Lovia

Lovia, officially the Kingdom of Lovia, is an island nation in the Northern Pacific Ocean, consisting of the islands of the Lovia Archipelago, off the Californian coast. Lovia is a sovereign constitutional and parliamentary monarchy. The capital and most populous city is Noble City.

The first settlers, led by Arthur Noble, arrived in the 1870s. The nation evolved into an isolationist monarchy under King Arthur I, who was then succeeded by his descendants. Over the years, five states have been created. In the twentieth century, a slow process of democratization started, replacing the non-democratic though popular royal government. Since 2003, there has been a fully democratic Congress, which has been reformed into the nation's most powerful institute from 2007 until present. The current monarch, King Dimitri I of Lovia, has initiated many of these reforms and has led the nation to renewed political and economic success.

Lovia has about 20,500 inhabitants, most of Noth American and European origin. A very urbanized nation, the majority lives in or around the nation's largest cities and towns, Noble City, Newhaven, Hurbanova and Sofasi.

The country ranks amongst the most developed countries and has a small but highly technological economy. Lovia is known as a progressive nation with high education rates, a low religiosity rate in urban areas and many investments in ecological industries. Its main economic partners consist of the United States, Canada, the European Union, and Libertas, though the nation has promoted an isolationist policy for many years.

Geography
Lovia is a small archipelago in the northern Pacific Ocean comprising one major island, Peace Island, and about ten smaller islands. Peace Island lays on the 131st degree of longitude and on the 33rd degree of latitude. It is situated in the Alaska Time Zone, sometimes called the Alaska-Lovian Time Zone.

The smaller islands are mostly flat and fertile. The main island, Peace, and one of the others, Kings Island, have lots of hills and are very green. There are large forests on these islands and agriculture is less easy in the inland.

The country is divided into five states: Clymene, Kings, Oceana, Seven and Sylvania. All of these states have a capital town or city. These towns and cities, listed on alphabet are: Hurbanova, Kinley, Newhaven, Noble City, Sofasi.

Nation Archipelago
The Nation Archipelago is one of the archipelagos of Lovia. It has the largest number of islands of any of the archipelagos. The name is due to the fact that a large number of the islands are named after nations.

The Nation Archipelago is made up of two separate groups of islands. The first group is in the east of the archipelago and consists of seven islands, which together make up the state of Seven. A large number of islands are named after countries, hence the name of the archipelago. The second part is formed by Asian and Truth Island, making up the state of Clymene.

The famous Rock of Arnmod is located about 60 feet off American Island in the archipelago.

City Archipelago
The City Archipelago is the smallest of the Lovia Archipelago. It's situated in the far west of Lovia. There are only two small islands: the Isle of London en the Isle of Frisco, both named after important English language cities. In the past, the City Archipelago had a third island, namely Isle of Bratislava, which sank after the 1903 earthquake and heavy floodings.

Peace Archipelago
The Peace Archipelago is one of the Lovian archipelagoes. It's not the one with the most islands, but certainly with the largest area. The largest island is Peace Island, on which Noble City lies. It covers two whole states (Kings and Sylvania) and the largest part of the state of Oceana.

Climate
The Lovia archipelago lays between the fresh California stream and the warmer streams in the west. The mediteranian comfortable climate, makes agriculture attractive.

In January the temperatures are mostly in between 8 and 18 °C (48 to 64 °F). In July the temperatures go from 16 to 29 °C (63 to 84 °F). The maximum temperature in summer is about 40 °C (110 °F).

History
The islands are not mentioned until the 1580's. Then, Francis Drake discovered the coasts of Latin America and California. After the San Francisco Bay Area, he went western. In his diary a small and green archipelago is mentioned. Nowhere in his diary he says he visited the islands, but some historians think he and his crew were here for a couple of days.

In 1849 gold was found in California and thousands of Asians came over. Some of these transports passed the Lovia archipelago, although nor the crew, nor the passengers were aware of this. In 1852 a Chinese ship was shipwrecked near the Lovia archipelago. Some of the passengers reached the most northern island of the archipelago, now called Asian Island. They were picked up four months later and seemed well fed. After years, one of them went working for a Californian newspaper and published a story of the Pacific Islands, as he called them.

Arthur Nobel, a young Belgian man, moved to San Francisco in 1872. He was a journalist and going through the archives of all the papers, he found some writing material. That same year he found the article on the Pacific Islands. He found an investor and chartered a ship, Francis II, to go to the mysterious archipelago. It didn't take long and after a few days they reached Lovia. Arthur Nobel set up a first settlement and went back to San Francisco in 1875. He published hundreds of advertisements in American and European newspapers and returned in 1876 with more than 150 people. The settlement Noble City was named after their new king, Arthur Nobel. His name was changed to Arthur Francis Noble the First or Arthur I.

The next years King Arthur I reigned over Lovia very well and the population kept growing. In 1876 there were about 200 citizens. In 1886 they increased to 342, in 1900 to 659 and in 1940 to 1,540. Not only the population grew, also the trade and the wealth did. Noble City had become an important port between California and the Far East.

