The Federal Monarchy Of Tol Galen

Given the amount of outright hostility toward for Mid-Atlantic and North-Atlantic AUs I had considered not bothering to update this AU. As we know, Tol Galen is my rather grandiose main scenario that I've been working on for the best part of eleven years now... It's been a continual evolution of ideas and probably always will be, with this new revised thread I endeavour to hopefully have some semblance of order. For the time being most of my effort is concentrated on the more modern aspects as that is my most comfortable area. Eventually there will be more Great War and Second World War material appear (as and when I finish the research), it is safe to say however that the bare framework exists (IE not fleshed out) to be able to get to the current day and continue with things.

Hopefully by the time the main site is revamped I'll have more historical material to include than that which I have currently.

WIP

Tol Galen: The Green Isle
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National Statistics:

Nation: Tol Galen - The Green Isle | Calendor - Greeland
Type: North Atlantic Island(s) - (Main Island Plus Outlying Islands)
Establishment:
-Discovery ±675CE
-Settlement 730-810CE
-Christianisation 975-1050CE
-Crown Colon 1690
-Crown Protectorate 1790
-Full Independence 1902
-EU Accession 1973

National Anthem: Land of Hope and Glory

Motto: Nunquam Non Paratus - Never Unprepared

Capital: Avallónë

Official Language: Galenic English + Galenic Sign
Main Languages: British English + British Sign
Minority Languages: Icelandic, Irish, Welsh, Breton, Irish Sign
Immigrant Languages: Polish, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Cantonese
Foreign Languages: French, German Spanish, Cantonese (Primarily students)
Sign Languages: BSL, ISL, NISL, ASL (Officially recognised)

Ethnic Groups:
-White: European: 84.50% | 114,485,670
-White: Other: 1.55% | 2,100,033
-Asian: Indian: 1.75% | 2,371,005
-Asian: Pakistani: 1.35% | 1,829,061
-Asian: Bangladeshi: 0.60% | 812,916
-Asian: Chinese: 1.10% | 1,490,346
-Asian: Korean: 0.25% | 338,715
-Asian: Other: 1.20% | 1,625,832
-Black: Afro-Caribbean: 1.05% | 1,422,603
-Black: Other: 0.75% | 1,016,145
-Mixed or Multiple Ethnicities: 4.00% | 5,419,440
-Other Ethnic Groups: 1.90% | 2,574,234

Government: Federal Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II
Ruling Party: Coalition: Social Liberals & Democratic Socialists
Legislature: Tricameral Parliament
VVIPs:
-Governor General: Stephen Laurie
-Prime Minister: Aisling Fitzgerald
-Chief Justice: Hugh Fry
Seats: (900)
-Censors: 140
-Senate: 255
-House of Representatives: 505

Area:435,500Km²
Population:135,486,000
Pop. Density:311/Km²

Major Cities:
-Avallónë: 11,291,864
-Valmar: 5,093,791
-Tirion: 4,307,477
-Alqualondë: 3,475,964
-Luincast: 3,317,564
-Fornost: 3,066,327
-Minas Tirith: 2,603,493
-Minas Anor 2,201,599
-Dorwininost: 1,639,530
-Luinlond: 1,406,347

