Edropia

Edropia, officially the Federal Republic of Edropia, is a nation in Laraniem. It is located in the north-west of Atrapis and borders Hetland to the north, Iagrium to the east and Hagston to the south across the Anglic Channel.

Edropia consists of the twelve states Atrilia, Cromerania, Crosshaven, Drefort, Eastgralia, Halmere, Milchester, Newmarsh, Norwick, Surwick, Thornhampton and Westgralia. Edropia's capital city, Drefort, is located on the southern coast and makes up its own city-state.

Edropian Paganism (4000 BCE–18 CE)
The first signs of human settlement go as far back as the early Neolithic era around 10,000 BCE but it isn't until 4000 BCE that first evidence of Edropian culture can be found, a long extinct religion known as Edropian paganism, which first developed in the Drefort area. These pagans saw nature as holy and worshipped a number of different deities, all representing an aspect of nature. The god of water, Eteros was the principal god as water was seen as the basis for all life and the pagans considered the Dunton river, which was the only source of fresh water at the time to be a gift from him.

The pagans also dedicated the main temple complex in Drefort (or "Tharia" as the pagans called it) to him, which was first established around 2000 BCE and occasionally expanded throughout the next thousand years, making Drefort the unofficial capital and most important settlement of the religion.

The pagans referred to their territory as "etro ropia", which translates to 'holy land' and is most likely the origin of the name Edropia. The religion spread all over modern Edropia up until the bronze age, giving the nation its name, culture and love for nature.

Cloacan Era (18–601)
In 14 CE Edropia consisted of a number of different tribes with similar culture and religion that traded with each other and coexisted peacefully without a government or military. So when the Cloacan Empire sought out new territory and invaded Edropia in late 14 CE the tribes didn't have high chances of winning. Despite this the Edropian tribes managed to fight off the Cloacan armies for a while, using the woods for surprise attacks and reusing gathered Cloacan equipment in battle. The war also encouraged many tribes to form military alliances and basic local governments. By every month however more tribes had been occupied and the resistance lost more and more manpower. By 18 CE the Cloacan military had reached Drefort, the most important and one of the last remaining settlements and with the fall of Drefort, Edropia was now under Cloacan rule.

The Cloacan Empire set new technological standards like building cities out of stone, vastly improved road infrastructure and a local government. It wasn't all beneficial however as their religion and language were banned to promote Cloacan culture, with the temple complex in Drefort burnt down and many of the old pagan stone tablets and parchments destroyed. By 350 the old Edropian religion and language had been driven to extinction but the population was still reluctant to give up their culture completely. A new language had developed, mixing the old pagan language with the Cloacan language to create old Edropian English which was spoken up until the development of modern English in the 16th century.

The Cloacan religion wasn't popular either with many regions forming their own minor religions instead thus making Edropia consist of hundreds of small religions, almost all of which were very disorganized and later forgotten as there is barely any written evidence left. By 352 the religion Pretarism had developed in the area of Octralia (today: Crosshaven) which was the first organized Edropian religion since the paganism. The name comes from the old Edropian English word "pretare" which means 'protest' as it acted as opposition against Cloacan rule while promoting Edropian independence. Pretarism renounced the old beliefs, completely abandoning the idea of polytheism for the concept of one true god.

The religious symbol became the cross as many Pretarists were crucified by the Cloacan Empire as punishment and deterrent. Because of this they had to pray in secret, essentially becoming a secret organization quietly spreading all over Edropia. As the religion spread the population grew increasingly dissatisfied with the Cloacan rule and so protests and general unrest became more and more common in the 6th century. Other Cloacan colonies also grew increasingly resistant ultimately leading to its collapse in 601, ending its reign over Edropia.

Middle Ages (601–1468)
After the fall of the Cloacan Empire Edropia stood without government. The overwhelming majority wanted a unified Edropian nation but nobody could agree on what it would look like and who the leader should be. The lower and middle class longed for a republic while the upper class wanted a monarchy and constantly quarreled over who most deserved to be the king. After months without any agreement or progress many aristocrats were ready to take the matter to the battlefield, hiring mercenaries while farmers and commoners took arms themselves to fight the aristocrats, leading to the Great Civil War (601–608).

The civil war was an all-out brawl with everyone trying to to conquer and hold as much territory as possible. Despite a few alliances and peace treaties the constant battles never seemed to stop and by February 608 Edropia laid in ruins and the population was left immensely exhausted. Food was extremely sparse, especially after the last harsh winter, and so many of those who didn't fall in battle died of starvation. Even the aristocrats were running low and so they reluctantly signed the peace treaties despite the war seeming undecided as no unified Edropia had been established.

