Svorije

Discovery and Colonisation
First Expedition: Norwegian colonisation of Vinije (circa 900 AD - 1050 AD) Svorije has expanded immensely from its humble beginnings as a small trading outpost for venturing Norsemen. Today it encompasses much of the north eastern coast of North America, but it once struggled maintain a tiny outpost on the island of Vinije (Wineland). These Norsemen, largely comprised of Icelandic and Norwegian traders and freemen looking to escape the heretical teachings and persecution of the rising tide of Christianity in Scandinavia sought new horizons away from the ways of the old world. Three expeditions (two from Iceland and one from Norway) were launched. These expeditions were lead by a Norwegian expedition setting up the first and largest trading port in the new world, Florenteejn. Florenteejn remains the oldest continuously inhabited city in North America, and houses some of Svorije's incredible multicultural trading past. Florenteejn quickly prospered due to the cool temperate climate, and vast swathes of land perfect for farming and cultivating livestock. Florentijn wine became, and still is, one of the most highly sought after and expensive wines to enjoy. As the news of the successes of Florenteejn in Vinije spread to the old world, droves of freemen from all over made the treacherous journey across the Atlantic (via Iceland) to the massive port which in the year 1039 sat at roughly 4,000 citizens. As time grew on, more and more travelled to Vinije to seek a better life for themselves, though fewer and fewer were arriving from Scandinavia. To ease the confusion and irritation between the Vins, the newly formed Regensriket (literally meaning Region's Government) put forward legislation which dictated all schools, and all children new to, or born of Vinije must learn Vinska (Vinish) as their primary language, thus becoming the first formal language of Svorije. Vinish itself is a corruption of Old Norsk and Icelandic.

Second Expedition
From here the first Icelandic expedition left Reykjavik to set up their own colony and seek their own riches in these prosperous new lands. Their story, is a lot less fruitful. The first expedition - fabled in the Poetic Sagas (Svelden Edda) as the 'Ijnerman', or the First Men - sailed straight into the mighty River Elissa (which runs through the south of the country from the Bay of Betrayal through to the Lakes of Valhaler). The harsher winter climates here lead these settlers having to cut their losses and sail to the shore and set up camp. They passed their harsh winter here and found that in the more forgiving months the lands surrounding their camp were filled with lands perfect for crops and filled with wild horses and buffalo to tame and eat. This settlement was declared a township on the 9th of May, 1043, its name would become one of the echoed throughout Svorije's history as both a triumph of the national nature, but a vanguard of Svorse society, Vilnjuuve. Today Vilnjuuve serves as the capital of Svorije and is a bustling metropolis of more than 5 million people, but in the days of old it served as a safe haven from native American Indians and wild travellers from the outer lands.

As battle hardened warriors from the old country were rare to come across, the First Men found it very hard to ward off Native American offensives. Though they never reached the city walls of Vilnjuuve, as it lied on an island, easily defensible from a large hill, her citizens did pay a great toll in constant having to battle both the brutal climate in winter, and the seemingly relentless harassment of the native population. Small caravans of people left the safety of Vilnjuuve to brave the wilderness, and the natives. Some moved to safer more familiar lands to the east, which were ever increasingly becoming more stable and neutralised between the Ijnerman and the natives. It was in these eastern plains that the Ijnerman found a common ground, and an appreciation of each other whether it be in trade or protection. These 'civilised' natives came to be known as the Vuurvok (literally, the fur people). This name has carried on today as the name that Native Americans of Svorije choose to identify themselves as.

In the year 1057 the Regensriket of Vinije, which has de facto control over Svorije sought to consolidate its power and strong arm the Svorse into greater unity with Vinije. Their Regensriket imposed a census on the settlements in order to accurately attain just how many people lived in their lands. Chiefs and well-to-do citizens a like from Vinije were littered across Svorije by this time, flooding the upper echelons of the Svorse settlements with Vin friendly taxes, and policies which sought to benefit only those who recognised Vinish supremacy over the realm.

