Blokkarim Island
Blokkarim Island | |
|---|---|
| Blokkarim Island Territory | |
 Flag | |
| Motto: | |
| Named for | Burim Jeder |
| Capital and largest town | Kartesolt |
| Official languages | |
| Ethnic groups | By species:
By ethnicity:
|
| Religion | |
| Demonym(s) | Burimyner |
| Government | Devolved parliamentary dependency under a constitutional monarchy |
• Baroness | Marium I |
• Commissioner | Justen-Laurens Klein (BLP) |
• Municipal Chairman | Vasily Alfer (ABP) |
| Legislature | Burimyner Municipal Council |
| Population | |
• 2023 census | 6,182 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $136,268,404.14 |
• Per capita | $22,042.77 |
| Currency | Vistari Gildemerk (VSM) |
| Time zone | UTC±0 (Imperial Standard Time) |
| Driving side | right |
Blokkarim Island (Vistarian: Blokkarima, Tvordoma: Šyferdoma, Suvan: Burimyn Aral) is an island south of Itur which is administered as an unincorporated territory of Vorpest, a constituent country of Vistaraland. The island was first colonized by the Suvan Empire in 1631, both for its large deposits of flint and use as a minor trading outpost. These factors would lead the island to be exchanged a number of times between the competing Vistari and Suvan Empires, eventually being formally ceded to the Dominion of Vorpest in 1909, alongside Kamport in the modern day Union of Free Cities.
The island's population, known as Burimyner after the Suvan name for the island, consists of 6,182 according to the 2023 census. It primarily consists of members from three ethnic groups. The largest ethnic group of the island is the Vistarian population who began to settle the island in the 20th century. Primarily consisting of those originating from Noorvista and Sereena, the island became popular as an area relatively unaffected by the War of Imperial Succession and economic aftermath, with the moderately sized mining and shipping operations on the island used to encourage settlement. Approximately 39% of the island identify themselves as Vistarian or Mixed Vistari, and most high ranking positions are filled by the group. Despite a number leaving the island following its acquisition by Vistaraland, Suvan people still comprise around a third of the island's overall total, and the language retains a considerable number of native speakers despite holding no official status. Due to the long standing rivalry between their two homelands, the island has a considerable history of ethnic violence between the Suvan and Vistarian populations throughout the 20th century, and the free expression of Suvan culture on the island has remained an issue to this day.
The third largest group is the Tvordoma people, who first settled the island before the arrival of colonial powers. The Tvordoma, believed to have had strong historical ties to the Lupine population in modern-day Volkia, comprise around 21% of the island's population, having previously been forcefully removed from the island's few urban centres by the Suvan Empire.
History
Pre-colonization
Prior to its discovery by the colonial empires of Western Yasteria, the island is believed to have been settled by the ancestors to the Tvordoma people around 2100 BC. Though it has been observed by anthropologists that they shared a great degree of cultural and linguistic ties to the bronze ages cultures of Volkia, it is a topic of debate amongst historians as to whether the Tvordoma were originally Volkian or simply heavily influenced by trade from the country during the Iron Age. This debate is owed partly to the island's distinct style of tools from the comparatively homogenous types found in Volkia, with some arguing that they exist due to the island's climate and the exacerbation of local differences due to separation from mainland Itur.
Suvan rule
Suvania's position as primarily the land power of Kromentrum made the maintaining of colonies considerably more difficult than their Vistari rivals, and maintaining the control of it in times of war became reliant on coastal defences and a fortified garrison centred in Kartesolt. The utilisation of the island's flint was, in times of war, shifted from exporting to the mainland to domestic military use, and a stockpile of Burimyner flint was created in the homeland with the expectation of the severing of trade between the island Suvania proper. Such a defence strategy would result in several blockades of the island by the Vistari Imperial Navy, with the Vistarian name Blokkarima emerging originally as a colloquial term by sailors as a portmanteau of the Suvan name and the word Blokkade ("Blockade") in reference to this.
During the Great War
After a long period of uneasy rule from the struggling Ogedeikhota, the island would once again face incursion by the Vistari Imperial Navy following the 1906 Suvan declaration of war against Vistaraland. The three year conflict between the two empires was originally set out to create another front in Western Yasteria and pre-empt the accession of Vistaraland to the Imperial Powers through the 1709. However, instead it served as the last nail in the coffin for the Suvan Empire and its position as the land power of Krommentrum, with the emergence of trench warfare in Eastern Suvania proving that the Suvan Empire could no longer repeat its land victory in the 12 Years' War. The few Suvan colonies, including Blokkarim Island, would be taken and occupied by Vistari naval forces, and the war quickly became untenable for the Suvan state. In 1909, Suvania would reluctantly call for a ceasefire, and eventually agreed to the cession of the overseas territories of Kamport and Blokkarim to Vistaraland, seeing both placed under temporary military administrations until the end of the conflict. Blokkarim, as the northernmost territory under direct Vistari control, was agreed to fall under the oversight of the Dominion of Vorpest in Borea, in line with its operations in the leased concession in Ankbhaja.
