Illium

The Illium Empire (Latin: Empirius Illius), officially named Her Majesty the Queen's Illium Empire, often referred to as simply "the Empire" is an Absolute Monarchy lead by Queen Skylar Elizabeth Sariah, daughter of the late Queen Alexandra Lynn Sariah II. The Empire consists of 6 Provinces. Five of them, Callia, Serenity, Helios, Dallas, and Capital provinces are on the mainland, while Morningstar Island is it's own province. The Capital City, New Dallas, is ironically enough not located in the Capital Province. The Empire is located on the Kerguelen II subcontinent (located northeast of the Kerguelin Contenent occupied by the Republic of Asgard).

The Illium Empire joined the Alliance of Independant Nations in November 2012.

Geography & Climate
The Empire is a subcontinent located in the Indian Ocean. Each Province generally has unique topography.

Discovery
In *August 1627 (this date is contested, see footnote below), Captain Julian Athoss of the East India Company was blown more than a thousand kilometers off course from normal trading routes by a freak storm. His ship, the Atlas, was severely damaged and taking on water. When the storm passed and the damage assessed, the exhausted crew saw no hope of recovery. After a day adrift (the sails were essentially destroyed by the storm), and listing to port, the helmsman, Jean-Claude Frostman, spotted land off the port bow. With renewed vigor, the crew of the Atlas all loaded into remaining shore boats and towed the limping Atlas towards land. Captain Athoss deliberately waited until high tide to run she ship aground in the soft beaches of what is now the Atlas Beach. After days of repairing the ship and her sails, the Atlas once again set sail back to India... without half of her crew. The first officer, Jerrod Sevris Callia, did not believe the ship seaworthy, and convinced many of the crew and passengers to refuse to sail back. Captain Athoss reluctantly left Callia and his men with a meager amount of supplies and sailed north.


 * The ships logs were lost prior to the Atlas' arrival to port. Some scholars believe it may have been closer to winter than previously thought.

Colonization
When the Atlas' report of a new land made it back to [w:Charles I of England|King Charles I]] in early 1629, he funded large colonization efforts. He commissioned Sir Andreus Illius Sariah II to head the first expedition to this new land. On 8 May 1630, Sir Sariah II, sailing the ships Feros, Kirkson and Parral, landed in what is now the port city of Callia. He claimed the land Illium, under the British Crown, with himself as Governor. A few weeks later, Sir Sariah's crew found the encampment of the crew of the Atlas a few kilometers inland. They had somehow survived, and even built some buildings and a farm. The tiny town, named Callia after their leader, helped Sir Sariah gain a foothold in the area.

King Louis XIII also commissioned several expeditions to the land. Sir Jean-Luc Pierre-Claud landed along the Thessia River inlet, claiming a colony under the French Crown. He and his expeditionary crew establish Thessia. Their farms flourished in the rich soil of the Helios River Basin.

The Dutch also claimed what is now Morningstar Island, following navigator Alexi Spoor's expedition to the area.

Unification
Following the French and American revolutions, the colonies grew restless of the intense oppression of the European Monarchs. On 15 June 1799, the better supplied British colony of Illium declared independence from the crown. The French colony of Thessia offered to join Illium in it's declaration of independence in trade for much needed food and supplies following a devastating storm. After a short war, also known as the Morning War, with both France and Britian, the crowns of both countries relinquished hold of the colonies. Once the colonies were on their own, Lord Francis Sariah XI declared Thessia and the Dutch colony of Morningstar as a province of the country of Illium.

The city of Callia was burned to the ground after a blitz by the British navy. Illium City, established on the southern end of the continent, became Lord Francis Sariah's temporary capitol. After the war, Lord Sariah XI never returned to Callia, opting to expand Illium City rather than move the capitol again.

Civil War
In June of 1801 Thessia, unhappy to have one crown replaced with another, attempted to renounce Illium as it's ruler. Lord Sariah severed supply routes to Thessia in an attempt to starve the colony. The better supplied and Illium overpowered the French descendants. To keep another uprising from happening, Lord Sariah XI established a parliamentary system of government. The royal families would have rule over their established provinces, but fall under a single crown, House Sariah. House Pierre-Claud took over the Thessia Province, House Spoor took over Morningstar Island, as well as the newly established plains city of New Dallas, House McTavish took over the Callia Province, and house Sariah took over the newly established Capitol Province. The mining city of Northfire City, governed by Dominik Zietzev, requested to become a colony.