Third Expedition
By this time much of Vinije and the lands to the south of the River Elissa had been tamed with little to no threat from the Vuurvok, though Vilnjuuve still straddled the edge of what was considered Svorije, and thus north of the river and west of the city were deemed 'untamed and dangerous'. Regardless of this, freemen and travellers had ventured into those lands for decades with varied levels of success. By the year 1100 there were several known outposts upstream of Vilnjuuve and a few sizable settlements to the north. There were calls for a brave few to map the river to its source, and some had tried in the past with no success. It wasn't until 1114 that the Regensriket and several wealthy chieftans and landowners in Vilnjuuve decided to fund a proper extensive expedition to the source of the river. Spurred on by this exciting new idea of further escaping what the Ijnerman regarded as "imperial aggression" towards them, many set off along with the caravan - at their own cost - to search for new fertile lands. They set off in the early summer months before the cold could freeze up the rivers and streams. Accounts show that the official caravan made it to "a vast ocean to the west of Liljeborg", which would later become known as 'the Lakes of Valhaler'. One wealthy nobleman from Liljeborg - a Svorse born Norwegian fellow - who'd funded his own expedition sailed north to a junction between what is now USA and Svorije. There on that day, 19th of May 1122, Hendenhijm was founded. Hendenhijm was to become the centre of separatist aggression and freedom fighting in Svorije for a good few centuries. It would remain the only settlement unconquered by an invading force in the nation's history, not due to any superior structures of forces, just to the sheer luck of its geographical location. Nestled nicely on an easily defendable island with a large river running both sides of it, which doesn't freeze during the winters. The Vinish expedition sailed south and founded Alesborg, named after the newborn of a woman who'd come along with the expedition, Ales (Alice in English). Another few expeditions made their way into the south by land.

The Rise of an Empire
The Battle of the Lake and the rise of the Two Crowns (circa 1500 AD - 1650 AD) After roughly 400 years of scattered skirmishes and local treaties with local lords and land holders, the very real danger of the rising tide of European presence in the new world posing a threat to Svorije's sovereignty became known. Though many centuries had past, and trade and growth was healthy throughout the lands, there had never been more than Vinish rule in all of Svorije. There was strong opposition from the Svorse people, mainly in the mainland's capital, Vilnjuuve, but also in Hendenhijm, to Florenteejn's self serving policies. It wasn't until Florenteejn decided to implement legislation which dictated that every able bodied man was required to surrender one tree a week to Vinije to build a navy to patrol the vast coastline from pirates at foreign attacks that the Svorse had had enough. It wasn't in the idea of raising a navy that pushed them over the line, it was the fact that Svorije was again being forced into the demands of the Vinish with little to no benefit to them. Svorije had move away from its dependence of European trade, now largely trading with the Vuurvok and other provinces in the nation. It's need for a vast navy was negligible.

The lord of Hendenhijm, Aleksander Henden - a position which his family has held since the city's establishment almost 400 years prior - had become immensely powerful due to his vast swathes of fertile land, and valuable trade with the colder regions to the north in the winters. His subjects regarded him kingly, and he treated them in typical Ijnerman fashion, with honour and respect. The western provinces were particularly vocal in their support and adoration for him, as well as supporting his views on Vinish imperial aggression. In an act of defiance he decreed that no man under his banner shall ever be slave to another land, and that those who dare try impose otherwise would feel the swift cut of his very own blade. Unsurprisingly many of the towns and cities up the Elissa closed down their ports to Vinish bound ships and seized all their contents. Vinije regarded this as an act of aggression towards its trade links, and its security. The Vins then set sail and laid siege on many of the ports along the coast. A considerable effort was made to cripple Liljeborg, Vilnjuuve and Hendenhijm. All ports along the way fell rather quickly due to a lack of defences against the superior might of the Vinish navy. The real blow came when Vilnjuuve was captured and sacked, and every male (children included) were hearded up, chained and slain. Pregnant women had their stomach pieced by hot blades, and were branded with the seal of Vinije. This was a demoralising and heavy blow to people throughout all of Svorije and even Vinije. Though this civil war was raging fiercly, people from both sides didn't think it possible to completely destroy the culture and history of the nation collective. This was an act that was never forgotten, and to this day remains known simply as 'Dej Slejeren', "The Slaying". In response to this, many men decided to fight for their freedom, some out of fear, some out of pride and some out of duty. The final battle of these two converging armies was on the coast of the Lakes of Valhaler, so named for the events the followed. Henden commanded a force of more than 12,500 men and 4000 cavalry, the Vinish general Hans Velden commanded a force of 15,600 men, 7000 cavalry and 20 gun batteries. What the Vinish did not have however was naval superiority in the area. This was deep inside hostile territory for Vinish ships, and well within a days march from Hendenhijm. Henden made his charge down the bluff to meet Velden. A bloody battle ensued until the Svorse fleet arrived with reinforcements and support. Of the 11 ships arrived, one remained. The well place gun batteries on the surrounding hills supporting the Vinish forces redirected their attention to the fleet. They couldn't respond due to the guns being out of range. Thought the Svorse cavalry quickly neutralised the gun emplacements, by then the damage was done. After 3 hours of brutal fighting the battle was done. The Svorse had won a pyrrhic victory over their foes, but a lust for blood and revenge had corrupted the Svorse. They wanted justice for Vilnjuuve, and they wanted it now. The remaining wounded and captured were then chained and marched into the lake to drown. The dead were refused a proper viking's burial, and were left as carrion for the beasts that fouled the land. Velden's head was severed from his body. His body skinned and in a block of ice back to Florenteejn.

