Roodswood Factbook, Embassy, and More!

[Roodswood]

The Kingdom of Roodswood Factbook

Introduction

Welcome to the Kingdom of Roodswood Factbook, Q&A, Embassy, and Trade Relations! This thread is intended as a one-stop shop for all information about, and relations with, the Kingdom of Roodswood.

Before we dive into information about the Kingdom, it is important to note some of Roodswood's "Role Playing" rules. For serious interactions, Roodswood will use these rules (silly interactions are another story, of course).

1) Roodswood is a Modern Tech nation, and only recognizes the existence of other modern tech nations and very slightly post-modern tech nations.

2) Roodswood does not recognize the existence of rational creatures or animals that do not, or have not ever, existed on the real planet Earth by common understanding. If certain creatures that meet these criteria are extinct now on Earth, Roodswood considers them to be extinct.

3) Roodswood assumes that copies of all the countries in the real world exist, just as they exist now, with the same or nearly the same histories that they currently have in the real world.

4) Roodswood assumes that every nation that meets the criteria posted above has diplomatic representation with it. Please feel free to post in this thread or telegram Roodswood when your diplomatic or trade mission needs to contact our government; there is no need to post establishing an embassy (unless you'd like to for fun). We'll be doing the same with you. If, in the unfortunate event that you might feel diplomatic relations with Roodswood need to end, please post here or telegram us.

[Roodswood]

History

Roodswood was first colonized by both Spanish and English settlers at roughly the same time; there were no natives to subdue, so there was plenty of land for all. By tradition, the Father of the Nation is Captain Leo Haslemere, an English Catholic aristocrat and explorer. He founded the Fort Willow settlement at the junction of the Nueva Avon, the Comonalon, and the Old Junction rivers, in AD 1577. He also named the forest surrounding the settlement Roodswood in honot of the Crucifix. This settlement would later become Roodswood's capital and renamed Haslemere in his honor.
Captain Leo's oldest daughter, Maude, married Don Manuel Gutierrez de Rosa y Blanco, a Spanish gentleman and adventurer.

Roodswood was very distant from its mother countries, and its swampy terrain was difficult for people who had not lived there for many years to navigate. Don Manuel decided to carve out his own little Kingdom in the early 17th century, and managed to expell what little official colonial presence was there. He did so with little trouble, and also easily beat back the scant reinforcements sent by Spain and England. At the end of the day, the two European superpowers had little interest in a swampy backwater, and did not make much of an effort to retain control over the area. This was the first and only war Roodswood fought against "foreign" powers. After its conclusion, Manuel was able to force or convince the other settlers to support him as a new King, and he was crowned at the Cathedral of St. Isidore in Haslemere in AD 1602.

A portrait of Captain Leo Haslemere before he departed England on his journey of exploration.

By the late 18th century, power in Roodswood had become steadily more centralized in the monarchs of the Gutierrez de Rosa dynasty. They had steadily come to rely on a professionalized bureaucracy to administer the functions of the state at the expense of the traditional nobility, and many of these bureaucrats had adopted Freemasonry and liberal enlightenment ideals that they sought to subtly impose upon the nation.

In AD 1785, King Sebastien III died of malaria without leaving any heirs that could be considered legitimate under Salic law, effectively causing the Gutierrez de Rosa family to go extinct in the male line. This provoked a constitutional crisis and a civil war, with Sebastien's daughter Dorothy being backed for queen by the ministerial class, while traditional nobles sought to elect from their own number a new King who would found a new dynasty. Manuel Oxley, the hereditary Lord Mayor of Haslemere, surprisingly found the most support to be the new Sovereign.

Princess Dorothy was herself a very devout Catholic, but easily led by the stronger-willed ministers. However, when in order to fund their war effort the ministers began confiscating Church property, Dorothy defected to the side of the nobles. This lost the liberals what legitimacy they had in the eyes of most of Roodswood's populace, and the nobles won the war. After the dust had settled, Manuel Oxley was elevated by unanimous vote of the Cortes Generales to the position of King, at which point he married Princess Dorothy and became King Manuel VII, founding the Oxleyite dynasty. This war was always known as the Princess Dorothy War.