Around 1955 the population growth stagnated. Lovia suffered from famines and did not get any better. Fortunately the harvests became better in 1957 and the problems seemed to be over. Since then the economy of the Kingdom of Lovia has been doing well.

In 2007, King Arthur III had died, and there wasn't an obvious heir to the throne. For months the economy slackened and the population didn't increase no more. In November King Dimitri I, a nephew of the former king was chosen and crowned. Then, everything went well again, economies boomed and the population got a boost. In December 2007 the population reached 8000, an absolute summit. In March 2008 this figure was almost doubled and 13,600 inhabitants inhabited Lovia. Nevertheless, in November 2009 the figures almost reached 23,400, which is the current record for Lovian population. Over the next year and a half, crime and instability lead to nearly 3,000 people leaving Lovia, leaving the population at 20,416 as of May 2011.

In 2011 the October Coup took place aswell as the (still ongoing) Lovian Civil War, which did some massive damage to the infrastructure of the states of Seven and Clymene. I. G. La Blaca, prominent UNS politician, is said to be responsible for the violent revolt in which at least many people had died as of October 23, 2011. In an effort to call an end to the violence, a United Nations peacekeeping force was deployed as of October 8. The ongoing war is seen as a turning point in Lovian history.

Economy
Lovia has a strong and stabile economy regarded the fact the country only counts 20,000 inhabitants. Though, the economy in Lovia has never reached the growth level that - for instance - Libertas had. The most important branches of Lovian economy are agriculture, energy and technology, transportation, art production, and several others. Some large companies include Walker Inc, Ecompany, Lokixx Comp., and Alphabet Media. Lovia is unofficially a tax haven, with low taxes, and so many rich people are located in the country. However, the current 2011 Second Congress is debating where to raise taxes.

Politics
The political system of Lovia was reformed after King Arthur III died in 2007 Under King Dimitri I the new Constitution was officially accepted and the in 2003 formed Congress was enlarged. At the beginning of 2008 the Federal Elections were held, in which Yuri Medvedev was elected Prime Minister and he and the monarch formed the Medvedev I Government. The State Elections started in the same period and were still running for months in some states.

In May 2008, Mid-term Elections were held, electing five more Congressmen. In 2009, elections for the 2009 Congress were cancelled due to discussions. It was never elected due to political problems concerning discussions about whether to elect a new congress every two or every one year and it consisted of members of the 2008 congress. It fell in August, but was immediately reinstalled as the 2009 Republican Provisional Congress.

The 2009 Republican Provisional Congress was replaced on own request by a new, demissionary provisional congress that would govern the country in the months before the elections, called the 2009 First Provisional Congress. In 2010, finally the new proper congress was elected in the form of the 2010 Congress, starting the Medvedev II Government.

After the end of the 2010 Congress, the 2011 Federal Elections resulted in many more conservative candidates, and a conservative government, the Donia I Government. After the Galahad v. The Brigade Trial, the government collapsed, resulting in the selection of the 2011 Provisional Congress, in which a progressive government was put into office, known as the Villanova I Government. After protests occurred, demanding that a popular elected government be put in office, the 2011 Special Federal Elections took place. Due to the 2011 State Reform, the Congress had been reformed into a one hundred member legislature. After the elections ended, the 2011 Second Congress took control of the country. This lead to the inauguration of the Villanova II Government, which had some more conservative representation.

Government
Lovia is ruled by several governments. First of all there is the Federal Government, or Congress. Members of the Congress are citizens who have been elected by the people. The Congress proposes and votes proposals for both the Constitution and the Federal Law. The person with most of the votes during the elections becomes Prime Minister. He or she and the ruling monarch appoint Secretaries. There is also a Supreme Court, which makes all judicial decisions.

States are governed by a Governor, elected in the State Elections. States have relatively few rights, as the government of Lovia is unitary. Most of the powers that governors do have can be overridden by Congress.

Royal family
The royal family of Lovia isn't privileged, except the ruling monarch and his or her partner. The ruling monarch is also one of the two Heads of the State, together with the Prime Minister. The King has an important role in Lovian politics, but isn't a dictator at all and has only executive power, as their legislative power was repealed in the 2011 State Reform. The current Lovian king is King Dimitri I of Lovia, who inherited the throne because he was the closest relative to the former king, King Arthur III of Lovia.

There is no further nobility in Lovia. Under Arthur III, the beautiful Castle Donia was build in the Emerald Highlands and the Donia Clan rose to prominence under August Magnus Donia, who has declared himself Baron of Donia but the baronage is not accepted by the King.

