Soil, Water, Joy | |||||||
Capital (and largest city) |
Bourne | ||||||
Other cities | Spalding, Kings Lynn | ||||||
Language official |
English (Newollander dialect) | ||||||
others | Dutch | ||||||
Religion | Church of England | ||||||
Ethnic Group | White British, Anglo-American, African-American | ||||||
Demonym | Hollander, Hollandish | ||||||
Government | Democratic Constitutional Monarchy | ||||||
Chancellor | Nick Boles | ||||||
Area | 1500 km² | ||||||
Population | est. 57,000 | ||||||
Established | 18 May 2011 (1984 as East Britain) | ||||||
Organizations | Organization of British Nations |
The Parts of Holland is a country in the east of the Isle of Great Britain. It replaced the provisional government of East Britain in 2011.
History[]
For up to 2011, see East Britain's history
East Britain was reorganized into the Kingdom of the Parts of Holland on the 18th May 2011, as a final reform that turned East Britain from a provisional successor state into a true independent nation. The name comes from one of the three traditional divisions of the county of Lincolnshire.
On the same day, a new flag was raised by the Lord Lieutenant and the head of government. The blue quarters of the flag represent the sea and waterways, the green quarters represent the fertile farmlan and the yellow cross represents golden crops. The colours overall resemble those of the civic arms of Lincolnshire, which were designed in 1974.
2011
The Parts of Holland, together with the Kingdom of Cleveland, led the Lincolnshire Infrastructure Project in the summer of 2011. The project built roads, railroads and wind turbines throughout the northern parts of Lincolnshire. The effort did much to build respect and goodwill for the Organisation of British Nations and drew in several new members, including the inland region of Kesteven and the coastal towns of Mablethorpe and Skegness. (The the Democratic Republic of Lindsey declined to join the Organisation.)
2012
On the 6th of January, Lord Lieutenant William Harrison retired. His replacement was installed on the 28th of January in Boune Abbey.
On the 20th of February, the area of Eastern Northamptonshire was brought into Newolland.
2018: The Leicestershire crisis[]
On the 10th of February 2018, an armed socialist and separatist militia known as the Sons of De Montfort rose to become the dominant power in Leicestershire and the western Midlands, resisting the small number of Royal Guardsmen stationed to patrol the area. The Sons declared a new state, the Republic of Leicester.
Three factors can explain the short-term success of this unusual left-wing nationalist coup. First, the wars of 2010-11 had left the Midlands in a state of instability. While the Organisation of British Nations had defeated the True British Army, they had been unable to hold the lands that they occupied. During the mid-2010s, local governments came to power with a mix of loyalties, some supporting the OBN, others the TBA, and others remaining neutral. Second, though authority in the region had fractured, the government of the Parts of Holland underestimated of the gravity of the situation in Leicestershire and did not predict the rise of a large new hostile force. It stationed soldiers there, but they were few in number and unprepared against a sudden violent uprising. Third, the Sons were able to exploit hostility against the Parts of Holland and mistrust of its intentions. While the OBN nations had not been able to maintain a full occupation of England's southeast, they had never stopped patrolling the territory regularly. The Sons of De Montfort used exaggerated rhetoric and aggressive oratory, as well as the growing local news media, to inflame a panic against these patrols.
The armed group selected Peter Soulsby, a former Leicesterian Labour Party councillor, Leicestershire regionalist and a strong critic of the OBN, to serve as the new republic's Premier, and named Sean Sheahan President, a ceremonial head of state. Both of these men, who had more political knowledge and experience than the armed rebels, took charge of the newly created republican government seated in Loughborough.
Hollander troops were forced to withdraw completely from Leicestershire with an evident lack of prepared back-up.
2019
As raids from Leicestershire increased and the settlements to the west of Hollander territory became less safe, local people demanded a united response. The Parts of Holland did not have the size or strength to pacify the entire area; the events of the previous year had demonstrated that. Confronting the Sons of De Montfort required cooperation with all of the local city-states: Kesteven, an ally with the OBN; Lindsey, Lincolnshire's leading neutral power; and Rutland, now under a government aligned with the True British Army.
