Accepted: Ambassadorial | The Republican Kingdom of Grand and Belluterra

The modern state of Grand was founded in 1579 by sailors from Sir Francis Drake's voyage of circumnavigation. They had been left on the island as colonists to claim the island in the name of Queen Elizabeth. A few years later, Spanish explorers were shipwrecked on the island. It wasn't long before the Colonists (who had intermarried with the Natives) and the Spanish met. A conflict arose between them, in which the Colonists emerged victorious. From this conflict, the Kingdom of Grand was born.
The Spaniards were confined to a small area around the lagoon where they had been shipwrecked, but it was not the last time they were heard of. Over a century later, British soldiers arrived in Grand, and quickly proceeded to conquer Grand, and when they had done so, executed their King and most of their nobility and officers. This incensed the Grandians, who subsequently started a rebellion, which fizzled along quietly for a few years until 1734, when it broke out in full force.
After a long and extremely bloody war of liberation, and pressured by the need for their troops in the 13 colonies, the British surrendered in the autumn of 1776. After this event, the King embarked on a reconstruction program, which had restored it to most of it's former glory by 1798. They also started to expand the power of the kingdom beyond the east coast. In 1790, however, a group of liberally-minded Grandians decided to secede from the Kingdom and create a republic, the Republic of Belluterra. The king took this peacefully. His only son died a few years later, ending the Roberts dynasty. A period of war and anarchy followed, with seven different claimants to the throne, Spanish raids from the south, Belluterran invasions from the north, and hostile natives (not like the natives they had mixed with) taking back territory conquered from them earlier. Eventually, this period came to a close in 1812 with the election of Daniel Peters as King Daniel I. Once he became king, he changed his surname to Petersroy, founding the current dynasty. He started many reforms, including the drafting of the Grandian constitution. He also managed a deal with Belluterra in 1845, where the two countries would merge, but at the same time, keep most of their sovereignty. This arrangement would end in 1869.
In that year, Belluterra, now at the height of its power, and more powerful than Grand, allied itself with the Spaniards and launched an invasion of Grand. Grand, which wasn't expecting it and had dismissed the vast majority of it's army, lost battle after battle, culminating in the disatrous battles of Long Island (1871) and Mousford (1873). The fall of Mousford prompted the Crown Prince to negotiate. Belluterra's terms were harsh - Grand was required to give up most of the strategic and wealthy Duchy of Mantaines, in addition to all territory north of the Dry Mountains. It was largely this event that fueled the emnity between Grand and Belluterra that has only been partly defused in the last few years.
When World War I (1914-1919) broke out, Belluterra allied itself with Britain and France. Grand took this as an opportunity to gain the territory it had lost during ths Second Island War, and subsequently declared war on Belluterra and allied itself with the German Empire. It rapidly made big gains in Belluterra, which had gone into decline. When the US entered the war on the side of the allies, Grad took this as an opportunity to take the coveted Hawaiian Islands. It was this mistake that led to it's downfall. The United States immediately retaliated by invading Grand, therby coming to Belluterra's aid, for the Grandians were just outside the capital. After the war, Grand was annexed to the Territory of Hawaii, while Belluterra was restored to its pre-WWI boundaries and allowed to keep it's independence.
During World War II (1939-1945), Grand saw little action, except for bombing of some of the naval facilities by the Japanese in 1942. After the war, the movement for independence grew, and in 1949, was granted independence again. Soon after the war, the Communists came to Belluterra, and quickly formented a successful revolution there. They soon invaded Grand, in the hopes of communizing Grand, and then reuniting the two countries. The war resulted in heavy losses on both sides, and the destruction of some of the most ancient Grandian landmarks, but in the end, Grand got back all the territory it had lost in the Second Island War, and then some. In 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, it's main backer, the Belluterrans decided to overthrow the Communist government, which they did in the spring of 1992. In 1997, the Belluterrans elected a new president, Alex Fisher, who advocated closer ties with Grand, and if possible, partial union. Still, it wasn't until the assecion of King Daniel IV to the throne in late 1997 that overtures began to be made from the Grandian side as well. Eventually, Grand and Belluterra were united again, at last, under one Emperor, on August 11th, 1998.