Main Exports:
-Petroleum Oils (Refined): $127,518,000,000
-Petroleum Oils (Crude): $111,879,000,000
-Liquefied Natural Gas: $98,646,000,000
-Flat-Rolled Products: $93,713,700,000
-Medicaments & Pharmaceuticals: $83,007,000,000
-Coniferous Lumber: $76,390,500,000
-Aircraft, Spacecraft + Launch Vehicles: $67,368,000,000
-Auto-mobiles (Cars, Vans + LGVs): $55,939,500,000
-Ovine Products (All-Inclusive): $51,729,000,000
-Poultry Products (All-Inclusive): $38,496,000,000
-Root Vegetables: $33,202,800,000
-Bovine Products (All-Inclusive): $29,353,200,000
-Plastics – Polyethylene + Polypropylene: $25,263,000,000
-Leaf Vegetables: $23,578,800,000
-Anthracite + Bituminous Coal: $18,285,600,000
-Fish Fillets / Meat: $12,390,900,000
-Hot-Rolled Iron / Non-Alloy Steel: $11,669,100,000
-Zinc Ore Concentrates: $10,947,300,000
-Manganese Ore Concentrates: $10,225,500,000
-Refined Copper + Copper Alloys: $9,022,500,000
-Lignite + Semi-Bituminous Coal: $7,939,800,000
-Copper Ore Concentrates: $7,218,000,000
-Gold – Unwrought or Powdered: $6,255,600,000
-Diamonds (Uncut): $4,691,700,000
-Specialist Electronics: $4,330,800,000
-Silver – Unwrought or Powdered: $3,488,700,000
-Other Exports: $180,450,000,000

Main Export Partners:
USA: 10.0%
UK: 9.7%
France: 9.3%
Germany: 8.7%
Benelux: 7.7%
Canada: 7.9%
Republic of Ireland: 7.0%
Other Countries: 39.7%

Main Import Partners
Germany: 11.5%
China: 10.4%
UK: 8.2%
USA: 9.1%
France: 5.0%
Benelux: 7.3%
Canada: 6.5%
Other Countries: 42.5%

GDP (USD):
-GDP:N | $5,627,878,744,279
-GDP:PC | $41,538
-GDP:PPP | $7,503,838,325,703
-GDP:PPP:PC | $55,385

Tax Rates:
-Income: 10-50%
-Corporate: 25-50%
-Inheritance (Over $500k): 10-50%
-Healthcare + Social Security: 5%
-Local (Council): Service Usage Based
-Government Oil Tax: 10%
-Consumptive Taxes: 1-15%
-Capital Gains Tax: 5-50%
-VAT: 20%
HDI: 0.924(-) - 0.856(-) {Inequality Adjusted} ^

Currency: Galenic Dollar | GLD - $GL
Value: 1 GLD = 1.41353 USD
Denominations:
Coins: 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $2, $5
Notes (Polymer): $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $,5,000

Time Zone: UTC-1
Date Format: DD/MM/YYYY
Drives On The: Left
ISO 3166 Codes: TG - TGN - 836
Internet TLD: .tg | .co.tg

Railway Scheme: Nationalised (1950)
Route Mileage:
-43,267Km (Non-Electrified) | 28,125Km (Double Track)
-21,925Km (Electrified) | All Electric Lines Are Double Track Or More
Electrification:
-25 kV AC @ 50 Hz
-750V DC @ 50Hz (Metro + Underground)
Primary Gauges:
-4' 8½" (1435 mm) (Standard)
-3' 3 ⅜” (1000 mm) (Narrow + Underground)
Freight Locos:
-Various Types: 3,645 ~60/40% Split Between Diesel + Electric
Passenger Locos:
-Long-distance: 2,950 ~20/80% Split Between Diesel + Electric
-Short-distance: 1,505 ~60/40% Split Between Diesel + Electric
Multiple Units:
-High-Speed: 350 ~20/80% Split Between Diesel + Electric
-Long-distance: 550 ~30/70% Split Between Diesel + Electric
-Short-distance: 20,000 ~70/30% Split Between Diesel + Electric

Aircraft Ident Code:
[CIV] 2G-AAAA to 2G-ZZZZ Main Index
[CIV] 2G-1-1 to 2G-99-99 Deliveries and Tests
[MIL] XA0001 – XZ9999
[MIL] P (Prototype) T (Test) X (Experimental)

Power Generation: 250 Total
[HYDRO] 60 >
[OFFSHORE WIND] 10 >
["CLEAN" COAL] 26 <
[NATGAS] 10 <
[BIOGAS] 28
[OIL SHALE] 4 <
[WASTE] 13
[PEAT] 6
[BIOMASS] 15
[NUCLEAR] 48 >
[SOLAR] 1
[GEO] 23
[Other] 8

