known as Sebastian Linden – has been granted non-residential subjectship by Parliament. Linden has served as Governor of Iostan na Beithe and of Glencoe since January 2018, and briefly reigned as German Emperor in mid-2011.
Statement from the Emperor as Prince Dionisiy resigns – Gordon new PM
The following statement was released by His Imperial Majesty Emperor Jonathan I at midnight this morning, concerning what seems to be the final stage of the tumultuous week Austenasia has been through: To the Empire and to the world, our greetings. You will be aware of the troubles which have beset our country over the past week. We have been moved by the statements and messages of goodwill and support from our many friends around the world. Differences of opinion in regards to the direction Austenasia should take resulted in bitter arguments and divisions within Parliament, culminating in a proposal by the then Fatherland Party that they and the lands which fell under their administration secede from Austenasia. As the unfortunate depth to which these arguments had sunk became clear, this proposal was withdrawn, and consensus was reached that all Austenasian leaders would work together on reforms to fix the problems with our country, under the provisions of emergency powers which our Imperial Majesty reluctantly assumed for that purpose. The next day, the system of political parties which had been a root cause of so much division was abolished, and Friday 29th saw Lord Edward Gunderson, whose presence was becoming detrimental to the cause of re-establishing order, leave Austenasia with the dissolution of his town of Dragovina. The Prime Minister Prince Dionisiy, his electoral rival and now deputy Lord John Gordon, and former Prime Minister Joseph Nobilissimus Caesar worked with our Imperial Majesty to draw up a new Constitution which would provide thorough and lasting reforms to bring Austenasia into a new age. Today was to be when this new Constitution was to be officially proposed. Unfortunately, we address you today with bad news. After a week of reflection, Prince Dionisiy has resigned as Prime Minister and will be leaving Austenasia, together with his friend Lord Krištof Fondrk. This will mean the dissolution of the Towns of Theodosiopolis and Gebirgspark, Harlemum March, and the Territories of Laranda and Seleucia ad Cilicia. Such was the huge array of lands which Prince Dionisiy brought to Austenasia. These changes have come at a cost. The Austenasian population has fallen by ten people, from 91 to 81. However, we also have some good news. As well as these losses, Austenasia has also made a gain; a net gain, in fact. A huge new territory has been claimed for Austenasia by Prince Dionisiy as a gesture of goodwill, a territory the annexation of which has actually increased the overall land area of Austenasia despite the losses of the previously mentioned claims. This new territory, Chersoneses, will be administered as a Crown Dependency by Mr Oliynyk, a relative of the Prince. We may also note that the Town of Chalcedon and the Crown Dependency of Trebizond are remaining in Austenasia, despite being included in the initial declaration of secession when this crisis began. What could have been a unilateral secession of more than half the country has become the amicable departure of fewer claims and fewer people. This past week has been a very difficult time for our country. There is no way to pretend otherwise. But with a new month comes a new start. Lord John Gordon is now the Prime Minister of Austenasia, appointed directly to the position under our emergency powers. He is the longest continually serving Representative in Parliament, having represented Palasia continuously since July 2013, longer even than our current tenure as Representative of Wrythe. During that time, Lord Gordon has served as Deputy Prime Minister twice, and held office as Home Secretary and as Minister of Defence. We are confident in asserting that there is no more suitable person for the job, and Lord William Wilson has been appointed his Deputy. The referendum which was scheduled to take place this month will be cancelled, until a new consensus is reached concerning what if any changes to the Constitution may be desirable. There remain no obstacles to Austenasia’s stability and prosperity. We have had people and places come and go, but remain a vibrant, diverse nation spanning the continents, a nation of 80 people and more land than we have ever had before. We have every confidence in the new administration of Lord Gordon, and as such we plan to surrender our emergency powers nine days before planned, on June 4th, Imperium Day. On this public holiday, Austenasia celebrates its imperial status and Roman heritage. Let it be a day for us to also celebrate the endurance of this great country, its perseverance, and its bright future. Imperator Caesar Jonathan Augustus1 June 2020
Kingeston expands into Town
Monday 11th saw the Crown Dependence of Kingeston expand into Austenasia’s newest Town with the annexation of part of a nearby residential property. Kingeston’s governing commissioner, Austin Jaax, claimed a part of his house in which both he had his brother live, offering the land to Austenasia with the consent of the property owners. The section of the property was officially claimed by an Act of Parliament and annexed to Austenasia as an exclave of Kingeston, which was transitioned into a Town. As the now Lord Jaax was already a non-residential subject, this has raised Austenasia’s population by one with his brother – who has been appointed Kingeston’s Police Inspector – now also living in the country. Lord Jaax, who was appointed Baron of Kingeston, has also been appointed its Acting Representative and will therefore represent the new Town in Parliament until a local election is called. Now serving in Parliament, Lord Jaax has also succeeded Lord John Gordon as Leader of the Peoples Party and therefore as Leader of the Opposition. Kingeston was originally annexed in December 2018, and until this recent expansion consisted of parkland bordering Canada.
