Winds of Change

[JEDCJT]

Across the rolling hills of England and the mountains of Wales, a wind blew. A wind of change. Beginning in the primate city of London, local councils were formed and convened at the parish level, where members of all age, gender, race, and social status converged to discuss matters such as taxation, representation, social welfare, law enforcement, and many others. After much discussions, which would become raucous at times, the individual councils of London would convene a city-wide meeting to form the London Council.

 

At roughly around the same time, local meetings would proliferate across England, following a complicated process in which parish councils would meet to elect district assemblies, which in turn would elect district assemblies. The process was similar in Wales, with boroughs councils being formed, which would elect county assembles in turn. A new nation was being built from the ground-up, originating from the people themselves. Representatives of the London Council would meet with representatives from the English district assembles for some more discussions. The same went for the Cardiff Council with the Welsh county assemblies. Eventually, the Council of England would be formed, to be followed up by the Council of Wales.

 

Aaron Collier, Chairman of the Council of England, would meet with Gregory Davies, Chairman of the Council of Wales, in the city of Gloucester to discuss the formation of a sovereign nation encompassing the peoples of England and Wales. At first, Davies was not inclined to enjoin Wales into a nation that would be governed from London. He was concerned that Wales would be subsumed into England, citing historic reasons such as centuries of English domination over the Welsh people through laws such as the 1284 Statute of Rhuddian and the Laws in Wales Act passed in the sixteenth century. Collier reassured Davies that Wales would have the right to a self-governance through a devolved national assembly, but Davies objected to this, stating that the right would be granted and withdrawn by London at all. A heated argument ensued, and the meeting was put on hold.

 

Later on, however, Davies would relent, and propose something of a commonwealth, in which Wales and England would maintain separate legislative, legal and other systems. Collier accepted this, stating that Wales would have the right to legislate for itself, essentially proposing a federation in which England and Wales would become self-governing regions under a federal government. A debate over the proposed state's name ensued, with Davies proposing a 'Commonwealth of England and Wales', and Collier a 'United Republic of England'. Davies voiced concerns that the nation's name implied the 'subjugation' of Wales by England, and that such a political union would face a fate similar to Ireland. Collier offered the 'Union of Albion', and when that was rejected, sarcastically proposed the name of 'Airstrip One'.

 

Finally, Collier and Davies agreed on 'Avalon' as a provisional name for the republic. The official name, along with the executive, legislature, and judiciary, would have to be fleshed out later, but at least a working framework of a nation was laid out. The two would publicly issue the Gloucester Declaration to the international community, proclaiming Avalon as a sovereign entity. Pending the formation of a permanent government, the English and Welsh Councils would form a joint Council of Avalon in which Collier and Davies would serve as the joint head of state and government. The provisional capital of the republic would be set in London and Cardiff.

 

OOC: tl;tr: Avalon is formed in England and Wales. I'm back.

Edited June 22, 2014 by JEDCJT

[JEDCJT]

To exercise the function of government, five committees would be formed within the Avalon Council: Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, National Defense, Justice, and Finance, with several sub-committees to handle specific work not under the jurisdiction of the aforementioned committees. The committees, which members were currently in the process of review and appontment by Councilors Collier and Davies, would be divided between Avalon's two capitals: Foreign Affairs, National Defense, and Finance would convene in London, while Justice and Internal Affairs would assemble in Cardiff. As Avalon currently had no standing army, and the National Defense Committee, let alone the entire Council, had barely begun to address the issue of national defense, it was decided that the regional militias currently maintained by England (20,000) and Wales (8,000) would suffice for now. In a speech to a crowd of some 300,000 Londoners in front of the Birmingham Palace, Collier stated that a national parliament would be established in the near-future, that the Council would implement policies aimed at "rebuilding the economy", and that Avalon was looking forward to establishing relations with nations around the world, especially Tianxia, Athens, Russia, and America.

Edited June 22, 2014 by JEDCJT

[Jarl Frost]

The Republik of Madagascar extends it's formal recognition to Avalon, and hopes that this government in the British Isles will be much more long lasting than the last

[Dillon1102]

Th European commonwealth applauds the government of Avalon rise to power.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Dillon1102

[Evangeline Anovilis]

"The Laurentine Union hopes for good relations with Avalon and extents its recognition to our companions in old England."

-Mireille Hamelin, Premier of the Laurentine Union