Archive
New territory claimed from Romania
Friday 1st December saw a new Austenasian land claim founded roughly 26 miles north of Bucharest.
The new territory, Prahova, consists of just over 61 acres of forested land, together with part of a river which adjoins it to the south. The land was claimed for Austenasia by Štefan Snagoveanu, Marshal of Snagov.
Snagov entered into diplomatic relations with the Empire in August earlier this year, following several months of informal co-operation.
The legislation which annexed Prahova has appointed Marshal Snagoveanu as its Governor, as well as granting him Austenasian national status.
This new annexation has been made in part with a view to fostering closer ties and friendly relations between Austenasia and Snagov.
The land is uninhabited, but isolated, with Marshal Snagoveanu easily able to exercise jurisdiction there on behalf of the Empire.
Austenasian state visit to Adammia
Wednesday 4th October saw Emperor Jonathan I and Empress Hannah represent Austenasia in a state visit to the Empire of Adammia, where they were hosted in the Adammic capital.
The imperial couple were met by Emperor Adam I of Adammia in the British city of Wakefield, from where they were driven to the Adammic capital of Imperial City.
Adam I was accompanied by his mother Emperor Mother Jayne and grandfather Lord Reginald Hall.
Jonathan I and Empress Hannah were given a guided tour of Imperial City’s sites of historical and cultural interest before sharing a meal with the Adammians.
Emperor Adam I gifted the Austenasian delegation with a signed copy of a history of Adammia, which will be placed in the Imperial Library of Austenasia. In return, Adam I was gifted handmade soaps patterned with the Adammic flag.
The two Emperors used the meeting as an opportunity to sign the Charter of the Association of British Micronations (ABM), an organisation which will plan and promote diplomatic summits for small nations of British origin.
The ABM will be governed by a board of trustee nations, which will have Austenasia and Adammia as permanent members alongside Lundenwic, as per agreement reached at a trilateral meeting in 2021.
Wednesday’s state visit also saw Empress Hannah sign a treaty of mutual recognition with Adammia on behalf of her independent Principality of Wildflower Meadows. This makes Adammia the third nation – alongside Austenasia and the Grove – to have official diplomatic ties with the Principality.
Foreign Office opens window for diplomacy requests
The Foreign Office has announced that up until the end of August, requests for diplomatic relations will be considered.
Since 2014, the Foreign Office has maintained a policy of refusing to consider requests for diplomacy due to the sheer volume usually received, instead reaching out on its own initiative to request formal ties with nations in which it is interested.
This policy was temporarily lifted for two weeks last July at the proposal of Lord William Wilson, the Prime Minister, as part of a wider “summer of diplomacy” in 2022 that also saw a state visit and various treaty signings.
As a direct result of last year’s application window, the Empire entered into mutual recognition with Avalonia, the Gymnasium State, New Athens, Revalia, Salanda, and Snagov.
A formal treaty has since been signed with Revalia, and discussions opened regarding treaties with the Gymnasium State and Snagov.
A form has been published for the use of foreign governments interested in applying for diplomatic relations with Austenasia.
Diplomatic Residence inaugurated for Emperor and Empress
A property in Portsmouth was yesterday designated the Diplomatic Residence to serve as a home for the imperial couple.
Emperor Jonathan I and Empress Hannah moved into the property in November last year, shortly after their wedding.
The full title of the property is the Diplomatic Residence of the Envoy to Portsmouth, referring to a position officially given to the Empress on Tuesday 31st January.
Tuesday also saw the property blessed by an Orthodox priest who conducted a short house blessing service, sprinkling the rooms with holy water.
The Imperial Residence in Wrythe legally remains the official residence of the Monarch. However, Jonathan I and Empress Hannah have since their wedding lived in what is now the Diplomatic Residence.
The imperial couple travelled back to Wrythe following Christmas, spending just over a week with their families. The Emperor will continue to return to the capital for important occasions and state events.
The Diplomatic Residence, as well as serving as the imperial couple’s home, formally serves as a diplomatic base for the work of the Envoy to Portsmouth, an office tasked with providing diplomatic representation for Austenasia within the city in question.
Emperor chairs GUM summit in London
Yesterday saw an international summit organised by the Grand Unified Micronational (GUM) held in London, chaired by Emperor Jonathan I.
