Luxembourg (The Kalmar Union)

The United Kingdoms of the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Luxembourgoise Empire, United Kingdoms, United Netherlands, UKN, is a large composite consitutional monarchy whose main body roughly occupies the area known as the Low Countries. It also incorporates a vast array of forts, colonial lands and islands around the world organised into several 'Kingdoms' of varying sizes.

In Europe it borders Fryslan, Wessex, France, Burgundy, Palatinate, Hordt and various other minor [HRE (The Kalmar Union)|Imperial States]]. France has two enclaves within Luxembourg.

The population of the European portion of the UKN is around 53 million. Its capital is Antwerp.

The current Head of State is Queen Charlotta.

The currency is the Luxembourg (or Netherlands) Guilder (LXG).

The official languages are Luxembourgoise, Dutch and French. 'High' German is a widely spoken minority language. Further languages such as Xhosa, Malay, Maori and Carib are spoken widely in the Kingdom's foreign holdings.

History
The history of the United Netherlands is largely intertwined with that of its ruling house, the Luxembourgs.

The Luxembourgs had married their way to a vast holding in Europe, becoming Kings of Bohemia in 1310, Kings of Hungary from 1387 and had been Holy Roman Emperors numerous times. With the addition of Brandenburg in 1373 they were the pre-eminent family of rulers in central europe.

For many years they concentrated their efforts on the rich Hungarian and Bohemian lands. Both were elected monarchies and the constant fear that they would pass to one of the Luxembourg's rivals guided their actions for centuries. The Hussite and Serbian Wars in the early 15th century drained a vast amount of wealth from the family and when Northern Germany largely converted to Lutheranism the Luxembourgs were largely powerless to stop them.

The War of Anglian Succession (1493-1523) saw them go head-to-head with their most powerful rivals, the Bavarian Wittelsbachs and the Danish Estridssons. The war ended with the Anglian provinces in Europe passing to the Luxembourgs, France on the ebb once more, and the Kalmar Union in internal conflict. The devastation caused to the Low Countries would take several decades to repair.

It sat out the Schmalkaldic War, partially to spite Austria which had secured the Bohemian and Imperial crowns but also because it was struggling to rebuild its treasury after centuries of draining wars. Enticements to join the Schmalkaldic League, even being offered their rival Imperial Crown were rejected. Whilst many of the Luxembourg territories, and the Luxembourgs themselves, had chosen to follow the Lutheran creed, deep rivalry with both the Kalmar Union and France and the ongoing desire to hold the real Imperial crown, meant it normally aligned itself with the Catholic states of the Holy Roman Empire. However this alliance did little to prevent it secularising the church lands under its control such as Utrecht and Trier.

A slowly growing overseas empire helped it replenish the treasury and pay for the vastly expensive armies it maintained during the Fifty Years War. The mercenary general Emile Heldenstein was crucial in keeping the Luxembourg army on the offensive, causing the Schmalkaldic Empire to collapse, though eventually Luxembourg agents murdered him as they were afraid he was about to switch sides. Despite several victories the war dragged on and plunged Europe into an extended period of disruption. It also provoked revolt in the merchant cities, incensed at why they were not supporting their co-religionists.

To reconcile the beligerents the Treaty of Copenhagen gave Bohemia as reward to Luxembourg but this was a brief triumph. In 1680 while Flanders was in revolt, it reverted to Austrian rule and this resulted in the War of Bohemian Succession, a war that none of its participants were really able to pursue properly.

With the slow loss of its central European possessions; Hungary in 1574, Bohemia in 1680 and the Imperial title in 1697, the Luxembourg kings looked overseas for wealth and glory. The ports of Holland and Flanders had already grown to be some of the wealthiest cities in Europe and their ships carried much of the cross-Atlantic trade. The spread of Luxembourg naval power led to the growth of trading forts in India and South-east Asia as well as the development of several Carib islands and the Guyanan lands to the south. Repeated wars with Wessex, Anglia and Kalmar shook Luxembourg's dominance at sea, while within the Holy Roman Empire as it lost ground to the ever more confident Austria and Bavaria.

