Greenlandic People

Forbundsrepublikken Grønland
The Federal Republic of Greenland
Forbundsrepublikken Grønland The Federal Republic of Greenland
Flag	Presidential Seal
	Motto: "Etiam Mors Potior Dedecore"
	Anthem: Syv Kongedømmer, En Nasjon [1];
	Political Map of Greenland
Located in	Lavinium
Capital	Nuuk
Largest City	Aarhus
Official languages	Old Norse, Yankhan
Recognised regional languages	Old Norse, Yankhan, Azari, Turkic, African
Demonym	Greenlanders
Government	Federal Republic
Establishment
Area
Population
GDP (PPP)	2011 estimate
GDP (nominal)	2011 estimate
Gini (2010)	.44
HDI (2010)	.970 (Very High)
Currency	Greenlandic Kroner (KRO)
Time zone	Lavinian Standard
Internet TLD	.gre
Calling code	+574

From WikiStates

Jump to: navigation, search

The Federal Republic of Greenland, aka "Greenlandic People," is a fairly small tricameral republic located in the region of Lavinium. Greenland is actually an inaccurate term applied to the country; it is officially known as New Greenland owing to the fact that the original homeland of the population of Greenland is, in fact, Greenland. Greenland has gone through stages of monarchy, anarchy, and an outright dictatorship before finally reaching a state of democratic government based upon fair and free universal suffrage. Today, Greenland is emerging once again from the shadows to become a powerful and influential state in the region of Lavinium and beyond.

History

The current day Greenland inhabited by the Greenlandic People is, in actuality, New Greenland. The original Greenland was abandoned about six centuries ago due to the lack of necessary resources in Greenland, and the severance of communication with the rest of Europe due to the advent of a minor ice age. The survivors fled Greenland and took to the sea, following ancient Inuit tribal legends in search of a land where they could settle and carve out a new civilization.

In 1467, they made landfall on Yanka Isle, which is similar in size to the original Greenland, however in terms of climate and topography it more closely resembles Iceland or northern Scotland. Over time the Greenlandic people became politically divided, and seven feudal states ruled by kings warred over control of the island and her people. Of them all, only two kingdoms were powerful enough to have any true chance of uniting the island; them being the Kingdom of Wodan and the Kingdom of Freya (alternatively "Freja"). The two kingdoms seemed to be equally matched in power, and their fortunes went back and forth over the years. Ultimately, the Kingdom of Wodan was victorious in a decisive battle near the Ulffion Valley. The King of Freja, King Ethelred, committed suicide on the altar of his patron god out of shame. Shortly thereafter, all of the remaining kingdoms surrendered their sovereignty to the Kingdom of Wodan. After many years of warfare, the realm of Greenland was united at last.

The year was 1589. For the next two centuries, the monarchy of Erik’s family spread Greenlandic influence across all of Lavinium. Despite initial good fortunes, a series of incompetent rulers toward the end of the 17th Century set the stage for a slow, painful decline. By 1734 the realm had become so lawless that the last king, Theodericus, was killed by common brigand while out hunting in his royal forest. The petty warlords who had since come to rule over the countryside eventually convened to reach a consensus on how they should proceed with their now unchallenged power. In an unparalleled show of patriotism and foresight, they all agreed to abandon their authority to create the Democratic Republic of Greenland, a parliamentary republic of free men.

Under the Republic, Greenland attempted many technological and social reforms aimed at lifting itself to modern standards, and half-hearted programs of modernization became commonplace. For the next hundred years, under the guidance of a series of skilled presidents the Republic managed to avoid regional conflicts which, in its economic, social, and military backwardness, it could not hope to win. Eventually, as these problems remained unaddressed, a widening gap grew between Greenland and the nations that had replaced it as preeminent powers. By 1872, the Republic could no longer mask its decay. An inefficient government, an out of date military, a crippling class divide, and the rise of foreign imperialism had rendered Greenland "the sick man of Lavinium".