This period of uncontested rule of the island by the Dominion of Vorpest would be short lived, however, as 1909 saw the brewing of internal conflicts within the Ducal Federation surrounding the election of a successor to Emperor Alfred II. Though the colonial territories had no say on who would take the mantle of Emperor, debates over succession would coincide with disagreements amongst the states comprising Vistaraland over the nation's continued involvement in the Great War. The War of Imperial Succession, as it came to be known, threw the colonial administrations into disarray over who held the legitimate claim to the See of Supremacy and, therefore, what allegiance they had in the overarching conflict.
The people of Blokkarim, which had only recently joined the Empire and resided in waters which would be difficult to maintain supremacy over for the Imperial Powers, would side with the majority of the other colonial administrations in expressing support for the claim of Tyrene van Molebaai. This would cause a number of difficulties for the island's military administration, whose orders from mainland Vistaraland were from the High Command in Vierbak, which remained loyal to the House of Sereena, who had crowned Emperor Stijn I in spite of a lack of consensus in the Ducal Council. After considerable infighting within the territorial administration, it was decided the island would not hold official stance on the legitimate Imperial Government, and would receive orders from Sint Arend until the matter was resolved.
Due to this policy, the Norgsveltian occupation of Vorpest would radically exacerbate complications in governing the island, and the Vistari military garrison would eventually begin to coordinate the territory's administration with the Government of Ankbhaja , establishing a civilian administration in Kartesolt to conduct the internal affairs of the island for the duration of the civil conflict in Vistaraland.
Vistari rule
Following the Treaty of Vierbaak, the ceding of the Dominion of Vorpest back to Vistaraland affirmed the island's control by the Vistari Keizerrijk. However, it necessarily raised questions on the island's administration. Though the establishment of a civilian government had been signed as a temporary wartime measure, the popularity of home rule amongst the populace created a large demand to remain unincorporated, pushed forward by the ruling All-Burimyner Citizen’s Party. After a considerable amount of negotiation between the governments of Vorpest and Blokkarim Island, it was decided that the Kartesolt Wartime Governance Act would be allowed to expire, with the promise of a new Act defining the island's status to be voted on separately by both the Vorpestian Representative Assembly and the Burimyner people. On 9 March 1927, the Blokkarim Island Autonomy Act would be approved by popular referendum, and set out the current established political status of the territory.
Administration
Burimyner Municipal Council Burimyner Gemeenteraad | |
|---|---|
| 47th Assembly | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1927 |
| Preceded by | Advisory Assembly of Blokkarim Island |
| Leadership | |
Speaker | Adje Volker, ABP since 12 May 2019 |
Municipal Chairman | Vasily Alfer, ABP since 12 May 2019 |
Leader of the Opposition | Maral Krosman, GPP since 4 May 2021 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 20 |
 | |
Political groups | Government (12)
Formal Opposition (5)
Other opposition (3)
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| Elections | |
| Closed list proportional representation D'Hondt method | |
Last election | 12 April 2023 |
Next election | April 2025 |
Consistent with the administration set out by the Kartesolt Wartime Governance Act, Blokkarim Island has been self-governing since 1911, through an elected parliamentary government. The system of administration for the island was formalized in 1926 as an incorporated territory within the Dominion of Vorpest, now the Grand Dominion of Vorpest as part of the Imperial Vistari Confederation. Following its cession by Suvania, the island was to coronate the Emperor of the Visatara as it s Baron, though the process would be stalled due to the War of Imperial Succession, leading to Tyrene I being coronated as the island's first Baroness in 1926. This continues to the present, with Marium I as head of state for the territory, with the appointment of a government for the island done officially on her behalf.
In exchange for this large degree of autonomy over internal affairs, the people of Blokkarim Island are not officially represented in the Imperial Parliamentary Council, though they may participate in elections to the Vorpestian Unified Assembly, as with Vistari citizens on Ny'Tewien Island. The Vorpestian Government appoints a Commissioner to serve as an intermediary between the administrations of the island, Vorpest and Vistaraland as a whole. This Commissioner, alongside the Commissioner for Terwenia, head the Dependency Office of Vorpest, which is responsible for ensuring the continued security and democratic process on the two islands. This includes the composition and enactment of electoral law on the island, which was used to repeal the disenfranchisement of the Suvan population in 1931.