Budget (USD): $2,469,403,449,354 Total
-Defence | $170,388,838,005
-Social Protection + Pensions | $419,798,586,390
-Healthcare | $370,410,517,403
-Education | $395,104,551,897
-Public Order + Safety | $148,164,206,961
-Transport | $123,470,172,468
-Personal Social Services | $117,296,663,844
-Housing + Environment | $128,408,979,366
-Debt Interest | $148,164,206,961
-Internal Administrative Expenses | $67,908,594,857
-Science + Technology | $122,235,470,743
-Space Exploration + Research | $4,938,806,899
-Other Spending | $253,113,853,559

Imports & Exports (USD):
-Imports: $1,397,010,000,000
-Exports: $1,203,000,000,000

National Bank Account:
-Expected Expenditures: $2,470,638,768,738
-Actual Expenditures: $2,469,403,449,354
-Current Account Balance: $1,235,319,384 (AAA)

Military Manpower:
-Military Age: (16) 18-50 (55) (All Volunteer Force)
-Available for Service: 55,738,940 (All-up Figure)
-Fit for Service: 45,157,484 (All-up Figure)
-Reaching Military Age Annually: 2,371,005 (All-up Figure)
-Equality: Both Sexes (All Branches)
-Galenic Army: 535,000 (Includes Reserve Forces)
-Royal Galenic Air Force: 127,500 (Includes Reserve Forces)
-Royal Galenic Marine Commandos: 9,000 (Her Majesty's Galenic Naval Service)
-Royal Galenic Navy: 117,500 (Her Majesty's Galenic Naval Service)
-Royal Galenic Coast Guard: 8,000 (Her Majesty's Galenic Naval Service)
-Joint Service Units: 3,000 (Mainly SF & Intelligence Community)
-Total: 800,000 (All-up Figure)
-Troops Per 1000 Capita: 5.90 (Includes Reserves)

Military Spending (USD): $170,388,838,005
-Galenic Army: $46,856,930,451
-Royal Galenic Air Force: $43,449,153,691
-Galenic Naval Service: $36,633,600,171
-Corps of Defence Intelligence: $7,667,497,710
-Royal Galenic Marine Commandos: $4,259,720,950
-Other Spending (Procurement etc): $20,020,688,466
-Joint Activities: $11,501,246,565

Abstract
Tol Galen (legally and officially the Dominion of Tol Galen) is a sovereign state within Europe. Situated in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the United Kingdom and Ireland it comprises of the island of Tol Galen (applied universally to the nation as a whole), as well as the islands of Tol Brandir, Tolfalas, Tol Fuin, Tol Morwen and Tol Uialgaer.

Tol Galen is a Constitutional Federal Monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. Its capital city and financial centre is Avallónë . With an urban population of 11,291,864 people it is the third largest city in Europe and largest within the European Union. The current monarch—since 6 February 1952 is Queen Elizabeth II.

Tol Galen being federated comprises a number subdivisions. These comprise primarily of farthings and regions including but not limited to: Northfarthing, Eastfarthing, Ennorath, Southfarthing and Westfarthing, these divide Tol Galen proper with the Island of Tol Morwen existing as a region in its own right. The islands of Tol Brandir, Tolfalas, Tol Fuin and Tol Uialgaer however are not strictly a part of Tol Galen being Crown dependencies and as such feature as independent entities with Tol Galen being responsible for defence and international representation on behalf of the Crown.

