Hulstria & Gao-Soto

Hulstria & Gao-Soto officially the Dual Monarchy of Hulstria & Gao-Soto (Hulstrian: Die DoppelMonarchie von Hulsterreich und Gishoto, Gao-Showa: Osei Nigenteki no Hurusu-Soto ken Gao-Soto) 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 largely uninhabited interior of the Great North Dovani Plain. It is the 28th most populous nation on Terra and the 48th in order of area.

History of Hulstria & Gao-Soto
Main Article: The History of Hulstria & Gao-Soto

Early History
From roughly 800-1493 the lands which currently make Hulstria & Gao-Soto 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 of 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 Greater Hulstria started in 1493 when Sir Christopher Dove, a Luthori Admiral landed in Dovani and claimed the land of Greater Hulstria for the Holy Luthori Empire. The Luthori lands on the continent were divided into 10 colonies. 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 form the past.

Post Dark Period
In 2193 Greater Hulstria was rebuilt after 100 years in chaos called the Great Dark Period as the new Republic of Gishoto, Gishoto being a compromise between the Hulstrians and Gao-Showa, before the new government renamed the nation the Holy Gishoton Empire and made Klaus Gustav III the first Lutheran Emperor of Gishoto to the opposition of the Shinto Gao-Showa and the new Communist party.

Gishoto
This situation remained for many years until the 2240s when many of the parties and traditional institutions of the state started to crumble. This culminated in the revolution of 2245-48 when the Communist Party of Gishoto destroyed the Lutheran based Empire and created the People's Socialist Republic of Gishoto a new secular communist state.

Soon after the revolution though the Imperial Hulstrian Party resurged threatening to stop the revolution until they collapsed under the suppression and popular support of the Communists. The Communist State was secured by Successive Governments led by three differing communist parties, The Communist Party of Gishoto, The Intellectual Revolution Party and the Christian Communist Party the latter taking power in 2272 increased nationalisation of industry but reversing the unpopular secularism, bringing back the Lutheran church as a dominant power in the state.

Following this Second Revolution democracy blossomed in Gishoto with several new parties being created. This growth of democracy ended the dominance of one or two parties for extended periods, as had previously been the norm, and allowed the return of capitalist and royalist parties. The end of the Communist era was confirmed in 2309 when the Saints Alliance took the Presidency and the Refuge Pressure Party the Supreme Soviet. The parties in the Central Diet Diet could be easily split in to, the liberals on one side and the conservative Hulstrian and Gao-Showa aristocracy on the other. The latter remained in power for many years.

Following the collapse of the Gao-Showa Peoples' Party, the Imperial Hulstrian Party was left as the only conservative party. Battles between the outnumbered, IHP Diet Members and the Left Wing Coalition raged in the Central Diet. In 2371, the RPP disbanded to return to Dranland. Shortly there after, thousands of refugees from Kalistan entered Gishoto. 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 HNP, the Saints Alliance collapsed. The IHP and HNP formed a majority coalition, and began restoring Hulstria. The HNP began a plan of racial segregation, called Apartheid, dividing the nation into 3 ethnic groups, White, Colored, and Gishotoi. Shortly after Apartheid was pushed through the Anti-Nazi Party collapsed.

Greater Hulstria
Following Apartheid, the IHP introduced a massive constituional overhaul that return 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 comprized 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 reestablishment 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, which it refused to do, so legal preceding started in the Imperial Tribunal, which the new party ignored. Within two years a new party formed called the Crown Loyalists formed, 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 refounded the Gao-Showa Peoples' Party. In 2419 the GSPP returned to the diet and within two years Apartheid had ended and the Imperial Tribunals finished.

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 current form of the nation has only existed for 3 years yet is already having a significant impact on improving relations between the ethnic groups in the population. For the time being the compromise appears to remain secure.

Government & Politics
Hulstria & Gao-Soto is a Dual Monarchy. The nation is comprised of five Crownlands which are split between two monarchies along ethnic and cultural lines. The Hulstrian Kaiser reigns over the three western Crownlands of Hulstria, Budenlar and Kuratha from Kien whilst the Gao-Showa Tenno reigns over the Crownlands of Mitrania and Hilgar as well as the Eastern Territory from Akihito.

The Joint Government holds the most power however; it is situated in Kien and is divided between the Executive and Legislature. The executive is embodied in the Lord Protector, a popularly elected official who heads the government on the behalf of the Monarchs and may not be a member of either Imperial family. The Imperial Diet is the unicameral Legislature of the nation.

Administrative Divisions
Hulatria & Gao-Soto is divided into two nations and one territory with the two nations being divided into five crownlands and the the five crownlands further divided into 67 districts known as Kreise in Hulstria and Todōfuken in Gao-Soto.

The two nations as noted above are Hulstria and Gao-Soto, both have their own Diet and Monarch and hold responsibility for all matters not directly under the domain of the Imperial Diet. In practice few decisions are made by the national diets. As well as the nations there is the Eastern Territory more commonly known as Togoku. Although under the personal rule of the Tenno it is not part of Gao-Soto proper and due to its large area and small population it is technically governed by the ministry of internal affairs, though for all intents and purposes a feudal government persists, unchanged for millenia.

