Marit Islands

Marit Island Federation (English) Marit Eiland Federatie (Dutch)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "United."
Anthem: "Hymn to Unity"
Location of main island chain northeast of New Zealand
Map of the Marit Island Federation
Capital	Townsend Van Batenburg (and largest city)
Official languages	English, Dutch
Recognised regional languages	French, Arabic, Maori
Demonym	Marit Islander(s)
Government	Federal semi-presidential constitutional republic
• President	Andrew Anderson (NSP)
• Prime Minister	Levinus Schopman (NSP)
• Chief Justice	Arris van Klink
Legislature	Parliament of the Marit Islands
• Upper house	Federal Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Establishment	June 2, 2013
• From the Netherlands	August 11, 1858
• From the United Kingdom	December 23, 1960
• From the United States	June 2, 2013
Population
• Estimate	11.2 million
Currency	Marit Island Dollar ($MID)
Drives on the	left
Calling code	+45
ISO 3166 code	MI
Internet TLD	.mi

The Marit Islands (MI) (Dutch: Marit Eilanden), officially the Marit Island Federation (Dutch: Marit Eiland Federatie), is a multiethnic island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Geographically the country does not possess large amounts of land, but the islands are spread out long distances across the ocean. Due to the far-reaching location of the islands, 60% of the population live in cities on the island of Hoeksma, which is considered the center and cultural hub of the Marit Islands. The Federation's capital cities are Townsend, which is the seat of the President and the Supreme Court, and Van Batenburg, the seat of the legislature. The latter being the largest city in the country with a population of just over 4 million.

The first known inhabitants of the Marit Islands were a group of Maori that made their way from New Zealand. In 1663, a group of Dutch explorers discovered much of the islands that is now the MI. The name of the country comes from a Dutch explorer, Thys Marit. The Netherlands, for unknown reasons, decided to sell the Marit Islands to the British in the mid-1800s. There was soon a strong presence of both Dutch and English speaking citizens. In the early 1960s, the United States government gained possession over the islands. Overtime the Dutch, British and American cultures thrived surpassing the small Maori population. In the year 2000, protest soon broke out demanding independence from the United States. Pressure from the United Nations and NATO soon lead to the Americans to comply. On June 2, 2013, the Marit Islands gained national independence.

The Federation currently serves under a federal semi-presidential constitutional republic. Executive authority is divided between the President and the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister. A bicameral parliament compromises the legislature with both houses being the Federal Senate (upper house) and the House of Representatives (lower house). The judicial branch, the Supreme Court, consists of 7 members, of which, one serves as the Chief Justice. The Supreme Court has played a minor role in the history of the Marit Islands, but is considered an important element of the government, nonetheless. The current constitution was passed in 2178.

As a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, Pacific Islands Forum and the G20, the Marit Islands has worked rigorously to establish itself as a strong foreign power and continues to do so.

History

Ancient History

Location of Maori Island

The Marit Islands were one of the last landmasses settled by humans. Radiocarbon dating, evidence of deforestation and mitochondrial DNA variability within the Maori populations suggest the Islands was first settled by Eastern Polynesians between 1350 and 1400, shortly after New Zealand. Maori communities established their culture futher up the Maori Island chain on what is now called, Maori Island. The modern Maori capital is Taonga, where 94% of the Marit Island Maori population reside.

European & American Settlement

The first Europeans to have reached the Marit Islands were Dutch explorer Thys Marit and his crew in 1663. Thys Marit loved the Islands and wished to settle a Dutch colony. With the Government of the Netherlands approval a small colony was established and the village, then city, of Van Batenburg, named after Thys Marit's close friend, was established.. The Dutch presence and culture grew so, that it has remained the second largest people group on the Islands in modern history, after the English. The nine islands were owned by various nations, but it was the Dutch that united them under one ownership. For the next 200 years the Dutch established most of the cities today: Ververs, Purpurhart, Wardenaar, Jacobse and Van Batenburg, the largest.

In 1861, the Netherlands sold the 11 islands to the British government for unknown reasons. Colonies were then established under British control. The City of Townsend was established and grew to substantial size.

In the 1960s, the British and the American governments exchanged a series of political deals leaving the Marit Islands under control of the American governments, becoming and American Dependency. There were nine governors that were elected and served the Dependency:

1. Governor Aalbert Eissens (Democrat)
2. Governor John Dawson (Democrat)
3. Governor Mason Humphreys (Republican)
4. Governor Christopher Todd (Republican)
5. Governor Noak Berggren (Democrat)
6. Governor Harry Bloodsworth (Republican)
7. Governor Nicolas Oom (Democrat)
8. Governor Michael Miller (Democrat)
9. Governor James Ramsey (Democrat, later Progressive)

In early 2000, protests began to break out for Marit Island independence. Independence was granted June 2, 2013. Governor James Ramsey was elected the first President of the Marit Islands.