In 1948, these problems came to a head with a general strike in Nuuk. The strike was brutally crushed, and the Republic instituted martial law to maintain what little hold it had over the country. A radical group, The Peoples Front for Proletariat Revolution (PFPR), was identified as having led the strike and similar displays of civil disobedience across the nation. The leader of this group was a young idealistic thinker, Maagnus Svalbard. Two years later, in 1950, a surprise attack was launched by the PFPR on the Federal Building, the centralized seat of the republic government. Countless armed revolutionaries attacked the legislature while in session in an attempt to destroy the central government in one move. The attack, having caught the government off guard, largely succeeded. "Comrade" Maagnus was reported to have personally subdued eight enemy guards with his battle standard while ascending the stairs to place the flag of the rebels atop the building. Without concrete leadership, the Republic collapsed in just years following a bitter civil war.

The Maagnus uprising

From 1951 to 1971, Greenland was ruled as a single party state under the Utopian Workers Party, often simply called "the Party". However, in 1971, Maagnus decided that the revolution was stagnating, and that Greenland needed to be restructured in a "utopian" limage, a philosophy that became the doctrine of Maagnussim. The result was the Free Land of Greenlandic People. A High Commission was created, with one person from each supposed "demographic" who voiced their interests to the Presiding Father, in effect an elected dictator who supposedly steered his country along the path to utopia; a paradise that always seemed to be "just a little farther".

In 2008, Father Maagnus died of a stroke. The government had come to rest so dependently upon him that it was paralyzed in the wake of his death. Another civil war broke out between a coalition of democratic, fascist, and anarchist rebel groups (known as the "Blues" for the colors they carried into battle), and the Socialists and Communists, led by interim leader Father Bjarni Gustafsson. After the two sides fought briefly, The Trilateral Federation of the Altan Steppes intervened, forcing an armistice that resulted in the Natascora Regional Security Conference. At the conference, Greenland's fate was changed forever when Father Gustafsson allowed the matter of Greenlandic government to be put to vote. A national referendum resulted overwhelmingly in the creation of the Federal Republic of Greenland, with President Rurik Jager as its first elected head of state in decades.

Typical lowland Greenlandic farm

Under the Federal Republic, extensive reforms have brought Greenland renewed power and influence. Greenland has recently embarked on a campaign of colonialism, and their involvement in the Al Quidah Incident and the Bariyan War have proved that Greenland has emerged from the past six-hundred years of strife stronger and more united than ever. Though the Imperial War, fought in defense of democracy across the region, took a heavy toll on Greenland they have begun to recover under programs of public works and economic stimulus, as well as a close alliance with fellow ODECON members.

Geography

The Federal Republic of Greenland has an approximate landmass of 137,847 sq mi , with inland lakes and rivers comprising about 4% of the country. Greenland is an island, and it is the largest proper island in the region of Lavinium.

The highest point in Greenland is Mount Magnus (8,129 m above sea level) and the lowest point in the Uffion Valley, which sits at a mere .9m below sea level Greenland is famous for her massive mountains and expansive forests, both of which cover most of the interior of the country. Settlement of Greenland occurs almost entirely along the more habitable coastline, and the largest of the Greenlandic cities straddle the mouth of the Yerkinta River to the north.

To the east and south-east lie the eastern highlands which were the famous recruiting ground of most Greenlandic soldiers up until the 20th Century. The west of the country is mostly flat and forested, with the famous Ufffion Valley running straight through up to the city of Visby on the coastline. In the south, massive mountains and thick forests surround the famous Utsiran Salt Flats, from which high quality salts were mined and traded with Umbrian and Gaulish merchants up until the 19th Century, when the emerging nations of AlkebuLan and Palaam became the favored trade partners.

In the center of Greenland lies Mount Magnus, which was discovered in 2009 to not be a mountain but instead a plateau. Subsequent investigations found huge stores of geothermal energy hidden in the plateau, and a geothermal energy plant now sits atop it. To the northeast of Greenland lies the most fertile and hospitable part of the country. Here, the shelter of the mountains keeps harsh blizzards and snowstorms away, and the without the clouds the warm sun has created an expanses of wet lowlands perfect for the cultivation of rice and other near-tropical crops. This is considered the breadbasket of Greenland, and is the key producer of foodstuffs for the country.