National Anthems: God Save The King and This Great Island
Capital: Mousford
Population: 5,792,297
Official language(s): Khwint, Hawaiian
Official religion: Christianity
Life expectancy: 69 years
Population per physician: 172.49
Population per hospital bed: 5.79
Number of elementary students per teacher: 11.73
Form of government: Constitutional monarchy de jure, socialist absolute monarchy de facto
Head of State (current): King-Emperor (King-Emperor Daniel IV & I)
Head of Government;
Administrative: King-Emperor
Legislative: King-Emperor, Consul
Judicial: King-Emperor
Legislature: Unicameral legislature
Voting qualifications: All men at age 16, all unmarried women at age 15
Constitution: April 30, 1815, effective July 1, 1815
Armed forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Royal Guard, Police de facto (The police service is a branch of the Royal Guard)
Total number of military personnel: 1,100,000
First-level political divisions: 8 duchies, 1 autonomous republic, 1 royal duchy, 1 Spanish province
GDP: 1,102,772,000,000.00 enieos / 2,205,544,000,000.00 US dollars
GDP per capita: 190,385.96 enieos / 380,771.91 US dollars
Unemployment rate: 00.25%
Monetary unit: Royal decigre, divided into 100 francises


The Republican Kingdom is headed by a King-Emperor (currently Daniel IV & I), who has complete jurisdiction over the entire nation. Legislative power is nominally held by the Imperial Parliament of Grand, but in reality, they can’t do anything without the King-Emperor’s approval. The judicial system is similar, except that the King himself is one of the justices. If anything should happen to the King that incapacitates him, the next in line to the throne shall become King-Emperor-Regent temporarily. There is also a Regency Council, composed of the 9 Dukes from the 9 Duchies, the Ministers of the Royal Council, the General Overseer of La-Mer Province, and the Consul (the nominal head of Parliament), which is only active, however, if the reigning King-Emperor is 15 or younger.
The Louwahkutapaht, or the head of the Church of Grand, also wields a large amount of power. There's also the Royal Council of Ministers, which gives the King advice on specific matters.
Belluterra, until recently, was an independent nation, but reunified with Grand in 1998. It's more of a democracy, but since the reunification, Grand is taking over more and more, with the support of Belluterran President Alex Fisher, who is currently running for his 4th term in office.


Current line of succession to the throne (top ten only, and women are excluded from the line of succession, although their male descendants are allowed in the line of succession):

1. His Royal Highness Prince Imperial Charles Petersroy, Count of Tranquil, Viscount Skarr, Viscount Creek (1993-) then his younger brother:
2. His Royal Highness Prince Luke Petersroy, Viscount Skarr, Viscount Creek, Lord of Entertainment (1996-) then his younger brother:
3. His Royal Highness Prince William Petersroy, Viscount Skarr, Viscount Creek (1999-) then his younger brother:
4. His Royal Highness Prince Michael Petersroy, Viscount Skarr, Viscount Creek (2010-) then his uncle:
5. His Royal Highness Prince Phillip Petersroy, Duke of Gaius, Count of Marsburgh (1978-) then his son:
6. His Royal Highness Prince Francis Petersroy, Viscount Marsburgh (1997-) then his younger brother:
7. His Royal Highness Prince Mark Petersroy, Viscount Marsburgh (2007-) then his younger brother:
8. His Royal Highness Prince John Alexander Petersroy, Viscount Marsburgh (2011-) then his uncle:
9. His Royal Highness Prince James Petersroy (1983-) then his younger brother:
10. His Royal Highness Prince John Petersroy (1983-) then his first cousin:

The culture of the Republican Kingdom is very diverse, caused by a mixture of Polynesian, English, American, Japanese, and several other cultures, resulting in a distinct culture found nowhere else.

