Vaarstato
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Principality of Vaarschaft Fürstentum Vaarschaft | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
 A map of Vaarschaft (pink) within Arkalarius (white) | |
| Capital and largest city | Vaarhagen |
| Official languages | Arkian |
| Recognised national languages | Asendavian Tretridian |
| Ethnic groups (2021) | Human 99% Other 1% |
| Demonym(s) | Vaar |
| Government | Parliamentary elective monarchy and federated state |
• Princess | Anna-Kristina Henschel de Vaar |
• First Minister | Szabina Tóth |
• Kaiserin | Ilse Erika von Freyaelv |
• Federal Chancellor | Ludwig Noske |
| Legislature | Legislative Assembly |
| Establishment | |
• First settled by Tretrid | 1442 CE |
• Seizure by Asendavia | 1657 CE |
• Principality of Vaarschaft Established | May 16th, 1702 CE |
• Arkalarian confederation | August 23rd, 1751 CE |
| Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 5,106,017 |
| Currency | Note (ARK) |
| Driving side | right |
The Principality of Vaarschaft (Arkian: Fürstentum Vaarschaft; sometimes given in Staynish-Codexian as the archaic "Vaarshire") is one of the several dozen sovereign nations that make up the Arkian Empire. It is comprised of city of Vaarhalden (also known as New Zelkova) and the city's outlying areas along the coast to its northeast, as well as the island of Kleinvaar, which is approximately 160km to the city's northeast. Vaarhalden is one of the largest cities in the region of north-central Arkalarius, while the outlying areas of the principality—especially the island of Kleinvaar, which is typically called just "Vaar" by its inhabitants—are generally rural. The island of Kleinvaar in particular is home to a significant tourism-based economy, while agriculture is dominant in other rural areas of the principality. Like the Arkian Empire itself, Vaarschaft is an elective monarchy, with the Prince or Princess (Arkian: Fürst or Fürstin) elected for life by the population of the state.
History
Tretridian Rule
Like the rest of Arkalarius, the area that is now Vaarschaft has been inhabited for thousands of years. The city of Vaarhagen itself was inititally settled by Tretridians as part of Tretridian West Novaris in 1442. At that time, the city was known by the name Farhagan, alternately spelled as Fahrhagan or Forhagan, of which "Vaarhagen" is a direct transliteration. Hagan, or hagen in Arkian and modern Staynish-Codexian, means "wood enclosed by a hedge" or "hedged enclosure" generally. Vaar, typically spelled in Tretridian as far, fahr, or for, is believed to be a loanword adopted from the name given to the region by earlier inhabitants whose meaning is now lost, as the double vowel was not a linguistic feature of the Tretridian language at that time. The city thrived as a major Tretridian port city until the War of the Tretridian Succession, when Tretrid lost the city as well as the vast majority of its colonial holdings. Farhagan was seized by Asendavia in 1657 and renamed to New Zelkova.
Asendavian Rule
As New Zelkova, the city and its environs became strategically important to Asendavia as one of the major ports from which it could bring in supplies to the rest of its colonial holdings in modern-day Arkalarius. During the period of Asendavian rule, the city was governed by a series of various nobles appointed by the Asendavian crown. The position was useful to the Kaisers as a sinecure, often given to people with whom the Kaiser sought to gain favor, often without regard to actual administrative ability. As a result, the people of New Zelkova (especially the ethnic Tretridians still living there) often chafed under Asendavian rule, and unrest was common. In 1688, the Lord-Mayor of New Zelkova, Ilmar Haugen, was killed in a riot due largely to a series of food shortages that were blamed on Haugen's decision to impose a particularly high import duty. As a result, Asendavia fortified the city with a significant military presence, which would remain for the duration of Asendavian rule but which largely served to exacerbate the problem of local anger towards the Asendavian administration. This anger was further escalated by the imposition of the Asendavian language on the largely Tretridian-speaking population and the suppression of the Asatru religion in favor of Ademarism. Over the course of Asendavian rule, at least four Lord-Mayors would be assassinated, with another two deaths unconfirmed but suspected to have been caused by poisoning.
Prince Johannes' Rebellion and Independence
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In 1699, the largest popular uprising in the city's history overthrew the Lord-Mayor and seized the city's central keep, which the rebels renamed "the Palace of Vaar." The revolt was known initially as the Vaar Uprising. Unlike previous rebellions, the sheer number of people who were willing to take up arms against the Asendavian authorities was beyond what the local military garrisons could handle themselves. By the spring of 1700, the city was de facto independent, with no surviving Asendavian governing officials present in the city and the Asendavian garrisons almost entirely depleted. Many of the Asendavian soldiers chose to lay down arms and join the Vaar Uprising themselves. However, a major reinforcement of Asendavian troops arrived in the fall of 1701 and led to a brutal, grueling military campaign over that winter and into the spring of 1702 in which at least 10,000 people were killed. Over the course of what became known as the Bloody Winter, delegates from the city of New Zelkova and its surrounding areas came together as the Diet of Vaarhagen and declared independence from Asendavia as the Principality of Vaarshire on January 6th, 1702.
