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The Northlands


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Noordenwind, NEDERLAND

 

The dark age had been long, and it had been difficult. Few remembered the war fought long ago that had brought such hardship. To the old, life had become a punishment for some misdeed long forgotten, and for the young, this life was all they had seen. The textbooks and hushed stories were all they knew of the no-longer utopian world that had once ruled the world. There were tales of the great Athens and Tianxia, once united guardians and protectors of the planet. But the cracks in their friendship had widened, with trust giving way to weariness, which soon gave way to fear and paranoia. It had resulted in the largest, most destructive war the globe had witnessed. Instead of tanks and bullets, the war was fought in space and the digital domains, shutting down and destroying infrastructure and carefully structured societies that had brought peace and order. In a matter of days the war was over, both sides mortally wounding the other. These great governments, crippled beyond repair, collapsed and faded, leaving hundreds of millions behind.

 

The next fifty years saw a world trying to repair itself, wanting to achieve the advancement seen in a previous life. The Netherlands had once been an outstanding example of success and marvel for the Athenian hegemony, but had since turned into numerous city states squabbling with each other for the remnants of technology left behind.

 

The city of Noordenwind on the Atlantic Coast had become a refuge for those seeking a new life during this time. Nonexistent during the Athenia reign, it had swelled in size to more than six hundred thousand individuals. Sprawl emanated outwards from the city, with the municipal leaders as concerned about utility services as security from nearby threatening towns. But once travelers made their way through the labyrinth of housing and fortified defenses that had been hastily constructed on the outskirts, they were met with an inner city that seemed to radiate wealth and hope. Soaring towers matched those of a past civilization and factories lined the streets. The city center had become a bustling market of trade and bartering linked to the nearby seaport and rail lines, vital for the transport of goods, people, and ideas in the region.

 

One such idea began in the Noordenwind Society of Learning, one of many similar institutions that had begun to populate the cities and surrounding areas. An organization for intellectual and academics, it had become quite fashionable to debate and discuss at the society lodges during the evenings. Frederik Huygens was one of these men, and his ideas soon spread throughout the city and beyond.

 

He argued for a society between free democracy and absolutely monarchy, capable of maintaining the moderate qualities of each and tempering their faults. A democracy collapses under the weight of an increasingly partisan constituency that leads to outstanding debt and argument. An authoritarian regime leads to dissent and rebellion. What is needed, Huygens claimed, was a society ruled by informed elite with checks and input from the people.

 

This concept quickly caught on amongst Noordenwind and the surrounding region. Soon more cities began joining this collective of city-states, leading to the first semblance of a united nation to enter the world stage. By the end of three months, the majority of the former Netherlands and parts of Belgium had agreed to this experiment. Soon after the remnants of Luxembourg and the remaining areas of Belgium, now sandwiched between the rising powers of France and Germany, submitted their intent to join.

 

After a week of intense negotiations between leaders throughout the region, drafted legislation was proposed and sent to the communities and towns for ratification. At this point, an official announcement was proclaimed to the world:

 

Greetings,

 

On this day the Northland asserts its sovereignty and assumes its place on the world stage. The Northland is a peaceful nation with no intention of pursuing military aggression. We are hopeful of securing mutually beneficial relations with our neighbors and all nations. We wish blessings and peace to all states and look forward to future talks and discussions. 

 

William IV

King of the Northland

 

Cristiaan van Leeuwenhoek

First Minister of the Northland

Edited by California
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"Cascadia warmly welcomes the northlands! We are also wondering if one of our nearby corvettes may dock in one of your harbors an the on board diplomat can draft a treaty between our two great nations"

 

 

The Northlands enthusiastically appreciates the timely response of Cascadia, making it the first nation to recognize our sovereignty. Sir Rynsberger from the Foreign Ministry has been selected as the ambassador to Cascadia. Due to the current conflict that your nation is engaged in, we cannot allow your corvette to dock in our harbor at this time, and we hope that you can respect our current neutrality in the affair. That being said, we encourage you to send a delegation to our capital Noordenwind to discuss relations between our two great nations.