This electoral law forms the basis for the island's legislature, the Burimyner Municipal Council. The Council is composed of 20 seats elected through proportional representation, with a single island-wide multi-member constituency. Due to the relatively small electorate, the Council's 4% election threshold often requires only 100 or more votes to secure a seat in the Council, allowing for minor parties to select a candidate likely to hold elected office. This system therefore encourages the formation of coalition governments of small parties in order to achieve political goals. The head of this coalition, which is usually but not always the leader of the largest party, is the Municipal Chairman - the Burimyner head of government. Since 2019, the position has been held by of the All-Burimyner Citizen’s Party, Vasily Alfer. A prospective Municipal Chairman must be selected by the formateur, who is directly elected by the legislature to lead talks between the political parties and create a majority coalition if possible. Once they are selected, they must be approved by over 50% of the legislature and the Monarch after announcing their proposed governing coalition and its aims.
Political parties
The conservative liberal All-Burimyner Citizen’s Party is currently the largest political party on the island, having maintained a parliamentary status since its inception in 1914. The party promotes a balance between progressive policies on tackling ethnic inequality and speciesm on the island, as well as a firm belief in promoting and protecting shared cultural values and traditions, arguing for a polycultural society which is above identity politics. The party currently cooperates with the second largest party, the Burimyner Watchmen Party, or BWP. The BWP, which has a strong relationship with the federal Libertarian Party, promotes an adherence to libertarian capitalism, which has been argued as a cornerstone of Vistari political establishment. The party's platform is focused on individual liberty, limited government and an opposition to economic interventionism, including the expansion of social welfare programs. As such, it pulls a majority of its support from Vistarian business-elites, and advocates for the interests of business on the island. As with the alliance between Libertarians and Imperial Conservatives in Vistaraland proper, the BWP signed an agreement with the Imperial Conservatives of Blokkarima in 2021, agreeing to only go into government together - forming the basis for the third party in the coalition. The Imperial Conservatives of Blokkarima, while retaining considerable ties with the Imperial Conservative Party as a whole, is primarily a sister party to the Imperial Conservatives of Ankbhaja. As such, while adopting some aspects of liberal royalism, the party remains closer to the less moderate conservative roots of the party, opposing an expansion of LGBT rights and the defamation of Vistari colonial legacy. The island's government therefore constitutes a centre-right platform, with views on the island's status ranging from the autonomist platform of the Citizen's Party to the Imperial Conservative support for the establishment of the island as a separate, integrated province.
The largest party in opposition is the Green Progressive Party, a centre-left party which emerged during the 1990s to combat the effect rising sea levels could have on the island, as well as provide an alternative to the emergence of socially conservative tendencies amongst both government and opposition parties. The party's platform of cultural liberalism and environmental action has seen it rise to prominence on the back of support from younger generations on the island, and has been the party most active in promoting political engagement in the youth. The party's take on promoting equality and social progress notably allowed it to surpass the previously major Worker's Front for Democracy, which emerged in the 1940s as a more conventional left-wing party of the labour movement. The Worker's Front for Democracy, known by the abbreviation AFD, historically focused on the interests of blue-collar workers - supporting the creation of trade unions, increased worker's rights and safety standards in the workplace. Though originally socialist in nature, the party became dominated by a more economically moderate and patriotic faction which could be more accepted by the Vistarian population. This, however, led the AFD towards taking stances in support for protecting Vistarian and Suvan workers from underpaid work from migrants or the indigenous population, causing the party to shift towards the right in terms of social policy. Another party which shares its small seat count with the AFD is the Missionary Association, a party that exists both in Ankbhaja and Blokkarim Island. The association was originally formed as a pressure group founded by predominantly Vierist missionaries with the aim of instilling Ademarist values into the political system, and would emerge as a anti-secular party promoting a government inspired by religious values alongside a social market economy, mirroring the contemporary Moral Ademarist Centre. The party primarily competes with the Imperial Conservatives, arguing the party has strayed too far from the expression of religious values in governance and opposing deregulation.
While persisting as the smallest party currently in the Municipal Council, the Burimyner-Suvan Reformist League serves as an important player in the island's politics, acting as its sole pro-independence party, as well as historically the party most successful in protecting and securing rights for the Suvan population on the island. Formed in 1912 as a group opposed to Vistari rule on the island and seeing the War of Imperial Succession as a route to independence, the party grew in popularity in its first few years as a way of resisting the new administration, before its eventual decline culminating in the Suvan Exclusion Act of 1922. which would suspend electoral rights for the party's base. Following a successful petition to the Vorpestian Government to repeal this act in 1931, the party would enjoy continued but limited success as a movement to maintain Suvan traditional hierarchies and restore the culture of the island preceding the influx of Vistarian people.