Demographics

The population of Greenland is slightly small compared to most nations in the multiverse, and this is largely due to inherent issues of the size of the country. While the Federal census maintains that the population is around 150,657,168 people, this number fails to take into account the number of Greenlandic citizens who reside in foreign countries and in Greenlandic overseas territory such as Pegasus Island and Markland. With them included, the total number of Greenlandic citizens is actually around 150,923,812^[2].

Nuuk at night

The largest city in Greenland is the city of Aarhus, which is also a commercial and industrial center for Greenland. Aarhus has always extended partway outward from the coast, but modern technology has allowed districts of the city to expand as far as three miles out from shore. This means that Aarhus has effectively sacrificed potential port space for additional residential and commercial expansion, allowing other cities such as Visby to become the primary shipping ports.

The second largest city in Greenland is the capital, Nuuk. Nuuk is likely to be the oldest city in Greenland, however, no solid evidence can be found to decisively prove such a claim as most of the remains from the very first Greenlandic settlements were destroyed in the Communist Reformation and it is thus impossible to verify the true age of most of the cities in Greenland. Nuuk is the center of government, and contains all of the Federal administrative buildings that are needed to run the country.

Worthy of mentioning is the city of Visby, which is the fifth largest city in Greenland and also her largest shipping port. Visby has been the primary international port in Greenland since the early Republic era, and for a time during the early 20th Century it was actually ceded to The Holy Empire as a treaty port. Today, Visby is back in Greenlandic hands and has acquired great wealth through massive volumes of imports and exports from all across the world.

Greenland, due to her seafaring nature, has a long and distinguished history of daring exploratory trips across the ocean, and thus can be credited for discovering many places such as North America.

Education

Greenlandic Primary School

Education in Greenland is taken very seriously and is highly standardized. All children must attend school unless they are being home-schooled, in which case a Federal examiner must give the child a written examination at the end of every year in order to ensure that the education they are receiving from their parents is equivalent to that which they would be receiving from a Federal school.

At the age of four, children attend their local Youth Introductory School, where they are taught the basics of education such as the alphabet, basic arithmetic, and basic reading skills. All children graduate YIS regardless of their performance, a controversial practice that some feel is cruel to children who need further education in the basics.

From the ages of five to ten children attend their local Primary School. By the end of Primary School, it is expected that children will be able to do all varieties of arithmetic, read fluently, understand basic science, and also have a basic understanding of Greenlandic national history. Most children are able to pass the final exam given to them at the completion of 9th grade and as a result they are able to progress onto the next level of schooling.

Between the ages of ten and fifteen children attend Secondary School. Secondary School is considered to be the beginning of serious and challenging educative practices in Greenland. Children pick their courses (with parent approval) and their teachers from Primary School are charged with deciding what level of difficulty their classes should be set at (the levels being Basic, Standard, Advanced, and Exemplary). This ensures that children can all be challenged and still take the same type of class as all the others. This is considered the point at which children begin to decide on the path they will follow in life.

Now from ages fifteen to eighteen students progress to Pre-Collegiate School. This is, in many ways, a mini version of a university for most students. All classes are selected by the students based on their personal career interests. They can generally arrive and leave from school at any time depending on their schedule and other factors. This is the school at which students are prepared for the real world; they must learn to be independent or they will struggle or even fail. In the more advanced courses, scoring an overall "A" or better in the class can earn credits at certain colleges in advance.

Collegiate education in Greenland is generally privatized, and relies heavily on donations from Greenlandic high society in order to maintain operations. Collegiate degrees generally range from four years bachelor degrees up to Philosophy Doctorates, which can take many years of dedicated study to acquire. Most colleges in Greenland have athletic teams which compete with the teams of other schools for regional and national titles. In order to further the cause of education, the Federal government has a program of all expenses-paid scholarships which it hands out on an annual basis to college bound students who demonstrate exemplary intellectual prowess or moral virtue.