One year after his ascension, in AD 1789 the French Revolution got under full swing. King Manuel VII and many other nobles and clergy saw the writing on the wall, and saw that great reforms would have to occur to keep the traditional social order in Roodswood from being irreparably damaged or even abolished. Later in the year, Manuel VII issued the now-legendary Feudal Reform Decree which established a slightly modified version of feudalism in the country. This decree drastically reduced the power of the King over the nobles and the Church, making almost all power local. Without the organs of a bureaucratic state to manipulate, there was far less of a chance of a leftist revolution.

Manuel Oxley as Lord Mayor of Haslemere, before he became King Manuel VII.

Due to the Feudal Reform Decree, Roodswood was surprisingly peaceful during the 19th century. However, during this time there were several growing financial bubbles that simultaneously "popped" in mid AD 1899. This lead to a deep recession and a financial crisis in the Kingdom. King Wesley was forced to call the Cortes Generales when a solution could not be derived to prevent the Royal treasury and several major firms from potentially going bankrupt.

What most did not know was that Freemasonry and other vehicles for Enlightenment ideas had not been completely defeated at the end of the Princess Dorothy War. A number of the nobles, representatives of the Third Estate, and even a few clergy harbored these ideas (some more openly than others).

During the second session of the Cortes Generales in early 1900, several of these men who were members of the "Gran Propaganda" group hired foreign mercenaries, hid them around Haslemere, and staged an uprising shortly before the King was going to address the Cortes. In the chaos and confusion, the King and his supporters were forced to flee the Haslemere area for the northern parts of the country. With the use of these foreign mercenaries and "blitzkreig" tactics, the "Gran Propaganda" conspirators were able to gain control, if shaky control, of about 55% of Roodswood.

The usurpers immediately dissolved the Cores Generales and declared a republic, to be ruled by a unicameral parliament called the National Congress. They relocated their capital to Galbados Free City where they enjoyed more popular support. The agents of the National Congress immediately began brutalizing ideological enemies; over 10,000 clergy members in areas they controlled, plus over 60,000 other civilains. The National Congress managed to hold on to power for about a year and a half before forces loyal to the King were able to push them out of control, and they were finally dislodged from Galbados late in 1902. Reprisals against leftists throughout the country were swift and without mercy. This time in history became known as the Tyrant Congress of 1901, or the Congressional War.

Ironically, the need for most of the country to go on war footing revived the economy, solving the problem that had precipitated the bloody civil war.

Soldiers loyal to the Tyrant Congress symbolically deface a statue of Christ with gunfire.

These are the interesting parts of Roodswoody history that bring us up to the present day. The current King is Bernard II, a retiring and stately man. Little more needs to be said.

[Roodswood]

Government, Political, and Social Information

Full Name: The Kingdom of Roodswood

Short Form: Roodswood

Demonym: Roodswoodian

Adjective: Roodswoody

Government Type: Feudal Monarchy

Captial: Haslemere

Established Church: The Catholic Church

Population: 7 million

Ethnic Groups: Almost all of Roodswood is of European descent, primarily a mixture of Spanish and English.

Languages: Spanish and English are the official languages. All but those of a very low social class are bilingual.

Religious affiliation: 85% of the population are Catholics, 10% of the population are members of the Waldensian Evangelical Church, a mainline protestant group, 1% of the population is part of the Anglican Church of Roodswood, and 4% respond as Non-religious or other (of these, 1.75-2% are Jews).


Current Sovereign: King Bernard II

King Bernard II was born April 2nd, 1955, in Fort Willow, the royal palace in Haslemere. He was baptized the next day in the Royal Chapel on the grounds of the Fort. As a child and a young man, he was educated exclusively by private tutors; he was not know to be particularly athletic, but many have said he enjoyed tinkering with electronics and machines. At the age of 17, he attended Universidad de San Esteban, a small Spanish-language immersion school in the countryside surrounding Haslemere, where he eventually earned a bachelor's degree in radio and television broadcasting magna cum laude in 1976.

In his early 20's, he was introduced to Princess Beatrice of Nasuti, a foreign royal, during diplomatic functions. They were married in 1979, and have three children. Bernard assumed the throne in August of 1997, when the severe heat and humid climate proved too much for his elderly father, King Manuel IX. The King keeps himself out of the spotlight and typically does not intrude on local affairs, the liberties of which in any event are zealously guarded by their lords and charters. However, he is very well liked by the populace and on the rare occasion when he does issue a royal decree, it is obeyed without much of a fuss.