Polarised by the outcome of the 'Battle of the Lake' - as it had become known - the Vins withdrew the body of their forces and fled back to the safety of the coast, breaking the seige on Vilnjuuve in the process. Once the seige was broken, the city waged its own revolt against the crown of Henden for the actions at the Lakes of Valhaler. This was a major blow to both nations, as Vilnjuuve was an important centre of everything in the region, which they had now both lost, opting to severe ties with both the crown of Henden ("Free Svorse") and the Vins. The tidal wave of support for the crusading king, Aleksander had come to a crashing halt after The Slaying, it was seen as a betrayal and against the very fabric of what it meant to be Svorse, and contradictory to the whole purpose as to why the Ijnerman and their ancestors made the trip to the new world in the first place, to escape the brutality of Europe and her wars, well that didn't stop the brutality from continuing on. Aleksander's nephew, a low lord of one of the northern tribes made an attempt on Aleksander's life, a failed assassination which lent his nephew the name Lars the Unforgiving. The attempt on Aleksander's life just hammered home the intense hate even members of his own family had for him now, he became a recluse, and intensely paranoid of everything. The only people he would let see him face-to-face were his two top generals, and his mistress. The war waged for 50 years, but nothing other than minor trade skirmishes and border clashes happened after the events of The Slaying. The Vins were too frightened to lay siege on the mainland again in fear of another catastrophic defeat, and the Free Svorse didn't have the means to attack the island of Vinije. Vinije largely abandoned hope of reunifying the union, the Free Svorse message was that of reunification of ALL Svorse lands (Vilnjuuve). Vilnjuuve wanted nothing to do with either's problem's and continued to prosper as an autonomous region in its own right.

Vinije continual move towards democracy for all without a ruling elite (aristocracy) culminated in the First Republic, a full blown ruling governing body which had evolved from the Regensriket into a Voksriket, the first of its kind for all of the new world. Free from the shackles of an aristocratic ruling class, the Voksriket was free to lay down sweeping social reforms for its time, though not without democratic hinderance from the right of politics. As a whole Vinije sought to end the war with the Free Svorse nation and go their separate ways, under the leadership of the first democratically elected Chancellor of Vinije, they set out to neutralise tensions and begin the long journey to reconciliation. Growing dissent amongst the Free Svorse provinces lead to Kronsije and Gotije becoming the first to rebel and seek to join the Vinish Republic, having seen the progress and relative stability the nation enjoyed. This was followed by Varmije deciding to embrace Vilnjuuve and Lokije and Lunije deciding to go it on their own together. Now that Vinije had a safe port on the mainland to station themselves, the national attitude towards reconciliation became considerably less prevalent. The struggle for reconciliation still waged on, though opposition was growing, as some saw the dominos falling so to speak, then it finally happened, King Aleksander I the Crusading King in the West died, driven to kill himself by his own insanity, perhaps even the guilt of what he'd done. Three pretenders rose, the rightful heir, his daughter, Kleo I, her cousin Lars, Duke of Sund and her uncle who had lived in exile in Vilnjuuve, who lead the reunification movement in the city. Her uncle, an outspoken politician in Vilnjuuve laid claim, but never pursued it further than simply laying claim. Lars, armed with his father's fortunes, armies and a lust for power did however pursue his claim.

