HISTORY:

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF WESTRIA'S HISTORY:

THE EARLY HISTORY:

THE WESTRIAN CIVILIZATION DATES BACK TO BEFORE THE PLAGUE, WHEN WESTRIA WAS A COMPARATIVELY WELL-DEVELOPED AND PEACE-LOVING NATION THAT LIVED IN HARMONY WITH ITS NEIGHBORS, AND NEVER FOUND MUCH PURPOSE IN STRIVING FOR CONQUEST OF OTHER COUNTRIES.

THE PEACEFUL AND FRIENDLY CHARACTER OF THE WESTRIAN PEOPLE, HOWEVER, NATURALLY SERVED AS AN 'INVITATION' FOR OTHER NATIONS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE, AND WESTRIANS WERE GRADUALLY DRIVEN FROM THEIR OWN HOME SOIL BY MORE AGRESSIVE POPULATIONS.

THE EXACT ORIGIN OF THE WESTRIAN PEOPLE ON VEXILLIUM IS NOT PRECISELY KNOWN.  MANY WESTRIAN HISTORIANS FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT THE ORIGINAL WESTRIAN HOMELAND IS IN SOUTHERN ANGLIYAA, WHERE A LARGE CONCENTRATION OF WESTRIANS STILL LIVE TODAY.  OTHER, EQUALLY RESPECTED, HISTORIANS ON THE OTHER HAND FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT THIS THEORY IS FALSE.  THE BWA'S OFFICIAL POSITION IS, THAT THE WESTRIAN ORIGINS ARE NOT ESTABLISHED BEYOND A DOUBT, AND ARE THEREFORE CURRENTLY UNKNOWN.

WESTRIANS WERE FORCED TO DISPERSE INTO THE OTHER COUNTRIES OF VEXILLIUM, SEEKING REFUGE, AND LIVING IN EXILE AS A NATION WITHOUT LAND. WESTRIA EXISTED ONLY IN ITS PEOPLE STREWN ALL OVER THE PLANET, LIVING AS MINORITIES IN FOREIGN NATIONS, WITHOUT MUCH OF A NATIONAL IDENTITY. MANY ETHNIC WESTRIANS BECAME CITIZENS OF THE COUNTRIES THEY RESIDED IN, AND OFTEN THEIR WESTRIAN CULTURE WAS HEAVILY INFILTRATED BY THE CULTURE OF THE PEOPLE THEY LIVED AND INTERACTED WITH EVERY DAY.

FOR CENTURIES THIS SITUATION EXISTED, AND ALTHOUGH THERE WERE REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF WESTRIANS IN 16 COUNTRIES, TRYING TO PROVIDE A CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ENTITY TO LINK TO, WESTRIANS BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT THEIR CULTURE, LANGUAGE, AND WAY OF LIFE WAS IN DANGER OF BEING DILUTED TO THE POINT OF INDISTINGUISHABILITY. IT WAS THUS IN THE YEAR 275 AP THAT THE BUREAU OF WESTRIAN AFFAIRES (BWA) WAS FORMED.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE BWA:

THE BWA WAS CREATED AS A PRO-ACTIVE EFFORT TO SAVE AND REVIVE THE LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND LIFESTYLE. ALL 16 LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS WORKED TOGETHER TO MAKE THE FOUNDING OF THE BWA POSSIBLE. THE FORMAL INAUGURATION CEREMONIES WERE HELD IN BLAVIA, KALESTHESIA, ON DECEMBER 7, 275 AP. OVER TIME, THE BWA ESTABLISHED AN OFFICIAL OFFICE IN ALL 16 NATIONS WITH LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS. THESE NATIONS WERE ARMATIRION, NORTHERN GRONK, TERRAMARC, MERITE, KALESTHESIA, CHRISTIANA, LENDIA (OR THE FCLR), DAVENPORT, FERRATUS, DASCUNYA, LAMBS COVE, PHENIXIA, GUWIMITH, BOWDANI, ANGLIYAA, AND ST. KILDA. THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE BWA WERE SET UP IN CHRISTIANA. THE BWA OFFICES EXISTED ONLY AS UNOFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE POSTS IN THE RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES, AND HAD NO OFFICIAL EMBASSY STATUS. IN FACT, MOST GOVERNMENTS WERE LARGELY UNAWARE THAT THE BWA EVEN EXISTED, SINCE IT ONLY REQUIRED TO COMMUNICATE WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN THE EVENT OF A CIVIL INJUSTICE COMMITTED TOWARDS AN ETHNIC WESTRIAN.