Government

The High Senate of Greenland

The government of Greenland is closely modeled on the successful democratic systems of Central European nations such as Germany or Italy. The Legislative body is composed of two different houses. The first of these is called the Thing. The Thing consists of 350 members who are given seats proportional to the amount of the popular vote that they received. For example, if one part were to receive half the popular vote, then that party would be allowed to appoint 175 members to the Thing to represent them. Each member has one vote, and the Thing is rarely called upon for their services except for the passing of new laws and statures.

The house superior to the Thing is the High Senate. The High Senate consists of 570 seats which are awarded in the same manner as seats are awarded for the Thing. Each Senator has one vote and is not required to vote in line with the rest of their party, however, they almost always do. The Senate is generally responsible for approving actions done by the President, and they have the authority to nullify an election, call for the impeachment of the President, create and pass laws, and declare war. Decisions of the High Senate can be overruled by a 3/4ths ruling of the Thing, and the Senate can likewise overrule the Thing with a 2/3rds majority.

The Executive Branch is made up solely by the President. The President, who does not share power with a vice-president, is the main visionary during his time in office, and also is the head of the armed forces while in office, The President is elected by winning the popular vote held across the country, and he has the power to authorize military action, veto a bill, pardon criminals, arrest or detain citizens without trial, and also declare war. The High Senate can move to block any action made by the President, but they must achieve a 2/3rds majority in order to do so. The President serves for five years and can run for re-election indefinitely.

The judicial branch consists of the High Court and several lower Federal Courts. The judges for these courts are appointed by the President and all appointments are considered valid unless overturned by the High Senate. The duty of the state appointed judges is to interpret the Federal laws as well as the constitution to determine their intended use and to make the final, official ruling in all law cases brought before them. Any person who is unsatisfied with the ruling given by their local or provincial court can appeal to be heard before a federal court, and in extraordinary cases a case which challenges the constitutionality of a law may be brought before the High Court to be heard by the Supreme Judge.

Map of the Greenlandic Provinces

Provinces

Greenland has seven semi-autonomous provinces that are the direct descendants of the original seven Greenlandic Kingdoms. The provinces have their own independent internal policy and create their own laws, levy their own taxes, and occasionally even have their own foreign policy. Each province is ruled by a King. The provinces are:

The Kingdom of Wodan
The Kingdom of Freya
The Kingdom of Baldor
The Kingdom of Dievas
The Kingdom of Nerthus
The Kingdom of Valhalla
The Kingdom of Thor

The official understanding is that the Kingdoms have the right to follow their own path as long as they maintain a common vision and goal for the future of Greenland. The founding

Foreign Ministry in Nuuk

charter of the second republic formally classifies the seven kingdoms as "seven proud and independent states bound to a common future through their mutual cultural and social ties." This decentralization of the political system contributes to a healthy inter-states spirit of competition that encourages citizens of one state to contribute to community service or militia duty in order to increase the prestige of their kingdom within the greater state.

Foreign Policy

After the death of President Rurik Jager, Greenland went into a recovery period following the crippling damage suffered during the Imperial War. The former President, despite claims to the contrary, had possessed a notable internationalist bent and had often prioritized international standing over national well-being. His successor, the incumbent Wismark Schmitz, made sweeping changes to this policy. Greenland adopted a much more cautious international role; defending freedom and democracy but also ensuring that her own best interests were not neglected. As a result of this, relations with former allies such as The Altan Steppes (known for their role as an "international policeman") decayed to be replaced by stronger and more militaristic ties with wealthy but reserved countries such as The Communalist Nations of AlkebuLan and the democratized Holy Empire

The Greenlandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs (and the sub-department, the Exterior Ministry) is responsible for the handling of most diplomatic overtures and conducts the day-to-day management of international relations. Greenland generally seeks outside partners for trade and military cooperation, and even more so with the recent creation of the Oriental League of Lavinium in her region, a bloc of Eastern states whose hegemony has threatened Greenland and other Western states to move toward closer ties. Recent concerns over brinkmanship and the Balkanization of Lavinium have prompted the Federal Republic to seek intensive dialogue with League states on ways to move back toward cooperation on an international scale. A possible response from the League is reportedly forthcoming.