By this time the year was 1620 and jostling for power in the region grew evermore intense. The Vinish wanted stability and unity as the growing influx of colonials from Europe spread to the new world. Vilnjuuve wanted stability purely for trade and security reasons, and the Free Svorse state wanted stable governance above all! Kleo was a visionary and also a ferocious warrior, a trait she gained from her father, but unlike her father, she had incredible foresight and tact. She played on the people's desire for a stable kingdom. She proposed the idea of a government under the crown to govern the people, while the crown dealt with all other matters of state. But before she could do this, she needed to silence all pretenders. She sought counsel of her pretender uncle in Vilnjuuve to seek his support to end the rebellion once and for all, and restore an honourable House Henden to power. The idea was floated in the chambers of the Vilnjuuver parliament, and had the support of the majority, as well as Lokije and Lunije who wanted to see a restoration of the union. With the help of Vilnjuuve, Kleo marched on her cousin's lands with incredible efficiency, winning battle after battle, driving him deeper and deeper north into Falunije, but the Duke of Sund hadn't been standing idly by as his cousin made bargains with Vilnjuuve. He had the surprise backing of Vinije, an old foe which had finally reared its head with the intention of making up for lost ground. The battle map stood thus; Gotije and Kronsije were aligned to Vinije and the rest of the mainland was pro-Free Svorse, but this lead to a problem, a crossroads. Were Kleo to follow her cousin into retreat and try to defeat his forces once and for all, she would leave herself open to an ambush, or large scale invasion from Gotije into Varmije. If she were to split her forces, she would risk defeat, but if she didn't end her cousin's rebellion, she risked protracting the war further. She took the risk of marching further onto her cousin. She sent a small convoy southward to act as sentries, and to raise locals as a defence force. The Duke of Sund was faced at Battle of The Malmstrom and was defeated. He was captured and sent to the Dreadfort in Vilnjuuve for trial for the crimes of high treason and inciting a civil war. He was found guilty of these crimes and beheaded (a particular insult in Svorse culture as it refuses the Viking right to a Viking's death and burial).

The Vins did launch an attack on the mainland, but due to misinformation given to them, they landed on the wrong side of the mouth of the Elissa River, instead landing on the northern side near Liljeborg, encountering what was a freshly victorious Svorse army. Many of their men were laid to waste, the remaining fled back to Vinije on their boats. Tensions over this conflict simmered down, as both sides began the eventual naturalisation and pacifism grew stronger, especially now that the Dutch, Britain and the French were active in the region. Their concentrations grew not on nationalism, but trade and colonialism.

The Golden Age of Svorije
Vinish colonialism and Svorse trade dependencies (circa 1700 AD - 1850 AD) Due to her proximity to the West Indies, both Vinije and Svorije found it quite easy to maintain trading posts in the Windies and Central/South America, even Africa. Svorije's increasingly isolationist attitude towards foreign policy meant that it had less and less desire to set up colonies, nothing past a few cities it held as trading posts littered across the Windies and Africa. Vinije on the other hand fancied itself an empire. Their policies reflecting such ambition, making it easier for Vins to travel to these far flung outposts, giving them tax breaks, and in some cases even large monetary assistance to build a home and business in these centres. One such major centre was what is now St. John's on Antigua. This was once the main hub for the booming Vinish Trading Company in the Windies. They vested a lot of capital into this venture, which lead to them eventually buying the entire island from Great Britain, and it paid off for them. The trading company became quite a powerful entity in the region, and across from locales in Africa and Asia where it had hubs. As the Vinish hunger for more grew and grew, their inability to control the trading companies, and the locals, but also keep a lid on rampant inflation and piracy lead to the eventual demise of most of the Vinish colonies, many were sold off in an effort to gain back some of what they'd lost to repay loans to debtors. Those which weren't sold were either so rampantly overrun by piracy or foreign trading leagues that Vinije had lost all control over them, or they were given independence, which was not to last long in the violent world of the Age of Colonialism. Because Vinije had overextended herself to such a great extent, she was facing a decades long and crippling depression if it weren't able to find the coin to repay to its vulture like European lenders. They came hat in hand to the resource rich Svorse for financial aid. By this time the Svorse nation had centralised much of its departments to Vilnjuuve, effectively making it the capital. Vilnjuuve said they would provide the financial assistance Florenteejn required, on a few very key conditions; it once and for all joined Svorije under one united flag under the Commonwealth of Svorije, accepted the Henden right to Vinish lands, and accepted them as crowned head of state. They would be given autonomous status in this commonwealth, effectively making the country a federation. Vinije would have its own parliament which would deal with matters relating to the island and its people alone, whilst Svorije would also have its own provincial parliaments, and a central federal parliament centred in Vilnjuuve to deal with matters of state. This was to make Svorije one the largest and most powerful nations on the planet, certainly in the new world. The Vinish power holders had no choice but to agree. The Vinish Voksriket put it to a referendum, being passed 17/3. Vinije was now free of debt, and safe from harm, and Svorije was at least united under one flag after more than 1500 years of disunity.

