User:TheCelticIsles

THE CELTIC ISLES
Officialy The Holy Empire of the Celtic Isles is a theocratic monarchy made up of twelve islands to the far North West of the Auralian continent. The nation was until recently ruled exclusively by an emperor and a council made up of 11 elected representatives who represent the interest of their islands with the emperor representing his own island and having final say on decisions in most cases.

As a result of centuries of attempted invasion by neighboring nations the people of the Isles have become weary of outsiders and as such have come to prefer seclusion which has helped them to preserve their traditions and way of life. The populace of the Isles are very devout with almost all being Catholic. Their love of tradition and deep religious values have contributed to the emperor maintaining almost complete control. While most of the worlds nations have embraced democracy the citizens of the Isles are still strong believers in the divine right of the monarchy.

History
Archeologists have discovered ancient ruins of villages dating back 8,000 years. It is unclear who built these because few burial sites have been discovered but what is clear is that by the time the first Celts started to arrive in the 400's B.C. the people who had built these structures had been gone for centuries. Upon arriving the first celts quickly split up and spread across the islands forming clans that were in an almost constant state of war over limited resources on the islands.

Around the year 50 B.C. invading armies arived from the continent in an attempt to conquer the isles. The rival clans and tribes soon realized that they would be unable to defeat these invaders alone and joined into an alliance in order to protect their lands. After years of warfare the Celts were finnally able to defeat the foriegners but were forced to defend their homeland for centuries from continued invasions.

When the first Christian missionaries arrived many of the people of the isles quickly adapted the new religion happily and it almost immediately began to change their culture. The once squabling tribes began to unite into kingdoms and pledge their allegiance to their new kings. Two kingdoms quickly emerged as powers, one occupying the northern islands and still clinging to the old pagan religion, and the other The Holy Kingdom of the Isles which lay nearer to the continent and having converted to the new faith believed that they had the duty to spread Christianity throughout the isles. As these two kingdoms continued to expand they came into conflict with eachother.

In 624 A.D. armies of both kingdoms met for the last time on a small island in a battle that would decide the fate of the islands. Flying a flag bearing the Celtic Cross wich would soon become the emblem of the nation the King Martin of The Holy Kingdom led his armies and defeated the last pagan king in the islands and soon after declared himself emperor of a new empire, The Holy Empire of the Celtic Isles.

The Empire continued to prosper for the most part under this change and maintained healthy relations with most of its neighbors. This period of prosperity continued throughout the early and mid middle ages. After the protestant reformation which led to many of its neighbors becoming protestant nations the Empire began to cut off relations with these nations and strengthen relations with the nations that remained Catholic. This period of foreign relations quickly ended in 1543 when religious turmoil between growing numbers of Protestants in the Islands and their leader a former noble named John Putrin who declared himself to be the rightful ruler of the Isles of the and those who remained loyal to the Catholic church and the current Emperor Micheal VII led to the Celtic Civil War. After years of fighting the Emperor with help of other nearby Catholic nations was able to defeat the rebel forces at the Battle of Ocsville on June 17, 1551. The years of war left the nation weak and led to a feeling of mistrust of outsiders which led to the period of seclusion which lasted until recently.

In 1940 the Holy Empire of the Celtic Isles was once again invaded by the United Celtic Nations. For the first time the Empire fell to foriegn invaders. Throughout the UCN's occupation the people of the Isles continued to resist through guerilla and sometimes open warfare. Independence was finnaly won on December 27, 1998. A new emperor was appointed soon after

Recently a Civil War nearly broke out between those who are loyal to the Emperor and those who supported a more democratic government. In order to prevent bloodshed the current ruler ,Emperor John, negotiated with the democratic supporters and created the National Parliament. After recent events the Emperor as well as National Parliament agreed that in order to preserve the freedom of the Celtic people the Empire would have to become more involved in world affairs and so it was agreed that it would enter into an alliance with the Auralian nations.

Politics
Recent changes to the government have led to complicated means of governing the nation.While the Emperor holds most of the power with the Empireal Counsil there is also a Parliament that decides on whether these decisions are constitutional or if they should be changed.The citizens vote for the members of the Parliament as well as members of the Counsil. 2 represenatives of each island are elected to the Parliament every four years and a new Counsilman is elected every six years.

This new system of checks and balances has put some restrictions on the Emperors power but he still has substantial control over domestic and foriegn decisions.

Regions
The Celtic Isles is made up of twelve islands which are listed below:

Cartlan Island, Darek Island, Castle Isle, New Island, Hill Island, Torpans Island, Ocsville Island, Winters Day Isle, Micheals Island, Landfall Island, Bishops Island, and Pasrine Island.

Geography
Most of the islands are covered by hills mountians and evergreens with some valeys and plains. These similarities as well as similar species of plants and animals have led some experts to believe that most if not all of the islands were once connected.

Climate
The Celtic Isles climate is very simmilar to that of the island group that makes up the Free Land of Sealtainn and Arcaive. Being near the arctive circle the Islands recieve cool summers and freezing winters.