The first Prince of Vaarshire was Johannes of Crogford, a farmer and owner of a large estate (Crogford, meaning "saffron river ford" or "orange river ford," both referring to a color) who had been among the first to call for a declaration of outright independence and who had served as one of the primary military leaders of the rebellion. In addition to contributing large numbers of soldiers from among his own tenant farmers, he himself served on the "front lines" and lost a leg in combat during the Bloody Winter. He was enormously popular among both upper and lower-class members of the rebellion, and was selected as monarch by the Diet of Vaarhagen unanimously. While the Diet had initially proposed that Johannes be named King and the state be named Kingdom of Vaarschaft, the titles Prince and Principality were chosen at Johannes' insistence, with records of the Diet indicating that Johannes' modesty prevented him from accepting a title "as lofty and beyond reproach as 'King.'" After the Diet of Vaarschaft, the conflict with Asendavia became popularly known as Prince Johannes' Rebellion. After his election, Johannes took the name Johannes de Vaar, a tradition that is still kept by modern leaders of the principality. The usage of the article de was adopted by Johannes for unknown reasons, and is not gramatically correct in either the Tretridian, Asendavian, or Arkian languages.
After the Diet, outright combat would continue in Vaarschaft for five months. On May 2nd, a fire broke out in Vaarhagen that burned down a vast portion of the harborside district of the city, killing 5,000-6,000 people—at least half of the total casualities of the rebellion. Among the dead were almost all of the Asendavian garrison, which had been housed in two former warehouses at the harbor. Whether or not the fire was deliberately set in order to eliminate the Asendavian forces remains a debated question among historians, with no direct evidence yet discovered linking the rebels to the fire but several contemporary written sources on both sides suspecting that the fire had been intentional. With their forces once again depleted and the most economically valuable portions of the city in total ruin, Asendavia agreed to accept Vaar independence on the condition that the Principality pay reparations for the fire damage and agreeing to continue to allow Asendavian ships access to the port, as well as allowing ethnic Asendavians to continue to live in the city. Independence was ratified on May 16th, 1702, a date which is still celebrated as "Vaarschaft Day" in the principality. The name "Vaarschaft" was created to give a name to the country that was distinct from the name of the city of Vaarhagen.
Confederation with Arkalarius
While Asendavia respected the terms of independence and allowed Vaarschaft to administer its own affairs, the reparation payments consumed almost all of the new country's revenue, and it had little ability to restore the city of Vaarhagen. Prince Johannes died penniless in 1727 after donating all of his wealth to the state and even selling his family estate. Famously, he was initially buried in a pauper's cemetery with no gravemarker as he did not have enough money to be buried elsewhere. His body would not be rediscovered and reinterred until the year 2007, 280 years after his death. (His body is now entombed in a mausoleum at the Prince Johannes Gardens, a large park in the city center of Vaarhagen.) The principality also struggled to maintain a defensive force as it regularly failed to pay its soldiers. Concerned that Asendavia would take advantage of the opportunity and attempt to re-take the country, Vaarschaft reached out to and formed a close relationship with Ethalria, who had begun to colonize the former Tretridian West Novaris. There was a flood of Ethalrian economic development—and Ethalrian settlers—all throughout the early 18th century. Between the years 1700 and 1750, the Ethalrian population of Vaarschaft increased from less than 100 to more than 20,000.
In 1750, Arkalarius came into existence upon its independence from Ethalria. The Prince at that time, Johannes III, resisted calls to incorporate Vaarschaft into the Arkian Empire. However, Johannes III died later that year and his replacement, Prince Erik de Vaar, readily agreed to join the confederation, assured by Arkian authorities that the sovereignty of Vaarschaft would continue to be respected just as that of the other constituent states was respected. Joining the confederation meant formally abandoning the idea of Vaarschaft as a truly independent nation, but by as soon as 1761, Prince Erik's decision was hailed by all quarters of Vaarschaft as a wise decision that allowed sustained prosperity to return to the city and its surrounding areas. The reconstruction of the Harbor of Vaarhagen was declared complete in 1762 by King Johann in his only visit to the principality.