The GUM, founded in 2009, is the oldest and largest international organisation for small unrecognised independence movements and “micronations”.
The Emperor took office as Chair of the GUM on 6 September earlier this year – the fourth time he has held the position – after winning a snap election called after the resignation of the previous Chair following a chaotic time in the organisation.
Jonathan I was elected on a platform of restoring order to the GUM – a task which it is fair to say has been achieved – as well as on several specific pledges, foremost of which was organising an in-person summit before his term ended with the New Year.
The GUM ordinarily conducts its meetings – formal sessions of official business being called Quorums – online, and has only held two in-person summits in its history.
The first took place in July 2012, immediately following the famous PoliNation summit in London. Representatives of several GUM member states were gathered in one place, and took the opportunity to hold a physical Quorum.
The second was a less spontaneous affair, held in Birmingham in 2019, and was organised by Adam I, Emperor of Adammia, the then Chair.
It had been proposed for the Birmingham summit to inaugurate a tradition of annual meetings, but this hope was dashed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With life now returning to normal, Jonathan I was able to organise yesterday’s summit, and chair the third in-person GUM Quorum.
The summit was held at Grove Vale Library in East Dulwich, London. Four GUM member states were represented in person: Austenasia (by Jonathan I), Adammia (by Adam I), and also the Serene Beaconite Republic (by James Frisch) and Elmwycke (by Larry Martin).
Also in attendance was Lord Mike Lewis, Prime Minister of Lundenwic, a nation which is no longer a GUM member but has been in the past and is interested in re-applying for membership.
A higher turnout was expected, but some prospective attendees had to drop out, including the Emperor’s Vice-Chair, Newton von Uberquie.
The minimum number of delegations required for a Quorum meeting to take place is eight; with only four member states present, a “hybrid” Quorum was held, with the summit meeting being livestreamed and delegations able to participate online.
The formal Quorum meeting held during the summit addressed some routine votes on membership issues, and also discussed a possible replacement for Diplomabear (a toy animal posted between different countries on a “diplomatic tour”) and campaigning regulations for future GUM elections.
The summit also saw two presentations, one on early Adammic history and its legacy, and one on the flag of Elmwycke.
Emperor Jonathan I is the only person to have been present at all three in-person Quorums, and Adam I and Lord Lewis the only other two people to have been present at more than one.
Treaties signed at London meeting
Yesterday saw Emperor Jonathan I sign treaties of mutual recognition with Mercia and with Mekniy-Lurk at an informal summit in central London.
His Imperial Majesty the Emperor met with Austenasian senator Lord Karl Friedrich, who had travelled to the UK from the Czech Republic.
Lord Friedrich serves as Governor of Aurora, and has previously held various Cabinet positions. He jointly owns MicroWiki along with Jonathan I.
However, in addition to his role in Austenasia, Lord Friedrich also serves as joint head of state of two other countries – Mercia and Mekniy-Lurk – both of which have diarchal governments.
Austenasia has held friendly informal relations with Mercia for almost a decade, and extended formal recognition in 2016, but the two countries had never formally signed a treaty. Although the government of the nation has been inactive for some time, Mercia has never been formally dissolved and remains a source of national identity for its citizens.
A state visit from Lord Friedrich to Austenasia in his role as Lord Temporal of Mercia to sign a treaty of mutual recognition had been planned for August 2020, but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
By the time this visit came about, Lord Friedrich had also become co-ruler of Mekniy-Lurk, a highly-developed small nation which declared independence from the Czech Republic in 2009.
The treaties were signed in the grounds of St. Paul’s Cathedral in central London. Also there to greet Lord Friedrich to the United Kingdom were James Frisch and Newton von Uberquie, who formerly held office in Mercia as Speaker of Parliament and as First Minister respectively.
The four dignitaries met at Monument station, and visited several nearby landmarks including the eponymous Monument to the Great Fire, the Tower of London, the aforementioned St. Paul’s Cathedral, and London Stone.
After eating lunch together, the dignitaries parted ways, with the Emperor accompanying Lord Friedrich to the correct train station for him to continue his travels, via more sightseeing at Westminster and Whitehall.
