Iansisle
22-02-2008, 10:29
Just one year after the elections that had catapulted him to power, Nicodemo Ranalte’s popularity on the Shield remained undeniable. West of MacMillan Street in Ianapalis, his picture backed by the Gull Flag hung from nearly every building. The captions read “Peace. Stability. Ranalte.” Those three words summed up the president’s platform nearly perfectly.
Although few dared mention it, those goals had been met largely at the expense of the ideals of the Bradsworthian Revolution. Iansisle under Ranalte was a far more totalitarian state than it had ever been under the ancien régime. Under the Constitution of 1959, power was neatly concentrated in the hands of the president and few realistically expected to see a name other than Ranalte’s ever on the ballot.
One did not, however, in Iansisle see the brutal oppression in other similarly undemocratic nations. Ranalte was supported more than anything by his immense popularity and the great willingness of the people to be led. It was not that the Iansislean population naturally drifted towards dictators, just that they were exhausted after eight years of revolution, massacres, internecine strife, martial law and two invasions. The Shieldian economy, once the powerhouse of Tilsitia, had fallen in complete shambles and the population had almost suffered their worst famine since the creation of the Grand Empire three hundred years ago.
Ranalte, already famous as the man who defeated the Tyrant-King and drove the Effitians out of the Jaizar Valley, had removed the bickering, paralyzed National Assembly from its prime role and used an election scandal to imprison the leaders of the dissenting Radical faction. With complete power, he had taken steps to secure food imports and averted the immediate economic crisis. He had also reinvigorated both the heavily indebted treasury and the miniscule workforce by demobilizing vast swathes of the Iansislean armed forces. At no point since the Effitian invasion in 1954 had the Shieldian armed forces been so small. The Flying Corps had been forced to mothball hundreds of older aircraft; the army had been reduced by roughly half, to about 235,000 men; and the Navy had laid up in ordinary all but three of its battleships -- only Indomitable, Resolute, and Sanguine remained in commission.
The ‘peace’ part of Ranalte’s program was the only one that remained strictly questionable. Within months of his taking power, revolutions toppled the governments of nearby Noropia, Tharia, and Troobodia. Shieldian soldiers were sent in all three cases and republics closely aligned with Ianapalis were set up. It is true, however, that Ranalte carried through on his ‘Quit Gallaga’ program, resulting in Iansisle’s largest colony being set up as an independent, self-governing Republic with Hiresh Dhawan as the first president. Nonetheless, the Gallagan republic -- just like the Noropian, Troobodian, and Tharian ones -- was closely tied to the Gull Flag Republic through the new ‘Iansislean Federation’ -- a new alliance of former Shieldian states allied defensively and economically. Although all of the four republics are nominally equal within the Federation, no one doubts that it is Ranalte’s government which truly speaks for the group as a whole.
One sour note in Ranalte’s symphony is provided by Wyclyfe, a tiny independent state of just about one million ethnic Shieldians almost completely enclosed by the Gull Flag Republic. When the Grand Empire collapsed before Bradsworth’s revolution, little Wyclyfe -- penetrated perhaps more heavily than any other area by Igovian thought -- had its own revolution. The little Igovian state was then supplied with a small store of modern weapons by the Igovian Soviet Commonwealth of Beth Gellert. Although the Republic has blockaded access to Wyclyfe for almost five years, Ranalte remains cautious in the face of Beddgelern technology. He seems to prefer to wait the small state out, counting on its isolation from the rest of the world and its shared ethnic bonds with the rest of the Republic to effect a peaceful reunification.
Little of this is discussed, however, in Ranalte’s address to the National Assembly of July 1960, broadcast nationally and internationally on the first anniversary of his presidency. He reflects on the successes of the previous year and speculates to a peaceful, prosperous future with Iansislean prestige, economic competitiveness, and diplomacy once again dominant on the world stage.
“We are at a critical juncture of history,” he concluded. “The turmoil and strife of the previous decade are now behind us and, with the effort and dedication of every citizen from the upper Jaizar to Cape MacMillan, we shall restore the prosperity which lies beneath the very soil of the Shield. With the help of our friends across the Federation, we shall not fail to assure the greatest mutual prosperity. We shall all work together to make these next ten years glorious ones -- a Gull Flag decade.”
((ooc: Basically, a reintroduction to the world. I’ve been away from NS for some time now and find myself in the peculiar position of knowing very few people. If you are interested in diplomatic relations with the Gull Flag Republic, please post here!
PS: I know the dates here might be some 45-50 years before your nation ‘exists’. Not to worry! Iansisle sits on a rift in the space-time continuum that allows us, a past tech nation, to exist and roleplay with MT, PMT, and FT nations all at once. I hate having my options limited by something so mundane as time ;-P
PPS: The words ‘the Shield’/‘Iansisle’/‘the Gull Flag Republic’ and ‘Iansislean’/‘Shieldian’ are used fairly interchangeably. In absolute terms, Iansisle / Iansislean refers to anyone from the Republic. The Shield and Shieldian refers to the specific ethnicity which dominates, but is by no means exclusive, in the Republic. The Gull Flag Republic is a common nickname for the Republic of Iansisle.
PPPS: In case the history is a little foggy in the prose above, here’s the recent events in a nutshell: about eight years ago, the Grand Empire of Iansisle was overthrown by a revolution led by Charles Bradsworth. Initially, King James agreed with Bradsworth and everything was hunky-dory. After a time, however, James became dissatisfied with the radicalization of the National Assembly and fled. The Republic was declared, James was captured by Ranalte, a dashing young general then, and hanged. However, things went from bad to worse as wars and economic disaster rocked the Shield. The Assembly was not able to maintain cohesion after Bradsworth was executed and Ranalte, in a bloodless coup d’etat, took power and wrote a new constitution to favor himself. Things gradually began to get better and here we are now.