Incorporation of Kleinvaar Island
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The island of Kleinvaar, to the northeast of the city, was a particular target of Ethalrian settlers as soon as Asendavian rule ended. Asendavian authorities in New Zelkova administered the island, but it was viewed as a poor choice for settlement because of its rocky soil and uneven elevation. There were less than 2,000 inhabitants on the island at the time of Prince Johannes' Rebellion, all of whom were largely impoverished rural farmers. The government of independent Vaarschaft could never afford to formally settle the island, leaving it open for Ethalrians to settle even while it was still part of the independent country of Vaarschaft. It was one of the last places to be subject to a major settlement push by the Ethalrian crown before Arkalarian independence and, seemingly in recognition of this, buildings built on the island by Ethalrians were designed with a distinctly "Ethalrian" architectural style as a way of glorifying Ethalrian colonialism. This tradition is kept today, with very strict building regulations requiring all buildings to adhere to this style. The island's economy is based almost entirely on tourism, with its "old Ethalrian" aesthetic its primary attraction. Famously, motor vehicles are not allowed within the central business district of Kleinvaarstadt, the island's only city, with only horses or horse-drawn carriages permitted (excepting emergency vehicles).
Government
The government of Vaarschaft can be characterized as an elective monarchy within and subject to the overarching authority of the confederated Arkian Empire above it. The current Princess is Anna-Kristina Henschel de Vaar, elected in 2008. The Princess or Prince of Vaarschaft continues to be both the statutory and functioning chief executive of the principality, and is not considered to be a figurehead or symbolic leader. The institution of the Vaar elective monarchy is consistently popular among Vaar citizens, and is routinely more popular than the institution of the imperial crown of Arkalarius. The Princess does share power with an elected Legislative Assembly, which is commonly known (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) as Vaarliament, however the Princess holds the power of veto over most matters. The Princess prepares and proposes a budget which is ratified by Vaarliament, and must attain the support of Vaarliament to impose or raise taxes and to appoint judges to the principality's judiciary. Certain matters—namely anything to do with Vaarschaft's Constitutional relationship with Arkalarius as a whole—are entrusted to Vaarliament and not subject to a veto from the Princess. Beyond this, however, the Princess has broad authority to act unilaterally in many cases, in matters such as policing, the military, the structure of the executive branch of government, and even such things as eminent domain.
Members of Vaarliament are elected in regular elections every 4 years. The members elect one of their own to serve as First Minister, who assists in the administration of the principality and who serves independently of the princess or prince of the day. While the Vaar monarchy is expected to remain politically neutral and unaffiliated with any particular faction or party, the First Minister is invariably the leader of the largest party in Vaarliament. The job of First Minister is often derided as being "irrelevant" or even "useless" considering the monarch's executive authority, but the First Minister's consent is always required for any Constitutional changes, and law requires that the First Minister not only be kept aware but "be present for the making of all major decisions of state" and be allowed access to the monarch at all times. The First Minister is generally considered to be the political leader of Vaarschaft whose job is to represent the will and desire of the citizenry to the monarch.
Flag
The flag of Vaarschaft is something of a quirk in the history of flag design in that, while it uses only colors that are largely associated with Arkalarian vexillology and is almost identical to the flag used by the Arkian Confederation under George Gray (though upside-down), it was designed completely independently from these, with its similarity entirely coincidental. The design was drafted by the Diet of Vaarhagen with particular symbolism in mind. The red stripe at the bottom represents "the blood shed by Vaar patriots and countrymen during the rebellion," and it is placed at the bottom of the flag to indicate that "the sacrifice of our countrymen is the very foundation of the principality." The white stripe represents "freedom and independence," and it rests upon the red stripe to symbolize that "our freedoms were purchased by, and could not exist without, the sacrifices of those who came before us." At the top of the flag is a stripe of orange, known as "saffron," (Old Tretridian: crog) which represents "wealth and prosperity" but is also a nod to Prince Johannes de Vaar, with whom the color orange was associated because of his family estate at Crogford. The plant saffron cannot grow in Vaarschaft and both the plant and the color are believed to become associated with the estate and with Prince Johannes as an indicator of wealth and high status, with saffron being a remarkably expensive commodity.
The flag's design predates the existence of Arkalarius by 49 years, but due to Vaarschaft's small size, it is not well known outside of the principality. During the Civil War, it was often confused with either a display of allegiance with the West Arkian Republic (among those who did not know the Arkian Confederation flag had the colors reversed) or as a symbol of spite towards the West Arkian Republic (among those who thought the flag was simply West Arkia's flag flown deliberately upside down as a rejection of George Gray's authority.) Both Vaarliament and the princes of Vaarschaft have steadfastly refused to change the design, though there have been several proposals over the years to deface the flag with the principality's coat of arms or otherwise mark it as distinct from other flags. "Prince Johannes himself signed the resolution to make that flag our flag as his first action as head of our state, and so long as I breathe, his flag will remain our flag," said Princess Anna-Kristina as recently as 2017.