International relations
Lovia has a rather good relationship with the United States of America. Furthermore the Kingdom has a very good relation with Canada, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan as well, but also less rich regions such as Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Lovia used to be a member of the United Wiki Nations until April 11, 2008, which was an international organization that made dialogue and collaboration between several wiki nations possible. However, Lovia decided to quit the UWN after a conflict with Adlibita and other members after international involvement in the Hurbanova Crisis. Relations with Adlibita and the Limburgish nation Mäöres worsened a lot after the crisis in March and April 2008, but are considered to be normalized nowadays. Lovia still has some relationships with wiki nations such as Libertas, a Dutch speaking island nation in the Atlantic. Lately, the isolationism movement in Lovia has gained weight and more and more politicians prefer not having bounds with the other wiki nations, though initiatives like EastWest show the opposite.

Lovia recognized the Republic of Kosovo on March 1, 2008, being the first official recognition by Lovia. However Lovia has unofficial relations with a significant part of the UN members. In January 2011, a debate was started in Congress about the recognition of other countries in the world.



Culture
The Lovian culture is very rich, and may differ from region to region. In Oceana, the culture is rather Easter European oriented, while the four other states are more regarded as to be Western (i.e. American, Western European). Many artists and writers are known as true Lovians, such as poets Oscar O'Neill and Yuri Medvedev, or writer George Smith and singer-songwriter Joe Lecoeur. The Lovian art history as well is of great international importance, as Lovia is a great art-producing nation and exposes some of the world's greatest artworks, in several museums like the Lovian Museum for Modern Art, the Royal Art Gallery,Museum of Art or the Starovlah Institute.

Lovia is also well-known abroad for the fact that many companies, schools, towns and others have their own seal.

Religion
Religion in Lovia is remarkable both in its low adherence level compared to the neighboring United States as well as its unbalanced spread across the country. The most common religious viewpoints in Lovia are of Christian and irreligious nature. Most Christians are Mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic. There are some small Christian Orthodox, Baptist, Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish communities.

Overview
The Lovian islands are, though Lovia is a small country, well connected by ferries, and even bridges such as the Connection Bridge between Kings and Sylvania, and the Noble Bridge between Asian Island and Truth Island. On the islands itself are numerous highways, railways, hiking and cycling trails, and even rivers. In the main towns and cities are aeroports, three in total.

Roads
Roads are generally of good quality, ranging from graded gravel to cobblestone to fine macadam. The Department of Transportation recently reported that four wheel drive was no longer even seasonally required in any inhabited area.

Highways
The highway system is in an excellent state since 2010 Highway Plan, a project by Secretary Andy McCandless. Two new highways were constructed, while two existing highways were largely extended. Highway 7 between Clave Rock and Hurbanova is still under construction.


 * Highway 1 new.png Highway 1: (N) Blue Sea shore - Train Village - Noble City - Sylvanian Tip (S)
 * Highway 2 new.png Highway 2: (W) Hurbanova - Noble City (E)
 * Highway 3 new.png Highway 3: (N) Beaverwick - Newhaven - Portland (S)
 * Highway 4 new.png Highway 4: (W) Clave Rock - Train Village - Connection Bridge - Portland (E)
 * Highway 5 new.png Highway 5: (N) Adoha - Clymene State Airport - Sofasi (S)
 * Highway 7 new.png Highway 7: (N) Clave Rock - East Hills - Hurbanova (S)

Ferries
A number of ferry lines connect inhabited and visited island pairs not served by bridges.

Railways
Domestic transport on several islands is supported by railroads supplying both freight and passenger service. Technologies emlpoyed range from restored steam to pure electric. The main railway company is the PRC, which provided the following routes:
 * Grand Interstate Railway
 * Peace Island Railway
 * Trans Sylvanian Railway
 * Clymene Central Railway
 * District Line
 * Kings State Line

Airports

 * International airports
 * [[Image:Noble City International Airport 2.png|25px]] Noble City International Airport, Noble City,  Sylvania
 * [[Image:NIA logo.png|25px]] Newhaven International Airport, Newhaven,  Kings
 * National airports
 * [[Image:Clymene State Airport.png|25px]] Clymene State Airport, Sofasi,  Clymene
 * Regional airports
 * Overbanken Regional Airport, Hurbanova,  Oceana

Education
Lovia has had a long history of higher education, thanks to the Nobel University. This university, founded in 1887, fused into the new Blackburn University. Blackburn, based in both Noble City and Newhaven, is the greatest educational institution in the country and also offers a wide range of research projects. Beside Blackburn, there is another higher education institution, the International College of Lovia. This college also has two campuses, one in the rural town Kinley and another in Citizen Corner, Noble City.

Etymology
The origin of the name 'Lovia' is not well-known. It's mostly thought of as Lovia is derived from 'love'. Though both Lovia (IPA: /'loʊvi.ə/) and love (IPA: /lʌv/) are pronounced in a very different way, this is the most logical option. The name was probably given by King Arthur I and the Founding Fathers, but no written sources confirm this.

Some argued the name is derived from Lovendegem, a town in Belgium, from where the Noble family would descend. Recently some historians came up with the idea that Lovia would derive from Latvia. Neither of these theories are found reasonable by scholars.