Couples usually date for about a year before deciding to get married. The ‘normal’ age at which people get married can be anywhere from 16-25. However, it is legal, but quite rare, for people to get married at 15. Parents usually have a major role in choosing a partner for their child. However, they can choose a partner completely by themselves, although this is relatively rare. An increasingly common way of choosing a spouse is for the child to find one by himself or herself, and then for the parents to give their approval.
The preparations for the wedding of a couple begin one year before the actual date of the beginning of the wedding. The couple to be married announces their engagement, usually before the local priest and possibly before some of their relatives. They then send an order to the Imperial Brewery for a certain amount of opeimien drink (described later), usually 3,000 liters, to be prepared for the wedding.
The actual physical preparations (besides the opeimien order) begin one month before the beginning of the wedding. The church, which preferably has a large open space around it, has a large circular platform, 5-10 meters in diameter, with a second ring-shaped platform around it, constructed on the church grounds, while the relatives and friends of the couple assist them with the selection and purchase of a suitable home and also things they might need.
On the first day of the wedding, there is a grand feast set on the ring platform, while lively dancing takes place on the circular platform. The bridegroom wears dark blue, yellow, and red in any combination he chooses, while the bride wears green, purple, and brown in any combination she chooses. A few of the many dishes included in the feast include shasse awalow, shasse stapaw, pwakeoik, and stapaw, not to mention the traditional wedding drink, opeimien. The guests and the couple don’t leave that evening, but spend the night in special underground chambers featured in every Grandian church especially for the occasion.
On the second day of the wedding, the festivities continue, with many popular games added to them. This time however, the dances are not as lively, and are calmer instead. The colors of the bride and the bridegroom are also switched. That evening, they perform a dance for their guests on top of the circular platform, and afterwards, they are given the equivalent in decigres of $2,000 by the local viscount (the Grandian equivalent of Mayor), or, if he isn’t able to attend, one of his officials. After this, they all retire to bed.
On the third day of the wedding, all the men at the wedding, including the bridegroom, priest, viscount et al, literally wear silver clothes, while all the women at the wedding, including the bride, literally wear golden clothes. The feasting, games, and dancing go on as usual, with the dancing livelier than ever, and that evening, after a final opeimien toast, the two crown each other, the bride with a crown of date fronds, and the bridegroom with a crown of mulberry branches. They are then paraded by torchlight through the streets, finally arriving at the newlyweds’ home, which has been prepared for them by their relatives. After they bring all the wedding gifts into the house, the newlyweds are left to themselves.
Husbands can have up to six wives, although they are required to treat them all equally, which leaves the average married man with one wife. The father is the undisputed head of the family, although the mother also has a large say in how the household is run. Large families are very common, with the average family having anywhere from 4 to 8 children. However, more and more families are having 9+ children, because of special benefits offered by the government for doing so. Unmarried children usually live with their parents after they turn 15, until their 18th birthday, by which time they are expected to find a house and a job. Family ties are strong, and it is traditional for there to be a get-together for the family at least every year. Because large families are so common in Grand, it is not uncommon for a get-together to have 100+ guests.

The area’s abundance of indigenous fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices, along with some imported ones, plus the abundance of imported cows, sheep, and other animals, provides for some delicious national dishes. The most popular dish, pune stew, is made from bunnies that are kept and specially treated until they are one year old. They are then killed, and their meat is dried for three days. It is then stewed, and mixed with a plethora of different other ingredients, which vary from region to region, but always include such things as dried dates, lettuce, kuphmuphekell (traditional bread), and beef. Equal to pune stew is phusaak malsai, which is pheasant stuffed with keta (a local fruit), dates, apples, and raisins, and then placed on a large dish decorated with lettuce, tomatoes, aktis berries, and multiple bunches of grapes.
Other common traditional dishes include: Shasse awalow (kuphmuphekell baked with cheese inside a hollow area in the center), shasse stapaw (shasse awalow with minced lamb stuffed inside), pwakeoik (special mulberry-filled cookies served warm, with butter), stapaw (small loaves of kuphmuphekell filled with minced beef, and occasionally some vegetables.), and kuntishaleet (frozen-solid yoghurt mixed with fruit and jam). It is taboo to eat such foods as pork, as well as shrimp, oysters, and most other seafood, although generally, fish is fine.
Opeimien is a special drink officially brewed only by the Imperial Brewery. There are two variants: Standard (or nuptial) opeimien and Imperial (or visitor’s) opeimien. Standard opeimien is prepared like this: The best Grandian Date Wine is taken from each duchy, plus the Autonomous Republic of Belluterra, and brought to the Imperial Brewery, where it is mixed with the best mulberry wine, also taken from every duchy and the Autonomous Republic. This in turn, is mixed with a combination of the best aged mulberry wine taken from every duchy and the Autonomous Republic and the best aged date wine taken from every duchy and the Autonomous Republic. This, in turn, is aged for one year, until the day of the beginning of the wedding ceremony. The leftovers from the ceremony are kept and delicately aged until the seventh anniversary celebrations, when the rest of it is drunk.
Imperial opeimien is prepared in a similar fashion to the method described above, but without any aging involved. This is the opeimien sold to visitors and tourists. Anyone who wishes to try Standard opeimien must come as a guest to a Grandian wedding, since it is illegal to sell Standard opeimien, and anyone caught doing so may be given a sentence of anywhere from five years in the treasure mines to the maximum penalty of death.
People usually eat three meals a day. For breakfast, or pookish, a small meal, consisting of mulberry wine, kuntishaleet, pwakeoik, and kuphmuphekell, is common. For the afternoon meal of khphansh, foods such as pune stew, shasse awalow, stapaw, pwakeoik, and date wine are the norm. The evening meal, ooph, is the largest meal of the day, and tends to be similar to khphansh, but without the stew, and in its place, shasse stapaw. The meal is finished off with Imperial opeimien and a massive fruit salad.
When eating, Grandians hold their fork in their right hand and their knife in their left hand. It is also the custom to hold their cup with their right hand. Failure to do so is considered extremely impolite. Guests do not serve themselves, but are served by the host instead. Restaurants are generally considered inferior to home cooking (with the notable exceptions of French, Italian, and Grandian restaurants) and are therefore usually frequented only by people who work at a place where there isn’t a little diner, or by tourists.

