Álengiamark (The Kalmar Union)

Alengiamark is a large constitutional monarchy on the Eastern coast of Leifia. Álengiamark is divided into 7 Fylke, one of which forms a detached portion to the North-West. It is bordered by Passamaquoddia and Kanienmark to the North,and Aniyunwiya, Vinland and Susquehanockland (The Kalmar Union)|Susquehanockland]] to the West. The Six Nations divides Ontario Fylke from the main body of the country.

It has a population of just over 13 million. This makes it the most populous Leifian nation (excluding Mexica). Its capital is St. Hafdiss. The largest city is Kristianaborg.

Queen Thorey VII is the current head of state.

The main language is Álengsk, though three other minority languages are also recognised: Quiripi, Mohegan and Wampanoag.

The currency is the Álengsk Krona (ALK).

Entomology
Álengiamark means 'Long River in the Woodland', a Vinlandic interpretation of the Pequot name for the area around St Hafdiss.

History
List of Queens of Alengiamark

Early History (1100-1560)
Originally an extension of the Norse colony of Vinland, Álengiamark was conceived as a sister kingdom to Vinland after Queen Snaedis I gave birth to twins. Its milder climate and array of defensible islands and bays made it a tempting destination for settlers. However, the Vinlanders and their Passamaquoddy allies had to fight hard to extend their rule. The most notable problem was the Wampanoag tribe. Two Wampanoag Wars succeeded in subjugating and fixing the northern-eastern borders and by 1129 the Eastern section of Álengiamark (roughly up to Margirhaedeyja OTL Manhattan) had been pacified. A rough alliance of 4 tribes; the Norse, Quiripi, Pequot and Mohegan, was formalised and, on the death of Snaedis I in 1131, Álengiamark was proclaimed a separate nation with its own Althing at St. Hafdiss.

The first queen of Álengiamark, Elisiv, spent much of her reign in the saddle, extending Álengiamark and pacifying its porous borders. She is recorded as actually riding into battle at the siege of Quispamis in 1137 armed with a mace. Her 24 year reign is widely credited for saving the Norse colonies in Leifia from being overrun by resurgent Suderfolk tribes.

Suffering a civil war in the 1180s, mostly stemming from the deep animosity between the earls of Margirhaedeyja, Sudervik and Langaeyjar, Álengiamark would briefly be reunited with Vinland. However, the Quiripi tribe, still smarting from the execution of their preferred queen, Yrsa I, were rebellious and the union only lasted 18 months. The successor, Queen Eydis, through shrewd bargaining and diplomacy took Ontario Fylke. This was later lost to Erie and Kanienmark. A greater threat was to come however. The Aniunwiyan Empire had risen suddenly and expanded fast. It swept the previously well-regarded Álengsk army away in 1239 and the country was reduced to vassal status. Ruled by an Aniunwiyan queen, Atamaja, it outlived the empire and inherited a large swathe of north-eastern Leifia once the empire splintered.

Back under Álengsk rule by 1281 and struggling under the weight of the number of tribes it had absorbed, the nation faltered and government slowly ebbed towards the local earls. The 14th century was by all accounts a miserable time. Hit by the Black Death and numerous revolts the only ray of light was the discovery of a direct route to Europe by Portuguese merchants which would mean it was no longer so reliant on Vinland for European trade. By 1385 the situation had reached boiling point and the Great Unami revolt wrought destruction over most of the eastern half of the country. The Battle of Kristianbae, saved the country from immediate estruction but left it utterly helpless. The subsequent Congress of Fjallasay (1388) created Susquehanockland and the Confederation of Six Nations out of Álengsk territory and defined Álengiamark's borders - borders which have roughly remained the same until the present day.

Shorn of its rebellious Unami provinces the country was much more peaceful and prosperous and the next century saw a massive expansion in Álengsk trade and agriculture. By the early 1500s it was making regular eastward trips to Europe for trade and was confident enough to challenge Portugal for control of Quisqueyanos.

Later History (1560-)
As its northern neighbours fell one by one to the Lutheran faith Álengiamark aligned itself with the Catholic powers of Iberia. It had already proven itself to be a loyal catholic country, burning the heretical Jón Irronsson and his vernacular bible back in 1459. When in 1565 the bishop of St Hafdiss was assassinated it began a repression of Quiripi Lutherans that astonished the whole region for its brutality. The diplomatic fallout resulted in the Leifian Wars of Religion (1565-1574) and entrenched the religious divide of north-east Leifia and allowed a complete but less brutal re-conversion to Catholicism within Álengiamark's borders.

Though initially resistant, Álengiamark accepted many thousands of settlers to its shores during the Great Baltic War. During this process most the remaining farmland was claimed and a dedicated Land Registry created to record and list all land claims in the country. People descended from these Svealandic and Finnish settlers now make up a considerable minority in Nanticokeland Fylke. The country still receives a trickle of settlers from Scandinavia, and occasionally elsewhere, but they tend to join the cities rather than attempt to enter the expensive minefield that is Álengsk property law.

The Fylkes
The Fylke system replaced the increasingly irrelevant and inertia stricken earldoms during the 1730-1760s.



Ontario
810,282

Nanticokeland
1,005,899

Unamiland
2,854,515

Margirhaedeyja
Created by combining the Earldoms of Margirhaedeyja and Quiripiland.

The population is 2,174,850 and the capital is Kristianaborg.

Langaeyjar
Lanaeyjar (OTL Long Island) was the first fylke to be established in 1732 when the incumbant Earl was declared unfit and the government of his lands handed over to a civilian council. The civilian government's right to rule, and their limits, was enshrined in the Fylke Treaty of 1744.

It has a population of 1,775,900. Its capital is Skelflóbae.

Sudervik
A combination of the old Earldoms of Sudervik, Moheganland

3,496,943

Wampanoagmark
The smallest of the Álengsk fylkes, it was created out of Sudervik fylke in 1962, in an attempt to diffuse the revolutionary zeal of the independence minded Wampanoag people. It has local autonomy though this has not dampened the calls for further independence. Passamaquoddia sees the fylke as a hotbed of revolutionary action that is seriously destabilising its own Wampanoag areas.

The population is around 975,000. The fylkes's capital is Akinnahborg.

Government
The Althing in St Hafdiss is made up of two representatives from each county from six of the Fylkes (Wampanoagmark has autonomy and runs its own Thing). There are currently 227 counties and 454 members of the Althing.

In addition each Fylke elects its own Fylkething which has authority over local matters.

Queen Thorey VII is the current head of state. Clement Massaoitsson is the Prime Minister.

Language
Álengsk has often been described as a synthesis between Norse and the various Algonquin languages present at the time of conquest. It is not mutually intelligable to Vinlandic and has not been since the mid-14th century. Indeed Vinlanders have been haughtily known to describe it as 'a disease of the throat'.

Nanticokeland has more of a Fenno-Scandinavian lilt to it, for instance saying 'Tar ok tayti mennt ' instead of 'Toh aut piluk baeyn' (I need go to the town), reflecting the heavy settlement of Svealanders and Finns during the late 1700s. The decision to raise Nanticokish to recognised language is currently being debated.

Beyond Álengsk official recognition is also given to Quiripi, Mohegan and Wampanoag.