VERY SOON AFTER ITS INCEPTION, THE BWA BEGAN TO RECORD ITS FIRST SUCCESSES THROUGH THE ORGANIZATION OF CULTURAL EVENTS, THE FORMATION OF WESTRIAN EDUCATIONAL CENTERS, THE PRESERVATION OF NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT IMAGERY, ARTIFACTS, AND SCRIPTURES, AND THE LIKE, AND REPRESENTING THE INTERESTS AND CIVIL RIGHTS OF WESTRIANS. THE BWA ESTABLISHED A NATIONAL REGISTRY OF WESTRIANS, AND ISSUED BWA IDENTITY CARDS TO ANY ETHNIC WESTRIAN WHO APPLIED. THE BUREAU ALSO RECORDED AND RESEARCHED THE NATIONAL ORIGINS OF EXILE WESTRIANS, AND ANY PEOPLE WHO HAD REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THEIR ANCESTORS CAME FROM OLD WESTRIA. SINCE ITS BEGINNINGS, THE BWA HAS BECOME INDISPENSABLE IN ITS ROLE TO WESTRIANS VEXILLIUM-WIDE, AND THANKS TO THE BUREAU'S INITIATIVE, THE NATIONAL IDENTITY OF WESTRIA WAS PRESERVED AFTER ALL.

THE SUMMER OF THE PROPHECY:

DURING THE HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF THE STATELESS NATION WESTRIA, A LEGEND WAS BORN FROM AN ALLEGED ANCIENT PROPHECY, ATTRIBUTED BY SOME TO THE WISE WESTRIAN SAGE ROY-AUREL, WHO, IN HIS DAY, HAD A CONSIDERABLE SPIRITUAL FOLLOWING. ACCORDING TO THIS OLD WESTRIAN MYTH, WHOSE EXACT CONTEXT AND EVEN THE EXTENT OF RELIABILITY OF ITS ORIGINS ARE NO LONGER REALLY KNOWN, IT WAS SAID THAT IN THE SUMMER OF 298 AP, THE CENTURY-LONG STRUGGLE OF THE WESTRIAN PEOPLE WILL CONCLUDE, AND THE NATION-STATE OF WESTRIA WILL EXPERIENCE A RENAISSANCE OF MAGNIFICENT PROPORTIONS.

IT WAS FURTHER PREDICTED, THAT THIS REBIRTH OF THE WESTRIAN NATION WOULD OCCUR IN THE SOUTHWESTERN REGIONS OF NUARMIA (THE CONTINENT OF NOVA VEXILLIUM), WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE THE VAST AND MOSTLY UNEXPLORED LANDS OF NEW ARMATIRION, THE OVERSEAS COLONY OF THE GREAT AND POWERFUL REPUBLIC OF ARMATIRION.

IN ANTICIPATION OF THIS PROPHECY, THOUSANDS OF EXILE WESTRIANS FROM ALL OVER THE PLANET BEGAN A PILGRIMAGE TO THE REFERENCED PLAN SECTOR , CONGREGATING THERE TO EXPERIENCE AND BRING ABOUT THE PROMISED EMERGENCE OF THE NEW WESTRIAN NATION. THE WORD OF THIS UNUSUAL PHENOMENON SPREAD SO QUICKLY, THAT THE RATE AF ARRIVALS INCREASED TO MANY THOUSAND WESTRIANS PER DAY.

THE BWA TOOK NOTE WITH CONSIDERABLE CONCERN, AS IT WAS NOT TO BE RULED OUT THAT THE REPUBLIC OF ARMATIRION MAY BE VERY ALARMED AT THIS HEAVY INFLUX OF FOREIGN MIGRANTS INTO THEIR REALM, AND POSSIBLY CONSIDER IT SOME SORT OF HOSTILE INVASION. TO ENSURE THAT THE ARRIVAL OF WESTRIAN POPULATION IN THE JURISDICTIONAL TERRITORY OF ARMATIRION IS NOT CONSIDERED AN ACT OF HOSTILITY, BUT MERELY AS A DESPERATE ACT OF A PEOPLE SEEKING A DOMINION WHERE THEIR NATIONAL IDENTITY CAN BE RE-ESTABLISHED AND BE ALLOWED TO FLOURISH, ON JUNE 12, 298 AP, THE BWA HQ IN CHRISTIANA RELEASED AN URGENT OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE TO THE PRESIDENT OF ARMATIRION, THE HONORABLE KJELL ROLL ELGSAAS, EXPLAINING THE SITUATION, AND OFFERING THE IMMEDIATE EVACUATION OF ALL WESTRIAN NATIONALS FROM NEW ARMATIRION TERRITORY, IF SO DESIRED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF ARMATIRION. YET, THE BWA ALSO EXPRESSED ITS HOPES AS TO WHAT POSSIBILITIES MAY BE AVAILABLE TO THE WESTRIAN PEOPLE TO REMAIN THERE.