After some time attempting to work out a way to get the former enemies to work together, Chancellor Nick Boles finally achieved a new pact in October and proposed a reorganisation of troops and the formation of a united coalition to march against Loughborough. Leadership of the operation was given not to Holland but to Kesteven. While the small state was aligned with the OBN, it had never been involved with the occupation of the countryside and was more acceptable to the others.
The coalition outmaneuvered the enemy, forcing them between the heights of the Charnwood and the ruined urban area of Leicester. Allied forces reached the Loughborough Town Hall on the 5th of October and swiftly obrained the surrender of the civil government. The resulting settlement was widely praised for its moderation: all sides agreed to end hostilities, draw borders, recognise Leicestershire's independent government, and allow it to extract reasonable tolls from the overland trade. The Hollander Royal Guard accepted more precise definitions of their scope, role, and territory in patrolling the highways, and Loughborough accepted their presence outside the main towns. The Sons of De Montfort agreed to a greater division between their armed and civil wings (a party called Together for Leicester).
This was, in reality, a triumph for the unlikely alliance and in particular its leader, former Brunnian officer and current Kesteven leader Ed Poll. The situation with the Republic of Leicester and its eventual surrender showed a way that the three founders of the OBN could step away from their military commitments in the interior and pursue collective security with former rivals and enemies. However, it also released populist forces that would threaten the OBN itself.
2020
In January 2020, it was announced that the People's Assembly had unanimously voted in favour of a major reconstruction project in Cambridge, now that it is finally habitable again. The ruins were located on land still jointly adminstered with Essex. It was seen as a way for the Kingdom to assert its influence after being checked in Rutland and Leicestershire. Initial work on the city's reconstruction began that autumn.
A few months later, in a much closer and more controversial vote, the Assembly ratified the dissolution of the Organisation of British Nations and joined its successor, the Commonwealth of Great Britain. The event marked a major change in the geopolitics of the east of England and pointed to a future with new opportunities but potential great dangers.
Politics[]
Government[]
The government has the three-tiered system inherited from what East Britain used in its mature form.
The lower tier is the People's Assembly, made up of 100 MAs elected from single-member constituencies. There are 100 Members of Assembly (MA) with general elections held every five years. Elections were held in 2013, 2018, and 2023.
The Assembly suggests laws and acts which, once approved by the body, are passed to the higher tier. The leader of the Assembly is the Chancellor, whose party generally holds a majority in Parliament. The Chancellor leads a political party, generally commands a majority in the Assembly, and serves as the leader of the Council. As such, the incumbent wields both legislative and executive powers.
The higher tier is the National Council, a clique of politicians selected by the Assembly. There are 20 Councillors. Most have had some kind of military decoration and most came from the town of Bourne. They serve for life. They have the power to block laws from the Assembly or amend them before passing them onto the third tier, the Chancellor.
The final tier would be the monarch, who is empowered to block any and all laws at any stage of development. They can also amend laws though this requires a majority vote from both the Council and the Assembly. The monarch can also create laws to go before the Assembly for approval. The throne remains vacant, and the full powers of the monarch have so far not been vested in anybody. The Lord Lieutenant, or viceroy, possesses them in a more limited form, lacking an absolute veto but possessing the other powers to affect the process.
Parties[]
The political landscape has long been fluid in the Parts of Holland and in East Britain before it. Parties frequently form and split around particular local issues. Current parties include:
- Always England: The principal voice for anti-Commonwealth scepticism in Parliament. Its members question above all collaboration with former elements of the True British Army.
- The Commons Party: A party representing agrarian labour, replacing the former Agricultural Party. It advocates both the allotment of land to farmers and the holding of productive land in common, as well as more state investment into agricultural improvements together with local autonomy.
- The Devolution Party: Founded by people from Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, including some who moved into Brunnian territory and others who remained but won the right to vote in Hollander elections. It was created to push an end to the condominiums set up after the 2011 wars. It added to its platform a more general call for more local autonomy. Since 2020 it has become strongly pro-Commonwealth.
- The Fabian Party: The Parts of Holland's only self-consciously left-wing party, it advocates a brand of social democracy. Its strength has never exceeded one or two seats in the Assembly.
