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| - The Free Duchies are a confederation of autonomous and loosely unified free cities with a holding of land around them, with each independent city referred to as a duchy. The various duchies of the Confederation are unified politically, economically, judicially, and militarily through the national government, which is led by a Grand Duke as its head of state and head of government. The Grand Duke appoints the members of the government on the advice of the Grand Council, which, in turn, elects the Grand Duke from among its own members every ten years. Together, the Grand Duke, the government, and the Grand Council make up the composite national government of the Free Duchies, which negotiates for the country as a whole in Tevarian and other international affairs. This system of government wa
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| abstract
| - The Free Duchies are a confederation of autonomous and loosely unified free cities with a holding of land around them, with each independent city referred to as a duchy. The various duchies of the Confederation are unified politically, economically, judicially, and militarily through the national government, which is led by a Grand Duke as its head of state and head of government. The Grand Duke appoints the members of the government on the advice of the Grand Council, which, in turn, elects the Grand Duke from among its own members every ten years. Together, the Grand Duke, the government, and the Grand Council make up the composite national government of the Free Duchies, which negotiates for the country as a whole in Tevarian and other international affairs. This system of government was instituted after the conclusion of the Antesian-Frathensian War in 1721 led to the creation of the country, and has largely remained unchanged ever since. The first settlers in the region of the Free Duchies were the English, who settled in 1531 under French patronage after the colonisation of Frathens across the Machish Sea. Eventually, settlers of Austrian heritage from Lindare would cross the Clovanks and settle in the Clovank Southern Highlands as early as 1549. The region was hotly contested, and small skirmishes between settlers of different languages were common. Chanteurism would flourish in the region, as the lack of definite boundaries between the settlements would lead to the domination of the religion over the area by 1619. In 1712, Charles' Uprising in Frathens saw the new kingdom claim the lands across the Machish Sea on continental Tevaria. Antais refused to recognise this claim, leading to the Antesian-Frathensian War in 1715. By end of the conflict in 1721, both sides realised a total victory was impossible, and thus, a compromise was made with the creation of the Free Duchies as a sovereign buffer state through the Treaty of Heldhaven. This would trigger the outbreak of the First Antesian-Lindarener War in 1722, as Lindarener settlers saw the loss of their territories as divisive politicking. Ultimately, Lindare would gain autonomy, and through negotiation, the Free Duchies and the new kingdom agreed to the Clovank Pact so long as there remained a lack of tariffs on trade between the two. The Free Duchies would fan more anti-imperial sentiment through the First Amarian-Antesian War in 1743, and, after a short conflict, the Amarian and Ducher alliance was decisively defeated. The Free Duchies were allowed to remain independent through Frathensian and Lindarener backing at the Treaty of Normark. The First Continental War would result in the expansion of the Free Duchies through the annexation of Antesian territory into the country, and the Treaty of Ourslain saw the recreation of peace across the continent. In 1767, the Free Duchies began a period of isolationism brought on by the reintroduction of European powers into the Tevarian political scheme. The Free Duchies signed several trade agreements with France, which ultimately saw a decline in Ducher interest in political advance in continental affairs. The Free Duchies left the Clovank Pact in 1781, causing animosity among Lindareners as the Antesians became more hostile towards them afterwards. The French Revolution left the Free Duchies without a singular trading partner in Europe, and hence, in 1805, the country transitioned back to continental domesticities through an alliance with Antais. The peace of the 19th century led to a period of great economic, religious, and social progress which would become known as a period in which the entire continent was without war or any relative strife. The Great Depression, which began in 1929, however, decimated the economy of the Free Duchies, and with it, the social and political order of the country nearly collapsed. The weakened government fell to a military coup through Lindarener subversion, and, in 1938, the Free Duchies joined Lindare in the Second Continental War. The war would be a disastrous defeat for the Free Duchies, and after surrender in 1942, the country came under Frathensian occupation. The national government was restored in 1948 after the fulfillment of the Treaty of Hossburg, and afterwards, the country joined the newly founded Tevarian Union in 1949. The country prospered throughout the Cold War, and that success was only furthered by the end of the Cold War in 1991 and the development of globalisation, and the economic boom which lasted more than half a century would only end to the Great Recession of 2008. The economy of the Free Duchies is considered to be a developed free market under a national government which promotes free trade and has stronger control over monetary policy than fiscal policy. Historically associated with a strong international commercial network, the Free Duchies retained important intercontinental ports of discharge for apolitically-affected trade between Tevaria and Europe throughout the history of the continent. Although the free trade area of the Tevarian Union largely diminished this status continentally, the Free Duchies continues to hold some of the most important financial centres on the continent. Alongside its large financial service industry, the Free Duchies has a relatively diverse post-industrial economy with strong resource bases and moderately sized industrial manufacturing centres. The Free Duchies is an important centre of automobile manufacturing and shipbuilding in Tevaria, a legacy of its history of land and sea based trade routes with the rest of the continent. The Free Duchies has the highest rating of economic freedom in Tevaria, complemented by a relatively low cost of living and a high standard of living. The Free Duchies is a secondary regional power which has maintained a relatively small amount of continental political influence since its conception in the early 18th century. Historically, the nation has held close relations with a variety of Tevarian states and a number of European powers as well. In the contemporary geopolitical system, the Free Duchies aligns closely with the other nations of Tevaria and several countries around the world, namely the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and Australia. The Free Duchies is a member of the Tevarian Union, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organisation, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The Free Duchies is an observer of the African Union and an invitee of the G20 through its membership in the Tevarian Union.
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