Finally in peace again the population slowly started to recover and Edropia rebuilt. And now that the Cloacan rule was over the Edropian culture was no longer being oppressed which lead to a cultural boom and growing popularity of old Edropian English names, with cities being renamed, receiving their modern-day names, and many people changing their Cloacan surnames. It also meant that that Pretarists could freely practice their religion, making it the state religion of all Edropian countries.

The war saw the formation of new powerful empires, the most notable of which were the Kingdom of Gralia, named after its first king Cynebald Gralus, the Archbishopric of Crosshaven, which was the origin and capital of Pretarism, and the Drefort Merchant Republic which developed into the richest and most important center of trade and exchange in Edropia.

The people knew that this peace was only temporary however and a new era of constant wars, continuous arms races, growing militaries and ever expanding fortresses began. By the 11th century Edropians had perfected their martial culture with mining and blacksmithing becoming the core elements of the Edropian economy. Edropia had very high amounts of ores and wood and the people had become excellent blacksmiths, allowing them to craft high quality weaponry, armor and tools for a very low price, often exporting them to foreign countries like Hagston or Hetland. This lead to Edropia becoming famous for its blacksmithing all over Atrapis, further strengthening Drefort's position as trade center. Edropia also experienced the rise of chivalry which made Edropian knights some of the most feared warriors in Atrapis, dominating the Edropian battlefields up until the invention of gunpowder.

Renaissance (1468–1670)
The Renaissance was a period of cultural and scientific revolution that officially began in Edropia in 1468 with the invention of the printing press in Drefort. The printing press allowed books to be copied much faster and cheaper, drastically sinking their prices and making them widely available to even the lower classes. The popularity of books greatly increased alongside a literacy revolution with books taking central part in culture and entertainment. The growing demand for literacy was followed by a universal wish for education, causing the first basic school systems to appear. The improving education in return lead to new scientific methods and discoveries in chemistry, biology, physics and mathematics.

With the scientific revolution came new inventions like gunpowder, reforming warfare forever, and new ship designs and food conservation methods that revolutionized naval navigation. These new naval technologies allowed previously long and expensive trade routes to be done by sea, making them shorter, less expensive and much more profitable. As a result trade with Hagston flourished which lead to excellent relations and cultural exchange, mixing the two languages into modern English in 1550–1600.

New weapons like cannons and muskets gave the most technologically advanced countries a clear advantage in battle, making Edropian rulers realize the importance of science and technology, encouraging them to further increase education and research fundings.

Neopaganism (1670–1760)
On 3 June 1657 old pagan stone tablets and parchments were found in Matford, in a previously unknown underground area. At this point not much was known about the old pagans and all pagan manuscripts were believed to have been destroyed during the Cloacan Era and so the discovery gained attention all over Edropia, with many historians being fascinated about the findings. In order to accurately translate them however more pagan manuscripts were needed and thus dozens of groups of scientists looked all over the nation for new pagan remnants, leading to the birth of modern archaeology.

This series of events was followed by great interest of the public in old pagan history and so, when more manuscripts were found in the following years and successfully translated by 1668 the public was curious to find out what was written on them. The translations were printed on books and distributed all over the nation, becoming an instant success in just a few days. The fascination in old paganism then lead to the Neopagan movement around 1670 with its height in the 1730s.

Neopaganism, or Edropian Neopaganism as it's known outside Edropia, was an Edropian artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement characterized by its revival of ancient Edropian pagan values and veneration of the dead. It is considered the most important art period in Edropian history, as it affected the culture the most. The paintings, poems and music of this time all focus heavily on the beauty and calmness of nature and old rituals and traditions of the Edropian pagans. Many famous Edropian landscape paintings are from this period, like the famous 'Tranquility Meadow' by Wesley Howell (1693–1757), one of the best known Neopagan painters.

The Neopagan movement gained a lot of popularity and caused the public to respect nature a lot more, reviving the old pagan's love for nature to a degree and even somewhat promoting pacifism, making wars more frowned upon and thus harder for rulers to get away with. Neopaganism later naturally developed into Cronotism, another important art period, by the beginning of the industrial revolution.

