Saxe-Coburg

Saxe-Coburg

Flag of Saxe-Coburg
Motto: Freiheit für alle leute
Region	European Continent
Capital	Coburg
Official Language(s)	German
Leader	Emperor Ludwig Bourbon von Sachsen-Coburg
Population	Over 1.5 Billion
Currency	Kreuzer
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UN Category: Liberal Democratic Socialists

Civil Rights: Average

Economy: Strong

Political Freedoms: Excellent

Overview: The Empire of Saxe-Coburg is a massive, safe nation, notable for its compulsory military service. Its compassionate, intelligent population of 1.68 billion love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Education, Social Welfare, and Defence. The average income tax rate is 100%. A substantial private sector is dominated by the Book Publishing industry.

History

Early History

Saxe-Coburg was once just a meagre Countdom, but with centuries of strategic marriages, and a few wars of conquest, it rose to become a powerful nation. The most significant of these wars was The War of the Hamburgian Succession in 1634. It was the power gained by Saxe-Coburg in this conflict that allowed it to become a Principality. The Saxe-Coburgian Parliament was created in 1342, and is one of the oldest representative governments in Europe. The position of Prime Minister was created in 1768. In 1871 Saxe-Coburg became part of the German Empire, and remained a part of Germany until the German Civil War of 2005. After the splintering of Germany, Saxe-Coburg was one of the three strong nations that rose to power.

The Netherlands Question

When Elyk the Small claimed all of the Netherlands, a great conflict arose in Europe. Elykan forces moved into part of the Netherlands, but Cologne countered this by moving into the central Netherlands. To prevent further Colognian expansion, Saxe-Coburg occupied the northern Netherlands. This caused rather a stalemate. Cologne refused to leave, and began establishing radical Catholic schools within their sector. Saxe-Coburg pledged to give their portion of the Netherlands to Elyk once an agreement could be reached on the issue. The crisis ended, however, with the collapse of Cologne. Elyk took the Colognian Netherlands, Saxe-Coburg relinquished its claim to Elyk, and Poland, being a Catholic nation, took control of the former Archbishopric of Cologne.

The War of the Baltic

No one really knows why the War of the Baltic started. It really shouldn't even have existed. Saxe-Coburg declared war on Prussia and Laeplaen for reasons that are unclear. The war expanded, with Poland and Elyk the Small joining the Saxe-Coburgian forces. Eventually the war petered out, and the countries agreed to peace. This basically set everything back to the way it was before the war.

The Northern Rebellion

After the War of the Baltic, the Saxe-Coburgian economy was in shambles. Food was scarce, and unemployment hit an all-time high of over 20%. In northern Saxe-Coburg, a group of communist rebels started a rebellion against Prince Fritz and the government. The communists recieved support from many of the people of Saxe-Coburg. During the hostilities, Prince Fritz and Prime Minister Sievers were assassinated. Johann, Fritz's son, was crowned as Prince. Prince Johann made the controversial decision of joining Catholic Europe's Holy League, an alliance of Catholic Nations. He believed that an alliance with Catholic Europe would help defeat the rebels. The climax of the revolution came when the rebels stormed the Kiel Stock Exchange. Saxe-Coburgian forces intervened, and defeated the rebellion.

The Empire is Formed

Soon after the Communist rebels were defeated, Kaiser Karl von Rosenwald-Huhnensturm, leader of Rosenwald, was killed by an assassin's bullet. His closest living relative was Johann, Prince of Saxe-Coburg. When Johann inherited Rosenwald, he also inherited the title of Emperor. Pope Gravir I of Catholic Europe crowned Johann Emperor of the Union of Saxe-Coburg and Rosenwald, and ever since then Saxe-Coburg has been an empire.

Tensions with Prussia Escalate

After the War of the Baltic, Saxe-Coburgian/Prussian tensions were extremely high. When two explosions rocked Hamburg, Emperor Johann I ordered Saxe-Coburgian troops to the border with Prussia. The Prussians responded by calling Johann I a warmonger. When Emperor Johann I died, his son Maximilian was crowned Emperor. Maximilian's reign brought no improvement in relations with Prussia. Tensions continued to run higher and higher, until Maximilian discovered a Prussian bug in his Limousine. He ordered the Saxe-Coburgian military to mobilize. Prussia did the same. Poland ordered their military to be on high alert, but did not mobilize it.