Tol Galen is a developed country and currently has the third-largest economy globally by nominal GDP and fourth-largest by purchasing power parity. Tol galen is considered to have a high-income economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index currently ranking fourth globally. Tol Galen is a signatory of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons fielding no-longer fielding nuclear deterrent of its own but being a member of the NATO nuclear weapons sharing scheme. Tol Galen's military expenditure currently ranks third in the world behind the United States of America and China. Tol Galen has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its inception in 1946 and has been a primary member of the European Union (EU) and its predecessor the European Economic Community (EEC) since 1973; it is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (formally British Commonwealth), the Council of Europe, European Defence Agency (EDA), NATO, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO)

Etymology
Tol Galen translates to "The Green Isle" comprising of the words 'Tol' ("Island") and 'Calen' ("Green"). Tol Galen is also known locally albeit somewhat confusingly as Calendor which translates to Greenland.

Language
There are several languages used currently by Galenites, with English being the most used due to it being a common language between people. The official language of Tol Galen is Galenic a language derived from both Old Norse and Welsh. In 2010 nearly 9 million Galenites listed a non-official language as their mother tongue. Some of the most common non-official languages include Irish Gaelic, Welsh and Breton - primarily in the remaining enclaves of ancient and historical immigration. Given the ethnic diversity of modern day Tol Galen there are several prevalent immigrant languages in common usage as well. The most widespread of these are; Polish, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati and Cantonese.

Tol Galen's federal government practices official bilingualism, English and Galenic have equal status in federal courts, parliament, and in all federal institutions. Citizens have the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or Galenic and official-language minorities are guaranteed their own schools in all farthings, regions and territories.

History
Early Period:
The lands which now make up Tol Galen are thought to have been discovered around 675 CE by Hiberno-Scottish monks, there is archaeological evidence that they set up at least three monastic sites on the East Coast of Tol Galen and the Island of Tol Brandir. Archaeological evidence points towards increasing amounts of settlers making the journey between ~730-810 these settlements predominantly appear to be what could be called fishing villages again, primarily along the East coast. It is hypothesised that settlement must have occurred in the North given the proximity to the Faroe Islands, whilst both cereal pollen from domesticated plants and middens of shellfish shells have been found and dated to ~7500 BC. As of yet not been a definitive settlement found that pre-dates or coincides with the settlement of the East coast.
During the Viking Age settlement is shown to have further increased as larger more permanent settlements were formed coinciding with the re-discovery and settlement of Iceland by Norse settlers. These people were primarily of Norwegian, Irish and Scottish origin. Some of the Irish and Scots were surely slaves and servants of the Norse chiefs having been taken into servitude and slavery during raids along the British coastline.

Given the sacking of monastic sites in Britain it is perhaps unsurprising that archaeological discoveries have been made further inland that point towards existing settlers and monastics fleeing the Norse. This is further reinforced by the still extant fortified monasteries in the foothills of Northfarthing. It would seem that the Norse were either reluctant to or did not decide to venture further into the hinterland. Christianisation of the Norse seems to have started to have occurred in the late-tenth and early-eleventh centuries. Historical accounts point towards widespread violence between the two rival religious groups culminating in the two factions negotiating with each-other through mediators in much the same way as had happened in Iceland. The eventual outcome was similar to that had had occurred in Iceland in that Christianity would be adopted by arbitration whilst retaining the old Norse customs and allowing private pagan worship to continue. The coming together of Christians and Pagans marked the beginning of the first great era for Tol Galen as a nation.

First Era: Initial Expansion
During the period between ~1050-1150 what is now Tol Galen evolved into a series of thirteen rival kingdoms and city states (these would come to be whittled down to the six major farthings and regions that form modern day Tol Galen.
Between ~1050 and the Great War in 1177 the population grew from roughly 120,000 to around 800,000 with the vast majority of that figure centred on the existing east coast settlements and the reasonably new settlements around the Gulf of Lhûn. Inward expansion had started by following the River Lhûn northwards, further coastal settlements began to spring up on the West coast as fishermen expanded their areas. By the time of the Norman invasion the seeds had been sown for what would eventually become the most recognised cities and areas in Tol Galen today.

