Flag: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/891764872394715156/891764903881363486/flag_7.png?width=1014&height=676
Nation Name (long): The Kingdom of Letollia
Nation Name (short): Letollia
Motto: “Beatitudo potest emit” ~ (Happiness can be bought)
National Animal: Albatross
National Flower/Plant: Sycamore maple
National Anthem: ‘Sey richo di pelichità’ ~ (Be rich in happiness)
Capitol: Lynnea
Largest City: Azoma
Demonym: Letollial
Language: Predominantly Nillal, but Staynish is becoming a more prominent language of commerce.
Species: Human
Population: Roughly six million
Government type: Parliamentary system with a constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): King Riggan III ~ Prime Minister Valentina Caglinnan
Legislature: The ‘Queen Mazzia’, the former royal abode. It has an upper and a lower house, with the Lower House being the dominant one which is based on constituency votes in a general election, while the Upper House is much less powerful and is based on the popular vote of the same general election.
Formation: Sixth of February, 1957
Total GDP: 347bil Lirlia
GDP per capita: 57. 858 Lirlia
Calling Code: +366
ISO 3166 code: .LT
Map: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/891764872394715156/892115569447411812/Mapper.png
Historical Summary: The glorious Kingdom of Letollia has stood proud for centuries, doing her best to gracefully float above the petty squabbles and geopolitics of her neighbors.
Being settled by a series of refugees from around the region who sought protection on the island, the island of Nillalia has always been a melting pot of different cultures, peoples and - most importantly - markets. This, in conjuncture with being an island with bountiful natural harbors, helped make the island a hotspot for trade from across the region. Merchants from the furthest reaches of the region could always reliably sell to their ex-patriots on Nillalia. Over time a series of city-states sprung up based around the wealthiest ports, and soon enough the island, naturally, descended into war.
It was the Vitcen-Kapplio War of 1342 which began the Red Waters Period, as after the two greatest powers on the island clashed and wore each other down, the island’s delicate balance of powers began to dissipate. For the next two and a half centuries the island fell into utter disarray. Economies collapsed, navies mutinied and foreign merchants looked elsewhere. All the island knew was brutal war. Many continental powers each backed a specific city-state, leading to a series of foreign rulers and proxy wars throughout the period. Over time it became harder and harder for those in charge to convince the common-folk that these constant wars were in their best interest. They had always told the locals that they needed to continue these wars so that they could emerge from the period dominant and rebuild the island in their image, but as time went on and the locals lost faith in their rulers, thoughts of ‘rebuilding the island in their image’ didn’t capture the peoples’ psyche as much.
After years of mutinies, riots and failed harvests, in 1672 a dozen-and-a-half nobles met in the mountain town of Serenta to discuss handing power over to a central authority. They wagered that if they didn’t come to an agreement soon, island-wide peasant rebellion would break out and forcefully remove the nobility, and so only by coming to an agreement themselves could they retain their power. After weeks of negotiation they elected Valeor Kirrach, a wealthy general from the Republic of Alprite, as the first official King of Unified Nillalia, or rather ‘Letollia’ (from Leto-, meaning United, and -tallia, meaning island). The nobles would retain their regional power and surprisingly decent personal armies, and the island could be forcefully unified under King Valeor I so that the island could once again take their place as the trading nexus of the region. This worked stupendously, with the 18th-19th centuries being the golden age of Letollia. Trade blossomed, population boomed and high culture took off in a massive way. Most of the nation’s great works of art and infrastructure can be traced back to this golden age.
However, this wasn’t to last. By the late 19th century food-production began to struggle to meet the need of the rapidly growing population, and so famines became commonplace among the lesser classes. This was when people began to realize how much power the nobles unjustly retained from the Red Waters Period, as this was now on full display as peasants starved in the streets in full view of the nobles’ wealthy manors and estates. Queen Mazzia’s decision to build an expensive new stately home in the capital to celebrate her overseeing her first successful harvest proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. This launched riots across the island, and with the storming of Mazzia’s stately home and her quick beheading, it seemed all too likely that Letollia would collapse back into a second Red Waters Period.
This is where commander Garen Guiso took charge. For one reason or another, this silver tongued, accomplished commander risked his reputation on a military coup. He stormed the capital at the head of the military, easily overpowering the peasants who had taken up arms against Mazzia. He too stormed the stately home, and made quick, bloody work of the revolutionaries inside. From here he forcefully took control of the capital. Given that the army had almost wholly aligned themselves with him, there was no little competition. In time the rest of the island followed suit, and by 1896 Garen Guiso became the Graceful Protector of the Protectorate of Letollia. The Protectorate’s regime was harsh. He effectively closed Letollia off from the outside world, he banned all but the most dedicated worship, outlawed most recreational activities and set the death penalty for even the pettiest of crimes, among other brutal policies. He made military service mandatory and raised hefty taxes to pay for its expansion. He was offered the crown in 1900, but declined, knowing how this would look to his supporters. His successors however, would not. His spoiled brat of a son, Grachi Guiso, styled himself as the Graceful Lord of Letollia, alienating most of his father’s supporters. He alienated them so much, he was assassinated in 1934. Likewise Grachi’s son, Graceful Lord Grachi II, alienated his support even further by rescinding many of the family’s policies. He began to gradually open Letollia up the outside world, introduce more local democracy and sideline the military. It was clear that Grachi II had seen how the growing political tension had killed his father and looked for a way to appease the public before he too was assassinated. In 1954 he set up a national parliament, with elections that same year. The PRF (monarchist-reform party) won in a landslide, and seeing that public support - and a sizable chunk of internal support - was no longer on their side, the military made steps to join Grachi II in scaling back the oppressive Protectorate. On the 6th of February 1957, Grachi II officially stepped down as High Lord and reinstated the Kirrach dynasty, gifting the crown to the new King Varre.
On that day the Protectorate officially ended, and since then the Kingdom of Letollia has made leaps and bounds towards reclaiming their position at the heart of maritime trade. While they still have a way to go before they reach the dizzying heights of the golden age, they’ve been on a rapid upward trajectory since 1957. With hope in their hearts and their eyes on the waters, Letollial across the island are hopeful for the future once again.