The nation of Hulstria is divided into three Crownlands; Hulstria, Budenlar and Kuratha. It is at this level that most political decisions in Hulstria are made. These 3 crownlands are divided into the 38 Kreise governing the remaining aspects of their own local areas not already decided by the other layers of Government. Gao-Soto is divided into 2 crownlands; Mitrania and Hilgar. However unlike Hulstria few decisions are taken by the Diets of the crownlands with most power being left with the 29 Todōfuken councils.

In recent years the city of Moroni has been established on the banks of the Hanpo-Kawa to the South of the Eastern Territory. Although it is considered part of Hulstria & Gao-Soto the Mormon community there holds a large ammount of autonomy from the imperial government in Kien, helped by the ambivilence of both Monarchs towards the Mormons.

Hulstrian Holidays
Christmas

December 25th Christmas is celebrated in Greater Hulstria in very traditional ways. Families gather Christmas Eve for tradition Christmas Eve dinner consisting of roast goose, mashed potatoes, and all the fixins. Christmas morning the children often awake very early to see what the Weihnachtsmann(Santa Claus) has brought them. They wake up their parents and rush down to see their presents under the Christmas Tree. Later in the day families travel to a relative's house for Christmas Dinner. Of course the reason for Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ, and many families attend church either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day or both.

Easter

Varies according to Church Calender Easter is also celebrated in the tradition fashion. The "Easter Bunny" hides plastic eggs in the family's yard. The family goes to church and once they return the children begin to hunt for the eggs. Often children are also giving Easter Baskets filled with candy by relatives. After the fun and games, families go to Easter Dinner at another family member's house. The dinner can consist of anything but generally centers around a Ham.

Hulstria Day

July 23rd Hulstria Day is the most patriotic day of the year. On it people hold picnics, pool parties, parades, and barbecues. Once the sun goes down fireworks light up the sky and often run continuously from dust to dawn the next morning.

Remembrance Day

December 26th Remembrance Day is the day after Christmas. It use to be a normal day, however after the Christmas Day Bombings it became one of the most solemn days of the year. It was picked as the day to remember the bombings by the Imperial Government because they very well couldn't make Christmas the national day of remembrance. Many people spend the entire day in Church.

Constitution Day

The Eighth Day of June of every year is known as Constitution Day in order to celebrate the ratification of the Constitution of the Dual Monarchy of Hulstria and Gao-Soto. All government offices, local and federal, except those vital to public safety, are closed throughout the course of the day.

Gao-Showa Festivals
Setsubun

The Setsubun celebrations occur at the begining of each season. The festival starts with a visit to temples where priests throw edible charms to the gathered crowd. Prayers are said and the charms used to cast the spirits accumulated over the season from the home to allow the spirits of the new season to enter. The charms are then eaten whilst facing the compass direction associated with the season.

Urabon

Urabon is celebrated from mid July to mid August and largely concerns the veneration of the dead. The way this is observed varys from region to region but most areas celebrate in the evening with a festival of the local community with usual fairground attractions. This is generally followed in the evening with fireworks displays and stargazing at which large amounts of alcohol are consumed.

Shogatsu and Omisoka

Shogatsu and Omisoka are the festivals of the new year and these days happens between the 31st of December and the 3rd of January. On the 31st families will meet at their clan shrine to take part in new years chanting and prayers with the temple priests. At midnight a bell is rung and the people return home for the night. From the 1st-3rd of January extended families will meet for a feasts games. Gifts are often exchanged. Toward the end of this period the heads of clans will meet with the Emperor as a, now largely traditional, form of parliament.

Sports
Due to Gishoto's sub-artic climate and long winters, winter sports are popular. This is shown in the nation's national sport, curling, which originated in the nation and is a highly popular pastime amongst nearly all people in Gishoto. Other highly popular sports include Ice Hockey and Skiing. Gishoto has a temperate climate during the late spring, summer and early autumn and during these months many people play rugby and football, whilst winter sports continue at indoor facilities during the off season. In recent years Baseball has become a popular amateur sport especially in urban areas.

Religion
Stats on Religion


 * Christianity: 77%
 * Lutheran: 54%
 * Mormon: 10%
 * Catholic: 8%
 * Episcopalian: 2%
 * Other: 1%
 * Shintoism: 19%
 * Buddhism: 3%
 * Judaism: 2%
 * Atheist/Non-Religious/Other: 1%

Geography and Climate


As a country in the far north of Terra Hulstria & Gao-Soto 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.

Economy
Hulstria & Gao-Soto is a heavily industrialised state with much of the population living in major conurbations. Following independence 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 & Gao-Soto has a huge steel and aluminium industry and also produces some copper and gold.

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 & Gao-Soto 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 trades in commodities.

Demographics
The population of Hulstria & Gao-Soto 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 72% of the population define themselves as Hulstrians, 24% as Gao-Showa and most others defined themselves as Welsh.