Grandians greet by shaking hands, followed by an embrace among friends and acquaintances. They then say, “Aieo, (person’s name) pe kut with on und” (Hello, (person’s name) is good with his own friends), unless it’s a stranger, in which case they say, “Aieo, ankuh, il ee pe und me?” (Hello, stranger, will you be friends with me?) The traditional reply to the first one is “As, me pe kut with me und” (Yes, I am good with my friends), and a typical reply to the second is “As me il” (Yes I will).
When passing a stranger, a nod of the head and a smile are adequate. When passing acquaintances, one adds a simple greeting such as moaning (morning), apenun (afternoon), or kettish (evening). When addressing an important official, one uses the appropriate title(s) with a full name. In most other cases, people use first names to address one another.
Grandians may spend a large portion of each day visiting, often stopping in at the home of a relative or friend to share some food, play a game, or chew aktis shells and discuss the day’s news. Even unexpected visitors are welcomed. Visits are usually informal and often lengthy. Gifts are not expected, although visitors often bring a gift of food, especially if their hosts have brought them a gift on a previous occasion. Visits from relatives can last days or weeks, with the host family providing food and shelter for as long as the guests stay.

The most popular sports in Grand are baseball, hunting, soccer, tennis, and surfing (not always in that order). Visiting friends and relatives is one of the most popular leisure activities throughout Grand, second only to visiting the sunny beaches of Imperial Bay, and solo hunting.
It is common during large social gatherings to recite stories from local history and lore. Local music is also popular, with many of the lyrics taken from history and legend, and many famous Grandian singers and groups, such as Marie Willie, jonDYman, Paulo & the Kinsmen, and several others, got their career started as being local bards and pahteens (the Khwint word for a female bard). Dancing is also a central part of Grandian life.

The nation is filled with holidays. Most of them commemorate an important historical event, but quite a few have a religious origin, while some don’t fit into either category. Some of the biggest ones include: New Year’s Day (1 January), Saint Francis’ Day (10 February), The King’s Birthday (currently 19 February), Fom Day (16 March), National Humility Day (day before Good Friday), Good Friday (Friday before Easter), Easter (Astronomical Easter), Heir Day (currently 24 April), Alliance Day (24 April), Feast of the Summer Sun (14-20 or 15-21 June), Freedom Day (31 July), Victory over the Spanish Day (23 August), Independence Day (1 September), Coronation Day (21 September), Fom Martyrs Day (21 September), Affirmation Day (27 October), British Invasion Day (1 November), Beginning of Liberation Day (7 November), Day of the Sea (16 December), Feast of the Returning Sun (15-21 or 16-22 December), Christmas Day (25 December), Reflection Day (31 December)

You have improved a great deal since you last applied, very nice job.

