Jonquiere-Tadoussac
| |
| Flag of Jonquiere-Tadoussac | |
| Motto: Avec la renaissance, les deux devenaient un. | |
| |
| Region | International Democratic Union |
|---|---|
| Capital | L'Unité |
| Official Language(s) | French (87%), Chicoutim (6%), Other (7%) |
| Leader | High Consul Katryne Roland |
| Population | 361,700,000 |
| Currency | sous jontadain |
| NS Sunset XML | |
Its constituient parts founded in 1608, the Confederacy of Jonquiere-Tadoussac (Adjective: Jontadain) is a proud nation of Francophones. The country is devoted to social values and equality above all else.
Contents
History
Founding
In 1608, an expedition of French settlers enroute to the colony of New France were swept off course, and landed on the shores of a strange new land, later to become the International Democratic Union. After much recuperation and laying of blame, the leader of the group, Roland Chantal, managed to rally most of the settlers and found a settlement at Jonquière. The settlers invested him with the title of Most Divine Imperial King Roland I, Monarch of Jonquiere. (This title was subsequently shortened to a simple 'King' after Roland I had to spend several weeks icing his arm having signed too many documents in the past month).
The dissenters travelled to the coast, where they founded the port settlement of Tadoussac, hoping to acquire enough supplies to set out for New France again. After the first decade, despairing of their chances, the residents of Tadoussac set up a democratic republic, gaining their own lands in opposition to Jonquiere.
The Great Clash
The two city-states were able to go alone for many years. Each reestablished contact with the outside world, and became local powers in their own rights. Other settlers were drawn to the lands of Jonquiere and Tadoussac, looking for new lands and possibilities. Eventually, there was no new land to take.
In 1759, High Consul Thédric of Tadoussac met with King Georges III of Jonquiere in an attempt to work out an agreement on land division. Unfortunately, tempers quickly mounted as each side's bombastic leader demanded more than the other was willing to offer. As a result, each went back to their respective capitals to prepare for war. The first shots were fired on September 13, 1759.
The Great Clash lasted for four years, until 1763. The loss of life on both sides mounted into the tens of thousands, and fortunes were spent to bring mercenaries in from abroad to fight for each power. Eventually, the new High Consul Roger and King Georges IV met in the Jonquierois border city of La Baie to negotiate a peace treaty. Both sides recognized their culpability in the conflict, and thus each gave ample considerations to the demands of the other. The resulting treaty led to very few changes in the border, but many changes in attitude.
The Fusion
The two powers co-existed peacefully until 1837, when radicals on both sides attempted to reignite a war, this time with the goal of devestating the other power. The leaders of both city-states were opposed to this: High Consul François of Tadoussac was a dedicated pacifist and peacemaker, while King Roland XXXIV of Jonquiere had several sons, including his heir, married into Tadoussacain families.
With the goal of peace in mind, the two leaders met in La Baie, on the 74th anniversary of the original treaty, to come to a new cooperative peace agreement. What resulted was entirely unexpected: the two leaders agreed to fuse their states together, to create a unified Jonquiere-Tadoussac. The agreement came to be known as the Fusion Accord of 1837.
This new decision came from several fronts. The stated purpose was to remove all reasons for hostilities between the two governments. However, it was well known at the time that Jonquiere had more land to use, while Tadoussac had more resources on its current territory. Joining made best use of these strengths, creating a synergy. Finally, the state of Baranxtu was coming dangerously close to the borders of both powers, and threatening their sovereignty. The leaders obviously remembered the old adage: "United We Stand, Divided We Fall".
The agreement wasn't automatic, however. Several points were required by both sides before they would approve of the deal. Jonquiere wouldn't give up its long line of illustrious monarchs, but Tadoussac wanted an elected leader, as they had seen for the last 200 years. The solution: keep the King (or Queen), but make the position elected and not hereditary.
Royal elections were first held in October 1837, and King Roland XXXIV was reconfirmed as monarch, with François of Tadoussac as his chief advisor. The system proved successful, as each constituent was willing to accept the outcomes. A peaceful and stable government was created, one that would last until the summer of 2005.
The Civil War
Royal elections were to be held in July 2005, but because fewer than 50 percent of voters actually cast their vote, the election failed. Two subsequent elections, both held in late July, did not result in a clear victory for any candidate. Now leaderless, the legislation branch of the state was practically inactive, as in the National Assembly, the parties could not decide on a coalition with a large enough majority to govern the nation.
Meanwhile, the rebel group L'Armée Communiste du Jonquière-Tadoussac (ACJT) threatened to take over the capital and become the new ruling force of the country. The resulting strife led to the rise of numerous factions, which each sought to install their own puppet king on the throne. Faced with this threat, the crippled National Assembly tried to bring peace by using the military to suppress the rebellious factions. This was met by such vehemence from the population that the government was actually toppled by a popular coup in August 2005, and the entire country dissolved into full-scale civil war.
Originally, more than 200 small armed groups appeared, each fighting the other in a bid for supremacy. By early September, most of these had consolidated into one of four factions: the ACJT, the Démocratiques, the Jontadains pour un pays puissant (JUPP), and the Royalistes.
The Battle of Jonquière
The most important battle of the war took place on October 13, 2005, near the city of Jonquière. At the time, no one group had control of the capital, as the remnants of the Jontadain military had kept all contenders out of the city. This did not sit well with any of the factions, and each had gathered an army to attack the city.