THE GRACIOUS ACT OF A GREAT NATION:

THE REPUBLIC OF ARMATIRION MOST GRACIOUSLY AGREED TO LET THE WESTRIAN PEOPLE SETTLE IN NEW ARMATIRION TERRITORY, AND GRANTED WESTRIA THE ISLANDS OF EXAMINI AND SALAMINI AS THEIR NEW HOMELAND. WESTRIA BECAME A PROTECTORATE OF ARMATIRION, BUT THE BWA AND PRESIDENT ELGSAAS WERE IN AGREEMENT THAT WESTRIA WAS TO BECOME A FREE INDEPENDENT NATION SOON THEREAFTER. (IN HONOR OF THE KIND PRESIDENT OF ARMATIRION, THE STRAIT BETWEEN THE ISLANDA OF EXAMINI AND SALAMINI AND THE MAINLAND HAS BEEN NAMED KJELLSUND, AND THE CENTRAL SQUARE IN OUR CAPITAL IS CALLED KJELLSPLATZ. AS YOU CAN SEE ON OUR MAPS, FURTHERMORE THE LARGE SWEETWATER LAKE IN THE EAST WAS NAMED KJELLSEE, AND THE RIVER THAT FLOWS INTO AND OUT OF IT, ELGSAAS.

WESTRIANS WERE OVERJOYED AT THE MOST GENEROUS OFFER BY ARMATIRION, AND THE STEADY STREAM OF IMMIGRANTS TO THE NEW HOMELAND REACHED LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE. WITHIN JUST A FEW WEEKS, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ENTHUSIASTIC WESTRIANS HAD ARRIVED TO BEGIN BUILDING THEIR NEW NATION. CONSTRUCTION IS AT INTENSITIES NEVER BEFORE SEEN ON THE PLANET, AS LARGE INDUSTRIAL CORPORATIONS ESTABLISHED BY WESTRIANS IN OTHER COUNTRIES COMBINE THEIR RESOURCES WITH THE TREMENDOUS AID AND ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY THE REPUBLIC OF ARMATIRION. THE FIRST CITY FOUNDED WAS MONTROY ON THE ISLAND OF EXAMINI.

THE EVENTS IN TERRAMARC:

THE BWA OFFICE IN THE TERRAMARCIAN CAPITAL OF NEW WINDY CITY IS THE THIRD-OLDEST OF ALL ORIGINAL 16, AND THOUGH IT HAD KEPT A LOW PROFILE THERE, MERELY REPRESENTING THE EXILE WESTRIANS IN TERRAMARC, THE RESIDENT BWA TEAM YET BECAME VERY EXPERIENCED IN MATTERS OF INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY, HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES, AND IN REPRESENTING THE INTERESTS OF A PEOPLE. AT ITS HEAD WAS THE LOCAL CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, MS. LOURDES RAQUELI.

THE DESPOTIC RULER OF TERRAMARC, TOM KOH, HAD BEEN NEGLECTING HIS DUTIES IN HIS IRRESPONSIBILITY, SELF-INDULGENCE, AND SLOTH, AND OVER TIME, THE POPULATION OF HIS COUNTRY BECAME INCREASINGLY DISENCHANTED WITH ITS GOVERNMENT. THE FORMER CHIEF CENSOR OF TERRAMARC, C. H. LEE, ABANDONED HIS POST AS HE REALIZED THE TRUTH ABOUT THE KOH REGIME, AND PROCEEDED TO SEND ANTI-GOVERNMENT MESSAGES TO THE NATIONS OF VEXILLIUM FROM AN UNKNOWN HIDING PLACE. ALTHOUGH EFFORTS WERE MADE BY THE KOH REGIME TO CAPTURE THIS ELUSIVE OPPONENT, LEE MANAGED TO REMAIN IN HIDING, AND CONTINUED TO SUMMON FORCES TO UNDERMINE THE DESPOT'S RULE.