Despite this new possibility for peace, Greenland has begun to turn to nations outside of Lavinium for international partners. Recent threatening moves by the Oriental League, including a mass buy-up of the Greenlandic Kroner, have convinced the Federal Republic that she has become too reliant upon Lavinian states for trade and alliances, prompting a concerted diversification push that has recently culminated in an application to join the Oceanic Defense Coalition.

Greenland is a proud member of the World Assembly, and has also recently become regional delegate to said body^[3].

National Military

The armed forces of Greenland are divided into several branches which in turn branch out into further and more specialized sub-branches. Specifically, the armed forces are divided into the Greenlandic Army, the Greenlandic Navy, the Greenlandic Air Force, and the Greenlandic Reserve Force. From there, more specialized branches can be found such as the Greenlandic Coast Guard, the Guards of the Pantheon, and the Greenlandic National Space Initiative Forces. All citizens who are found to be of able body and mind must report to the nearest Federal Reserve Camp at some point between their eighteenth and twenty-first birthdays for a mandatory period of one and a half months, during which they are trained in the basics of infantry combat and then recorded into a Federal database for the purpose of calling upon them in times of peril or martial law. They are then given he choice to be dismissed back to their normal lives or pursue further training as army soldiers; it is estimated that a little over one percent of citizens choose to remain on as professional soldiers.

Members of the Reserve Forces conducting a live fire exercise at Camp Karlina

The military is given a priority when it comes to budgeting concerns. As of mid 2009 the military budget encompasses around ten percent of all Federal spending, up from around six percent of the budget at the beginning of 2009. The army has used this money mainly or the purpose of rapid modernization in order to bring Greenlandic military technology up to a respectable 21st Century level. To this end, an entire new fleet was purchased from Reijian Naval Shipyards^[4] and rumors exist of a massive purchase of aeronautical equipment from the Nations of AlkebuLan^[5]. The army, which has not seen a large-scale conflict since the 1950's, has remained fairly constant in size.

Since the Republic era, Greenland has distinguished herself in a few major conflicts. Early in her history, she fought in the war against the rouge terrorist nation of BariyaKhem. The Bariyans, who had perpetuated an assassination against the vice-president of the Altan Steppes, were invaded by a coalition of Altani and Greenlandic forces, and the government was overthrown by a military coup within a month.^[6] Subsequently, Greenlandic ships attempted to blockade an industrial port of the rouge nation of Al Quadea [sic] but the entire country was irradiated by a massive nuclear assault and the fleet retreated

In late 2009 the Greenlandic Navy, following the lead of fellow ODECON nations, entered into a de facto state of hostility with the nations of the Britannic Slave Trading Society, and began searching and seizing any vessels implicated in the trafficking of slaves. The dispute eventually was resolved following the dissolution of the Society under international pressure.

Culture

Greenlandic family feasting, ca. 17th Century

Greenland benefits from a common cultural identity owing to shared origins, religion, and customs. The entire modern day population is descended from the few hundred colonists who arrived in the mid 15th Century, and therefore the diversity of those original settlers was fairly small. Despite this, the subsequent six centuries of social development led to a number of differences in dialect, mannerism, and even worship that can be identified on very distinct geographical lines. Lowlands Norse, for example, is almost alien to a speaker of Woodland Norse, and the average Plains Norseman would be horrified at the complete disrespect that the other two show to the sanctity of their hands.

The Greenlandic family is a tight unit, and most homes are multigenerational, even in the modern day. The importance of keeping the family together and passing on ancient tales and legends is an integral part of family unity in Greenland, and every family is considered to have a "Grand Tale" that is passed down by the patriarchs of the family and revealed only to people of great integrity and worthy of trust. Owing to religious mandate, the Greenlandic family is strictly monogomous and taking more than one wife is said to cast instant damnation upon a person. Despite this, or perhaps due to it, no law has ever been passed addressing the subject of polygamy and it is theoretically a legal practice.

