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New Town claimed in Colorado
A new Austenasian Town has been founded after a family of three in Colorado claimed their home for the Empire.
The Colquhoun family contacted Emperor Jonathan I with a request to join Austenasia, and after supplying the necessary information their house was formally annexed earlier today as the Town of Chandler.
The now Lord Michael Colquhoun has been appointed Baron of Chandler, as well as its Acting Representative.
A local election for Chandler – as well as for the similarly young town of Valens – is expected to be held early next year to secure a democratic mandate for parliamentary representation.
With Parliament being in recess for the festive period, the annexation was enacted through an Imperial Decree, which will be put before the House of Representatives to be formally ratified after the holiday season.
This marks the first time that Austenasia has had eleven towns. The Empire previously held a record number of ten towns from January 2015 to September 2016, a number briefly reached again in February 2020, and again since May this year.
Territorial changes see population increase
The population of Austenasia has reached 110 upon various changes made to its territorial make-up.
Thursday 1st December saw an Act of Parliament passed which annexed a new town, Valens, as well as a new Crown Dependency, Ganapati Vihar.
Valens, annexed from Montreal in Canada, has a population of six, making it the Empire’s joint most populous land claim alongside Chalcedon. It is comprised of a three-floor apartment building, all the inhabitants of which have signed a request to joing Austenasia.
Ganapati Vihar, annexed from Kolkata in India, is uninhabited, and consists of a currently uninhabited residential property claimed for Austenasia by its owner, Soumyadip Sengupta.
Three other changes were also made which affected the demographic and administrative make-up of the Empire.
First, New Flat Rock, which was founded as a Town in December 2020, has been transitioned into a Crown Dependency. This is primarily due to none of it residents wishing to serve as an active Representative, while at the same time they wish to retain Austenasian nationality. It will therefore be governed autonomously by its former Representative, Lord Hunter Prater, as Governing Commissioner.
Second, Oberfalcer – a Territory annexed from France in August 2019 – has been dissolved after its founder and governor, Lord Paccard, dropped out of contact with the government last year.
Lastly, Austenasian subjectship was removed from Lord Paccard, together with another Austenasian non-residential subject who is likewise believed to have no desire to retain nationality, while also being granted to the Empire’s newly appointed Ambassador to the Philippines, Manuel Salta.
Although the cession of Oberfalcer has resulted in a net loss of territory, the annexation of Valens and the grant of subjectship to Mr Salta has raised the total number of Austenasians to 110, 76 of whom live in Austenasian land claims.
New territory annexed from Poland
Saturday 30th July saw a new Territory annexed by the Empire of Austenasia from Poland.
The new land claim, Nervenston, was claimed by the now Lord Dominik Kądziołkais, who has been appointed Governor and Baron of the new territory.
Nervenston is uninhabited, and is comprised of the roughly 2,170 square foot garden of Lord Kądziołkais’ residence.
Nervenston was claimed from the south-west of Poland, and is the first Austenasian land claim to be annexed from that country.
Helinium annexed as new Town
Yesterday saw the small polity of Helinium annexed as a new Austenasian Town.
Helinium, which is bordered by the Netherlands, was a part of New Virginia from November 2020 until July 2021, when it became independent during the attempted coup of that month.
Since then, it has existed as a tiny independent city-state.
The past week saw negotiations for Helinium to join Austenasia, culminating in annexation legislation being proposed to and passed by Parliament on Saturday 14th.
Bradley of Dullahan – the newly elected King of the Romans – has been appointed Acting Representative of Helinium, to serve until a local election is held on 5 June.
The Duke of Dullahan does not live in Helinium, but does live within the requisite twenty five miles from the Town to serve as its Representative. The new Town is home to his sister and her partner.
Claims established in China and Arizona
An Act of Parliament passed yesterday evening has founded two new Crown Dependencies after their landowners contacted the government with requests to join Austenasia.
A rural property in China’s Hunan province has been annexed as Shuhan, and four plots of land in Navajo County, Arizona have been annexed as Navurania.
Shuhan is home to Juntao Yang and his mother. Mr Yang has been appointed Governing Commissioner of Shuhan, to administer it with the title of Duke.
Mr Yang serves as Austenasia’s unaccredited Ambassador to China. His family can trace its descent from the rulers of one of the so-called Three Kingdoms of third century China, Shu Han, in honour of which the new territory has been named.
Although the annexation legislation was passed at 11pm UTC on 15 February, this was already 16 February in China, and as such the latter date will be considered Shuhan’s date of foundation.
The second new claim, Navurania, is composed of four plots of uninhabited land in a location best known for the mining of uranium and rare earth minerals.
The plots comprising Navurania are owned by Lord Michael Simpson, one of Austenasia’s most prolific purchasers and claimers of land. However, as governor of four territories already – Florencium Carolina, Elliessium Colorandum, Golcondiaurum, and Rubrum Beryllium – and Representative of Procyon, it was decided not to add to his workload of territorial administration.
Lord Simpson’s grandson has therefore been appointed Governing Commissioner of Navurania, adopting for said purpose the official pseudonym of Winston Churchill Jr. for privacy reasons.
Land from gemstone-rich area claimed for Austenasia
A 1.44 acre property in Utah was annexed to the Empire of Austenasia today after being claimed by its landowner, Lord Michael Simpson.
