Zanthuz 1837 Popular Post Share Posted January 5, 2021 (edited) Spoiler Villeng iv ve BlaunkzFilling in the Blanks4th of Joma and Umund, 354 E.S. Lord Palatine Otto Sigmar and President Terrence May discuss politics in the Ekaterinburg Palace.Painting by Henrik Vanir, c. 1760 Written by: Viktor Kortrevich, Margot Roberts & Lukas Rakoczy Published by: B&K Publishing TABLE OF CONTENTS: I. The Context of the Times II. The Edict of Establishment, 1736 III. Legal Jurisdiction IV. Revenues & Taxation V. Ennoblement VI. Military Conscription VII. The Edict of Separation, 1786 A. Addendum- A Message to Our Ruthern Scholars I. The Context of the Times The Nenzing Proclamation, written under secrecy in the mountainous terrain of the Stafyr lands, asserted the fundamental and intrinsic values for which a future government beyond the Pertinaxi Regime would be founded. The liberal positive laws of freedom enshrined by a nation, affording the rights of every Imperial subject a chance of life, liberty, and trial were a crucial crusade in the fight for justice. Since the conclusion of the War of the Two Emperors, the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska was embroiled in a post-war period which aimed to fulfill the pledges made during the Nenzing Proclamation in 1715. The Troubles, as it were, consisted of a period lasting from 1725 to 1736, defined by instability, uncertainty, and a fierce resolve to provide order. The provisional government of the House de Joannes under Emperor Alexander II and Lord Protector Adrian de Sarkozy was a crucial test for the new Imperial regime. The balancing act of a central government, its constituent levers of power, and the representation of the vassal states in the Holy Orenian Empire served as the pivotal challenge which emerged many voices of the state. The Northern Association for Free Trade & Administration, known as N.A.F.T.A. posed a profound challenge in the establishment of the government. Founded in 1735, it was pioneered by King Andrik III of Haense and co-founded by his vassal peers King Pierce of Curon, Edward I of Suffonia, and Duke Adrian of Adria. The pact was perceived as a direct affront to the centrality of the Imperial Crown by supplanting provisions of a central government into a confederation of vassal states. However, the NAFTA members believed that a central structure of vassals was a necessary inlay within the new Imperial order. The desire for equilibrium within government attested to the ensuing struggles for the concentration of power that defined the next half century. II. The Edict of Establishment, 1736 After over a decade of the Troubles, Imperial statesmen converged to decree a complete reformation of the Orenian state. Compelled to respond to the Council of Relief convened by King Andrik III of Haense, many of the architects of the Imperial government believed that N.A.F.T.A. did not serve in the best interest to unify the nation. Prominent among those voices was Sir Frederick Armas, KHE, who just ten years before, proposed sweeping reforms to rein in the powers of the Imperial Crown over the human demesne. The final draft of the Imperial government charter was published in 1736, a compilation of structures that sought to pacify the demands of N.A.F.T.A. while also spearheading the central government’s legitimacy. The end result was the publication of the document, the Edict of Establishment, enshrining the suffrage of men, a bicameral legislature, and the byproduct of the dichotomy between “regionalism” and “centralism.” The Imperial Senate was convoked, a steady yet uneasy compromise after the dissolution of N.A.F.T.A. superseded the interests of vassal representation and was coupled with the interests of enshrining central authority for vassal representatives to approve taxation, military conscription, and the confirmation of Imperial bureaucrats. It had eight members, two senators duly elected every two years from the four provincial centers in Oren: Helena, Curon, Kaedrin, and Haense. During the summons of the Imperial Senate, King Andrik III appointed Sir Terrence May, GCM to serve as Senator-designate of Haense. A former Haeseni Lord Palatine and Chairman of the Board of Notaries (now known as the Ministry of Civil Affairs) in the Imperial Council of State, May was a desirable candidate sent to Helena to navigate the dynamics within the Heartlander capital. He continued on to serve in the lower house of the Imperial Diet, a career spanning thirty-three years where he was given the moniker “Father of the Senate.” His mandate was to find middle ground in the legislative arena, balancing regionalist concerns with the need for an efficient central government that delivered on its pledges. Pertinent among the many legislative agendas to the newly appointed Haeseni senator was the accountability and transparency of the new Imperial state. Seeking to stifle the problematic and