Thank you! I've actually surprised myself, because with the ITL and all, I thought I wouldn't be able to reapply until July...

It's a lot better than the last one... Some captions on the pictures would be nice but the pictures themselves are good, and you can always add them in within your city journal. So with that said I think I am going to open it up for voting

I've voted YES!

Very Nice! You've improved so much!

I vote Yes!

Voted.

?My only question is where will you be on Adonia. Anyways, voted.

Someone voted and didn't no announce that they did so, could that person please state that they have voted?

Ok, so to answer your question about where I'll be on Adonia, I'll be on Earth, and also have a dependency on Adonia. I'll have Malo, on the Alcadean Sea. I'd like it to be renamed "Grand Adonia", however.

Oh, and idk if this is applicable or not, but here's the flag of Grand Adonia:



The green symbolizes land, the blue represents sea, the red represents the (morning) air, and the CoA represents Grand's ownership of all three.



Also, I was thinking how to realistically have my country on Earth and Adonia, and I found a solution. But first, I need to know where in Space is Adonia? Is it in the Solar System (i.e. Counter-Earth)? Because that's what my solution relies upon.

I think you would be better off just moving to Adonia entirely. It won't affect your AIN observership at all.

Note for admins: For some reason observers can vote. You might want to change the permissions again? I get the impression that might be how someone else managed to vote and not say. I'm not going to vote.

Well, the reason I'm not moving entirely to Adonia is because it would totally mess up my history, which I've spent weeks working on. Some examples of RL events that affect my history, which wouldn't make sense if I totally moved to Adonia: Discovery by Sir Francis Drake; Occupation by the British, lasting nearly 100 years; Grandian involvement in the War of the Austrian Succession; Grand siding with Germany, and Belluterra siding with Great Britain in World War I, ending with Grand (NOT Belluterra) annexed to the Territory of Hawaii after their defeat; Active participation in the Cold War, culminating in the Third Island War, not to mention tensions between "Spanish Grandians" and "True Grandians".

Unless you can find a suitable substitute for all of these, I'll remain both on Earth and Adonia.

I can't see it being possible for you to be on Earth and Adonia. Firstly because nobody else in the USNW is on earth, and from what I understand Adonia is in a parallel universe.

Thomas: It allows observers to vote because we're to lazy to change it back and forth everytime there's a different type of application, which is why you're required to say voted or your vote doesn't count.

Daniel: I'm not sure about this, so I'll have to talk to Jon.

I get your point, Daniel.... a good idea that someone in UCOM did was apply for membership on earth, and then implement a move to the new planet in the city journal, and eventually move to the UCOM Planet. I agree with Thomas, having a colony on Adonia and a country on Earth is going to be very tough, especially in the city journal.

Ok. My solution (assuming Adonia is a Counter-Earth) was to use a space shuttle variant for phyisical communication (this mode would take about 6 months average to get from one planet to another), and radio for audio and visual communication (this mode is almost instantaneous)

I saw that UCOM thing, and well, it's kind of unrealistic, unless Massaria is also a counter-earth , especially since the Saturn V, with a manned payload, could go no further then Mars...

Well the difficulty is there really isn't much connection between Adonia and Earth.Adonia is kind of a parallel Earth, but created just so our nations can role play with each other and the other created nations on Adonia uninhibited. I've seen your history, and I can definitely understand why you would want to stay on Earth, and that's fine, but having a dependency on Adonia gets kind of complicated. When Chip gets back from Tuscaloosa we'll have to talk about this (that means you too k50).

Ok. PM me when you're ready to discuss this (on skype, I presume?), OK?

I kind of also saw Adonia as in the same universe, and as a Counter-Earth, especialy since I wanted to role-play with my future nation to try and create a inter-Adonian/Earth transport. But I guess I can scratch that out of my plans. Daniel: Excellent application!!! It looks GREAT!!! No doubt about it, and I'm sure you'll get into USNW!

@Stan: It' looks like it hasn't been finalized yet, so you can keep those plans for the transport for now

(Just make sure it can be done with current technology )

What's up with the application?

You need one more yes vote.

After discussion between me and Chip, we have decided to accept your application on a 4-0-1 vote. So, congratulations, and WELCOME TO THE USNW you are now an ambassadorial member

Thank you everyone!

Voted.