Uninvolved in any general European war since the Imperial-Kalmar War of 1895-96 Luxembourg represents the most vocal anti-Kalmar voice at the Imperial Diet. The general concensus is that its generals are itching to take Kalmar on.

The Composition of the UKN
Although coming late to the colonial struggle Luxembourg currently holds the largest grouping of foreign territory out of any of the European powers, and is spread across five continents.

Queen Charlotta is the current ruler of The United Kingdom of the Netherlands. She was only crowned in January 2012.

She is: Other territorial holdings are run directly from Antwerp.
 * Queen of Luxembourg (Kingdom of Luxembourg-Nassau, County of Champagne, Duchies of Bar and Lorraine)
 * Queen of Flanders (Kingdom of Flanders, Counties of Artois, Hainault and Liege).
 * Queen of Holland (Kingdom of Holland, Principality of Utrecht, Duchy of Brabant, County of Cleves)
 * Queen of Singapore (Singapore, various Indian Ports, various South China Sea & Roasjoinn islands and Protectorate of Aceh)
 * Queen of New Brabant (New Brabant)
 * Queen of New Zeeland (New Zeeland)
 * Queen of Guyana (Luxembourgoise Brazil, various Carib territories)
 * Queen of New Netherlands (Kingdom of Cape Hope, various South Atlantic islands, large section of Anarctica)

Singapore
The Sultante of Johor was eager to embrace the growing European trade and signed a small portion of the island of Singapore over to Luxembourgoise agents operating in the area in 1783. The port grew slowly but steadily. As part of the Treaty of Singapore (1840) de-marking the zones of control in South-East Asia Luxembourg agreed to hand its possessions in the Indian Ocean to Anglia. As a consequence Singapore would receive a large number of Dutch settlers evacuating the now Anglian islands. In the aftermath Singapore boomed. Only five years later the rest of the island was bought outright from Johor. Johor itself was toppled by revolt in 1863 and annexed outright by Luxembourg after a brief but bloody campaign. To this a slow procession of smaller holdings on Borneo, islands in between and holdings in the Roasjoinn were added. Aceh was added after a trade dispute turned into full blown war during the 1910s (and also to prevent the Kalmar Union doing the same).

Singapore was converted into a Kingdom within the UKN in 1954. In 1963 it gained jurisdiction over Luxembourg's Indian ports replacing the various insular and often archaic governments. The Protectorate of Aceh retains its own laws and legislation but has little real power. The capital is Singapore City.

New Zeeland
First inhabited by Polynesian tribes from Tonga during the 13th century, the native Maori lived in virtual isolation until discovery by the Tawantinsuyu in the 1650s. Eager trading partners, the Tawantinsuyu would eventually supply gunpowder and muskets to its favoured tribes in the mid 1700s after they complained trade was been stolen by their neighbours. This would, as it did in many other Roasjoinn nations, spark the long and vicious 'Musket Wars' as the tribes used the new weapons to escalate their already bloody internecine feuds.

Luxembourg discovered the Maori islands, or New Anglia and New Zeeland, in 1860. While the island to the north (see United Maori States) had stopped its musket war before it was too late, the south continued, and coupled with occasional smallpox epidemics it left the island and its inhabitants extremely isolated and weak. Blocked from occupying most of Australische as it had planned Luxembourg soon eagerly devoured the southern island.

Finding gold on the island, a wave of settlers, mainly Dutch, arrived to take advantage of the spacious and empty land.

The capital, Elizabethstad, was struck by various earthquakes in 2010, 2011 and 2012 that have damaged the city severely. The entire territory is gearing up towards its reconstruction.

Guyana
Always highly prized for its gold and coffee industries, the Kingdom of Guyana has once again become a vital part of the Luxembourg Empire due to new precious substance: oil. It lies to the West of Tawantinsuyu and to the North of Tupinambana. The capital is Yaracuystad.

Luxembourg captured several islands from the Caribs, mostly those along the Tawantinland coast, during the general scramble for the Carib and Taino islands in the mid 16th century. This put it at odds with the mainland but the Tawantin would come to accept their hold on the islands and their assistance in maintaining their control on the rebellious northern coast.

