1st United Imperial Crownlands of Hulstria and Gao-Soto

Greater Hulstria officially the Imperial Crownlands of Greater Hulstria (Hulstrian: Die Kaiserlichen Kronenländer Größeren Hulsterreichs) is a nation on the northwestern coast of Dovani. It is bordered to the north by Kazulia and to the south by Sekowo. To the East lies the "Eastern Territories", Greater Hulstria's colonial empire, and the vast Great North Dovani Plain. It is the 28th most populous nation on Terra and the 48th in order of area.

Greater Hulstria is a constitutional monarchy with the Emperor of Hulstria sitting as the hereditary Head of State, however Hulstria also has an elected Head of State called the Governor-General of Greater Hulstria; this system makes the Hulstrian government very unique and one of the few consitutional monarchies on Terra to have such a system. The Head of Government is called the "Staatsminister" and the national parliament is called the "Imperial Diet" comprising of currently 725 representatives.

History of Hulstria
Main Article: The History of Greater Hulstria

Early History
From roughly 800-1493 the lands which currently make up Hulstria were part of the Empire of Gao-Soto, a Gao-Showa nation of feudal fiefdoms and nomad homelands under the titular rule of the Clan Meiji Emperor in the capital of Akihito. Little evidence of this period remains, as most permanent settlements were destroyed by colonists in later years along with written records which were stored for the most part in Shinto Temples.

The Colonial Period
Modern Hulstria started in 1493 when Dovani was discovered by Christopher Dove and claimed for the Holy Luthori Empire. The Luthori lands on the continent were divided into several colonies, comprising what is today Greater Hulstria and Kazulia. The colonies quickly grew in size as people from across the world sought a new life in the new world with promises of an easy life and an escape from the past. Besides Luthori, the Hulstrian colonies saw a massive influx of Dundorfian settlers who would heavily and directly impact Hulstrian culture and language.

Post Dark Period
In 2193 Hulstria was rebuilt after 100 years of anarchy and chaos called the "Great Dark Period". The new Republic of Gishoto emerged with Gishoto being a compromise between the Hulstrians and Gao-Showa living within the newly stable country. This new government however would only last for a very short time as it was eventually renamed the nation the Holy Gishoto Empire, re-establishing the Lutheran monarchy that ended a century before; this effort was lead by the Imperial Hulstrian Party and various other monarchist parties. The movement was supported by the already pro-royalist Hulstrian population; Klaus Gustav III of the House of Rothingren-Traugott was crowned the Lutheran Emperor of Gishoto.

The installation of the Lutheran monarchy were made to mush protest of the Shinto Gao-Showa and the various communist groups within the Empire; their failure to prevent the Lutheran monarchy being restored crushed their opposition and caused them to run to the underground, outcasted from the mainstream of the new society for the time being however. Some Gao-Showans even refused to take part in the new government and refused to accept the new government leading to centuries of rifts between the two cultures. Despite this, nationalism still swept across Gishoto and the economy began to finally prosper yet again; the first years of Klaus Gustav III were that of great prosperity and a re-emergence of a styled culture that was once just pure fantasy during the "Great Dark Period".

Gishoto
This situation remained for many years in the Holy Gishoto Empire until the 2240s when many of the old monarchist parties and traditional institutions of the state started to crumble. The collapse of various monarchist parties slimmed down dramatically supporters for the Monarch in the legislature and the communist parties who were once forced underground took advantage of such vancancies, systematically took control of the legislature who were supported by a large majority of the Gao-Showan people; the Imperial Hulstrian Party attempted to prevent a communist takeover but were overwhelmed as were most Hulstrians. Communist and radicalist republican parties also began to turn violent and attacked government institutions bringing disorder to parts of the nation; the frenzy eventually culminated in the revolution of 2245-48 lead by the militant Communist Party of Gishoto. The Monarchy remained intact during the majority of the upheaval and many times called for an end to violence. Such calls were ignored by the communists. The revolution came to a bloody end in 2248 where Kaiser Klaus Gustav III was assassinated in Kien when a communist rebel launched an RPG at the Kaiser's automobile, killing him instantly, and paralzed Lutheran Monarchy. Shortly thereafter armed militants of the Communist Party of Gishoto stormed the capital and seized it by force. The CPG took over the legislature and abolished the Lutheran-based Empire, the State Church of Lutheranism, and created the People's Socialist Republic of Gishoto, a new secular-communist state. Following the communist coup, several new communist and republican parties arose to make up the legislature and after some time formed alliances with other parties like theirs to create a stranglehold on the government; this prevented others parties to make any sort of gain.