Second Era: War And Unification
By the late 12th century, Tol Galen was divided into a number of minor kingdoms, their rulers each fighting for the title of Iron King and to gain control of the island as a whole. Initially the Normans in Tol Galen were employed as paid non-aligned guards to the Iron King primarily in Avallónë this arrangement worked for some years allowing Avallónë to rid itself of the violence of the other warring kingdoms. However one of the minor kings managed to convince a small number of the Norman mercenaries guarding Avallónë to assassinate the Iron King. However other members of the city guard were tipped off about the plot, despite the best attempts to prevent the impending assassination they were unable to stop the events set in motion by the treasonous guards. The immediate aftermath of the assassination is unclear but what is known is that both the Iron king and the pretender were killed, the resulting power vacuum was filled by the head of the city guard, still loyal to the Iron King. They were bolstered by men-at-arms and knights from the kingdom from which the Iron King had ruled over prior to taking the Iron Throne. The Iron Throne in turn passed to the eldest son of the Iron King when he came of age who with a force of men loyal to the throne as well as Welsh, Irish and Norman mercenaries to bolster the ranks set about the unification of Tol Galen by force. The resulting campaigns of the Iron King(s) resulted in the massed founding of walled borough towns and cities, innumerable castles, fortified churches, manor houses and block houses as areas either pledged to or fell to the Iron Kings.
Over the following decades the minor kingdoms would one by one be either assimilated into the new Iron Kingdom peacefully or by force by the end of the 14th century there was now a unified kingdom on the mainland with only sporadic raids coming from the coastal islands by those still challenging the rule of the Iron King.

Crisis: The Black Death
Between 1322 and 1350 a relative air of peace had seen Tol Galen begin to get into its stride as a nation, without warring factions bickering for power the nation was free to expand in all areas. The population boomed as did trade with European and Near Eastern nations, this would however set a chain of events in motion that would result in over a third of the population dying directly or indirectly from the bubonic and pneumonic plague.

1350: The First Plague
The first known case in England was a seaman who arrived in Luincast in 1350 from there reports of the same symptoms were appearing at ports up and down the coastline of Tol Galen. It is impossible to establish with any certainty the exact number of inhabitants present though most sources would average around 10 million. The Black Death had survived the winter of 1350-51, but during the following winter it gave in, with things returning to some sense of normality by late 1352.

1366: The Second Plague
The plague returned again in 1366, this time having a more devastating effect due to the already weakened population being unable to cope as well with another outbreak. The second plague claimed as much as 10-15% of the population within the space of about six months.

1480: The Final Plague
The final major outbreak of plague occurred in 1479-80 and was particularly virulent claiming nearly 20% of the population. From this point onwards outbreaks became fewer and further between and more manageable. This was due in no small part to the results of a conscious and concerted effort by central and local governing bodies.

Third Era: Crown Colony
After the ravages of consecutive plagues and the resultant famines Tol Galen was a broken nation, having also pledged support to Richard III during Buckingham's failed rebellion of 1483 and again two years later. In the eyes of Henry VII this legitimised the annexation of Galenic land as reparations for supporting Plantagenet dynasty. Without a proper standing force to defend them the three major east-coast islands had all fallen by 1499. Between 1513 and 1545 under the rule of Henry VIII further territory and materiel were seized to both fund campaigns in France and to remove any possibility of Galenic military support against England. By 1552 Tol Galen was suing for peace. With Henry VIII dead and Edward VI gravely ill the terms offered by his small council were simple but brutal. Disarm the remainder of what was left of the professional army become a colony of England and acknowledge the Tudor dynasty as the rightful ruling family of England. Initially the resulting colony was referred to by the English as the Colony of Avalon but this was changed in 1605 by James I to the Green Isle Colony. Between 1605 and 1700 the ports of Southern Tol Galen were used as layovers for ships before heading to the New-World of the Americas. Some of those heading for the Americas instead ended up settling in Tol Galen fearing such a long journey at sea.