During the height of the Tawantin Civil Wars the belegered and desperate emperor Huallpa Yupanqui invited Luxembourg to campaign on his side offering them extensive lands. A small Luxembourgoise force landed at Yaracuy in 1606 and quickly defeated the main army of the Cauqetío Emperor Mayta using the well trained forces of various local tribes to overthrow his corrput rule. As thanks Huallpa Yupanqui gave the land to the West of Lake Tuikii to Luxembourg 'forever'. Embolded by this the soon controlled a huge As Luxembourg descended into the bloodbath of the Fifty Years War its governors in Guyana took to giving the local tribes huge freedoms in return for their assistance in extracting the vast amount of gold required to keep the Luxembourgoise war machine supplied. Slowly however attentions moved to the Far East and Guyana fell into slight decline.

As Tawantinsuyu pacified and restablised during the it became more and more impatient with its European neighbour. Declaring Huallpa Yupanqui's grant to land Tawantinsuyu demanded tribute for the two centuries Luxembourg had governed the territory. The Tawantin-Luxembourg War of 1824-1827 erupted as a result. The entire terrtiory was almost overrun in three months but the fortresses of Dutreux and New Hasselt held out and as the Tawantinsuyu attempted to impose their laws on the previously lightly governed tribal nations revolts in favour of Luxembourg soon sprang up. A re-eruption of war with Mexica effectively ended Tawantinsuyu's ability to conduct operations in Guyana and they soon made peace, officially recognising Luxembourg's authority in the territory.

The Treaty of Guyana signed in 1900 between Luxembourg and various kings of the autonomous 'nations' converted the territory into a kingdom.

Government
Each Kingdom has a separate parliamentary chamber which an appointed governor and elected Chief Minister jointly run. Each chamber and Prime Minister are elected very 4 years. A superior 'Royal' chamber in Antwerp ratifies and enacts the laws of each kingdom. The Prime minister of the Royal Chamber is Jerome Steichen.

As Kings of Luxembourg, Kings of Flanders and Princes of Utrecht, the rulers of Luxembourg have 3 electoral votes for Holy Roman Emperor. Although the title is largely symbolic now, and relationships between the electors are much friendlier, it has been traditional since the mid-1700's to block vote against the Luxembourgoise candidate. The arrival of the anti-Luxembourg delegation to the electoral diet is always treated with great pomp and ceremony and is a hugely popular part of the coronation proceedings. A popular topic for discussion in the coffee houses and salons of Europe is whether Queen Charlotta should be allowed to candidate to be the first Holy Roman Empress. She is widely liked across the Empire and as the title is not hereditary the election would not contravene Salian law (which is still used in various member states). Many of the City Leagues however would not constitutionally recognise her rule.

Language
The three official languages of the UKN are Luxembourgoise, Dutch and French. Luxembourgoise is a Franconian dialect of German with a high degree of French loan words. Most subjects of the entire empire learn Luxembourgoise at some point in their schooling and most are bilingual in some way, althought the different kingdoms have different balances on which languages have priority in government and schooling.

Luxembourgoise and French are the official languages of the Kingdom of Luxembourg. In Champagne and Bar both languages are taught equally from the beginning of school, whereas elsewhere French is taught more as a second language.

French and Dutch are the official languages of the Kingdom of Flanders and New Brabant are generally taught equally in schools with Luxembourgoise taught as a 'second' language.

Dutch is the sole official language of the Kingdoms of Holland and New Zeeland. Luxembourgoise is taught as a second language.

In the other more 'mixed' kingdoms, Luxembourgoise is generally used as the language of government and the settler populations while various local languages are spoken by the native population.

Military
Luxembourg has a policy of encircling Kalmar. In this respect it has military alliances with Wessex and Poland. As a leading member of the HRE it can in theory expect the support, or at least promise of neutrality, from the other Imperial states.

Luxembourg is locked into a vastly expensive arms race with the Kalmar Union, especially over Tyr-style battleships. Kalmar ships tend to better armed however Luxembourg's ships have the advantage of being oil powered and therefore have a greater operational range. Though the arms race is primarily with Kalmar, one eye has to be kept on Mexica and Tawantinland who are increasing their armies at a huge rate.