Flag Challenge 172 POLL

Best Pair of Flags?

  • Netherlandses

    Votes: 14 46.7%
  • Albions

    Votes: 5 16.7%
  • Frances

    Votes: 3 10.0%
  • Ethiopias

    Votes: 6 20.0%
  • Moldavias

    Votes: 2 6.7%

  • Total voters
    30
  • Poll closed .
Entry 1 said:
People's Republic of The Netherlands
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Nationalist Union of The Netherlands
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Following the end of World War II, conflict broke out in the already war-weary Netherlands between nationalist and communist factions. Communists inhabiting the northern provinces proclaimed the founding of a "People's Republic of the Netherlands" with it's capital in Groningen. To the south, a single nationalist faction rose to prominence and secured Amsterdam as it's capital. From there, the "Nationalist Union of The Netherlands" was founded and it's armies marched north to meet it's hated foe. The two sides clashed time and time again, but neither was able to gain the upper hand and eventually a ceasfire was reluctantly signed. The two sides continued to stay at odds and fight occasional border skirmishes up until the fall of the Soviet Union, when a NATO-led incursion forcefully unified the two sides. Today, The Netherlands is an unstable democracy fraught with tension between the two sides, and civil war still hangs in the air just waiting to be sparked once more.


Entry 2 said:
The Eternal Kingdom of Albion (Francland)
&

The Restored Kingdom of Albion (Britain)
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“In 1066, the House of Godwin, simply a notable house of England, took the throne, when Edward the Confessor passed to the next realm and bequeathed onto his brother-in-law his throne. King Harold the Unyielding was crowned in a time of turmoil, with not one, but two foreign armies marching onto the shores of his kingdom. Riding into battle at Hastings in a successful surprise attack, though his brothers would fall, King Harold would heroically snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by having a third of his forces feign retreat before moving back into battle to flank the Norman army. With the death of Duke William the Bastard, the Harold saw many of the invaders swear fealty to him in exchange for amnesty, and his renewed forces would then spend the remainder of the year, and it successor, crushing any bandits and remnants of both the Norgeman and Norman forces that would not bend the knee. And so began the glorious reign of the Godwins…”

- History of the Realm, written 1539​

“As much as the many Anglophiles around the world may not want to admit it, there is more than a trove of findings to suggest that King Harold II did not actually order his men to feign retreat and return later in the battle. Rather, by the accounts we’ve found, and the physical evidence, what it is far, far more likely that those men really did retreat and abandon their king to die; however, one amongst them, who King Harold would grant a title and lands to, took control the group and inspired them enough to go back into the battle, saving Harold at the last minute…”

- Prof. Ælfric Windsor, University of Southern Katherinia​

“King Ulf I of England’s reign is essentially surmised by a simple phrase: when the cat's away the mice will play. The invasion of Wales was seen by Ulf as a necessity for honoring his father Harold the Unyielding, who had defeated Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, the first uniter of Wales, before his own kingship. Since that time, Idwal ap Gruffydd had reunited Wales and had made it clear that he would ensure its unity and independence. Gruffydd’s wife had married Harold II and was thus Ulf’s mother, making Idwal ap Gruffydd his half-brother, but Ulf was determined to prove himself worthy of his father’s throne.

But while the campaign in Wales slowed down to a crawl, Ulf’s twin brother Harold, ruling as regent, would begin consolidating his own powerbase and creating a strong alliance with the Scots through careful agreements that ensured Northumbria’s protection from Scottish raids. While Ulf would successfully subjugate Wales through a partition and vassalage to England, his death from sickness soon afterward meant that Harold was the real winner. Assuming the throne as Harold III, his actions, both with the Scots and his policy of stern but fair treatment of his Welsh vassals, cemented English power, and that of the House of Godwin.”

- GODWIN, 2002 Documentary​

“If there is a king whose story is well known, it’s that of Edmund the Invincible. Almost any child born in an English speaking territory can recite the nursery rhyme of ‘Great King Eddie’:

‘Danes from the East,
Welsh from the West;
That was Eddie’s test!

And he threw them,
Threw them to the Sea!
Great King Eddie!

French from the South,
Rebels from the North;
Eddie’s men march forth!’