The Winter War

No one knows which side fired the first shots in the Winter War. But someone made a mistake, and did fire, and their mistake caused one of the most devastating wars Europe has ever seen. Saxe-Coburg naturally blamed Prussia for starting the war, and Prussia blamed Saxe-Coburg. With the first shots came the declarations of war. Laeplaen joined Prussia, as did Bohemia. The Prussian forces invaded Poland, and still control a large amount of Polish land. When the European Peace Council tried to interfere in the war, Emperor Maximilian made a fateful decision: he pulled Saxe-Coburg out of the EPC. Though remaining within the EPC probably would have ended the war, Maximilian had become paranoid, and saw the EPC as a tool of the Prussians. Prussia made huge advances into northern Saxe-Coburg, reaching as far as Hamburg. But Saxe-Coburg did well in the north against Laeplaen. They invaded, and took control of twenty miles of Laeplaenian territory. The Bohemian front looked promising for Saxe-Coburg at the beginning of the war, but it soon stagnated, and the lines remained almost static at the Bohemian/Saxe-Coburgian border. Laeplaen made a separate peace treaty with Saxe-Coburg, and was given relatively soft terms. After Saxe-Coburg made peace with Laeplaen, Prussia mysteriously moved its troops back to the border, and offered to make peace with Saxe-Coburg. During this time, Emperor Maximilian died, and Johan II Sebastian was crowned by Pope Emmanuel II. Johann II travelled to Berlin to discuss peace with Neu Kaiser Ruprecht Adolphus, leader of Prussia, but he mysteriously left after a few rounds of negotiation, and scheduled a meeting in TheNeoRomanEmpire which would be moderated by the former NeoCaesar Augustus. Johann II met with Ruprecht Adolphus once again in Paradise City, capital of TheNeoRomanEmpire, and he began discussing a peace treaty once again. However, before anything could be ratified, he was forced to leave for home because of the plague.

The Plague (Red Death)

The Red Death, which originated in Africa and spread up the Nile River, hit Saxe-Coburg very hard. The Red Death was a mutation of the Bubonic plague that caused people to swell up, and, sometimes, to literaly burst in a shower of infected blood. The plague spread through Saxe-Coburg like wildfire. For a time, the government was essentially shut down. People were afraid to leave their houses. A monk named Ferdinand von Berens travelled to Coburg and began to care for people in the Grand Cathedral. Many claimed that he worked miracles. One woman said that he had miraculously healed her with prayer. Finally Egyria discovered a cure for the plague, and distributed it throughout the world. Ferdinand von Berens was promoted to Cardinal for his work with victims of the plague, and became Emperor Johann II's closest advisor.

The Märtzists

After the plague, many protestants within Saxe-Coburg blamed it on the Catholic government. The leader of these protestants was the Reverend Dietrich Märtz, a protestant from Kiel. He began to incite hatred of the government within the masses. During this time of trouble, Emperor Johann II married Elise Magdalene, a member of the royal family of Burgundy. They had a child, Ludwig. Soon after Ludwig was born, Johann II and Elise were assassinated while driving to church. Ludwig was sent to Catholic Europe to be cared for until he came of age and could govern Saxe-Coburg. Cardinal von Berens assumed the responsibilities of regent. However, Grand Duke Harold of Hamburg, a protestant, claimed that he should be allowed the position of regent, as he was the highest-ranking nobleman within the nation. Prussia supported Harold's claims. However, Cardinal von Berens did not allow Harold to take the position of regent, as he was a protestant, and a supporter of Dietrich Märtz.