often chaotic decisions that resulted during the Troubles, Senator May introduced the Senate Committees Act of 1737, a bill designed to establish standing committees to oversee the Treasury, the Ministry of Justice, Civil Affairs and the Interior. The relationship between the Senate and the vassal governments were muddled along many areas as fights over key issues became contested between the members and the Imperial Crown. The fight for transparency, accountability, cooperation, and the interests of the Imperial Crown were often inconclusive or moderately addressed. Four conflicts during the Imperial Diet emerged as crucial tests of the government where the issues of central power and the regionalist aims of N.A.F.T.A. to preserve vassal integrity were pitted against each other. In this study, we argue that these four; legal jurisdiction, the issue of revenues and taxation, the right to ennoble, and military conscription, were the vital political battles that catalyzed the separation of the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska with the Holy Orenian Empire. The northern village of Vasiland, c. 1799 III. Legal Jurisdiction The first of the four issues revolved around the Oren Revised Code (O.R.C.) and its storied journey from the Troubles to its passage in 1759. The arbitrary justice practiced in the Pertinaxi regime was detested by the architects of the Nenzing Proclamation. By the conclusion of the War of the Two Emperors, the Troubles evoked the question of legal power and the ordination of a new system of justice. Emperor Alexander II’s appointment of Prince Otto Alimar to the Imperial council became the impetus for this debate. The Barbovic Prince was a champion of the N.A.F.T.A. efforts and believed in the sacred rights afforded to vassals with royal pedigree to maintain and execute their laws. However, much to the disdain of Sir Frederick Armas, the conflict ensued over the question of legal precedent and authority. The conflict came to its highest peak when the issue arose over which legal entities should arbitrate over intra-vassal cases. Sir Frederick believed that the overarching Imperial code was necessary to unify the country. However, it was the opinion of Prince Otto to enforce imperial statutes in intra-vassal cases and vassal statutes for crimes committed by citizens within their respective provinces. By the time of the convocation of the Imperial Senate, the legal question endured as an unsettled matter. The senators were thus tasked to arbitrate over the dispute and settle the precedent of law altogether. The result was yet another unsteady compromise package brokered by Senator Terrence May, much to the lukewarm satisfaction of both imperial and vassal officials, but nevertheless held the fragile union. The first of this compromise package of legal reform legislation was the establishment of the Circuit Courts, grouping western (Helena and Haense) and eastern (Kaedrin and Curon) with the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1740. This law paved the way for Imperial courts to arbitrate cases with a unified law code but gave discretionary magisterial nominations to the vassal leaders and confirmation of office to their senators. The second law was also authored by Senator Terrence May, whose support for the passage of the Criminal Justice Reform Act of 1746 produced another compromise plan to eliminate archaic forms of sentencing found in vassal laws but empowered juries (from the vassals) to sentence those accused of crimes in the Empire. The final phase of the legal reforms was the passage of the Oren Revised Code Act of 1759, written by Arthur Callahan of Kaedrin and passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee by Chairman May, equally applying legal powers by the Imperial government but providing vassal protections in the criminal justice system. IV. Ennoblement The right to ennoblement, a prerogative endowed by the Imperial Crown to Haense in 1577, was another key factor. As the Edict ordained, the House of Lords was supplanted to grant letters patent for Imperial peerage. The power to draft royal letters with the conflicting powers of the Imperial Crown to delegate such to the House of Lords became a long-standing challenge, defended aptly by kings Andrik III, Andrik IV, and Sigismund II. The Haeseni Crown over the years had grown exasperated at this assertion, believing it to be a violation of the trust afforded to Haense in its historical patrimony. For the Haeseni, a regulatory commission of vassals was a direct challenge to the king’s authority, particularly on his discretion to ennoble citizens residing in the Haeseni hinterlands. Over two decades of tenuous debate and a series of Lord Speakers of Haense provided all but incremental compromises that did not assure any meaningful outcome for either side. Such issues were pertinent during the speaker of Lord Viktor Kortrevich