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| Capital (and largest city) |
Jülich | ||||
| Language | Limburgish, German | ||||
| Duke | William XIV | ||||
| Minister-President | Wolfgang Schmunkamp | ||||
| Population | 503,800 | ||||
| Currency | JLT | ||||
The Duchy of Jülich, Jöllesch, Julich, is a small constitutional monarchy in western Europe. It is bordered by Aachen, United Kingdom of the Netherlands (Luxembourg), Cologne, the Imperial Abbey of Kornelimünster and an exclave of the Palatinate. The capital is Jülich. The population is around 504,000.
The official languages are Limburgish and German.
The Head of state is Duke William XIV
The currency is the Jülich Taler (JLT)
History[]
Once a part of Lotharingia the county (then Duchy) of Jülich asserted its independence as the northern half disintgrated in the late 11th century. It quickly became entwined in the internecine machinations of the region.
Once Anglia began to acquire territory in the Low Countries Jülich became part of their informal web of allies against Luxembourg and France. In this way any potentially advantageous marriages and unions were usually engineered to benefit Anglia or their big allies rather than benefit the smaller counties. Indeed the potential union of Jülich with Berg (which would have encircled Cologne and potentially changed the course of the Fifty Years War) fell apart after the death of the Bergish heir Konrad during the German Civil War of 1383-86. Anglia made sure his widow, Mary, was married off to a Guelders (in the pockets of the Anglians and Dutch Wittelsbachs) rather than allow Jülich to fall to another state.
Jülich therefore was united with Guelders and formed a vital link in the 'Bavarian Road' linking the Wittelsbach territories in Bavaria, Palatinate and Holland. Under Duke John I the territories thrived but his three sons produced no heirs and amidst the War of Anglian Succession Jülich was violently divided from Guelders in a brutal succession war between John's nephews. With most of its towns sacked and farmlands ruined from the passage of armies the overwhelmed Duke Adolf sunk into depression and his Luxemburger wife considered selling the duchy to the highest bidder, even back to Guelders if they could find the money. In the end the Reformation gave the duchy a renewed sense of purpose. First Duke William V was part of the coalition which brutally put down the Peasant's War and Munster uprising and then his son William VI embraced Lutheranism.
Now religiously at odds with Cologne, which divided the duchy from the rest of the Schmalkaldic Empire, Jülich sought to boost its military potential which led to an early adoption of meritocratic promotion in the army. During the early stages of the Fifty Years War Jülich was stoutly defended by the low-born Johann Toll but he could not resist the advance of the Luxemburger Army of Holland and the duchy was captured. The dukes would spend much of the rest of the war in Copenhagen. Toll would be employed by the Protestant leaders to campaign in the Low Countries, systematically capturing Dutch fortresses and keeping the Luxembourg forces away from the more fluid Saxon fronts. He would eventually be trusted with complete command over the Kalmar force in Germany.
Reconstruction after the war was slow and hampered by several dukes' absolutist policies coupled with financial mismanagment. Devotion to the military and stirling efforts during the Anglian-Luxembourg Wars earned it a fearsome reputation within the empire but by the time the Industrial Revolution was in full swing the duchy was being outshone by its more populous neighbours. During the Hispanic Revolution a group of disaffected students, factory workers, peasants and unpaid soldiers returning from campaigning, overthrew the monarchy and briefly setup a republic. Under the threat of imminent invasion the republicans agreed to reinstate the duke in return for hefty constitutional changes.
Much of the modern economy of Jülich is based on coal mining, iron ore and paper production. The Duchy lags behind is near-neighbours in many respects; of pay, health, education standards for example, and as a result suffers a slow population decline as those who can move to the booming Ruhr or Dutch cities for work and a better standard of life.
Government[]
Jülich is governed by a single-chambered Diet with elections at intervals not longer than 6 years. The Head of State is Duke William XIV. He has very little executive power though is generally popular in the duchy as he is very vocal about the need to raise standards in all aspects of Jülich society
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