- The Free Trade Party: Founded to counter protectionist tendencies in the Industrial Party, it tends to promote stronger links with the Celtic Alliance, Southern England, and the Continent. It represents a range of both rural and urban interests.
- The Industrial Party: advocates for business interests and economic growth - the oldest party in Parliament, with some 15 years of existence.
- The Jerusalem Party: The dominant populist and nationalist party that arose in the wave of enthusiasm for the Commonwealth of Great Britain. It lost ground in subsequent elections but remains the largest party in Parliament.
Defunct parties include:
- The Agricultural Party: wanted state policy to encourage more intensive cultivation of the countryside and in particular more rapid draining of the Fens. It also favoured the establishment of large collective farms.
- The British Party: in favour of the preservation of the British national identity and co-operation between the British survivor states. It split over the issue of dissolving the OBN and embracing the Commonwealth.
- The Expansionist Party: favoured the ongoing military operations of the Organisation of British Nations, as well as the construction of new settlements and small-scale sustainable farming.
- The Immigration Party: encouraged immigration to the Parts of Holland to increase the population and the economy.
- The Imperial Party: urged aggressive expansion into territory controlled by the True British Army.
- The Municipal Party: favoured local autonomy and concentrating on local development and population growth rather than the military.
Law and Order[]
Life is a very precious thing in the sparsely populated Fens. For this reason, and because of the former UK's humanitarian past, the kingdom has no death penalty. With the population still considered too low, the preservation of the populace is paramount. There is however, corporal punishment: originally this consisted of flogging, which was phased out in favour of hard labour or the stocks beginning in 2009.There was an independent judiciary and trial by jury. The highest level of Judiciary was the National Court.
International Relations[]
The kingdom's closest allies remain the co-founders of the Organisation of British Nations, Essex and Woodbridge. The trio have worked together as a bloc for more than twenty years. The Parts of Holland relies on Woodbridge to provide up-to-date firearms. The newly-formed Commonwealth of Great Britain is a more uneasy alliance with a less certain future.
Holland also took the lead in forming connections between the OBN and the northern English states Cleveland, Northumberland, today united as the Kingdom of Northumbria. Relations remained good even after the northern states withdrew from the Organisation. The kingdom carries on productive trade with Southern Scotland. Most people in the Parts of Holland have looked with scepticism toward the Celtic Alliance and its apparent burying of British identity, but it is nevertheless a major source of imported goods.
Territory[]
The town of Bourne had only a very small territory at the start of the 2010s, essentially a stretch of fertile land along the edge of the flooded Fens. The early 2010s saw the town militarily occupy portions of the surrounding region, while public works projects opened up more of the Fens to permanent cultivation. Today, the kingdom securely administers the entirety of the traditional Parts of Holland, alongside small parts of the neighboring counties of Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.
East Anglia Wars[]
During the 2010 Invasion of the Isle of Eels, East Britain occupied territory in Cambridgeshire as far south as Ely. Immediately thereafter, the kingdom invaded Norfolk together with Woodbridge. They created a joint authority for the occupation of Norfolk, which developed into a permanent condominium.
In 2012, Woodbridge and the Parts Holland began a plan to gradually partition the condominium. King's Lynn and its surrounding marshlands were annexed to the kingdom at the start of the year. But the partition had to stop after that. Resistance to OBN occupation was increasing throughout the theaters of the 2010 and 11 wars. The condominium was necessary to maintain control, and it still is in place today in western Norfolk, as is a second one in Cambridgeshire that the Parts of Holland governs jointly with Essex.
Parts of Holland Military Administration Zone (HMAZ)[]
In 2010, the kingdom created Military Administration Zones (NMAZs) to temporarily administer its occupied territories.The NMAZs were policed by the military and placed under a military-based provisional government.
Once an area has been dreamed to be 'safe' it was transitioned to and INGAZ and all military are removed.
The IGAZ[]
Areas removed from NMAZ were placed into an Interim Governmental Administration Zone (IGAZ). Military in the area were slowly withdrawn and replaced with non-military governmental administrators and other personnel. Once the area was under the full control of the new local governmental organisation, it was to be brought into the nation proper.
Military[]
The Army was extremely weak in the Parts of Holland since its foundation under its previous incarnation of East Britain. With no ready access to weapons in the former UK, except for ones in farmers, gamekeepers and in other private hands, the military had to diversify.