EVENTUALLY, TWO REGIONS OF GREATER TERRAMARC BROKE AWAY FROM THE REALM OF THE DICTATOR KOH. THESE BECAME LATER KNOWN AS EASTERN ZARTANIA AND WHITLAM. KOH ATTEMPTED TO STOP THE SECESSION, BUT HIS DISGRUNTLED MILITARY WAS DISINTERESTED IN THE TASK, AND ONLY A FEW FANATICALLY LOYAL UNITS ACTUALLY DEPLOYED, WITHOUT MUCH SUCCESS. FACED WITH THE DISOBEDIENCE OF HIS ARMED FORCES, KOH CONTINUED TO WITHDRAW EVEN MORE FROM HIS OFFICIAL GOVERNING DUTIES IN THE REALIZATION THAT HIS POWER WAS FADING, WHICH EVENTUALLY LED TO NEARLY UNBEARABLE LAWLESS AND CHAOTIC CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTRY. WITHOUT EFFECTIVE AND UNCORRUPTED LAW ENFORCEMENT AND LEADERSHIP, WIDESPREAD RIOTING AND CIVIL UNREST ENSUED IN THE REMAINING LANDS OF TERRAMARC. THE NATION'S CITIES AND STATES WERE PLAGUED BY LOOTERS, GANGS, AND CLANS UNDERTAKING PILLAGING RAIDS, AND INVOLVING THEMSELVES AND INNOCENT THIRD PARTIES IN LARGE-SCALE SHOOTOUTS AND ACTS OF TERRORISM, AS THEY VIED FOR POWER AMONGST THEMSELVES.

AFTER REPEATED APPEALS BY THE PEOPLE OF TERRAMARC TO THEIR GOVERNMENT - REQUESTING IMMEDIATE INTERVENTION - WENT UNANSWERED, THE SITUATION QUICKLY DETERIORATED INTO A STATE OF NEAR ANARCHY, WHICH PUT THE ENTIRE NATION INTO TURMOIL AND PANIC. IN VIEW OF THESE UNACCEPTABLE CONDITIONS, AND THE INABILITY OF THE POPULOUS TO SOLICIT FROM THEIR LEADER A RESPONSE, LET ALONE ACTION, THE BWA (AS THE ONLY NON-GOVERNMENT AGENCY CAPABLE OF ADMINISTERING A 'NATION') WAS APPROACHED FOR ASSISTANCE NOT ONLY BY THE CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF WESTRIAN NATIONALS LIVING IN TERRAMARC, BUT ALSO BY THE LARGEST CIVILIAN ASSOCIATIONS AND UNIONS REPRESENTING THE TERRIFIED CITIZENS OF TERRAMARC, WITH THE BACKING OF WHAT REMAINED OF THE COUNTRY'S ESTRANGED MILITARY.
 

 
POSTER ADVERTISING THE BWA TAKEOVER OPTION
BEFORE THE TRANSITION FROM TERRAMARC TO
WESTERMARC HAD BEEN APPROVED AND FINALIZED
 
THE BWA WAS OBLIGED BY THE COUNTLESS APPEALS, AND AFTER TOM KOH FAILED TO RESPOND AND ACT ONCE AGAIN WITHIN A PROVIDED TIME FRAME, THE BWA ASSUMED COMPLETE JURISDICTIONAL CONTROL OVER TERRAMARC, ITS GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES, ARMED FORCES, AND TERRITORY ON JUNE 28, 298 AP. THE TAKEOVER WAS PEACEFUL AND WITHOUT MAJOR INCIDENT AS MOST OF THE POPULATION WAS IN FULL SUPPORT AND RENOUNCED THEIR PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT. THE DICTATOR KOH AND HIS CRONIES FLED INTO EXILE TO RIO, UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THEN-STILL-DICTATOR BERENS. LATER, DURING OPERATION "CUTLASS", A MILITARY CAMPAIGN BY ARMATIRION IN RIO, KOH MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED.

MEANWHILE, TERRAMARC'S NAME WAS REMOVED AT THE REQUEST OF A MAJORITY OF VOTERS, AND TEMPORARILY REPLACED BY THE TERM "TERRITORY OF THE BWA". CHARGE D'AFFAIRES LOURDES RAQUELI, WHO HAD BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN NEGOTIATING THE BWA'S ROLE, WAS APPOINTED VICEROY.
 