to pave the way for Imperial recognition of Houses Ludovar (County of Otistadt) and Vyronov (Barony of Astfield), an effort spanning ten years. Haeseni officers seizing an Imperial bureaucrat, c. 1767 V. Military Conscription The Haeseni integration of soldiers into the Imperial State Army (ISA) was another crucial issue, rebuffed by the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska and consistently a point of necessity to the Basrid Ministry. With the integration of the Curonian kingdom into the Imperial crown, the Curonian troops were reformed into a regiment of the ISA, placed under the command of the new Governor-General Sylvester Halcourt. As the last vassal to have an independent military force, the pressures of integration were repeatedly confronted. During an impromptu state visit to Haense, Emperor Peter III sought to compel then King Andrik IV to consider pushing for the establishment of a 3rd Regiment of the ISA, repositioning the Brotherhood of Saint Karl under the authority of the War Office in Helena. Various conflicts during the mid 1750s scrutinized such a prospect which, the Imperial government argued, were necessary for unified coordination against threats by rogue bandits and stateless actors. The appointment of the Lord Lieutenant (then Prince Nikolas Barbanov and later Sir Osvald Barclay) was a tenuous position for the Haeseni and the Imperial Government. Despite being an Imperial general in the frontlines against the Alliance of Independent States (A.I.S.), their position was a crucial liaison that sought to mediate the jurisdiction of military affairs between Haense and the Heartlander capital. This presented a dichotomy between having an independent levy and the slow and incremental interests of phasing in the structures of the ISA. VI. Revenues & Taxation The fourth dispute settled on the matter of taxation. The Imperial Vassal Taxation Act of 1751 served as a test to define the principles of tribute and the authority of the Imperial government to collect revenues. When the drafting for the Imperial Vassal Taxation bill was proposed, the King of Haense was skeptical of the move. Taxation was seen in Haense as not simply a financial burden, but a show of dependence to the Imperial government that was not necessary. Although initially not opposed to taxes, King Sigismund II believed that the bill was a blanket tax rate that was meant for bureaucratic excesses. Another dispute was the ordinance of the Northland territories after the dissolution of Suffonia. After an informal agreement by the Imperial Crown and Lord Lieutenant Nikolas Barbanov (who represented King Sigismund II of Haense) sought to divide the Suffonian territory with the agreement that seventy-five thousand marks was paid by Haense for their share of the land. However, much to the contempt of the Haeseni Aulic Government, the Imperial Crown coveted the entirety of the land and delayed negotiations to return the money or cede the portion of the Northland originally agreed to for Haense. Such aims were looked with indignation. Senator May took to the floor to begin repeal of the Imperial Vassal Taxation Act of 1751. It passed with a majority of the Senate, paving the way for a moratorium for legislative consideration on any attempts to reform the tax law or impose new measures to collect taxes until the formation of the House Commons in the mid 1760s. In the early 1770s, the Josephite majority government argued for the necessity of taxes in the House of Commons, raising again the issue that had stifled any consideration from the Senate. The Josephites and some Everardines believed that if Haeseni members of the House were given input on passage of the budget, there needed to be taxes paid by the Haeseni into the Imperial coffers. However, Haeseni delegates, speaking less from partisan allegiances and looking at provincial concerns, argued that Haeseni taxes need not be collected because they did not need to pay for the ISA if they had their own autonomous military (Haeseni Royal Army). The Haeseni representatives also argued that taxes should not be paid because of the seventy-five thousand marks that had not been returned to Haense. ‘Let Freedom Sing’Illustration of Lady Haense VII. The Edict of Separation, 1786 The final epoch of the tenuous relationship between Haense and Oren culminated to what contemporaries saw as the inevitable: total political separation. The Edict of Separation marked the end of fifty years of compromise and resistance. At a conference convened by Empress Anne, King Josef I of Haense and his delegation were informed of the arrangements to release Haense as a constituent vassal of Oren. The Edict of Separation, in its carefully worded and stern tone, reflects the decades of how compromise became incompatibility. A Message to Our Ruthern scholars Sir Viktor Kortrevich (left), Lady Margot Roberts (middle), Jovenaar Lukas Rakoczy (right)Paintings by Haeseni artisans, c. 1796 While the cultural context of the times is an important factor, there is a problematic scrutiny with details not relevant to the title of the post, “A Study on the Edict of Separation”. The focus on dresswear, particularly the introduction of hats by Aleksandra Stafyr and Mary Philippa present a context which has been stretched to mean that they held gravitas in the crucial political battles which Haense had been involved in to protect its royal patrimony from the 1500s. However, we compel scholars to study the politics of separation with the direct struggles to maintain cultural identities which allow counterculture (such as hats) which your study needlessly focuses on. The focus on cultural differences, which your paper argues is the motivation for separation, are a direct result of the fight for ennoblement, among other political disputes. For example, we see the answer made by Lauritz Christiansen where he tactfully states, “I believe the root cause of the separation was due to differing sentiments in regards to whether the Empire should be a centralised state or whether it should be a federalised one. It is the question of whether the Empire was a nation state or a multinational state. In the perception of the Imperial Government, there was one people, the Orenian people, one nation and one state.” The Queen Maya incident illustrates further that there was a romantic interest and an irrational emperor’s response to her rejection. It is but an appendage to the storied and structurally complex political disagreements between Haense and Oren over fifty years. The affair signified the already deteriorating circumstances, having long passed any meaningful conciliatory means in the relationship between Haense and Oren by souring personal ties with the House of Barbanov and the House of Helane. We agree that this incident was profoundly disrespectful, but it must be added in the context of the previous issues (which we outlined) to which it is intrinsically tied to. Signed by,The Right Honorable, Sir Viktor Kortrevich, Kastellan Scribe of Hanseti-Ruska. Her Excellency, Lady Margot Roberts, Aulic Ambassador of Hanseti-Ruska. The Honorable, Jovenaar Lukas Rakoczy, Jovenaar of Hanseti-Ruska. Spoiler Authors: @Piov, @Zanthuz and @Pureimp10 Edited January 5, 2021 by Zanthuz 40 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikoMonster 1393 Share Posted January 5, 2021 “Now this is history!” exclaims Eleanora Mannox in satisfaction, secluded to her room in the Roger household, taking a break from her studies on the Caezk. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
louislxix 3095 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Alric var Ruthern laughs, he was no scholar and it was merely a trial of his to complete. Though, he does fondly smile at the thought of such seasoned scholars perusing his work. He then mulls further, another notion passing through his mind, perhaps he should write another study to improve on his previous work - maybe on fabricated plagues. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eryane 3629 Share Posted January 5, 2021 From within the Ruthern Manor, Irene approached her nephew upon spotting him. She held out the historical missive, "A rather interesting study on what you previously were trialed to do. Did they speak to you any before attempting to call it needless? Seems rather .. strange, that scholars would rather not work with you on what you had wrote before. Either way, you are regarded as a scholar now for it." 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddywilson2 2116 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Niko chuckles as he reads the edict between spoonfuls of mushy oatmeal. ‘’So historically inaccurate that they picked the wrong person as the first Lord Lieutenant. And Tiberius is spelled with an I, damn it! This is nothing but deranged propaganda.’’ The portly man would grumble, grabbing his bag of sugar and dumping some more into the bowl of oatmeal to sweeten it up. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddywilson2 2116 Share Posted January 5, 2021 The chunky chap would continue his rant to a fellow woodsmen as they sat around the campfire. The poor woodsmen could not keep his eyes open during Niko’s rant, but the exiled prince could not control his outrage towards this falsified document. ’’And back when Haense nobles were residing on the newly settled Suffonian lands, it was not taxes that they were worked up about! It was the construction of fortified settlements which broke....‘’ Niko would grumble in between snores of the sleeping woodsman that he ranted too. ’’Well... it broke that act! To claim it was based on taxes is false. It was based on broken law. A baseless tale this fictional piece is!’’ 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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