Mizialand Factbook: Questions and Answers

[Mizialand]

ROYAUME DE LA MIZE

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Ministère des Affaires étrangères et Maredoratique

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124 Rue de l'Elise

5689 AX Heleventia

La Mize

Tel: +44 900 788

Fax: +44 557 900

Website: www.mdea.mz

To all those visiting this page.

05 June 2014

Mizialand Factbook: Questions and Answers

First of all please allow me to express my overwhelming gratitude for taking time to visit this page. I am pleased to see that you are so inquisitive to learn about our great Kingdom - its glorious history, its enchanting culture and our beautiful Her Royal Highness Queen Sophie Vincent.

For this very purpose the Ministry has decided to update the now outdated Factbook of Mizialand. This process is long and tedious - for we have to collect information from all the sources available, get all the necessary approvals and put it all in one place that will comprise all you need to know about the Kingdom. We have just began this task and throughout this year we will be releasing, in portions what when finished will comprise 'The Factbook of The Kingdom of Mizialand'.

However we want all of you to learn as much about the Kingdom as possible. You can post your questions and queries about our glorious land and our representative will answer them as quickly as possible.

I hope that the Ministry's effort to provide an insight of the Kingdom to the inquisitive minds is successful. Long live the Queen!

Yours faithfully,
Léo Schwechlen,
Minister of External Affairs

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[Mizialand]

The Kingdom of Mizialand

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Flag

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Motto: "Non inultus premor"

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National Anthem: Salve Regina (God save the Queen)

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Location

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Population:28 million
-Density:

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Capital:Heleventia
Largest City: St. Louis

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Official Language: French, Dutch and German

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Demonym:Mizia

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Government
- Queen: HRH Sophie Vincent
- Prime Minister & Speaker of the House: Pierre Vincent
- Chief Commander of the Armed Forces: Pierre Vincent
- Chief Justice:Arnold Hershey

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Legislature: La Frachiere

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Establishment: 17 April 1912

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Area: 196,024km²

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Elevation
Highest Point: Mt. Eisenhoff (4,500 m)
Lowest Point: Lake Baa (-180 m)

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GDP (nominal):M€ 182 trillion
GDP (nominal) per capita:M€ 27,445

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Human Development Index (NS Version): 90

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Currency: Mizia Euro

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Time Zone: GMT +1

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Drives on the:Right

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Calling code: + 41

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Internet TLD:.mz

The Kingdom of Mizialand (French: La Mize, Dutch: Mizialand, German: Mizialand) is an absolute monarchy albeit with a parliament with 40% elected representative located in Western Alisna, Maredoratica.

The northern portion of the country is bordered by the Euskania mountain range while the southern region is flat. It has one of the longest coastlines in Maredoratica running about 1,600 km. Most of the population is concentrated on the central plateau and southern coastline. The capital is Heleventia and the largest city is St. Louis.

The Kingdom was established on 17th April 1912 after Guerin Vincent overthrew the Democratic Republic of Mizialand in a coup d’état. Though she re-established the Mizia monarchy, she initiated policies of socialism which were to guide all aspects of Mizia life till early 1980s. Major economic reforms initiated during the later regime of Queen Amberlynn La Pierre and expanded by present Queen HRH Sophie Vincent transformed this socialist nation into a capitalist one. State capitalism and special economic zone along with discontinuation of bureaucratic red tape formed the backbone of these reforms. Growth rate averaging over 12% for next two decades transformed the Kingdom into a wealthy, self-sufficient country. The growth rate has slowed down to 3% owing to 2012 financial crisis.

Mizialand has very high HDI of 90, much above the world average. According to World Assembly, it is the healthiest country in Maredoratica. It maintains a very strong social welfare system providing universal healthcare and tertiary education for its citizens. It ranks highly in health care, public transport, income equality among other. Civil and political freedom has been rate as good and poor respectively, though the situation is rapidly changing as exemplified by conduction of elections and recent legalization of homosexuality. Mizialand was a part of WA until 2012 when it resigned citing “discriminatory laws that aim at reducing the sovereignty of the Kingdom”.

Table of contents

1. Etymology

2. History

• Early History
• Ancien Regime
• Federation of Mizialand
• Democratic Republic of Mizialand
• Kingdom of Mizialand

3. Geography

• Climate
• Environment

4. Politics

• Administrative Divisions
• Military
• Foreign Relations

5. Economy

• State Capitalism
• Special Economic Zones
• Transport
• Tourism

6. Demographics

• Languages
• Health
• Urbanization

7. Culture

• Sports
• Cuisine

[Mizialand]

THE FEDERATION OF MIZIALAND

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The assassination of King Thomas VI in 1799 led to the fall of Mizia monarchy. By the time, his son, the heir apparent had fled to XXX.

The revolution was not led by any prominent authority – it was in fact a plethora of revolts against the Ancien Regime. More than two decades of fighting had led to an unforeseen fall in agriculture. The death of more than 200,000 civilians and the destruction of fertile land caused food shortage across the country. A volcanic eruption resulting in a volcanic winter led to complete destruction of the few crops that had been sown. Food riots broke out across the country and grain house were looted. A major typhus epidemic broke out in the northern region.
By the end of the year, King Thomas VII was able to regain the control of the Kingdom with assistance from the King’s Men and foreign powers, possibly taking advantage of the chaos that followed the revolution. The King promised titanic reform in the Mizia system most prominent of which was “abundant food and great quality of life” for the populace.

Colosseum

Following the war and the unusual climatic pattern, grains were imported from foreign nations and special assistance granted to all farmers affected by the war and the famine. The population was redistributed into 7 concentric provinces ruled by the King (who still acted as a dictator) from the central province of Heleventia. The population of each of the province was decided on basis of assistance rendered to the monarchy during the time of revolution – the novelty and erstwhile ministers mainly constituted the population of Heleventia and revolting population was placed in the distant most and remote provinces.