Industrial Revolution (1760–1844)
The Industrial Revolution began around 1760 when steam engines were drastically gaining popularity and increasingly used all over Edropia. The development of modern medicine caused immense population growth and new technologies lead to the rise of factories, mass production, improving efficiency and increasing urbanization. Coal grew gradually more fundamental, especially after the invention of the first steam engine locomotive, with the first experimental railroad built between Honcord and Dedrode in 1825.

The climbing importance of coal ultimately lead to the rise of Cromerania as a major Edropian power, as the areas surrounding Honcord had extremely rich deposits of coal, making Cromerania the leading exporter for coal and turning Honcord and Dedrode into new economic centers. Honcord and Dedrode became the fastest growing cities in Edropia in the 1810s, with Honcord even surpassing Drefort's population by 1832. Cromerania had always been an important power in Edropia, most notably for its fishing industry, but Gralia was the undisputed leading power with the biggest military and huge influence all over Edropia. The sudden shift in powers however, with Cromerania even surpassing Gralia in terms of military strength in 1836, ultimately divided Edropia in half as the rivalry between the two nations grew and new alliances developed.

By 1831 two new major alliances had emerged, the Southern Edropian Alliance (SEA) and the Northern Edropian Alliance (NEA). The SEA was led by Cromerania and included Atrilia, Drefort, Halmere, Milchester and Thornhampton, while the NEA was lead by Gralia and included Crosshaven, Newmarsh, Norwick and Surwick. Tensions grew between the two alliances and a war appeared more and more inevitable finally resulting in the Gralo-Cromeranian War (1838 - 1844).

The Industrial Revolution was also an important period for art however due to the development of Cronotism out of the Neopagan movement. The name was inspired by the Edropian pagan word "cronote" which means 'to sacrifice' and widely popularized by Andrew Glover (1802–1856), arguably the most famous Cronotian artist. As the name suggests the core concept is the sacrifice of nature for urban life, as the industrial revolution was widely unpopular with most citizens during its beginning. As industrialization continued however it became continuously harder to deny the benefits. Modern medicine for example had drastically lowered child mortality and increased life expectancy while new economic practices provided jobs and made goods widely available, decreasing poverty and widening the middle class.

Because of this the population started to see industrialization as a necessary evil rather than something to avoid, which they expressed in the art of the time. Poets longed after lost nature while criticizing the dullness of urban life, painters worked with contrasts by mixing gray and green and musicians composed music that started off peaceful and content but turned increasingly monotone and mechanical. All of this was to "make the observer feel what we are sacrificing" as Andrew Glover explained.

Edropian Empire (1844–1924)
The Gralo-Cromeranian War started on 13 August 1838 and was the biggest Edropian war since the Great Civil War (601–608). The Cromeranian Army set new standards in military efficiency with new doctrines and their use of Ironclad warships. The war ended on 6 April 1844 when Crimburg fell after weeks of harsh battles. Fletcher II (1801–1882), the king of Cromerania at the time and later known as 'Fletcher the Great', won a lot of influence over Edropia after the defeat of Gralia and had now united Edropia as a single unit. He split Gralia in half to decrease its influence and to distribute powers more evenly along the states and officially founded the Edropian Empire a month later on 17 May 1844 while declaring himself its first Emperor.

The Edropian Empire was a federal monarchy with the the imperial crown being a hereditary office of the House of Burrows, the royal house of Cromerania. Despite Honcord's position as richest and most populous city as well as the Burrows' rich traditions in Cromerania, Drefort was chosen as the capital. This was due to Drefort being the cultural center and and still widely considered the rightful capital by the majority of the population. Moving the government to Drefort also allowed Fletcher II to acquire direct control over Drefort, further increasing his influence.

The abolition of the borders and tariffs following the unification made trade between the states easier and more profitable, leading to an economic boom, which was further increased in the following decades with the expansion of the railroad infrastructure. Additionally Fletcher II gained a lot of popularity by improving labor rights, most notably by decreasing maximum working hours to 10 hours per day and 60 hours per week while introducing minimum wage in 1851, the occupational health and safety laws in 1853 and old-age pensions in 1858.

Fletcher II died on 22 February 1883 and succeeded by his son Fletcher III who followed in his fathers footsteps by further improving labor laws and introducing unemployment protection but is also known for increasing international trade and improving foreign relations, especially with Koxor and Hagston. He was very popular and described as charismatic, gentlemanly and friendly, earning him the nickname 'Fletcher the Kind'. He was planning to democratize the nation by decreasing the power of the Emperor and state rulers and establishing a national parliament together with a parliament for each state. Unfortunately he died on 30 July 1911 in the high age of 87 before he could carry out his plans.