During the course of the meeting, Lord Friedrich made a donation of several coins and banknotes to the Imperial Numismatic Museum. Notable among these are a Roman denarius of Septimius Severus minted in AD 194-195, and a rare commemorative coin minted by Mekniy-Lurk.
State visit to Dracul
Saturday 2nd July saw the Prime Minister, Lord William Wilson, represent the Empire of Austenasia on a state visit to Dracul.
The visit was used as an opportunity to sign a treaty of mutual recognition and friendship between the two nations.
Lord Wilson met with President Stephen Luke of Dracul at the Draculian Embassy to the United States, before the two national leaders travelled to the border of Dracul itself. After entering the country, the visit officially began, with the national anthems of both countries being played.
The Prime Minister then entered the Draculian capital, Bran District, where he and President Luke signed the treaty between Austenasia and Dracul.
After the treaty was signed, an online call was had to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, who thanked President Luke for his hospitality to Lord Wilson and expressed his wishes for a close and long-lasting friendship between their two nations.
A tour of the nation was then given to the Prime Minister. Lord Wilson observed and made polite remarks about the landmarks of Dracul, and discussion was had on the native flora and fauna of the respective states. The visit ended after the pair returned to the Embassy, whereupon the Prime Minister was given refreshment and gifts of hospitality.
This is the seventh official state visit in which Austenasia has taken part, and the first in almost ten years in which Austenasia was not the hosting state.
The Commonwealth of Dracul is bordered by Texas, and is known in the diplomatic community for its professional demeanour and high-quality media. Dracul was formally recognised by the Empire in March, after several months of informal friendship with Austenasia.
Although technically incorrect in international terminology, it has since 2010 been the custom in Austenasia for an official diplomatic visit made or hosted by the Prime Minister – not just by the Monarch – to also be called a “state visit”, so long as the head of state of the other country is being visited or hosted.
Foreign Office to consider diplomacy requests for two week window
For two weeks in July, the Austenasian Foreign Office will consider requests for diplomatic relations in a temporary lifting of the long-standing policy not to do so.
Austenasia has always insisted on granting diplomatic recognition and maintaining relations only with polities of a certain “standard”, such as those with an official claim to independence, reasonably professional behaviour, and a well-established presence and stable government.
From the start of the previous decade, the Austenasian government had received a growing number of requests to recognise or even ally with various micronations which were very much below the standards of nations the Empire would be interested in forging official ties with.
Many of these applicants were very young – sometimes mere days old – and ended up dissolving a short time afterwards, meaning diplomatic relations would have been a waste of time.
Having to politely decline each of these requests – as proved the case for most of them – proved a growing drain on the resources of the Foreign Office.
It was therefore the case that on 24 March 2014 the then Prime Minister and Chief Ambassador, HIH Countess Eritoshi, announced that Austenasia would henceforth “refrain from considering non-solicited diplomatic relations… and instead focus… on consolidating and strengthening those relations already held.”
This did not prevent the Austenasian government from reaching out on its own initiative to request formal ties with nations in which it was interested, but did provide a means to issue all those in which it was uninterested with a standardly worded “no thank you”.
However, earlier today, the Foreign Office has announced that “beginning 3 July and until 17 July, we are temporarily lifting this policy to allow any interested nations to contact us with a request for foreign relations which will be considered.”
Permitting requests to be considered will allow potential new friends who may otherwise be overlooked to be considered for formal relations, whereas making it a temporary window will ensure that the number of requests received is relatively manageable.
The idea was first proposed by the Prime Minister, Lord Wilson, in the weekly online meeting of Cabinet.
A link to an online form enabling authorised representatives of their states or nations to apply for diplomatic relations will be published on July 3rd.
UPDATE – The form can be accessed here: https://forms.gle/gAsrpqR4EKUfBro58
Fraternitas gifted to New Virginia as stability returns
Monday 1st November saw the Austenasian Territory of Fraternitas ceded to the Commonwealth of New Virginia.
Following the chaotic events in New Virginia earlier this year (link to the Adammic Express), leaders of the failed 29th of July Movement coup led their own territories in secession from New Virginia. This left the Commonwealth without any land from the original Duchy of New Virginia which amicably seceded from Austenasia in February last year.
