Maxorata Empire (The Maxorata Empire)

The Maxorata Empire is a sovereign state located in the two Canary Islands of Erbania (Fuerteventura) and Titeroygakat (Lanzarote) in Western Africa. It is neighboured by the Spanish Sahara and Morocco to its northeast, and by the other Spanish Canary Islands to the west. The country and its people take their names from the ancient name of the northern Kingdom in the island of Fuerteventura, Maxorata.

Maxorata is one of the smallest countries in the world. Despite its size, however, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld. The population is primarily ethnic Guanche whose language is Amazigh or Guanche berber.

The country is an absolute monarchy, currently ruled by the Guanarteme ("King" or "Emperor") Ache III.[8][9] He is head of state and government and appoints the country's representatives of both chambers (The House of Lords and The House of Representatives) in the country's parliament, the Tagoror.

Elections are held every five years to determine the Tagoror majority, but there are no general elections for "prime minister" as there is no proper democracy. The current Constitution was adopted in 1716.

Real World Information
In the 14th century, the Canary Island of Fuerteventura was divided into two Guanche kingdoms, one following the king Guise and the other Ayose. The territories of these tribes were called Maxorata (in the north) and Jandía (in the south). The kingdoms were separated by a great wall that crossed the La Pared isthmus.

Unlike in our timeline in which the wall eventually disappeared, the Wall stayed where it was.

Beginnings
Back in that era, Maxorata was mainly, if not entirely, barren wasteland. They didn't have advanced societies like the other world countries did and there were a lot of famines and illnesses that spread around.

The King of Maxorata, Guise, decided he wanted to build an empire, and spread the Guanche traditions of Maxorata to the rest of the world.

Instead of breaking through the wall to Jandía, the Maxorata Guanches built boats, gathered lots of weapons and set off to Morocco from the north shore of the island. They successfully managed to conquer the neighbouring island of Titeroygakat (Lanzarote); and Morocco, Algeria and a small part of Mauritania in Africa.

The Maxorata Empire managed to successfully fend off the Spanish conquerors in the 15th century. Since Jandia was protected by the wall, the Spanish couldn't conquer them either. While the Spanish conquered the rest of the Canary Islands like Gran Canaria, Tenerife etc, the Maxorata Empire continued being a great empire.



Over time, since the Kingdom of Jandía was isolated (bordered by the Spanish in Gran Canaria and the Maxorata Empire on the other side of the wall), they struggled to survive and eventually surrendered to Spanish rule.

1700’s. Absolutism and crises
Starting from the end of the 17th century, European explorers began to visit the country and imported materials like cotton and new types of plants. This greatly supported Maxorata’s agriculture and farming industries. In 1696, Louis XIV of France became the very first European ruler to visit Maxorata, and introduced the absolutist monarchical style of the Bourbons to the Emperor Of Maxorata, revolutionising the image of the Emperor; which used to be more primitive and “caveman-like”.

Yose II was without a doubt the highest representative of the 1700’s Maxorata.

Loss of the colonies
In 1714, Maxorata under Emperor Yose II lost the territories of Morocco and Algeria after protests from the governors of those colonies and war threats from the British Empire. However, the Empire still held on to Titeroygakat.

When taxes were elevated in 1720, farmers and peasants revolted against the government. These protests escalated quickly, and eventually led to killing with the murders of three members of the House of Lords. In order to calm them down, Yose II gave the farmers a special tax exemption right, which sparked outcry from the lower classes and accusations of massive inequality. This ‘Farmers’ Tax Free Status’ remained active until 1903 under Ache II, when it was abolished after petitions from the new labour movement formed by socialists and marxists.

20th Century
By the beginning of the 20th century, the Maxorata Empire was great, powerful and up to date in medicine and technology. Lots of cities were built, business and economy flourished and the monarchy was very popular among the people. The Wall became a tightly monitored border separating Maxorata from the Spanish, with armed soldiers and police guarding it. Even though Morocco and Algeria weren't part of the Empire anymore, they did continue using the Guanche language, and greatly respected them.

In the Spanish Civil War of 1936, Maxorata supplied weapons to the Francoist side, but they stayed neutral in both World Wars. Once the Second World War ended, the United States, now a global superpower, promised to respect the Maxoratan State and leave them alone; on the condition that freedom of speech be permitted throughout the nation. This was known as the  Freedom Of Expression Act  of 1945. Emperor Eraoranhan agreed, and gave the country it's liberty and free movement it has today, which enormously boosted his popularity.

Maxorata joined the United Nations in 1961, much later than the rest of the world, mainly because most of the neutrally-aligned and isolationist House of Lords wanted to keep out of world politics, despite the insistence of Eraoranhan I and a few liberal minded Representatives.

During the 1960's and 70's came what is known as the "Big Boom", which saw the progress of cities, economy and culture. Hotels were built and the country became a touristic hotspot. Mainly thanks to the Emperor's new policies and ideas:

Eraoranhan I was Emperor from 1933 until his death in 2003. He had been the Emperor during most of the century, and oversaw World War II, the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union and many other significant events. He is considered the greatest Emperor in the nation's history.

Modern Day (2003- )
In modern day, the Maxorata Empire is one of the last remaining absolute monarchies in the world, ruled by Ache III, son of the previous Emperor Eraoranhan.

Starting in 2011, more and more citizens are starting to believe that evolution towards democracy is necessary, and calls for the creation of an elected prime minister as head of government are higher than ever before. However, the current Emperor is hesitant about it, and is known for his very conservative views.

But despite the State's rejection towards democracy, the Maxorata Empire finally joined NATO in January 2018 after both houses of the Tagoror agreed on it by absolute majority.

Politics
It is one of last remaining absolute monarchies in the world. There have been many demands for it to become a constitutional monarchy, but the current Emperor is not intending for this to occur anytime soon. Although it is an absolute monarchy, there is freedom of speech and people can criticize the government, but not their Emperor (insulting the Emperor is a serious crime and can result in a ten year prison sentence).

The Emperor is the head of state of the Empire, commander in chief of the military and the head of the Guanche religion. As there is no entitled 'head of government', he unofficially holds that title as well. He or she has control over justice and laws and he or she represents the nation in summits and meetings with other world leaders. In summary, the Emperor is effectively a dictator, and always has been.

The legislative body is called the Tagoror, which is split into the non-elected House of Lords (which is formed by aristocrats, Guanche priests and rich businessmen) and the House of Representatives; which is an organization of members elected by the people (each member represents a town or city in the Empire) who vote on new laws and amendments. There is no head of government or "Prime Minister", but the members of the House of Representatives are elected by the people, and that is the closest thing the country has to a democracy.

Economy
The currency is the Tobueno (T). It has been in circulation since 1834, when the Imperial Bank was greatly renovated and expanded.

As the Empire is full of beautiful beaches and is always sunny, tourism is massive. There are hundreds of hotels scattered across the islands, which generate a huge amount of money for the country.

Religion
The country's official religion is Guanche, and is enormously supported by the State. The connection between country and faith has been important for centuries, before the Empire was even created. However, since the Freedom Of Expression Act of 1945, people are allowed to follow any or no religion.

The majority of citizens living in Maxorata are religious: 82% believing in Guanche Divinity, 12% are Christians, 4% are not religious and 2% are Hindu.

Speaking of the Guanche Church, although the Emperor is the religious figurehead of the nation, there is also the Faycan. The Faycan is a kind of priest who has always been the religious adviser of the Emperor since Guanche culture first appeared. The Faycan crowns the new Emperor when the previous abdicates or dies. The position is similar to that of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the UK.