 

 

"The Nation of Qamadan recognizes the Northlands, and welcomes it to exchange Ambassadors. In additional, we would like to meet with you to discuss matters of mutual interest such as trade."
- Potentate Julius Palmer

 

We thank Potentate Palmer and the Nation of Qamadan for its recognition. Lord Maarschalkerweerd has been selected to represent the Northlands as our ambassador and we graciously accept your offer of a meeting to discuss matters between our nations.

 

"Welcome to the world Northlands, the Imperium of Japan is pleased to see such a full and prosperous Europe once more."

 

We thanks the Imperium of Japan for its kind words. While our nations are not close geographically, we are hopeful that relations between our nations cross our global divide and remain warm and fruitful. 

 

The Babylonian Empire extends full recognition to the Northlands and offers to host a delegation in New Babylon to discuss future diplomatic relations.

 

We thank the Babylonian Empire for its recognition. Sir Johan van der Bijl has been selected as ambassador to your nation and has been tasked with leading the delegation to discuss future relations with your Empire. 

 

 

"Novgorod welcomes the Northlands to the world and offers an exchange of embassies."

 

- Foreign Minister Boris Yuri Konstantinov

 

We appreciate the warm welcome and enthusiastically accept such an offer. Sir Albert Groot has been chosen to head the embassy in Novgorod as ambassador and we hope that this represents the beginning of amicable and friendly relations between our states.

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France wishes to extend welcome to its neighbor to the North, and would like to arrange a high level meeting as soon as possible between our leaders to discuss the future of our national relations.

 

As a close neighbor, we graciously thank France for their welcome and accept their invitation for a meeting. Lord Simon Verhoeven, newly appointed ambassador to France, and Cristiaan van Leeuwenhoek, First Minister of the Northlands, have been dispatched to discuss the status of relations between our two nations. 

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Diplomatic Note from Sverige

 

The Kingdom of Sverige recognizes our southern neighbor, and wishes them good fortunes in their journeys through nation hood.

 

We thank the Kingdom of Sverige for their recognition. As a neighbor, we would be interested in trading ambassadors and embassies, as well as hosting a meeting to determine the state of relations between our two great nations. We invite a delegation from Sverige to visit us at our capital.

 

The Baltic Union of Ubersteinia recognizes the Northlands, and offers to send an ambassador to discuss relations.

 

We appreciate the recognition from the Baltic Union of Ubersteinia and accept your offer of a meeting. Lord Legrand, Ambassador to Ubersteinia, awaits your arrival in the capital of Noordenwind. We have approved all accommodations and visas for your diplomatic delegation. 

 

"The Kingdom of Axum is always looking for new trading partners." 

 

We invite the Kingdom of Axum to Noordenwind for discussions on a possible trade agreement between our two nations. The director of commerce, Sir Thomas Dubois has invited a delegation to the capital to discuss economic cooperation between Axum and the Northlands.

 

"The Republic of China welcomes this new country and hopes it to be a good steward of its people. It hereby receives the recognition of the Chinese nation."

-Huang Lingyin, President and Supreme Chairwoman of the KMT

 

We appreciate the Republic of China's comments. We wish you and your people well.

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We invite the Kingdom of Axum to Noordenwind for discussions on a possible trade agreement between our two nations. The director of commerce, Sir Thomas Dubois has invited a delegation to the capital to discuss economic cooperation between Axum and the Northlands.

 

"We are buyers in this case, would it not be proper for you to come to us to woo us for our hard dongs? Our dongs are some of the solidest in Africa, never lets a person down with the rising and falling that goes on in some circles."

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"Germany recognizes this nation and wishes it the best. We love our neighbors and hope they only do well."

 

- German Chancellor Louisa Zilberschlag

 

We thank our neighbors for their kind words. We are eager to set up a meeting between our nations to discuss future relations between our states, and invite a delegation from Germany to our capital Noordenwind at your convenience.

Edited by California
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Diplomatic Note from Sverige

 

We wish for future co-operation and have interests in trade with your nation, and hopefully in the near future we can set up mutual embassies between our two nations. We look forward to working with you.

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