And he threw them,
Them to the Sea
Great King Eddie!’​

Indeed, his repulsion of Danish and French forces (killing their monarchs in battle as well), along with the suppression of a peasant revolt, the total conquest of the rebellious Welsh, and the eventual formalization of the Witenaġemot would earn him a nearly mythic place in the annals of history. Adding to his tale of course, is that of Edmund’s throne, the so-called Throne of Crowns, due to the story telling us that Edmund ordered the crowns, coronets, medallions, and all other headpieces and symbols of state made from precious metals that he had claimed in his years of battle, be melted down and used to create a throne for him and his heirs to rule from. Thus Edmund’s fame is truly topped only by his descendant Wulfnoth II, or the Dread Wolf, as the Scandinavians would call him…”

- Glory!: Albionic History, by Wilma Yldling​

“At its height in 1736, the Kingdom of Albion, formally the Kingdom of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Normandy, France, Occitaine, Aquitaine, Holland, Norgeland, Danland, Sleswick, and Saxony, was a formidable power that dominated European affairs for centuries, growing ever-more as its enemies foolishly challenged it. Whenever a region would fall, ultimately, the war was never won, as soon enough an army from the Kingdom’s other regions, rallying in Britain, would counter-attack and reclaim what was lost. Ultimately, the British Isles were the heart of the Kingdom, hence why the primary language of Albion was English, and the Isles well told impenetrability served as a center point for their strategies. Even its name came from the Isles, being an ancient name for them that was repurposed as a poetic name for the regions under the rule of the House of Godwin, later becoming the commonly used name for the kingdom in total…

…The fall of Albion would come not with a long conquest, but with a series of unfortunate events. With the death of King Harold IV, his sons Wulfnoth, Æthelweard, and Canute would dispute the line of succession. However, before blows could be delivered by any of them, a fire in the palace would see all Canute perish, while Wulfnoth, returning from a brief stay in the colonies, would die in a storm, leaving Æthelweard as king for a period of six months before the death of his wife in childbirth to their third stillborn child, along with the passing of his mother Julia of Firenze, would drive him to suicide. With the House of Godwin essentially extinguished, numerous claimants to the throne would crawl from the woodwork, and the collapse of Albion would begin…

...The current lands of Albion are torn between two countries, each calling themselves the “Kingdom of Albion,” although one utilizes the term “the Restored Kingdom of Albion” and the other “the Eternal Kingdom of Albion”. Most refer to the first as Britain, and the second as Francland. Unlike its two sibling nations, the Noble Republic of the North Sea does not attempt to claim any mantle of succession to the Old Kingdom.

…King Artur XI, of the House of Staller (which claims descent from Eadnoth the Constable, steward to Edward the Confessor) is the current monarch of Britain, and is, in effect, an autocrat with absolute authority, his Witenaġemot being an entirely appointed cabinet of scholars, nobles, and generals to whom he will delegate tasks to. In contrast, Francland has no actual monarch, recognizing the House of Godwin as the only family fit to rule all of Albion and, with said family now extinct aside from a handful of offshoot branches with tenuous claims muddied by generations of foreign blood. And so, the Francland government recognizes “Jesus Christ our Saviour as our King Spiritual, and Harold the Fourth, last ruler of the House of Godwin, as our King Temporal, from now into eternity, no man standing capable of succeeding him as rightful sovereign.” When it comes to the actual ruling of the country, the Francish Witenaġemot is a meritocratic council of nobles whose members may be removed through plebiscite, and who grant the approval of law to the People’s Assembly, a gathering of representatives from the Kingdom’s administrative regions…

…While war is unlikely, much contention remains between Britain and Francland, their governments refusing to recognize the other and both claiming each other’s territory. That King Artur XI sits in the Throne of Crowns in the traditional capital of London, and controls the ever important Albionic citadel that was British Isles, lends Britain more legitimacy in the eyes of some, but Francland’s size, possession of numerous artifacts, major cities, its alliance with the North Sea, and its greater influence and power on the global stage mean that most political scientists would deem it the successor state.”

- Examination of Politics in the Modern Era, 1894 Katherinian textbook​

“The flag of the Restored Kingdom of Albion is taken from one of the primary battle flags and royal banners of Old Albion, based on the arms used by Edward the Confessor on his currency. The earliest use of the banner was in the early 1400s, but it fell out of use by the late-1600s, replaced by the more commonly known banner of Old Albion. The Restored Kingdom added the wyvern of Wessex to represent their claim the traditional heartland of Albion…
...The flag of the Eternal Kingdom of Albion takes the original flag of its predecessor state and places a red border around it. The Old Albionic flag utilizes a cross for Christianity, the blue and gold of the previous flag derived from the attributed arms of Edward the Confessor, based on arms used in his currency, and places this cross on white to represent peace and glory throughout the realm. The Eternal Kingdom’s use of red comes from the traditional color of the monarchy, the border representing the Old Kingdom of Albion as a whole, which they lay claim to.”