Fourth Era: Crown Protectorate
Under the rule of Charles II and later James II Tol Galen (then still the Green Isle Colony) would begin its journey towards becoming a semi-independent protectorate. The reasoning given at the time was as follows. "It is eminently more suitable to the kingdom, and more acceptable for subjects of the colony than direct dominion. It is cheaper, simpler, less damaging to their self-esteem, gives them more opportunities as public officials, and spares unnecessary bureaucracy over a nation which until their annexation were perfectly capable of ruling themselves'.
True protectorate status would be a long time incoming and would take until the reign of George III to actually be achieved. The deceleration of independence of the United States of America in 1785 stirred new hope of regaining independence from Britain. Formally reverting back to the name of Tol Galen. By 1850 Tol Galen had been allocated the status of a 'responsible government' handling most of their own affairs again, this signalled the final stretch to achieving full independence from Great Britain.

Fifth Era: Independence
Independence came in 1902 after a lengthy period as a dominion. With this came the Fifth Era and the slide towards war.

Government
Tol Galen is a Constitutional Federal Monarchy. The Galenic Government consists of a trio of separate branches under the crown they are; the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Further elements of and relating to governance of Tol Galen are outlined in the remainder of the Galenic constitution, which includes written statutes, court rulings, and unwritten conventions developed since 1902.

Administrative Divisions
Farthings:

Northfarthing
Eastfarthing
Southfarthing
Westfarthing

Regions:

Enedwaith
Forodwaith
Tawarwaith
Westmarch
Calenardhon

Federated Islands:

Tol Morwen
Tol Uinen
Tol Ondren

Semi-Autonomous Islands:

Tol Brandir
Tolfalas
Tol Uialgaer

Geography and climate

General Location:
Tol Galen resides predominantly on the Rockall Plateau. The plateau was formed approximately 55 million years ago when a continental fragment formed between Greenland and Europe when the ancient continent of Laurasia was fractured by plate tectonics. There are extensive petroleum and natural gas resources in the area which have been the source of political tensions between the governments of the Tol Galen, Ireland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands / Denmark in the past. The areas around the plateau support diverse cold water coral colonies and carbonate mound fields, whilst the trough supports a rich and varied deep-sea fish population.

Topography:
The landscape of Tol Galen is relatively varied, but is primarily mountainous, with several large ranges. The Lhûn Valley is the one of the largest contiguous area of lowlands in Tol Galen. The island of Tolfalas was once an active volcano which suffered a catastrophic eruption and partial collapse sometime in prehistory. As a result the island is a hollow shell of its former self looking like Aogashima but on a considerably larger scale.

Climate:
Tol Galen features a predominantly temperate (Cfb) oceanic climate with some areas classified as sub-polar (Cfc). Many of the more mountainous regions fall into the boreal and hemiboreal categories (Dfc). Tol Galen is known for changeable and inclement weather in much the same way that the British Isles are although much of the Southern part of Tol Galen actually experience substantially less rainfall and overcast days than would be believed.

Rainfall:
Rainfall is the most common form of precipitation to fall upon the island, and is extremely common throughout, although some parts get more than others such as parts of the west coast which receive over four times as much rain as the east coast. Rainfall normally comes from Atlantic frontal systems which travel North-East over the island, bringing cloud and rain. Most of the eastern half of the country has between 750 and 1,150 mm of rainfall in the year. Rainfall in the west generally averages between 1,150 and 1,350 mm. In many of the more mountainous areas rainfall exceeds 3,000 mm per year. The wettest months tend to be August, December and January. April is the generally the driest month, but in more southerly areas June tends to be the driest. August also tends to be the windiest month of the year with average speeds of between 7 and 11 m/s. The wind usually blows Atlantic-ward, in spring mostly from South-South-West, in summer from South-West and in autumn and winter from West.

Shipbucket

The Federal Monarchy Of Tol Galen

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