World Wars I & II
During World War I, The Illium Empire supplies both Allied and Central powers with basic humanitarian aid, but covertly militarily supports the Allied Powers, especially Great Britain. The Empire does not officially join in either side, and avoids direct combat.

World Financial Crisis sends American stock market crashing in October of 1929. The Empire feels a major economic blowback from the crash. Unemployment skyrockets to over 20%. Free Suffrage Act enacted in 1936. Anyone over the age of 17 may vote, so long as they are legal citizens of the Illium Empire, one of her colonies, or territories. Queen Alexis II launches the Illium Citizenship Aide Campaign (Similar to the American New Deal) in 1938, which begins an overhaul of the transportation and public services system of the entire Empire. The Inter-regional Highway system is built.

Red-White Concordat is signed on 3 December 1940, at the start of World War II. The Illium Empire Pledges to openly support Allied forces. Japanese attempt to bomb naval heart of the Empire in Callia on the 7th of January, 1942. Less than half the Japanese bombers reach the Port. Only moderate damage is done to infrastructure, thanks to advanced warning and sheer luck. The Americans spotted the force, and warned the Empire a day ahead of time. Most of the Royal Navy was out to sea and avoided attack. WWII ends with Allied victory, with the combat death toll under 150,000 for the Empire.

Nuclear Age & Space Race
The Empire's first nuclear weapon is tested, with American and British oversight, on 3 May 1956. Shortly after, in 1959, Illium National Space Contingency is founded. INSC Successfully launches a satellite into orbit a year later. In 1965, the Zues Program begins. The first Illium Empire citizen, Doctar Liara T'Soni is launched into space. She spends 27 hours in space. In 1969, the first Illian unmanned moon survey mission begins. Dr. T’soni is the first Illium Citizen, and the only woman to date, to walk on the surface of the moon on the 1st of January 1970.

The Origins spacecraft is launched in September 1979, in hopes of mapping the surface of Mars.

Queen Alexandra Lynn Sariah enacted the Technology Advancement Act in March of 1998, which allows for the research and development of advanced dangerous technologies as long as they are done more than 150km away from any population centers with a population of over 500 people. In early 1999, Greystone Industries takes advantage of the TAA, and begins construction on the Greystone Research Center (GRC) in the southern Serenity Mountains, focusing on antimatter research. The GRC is completed in late October 2001. Research on antimatter soon begins. Greystone Industries is determined to develop efficient space travel, and start a station on the moon and put a man on Mars by 2020. So far, they are ahead of schedule, with 3 unmanned trips to Mars, supported by the INSC.

On 18 July 2003, in the second largest terrorist strike in Illium History to date, Al Qaida operatives infiltrate the Ministry of Defense and detonate a bomb inside the building, killing 451 people. At the same time, they bombed Subway stations in Thessia City and Callia, as well as bombing Sariah International Airport. The act is dubbed The Blood Morning Incident. All in all, 1,215 people were killed. The Empire joins the United States and NATO in the War on Terror, deploying over 20,000 troops to support the US invasion of Iraq and 55,000 troops to weed out Al Qaida in Afghanistan.

With the Iraq conflict drawing down in 2010, the Empire recalls 18,000 troops from Iraq and 50,000 from Afghanistan, leaving only token support forces. This was branded as a withdrawal from the war on terror.

Government
After WWII, the Parliament voted to reduce the powers of the five ruling houses. The ruling families opposed, but ultimately gave in to overwhelming parliamentary and popular votes. The compromise was that the ruling families would be able to run for (and eventually win) key head offices in government. Provincial leaders were elected to office. This compromise pacified the people and parliament.

Leaders
Head(s) of State: - Her Majesty Queen Skylar Elizabeth Sariah (Queen) - Prime Minister Lady Jacqueline Marie Pierre-Claud (Civilian Head Minister) - Defense Minister Lord Dominik Zietzev (Civilian Military Head) - Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Alex A. Spoor, Commander all Illium Armed Forces - Foreign Relations Minister Lord Angus Feros McTavish

Queen
Skylar Elizabeth Sariah was born on the 22nd of October, 1989, at the Northfire Palace in the Serenity Province.

Princesses
Victoria Nichole Sariah was born on the 5th of December, 1992, on board Royal One over the Morningstar Island Bay, en route to Illium City.

Provinces
Main Article: Provinces of the Empire