Bernard was known to have had strained relations with his father, Manuel IX, because the latter had an extra-marital affair with an actress, producing a male child. This half-brother, now Duke Lorencio of Tilbury, was separated in age by about 9 years from Bernard. As young men they were also known to have been on bad terms, but by all accounts it appears that after their father died the two reconciled.

Current Heir Apparent: Crown Prince Wesley

Crown Prince Wesley was born in Fort Willow on July 6th, 1980. Due to being born with jaundice, he was not baptized in the royal chapel the next day, as is tradition, but a week later the the Cathedral of St. Isidore in Haslemere. Prince Wesley was tutored privately for his primary and secondary schooling, and was known to be interested in mathematics. Unlike his father, Prince Wesley was also known to be very athletic and played a number of sports and frequently went hunting. He is known to be excellent at tilting. At 18 Prince Wesley attended the Royal University of Haslemere and earned a degree in mathematics.

While in college, Prince Wesley married his paramour, Princess Elvira, royalty from a foreign nation. They have one son, Prince Bernard, born in 2007. Prince Wesley is marginally more outgoing than his father, and has appeared to give interviews a few times to the Roodswoody press.

Current Foreign Minister: Prince Francisco

Prince Francisco is King Bernard's younger brother. He was born on the 1st of September, 1960, in Tremere Palace, the royal summer house in the north of the country. He was baptized the next day in All Saints Parish Church of Monserrat hamlet. Prince Francisco is married to foreign royalty and has five children.

At the Royal University of Haslemere he studied International Relations, having obtained a Master's Degree in the subject. He is generally regarded as far more outgoing than his older brother, but he has been known to fudge the truth a bit.

Legislature: The Cortes Generales, which represents the three estates of the realm: the Clergy, the Nobility, and the Commoners. Once internal votes are taken, each estate votes collectively for a given proposition. The Cortes Generales sits only at the command of the King, and has not been called in over 100 years.

Constitution: The Kingdom of Haslemere has no written constitution. Sovereign power is held by the King, legitimate in blood and deeds. He is limited by both God's law and the traditions of the land. The Feudal Reform Decree of 1789 is the actual document that probably has had the most profound effect on the Kingdom of Roodswood.

[Roodswood]

Geography of Roodswood

The Kingdom Roodswood is roughly the size of Louisiana. It has a total land area of approximately 150,000 km. sq. and 644 km of coastline.

Top 5 Cities in Roodswood by Population

1. Galbados Free City: pop. 494,734; Retail and manufacturing center of the country, also has the largest international airport in the country

2. Haslemere: pop. 228,188; Oldest settlement, capital city, and an agricultural hub

3. Algeciras: pop. 200,052; main commercial sea port

4. New Lindisfarne: pop. 148,262; origin of one of the main land routes into the country from the rest of the region

5. Allende: pop. 105,632; A popular destination for tourists, also a secondary commercial port.

Three major rivers run through Roodswood: the Nueva Avon, the Comonalon, and the Old Junction. All three rivers are navagable and are used extensively for travel, trade, and irrigation within the country.
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The Kingdom of Roodswood has a humid subtropical climate, and has precipitation year round, with the summer getting slightly more rain than the rest of the year. Temperatures vary between 34 C at the hottest points of the summer to 4 C in the coldest parts of the winter. Because of its position in the world, Roodswoodians are frequent battlers of hurricanes and other tropical storms.
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Roodswood has a great deal of swampland. The amount of decaying vegetable matter in the soil is very great, making Roodswood a haven agriculture; the rivers and lengthy coastline are teeming with fish, crustaceans, and other seafood. Otherwise, the country is actually fairly resource pour. There are small deposits of silver in the hills north of New Lindisfarne; they have mostly been mined out and the ore extracted now forms the primary backing for Roodswood's currency.

The Swamplands of Roodswood can be both beautiful and dangerous.

The Royal Court is, as always, reticent to enter into binding multinational agreements, and Roodswood is not party to any environmental pacts.

