Billopesha

The Democratic Republic of
Billopesha

Flag of Billopesha
National motto: "Through Sense We Prevail"
National anthem: "On Billopeshian Ground"
[1]
Region	Rineu
Capital	Billopec
Largest City	Billopec
Population	32 145 858
Suffrage	All citizens aged 18 or over
Official Language(s)	English (main), Latin, Aenbreannec, Beluwreng
Government - President - Principal Senator	Constitutional Republic Aaron Throne David Redway
Formation - Billopeshian State - Under Roman Occupation - Split into East and West Billopesha - Reunited - Republic	563BC 41BC-288AD 407-411AD 1746 1772 2006
ISO Nation Code	BIPA
Currency	connaro (CONN)
Time Zone	(UTC+5)
• Summer (DST)	RST (UTC+6)
Internet TLD	.bia
Calling Code	+229
National Symbols  • Sport  • Animal  • Fruit  • Flower	national tennis gecko apple bluebell
UN Status	member
Info: NationStates NSEconomy Pipian NS Tracker XML

Billopesha (pronounced 'Billowpeesha', officially the Democratic Republic of Billopesha) is a state located among a collection of islands called The Confederates which make up part of the region of Rineu. It is the second largest country of the islands and consists of a main section on one island and three smaller islands in the northern region. In relation to other countries, the Frissian Islands are to the east, the Republic of Bironta to the south and the Empire of Hontock to the west. The islands are located near the mainland coastline that lies to the east with the vast Cordial Ocean to the far west. Off the west coast of the main island is the Golden Bay which is shared with Hontock.

Billopesha is a member of the Silvereye and holds the seat to the 'Grand Stage of Politics' which gives the nation high prestige. Billopesha is a significant historical country as it was the first state to be established on The Confederates, making it the ancestor of all the other four nations on the islands. It's capital, Billopec was the first city to be founded on the islands and is an historical world city. It has also been a member of the Justice Alliance since 1972. In the past, the country has established a grand empire, been a subject to the Roman and Tullowtan Empires and suffered during a number of wars. Billopesha has a infamous rivalry with its neighbour, Hontock, which has lasted over 2000 years.

Today, Billopesha is a presidential republic, but has only recently abandoned it's constitutional monarchy. The last monarch was Lord Richard Billopec who was replaced in 2006 by President Aaron Thorne. Since then, Billopesha has joined the United Nations and the Republican Federation and has 2 Developed Productive Colonies (DPC's) located in the developing countries of Derenny and the Frissian Isles.

Name

The word "Billopesha" derives from a very ancient form of Latin meaning "modest culture" (Billo-pesha). The name was given by King Oliver Billopec who founded the country in 563BC who named it, referring to their own family name "Billopec" which similarly means "modest people" (Billo-pec). This refers back to the Billopec Family from Kenacirron.

When Billopesha formed it’s own language, Beluwreng, Billopesha was translated as "Beunaspotea" (pronounced 'Beeownusputeea'). Although this was never officially used, many of the indigenous natives referred to it as that name.

As The Confederates were once all owned by Billopesha, they were all once known as the Billopeshian Isles. This name has never been used since the formation of the other Confederate nations. The same situation was applied for the people of the Confederates, who were also collectively known as 'Billopeshians'. This label, though, has remained and is still considered valid as all native Confederate people were Billopeshians, but the reference is discouraged so is rarely used.

History

Main article: History of Billopesha

Parts of Billopesha’s active history can be seen in many places in Rineu. The earliest proof of human inhabitancy of the country was dated to around 170 000BC when human remains were uncovered. From there, a primitive culture formed. The country was established soon after The Confederates were discovered in 563BC by the Billopec Family when Oliver Billopec founded the settlement of Billopec and in 558BC, formally established the state. The indigenous natives were quickly displaced as the Billopeshian state expanded across all the islands.

King Oliver then formed the Billopeshian civilisation. Its languages were Belluwreng (writing) and Aenbreannec (speaking) and believed in the religion of Guduffa, one of the first religions to believe in one God. As Billopesha’s military power was weak, they were unable to stop the uprising in the Hontopeshian Revolution (207BC) where the Empire of Hontock was formed and Billopesha lost much of its territory. Billopesha’s military power grew, with a new rival at its borders, leading up to the Honto-Billopeshian War (173 – 168BC), which began with the loss of the region of Bironta. The war, which Billopesha won, and the Silvereye Revolution of 171BC saw the start of the Billopeshian Empire but the loss of much of its original territory with the formation of Bironta.

In 41BC, the Billopec Family merged with the Roman Imperial Family to form the Billopeshus Family. The Billopeshus Family subsequently made the Billopeshian Empire part of the Roman Empire and expanded through the Confederates until 288AD, when a rebellion ended the Roman Occupation. From there, the Billopeshian Empire expanded greatly and spread into mainland Rineu where it established their cultural mark there. Billopesha became a powerful, wealthy nation with a strong economy and miltary force.

It then, again, became part of the Western Roman Empire (407 – 411AD) when Contantine III inherited the throne. But Constantine's short tyrannical rule brought an end to the Billopecian Empire and brought Billopesha into a dark age. It suffered in the Tullowtan War (677-685AD).

Billopesha then had a revival in power when it joined a crusade to the Holy Land in 1223. The crusade proved more than successful when Billopesha took over Jerusalem and soon expanded to Antioch and Damascus. It defeated the Turks and made a grand alliance with the Byzantine Empire (whose imperial families were related), before aiming towards the east. It was initially defeated by the Mongols who severely halted the empires expansion but soon gained superiority in 1256. The empire expanded to Samarkand where Billopesha made it a leading trade city. The was a Royal Crisis which lasted from 1304 - 1327. The empire lasted until 1346, when the Black Death hit the empire. The empire was weakened and then the empire was taken over by the Turks and the Mongols.