- The Little Book of Flags, 1902​


Entry 3 said:
Empire of Northern France & Confederation of Southern France
Empire du nord de la France & Confédération de Sud de la France

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Top flag: northern France, bottom flag: southern France
No empire lasts for ever, not even the one built by Napoléon I. After Napoléon III was defeated, the empire his uncle built shook itself to pieces. Decades later, most of petty states that formed after the collapse met in Paris to discuss the creation a new empire. The northern states agreed to a plan tried to recreate the old empire as close as possible, even electing Napoléon V as the emperor. The southern states thought that the new government should be more of spiritual successor rather than trying to recreation of everything the old empire was.
Soon after the meeting in Paris, the Empire of Northern France claimed the southern states as part of the empire even though they voted against the plan created. In response. the southern states formed the Confederation of Southern France. Originally, the confederation was only created as protection from the empire, but after time the confederation began to take the form of the spiritual successor the southern states thought should have been created. After one year of stalemated fighting, a peace was formed with both nation claiming the other.

Entry 4 said:
Royal State of Ethiopia
&
People's Federation of Ethiopia

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In TTL, horrible droughts and famines along with general incompetence and heavy-handed repression from the Ethiopian central government lead to a complete collapse. In the end, two competing nations rise from the ruins of the second-most populous African nation.

It is thought that the new ethnically-based districts created in the 90-s sowed the seeds of Ethiopia's destruction. The Oromo people, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia went through a phase of political consolidation and with no representation on the central government, became an "opposition in the streets". Eventually they were joined by the Amhara people, the second largest ethnic group. This was an unlikely alliance if there ever was one, because the Amhara people had a much stronger cultural, linguistic and religious affinity with the government. However, the Amhara people regarded the central government as unfairly dominated by politicians from smaller ethnic groups.

Thus, when the cycle of droughts, famines, protests and crackdowns finally ended in a complete rebellion, both the Oromo and the Amhara met in the streets of Addis Ababa as the central government fell.

However, the former revolutionaries became adversaries almost before the night was over. It was obvious from the start that both groups had completely different ideas about the future of Ethiopia. The Oromo argued for the devolution of more power, in order to stop the central government dominance. The Amhara considered the creation of ethnically-based federation the main mistake done by the previous government and stated that a unitary Ethiopian state is the only way forward.

The civil war that followed was short and inconclusive, ending in a cease-fire with both sides controlling mainly the same amount of territory as before. But where the amount of combat deaths was low, the acts of ethnic cleansing from both sides ended in a catastrophic amount of casualties, as hundreds of thousands of people either fled or were caught in forced population transfers.

In the end, the situation has mostly stabilized. Although neither of the successor states has recognized the other, the cease-fire lines have become de-facto borders and neither state seems to be eager for the continuation of armed conflict. Both have instead turned their attention to creating the sort of Ethiopian state they envisioned before.

The Royal State of Ethiopia (official capital Addis Ababa (divided), de-facto capital Gondar) has established a completely unitary state. Tribal affiliations are officially ignored, as are any languages other than Amharic and any religions other than Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The Amhara have restored the Solomonic dynasty under the monarch Kwestantions III (Zera Yacob Amha Selassie) to create a unifying figure for the new state. However, the monarch is no more than a figurehead and the nominally parliamentary monarchy is in effect a single-party state.

The flag of the Royal State is a throwback to the oldest Ethiopian flag - the three pennants colored red, yellow and green. One of the few non-rectangular flags in the world, the oriflamme-shaped banner features a Conquering Lion of Judah (representing the restored monarchy) in the center of a red field, framed with yellow and green, the traditional Ethiopian colors.

The People's Federation of Ethiopia (official capital Addis Ababa (divided), de-facto capital Dire Dawa) has brought the devolution of power to the maximum. Every officially recognized tribe in the Federation has complete control over their own affairs, with only the military and foreign affairs as common. In practice, this has unfortunately left most people other than the Oromo worse off, as the Oromo interests dominate all parts of the economy and trade, but no fiscal transfers from the central government exist. The nominal federation is no more than a loose affiliation of tribes, dominated by the largest of them.

The flag of the People's Federation in contrast features a new, American-influenced design that is meant to represent the future. The old Ethiopian emblem of yellow pentagram with shining rays on blue, symbolizing the different people united in freedom and diversity is moved to the canton and framed by two stripes of yellow and red.

Entry 5 said:
wfc-172-19th-century-moldavia-schism-jpg.342005


Historical background
At the dawn of the 19th century, Moldavia was entering an era of growing opposition to Ottoman overlordship. The Russian Empire was contemplating taking the region from the Ottomans, in order to further expand its borders in a southwest direction. However, a tougher situation during the Napoleonic Wars forced Russia to focus its military westward. The government of Wallachia, sensing a grand opportunity in Russia being too preoccupied, decided to act quicker. Though it took a fair amount of expense and military commitment, Wallachia led a successful rebellion against the Ottomans in the early years of the new century. Aside from their own territory, they gradually ejected the Ottomans out of southern Moldavia as well, then mopped up the rest in the north or allowed them safe passage back to Ottoman territory.