Town on site of Roman fort annexed
Tricornia, a collection of land claims several of which are situated over the site of a Roman military camp of the same name, was annexed as an Austenasian Town earlier today. The new Town consists of ten separate land claims spread around near the Serbian town of Ritopek. One of these claims houses the Tricornia’s population of six. The other nine are uninhabited areas of farmland owned by the newly appointed Lord Nikola Jovanović, Acting Representative of the new town, who has also served as Austenasian Ambassador to Serbia since 2017. In total Tricornia covers 10.8 acres, making it the second-largest Austenasian Town, just over half the size of Nahona. This new acquisition has raised Austenasia’s population to 89.
Two new claims join the Empire
Peach Ponds, an area of parkland in North America, and Dinkeaw, a garden bordered by Thailand, were annexed to Austenasia yesterday evening by an Imperial Decree. Both areas of land are uninhabited, and were offered by different individuals who approached the government with the request that said territories be claimed by Austenasia. Peach Ponds was claimed by Casper von Navārdia – who also serves as President and Foreign Minister of Phokland (a state of the Holy Roman Empire) – and consists of Huddleston Pond Park of Peachtree City in the U.S. state of Georgia. Peach Ponds was annexed as a Territory, and Casper von Navārdia was appointed its Governor and given the noble title Count of Cowyetton. Lord von Navārdia already administered the park on behalf of the local city council, and as such was in a perfect position to both claim and subsequently govern the new Territory. Dinkeaw consists of the garden of the Thai residence of Yai Khadpo and his family. Mr Khadpo’s mother requested that their garden be claimed by Austenasia; it has been annexed as a Crown Dependency, with Mr Khadpo appointed its Governing Commissioner. Lord Edward Gunderson, Speaker of the House of Representatives, recently announced that Parliament would only consider urgent bills due to the pressures faced by its members relating to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The annexations were therefore made law by Imperial Decree, something which has not been done since an expansion of New Richmond in April 2015.
New Virginia to secede on 11 February
Yesterday saw an Act of Parliament passed establishing Tuesday 11 February as the day on which the majority of New Virginia will secede from Austenasia to become an independent state. As announced at Christmas, the City of New Richmond and the Towns of Terentia and Augusta will be leaving Austenasia to form the Commonwealth of New Virginia. An uninhabited part of Augusta will be retained by Austenasia as the Territory of Fraternitas, which will be administered by Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy as its Governor. Lord Admiral Kennedy, the incumbent Prime Minister, will remain in office throughout February 11th and 12th, with the latter due to see his successor elected in the upcoming election to take office on February 13th. Lord Admiral Kennedy will retain Austenasian nationality alongside Lady Vice Admiral Eryn Lewis and Lord Riley Kennedy, the three Representatives of the towns in question. The other residents of New Virginia will lose Austenasian nationality, bringing Austenasia’s population down to the mid-seventies. Furthermore, the Imperial Navy – the modern iteration of which was based entirely in New Virginia – has by the same Act of Parliament been disbanded. The legislation authorising the creation of the Commonwealth of New Virginia states that “maintaining a close and special relationship with the Commonwealth of New Virginia… [will be] a top priority of the Austenasian Government.”
Crown Dependency of Trebizond founded
A new Austenasian Crown Dependency has been founded, consisting of territory formerly belonging to the Empire of Trebizond. The Empire of Trebizond existed between 1204 and 1461 as a break-away state from the medieval Roman Empire, begrudgingly recognised by the latter in 1282. The new Crown Dependency of Trebizond consists of a small farm near the Turkish city of Trabzon (the medieval empire’s former capital). The crown dependency was claimed for Austenasia by its landowner, Prince Dionisiy I (the Duke of Lycaonia, whose Principality of Montescano was recently recognised as sovereign by the imperial government). Prince Dionisiy has been appointed governing commissioner of Trebizond, with the title of Despot. He is a descendant of the medieval Trapezuntine rulers through his maternal ancestry. Trebizond does not have any permanent residents, but may in future be rented out to tenants, who would be made aware that they were living on Austenasian land. This annexation represents a further expansion of Austenasia in the former Roman lands of the East.