PPPPS: that was the really, really short version.
PPPPPS: I’m working on a map that should help clear everything up.))
Although few dared mention it, those goals had been met largely at the expense of the ideals of the Bradsworthian Revolution. Iansisle under Ranalte was a far more totalitarian state than it had ever been under the ancien régime. Under the Constitution of 1959, power was neatly concentrated in the hands of the president and few realistically expected to see a name other than Ranalte’s ever on the ballot.
One did not, however, in Iansisle see the brutal oppression in other similarly undemocratic nations. Ranalte was supported more than anything by his immense popularity and the great willingness of the people to be led. It was not that the Iansislean population naturally drifted towards dictators, just that they were exhausted after eight years of revolution, massacres, internecine strife, martial law and two invasions. The Shieldian economy, once the powerhouse of Tilsitia, had fallen in complete shambles and the population had almost suffered their worst famine since the creation of the Grand Empire three hundred years ago.
Ranalte, already famous as the man who defeated the Tyrant-King and drove the Effitians out of the Jaizar Valley, had removed the bickering, paralyzed National Assembly from its prime role and used an election scandal to imprison the leaders of the dissenting Radical faction. With complete power, he had taken steps to secure food imports and averted the immediate economic crisis. He had also reinvigorated both the heavily indebted treasury and the miniscule workforce by demobilizing vast swathes of the Iansislean armed forces. At no point since the Effitian invasion in 1954 had the Shieldian armed forces been so small. The Flying Corps had been forced to mothball hundreds of older aircraft; the army had been reduced by roughly half, to about 235,000 men; and the Navy had laid up in ordinary all but three of its battleships -- only Indomitable, Resolute, and Sanguine remained in commission.
The ‘peace’ part of Ranalte’s program was the only one that remained strictly questionable. Within months of his taking power, revolutions toppled the governments of nearby Noropia, Tharia, and Troobodia. Shieldian soldiers were sent in all three cases and republics closely aligned with Ianapalis were set up. It is true, however, that Ranalte carried through on his ‘Quit Gallaga’ program, resulting in Iansisle’s largest colony being set up as an independent, self-governing Republic with Hiresh Dhawan as the first president. Nonetheless, the Gallagan republic -- just like the Noropian, Troobodian, and Tharian ones -- was closely tied to the Gull Flag Republic through the new ‘Iansislean Federation’ -- a new alliance of former Shieldian states allied defensively and economically. Although all of the four republics are nominally equal within the Federation, no one doubts that it is Ranalte’s government which truly speaks for the group as a whole.
One sour note in Ranalte’s symphony is provided by Wyclyfe, a tiny independent state of just about one million ethnic Shieldians almost completely enclosed by the Gull Flag Republic. When the Grand Empire collapsed before Bradsworth’s revolution, little Wyclyfe -- penetrated perhaps more heavily than any other area by Igovian thought -- had its own revolution. The little Igovian state was then supplied with a small store of modern weapons by the Igovian Soviet Commonwealth of Beth Gellert. Although the Republic has blockaded access to Wyclyfe for almost five years, Ranalte remains cautious in the face of Beddgelern technology. He seems to prefer to wait the small state out, counting on its isolation from the rest of the world and its shared ethnic bonds with the rest of the Republic to effect a peaceful reunification.
Little of this is discussed, however, in Ranalte’s address to the National Assembly of July 1960, broadcast nationally and internationally on the first anniversary of his presidency. He reflects on the successes of the previous year and speculates to a peaceful, prosperous future with Iansislean prestige, economic competitiveness, and diplomacy once again dominant on the world stage.
“We are at a critical juncture of history,” he concluded. “The turmoil and strife of the previous decade are now behind us and, with the effort and dedication of every citizen from the upper Jaizar to Cape MacMillan, we shall restore the prosperity which lies beneath the very soil of the Shield. With the help of our friends across the Federation, we shall not fail to assure the greatest mutual prosperity. We shall all work together to make these next ten years glorious ones -- a Gull Flag decade.”
((ooc: Basically, a reintroduction to the world. I’ve been away from NS for some time now and find myself in the peculiar position of knowing very few people. If you are interested in diplomatic relations with the Gull Flag Republic, please post here!
PS: I know the dates here might be some 45-50 years before your nation ‘exists’. Not to worry! Iansisle sits on a rift in the space-time continuum that allows us, a past tech nation, to exist and roleplay with MT, PMT, and FT nations all at once. I hate having my options limited by something so mundane as time ;-P
PPS: The words ‘the Shield’/‘Iansisle’/‘the Gull Flag Republic’ and ‘Iansislean’/‘Shieldian’ are used fairly interchangeably. In absolute terms, Iansisle / Iansislean refers to anyone from the Republic. The Shield and Shieldian refers to the specific ethnicity which dominates, but is by no means exclusive, in the Republic. The Gull Flag Republic is a common nickname for the Republic of Iansisle.
PPPS: In case the history is a little foggy in the prose above, here’s the recent events in a nutshell: about eight years ago, the Grand Empire of Iansisle was overthrown by a revolution led by Charles Bradsworth. Initially, King James agreed with Bradsworth and everything was hunky-dory. After a time, however, James became dissatisfied with the radicalization of the National Assembly and fled. The Republic was declared, James was captured by Ranalte, a dashing young general then, and hanged. However, things went from bad to worse as wars and economic disaster rocked the Shield. The Assembly was not able to maintain cohesion after Bradsworth was executed and Ranalte, in a bloodless coup d’etat, took power and wrote a new constitution to favor himself. Things gradually began to get better and here we are now.
PPPPS: that was the really, really short version.
PPPPPS: I’m working on a map that should help clear everything up.))