[Roodswood]

Economy of Roodswood

The Kingdom of Roodswood's currency is the Pound-Peseta, it uses the currency code ₧ with no punctuation and a space to describe its currency. For example: The cigarettes cost ₧ 5.6o to buy.
A Pound-Peseta is divided into 100 cents, and comes in the following denominations: ₧ .01, ₧ .05, ₧ .25, ₧ 1.00, ₧. 5.00, ₧ 20.00, ₧ 50.00, and ₧ 100.00. Pound-Pesetas are not fiat money, but are tied to the price of silver. Typically, ₧ 1.00 is about $1.80 USD.
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Roodswood has primarily an agricultural economy, but has passable capability in other sectors. It is usually ranked in the top 5-10% of the world of its various industries. It relies on being able to export its agricultural products to nations to are more barren.

Beef-based agriculture is one of Roodswood's most important economic sectors.

Here are some basic economic statistics for Roodswood:
GDP: $157 trillion USD
GDP per capita: $40,451.91 USD
Unemployment rate: 9% of adults over 18 years of age (does not include those unable to work or those who are primarily homemakers)
Percentage of population non-working homemakers: 45%
Percentage of population below the poverty line: 17.5%
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Taxation in Roodswood is very different in form from that of most other nations. To begin with, hereditary nobles and Catholic clergy are exempt from personal taxation (including sales tax). This is about 5% of country's population.

The "central" government, which is to say the Royal Court, must fund itself from taxes collected on its own direct subjects and from dues to it owed by chartered cities, towns, and hamlets. It may not collect taxes directly from the subjects of other nobles, except in the form of a 10% import/export tax on transactions with foreign corporations or nations.

Most commoners in Roodswood are taxed in the following way: first, a 10% yearly tithe, based on income, is collected from Catholics for the upkeep of the Church. After this, things vary considerably based upon their location. Most nobles and charters collect taxes via a sales tax in their realm, usually no more than 5%, on all goods. Occasionally a higher tax is placed on luxury goods such as yachts, exotic spices, or high-end consumer electronics. Some areas place an additional income tax on their subjects or on business income, again, usually no more than another 5%. Only very rarely does a Roodswoodian have to pay more than 10% in income taxes. In order to attract and encourage business growth, taxation is usually not specifically raised on people with higher incomes.

[Roodswood]

This post is reserved for future needs.

[Roodswood]

The Factbook/Embassy/Q&A for Roodswood is now open. If you have any questions for the government of Roodswood, or would like to get in contact with a diplomatic official from the Kingdom, please post here!

[San Pellegrino Romana]

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His Royal Majesty's Department of State
From the Desk of the Secretary of State

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TO: HRH Prince Francisco, Minister of Foreign Affairs
FROM: His Excellency Ambassador Domenico Franco, MRE
RE: Thank You For Your Hospitality - Invitation For A State Visit

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Greetings Your Royal Highness:

I'd like to thank you for accepting our diplomatic mission to your nation, the Kingdom of Roodswood. It's been a year and a half since I first arrived at my diplomatic post here, and I'd like to thank you for the warm hospitality you've given my nation and myself during my tenure here. On behalf of His Royal Majesty Raphael the First, I would like to ask you if perhaps your brother, His Majesty King Bernard II, would like to, in the future, visit San Pellegrino Romana on an official state visit. Of course, HRM King Raphael could first visit Roodswood if you'd like - either way is fine. I sincerely await your response. Thank you for your time, and have a wonderful day!

Sincerely,

Ambassador Franco, MRE,

Roman Ambassador to Roodswood

[Roodswood]

+A M D G+
By Order of Francisco, Prince of the Realm, Count of Egans, Baron of Goncalves, etc.
~~~

To: His Excellency, Ambassador Domenico Franco, MRE
RE: State Visits

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Your Excellency,

His Majesty, the King, would be happy host His Royal Majesty, Raphael I and His Royal Majesty's family if they would like to visit Roodswood. The King would also be happy to visit your fair nation in the future. Any such visits, however, would have to occur after Easter (April 24th), as His Majesty and the rest of the my family are undergoing Lenten observances, and will also be busy all of Holy Week. After that time, the King's schedule is open.

Yours Truly,

Francisco