The Great Depression and the Great Wars
Svorije's capacity to deal with the Great Depression, and the Great Wars of this time (circa 1850 AD - 1950 AD) Svorije's immense resource wealth and rapid industrialisation and increasingly isolationist, mixed with an ingrained self sufficiency complex, meant that they dealt with the Great Depression rather well. They did lend help to their struggling neighbour to the south, though not much. As much of the rest of the world dealt with the struggle of this depression, Svorije made a name for themselves in dealing death. Their ports became factory lines for naval warships, submarines and carriers. Their cities pumped out aeroplanes which were both cheap to manufacture and quality in battle as well as their guns. Their vast mineral wealth meant they didn't have to source materials from far, and could build on the cheap and sell for a sizable profit to the warring parties in Europe. It remained neutral despite repeated efforts by the Axis and the Allies to drag them into the First World War, but they remained adamant of their peril if they entered.

During the Second World War Svorije came under considerable criticism by the Allies for their seemingly friendly attitudes towards the Nazis, especially from the Royal family. It was claimed that they even hosted secret meetings and events with leading Nazi officials as they were seen as one of the last remaining pure bastions of Nordic supremacy and pure untouched Aryan ubermensch. Claims which to this day the Royal family disagrees with, and refuses to comment on. The indifference to what was happening in Europe also caught them considerable ire from the Allies, as they happily sold both sides arms and vehicles, but didn't want to get blood on their hands. The Allies eventually blockaded shipping routes across the Atlantic to Germany, and ceased buying Svorse goods throughout the war. "Svorije, the Merchants of our death" the posters said. The Allies had even drafted very serious plans for an invasion of Svorije but were eventually dropped as Britain's situation in Africa seemingly became more dire, and France became lost. It was entirely implausible after Pearl Harbour, as all resources in the Americas were funneled into Asia and Europe. America continued to buy Svorse arms during the war, as did the Axis nations. These arms trade offs lead to accusations in the League of Nations of war crimes by way of supporting the Nazis. These were dropped at the demise of the League of Nations in 1946. A UN investigation found that Svorije may have played a very real part in the atrocities of the Second World War, leading some Allied nations to call for Svorse leaders at the time to be sent to The Hague for war crimes. These never substantiated due to lack of evidence and coincidental destruction of incriminating evidence from certain Swiss banks. Svorije also harboured Nazis, though the Government officially repatriated them to Germany in 1970s under the guarantee that they would be tried justly in The Hague, and not by rogue foreign agencies "out for blood". They saw the execution of Eichmann in Israel no better than the crimes he'd committed. By the 1970s, execution had been illegal for almost 100 years. These views didn't help to the international perception that they were sympathetic to Nazism, an accusation which the Government at the time called "utterly offensive and unfounded".

The Current Age
Svorije in the post-war period (circa 1950 AD - 2014 AD) Svorije keeps close ties with its direct neighbours, hoping to set up a mega trade region in the Americas, and perhaps even a political alliance in North America. Their periods of isolationism have definitely passed. They are one of the greatest contributors to foreign aid in the world, and vocal opponents to what it regards as "US jingoistic imperialism". They regard pacifism and diplomacy above all. They did not enter the Korean War nor the Vietnam war or the two Gulf Wars. They enjoyed a friendly relationship with the USSR and other Communist nations worldwide due to their opposition of the Cold War, and their left leaning stance on politics.