Furthermore, he officially renamed the country as the Federation of Mizialand though it was a federation in name only. The country became a totalitarian state. The state adopted horrifying measures to prevent the outbreak of another revolution – most prominent of which were the ‘Annual Hunger Games’.

As a punishment for the revolt, each province except Heleventia had to send two children (one boy and one girl between the age of 12 to 16) to fight till death against each other at the Colosseum, a large amphitheater constructed at Heleventia. Contestants were initially unarmed but weapons were placed in a big pile at the centre of the ring. The number of competitors far exceeded the number of weapons. Often lions and bulls were thrown in the ring to eliminate to make the competition more difficult. The games were watched by blood thirsty crowds and attendance was always in large numbers. The winner received unlimited supply of food and money as well as patronage from the king. A total of 48 Hunger Games took place during the time of the Federation.

Another measure adopted was food rationing. Unlike the Ancien Regime, each province had to send a fixed quota of food to the capital. Failure to accomplish this resulted in imposition of heavy taxes as well as well as mass killing of people. The food would then be redistributed among different provinces depending on their loyalty to Heleventia. Often the outermost provinces received no food supply for months at end.

Xenophobia was widespread primarily due to portrayal of the foreign countries as cruel and despotic. Mizialand was constantly told to be engaged in a war (though in reality there was no such war) which it was winning. Criminals as well as all men from the outer provinces attaining 26 years of age were conscripted in the armed forces and sent to ‘fight abroad’. Foreigners were not allowed entry into the Kingdom during this period.

Mass surveillance gained prominence during this time. People were convinced of the existence of such technology that enabled the officials to watch ‘everyone everytime’(however no such technology ever existed). Large posters of the King saying ‘You are being watched’ adorned almost all buildings. Secret police also came into existence. Critiques of the Kings were conscripted and sent to ‘fight abroad’. Arts of any form whatsoever were outlawed, except those approved by the King.

By mid-1850s, the outer provinces were on the brink of starvation. The conditions in the inner provinces were comparatively better though alarming. A peasant revolt broke out in 1856 in Loire, the outermost province. Soon after three other outer and one inner province joined a full scale revolt. Unlike the previous revolution, this revolt was much more organised and supported by XXX which was highly critical of the Federation. The Second Civil War fought between the aforementioned five provinces, supported by XXX and the remaining two provinces with Heleventia resulted in death of around 50,000 people (civilians as well as military). On 13th October 1857, the Federation was overthrown. The entire population of Heleventia was massacred by the leaders of revolution. The Royal Family was executed two days later. With assistance of XXX, a constitution came into being on 1st March 1858 proclaiming the formation of the Democratic Republic of Mizialand.

[Mizialand]

THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF MIZIALAND

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The fallout of the Federation and subsequent execution of the King led to establishment of democracy in the country. First elections were held in 1858 when Partij voor de Vrijheid (PvDA) (Freedom Party), which was run by the leaders of the revolution won majority seats in the Parliament.

The establishment of democracy coincided with the onset of industrial revolution in Mizialand prior to which the country was primarily an agrarian society. While most of Western Maredortica had already experienced the industrial revolution,

Mizia Euro being thrown into gutters

this transition was delayed in Mizialand primarily due to the ongoing civil war. The initial phases of this movement were marked by establishment of small industries in the countryside. Subsequently mining became a major industry in Northern provinces and textiles in the central plateau. The discovery of gold in the Eastern highlands provided the much needed momentum to this revolution. Parallel to the changes in economic life, advancements in the social sphere were seen – in 1858 free and compulsory public schooling was mandated; in 1859 slavery was outlawed and in the same year polygamy criminalised. Between 1860 and 1900 Mizialand saw phenomenal rise in exports, especially in wood and steel. The abolishment of tariffs further helped the cause as did the massive investments in infrastructure especially that of the railroads. The coming years not only saw rapid expansion of the aforementioned industries but also establishment of St. Louis Stock Exchange and the Bank of Mizialand. The latter was given legal rights as the sole issuer of bank notes in the country. A rapid expansion of private banks and credit expansion were to follow.

The rapid credit expansion led to stock market collapse in 1907 causing The Great Depression which became a catalyst for rapid policy change in Mizialand. International trade plunged by more than 50% and unemployment rose to 25%. Sectors that had formed the backbone of industrial revolution suffered the most.

The depression had profound impact on the election of 1908. The PvDA had seen landslide victory in all of the previous elections. With the effects of the depressions reaching every corner of the Mizia society and dissatisfaction with the leadership growing, it became clear that the party was on the way out. The elections did not give a clear verdict and a coalition government – first seen in Mizia history was formed. The coming years saw continued effects of the depression. Unemployment reached an all-time high of 33%. The gold value of money rapidly fell and the central bank responded by unlimited printing of notes causing devaluation of the Mizia Euro. The country experienced hyperinflation for the coming 4 years. At the worst time, the price of commodities doubled every 24 hours. By 1911, 1 pound of bread cost 3 billion, 1 pound of meat: 36 billion, 1 glass of beer: 4 billion. On 14th April 1912, the government fell due to a dispute over the introduction of a new currency. The Election Commission expressed its inability to conduct another election due to rapid devaluation of the Euro.

On 17th April 1912, the Mizia Armed Forces led by General Guerin Vincent launched a coup d'état against the interim government. General Vincent was in fact a descendent of the Royal Family. On the same day, she repealed the constitution and re-established Mizialand as an absolute monarchy.