Soon after the revolution however the Imperial Hulstrian Party resurged and looked as if they were going to finally end the iron grip of the communists; Philip Strauss was elected the Premier of the Socialist Republic and served for over a decade becoming a monarchist icon to Hulstrians but despite this the IHP collapsed under the suppression and popular support of the Communists after Philip was defeated in the late 2250s. While there was a large influx of Marxist groups, the Communist State was secured by successive governments led by three large differing communist parties; The Communist Party of Gishoto, The Intellectual Revolution Party, and the Christian Communist Party were the three main dominant leaders during the People's Socialist Republic and often dictated the majority of national policy. The CPG and the IRP were seen as more strict, keeping the ideals of the 2245-48 Revolution in the manner of their governing and keeping far-left secularism as commanding religious policy; however the latter, the Christian Communist Party, took power in 2272 and was seen as more moderate in the sense of religious affairs. The CCP made a rapid increase of nationalization of industry but in a surprising move reversed the unpopular secularism set before by the CCP's predecessors, bringing back the Lutheran Church as a dominant power in the state. This propeled a resurgence of several new political parties being created and citizens were free to worship without being looked down upon once again.

The end of radical secuarlism paved way for what many called the "Second Revolution"; the growth of democracy in Gishoto ended the dominance of one or two parties ruling the country for extended periods, as had previously been the norm, and allowed the return of capitalist and royalist parties that acted as new opposition to the People's Socialist Republic. Many of the mass nationalization laws were overturned and the restriction's on business were loosened; these new acts were seen as widely popular and the parties who were pushing for such reforms often saw large gains in the legislature come election time. The Christian Communist Party's hold on Gishoto began to break; the end of the Communist era was confirmed in 2309 when the Saints Alliance took the Premiership and the Refuge Pressure Party became the majority party in the Supreme Soviet. The parties in the Central Diet then easily split in two with the liberals on one side (called the Left-Wing Coalition) and the conservative Hulstrian and Gao-Showa aristocracy on the other. The latter remained in power for many years following the fall of communism. The year after the 2309 elections the "People's Socialist" out of the People's Socialist Republic of Gishoto was dropped and it was simply renamed the Republic of Gishoto; the Imperial Hulstrian Party attempted to bring back the Monarchy during this period with Hulstrian support but the Left-Wing Coalition prevented this from happening voting down change. Following the collapse of the Gao-Showa Peoples' Party, the Imperial Hulstrian Party was left as the only conservative party in the Republic of Gisoto. Battles between the outnumbered, IHP Diet Members and the Left Wing Coalition raged on in the Central Diet. In 2371, the Refuge Pressure Party disbanded to return to Dranland; shortly there after, Gishoto saw a surge in immigration with thousands of refugees in particular from Kalistan entering the country. Unlike the Welsh before them, these refugees were welcomed by Hulstrians as they were very supportive of the return of the monarchy and a return to Hulstrian domination. From this warm feeling the Hulstrian Nationalist Party was born, headed by former leaders of the Conservative Party of Kalistan; the HNP was the first Hulstrian Party besides the IHP to enter the national political arena in decades. Shortly after the entrance of the Hulstrian Nationalists, the Saints Alliance collapsed. The IHP and HNP formed a majority coalition centered around royalism and began restoring Hulstria. The Hulstrian Nationalist Party began a plan of racial segregation, called Apartheid, dividing the nation into 3 ethnic groups: White, Colored, and Gishotoi. The leadership of the HNP believed that segregation would be the best way to prevent any further violence between the cultures in Gishoto. Shortly after Apartheid was pushed through, the Anti-Nazi Party collapsed leaving Gishoto purely to the monarchist parties.

Greater Hulstria
Following Apartheid, the IHP introduced a massive constituional overhaul that returned Gishoto to its historic name of Hulstria, and restored the old Hulstrian Monarchy. Following the unanimous passing of the bill in the Central Diet, Rudolph Rothingren-Traugott was coronated Kaiser Rudolph III, Emperor of Hulstria. This restored the House of Rothingren-Traugott to the throne. Following the restoration of the Imperial Dynasty to the throne, the Imperial Hulstrian Party, the majority of whose party leaders were comprised of the Strauss Family and other high-level noble families, dissolved due to lack of leadership with the restoration of the Imperial Court. In April 2381, the Christian Communist Party resurfaced and attempted to overthrow the government and install a second Communist Regime. It failed with the re-establishment of the IHP and the creation of several new monarchist parties and the rebirth of the United Democrats of Gishoto as the United Democrats of Hulstria. The Royalist parties banded together and formed the Purple Coalition, named for the color that symbolizes the Hulstrian Imperial Family. On June 17th, 2396, Rudolph III died of complications from Rapid Onset Alzheimers. His son, Rainer, assumed the throne and was coronated Emperor Rainer IV of Hulstria. With the fall of the United Democrats in 2399, the conservative parties of Hulstria once again gained total control of the Imperial Diet.