He was succeeded by Fletcher IV who was very sick at the time however and died of Leukemia two months later on 3 October. His son Rowan II was declared the new Emperor and was mostly known for his liberal ideology and sympathy for the middle class and the poor. Rowan II was extremely popular with the lower classes because of his down-to-earth attitude but failed to impress royals and generally disliked amongst them, making it difficult for him to convince state rulers. He wanted to follow through with his grandfather's democratization plans and eventually managed to establish the Edropian national parliament in 1921 and later on the state parliaments in 1922. These plans made him even more unpopular among the royal families however and he was eventually assassinated on 12 February 1923, a few weeks before passing a new constitution that would have severely decreased the power of the Emperor and state rulers.

He was succeeded by his son Rowan III, who resisted his fathers liberal ideas and publicly supported autocratic rule. The assassins were never caught and the lack of investigation and obvious motive seemed very suspicious to supporters of Rowan II. A few months later it was indeed discovered that royal members had hired the assassins to get Rowan III into power and to stop the democratization process. The discovery was followed by extensive protests all across the nation, demanding the end of corruption, the passing of the constitution and the imprisonment of the royal members responsible for the assassination.

The royals had no intend to listen however and decided to respond aggressively after weeks of civil unrest. The following conflict resulted in the Edropian Revolution that started on 6 July 1923 when the police started arresting and even shooting protesters in Clafton and Matford. The protesters decided to retaliate, setting government buildings on fire and stealing police equipment to fight the royalists and the government. The military got involved and in many cities tanks were used to combat the protesters. As the conflict grew many soldiers resigned to join the revolutionaries, especially in September when the military was first ordered to use lethal force.

The revolutionaries grew in size and had overtaken the government after months of civil unrest on 27 January 1924. By February the remaining royal members had either fled the country or been killed in the conflict and the Edropian Empire ultimately collapsed on 6 February 1924 with the abdication of Rowan III.

The Republic (1924–present)
The Federal Republic of Edropia was officially established on 1 March 1924, with the first parliamentary elections taking place a month later on April 6th and the Edropian Revolution formally ending on 13 May 1924 when the Edropian Constitution was adopted. The new constitution was in essence a modified version of Rowan II's constitution, unlike Rowan II's however the new constitution abandoned monarchism as well as the idea of a central ruler and instead gave the power to the parliaments while the president's duties were mostly representative.

The new republic embraced Neopagan ideas and pacifism by declaring the 'Double Cross Flag' of the revolutionaries as the national flag, by abolishing mandatory military service, and by adopting a new neutrality policy, that declared Edropia neutral in all international conflicts. However, as the Atharin Empire, which embraced communism in 1911 and had been aggressively expanding its borders ever since, was increasingly becoming more of a threat, the neutrality policy was quickly losing popularity and becoming controversial.

When the Atharin Empire invaded Essentei in July 1927, the government decided to hold a referendum whether to abolish the neutrality policy and try to end Atharia's aggression or not. The overwhelming majority voted for yes and as a result Edropia joined the Laraniem Prosperity Sphere on 6 August. Tensions grew between the LPS and Atharia in the following years, ultimately leading to the Great Laraniem War on 6 January 1936. The war lasted seven years, with the LPS emerging victorious and disbanding the Atharin Empire in November 1943.

Today Edropia is known for its love for nature, pacifism and liberal socialism but when the Federal Republic was first established the population was mostly conservative. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) managed to get the most seats in the very first elections in 1924 due to playing a vital part in the Edropian Revolution and the creation of the republic but was always surpassed by the Democratic Pretarist Alliance (DPA) in the following decades. It wasn't until the 1970s, due to the decline in religiosity, that liberalism and socialism started to gain more popularity.

By the 1990s the most popular parties were the SDP, The Left, also known as the Left Party, and the Edropian Liberal Party (ELP). As a result the nation became a lot more leftist in the following years with tighter regulations for private businesses. The goal was to give citizens equal chances which was also done by extending racial and gender discrimination laws in 1994, relaxing migration laws throughout the 2000s and by legalizing same-sex marriages in 2012. Arguably the most important change however was the separation of church and state which declared Edropia a secular state without a state religion in 2002, something that seemed impossible a hundred years earlier when Pretarism was generally acknowledged as the most important aspect of Edropian culture.