The property, which has been named Rubrum Beryllium, is uninhabited.
The land is situated in a district where discoveries of red beryl – also known as bixbite or red emerald – have been made. Red beryl is a very rare gemstone of high value.
It is hoped for a prospecting mission to take place in the near future. Should any red beryl be found in Rubrum Beryllium itself, it would be of great financial benefit to the Empire.
Lord Simpson is one of the Empire’s leading landowners. He has previously claimed three other territories – Florencium Carolina, Elliessium Colorandum, and Golcondiarum – for Austenasia, all of which he owns and administers as Governor.
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.
Another territory claimed as Hoagland ceded
Saturday 10th July saw Hoagland ceded back to the United States of America at the same time as a new territory was annexed from the same country.
Hoagland was claimed in July 2017 as an Austenasian Territory after previous periods under the sovereignty of Adammia and the Holy Roman Empire, and was governed by its founder, Grant Hawkins, who lived nearby.
Consisting of a grassy area bordered by Ohio, Hoagland was administered by Hawkins until earlier this year, when he and his family moved aware from the area. Hawkins was unable to find a replacement for the office of governor, and so the decision was made to dissolve the claim.
In a symbolic nod to their previous claims over the land, Adammia and the Holy Roman Empire have both been given a nominal chance to reclaim Hoagland before it is ceded back to the USA.
Simultaneously, however, a new Territory has been established with the annexation of Travarn.
Travarn is comprised of a wooded area and contains a hunting post. It is the personal property of Lord Hunter Prater, who has claimed it for Austenasia and been appointed its governor, and it is an enclave of north Alabama.
Travarn measures 40 acres, whereas Hoagland was just over a third of an acre; this exchange of claims has therefore been a large net territorial gain for Austenasia.
Campo Del Sol dissolved as Albina convicted of treason
The Territory of Campo Del Sol was dissolved on Sunday 27th June in the aftermath of its founder, Sophia Albina, being convicted of treason for advocating its seizure by another country.
In recent days, Albina has played a major role in a significant downturn in relations between Austenasia and its ally New Virginia, in which she is also a politician. This began after she made inflammatory statements in the New Virginian legislature which included false accusations against Austenasia as a whole and Emperor Jonathan I specifically, and introduced legislation to declare the Empire an “enemy” and “threat” and to claim the Austenasian territories of Campo Del Sol and Fraternitas.
New Virginia is a former Austenasian duchy which amicably seceded from the Empire in February last year. The two nations established a formal state of alliance upon New Virginian independence, and have maintained a strong friendship ever since.
Fraternitas had been part of one of the claims which joined the newly independent country, but was retained by the Empire at the suggestion of now President Kennedy in a gesture of goodwill and fraternity.
Campo Del Sol was claimed for Austenasia by Albina herself in June 2019. Neither area of land is inhabited.
It is unlikely that Albina’s proposed law will pass, but the inflammatory rhetoric used by Albina and the false accusations levelled against Austenasia have led to an increase in support within New Virginia for the idea of ending the alliance.
Senior New Virginian politicians downplayed Albina’s actions and rhetoric as that of a radical unrepresentative of the New Virginian government. However, Albina then spammed a Discord server hosted by the Austenasian government with images comparing herself to the rebels who fought against the Austenasian government in the 2010 civil war.
This resulted in a bill being introduced in Parliament to strip Albina of her nationality and titles and to dissolve Campo Del Sol, preventing it from being used as “leverage” against the Empire.
However, objections were raised given that action was being taken despite Albina not having been tried for her actions.
Due to encouraging another country to seize Austenasian land and actively working against Austenasia’s national security and international standing, treason charges were formally brought against Albina on Saturday 26th at the request of the Chief Inspector.
The evidence against her was presented, but despite being invited several times to make a legal defence she chose rather to use profane language and insult the jurors while making further unfounded accusations against the Austenasian government. In her final statement, she called for Campo Del Sol to be “freed” (despite the land being uninhabited and her claiming it for Austenasia in the first place) and for an unspecified “new Emperor” for Austenasia.
The jury presented a verdict of guilty the following morning. The Consuls – Duke Bradley of Dullahan and Princess Hannah Augusta – agreed on a sentence of indefinite exile, with Albina now forbidden to enter Austenasia until the Throne sees fit to allow it.
With Albina having been given a chance to defend her actions, the bill previously proposed in Parliament was passed, dissolving Campo Del Sol and stripping her of her Austenasian national status and titles.
An online meeting between diplomatic representatives of Austenasia and New Virginia has been proposed for the near future to discuss the downturn in relations and search for a resolution.
New Town claimed in Estonia
Friday 25th saw a new Town established after two brothers claimed half of their family house for Austenasia.
The elder of the two brothers, the now Lord Sander Koff, has been appointed Acting Representative of the new Town of Oppidum Tubae.
Oppidum Tubae is an enclave of Estonia, and the property of which it has claimed half was built in 1939.
This is not the first Austenasian town to bisect a single building. The former town of Thanasia and the current town of Chalcedon were both established with a claim over only the part of the respective property inhabited by the Austenasians-to-be.
The name of the new claim means “Trumpet Town” in Latin.
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