Since 2010 the kingdom has had agreements with the OBN allies, Cleveland and Woodbridge, for officers to train at their bases, the Newolland government have also placed orders for firearms (mainly handguns and high powered rifles) from Woodbridge, Cleveland, Celtic Alliance, Nordic Union and Essex. The Hollander army was fully armed with updated weapons by late 2012.
Royal Guardsmen also began training with the Royal Cleveland Territorial Army (RCTA) and in return the Royal Guardsmen have trained the RCTA in their style of hand-to-hand and melee combat.
Army[]
Royal Guardsmen[]
The first Regiment of the Hollander army was the Royal Guardsmen, founded in East Britain in 1992. Originally it was composed of 250 former military and territorial army units that had survived DD and some farmers and gamekeepers, hence their nickname The Poachers. They are based in Bourne, the capital. By 2011 the Royal Guardsmen numbered 450 soldiers, with 150 considered the household troops. By 2015 the Regiment grew to 500.
The Guardsmen had been armed with recovered weapons from members of the public, but from 2011 were armed with more modern rifles: a .308 rifle (based on the Winchester rifle) with 250 rounds of ammunition and a 9mm handgun with a further 150 rounds of ammunition. They have a standard uniform, a simple green cap and tunic with black boots and trousers, but no real standard equipment. The Guardsman's uniform, backpacks and the two standard combat blades are provided by the Hollander government.
Royal Lincolnshire Engineers[]
Formed in 1996, this regiment takes its name from one based in Lincolnshire between 1685 and 1960. The Regiment was formed from men trained by the original Royal Guardsmen. They are nicknamed the Steelbacks.
Their uniform and equipment is the same as for the Royal Guardsmen, except that the green cap and tunic of the Guardsmen is replaced with scarlet. Troops in combat or on patrol are supplied with a standard .308 rifle (based on the Winchester rifle) with 250 rounds of ammunition and a 9mm handgun with a further 150 rounds of ammunition.
The Regiment in 2010 consisted of 300 troops, increased to 500 by 2020. A hundred specialist troops from the Royal Lincolnshire Engineers have been trained in Cleveland and the Celtic Alliance to become snipers and are armed with .388 L115A1 long range rifle. They formed the core of a new special forces battalion.
Further Regiments[]
A recruitment drive in Nottinghamshire and Cambridgeshire began in 2012 for a new regiment named the Royal Fenlanders Regiment. It was formed in 2015.
Further the Ggvernments of Cleveland and Woodbridge have assisted with the training of Army based medics and doctors with the hope of creating a medic division for the existing Regiments.
There are plans for further regiments with specialisms in other fields, an Armoured Regiment has been dreamed of for many years, but the cost of importing armoured vehicles has been beyond the kingdom's reach.
Past Armourments[]
Men of all existing Regiments are also armed with their own improvised melee weapons such as spears, axes, maces, staffs and combat knibes. Spring-guns were once the most common projectile weapon, later replaced with more modern rifles, as well as shotguns and rifles.
While newer firearms had been used throughout the higher up ranks of the officers and any troops in battle or on patrol for many years, but the most common found projectile weapon for general soldiers until recently was the spring-gun. Though an improvised weapon they were easy to make and tend to be similar in design. These were phased out and replaced by modern rifles and handguns in 2011.
The true forte of the Army in particular the Royal Guardsmen is melee combat. Equipped with two standardized combat blades each which can double up as throwing knives, the Royal Guardsmen excel in hand-to-hand combat as proved in the Spalding Wars.
Their specialty in melee battle tactics have lead to Newolland officers training Clevelander, Northumbrian and Essex troops in hand to hand tactics in return for more modern weapons.
Since East Britain's formation, most people in the area saw the sense in submitting to law and order so the Army have only been used in large scale battles three times. Due to numbers and greater resources compared to their rivals in the region, they have been able to subdue their opponents. Weaponry and armour are now flowing in from Woodbridge and Essex which points to a new age for the Newolland Army.
