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Frisian Free State
Fryske Frijsteat
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday

OTL equivalent: Friesland
Flag Coat of Arms
Flag Coat of Arms
Capital Ljouwert
Largest city Drachten
Language (West) Frisian
Government Authoritarian regime, headed by the Council of Mayors
Currency Frisian Gûne
(old pre-Doomsday Dutch Guilders still widely circulating)

The Frisian Free State is a young state in the former Dutch province of Friesland. It largely bases itself on Frisian nationalism and pursues a command economy policy, though it doesn't actively style itself as Marxist. Beside the former province of Friesland, the State also makes claim to the islands of Texel, Den Helder and Wieringen. Its authority on the Frisian Islands is however not well established and most of them are completely depopulated.

History[]

Post-Doomsday[]

In the early years after the Doomsday event chaos ruled much of the Northern hemisphere and The Netherlands, having received their fair share of the beatings, was certainly no exception to this. With most of its population annihilated, pockets of survivors could only be found in the northern parts of the country. The chaos following the events led to frequent riots and neo-tribal clashes between villages and cities. The ever present radiation ensured a tremendously high mortality rate.

Restoring order[]

The first community to restore order in what was once The Netherlands was Drachten in 1988, where members of the Frisian Nationalist Party (FNP) set up an effective administration and distributive system for basic human needs. People from the surrounding areas flocked into the town. Like-minded people in the other towns in the region subsequently set up similar administrations with varying degrees of success.

Frisian Free State[]

At the initiative of the self-appointed mayor of Drachten at the time, a meeting of all mayors and village leaders was held in his town in 1994. At his behest the self-governing entities united into Frisian Free State.

Politics[]

The Frisian Free State is ruled by the Council of Mayors, which meets on a regular basis in Drachten. Though the capital is formally located at Ljouwert, all actual administration takes places in Drachten as well, the latter having been deemed unsuitable as formal capital since it is not one of the traditional eleven Frisian cities. Uniquely the country doesn't have a head of state, as that concept was deemed to be contradictory with the principles of the traditional Frisian freedom.

Demographics[]

The Frisian language resurged as the majority language of the population in the territories held by the Free State after Doomsday and, as we speak, the Dutch language that was official there as well is virtually extinct. Population figures are still very modest, with radiation still being the most frequent cause of death.

Foreign Relations[]

De Hersteller Molen 10

An old pre-Doomsday windmill, once again operative.

The eastern borders of the Free State are not exactly clear, and frequent clashes with the neighbouring Low Saxons still occur. As the Frisian government has devoted practically all of its attention to domestic issues, no actual foreign relations exist.

War on Water[]

The Doomsday attacks on Rotterdam, and the attacks on nearby Antwerp and the German Ruhr region, caused large parts of The Netherlands to be either destroyed or made uninhabitable. The problem was further worsened by the fact that the drainage pumps, lacking fuel and manpower, remained inoperative after the events, allowing vast parts of the country to be flooded by rising groundwater levels, extending the chain of Frisian Islands up to what once was Belgium. In Friesland, lack of manpower was not immediately an issue but fuel was, as it was quickly running out. A solution was found by reverting to the long-standing method of using windmills as water pumps, staving off the worst of the rising tide. Most old windmills, whether intended as pumps or not, were put to this use and many new ones were constructed. Though the lands are vastly wetter using these methods and only the higher lying ground can be used to raise crops, the lower lying lands are still suited to keep livestock.

See also[]

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