 
POSTER CELEBRATING THE LIBERATION OF
WESTERMARC THROUGH THE BWA TAKEOVER
 
THE TERRITORY OF THE BWA (WESTERMARC):

BY COINCIDENCE, WESTRIANS HAD NOW GAINED NOT ONLY THE SO LONG PROMISED AND ELUSIVE HOMELAND, BUT IN FACT TWO NATIONS WERE NOW UNDER WESTRIAN ADMINISTRATION. THE GENIAL CHIEF CARTOGRAPHER OF THE BWA, NIKO STERNSBERGEN, ORIGINATED THE IDEA OF PROPOSING TO TRADE SOME OF THE UNINHABITED AND RATHER RUGGED SOUTHERN LANDS OF THE TERRITORY OF THE BWA TO ARMATIRION, IN EXCHANGE FOR MORE LAND FOR THE NEW WESTRIAN HOMELAND IN NEW ARMATIRION, IN THE REGION SO IMPORTANT TO WESTRIANS THROUGH THEIR AGE-OLD PROPHECY. A TREATY PROPOSAL WAS PREPARED AND EXTENDED TO PRESIDENT ELGSAAS, WHO, AFTER DUE DEBATE WITH HIS CABINET, AGREED TO REDRAW THE BOUNDARIES OF WESTRIA, ARMATIRION AND THE TERRITORY OF THE BWA TO WHAT THEY ARE AT THIS POINT IN TIME (SEE GEOGRAPHY). THE NEW BOUNDARIES OF THE TERRITORY OF THE BWA ARE SHOWN IN THE MAP BELOW (THE LIGHT BLUE AREA LABELED 'WESTERMARC'):


 

THE ISSUES OF REGINA AND ALBION:

WESTERMARC IS ESSENTIALLY A MELTING-POT OF ALL THE DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES AND CULTURES OF THE FORMER GREATER TERRAMARC.  POCKETS OF POPULATIONS WITH DIFFERENT ETHNICITIES EXIST ALL OVER.  LATE AUGUST 298, WESTRIA AND NORTHERN GRONK BEGAN NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT THE ISSUE OF THE MOSTLY GRONKIAN POPULATED ANCIENT CITY OF REGINA.  THE BWA AGREED TO TURN OVER REGINA TO GRONKIAN SELF-RULE, AND POSSIBLY FUTURE INCORPORATION INTO NORTHERN GRONK, WITH THE CONDITION THAT THE HEAVILY WESTRIAN POPULATED REGION OF BABEN AND OVERBABEN IN EASTERN NOVOYOAKES (DELGAMIA) WOULD BE ALLOWED A SIMILAR ARRANGEMENT, BECOMING INDEPENDENT FROM NORTHERN GRONK RULE, AND BECOMING PART OF THE WESTRIAN REALM UNDER THE BWA.  BY SEPTEMBER, REGINA WAS SEPARATED FROM WESTERMARC.  BABEN AND OVERBABEN BECAME PART OF WESTRIA EARLY IN 299 (SEE BELOW).
 

 
ANOTHER ETHNICITY THAT IS PRESENT IN WESTERMARC ARE THE ALBION PEOPLE.  UNDER TERRAMARC DICTATOR KOH, THEY WERE MALICIOUSLY DEPORTED INTO A REGION IN EASTERN ZARTANIA, WHICH BECAME KNOWN AS 'ALBION' THEREAFTER, IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE GRONKIAN BORDER.  THE ORIGINAL HOME OF THE ALBIONITES, HOWEVER, WAS SOUTHEASTERN WESTERMARC, OR 'OUTERMARC', AS THE BWA PREFERRED TO CALL IT, AND A GREAT NUMBER OF ALBION PEOPLE WERE STILL RESIDING THERE.  TOGETHER WITH THE EASTERN ZARTANIAN GOVERNMENT, THE BWA CONCOCTED A PLAN TO REUNITE THE DEPORTED ALBIONITES WITH THE ONES WHO HAD STAYED BEHIND, AND TO ALLOW THEM TO FORM THEIR OWN INDEPENDENT NATION IN OUTERMARC.  A JOINT PROTECTORATE OF WESTRIA AND ZARTANIA WAS PROCLAIMED ON SEPTEMBER 14, 298.  YOU MAY VISIT THE PAGE OF THE PROTECTORATE.  HOWEVER, AFTER THE BREAKUP OF MERITE, THE ALBION PEOPLE DECIDED TO SETTLE IN NORTHEASTERN MERITE, AND OUTERMARC REVERTED BACK TO FULL WESTRIAN RULE AGAIN IN JANUARY 299.
 