Religion

Chief Greenlandic god Wodan

In Greenland, religion is an important part of society, and outside of foreigners there are few atheists. The predominant religion of Greenland is Greenlandic Paganism, with Catholicism being an extreme minority and practiced mainly within the same families that practiced it upon their arrival in Greenland. The Greenlandic religion consists of a fairly small Pantheon of major gods who intermingle with humans on a regular basis and wield absolute power over the lives of common men. A common legend is that the gods go around posing as impoverished beggars in order to test mankind for their generosity and selflessness.

The overall Greenlandic belief system is highly decentralized, largely as a result of the vast size of the Greenlandic pantheon. A typical Greenlandic pagan acknowledges and respects every one of the gods; however, most believers will choose a specific god as their primary deity and patron. This god then becomes their protector, watching over them throughput their life and helping to shelter them through times of difficulty. Every god in the Greenlandic pantheon has a specific "secret" society dedicated to them, and only a person who has chosen that god as their patron deity is eligible to join. Despite numerous and varying conspiracy theories, Greenlandic religious officials maintain that these societies exist solely to facilitate the group worship and reverence of the particular deity.

Sacrifices to the gods are a regular and common occurrence. Ordinarily, a person seeking the favor of the Gods will pay a priest to perform a sacrifice in their name so that they may win divine favor. A sacrifice is usually along the lines of livestock such as chicken, boars, or even cows and bulls. The more valuable and grand the sacrifice, the greater the favor won by the eager mortal. Nowadays, people with strong stomachs can purchase guides on the proper way to conduct divine sacrifices, and thus can assemble their own divine sacrifices in order to attempt to advance their lot in life; however, most sacrifices are still entrusted into the hands of certified priests. Human sacrifices were once practiced in the more remote regions of Greenland, but these ceremonies have long since been made illegal and there have been no further reports of this ritual being performed since it died out at the start of the 20th Century.

Economy and Commerce

The economy of Greenland is a stereotypical mixed economy with a preference toward free-market and laissez-faire. Government regulations of businesses are mostly unknown, however, the economic depression brought on by the Imperial War prompted the government to intervene and bail-out several high-profile companies in order to keep them in business. Greenlandic businesses generally focus on high-tech and cutting edge materials, and Greenland tends to pioneer the field of robotics and other self-automated systems. In addition to said robotics, Greenland's principle exports are lumber, salmon, trout, natural gas, petroleum, and also minerals such as amber, coal, silver, iron, and copper. Greenlandic foresting and fishing industries are famous across Lavinium for their exceedingly high quality, which is owed to centuries old tradition of woodworking and fishing on the island.

The average income for a Greenlander is relatively high compared to regional neighbors, and this has encouraged a culture of consumerism in the Federal Republic. A poll distributed by the Nuuk Journal returned results indicating that over sixty percent of Greenlandic citizens had spent at least five hundred dollars on luxury goods in the past year. This consumerism has become the target of many conservative personalities, who claim that such commercialism threatens the traditional values of Greenlandic society, especially when it comes to religion. Such critics claim that most Greenlanders can more accurately identify commercial mascots then they can national icons, purportedly symbolizing the rise of corporate influence in Greenlandic society and the decline of traditional patriotism. Most corporations flatly deny these claims.

International trade is high in Greenland and is generally conducted without protectionist devices, save during times of national economic crisis when tariffs are deemed necessary to preserve the health of the Greenlandic economy. Until recently, most Greenlandic trade relations were conducted with Greenland's immediate neighbors in Lavinium - her historic relations. In the past few years, however, Greenland has worked to greatly broaden her foreign trade relations in order to increase the flow of goods and services through Greenland and out into the global market. Such extra-regional trade partners include the Altani Overseas States and the Confederated Sublime Khanate of Urgench, as well as heavy trade with fellow ODECON members.

The major Greenlandic Stock Exchange is located in the capital of Nuuk, and presides over extensive and healthy trading of shares of both foreign and domestic firms. Investing in Greenland carries few restrictions, and government control of firms is limited to those that provide services essential to the survival and maintenance of the nation. Economic advisers in the Greenlandic government often cite the rapid rise of Greenlandic Stock Index prices as a sign of Greenland's renewed economic strength following the depression of the Imperial War, as well as the dramatic increase in the number of publicly traded firms.

References