Upon last year’s said secession, Fraternitas – an uninhabited area of one of the Towns which formed the newly independent Commonwealth – was retained by Austenasia at the suggestion of the now Lady Admiral Kennedy, as a sign of the common heritage and enduring friendship between Austenasia and New Virginia.
However, earlier this year, far from functioning as a sign of friendship, Fraternitas was used to stoke tensions between the two nations. Sophia Albina, a New Virginian politician who also held Austenasian nationality, attempted in various falsehood-laden statements to persuade the New Virginian government to unilaterally claim Fraternitas from the Empire and declare Austenasia an “enemy” and “threat”. This led to her being convicted of treason and stripped of Austenasian nationality.
Although the New Virginian government distanced itself from Albina’s words and actions, discomfort with her suggestion that Austenasian possession of Fraternitas was in some way a colonial occupation led to the Austenasian government seeking to arrange diplomatic talks with New Virginia to discuss the future of the territory.
Before such talks could be held, however, the 29th of July Movement announced their seizure of power. This led to a low-point in Austenasian-New Virginian relations, with the alliance between the two nations being formally ended.
With the coup having failed, New Virginia has slowly but surely been rebuilt. Adam I of Adammia became Acting President, and oversaw a return to political stability and the organisation of a new presidential election. This saw Sir Sertor Valentinus elected as New Virginia’s new President, inaugurated on 19 October in an online ceremony attended by both Jonathan I and new Prime Minister Lord William Wilson.
However, with the departure of so many of the revolutionaries, New Virginia was described by many as having been left a “rump state”. The acquisition of Fraternitas by New Virginia would once more give it land that was part of the former Austenasian Duchy of the same name.
With the consent of Lady Admiral Kennedy, the Emperor passed an Imperial Decree in October ceding Fraternitas to New Virginia effective as of 1 November. Eager for a return to friendly relations with the Commonwealth, the decree was quickly approved by the House of Representatives.
The Emperor’s Imperial Decree stated the following:
“We can think of no better way for Fraternitas to fulfil the meaning of its name than by serving as a gift made in good faith by the Empire to provide the Commonwealth of New Virginia with a physical connection to the original Austenasian Duchy of the same name. Our Imperial Majesty reiterates and reaffirms our will for peace and friendship with New Virginia, and our confidence in the legitimate elected government of the same moving forward from the events of the past several months.”
Although the Empire and Commonwealth have their differences, it is hoped that this donation of territory will not only remove a prospective source of conflict and undermine Albina’s claims of Austenasian hostility, but cement a friendly and co-operative relationship between the two states moving forward into the future.
Relations established with Lundenwic at London meeting
A treaty was signed yesterday establishing mutual recognition and formal relations between Austenasia and Lundenwic at a multilateral meeting in central London.
Emperor Jonathan I met Lord Mike Lewis, Prime Minister of Lundenwic, as well as Emperor Adam I of Adammia.
Adam I is also currently serving as Acting President of New Virginia after last month’s failed coup in said nation.
The three national leaders met at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park, gradually making their way to Kensington over the course of the afternoon.
Lundenwic was founded in December 2013, and has a population of fifteen. Its land claims are bordered by south-west London.
Despite only entering into formal diplomatic relations yesterday, Austenasia has held informal friendly relations with Lundenwic for some time. Lord Lewis visited Wrythe as a tourist in December 2016, took part in Austenasia’s tenth anniversary celebrations along with Grand Duke Julian of Lundenwic in September 2018, and joined both emperors at the June 2019 GUM Birmingham Summit.
Over the course of yesterday’s meeting, Austenasia, Adammia and Lundenwic all agreed in principle to the creation of an organisation to promote the interests of small nations and unrecognised independence movements in the British Isles. This idea was put forward by Austenasian Prime Minister Lord John Gordon in November last year, and its promotion made a priority of the Austenasian Foreign Office.
More details of the prospective organisation will be forthcoming as discussions progress.
The location of Speaker’s Corner was chosen to commemorate the tenth anniversary – off by only ten days – of the 2011 Intermicronational Summit. This summit, which likewise had Speaker’s Corner as its initial meeting place, saw fourteen politicians and diplomats gather for the first multilateral in-person meeting of members of the “MicroWiki community”.
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