THE TREATY WITH EASTERN ZARTANIA:
 
A HISTORIC 'TREATY OF AMITY, FRIENDSHIP, AND COMMERCE' BETWEEN OUR TWO NATIONS WAS NEGOTIATED IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER OF 298, WITH THE LAST RESERVATIONS ACKNOWLEDGED AND THE TREATY TAKING EFFECT ON NOVEMBER 4, 298.  VISIT THE TREATY ONLINE!
 
 
THE REFERENDUM IN DEUCOLAND:

AFTER INVASION BY DJERIGAN TERRORISTS, AND A SUBSEQUENT DESTRUCTIVE WAR TO EXPEL THEM FROM THEIR COUNTRY, THE PEOPLE OF DEUCOLAND WERE FACED WITH A NATION IN RUBBLE, RAVAGED BY THE WAR, AND THE RUTHLESS SCORCHED EARTH POLICY OF THE DJERIGANS.  THE PEOPLE OF DEUCOLAND, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE DEUCOLAND RESISTANCE, WHO HAD SUCCEEDED IN DRIVING THE DJERIGANS OUT, WERE ASKED TO THE POLLS TO DECIDE ON THEIR COUNTRY'S FUTURE.  FACED WITH THE BLEAK PROSPECTS OF A DEUCOLAND IN SHAMBLES, THE DEUCO PEOPLE VOTED BY IMPRESSIVE MAJORITY TO COME INTO THE NURTURING ARMS OF THE WESTRIAN NATION, AND TO MAKE DEUCOLAND A PART OF WESTRIA.  AFTER A QUICK NEGOTIATION PERIOD WITH THE RESISTANCE LEADERS, DEUCOLAND BECAME A FULLY INTEGRATED PART OF WESTRIA ON DECEMBER 21, 298.  THE TREATY CAN BE VIEWED ONLINE AS WELL.
 

 
WESTRIA'S BORDERS
AFTER ANNEXATION
OF DEUCOLAND
 
 
THE REFERENDUM IN RAS LANARCH:
 
DURING THE EVENTUALLY TERMINATED PERIOD OF ISOLATION, ST. KILDA ALLOWED COMMUNICATIONS WITH ITS COLONY OF RAS LANARCH TO LAPSE.  THIS PUT THE ROUGHLY 800 RESIDENTS, NOT ALL ST. KILDANS, ON THEIR OWN FOR SUSTENANCE. DURING THE PORT VISIT OF A MERCHANT SHIP FROM WESTRIA, THE PEOPLE OF RAS LANARCH PROPOSED THAT THEY BECOME TEMPORARILY AFFILIATED WITH WESTRIA, PENDING RESTORATION OF COMMUNICATIONS WITH ST. KILDA.   BUT AFTER ST. KILDA RETURNED TO THE FOLD OF VEXILLIUM WITH A NEW LORD STEWARD, THE RESIDENTS OF RAS LANARCH PROPOSED THAT THEY BE ALLOWED TO BECOME A FULL
DEPENDENCY OF WESTRIA.  THE MOD (ASSEMBLY) AT ST. KILDA AGREED TO AN ELECTION TO DECIDE THE FUTURE. THE ONE CAVEAT WAS THAT ST.KILDA BE ALLOWED AN EXTRATERRITORIAL CONCESSION IN PERPETUITY OF NO MORE THAN ONE SQUARE MILE FOR USE AS A FISHING STATION AND COMMERCIAL SETTLEMENT.  THE REQUIRED ELECTION WAS HELD, WITH ALL BUT 2 VOTERS VOTING FOR SEPARATION FROM ST. KILDA, AND JOINING WESTRIA.  THE EXTRATERRITORIAL
CONCESSION WAS ALLOWED.  THUS, ON JANUARY 1, 299, RAS LANARCH, EXCLUSIVE OF THE EXTRATERRITORIAL CONCESSION, BECAME A WESTRIAN DEPENDENCY.   VISIT RAS LANARCH!
 
THE KARL-HEINZ-VON-UND-ZU-OTTO-LAND SWAP:
 
  
 
ON JANUARY 7, 299, WESTRIA, THE MERCANTILE REPUBLIC OF MARYPORT, AND THE KINGDOM OF EASTERN ZARTANIA COMPLETED A HISTORIC LAND SWAP TREATY THAT TRADED THE TERRITORIES OF SANX (A.K.A. KAP MORGENMAD) AND HADDOCK COVE, FORMERLY IN POSSESSION OF THE OVERSEAS TRADERS GIULD OF MARYPORT, WITH THE TERRITORY DESIGNATED AS "MARYMARC" ON THE WESTERMARCIAN BORDER WITH ARMATIRION.  THE TRADE OF THESE TERRITORIES IS OUTLINED IN THIS TREATY.
 