This was not to last however. In the first decade of the 25th century the new United Socialist Workers' Party was formed and quickly began to take seats from the Purple Coalition. In 2413 a new party was founded to represent a growing Mormon minority. Seen as a threat to the integrity of the state, the royalists tried to have the group disbanded. It refused to disband, so legal preceding started in the Imperial Tribunal, which the new party ignored. Within two years a new party formed called the Crown Loyalists, which while royalist, was opposed to apartheid. At roughly the same time the Hulstrian Nationalist Party ceased to exist. Seizing his opportunity, Tenno Meiji Takara of the Gao-Showa, returned to the nation and re-founded the Gao-Showa Peoples' Party. In 2419 the GSPP returned to the Diet and within two years Apartheid had ended and the Imperial Tribunals concluded.

With the threat of the Monarchy being overthrown in the near future the Hulstrian aristocracy aproached their Gao-Showa counterparts to reach a compromise. The nation would remain united under a Dual Monarchy with the Hulstrian population in the west of the nation under the Kaiser and the Gao-Showa population in the east under the Tenno. With this compromise in place the Gao-Showa agreed to support the Kaiser and the new Dual Monarchy of Hulstria & Gao-Soto was formed.

Hulstria and Gao-Soto
The new compromise lasted for several decades with the fusion of the interests of the Hulstrian and Gao-Showa upper class and their effective control over the lower classes in the nation keeping the two monarchies and the status quo intact. However, by the 2470s power was shifting back towards the middle and working classes and out of the hands of the aristocracy. This saw a rise in the popularity of Nationalist, Socialist, and Republican Movements. By 2479 the Gao-Showa Imperial Party had collapsed and within a few years Republican parties had gained a super-majority in the Diet. Hulstrian Emperor Rudolph IV fled to Luthor and the Gao Showa Tenno fled into the vast Dovani interior.

3rd Republic of Gishoto
In February 2484, the republican majority within the Imperial Diet moved for a motion to dissolve the Dual Monarchy of Hulstria and Gao-Soto to much protest of the monarchist parties in the country; the republicans re-named the country back to the "Republic of Gishoto". While the republicans did gain a victory here, the period of the 3rd Republic of Gishoto was a time where little got done in the way of legislation and often times government did nothing in terms of governing. Coalitions were created over breakfast and had collapsed by dinner, there was no political unity among the majority of the politican parties. This period did see the rise the rise of the radically athiest party, the Aneist Unionist Party, in the Republic of Gishoto. The APC though athiest and had republican tendencies was able to muster enough support to rename Gishoto to the Hulstrian Union.

Hulstrian Union
The Hulstrian Union is the only period of Hulstrian history when Hulstria has had a Republican Government but formally bore the Hulstria. This period saw the domination of national politics by the AUP and along with various members of their Central Secular Coalition. The Coalition began to falter when it became apparent that while member parties supported the seperation of church and state as the AUP originally called for, they did not share the radical views of atheism and anti-religion. Shortly there after the Revolutionary Socialist Front and the United Democrats of Hulstria collapsed forcing the AUP to face what was termed the Grand Grumpy Coalition, between the conservative parties of the KHP(the IHP had begun using its Hulstrian name even during exchanges in English) and the People's Radical Party. Facing electoral defeat, AUP leaders fled the country.

