History of Maanenland

This article documents the history of the present territory of Grand Duchy of Maanenland as a single entity , many provinces which have been part of the nations territory will not have their history listed and should be researched on the page for each territory.

Ancient Maanenland

'See Main Article Ancient History of Maanenland'

The first settlers crossed the mountains of Calder around about 3200 BC. They were tempted by the fertile valleys and rich forestation of the virgin Maanenland countryside. Rather than staying near the mountains the settlers moved all the way to the coast and settled in the central belt of Maanenland. A seperate band of humans moved into the north and north western valleys forming their own independant tribes and cultures.

The first recorded settlement in Maanenland was built 40 miles from the current site of Westhead in Cliffton Duchy and is believed to have been called Ghorentha.

In 112 AD the first real organised civilisation began as a group of city states centred around Cliffton called Dernforn . In 252 the first civilisation was recorded in Stretford. The last civilisation to emerge was the western peak districts in 640 .

These civilisations soon began trading new ideas and goods realtivly peacefully as they had common interests. The first alliances of local tribes formed the Cliffton Duchy and Kingsborough in 712. Soon after other alliances of similiar stature was established peacefully.

In 1012 Elizabeth II united the provinces west of the mountains were allied following invasion from overseas. Following the defeat of the invaders the local kingdoms realised it was in their interests to join in union with their neighbours forming the United Kingdom of Maanenland in 1050. The name was chosen by national consensus as in ancient Maanenic Maanenland translated roughly as Lands That Have Been United.

Age of the Feduals

The present territory of the Grand Duchy was formerly a loose alliance of semi-autonomous nations each with the King of Maanenland as is it's head created in 1180 AD. The Princes of these Kingdoms were mere ceremonial figureheads to the more powerful Dukes , the most powerful of these being the Duke of Cliffton. The King of Maanenland sent his Lord Lieutenants to every Duchy to enforce the order of the crown.

In 1422 the alliance was facing widespread political upheavel. King William IV , the monarch of the time , was loosing support of the dukes with his ever increasing taxes to pay for foreign wars and ever more elboarate palaces. The Duke of Cliffton , Edward van Maanen, led the first revolt the winter of the following year. The neighbouring duchy of Kingsborough loyal to the crown tried to fight back but did not have anywhere near the strength of the Cliffton duchy and was quickly overwhelmed. The then Duke of Kingsborough , Peter X , counted on help from neighbouring dukes and overseas help which did not arrive. Following the annexation of Kingsborough the Duke of Cliffton arrested the King of Maanenland and had him beheaded in the grounds of his palace. Outraged by his actions the dukes of the northern provinces marched south to remove the Duke of Cliffton. The southern states , favouring a republic , rallied behind Cliffton and Kingsborough leading to the 40 year civil war.

Age of Conflict

With the King beheaded soverignty turned to the Lord Lieutenants who tried desperatly to reach a peaceful settlement. This failed. After some quick victories by 1430 it was becoming apparent that neither side was going to win the war while independant. On May 13th 1453 the Treaty of Canley called upon all 23 of the southern duchies to pool their economic resources and form a political union under the Duke of Cliffton and his duchy. The new Army of the Duchy of Cliffton after the union then swelled as troops and materials from across the south flowed into one cohesive and united army with common tactics and goals. The present areas of Portland , Chesterford and Greater Stretford were quickly overwhelmed and annexed into the Duchy of Cliffton. There was only one Lord Lieutenant left following the conquest and he was appointed to lead the new united nation into a distinctly new era.

Age of Union

After the uniting of the former United Kingdom of the Maanenlands under one soverign duke work began on gaining a common language (English was chosen due to it's prevalance) and a system of standardisation throughout the duchy. This included beginning the process of industrialisation and a common infrastrucutre program centered on the new city of New Westminster where the new offices of the new government were under construction. During this period of destruction and upheavel many local customs and unique customs were lost and many cities were destroyed and rebuilt.

By the 1500s there was still a widespread vaccuum in the power base of the nation. Realising this the Duke set up a parliament and the modern system of local authority representation albeit without the democratic process. The Duke ordered a series of Lieutenants to be sent to every town and city to represent the Duke and carry out his soverign rule. In 1582 the House of Boroughs was finally finished in the new city of New Westminster. Poor communications however meant that the Lieutenants became increasingly distant and dissenting from the crown. In one of it's first pieces of Legislation the House of Boroughs ordered the revival of the House of Regional Commanders in 1599 , large land owners who had the education and experiance to keep the lieutenants in line and were sufficiently educated to govern the nation.