THE OOST-OTAGO LAND PURCHASE:
 
FOLLOWING AN INVITATION BY THE TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION, THE PUBLIC COMPANY WHOSE STOCKHOLDERS OWN
THE TERRITORY OF OTAGO ON MELANIA, THE BUREAU OF WESTRIAN
AFFAIRES (BWA) APPROACHED TDCORP TO INQUIRE ABOUT
THE POSSIBILITY OF A MAJOR LAND PURCHASE AGREEMENT.  TDCORP
AGREED TO SELL A VERY LARGE TERRITORY, THE LARGEST EVER
TO TRADE HANDS VIA PURCHASE, TO THE FREE NATION OF WESTRIA.

PAYMENT WAS MADE BY WESTRIA PRIMARILY THROUGH DELIVERY OF
NATURAL RESOURCES, SUCH AS OIL, DIAMONDS,
URANIUM, MANGANESE, AS WELL AS MACHINERY (SUCH AS AIRPLANES,
AUTOMOBILES AND HEAVY CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT) AND
TECHNOLOGY/ELECTRONICS (SUCH AS COMPUTERS, CONSUMER
ELECTRONICS, AND ROBOTICS).  THE PURCHASE AMOUNT REMAINS
UNDISCLOSED TO THE PUBLIC.

THIS TRANSACTION WAS THE LARGEST LAND PURCHASE EVER ON THE
PLANET VEXILLIUM, AND THEREFORE A RATHER SIGNIFICANT
HISTORIC EVENT.  WESTRIA'S REASONS FOR THE PURCHASE ARE THAT THE
TERRITORY WILL ALLOW IT TO ESTABLISH AN IMPORTANT TRADE
POST ON THE EAST COASTS OF THE NEW CONTINENTS, GIVING IT A
PERMANENT STATION TO CONDUCT TRADE AND BUSINESS WITH THE
CONTINENTS OF LONGERATH AND SMALIK, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME
ALLOWING VARIOUS WESTRIAN BUSINESSES TO TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF THE OFFSHORE MANUFATURING, PRICING AND LABOR LAW
ADVANTAGES, AND OTHER INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES A
REMOVED TERRITORY SUCH AS THIS PROVIDES.
 
THE PURCHASE AGREEMENT WAS SIGNED ON THE 14TH OF JANUARY, 299, IN
CHILANGOTITLAN - AT THAT POINT IN HISTORY, OOST-OTAGO BECAME A
PART OF THE WESTRIAN REALM.   VIEW THE PURCHASE AGREEMENT HERE.
 
BABEN-OVERBABEN BECOMES OFFICIALLY WESTRIAN:
 
ON FEBRUARY 18, 299, THE FORMALITIES REGARDING THE LEASE OF BABEN AND OVERBABEN FROM THE COOPERATIVE COMMONWEALTH OF THE UNION OF NORTHERN GRONK, WERE FINALLY FINALIZED, AND BABEN-OVERBABEN BECAME A PART OF THE WESTRIAN REALM UNDER A TIME-LIMITED LEASE AGREEMENT, AS HAD BEEN PLANNED BY NG AND THE BWA MONTHS BEFORE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE EQUIVALENT LEASE OF THE CITY OF REGINA BY THE BWA TO NORTHERN GRONK.
 
GLACIARIAN AND POLARIAN TERRITORIES ADDED:
 
DURING THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE FREE CONFEDERACY OF LENDIAN REPUBLICS (FCLR) IN FEBRUARY 299, PARTS OF THE LENDIAN GLACIARIA TERRITORY WERE SIGNED OVER BY THE FLCR TO WESTRIA, WHITLAM, EASTERN ZARTANIA, LEXICON ISLANDS, AND ISLANDIA.  WESTRIA NEGOTIATED A LARGE GLACIARIAN TERRITORY TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE WESTRIAN REALM AS A SPECIAL STATUS DEPENDENCY.  THE DEAL WAS SIGNED WITH THE FLCR ON FEBRUARY 28, 299; SHORTLY THEREAFTER, WESTRIAN TROOPS AND SCIENTIFIC MISSIONS BEGAN ARRIVING ON THE ICY CONTINENT.
 