Since then, the nation has been effected by the Billopeshian Civil War (1746 – 1772) and, more recently, the Twenty-Two-Year War (1972 – 1994) against Hontock. Kings ruled it until 170BC, Emperors until AD832 and then Lords. In 2006, a small-scale conflict broke out between the Imperialist Enterprise and the Republican Federation in the Political War. The Republican Federation won and the monarchy was abolished, replaced by a constitutional republic.

Government and Politics

In October 2006, the monarchy was abolished after over 2500 years of being established. Lord Richard VI voluntarily abdicated after a war between democracy and imperialism so Billopeshian Senate then passed through a referendum which saw the beginning of the republic. It was then in December 2006 when the Billopesha was put under the Silvereye Constitution which was approved and a constitutional republic was officially declared. But internationally, the senate's power is weak as the Silvereye Council of Ministers greatly overshadows the senate's power. The Billopeshian Senate barely has power in the voting through of constitutional law, mostly just having the influence to decide how they are enforced. It is more of a group of representatives than a legislative body, but they do have power over the 'Municipal Laws'.

The government has three branches:

• Legislative: The Silvereye Council of Ministers (SCM) who have the power to make laws that are approved by the members of the Silvereye, which includes the Billopeshian Senate. The Billopeshian Senate has great influence on a selection of national laws known as the 'Municipal Laws' and has the power to engage in international diplomacy and impeach officials.
• Executive: The President who decides how to administer and enforce the 'Municipal Laws' while being head of the Cabinet which is appointed from the Senate by the SCM. The Cabinet deals with carrying out actions of enforcing the constitutional laws nationally.
• Judiciary: The Silvereye judges how to institute law according to the Silvereye Constitution created by the SCM. The SCM was to act as a collection of judges that each interpret laws depending on the ministers field of expertise.

The most powerful constitution in Billopesha is the Silvereye Constitution which states all laws except the 'Municipal Laws'. The highest national constitution is the Constitution of Billopesha which includes the 'Municipal Laws'. This constitution is subject to review and change by the Senate and the laws can be overterned by the judicial branch, although the 'Municipal Laws' are rarly related to the court.

To see what the Silvereye Constitution and the 'Municipal Laws' involve, see the Silvereye.

To decide on what political party should rule and the members of the senate, an election is called every four years. The political parties involved are listed below:

Political parties

Billopeshian Senate

The Billopeshian Senate is the senatorial body of Billopesha that forms part of the Silvereye, the most powerful political organisation of The Confederates. It consists of two senators from each of the 225 constituencies, with a total of 450 senators overall. The two senators represent their constituency, expressing the opinion that was reached at that constituency's 'Communal Assembly'. Each senator belongs to one of the five parties active in Billopesha and has the power to vote over the 'Municipal Laws' that govern the public's quality of life. The head of the senate is the Chief Senator who is a member of the Cabinet and the second most powerful individual after the President. The senate does not have any power to change the Silvereye Constitution by making new laws but can vote to approve or disapprove of any law to begin a debate on the issue. Members of senate are selected by the SCM to become ministers in the Cabinet, which occurs after every president's term in government.

History

The Billopeshian Senate was formed in AD104, when the Roman Empire in Billopesha collapsed, as a group of senators that would advise the Lord on what course of action to take and cooperate with the other sectors of the Silvereye on legislative, executive and judicial matters. When the Western Roman Empire took control of Billopesha in AD407, the Billopeshian Senate was disbanded until in was reinstated in AD682. The senate’s power was weak as the monarch held the most power over the country although the senate did have a considerable influence. The senate became powerful during the Billopeshian Empires where it engaged in diplomacy with other factions.

But it wasn't until the late 18th Century when the Billopeshian Senate's power expanded greatly, mostly caused by the effects of the Billopeshian Civil War. It gained further power due to the influence of democracy from other newly formed republics which made Billopesha the last monarchy of The Confederates.

In 1971, there was a resurgence in the growth of imperialism which spread into the Senate with Max Trotter (1945 – ) being elected as the first imperialist senator. Then, in 1985, Senator Trotter established the Imperialist Enterprise as a branch of the Billopeshian Senate. During the course of history, the senate gradually gained increasingly more power over Billopesha, showing the democratic superiority. This then accumulated into the Political War of 2006 where to two opposites clashed and resulted in the dissolution of the monarchy. The Billopeshian Senates power had reached a pinnacle and basically ruled Billopesha independently after Richard VI's abdication until a president was elected.

Geography

Billopesha’s land consists of mainly flat grassland with one unusual mountain, Mt. Orbi, in the south east point, which is the highest of the islands at 2013 metres high. At the bottom of the mountain lies the capital; Billopec. It is the largest country of The Confederates with an area of 11 770 sq km and has a long sandy beach running along its western coastline. There are many woodland areas with a small forest located beside the mountain.

Economy

There is a considerable amount of farming in Billopesha as most of the country is lowland countryside. Billopesha has a significant private sector where a growing industry is centred around the capital focusing mainly on automobile manufacturing, book publishing and soda sales. There is also an industry in food processing and textiles. Tourism is also a valuable source of the Billopesha’s income, as is gold, which is received from Derenny and made into jewellery etc. Billopesha is seen as the banking centre of The Confederates and it is the richest country on the island. The tax rate stays around 35% but it projected to increase rapidly.

External Links

Billopesha's page on the NationStates website[[2]]