First Republic

Although the title "Republic" is not official, the Marit Islands operated as one. At its birth, the Marit Islands was a unitary presidential constitutional republic. There was not a federal system of government and there was not a prime minister. Its government was modeled after that of the United States, with a President, Vice President, Cabinet, Speaker of the House, a Congress and the Supreme Court. There were 8 presidents and 13 vice presidents that served in office from 2013 to 2063.

During this time there were just a handful of political parties, the largest being the Progressive Party (P) and the National State Party (NSP). For a short while the third party, Labor & Worker's Party (LWP), was popular and Her Excellency Yumnah Attia (8th) (the first female and Arabic president) was the only serving president from this party.

Second Republic

In 2062, Hon. Gersum de Kuiper (P) became the 16th Speaker of the House of Representatives. De Kuiper was speaker for just two years, but while in office he managed to draft and lead Congress to pass the Constitutional Reform Act of 2063, which would grant the House of Representatives sole power to elect the President without a term limit. Months before, the House of Representatives passed a measure allowing constitutional reform to be enacted without the approval of the public. As speaker, De Kuiper was known to twist arms, blackmail, threaten and force his colleagues to on both sides of the aisle to pass his legislation.

December 10, 2063, Speaker Gersum de Kuiper became the President-elect and declared a Second Republic. His sudden rise to power is known as the "De Kuiper Coup". The media soon began to speculate that President De Kuiper should be charged with unlawful action and abuse of power.

Protests in the capital of Townsend.

De Kuiper held close to his left-wing agenda. He and his Vice President, Rudolf Roosa (P), obtained much of the legislative power. However, in  June, 2073, after long protests from the public, Roosa ousted De Kuiper in his own coup and became the 10th President of the Marit Islands. Two years later Roosa allowed the House of Representatives to pass the Constitutional Reform Act of 2075, after the public became uncontrollable.

Third Republic

Long time opposition leader against De Kuiper and Roosa, Hon. Matthew Nelson Hewitt (NSP) led the transition from a presidential republic to a parliamentary republic, the Third Republic. The 2075 Constitution allowed the office of Prime Minister to be established and a parliamentary system was put in place with a unicameral Parliament with the House of Representatives. Matthew Nelson Hewitt led the National State Party to an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives and became the 1st Prime Minister of the Marit Islands.

The Prime Minister and Parliament Era is the longest in MI history. Lasting 101 years, Prime Ministers have held a very prominent and important role in the lives of Marit Islanders. Prime Minister Maiky van Peer (campaigned effortlessly for a transition into a semi-presidential system. But, his longtime coalition partner, Hon. Andy Bolbedijk, leader of the Dutch Leftist Party (NLP), disagreed and called for a vote of no confidence. Van Peer's NSP predecessor Andric Blais (the first French Prime Minister), although mostly opposed to his policies, saw eye-to-eye with Van Peer and promised to pass another constitutional reform. A new constitution was adopted by the House of Representatives on October 31, 2177 and would not only change the country to a semi-presidential system, but would change the nation into a Federal Republic with states and would again add a second house to Parliament, the Federal Senate.

Federation

In the year 2078, Andric Blais was inaugurated as the 26th President, the first to serve under the new constitution, one that defined the Marit Islands as a Federation. There have been two presidents to serve under the new constitution, His Excellency Andric Blais (NSP), and Blais' former Prime Minister, His Excellency Andrew Anderson (NSP), the incumbent office holder. The 2078 Constitution also transitioned the country into a federal system of government with the creation of states.

Government

The Marit Islands is a constitutional republic with a federal division of powers. It uses a semi-presidential parliamentary form of government. Supreme executive authority is vested by the Constitution of the Marit Islands Federation (2077).

Parliament House, Van Batenburg

The federal government is separated into three branches:

• The legislature: the bicameral Parliament, compromising the Federal Senate and the House of Representatives.
• The executive: the President of the Federation is the chief of the executive branch and the head-of-state. However, executive duties are shared with the Prime Minister, the head-of-government.
• The judiciary: a 7 member body of the Supreme Court of the Marit Islands, chaired by the Chief Justice and members appointed by the President.

There are usually two parties that form a government with the support of a coalition. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) in coalition with the smaller Dutch Leftist Party (NLP), and the National State Party (NSP) in coalition with the Democratic Alliance (DA). The DA has previously been considered a minor party, with the exception of a few times, but in recent history is coming forward as a strong third party in competition with the NSP.

The SDP is considered center-left, the DA radical left, the NSP center-right and the DA center.