2nd Imperial Crownlands of Greater Hulstria
Following the collapse of the AUP, the KHP and PRP agree to reestablish the Hulstrian Monarchy. As plans for the restoration of the Monarchy were being made the UDH reappeared and agreed to support the Monarchy as well. On August 3, 2551 the Monarchy was restored in Hulstria,with all parties with and without seats voting yes, even though the PRP still official remained a republican party. Following the restoration of the monarchy under Ferdinand I, son of the last Hulstrian Emperor during the period of Duel Monarchy, Rudolph IV, the Imperial Diet saw an influx of small regional level parties who called for increased independence for the individual. This period also saw the resurgence of the atheists now as the Aneist Patriciate Coalition. On March 17, 2560, Kaiser Ferdinand I passed away having reigned for 9 years. He was succeeded to the throne by his son, Klemens II. Klemens's reign mark a period of stuanch royalism in the Diet, with no lesser then 7 royalist parties holding Diet Seats. With in the Monarchy his reign was defined by his staunch reactionaryism. All marriages of his children and grandchildren were carefully overseen, ensuring that they married with in proper levels of nobility. Klemens's reign was also defined internationally by the War of Luthori Succession, in which the sitting Monarchy of Luthor was ousted by Republican forces. The Luthori Emperor, William III, was supported by his son-in-law, Philippe II of Alduria and several other Monarchist throughout Terra. Hulstria originally entered the war when it was promised Klemens II would be recognized as the rightful Luthori Emperor however this was not to be the case and Klemens was eventually forced to support the claim of his rival Mary of Orange or see a Republic in Luthor. Klemens was once again promised in the throne during a dispute between the Protestant and Catholic royal houses of Luthor, however once again this promise fell through. The end of Klemens's reign was fairly uneventful and when he died he was succeeded to the throne by his son, Godric I. Godric's reign saw little in the realm of policy shifts within the government. The PLPH continued to dominate the office of Lord Protector until October of 2602 when the first female Lord Protector, Millicent Maire von Scharnhorst assumed the office. Four years later while being driven home from Schloss Phönixstein, Godric was tragically killed when his driver lost control of the limousine while driving on an icy road. The limousine crashed into a tree killing both the Emperor and his driver on impact. His only son, Rudolph, was crowned Rudolph V, Emperor of Hulstria and succeeded him.

The Iconic Monarchy
The reign of Rudolph V was the beginning of a new period in Hulstrian Politics. Increasingly many parties of the Diet began to set aside the ideological extremist bickering in favor of truly intellectual debate. Internationally Hulstria rose to a position of great prominence, being called the paragon of a modern Monarchy by international observers. Rudolph's marriage to Empress Josephine I of Luthor signaled the beginning of preeminence of the House of Rothingren, with the couple's child to reign over both Hulstria and Luthor. This period international however was an unstable one. It saw the rise of both the New World Order and the Kennedy Junta in Jelbania and Deltaria. Tragically Rudolph V was assassinated on 14 August, 2648. The perpetrators were never identified or caught, however, with the fall of the Kennedy Junta years later, the Hulstrian government has implied it believes they were behind it. His son Heinrich I came to the throne. Heinrich's reign was marked by relative peace, with the exception of the Republican take over of New Komeito Party. This period saw the end of the direct involvement of the Monarchy in the legislature with the dissolution of the KHP, the monarchy's advocates in the Diet. International, Heinrich became one of the most powerful men on Terra holding the thrones of Alduria, Luthor, and Trigunia in personal union with Hulstria.

Government & Politics


The Imperial Crownlands of Greater Hulstria is a limited constitutional monarchy, in which the Emperor (known as Kaiser in Hulstrian) is the head of state, but possess special powers; tradition holds that the Emperor maintain neutrality in all political matters. Upon the death of the sitting Emperor, his closest living heir assuming the throne as per the line of succession. The Governor-General and the Staatsminister both hold executive powers within the nation, with the consent of both needed before an Imperial Comissioner for the Eastern Territories can appointed. The Staatsminister chairs the cabinet and can call emergency sessions or call for a new cabinet in a time of crisis.

The nation is divided into five Crownlands, each with its own legislature and set of laws, but most power rests with the Imperial Diet in Kien.

Political Parties
Current Political Parties

Administrative Divisions
Greater Hulstria is a Constitutional Monarchy divided into five Crownlands and the Eastern Territories, with the five crownlands divided into 67 districts known as Kreise in Hulstrian. The five Crownlands are Budenlar, Hulstria, Mitrania, Hilgar and Kuratha. The Crownlands are governed by elected Landtags and Chief Ministers and supervised by Crown Commissioners appointed by the Monarch. The Eastern Territories, divided into Regions, are lead by the Imperial Comissioner, appointed by the Governor-General and the Staatsminister. Governance of the Eastern Territories is determined by the Colonial Affairs Act.