To appease the still turbulent mood of the Maanenland people the Act of Provincia was passed in 1652 which ordered for some elections to be held by the ruling gentry for the local lieutenancy positions. This was because many of the ruling classes were becoming disgruntled at the lack of skill of their local rulers and were threatening to take action. This was to be the foundation of Maanenland's democratic process.

In the late 1600s the capital of New Westminster was fully rebuilt (the traditional seat of the Lord Lieutenant before it was razed during the civil war), the site was once again chosen as under Maanenian law the Duke had no soverign control over Westminster County and could not enter either the city or county under any circumstances. This means that Maanenland is one of the few nations (perhaps the only nation) in the world where the head of state is banned from the capital. The idea behind this was to protect the democratic government from being taken over or held to ransom in order to pass legislation. Because of this New Westminster county comprises only of the adminstrative offices and enough rural land to provide food for every member of the parliament.

Age of Expansion

In 1732 the process of standardisation was complete and stability had returned to the nation. Seeking to promote greater cohesion the pre-civil war Duchies were reinstated with Lieutenant Commanders placed in charge. To promote greater union the title of the Grand Duchy of Cliffton was dropped and replaced with the name of Maanenland , the former name of the alliance of nations before the civil war. This agreement pleased everyone.

Encouraged by the tranquil state of the nation the Maanenland army took control over the provinces of Calder and invaded Bethune Territory (modern Mountain Districts and annexed it from Caith in the Great Mountain War. The previously unsettled Albion Island was also colonised.

The other notable war of the period took place in 1740. The Wilnwick - Maanenland War 1740 led to Maanenland taking control over Wilnwick.

The main achivement of this age was the discovery of new civilisations and trade routes from the Maanenic Navy which led to the flow of new technologies and exotic foodstuffs into the nation for the first time.

Age of Industrialisation

Maanenland was quick to adopt the industrial revolution in the southern plains and the economy grew at this point with break-neck speed much to the detriment of living conditions and environment alike. There was mass rural-urban migration during this point leaving many cities in the rural areas (especially the mountain districts) as ghost towns , today these are popular historical tourist attractions. Although the "industrial valley" enjoyed the rapid advancements of technology during the era such as railways , electricity and sanitation the surrounding areas were essentially still living in a medieval exsistance and this was the case until realitvly new advancements in automobiles and communications.

Politics at this time was dominated by Wilnwick self-rule , at this time the nation was still run directly from New Westminster. The campaign culminated in 1876 with the pulling out of Wilnwick , however at the request of the new government it became a Maanenic protectorate with Maanenland retaining a large role in domestic politics.

Despite losing influence over it's neighbour it's influence over other states grew at this time primarilly with the division of the Caberland territories with Maanenland retaining the most states of the new colonial asset following 30 years of colonial conflict in 1882.

Age of Socialism

Following the end of the Industrial Revolution came the welfare revolution. Disgusted at the plight of the working classes in the inner city slums the Democratic Socialist Alliance government of John van Helston ordered massive slum clearance programs from 1952-1970 In 1952 work began on building a welfare state and nationalised healthcare. As well as this the commanding heights of the economy was taken into public ownership in a widespread reform of the nations industry.

Age of Conflict

The Caberland Colonial War of 1965 had a profound effect on domestic Maanenland and particularly on the foreign policy of the Duchy , it however saw the power of the Duchy increase greatly during the period and resulted in the start of National Service.

Modern Maanenland

By 1972 the economy had developed into a mature industrial economy with living standards some of the best in the region. The picture nationwide however was not equal. Oakham , Oakshire County at this time suffered from a major economic recession which , combined with nationalist and race tensions , culminated in a breakdown of law and order which has not been restored over 25 years later.

The most defining moment of the end of 'old Maanenland' and 'new Maanenland' was the Long Week Crisis of the 1990s which fundamentally altered how Maanenland was percieved in the world and a turning point in it's domestic and international policy.

Futher to this the state of Maanenland itself faced great upheavel as the provinces that had existed for over 500 hundered years were reorganised by the Maanenland New Provinces Act.