Grand Principality of Castacia
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Grand Principality of Castacia | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Location | Florida, United States of America |
| Capital | Lydon (de facto) |
| Official languages | English |
| Demonym(s) | Castacian |
| Government | Semi-constitutional monarchy with semi-direct directorial democracy |
• Monarch | William I |
• Grand Council | Aaron Voss (Grand Chancellor) Mac Wilson (Dep. Grand Chancellor) |
| Establishment | 20 February 2018 |
| Population | |
• Census | 3 |
| Currency | US Dollar (de facto) |
| Time zone | (UTC-5) |
Castacia, officially the Grand Principality of Castacia, is a self-declared nation-state with limited recognition (more commonly referred to as a micronation by external observers). Currently, Castacia is a simulationist micronation with the intention of developing into a genuine secessionist micronation upon the formation of a functional government, development of a unique culture, and the acquisition of sovereign territory. The de facto capital and temporary seat of the Castacian monarch and its government is located in the US State of Florida.
Castacia is a semi-constitutional monarchy with a semi-direct directorial democracy. The reigning monarch and head of state are HSH Grand Prince William I of House Harding. The Grand Chancellor and Deputy Grand Chancellor of the Grand Council (provisional), the collective head of government, are Aaron Voss and Mac Wilson, respectively.
Castacia is a “seventh world” micronation, scoring a 2 out of 12 on the Boodlesmythe-Tallini System of Classification, a 0.2 out of 5.0 on David’s Micronational Potential Index, and a 3.0 out of 6.0 on Freayth’s System of Classification.
History
Castacia was founded on 20 February 2018 by Tanner Harding (who would later style himself as “HSM William I, Grand Prince of Silesia”). The original purpose of the foundation of Castacia was to experiment with forming a functional and effective micronational military for the purpose of emergency and disaster response, local defense, and ceremonial functions. However, William’s vision quickly changed to include a unique culture and realistic goals towards sovereignty.
Government
The monarch is the head of state of Castacia and head of the Crown, the governmental office that embodies all aspects of executive, legislative, and judicial authority of the monarchy. The Castacian Monarchy is a hereditary office and follows absolute primogeniture.
Shortly after Castacia's foundation, William I formed the Grand Council, a provisional council and temporary collective head of government, to aid and advise him in the development of the permanent government of Castacia. William granted honorary citizenship to Aaron Voss and Mac Wilson and appointed them as Grand Chancellor and Deputy Grand Chancellor, respectively.
Currently, the monarch holds de facto absolute authority, as there are no legal documents in place to limit the powers of the monarch, apart from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified into law by Grand Prince William I on 21 February 2018. William has stated that “once the provisional Grand Council is functional, we will begin drafting a constitution to secure the rights and liberty of the Castacian citizenry.”
Proposed ministries
During talks with the provisional Grand Council, the Grand Prince laid out his idea for public administration of the central government. In this implementation, each of the councilors of the Grand Council would be the minister of a ministry, each responsible for a specific sector of public administration. The following ministries were proposed to be established in the first version of the constitution (in order of precedence):
- Ministry of Interior - responsible for emergency management, national security, registration, supervision of local governments, conduct of elections, public administration, and immigration.
- Ministry of Defense and Homeland Security - responsible for matters of defense and civil security, including law enforcement.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs - responsible for management of the state's diplomacy and providing support to Castacian citizens abroad.
- Ministry of Justice - responsible for the organisation of the legal system and public order.
- Ministry of Finance - responsible for government finances, economic policy, and financial regulation.
- Ministry of Education - responsible for educational policy and standardisation of curriculum.
Foreign relations
Castacia, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, establishes and maintains diplomatic relations with other nations. Similarly to the Abeldane Empire, the Minister of Foreign Affairs holds the power to grant informal recognition to nations; however, official recognition may only be established by decree of the monarch or Grand Council.
As of 25 February 2018, Castacia has not established formal or informal relations with any other micronations.
Military
Castacia's military was proposed and discussed in talks between the Grand Prince and the Grand Council. The Grand Prince proposed that the military be structured as three components: the Maritime Force (M), Ground Force (G), and Aerospace Force (A); collectively referred to as the Grand Defence Forces of Castacia (GDFC).
The Grand Council has yet to come to a decision to be implemented in the forthcoming constitution.
Culture
As Castacia is a newly formed micronation, its culture is rather undeveloped. It could be best described as a mixture of American, English, and German culture. Most Castacians enjoy gaming on PC, music, and film and television.
English is the only state recognised language; however, some citizens profess varying abilities in languages such as German, Russian, and French. Grand Prince William I has confessed that a small-time hobby of his is in constructed languages (conlangs), and has alluded to a "proto-Castacian" language in the works.