By that point, Russia had regained its footing, but was forced to compensate for missing a window of opportunity. On the surface, it came in support of Wallachia at the signing of an armistice treaty with the Ottomans in Bucurest. But beneath that veneer of support, it wanted something in return. It threatened Wallachia with invasion if they'd attempt a direct annexation of Moldavia, and the creation of a larger monarchical union between the two lands. After careful consideration, the Wallachian government and Moldavian provisional government agreed. Nevertheless, being the clever clogs that they were, they decided to instead grant Moldavia independence and keep it closely allied with Wallachia. Just so Russia wouldn't get any ideas.

The Principality of Moldavia was reborn ! Now completely independent, rather than an Ottoman vassal, for the first time in centuries. The good news was only exacerbated with a discovery that occured during that momentous time. The House of Drăculești was thought to have gone largely extinct in the 17th century, but a descendant of their's resurfaced in an aristocratic family from abroad. Moving to Moldavia after being cordially invited to be crowned prince of the principality, the newcomer quickly became well-liked by his new subjects.

However, these optimistic times were short-lived. By the early 1820s, a progressive-minded grouping of Moldavian intelligentsia, townsmen and young aristocrats took an interest in the social and political changes that had swept Europe and the world in recent times. The principality needed modernisation, and not just in terms of commerce and industry. A form of slavery was still being practiced in this corner of the world, an unpleasant remnant of past times. Something the progressives in both Wallachia and Moldavia wanted to end, once and for all. Surprisingly, Moldavia's eagerness was even greater than Wallachia's. Unfortunately, political disagreements between the traditional monarchists, backing the prince and his road map for abolition, and the enlightenment-and-nationalism influenced aristocrats, intelligentsia and townsmen, would soon drive a wedge between both groups. The long and arduous process of getting the shameful practice abolished exacerbated the amount of time in which more radical ideas could spread against the more outspoken abolitionist faction. They now also maintained that the abolishment of serfdom needs to be carried out at the same time. While the disputes over the exact details were slight at first, they grew pettier with time. Finally, a more radical wing of the progressives faction formed, and they were in support of far deeper reforms to Moldavia than just abolitionism...

In the late 1820s, spontaneous clashes broke out between important members of the various factions. Before one could really make heads or tails of the situation, street fighting broke out, several army regiments rebelled against the principality's government, joining the more radical abolitionists or the outright radicals and things got more complicated from there... Many of the radical-minded members of the aristocracy joined in, sensing career opportunities if this revolution goes the right way. To cut a long story short, after two weeks of fighting, the radicals took control of much of the south (including the capital), and shortly afterward proclaimed the Popular Republic of Moldavia. The prince was already gone for a week and a half, having hidden in the north of the country until things calm down. But, contrary to his expectations, things would not calm down anytime soon - the Moldavian Civil War would last for three more years...

Now it is some fifty years later and the principality of Moldavia, refounded in the 1800s/1810s, is no more. In its place stand the Popular Republic of Moldavia in the south (a democratic, but quite oligarchical/aristocratic republic) and the Sovereign Principality of Moldavia in the north (a rump remnant of the principality, still claiming its entire former territory, but now more pragmatic about it). The Principality of Wallachia, Moldavia's natural ally and once potential annexer, is in a somewhat unenviable position. For the time being, it is forced to walk a tight rope, courting both of the successor states to the Principality of Moldavia. It cannot risk losing their favour, due to crucial strategic interests in the future. Either way, unification efforts have become stuck. Most Wallachian leaders would already liked to have seen Moldavia uniting with Wallachia and forming a stronger-together Romania, that could potentially face both the Ottomans and Russia, if need be. The emergence of a Moldavian republic has thrown a spanner in the works of this bold plan. How could the Wallachian monarchy comfortably reabsorb their now-republican Moldavian brethren, short of conquest ? The government does not want to harm and alienate a very close ally. At the same time, the Sovereign Principality of Moldavia, while getting the same guarantees and support from Wallachia as their southern rivals, is furious over the situation. For now, there is clear deadlock. Both the republic and the rump principality insist they are the rightful successor of the original principality. Could a solution be found one day ? Will this timeline see the emergence of a united Romania, whether monarchical or republican ? Only time will tell...

Flag situation
Because the radicals that founded the Popular Republic kept the principality's traditional charge - an aurochs head - on their flag, the Sovereign Principality was forced to modify their flag to exclude the aurochs, in order to prevent potential confusion. The founders of the republic removed several smaller charges that traditionally accompany the aurochs charge, these smaller ones being borrowed from the coat of arms of the House of Drăculești. Instead, they emphasised the floral charges surrounding the head, and added a Phrygian cap to their flag, a symbol of republican revolution. Outraged over this, the refounded princely family retaliated by giving extra focus to these omitted charges on the new flag for their unfortunate, rump principality. They included them as part of a newer version of their House's original coat of arms, this newer version being clearly visible at the centre of the flag.
 
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