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The Kingdom of Anglia
Timeline: The Kalmar Union
Flag Coat of Arms
Flag Coat of Arms
Capital Lincoln
Largest city Sheffield
Language Anglian
King William V
Prime Minister Sir Anthony Drysdale
Population 17,134,000 
Independence 1016
Currency ANG

The Kingdom of Anglia, or simply Anglia, is a constitutional monarchy comprising of about a quarter of the island of Britannia. It borders Scotland to the North, Man to the Northwest 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 the Danish Invasions of Sweyn Forkbeard and Cnut I in 1013 and 1016 England was divided. 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 Witenage. 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. However this apparent wealth only bred profligacy in its kings who attempted to juggle a commitment to Imperial affairs, wars with France and an increasingly ostentatious court life. All this conspired to run down the treasury and peasant revolts would destabilise the kingdom. In the 15th century attempts by Richard I and William I to recover the crown's powers would lead to a painful period of civil war which decimated the nobility and alienated the continental possessions.

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, which had generally become tired to supporting the whims of distant kings. 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. While Luxembourg received the Low Countries, 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 Fryslân 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 the Witenage 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 Witenage was happy to give consent and provide funds.

The shift from Catholicism to Lutheranism was a long and slow process. The Witenage was outright hostile to Lutheranism until 1563 and only whilst Wessex was involved in its own religious struggle did King John III feel secure enough to personally endorse it. This led to a protracted rebellion, the 'Anglian War of Religion' where John III, and his Catholic brother Richard II and nephew Richard III, competed for the crown. It culminated in the Act of Settlement (1593) which confirmed Lutheranism as the state religion but gave assurances to protect the rights and land of Catholics. This has made it the only Lutheran state in Europe that never attempted to totally disestablish the Catholic churches and monastic movement. The Richardine branch of the House of Norfolk in exile in Wessex would spend much of the next century fomenting various rebellions and plots against their Lutheran cousins while the Witenage struggled with the repercussions on the line of succession.

Despite the common bond of Lutheranism Anglia kept itself out of the larger religious conflicts of Europe such as the Schmalkaldic Wars and the Austro-Luxembourg Wars, feeling that intervening would undermine the fragile situation at home. They abandoned the Kalmar Union after the election of the Schmalkaldic Emperor Knut, afraid that it would drain Anglia's growing wealth in petty German wars. Fryslân was finally lost in the chaos that was the Fifty Years War (1618-1668) largely due to Anglia's 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.

Anglia Personification (The Kalmar Union)

Anglia personified, typical cartoon showing Anglia as a warrior goddess, from Kasperle Magazine, June 1927

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 Fryslân) 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 the already crowded markets in Africa and India.

It played an enthusiastic role in defending against Svealandic during the Great Baltic War and protecting 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 Australia but declined, happy to develop an increasing array of islands in the Indian Ocean instead. Anglia's relaxed attitude with religious matters helped it attract many from increasingly intolerant Wessex, and its early advances into the Industrial Revolution were often built with the knowledge of these newcomers.

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 stable 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 effective power has been relinquished to the Witenage. The Prime Minister is Sir Anthony Drysdale.

Votes for women was introduced in 2002.

Anglia Counties (The Kalmar Union)

Counties of Anglia

Anglian Counties
County Name County Town Flag
Tyneshire Bishopswearmouth
Durham Durham
North Jorvikshire Jorvik
West Jorvikshire Wakefield
East Jorvikshire Beverley
Trentmark Derby
Nottinghamshire Nottingham
Lindsey Lincoln
Kesteven Sleaford
Holland St. Botolphs
Rutland Oakham
Ketteringshire Kettering
Soke of Peterborough Peterborough
Isle of Ely Ely
Norfolk Norwich
Huntingdonshire Huntingdon
Grantbridgeshire Grantbridge
West Suffolk Bury St Edmunds
East Suffolk Ipswich
Bedfordshire Bedford
Hertfordshire Hertford
Essex Chelmsford

Flag and Coat of Arms[]

Anglia's flag, a red, blue and white Scandinavian Cross, was adopted in the mid-18th century after the Witenage voted to alter the flag from the royal standard which could be misidentified as belonging to the (at the time) similar flags of France or Munster (especially when at sea). The red is said to represent the Anglo-Danish people, Blue; the Sea, and white; tolerance.

The Coat of Arms show a shield quartered with the arms of Anglia (three crowns on a blue background), the arms of Norse Jorvik (a black raven) and the two lions/leopards of Fryslan.

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