History of Petorio
The Republic of Petorio was founded on 26 September 2008, by then 20-year-old Kalvin Koolidge and friend Barry Ortiz after being inspired by the Republic of Molossia. Kalvin was very poor at the time, so he was forced into adopting the flag of Trinidad and Tobago instead of buying an expensive custom flag to fly in his front yard and territory of Petorio. That flag was used from 26 September 2008 to 4 March 2009. Even though 2008 is the "official year of founding", Petorio was originally founded in 2006.
Original Petorio
| Petorio | |
| 2006 – 2007 | |
| |
| Capital Province | Cooper |
| Official language | English |
| Government | Republic (Dictatorship de facto) |
| Heads of State | Kalvin Koolidge and Barry Ortiz |
| Population | 4 |
| Currency | US dollar |
As stated above Petorio was originally founded in 2006 by Kalvin and Barry "just for fun." This state was simply called Petorio, there was no "Republic of..." title and it was very underdeveloped. Unlike todays Republic, the 2006 Petorio used the United States dollar. It had just 4 citizens, family and friends of the Heads of State. Its territories were a very small portion of present day Cooper and present day Charwood and it would likely be regarded by some as a "joke micronation" as it was just a hobby. This state of Petorio was dissolved by mid 2007 lasting only a year.
Constitution
Petorio's constitution was written on 9/26/08 and it declared Petorio as a sovereign nation separate from the United States. On October 1 of that year, the 2 friends decided the permanent location of Petorio would be their homes and the surrounding areas. Two more territories joined the republic later on.
The constitution was officially ratified by the then all 4 Provinces of Petorio on October 10, 2008. These 4 provinces swore to enforce the rules of the constitution which are simple civil rights and government settings. Kalvin Koolidge was elected president of Petorio on October 13, 2008, and was inaugurated on October 15. He won 11 votes to 5 (11 votes for him, 5 for Barry Ortiz).
On June 2 it was announced that a constitutional reform would take place in June. The constitution will be either rewritten or heavily amended. It was originally set to be rewritten by June 25 but several members of the government left the nation delaying the reforms. The constitution was never reformed it was, however, amended in March 2010. In these amendments a new government position, the Supreme Justice, was created.
Territory
The 2006 territorial claim was Kalvin's and his friend Barry Ortiz's houses, and the 2007 territorial claim was an enormous New England claim; however, in 2008, the 2 friends realized that the 2007 claim wasn't realistic, so they brought the claim back down to their homes and surrounding areas. Major territorial changes include The Charwood expansion of Janurary 6th, 2009, and the acquiring of Acadia on February 10.
On October 25, 2008, Petorio claimed a new area of land claiming it as "Beachfront Territory". It was located in Ontario, Canada.
On February 10, 2009, a new province called "Acadia" was added to Petorio. Acadia was acquired from the former nation of West Acadia which gave up its lands to Petorio following a two-week conflict. On February 15, 2009, Petorio was elected to the chair of the GUM. On February 20, the "twin cities" of Bendale and North Lawrence were recognized by the federal government and provincial government in Acadia.
As of April 1, 2010 the land claims have been greatly expanded to nearly 281.8 square kilometers.
Diplomacy
On November 30, 2008, Petorio joined CUNT (Countries United in National Trade). From December 1, 2008, to the present, Petorio has been trying to improve its foreign relations with other micronations on this website. So far, Petorio has formed alliances with the CUNT nations (Stigistan & Scientopia), the UNITED nations (Danburnia and The Land of Toz Boz), the Ohio Empire, the Federal Republic of St.Charlie, the Kingdom of Camuria, the Democratic Duchy of Francisville, the Imperial Republic of Murrayfield, Finismund, the Kingdom of Praugsia, Erusia, the Cheslovian Federation, the Empire of New Europe and Flandrensis. Petorio, with 9 allies, would be considered a very peaceful micronation.
The Republic of Petorio is also a founding member of Grand Unified Micronational, an intermicronational organization that can be compared to the United Nations.
Miscellaneous
On March 4, 2009, a new flag was adopted for Petorio. The original flag, Trinidad and Tobago's, is still flown across the nation. The new flag is an altered version of the first that features 6 stars, one for each Province and Territory that makes up the Republic.
On March 28, 2009, the Republic of Petorio participated in Earth Hour. The electricity in all government buildings was off from 8:30pm to 9:30pm EST. On April 22 the Republic celebrated Earth Day. The president announced that all government buildings will shut off electricity, unlike Earth Hour, for 3 hours.
On November 28, 2008 President Kalvin Koolidge urged anyone who is interested in Petorio to become a citizen so there is a fair amount of people to vote in upcoming elections, which included February 2009's Palmyra Creek Mayoral election which Adam Allam won.
The 2nd State of the Nation Address was delivered in August 2009 prior to the annexation of Petorio's 7th province, Nandor. On October 1, 2009 Misty Miller succeeded Barry Ortiz becoming the first Socialist Vice President in Petorian history
Dissolution
The Republic of Petorio was dissolved on March 9, 2010 after an internal conflict. The nation had gone inactive in the last quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010 so President Koolidge could attend to these matters. By January almost all citizens decided to renounce their citizenship including President Koolidge because of the conflict. On March 9 Misty Miller, the only "leader" left decided that Petorio should go defunct and the 2 remaining members of Parliament agreed.
Reformation
The Republic of Petorio was reformed on April 1, 2010 after a change to the constitution made the government stronger. Less than half of the original citizens of Petorio rejoined the reformed nation. The Republic also greatly stretched its borders when it reformed.