Anglia (The Kalmar Union)

The Kingdom of Anglia, Anglia, is a constitutional monarchy comprising of about a quarter of the island of Britannia. It borders Scotland to the North, Man to the North-West and Wessex-Normandy to the West and South. The population is around 17 million. Its capital is Lincoln.

Its current head of state is King William V.

The official language is Anglian.

The currency is the Anglian Guilder (ANG).

History
Once united under the kings of Wessex as part of a Greater England the area now know as Anglia was ruled as the 'Danelaw' acknowledging the wide Danish settlement of the Eastern counties of England and the historic Kingdom of Jorvik. After Wessex's hegemony was shattered by Sweyn I Forkbeard and then Cnut I's invasions of 1013 and 1016 England was divided between Edmund II Ironside and Cnut I. Cnut took the old kingdoms of Anglia, Jorvik and Mercia, while Edmund received Wessex. The agreement was that whoever survived the other would inherit England in its entirety.

Cnut then renounced his claim on Wessex to go conquer Denmark and henceforth England would never be reunited. Attempts by Hordaland and Wessex to retake Jorvik and Anglia respectively in the 1040's were defeated. Wessex would make small gains at Anglia's expense, notably London in 1183. In the same year Man was invited to secure rebellious Lancaster, which it never relinquished.

In 1093 Sweyn II pawned Mercia to Wessex so he could go on crusade. On his death the House of Denmark was extinguished and the Anglian nobles elected one of their own, Harald II Godwinson, as King. He in turn was defeated and executed by Cnut IV of Denmark who claimed the Kingdom as closest heir of Cnut I. On Cnut IV (II)'s death in 1099 his realms were divided between his sons and Charles I received Anglia. To that he added Flanders which he inherited through his mother.

For the next 500 years Anglia would be inextricably linked to its possessions in the Low Countries. In 1119 Charles, with Manx and Danish allies, defeated the French king to secure Flanders. Renewed warfare in the 1180's effectively shattered the French king's grip on Northern France. The County of Hainault was added by marriage in 1198, and County of Brabant by inheritance in 1347. Meanwhile Artois was added by conquest, Zeeland was a reward for supporting Emperor Olaf in his wars against France, and the Bishopric of Liege was repeatedly contested between Anglia and Luxembourg. The fact that the Anglian kings were often on the continent dealing with their possessions there allowed a degree of autonomy to grow up within the Anglian nobles and their parliament. Indeed, King Conrad never set foot in Anglia itself. And when Charles III attempted to reassert royal rule he was rewarded by a general rebellion and the Anglian Baron's War.

Moving to a more parliamentary system Anglia was able to stabilise and become extremely wealthy thanks the wool production in Anglia and the woolen manufacturing centres of Flanders and Brabant.

The death of William II unleashed the War of Anglian Succession. William's only sister, Anna of Norfolk was unmarried and by Salian law unsuitable to inherit the continental possessions. The closest male relatives were King Eric IX of Denmark and Sigismund II of Luxembourg, the Holy Roman Emperor. The Anglian nobles, unsure how the already overstretched Emperor would treat them, chose Eric IX to be their king and kept Anna to rule in his place. Luxembourg and Denmark initially fought each other over their respective possessions in Central Europe. The war began to widen as France and then Wessex fought both Denmark and Luxembourg to attempt to regain their lost territory and influence in the Low Countries. Bankrupt, Christopher II of Denmark dropped his claim to the throne and came to a general peace with Luxembourg. Anglia itself was inherited by Anna's son William III. He married Princess Elizabeth of Luxembourg, sealing the succession and ensure friendly relations between the Low Countries, Anglia and Scandinavia. William was given Friesland as compensation for the loss of Flanders and Brabant.

William's successors, the House of Norfolk, were consolatory and happy to work with the limitations parliament set. They chiefly concerned themselves with minor wars that infringed on the borders with Scotland and Friesland, and as long as the aims were small the parliament was happy to give consent and provide funds. Despite converting over a long and painful process to Lutheranism they kept out of the larger religious conflicts of Europe such as the Schmalkaldic War and the Austro-Luxembourg Wars. They abandoned the Kalmar Union after the election of the Schmalkadic Emperor Knut, afraid that it would drain Anglia's growing wealth in petty German wars. Friesland was finally lost in the chaos that was the Fifty Years War (1618-1668) largely due to its isolation in Europe. Recognising this gap Anglia again became an associate of the Kalmar Union, by now a pure alliance rather than a Danish super-state.

Dragged, unwillingly into the Kalmar-Wessex War (1687-1701) and the Luxembourg-Anglian War (1723-1738) it was left with an slightly enlarged territory (chiefly in Essex and the Trentmark and a brief return as ruler of Frisia) but also a ruined economy as most of the fighting tended to be in its own land. Attempts to raise taxes to pay for the devastation only caused further unrest. The other solution was to concentrate abroad and resulted in a small trading presence in Africa and India.

It played an enthusiastic role in defending northern Europe from the Iberian Revolution and Del Olmo's armies, however for the most part it settled into 'glorious isolation'. During the 1870's it was invited by Kalmar to help settle their portion of the continent of Australische but declined, happy to develop an increasing array of islands in the Indian Ocean instead.

It is a signatory to the 4th Kalmar Union but often draws criticism from its partners for its perceived lack of assistance and aloofness. Lately Wessex has been demanding a plebiscite over Trentmark, which has soured previously good relations between the two.

Government
Anglia's current head of state is King William V. The role of king has been reduced to a mere ceremonial one and all power has been relinquished to the Witenage. The Prime Minister is Sir Anthony Drysdale.

Votes for women was introduced in 2002.

List of Anglian Monarchs