Culture
Greater Hulstria has not single, defining national culture like most nations do. Instead Greater Hulstria has two different cultures that fall around ethnic lines and a third hybird culture. Hulstrians and the Gao-Showa have two very different cultures. However they do have some common ground such as reverence for authority and history and a strong belief in family bonds and values. Ironically the hybird version of these two cultures, termed by scholars "Gishoton Culture", has very little to do with the common ground the cultures share, but instead taking certain ideas and practices from each and mashing them together. This is largely because most of the people in Greater Hulstria who have adopted Gishoton Culture are members of the extreme left politically, and view the common groud that Hulstrian and Gao Showa Cultures share as too conservative if not reactionary for them.

Religion


Stats on Religion of all nationals:


 * 78% Christian
 * 63% Lutheran
 * 19% Episcopalian
 * 10% Catholic
 * 2% Mormon
 * 6% Other
 * 15% Taoic
 * 96% Shinto
 * 4% Buddhist
 * 6% Atheist/Agnostic
 * 1% Other

By law Hulstria's official religion is Lutheranism, however the Hulstrian population is free to worship as they wish and hold membership in whatever religion they wish.

Geography and Climate


As a country in the far north of Terra, Hulstria is quite a cool country and during the long Winter temperatures are generally below freezing causing impressive snow storms. During the summer however the climate is pleasant with the south of the country often becoming quite warm due to the ocean currents bringing warm water up from the equator.



The coastal Crownlands of Budenlar and Kuratha are quite flat with the land slowly rising from the coast into the rolling hills of the interior. Further inland the states of Hulstria and Mitrania are dominated by picturesque snow-capped mountains. Most cities are in the foothills to the west of the crownlands with the east being dominated by the Schnee-Berge Mountains, too steep in many cases to build on or farm. Much of the Crownland of Hilgar lies on the other side of the barrier mountains and it flattens out into the Great North Dovani Plain, which makes up the bulk of the Eastern Territory and the north of Carina.

Economy
The Imperial Crownlands of Greater Hulstria is a heavily industrialised state with much of the population living in major conurbations. Following independence after the Great Rebellion, industrialisation was rapid with the economy switching from a mainly subsistence agricultural society to one based on the production of metals from the nation's abundant ores in the mountains. Hulstria also has a huge steel and aluminium industry and also produces some copper and gold. Hulstria is one of the world leading producer of ocean going vessels in the world. With her historic origins as a colony, ships were vital to getting back to Luthor, and the Hulstrians became experts in this field. When the age of steel ships dawned, Hulstria led the way using her vast iron and coal deposits as well as rapid industrialization to produce high quality capital ships. Today Hulstria continues her dominance of the shipping industry, with several of the worlds largest drydocks, shipyards, and ports in Hulstria.

The abundance of metals allowed the nation to build up an impressive automobile industry and is also a big producer of many forms of transportation with major shipyards on the coast and companies producing passenger and military aircraft. Most companies in Hulstria are part of massive conglomerations of industrial and financial interests, which are generally under the control of the major aristocratic families. Despite this apparent dominance of privately controlled companies the country is home to the two major exchanges of Dovani, The Kien Stock Exchange (KSE) and the Marchau Mercantile Exchange (MME), which mainly trade in commodities.

Demographics
The population of Hulstria is largely divided into two groups. The Caucasian Hulstrians are the descendants of Luthori and other Artanian colonists to the nation, are largely Christian, and live mostly in the North and West of the country. The Asiatic Gao-Showa are considered the native population, although they also colonised the nation, roughly one millennium before the Hulstrians. They are mostly followers of the Shinto or Buddhist religions and live in the East and South. The division between these groups and the rival claims to ownership of the country has led often to rivalry and war between the two. There are other ethnic groups present in the nation, notably the Welsh, but also Kazulians, Dranians, Sekowons and Indralans. Most immigrant populations are quickly subsumed into one of the main ethnic groups.

According to the latest census data some 70% of the population define themselves as Hulstrians, 5% as Kazulian, 1% as Welsh/White Dovani Native, 20% as Gao-Showa, and 4% as other.

Landmarks Of Hulstria
Hulstria is a nation legendary for its many landmarks. Because of its history and its infusion of both Hulstrian and Gao-Showa cultures, many unique structures dot its landscape. Equally impressive is the landscape itself. Hulstria stretches from the beautiful beachs of Luthorische Bai and Marchau to the rolling hills of Rothingren and Graaffsberg and all the way up into the scenic mountains surrounding Kien. Hulstria is, of course, most known for its Imperial history and castles and palaces, like Fliederbrunn Palace, are popular for tourists to visit, while others like, Phönixstein Castle, are famed landmarks even though they are not open to the public.