In the most recent federal elections, former Prime Minister Andrew Anderson (NSP) won the presidential election of 2183 becoming the 27th President. And Hon. Jennifer Huot led the DA to a parliamentary victory, obtaining just a few seats over the NSP. President Anderson and Prime Minister Huot are "proud to work together", as stated in an interview.

Administrative Divisions

The Marit Islands Federation is compromised of 8 federal states and 4 overseas territories. Each state has a Governor, a Premier, and a legislature. The nation opperated as a unitary state until the transition into a federation in 2078.

Military

The Federal Armed Forces of the Marit Islands consists of the Federal Navy of the Marit Islands, the Federal Air Force of the Marit Islands and the Federal Coast Guard of the Marit Islands. The Air Force and the Coast Guard are comparatively sm

Military of the MI.

aller in size and finance in relation to the Navy, which there is a high need due to the large amount of ocean and distance surrounding the nation's islands. The MI is a high income nation and in turn there is a large amount of public funds to support military development. Not quite considered a global military super power, the Federation is considered a global naval super power. The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Armed Forces of the Marit Islands.

Geography, Climate & Environment

The MI has a large bird population.

The islands are spread out far across the Pacific Ocean. The main island chain is located from east of New Zealand to French Polynesia. There are multiple time zones that the Federation fall under.

Most of the islands are occupied by lush green forests with beaches on the outer rims. Hoeksma, South Hoeksma, Ververs and Purpurhart are the few islands that also have small mountains.

The MI does not possess a large amount of wildlife, except that of birds. There is a large tropical bird population.

Demographics

Language and Ethnicities

The government of the Marit Islands has made it a top priority to promote unity, due to the various languages and ethnicities. However, the majority of Marit Islanders are either Dutch or English, both from British and American ancestry. But, there are large minority groups that are French, Arabic and the indigenous peoples, the Maori. Additionally, there is smaller populations of Italians, Germans, Russians, Jews, Chinese and other Asian ethnicities. The Marit Islands has always adopted a pro-immigration policy to allow the population to grow. The Marit Islands government support the motto of "United.", meaning as many people groups and languages all citizens come together and support the Marit Islands as one nation.

Religion

About 51% of the population claim to believe in Christianity, 11% Islam, 2% Buddist, 2% Judaism, 2% Other. Approximately 32% of the MI population claim to have no religion or identify themselves as atheists.

The MI government does not support nor endorse any state religion. Politicians in the Marit Islands have very much supported the freedom of religion.

Education

The Federation claims to have one of the best education systems in the world. Primarily based on the large amount of public spending that goes towards the education system, many counties have adopted several economic policies to further enhance their education system.

Around 56% of Marit Islanders attend university or that of a higher education after their primary education. There are 21 government universities. However, the ivy league schools are the most desirable and prestigious, they are: Townsend University (the oldest), Bay University, Hellinga-Jongeneelen University at Van Batenburg, Van Batenburg National, University of Wardenaar and University of Ververs.

Culture

The Marit Islands has a mixture of cultures that form one, the first being the Dutch. When the explorers first settled the islands, the Dutch culture has held a strong and continuous presence. The English have added to the culture in the MI, primarily the British and American through entertainment and American cinema. Additionally, the Arabic and French have added to the national culture mixture.

Media

In the early 2100s a MI cinema company called, National1, produced a few films, but was unsuccessful. The company filed for bankruptcy after their sixth film. It appeared that the Marit Islands would not make a claim in the cinema industry.

MCI logo

The leading television company in the Marit Islands is, MCI. From news to entertainment and sports, MCI continues to lead the polls in popularity. MCI is compared to the British BBC.

There is one public broadcasting station, funded by the government, the National Broadcasting Station, or NBS.

Each major city has at least one daily newspaper, three which are national: The Townsend Chronicle, Van Batenburg Gazette, and The National.

Sport

Logo of the Marit Islands Football Association.

The leading sports in the Federation are soccer (equally referred to as "football") and tennis, with participating nation teams. There are also internaitonal teams in rugby, cricket, hockey and basketball. Additionally, the Marit Islands has been successful in the Summer Oplympic classified as the eighth most prolific medal winner.

As a country that heavily endorses unity, there is extreme pride in international sports. The leading and most popular in the country are the Summer Olympics and Association Football.

Home (left) and away (right) football kits for the men's team.

Association football is immensly popular in the Marit Islands, both internationally and in the national league. The Marit Islands national association football team represents the Marit Islands international men and women's association football. The teams are controlled by the governing body for association football in the Marit Islands, Marit Islands Football Association (Dutch: Marit Eilanden Voetbal Bond), which is currently a member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The teams' official nickname is the MI United or simply the United.