The War of the Saxe-Coburgian Succession

After the assassination, a mysterious rebel group known as the Black Hand began to carry out attacks on the nation of Saxe-Coburg. It was believed that the black hand was controlled by operatives within Prussia. Surprisingly enough, the war with Prussia ended rather quickly. Neu Kaiser Ruprecht of Prussia was assassinated by an unknown entity, as were most of the high-ranking officials in the Prussian government. Control of Prussia went to Laeplaen, and Laeplaen continued to wage the war that Prussia had started. Unfortunately for Saxe-Coburg, Neu Kaiser Ruprecht was involved in a relationship with Princess Alexandra of NeoRome. This caused a war to break out between the two nations. Then Saxe-Coburgian ships sank a fleet of battleships that had recently been sold to Morracon by TheNeoRomanEmpire. Though the Saxe-Coburgians had no idea that the ships were Morracanian, Morracon saw it as an act of war. The Poitiers Pact, with the exception of Sarawakh, joined the war on the side of Morracon and now Saxe-Coburg was faced with the burden of defeating Free Britain and Pascoag as well. Luckily, however, the Holy League nations of South Africa, New Harumf, and Norightsia had joined the war on the side of the Saxe-Coburgians. During the war, Cardinal von Berens was elected as Pope Urban XIII, and the regency passed to Archduke Franz von Hapsburg. It was at this time that Saxe-Coburg began to lose the war. Though they fought to the very end, Saxe-Coburg was defeated by the superior numbers of the Poitiers Pact, The newly formed Dominion of Laeplaen and Prussia, and the NeoRoman Empire. Saxe-Coburg was split into zones of administration, and the title of Emperor of Saxe-Coburg and Rosenwald was abolished. Ludwig, still a child, remained in the care of the Pope for the time being.

The Colognian Schism and the Reunification of Saxe-Coburg

Because of the loss of the War of the Saxe-Coburgian Succession, the people of Saxe-Coburg began to lose faith in the Pope. When a group of Polish clergymen approached some of the leading clerics of Saxe-Coburg with an offer to reform the church, the Saxe-Coburgians were happy to participate. In the Theological College of Cologne, the German and Polish churchmen elected Pope Siricius II, and proclaimed Cologne as the true seat of Catholicism. The Pope in Genesis City was quick to respond with an excommunication. At the time of the schism, Ludwig, who still had a claim on the Saxe-Coburgian throne, resurfaced as a strong supporter of the new Church. He was promptly excommunicated by the Genesian Pope. This did not dampen his ambition to reunite his nation under one rule and to reestablish the Empire. At a conference in Coburg, Ludwig was proclaimed Emperor of Saxe-Coburg and Rosenwald by the Reichstag. The Empire was reuinted.

Important Facts

Conventional Long Form:

The Empire of Saxe-Coburg

Conventional Short Form:

Saxe-Coburg

Government Type:

Constitutional Empire

National Holiday:

Empire Day, July 24th

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Chief of State:

Emperor Ludwig Bourbon von Sachsen-Coburg

Head of Government :

Emperor Ludwig Bourbon von Sachsen-Coburg

Legislative Branch:

A bicameral Legislature, the House of Nobles (almost no real power) and the House of Commoners (Holds all real power)

Judicial Branch:

3 Member Supreme Court appointed for life by Parliament

Economy:

Strong, but not an economic powerhouse

Ethnic Groups:

German 65%, Czech 10%, Austrian 18%, Polish 7%.

Religions:

Christian (Protestant) 25%, Jewish 20%, Christian (Colognian Catholic) 29%, Christian (Genesian Catholic) 21%, Other 5%.

State Animal:

Double-Headed Eagle

Official Title of Emperor Ludwig of Saxe-Coburg and Rosenwald:

His Imperial Highness Ludwig Bourbon von Sachsen-Coburg,
Defender of the Empire,
Unifier of Germany,
Archmagistrate of the Hanseatic League,
Emperor of Saxe-Coburg and Rosenwald,
King of Saxony,
Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg,
Grand Duke of Thuringia and Hannover,
Archduke of Coburg and Austria,
Duke of Vienna, Munich, Hessia, Frankfurt am Elbe, Bielsko-Biała, and Brunswick,
Count of Lübeck, Bremen, Nuremberg, Białystok, and Kiel,
Baron of Salzburg, Augensburg, Szczecin, and Magdeburg,
Margrave of Weimar, Unterschleißheim, and Karlstadt.
And So forth and so forth and so forth.