On the day of the battle, each of the factions was approaching the city when each became simultaneously aware of the other. The ACJT and the JUPP, adversaries from the beginning, moved to engage one another. Unknowing of this, the other two factions moved to attack the closest army, with the Démocratiques moving to engage the JUPP, while the Royalistes headed for the rear of the ACJT. As the antagonists joined their lines of battle, each was met in the rear by another force. The result is the most chaotic battle of Jontadain history, as the Démocratiques and Royalistes plowed through their respective enemies, and then into each other.
At the end of the day, the Démocratiques emerged as the overall victors. ACJT and JUPP armies left the area in shambles, while the Royaliste army, which had been the smallest, fared little better. Impressed by the military prowess of the Démocratiques, the Jontadain military turned themselves and the city of Jonquière over to the Démocratiques.
This proved to be the turning point of the war. Holding the capital, the Démocratiques gained a legitimacy that no other power could approach. As a result, they became the favoured faction for international dealings, as well as increasing their recruitment three-fold.
The Protectorate of East Baranxtu
The civil war and the growing unrest in the population in general led the western neighbour of Jonquiere-Tadoussac, Baranxtu, to consider how to ward off this threat - Baranxtuan politicians, especially of the leading parties, feared that if the situation would deteriorate, voters would get disappointed and let the major, more moderate parties suffer in favor of more extremist parties.
On August 30th, the parliament of Baranxtu decided to establish a Protectorate of Baranxtu which at first was to be an installed government, later to be replaced by cabinet elected in turn by a democratically elected parliament. The Protectorate of East Baranxtu was ruled in name by the Governor of East Baranxtu, whose only superior was King Ateni of Baranxtu. In reality, the Governor's sway only held in the westernmost areas, which were the most eager for outside intervention. Respect for the outside assistance grew, however, and in November 2005, the Governor was able to choose a small group of leaders from the winning Démocratique faction to form a legitimate provisional government. This group, working out of Jonquière, was to aid in the transition of Jonquiere-Tadoussac to stability and peace.
Early in February 2005, the new constitution was drafted for the Confederacy of Jonquiere-Tadoussac, returning the independent status of the nation, and putting the government back in the hands of the people. The installed government effectively ended, although the Protectorate of East Baranxtu continued as the western ceded province of Chicoutim.
The New Era
The new government of Jonquiere-Tadoussac was installed on February 10, 2005. The past provisional government under the Baranxtu Governor had decided to completely eschew the former royal structure, in favour of a loose confederation of provinces. The legislative branch was restructured into a democratically elected Consular Council, which would represent all peoples of Jonquiere-Tadoussac. The executive would be a High Consul that would be selected by secret ballot from among the Consular Council, and who would in turn choose their cabinet from among the elected consuls. The first elected High Consul was Katryne Roland, a Democratic Socialist from Tadoussac.
Government
National Structure
Today, Jonquiere-Tadoussac is divided into eight provinces. The provinces have great autonomy, with only areas such as health, national defence, and currency being retained by the federal government.
Provinces
- Jonquière (Capital: Jonquière): Named for one of the two founding city-states of the country, Jonquière is one of the oldest provinces.
- Tadoussac (Capital: Tadoussac): One of two oldest provinces, Tadoussac comprises the territory of the original city-state of that name.
- Alma (Capital: Iberville): The largest province, Alma was created from an amalgamation of part of the city-state of Jonquière and newly obtained land in 1845.
- Côte-Saint-Jean (Capital: Baie-Jaim): Created in 1864 from federal land when the population was deemed sufficient. Home to Jonquière-Tadoussac's largest minority group, the Eeyo'Uch.
- Translaurent (Capital: Montdiesse): Named because it is across the Laurent River from Jonquière, this province was split from Côte-Saint-Jean in 2006. The majority of its territory was obtained in the 2006 annexation of unclaimed territory.
- Roberçal (Capital: Quegué: A coastal province, Roberçal was created in 2006 out of territory newly obtained by Jonquiere-Tadoussac. Its name comes from the Eeyo'Uch word meaning "Long Sandy Coast".
- La Montagne (Capital: Chivaque): Once a part of the province of Chicoutimi, La Montagne was inaugurated in 2005 by members of the JUPP faction (see above) who opposed the Protectorate of East Baranxtu. The provisional government officially split the two provinces in December 2005 to gain support from the JUPP.
- Îles jontadains (Capital: Acadière: Under the pre-2005 government, these islands were federal territory, and were generally an oversized military base. Once the Confederacy was established, the military facilites were relocated across the country, and the islands were given provincial status.
Other Regions
- L'Unité: The new capital of Jonquiere-Tadoussac, chosen in 2006 on the borders of three provinces. Though technically a separate autonomous region, the city takes its policies from the bordering provinces on a case-by-case basis. The city houses the legislative, executive, judicial, and administrative branches of the federal government.
- The Protectorate of Arvida (Capital: Mont Vidé): Previously a federally administered mining territory, Arvida achieved protectorate status in February 2006, as part of the restructuring of the federal system. As a protectorate, Arvida enjoys monetary and military union with Jonquiere-Tadoussac, while having absolute autonomy in all other areas.
- Île Québec (Not Pictured) (Capital: Nouveau-Port): Established in 1899 as a royal colony, this island lies far west of the Jontadain mainland. It was granted de facto autonomous status in 2006, although the federal government still maintains a power of reservation over the legislation passed by local government, as well as a monetary and military union.
Federal Government
The head of state is High Consul Katryne Roland, who also acts as the head of government.
The newly elected government is still in discussions as to the new constitution, which will be adopted by June 2005.