Royal Coastguard[]
The Coastguard is especially weak. Having acquired a coastal border only recently, the Royal Coastguard consists of a few former trawlers armed with ballistas and occasionally swivel mounted guns. They are crewed by men who were transferred from the Royal Regiment of Lincolnshire they wear a blue versions of the the Royal Guardsmen uniforms.
Due to the additional equipment from Woodbridge and Essex, these ships are becoming more heavily armed and three new Island Class Three small Royal Patrol Boats were constructed with help from shipbuilders from Whitby in Cleveland, based on a revised Cleveish design.
The first patrol boat, the RPB Elloe, was officially brought into service on the 16th January 2012. The second, RPB Kirton, entered service on the 29th March 2012. The third, RPB Skirbeck, entered service on the 4th June 2012.
Newolland involved Wars and Main Battles[]
- 1998-2001 - Spauldingas Wars
- Battle of Welland
- Battle of Tulip Flower
- 2010 - Invasion of the Isle of Eels
- Battle for Ely
- Battle for Soham
- 2010 - Invasion of West Norfolk
- Battle for Kings Lynn
- 2011 - The Great Rutland War
- Battle for Oakham
- Battle of the Hambleton Penisula.
Economy and Trade[]
In the Parts of Holland there are few mineral resources like coal or iron ore. The kingdom, however, has some of the richest farmland in the country and for this reason it is a farming powerhouse. It has some of the best quality dairy and beef herds in the British Isles. They are a major purchaser of agricultural equipment from Essex and they purchase a lot of raw material from Cleveland and Lancaster.
Newolland has trade links with Woodbridge, Essex, Celtic Alliance, Northumbria, Duchy of Lancaster, Nordic Union, and Southern England.
Lincolnshire Coastal Railway (LCR)[]
The Lincolnshire Coastal Railway company was established in Cleveland in early 2011, with the Lincolnshire Infrastructure Project the Clevelander Army began renovating lines along the coastal edge of Lincolnshire from the Humber Bridge in the north to Boston in the south.
The ceremonial connection of the LCR took place on the 25th August, in a field near the village of Hogsthorpe. The ceremony was attended by Cleveland's Queen Zara and Holland's Lord Lieutenant William Harrison. Both arrived in trains, though they had completed much of the journey by boat - the line's track had been laid but its bridges were not yet ready. The trains stopped near the connection point. The heads of state disembarked to trade gifts, then joined together to conduct a short tour of each kingdom.
Expected branchlines[]
The railway branchline between Habrough (on the main LCR) and Scunthorpe was fully renovated by late August 2011.
This branchline was extended to Gainsborough by the 19th September 2011, to Retford by the 6th of October, and to Worksop by the 29th October. This will also have side branches linking to the three newly reopened coal mines in the area, those being Shireoaks (opened 22nd November 2011), Manton (opened 13th December 2011), and Steetley (opened 28th December 2011).
Another line between Boston and Melton Mowbray via Gratham and Sleaford was planned for renovation by 2013. This branch, however, faced delays following the economic crash of 2012.
Health[]
The health of most Hollanders is quite good. The population is low enough for each person to get a good health service. There were small cases of radiation poisoning due to the placement of nuclear detonations in Lincolnshire, but this has reduced in the past few years mainly due to the nukes being mostly tactical nukes (10KT or less) but also with it being 30 years after Doomsday. There are problems during the winter as the industry is pushed to the limits keeping people warm. But overall the national health is very good.
Media[]
There is no television in the Parts of Holland as it lacks both the technical expertise and the economic demand. Radio, however, is thriving as the competition with TV was removed. Channels based on those of the old BBC and others exist. A local broadcasting corporation, the Hollander Broadcasting Subsidiary, has existed since the establishment of the permanent kingdom
- HBS Home Service- The largest channel, based on the former BBC Radio 4 frequency (92.5 - 96.1 FM or 198 LW) Provides news, comedy, plays and book readings.
- HBS Music Service- A channel providing music from a diverse variety of genres, Based on the former BBC Radio 1 frequency (97.7 - 99.7 FM)
- HBS Historic Service- A channel specifically for the broadcast of programs from before Doomsday. Based on the former BBC Radio 2 frequency (88.1 - 90.2 FM)
There is a variety of magazines and newspapers including The British Times, the OBN newspaper.
See Also[]
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