ON MARCH 5, 299, HIGH-RESOLUTION SATELLITE SCANS UNDERTAKEN BY THE WESTRIAN ACADEMY OF MAPS AND FLAGS (WAMF) REVEALED THE PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN EXISTENCE OF A LARGE LAND MASS AS WELL AS SEVERAL ISLAND GROUPS UNDERNEATH AND ADJACENT TO THE NORTH POLAR ICE CAP.  A DETAILED MAP WAS PUBLISHED TO THE VEXILLIUM COMMUNITY, THE FIRST OF ITS KIND FOR THE NORTHERN POLAR REGIONS.  THE BWA CLAIMED THE NEWLY DISCOVERED LANDS AS PARTS OF THE WESTRIAN REALM AS A SPECIAL STATUS DEPENDENCY, SIMILAR TO THE GLACIARIAN TERRITOEY ACQUIRED JUST DAYS BEFORE.  SINCE THEN, SEVERAL SCIENTIFIC MISSIONS HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED ON THE POLARIAN TERRITORY, AS WELL AS ON INGEBORG AND HEINRICH ISLANDS, THE ONLY LAND DISCOVERED NOT SUBMERGED UNDER THE ICE CAP.
 
LOMBRIGA'S ANNEXATION:
 
LOMBRIGA WAS TAKEN OVER BY THE BWA AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF THE FREE CONFEDERACY OF LENDIAN REPUBLICS (FCLR) IN MARCH 299.  THE POPULATION OF LOMBRIGA, 89.5% OF WHICH WERE OF WESTRIAN ETHNICITY, EXPRESSED THEIR WISH TO BECOME PART OF THE WESTRIAN REALM IN A REFERENDUM HELD BY THE LOCAL COUNCIL OF CITIZENS.  THE BWA OBLIGED WITH THE WISHES OF OUR FELLOW WESTRIANS, AND LOMBRIGA OFFICIALLY BECAME PART OF THE REALM ON MARCH 12, 299.  LOMBRIGA IS NOT A COLONY OR DEPENDENCY, BUT HOLDS EQUAL STATEHOOD STATUS WITH THE STATES AND PROVINCES OF WESTRIA, WESTERMARC, AND WESTRIAN DEUCOLAND.  AS SUCH, LOMBRIGA HOLDS A PERMANENT SEAT IN THE WESTRIAN PARLIAMENT.
 
FOOTBALL TRIUMPH:
 
ON APRIL 17, 299, THE WESTRIAN NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM DEFEATED THE LEXICON ISLANDS IN THE FINAL MATCH OF THE COPA VEXANOVA ORDLAND'99, IN AN ACTION-PACKED MATCH IN THE NATIONAL STADIUM OF NEWTON, ORDLAND, TO WIN THE INAUGURAL COPA VEXANOVA TROPHY, AND TO CEMENT THEIR NUMBER ONE RANKING IN THE IVEFA SATOSAN RANKINGS.
 
NIOKOLO KOBAN ANNEXATION AND PROTECTORATESHIP:
 

 
ON APRIL 18, 299, THE WEEK-LONG NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE BWA AND THE CHEF LIBRE DU NIOKOLO KOBA, M'BUTU DIÉYE-DIOP, AND HIS DELEGATION, CAME TO A SUCCESSFUL COMPROMISE.  THE CHIEF AND PEOPLE OF NIOKOLO KOBA HAD EXPRESSED THEIR WISH TO JOIN THE WESTRIAN REALM TO ENJOY THE BENEFITS OF WESTRIAN MILITARY PROTECTION, AS WELL AS WESTRIAN ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL, AND ORGANIZATIONAL BENEFITS.  THE BWA AND NK THUS AGREED TO A PARTIAL ANNEXATION OF TERRITORY IN COMPENSATION FOR THE EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE REBUILDING OF THE NK MILITARY AND ECONOMY, AND THE PAYMENT OF NK DEBTS TO EASTERN ZARTANIA.  THE REMAINDER OF NK WAS PROCLAIMED A PROTECTORATE OF WESTRIA, WITH STATUS TO BE DETERMINED IN FINALITY IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.  THE ABOVE MAP SHOWS THE NEW BOUNDARIES OF THE WESTRIAN SOVEREIGN TERRITORY, AS WELL AS THE EXTENT OF THE PROTECTORATE.
 

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