Montrose

Overview
The Commonwealth of Montrose is one of the oldest countries on the server. It is notable for its historical involvement with "Western" politics, democracy, focus on government positions, and investments in its society.

History
Montrose was founded within hours of the server's creation. The only state older than Montrose is HUM, by a matter of hours. Due to its age, Montrose has been involved in most international events throughout history.

Founding Period (August 30th - September 12th, 2018)
FlyingGMM founded Montrose on August 30th, 2018. Castle Montrose was the first building constructed in Montrose. It was intended to be used by the Montrosian government and included storage of starter kits for new citizens, a meeting area, and public facilities. During its construction, FlyingGMM lived in a small wooden cottage to the north of it. This cottage was abandoned after the construction of Gabeford and was razed in the Anonymous Raids of the Second Era. Around this time, the Montrosian Constitution was written—a governing document exhaustively listing the rights, roles, and restrictions of Montrose's government and citizenry.

ClapYoThighs was the first citizen of Montrose, although he left within a few weeks to pursue a monastic life. A policy of taxation was implemented, and taxes were only collected twice. It was soon deemed unnecessary and was removed. Montrose initially sought to integrate the lands of mania_man111, but soon backed down from this as it was too difficult to achieve. When Mania_Man was banned, Montrose attempted to annex the vacated lands, but Dark Forest Investment Co. beat them to it, establishing itself to Montrose's southwest and as a regional rival for the next few weeks.

At some point during the Founding Period, BiteZaDusto4901 joined Montrose but later seceded to form the State of Lucas.

Middle Period (September 13th - 23rd, 2018)
Throughout the Middle Period, Montrose engaged in trade with many states on the server. It exported agricultural materials—including wood—to the Water Boys. This was a fruitful partnership as the Water Boys had little means of farming land materials. In exchange, Montrose received saddles and enchanted books, a resource which the Water Boys produced much of with their auto-fishery.

During the Middle Period, FlyingGMM mapped out the entire world within the world border, and as such, border agreements were able to be made accurately. Due to the far-flung nature of its development as well as extensive road system, Montrose was able to lay claim to far more land than any other state at the time.

Montrose engaged in all of the conflicts of the Middle Period, which are:
 * The Order of Icedale-Rhett Conflict on September 14th, 2018, where FlyingGMM fired the arrow that killed AbstractEgg, and killed him several more times.


 * The Montrosian Cultivation of the Bagelonian Swamplands on September 15th, 2018 for which it received massive international backlash.


 * The Montrose-Icedale War on September 16th, 2018 in which it was devastated.
 * The killing of FlyingGMM by RHIN0SAURUS83, in which Montrose rallied its allies against the Water Boys and Dark Forest Investment Co. This event sparked the creation of both the Prosperity League and the South Sea Coalition.

Coalition Period (September 24th - 29th, 2018)
During the Coalition Period, Montrose was a major proponent of maintaining the ideals of the Prosperity League, strengthening their defenses against the South Sea Coalition. Montrose worked with HUM to establish standards of martial readiness throughout the league.

Montrose was a main target of the South Sea Coalition as it held the strategically important estuary of the River Montrose and its southern swamps; both of which were territorial goals of the South Sea Coalition.

In the Hatty Hominid Raids, Montrose was devastated. The wooden interior of Castle Montrose was burned, Gabeford was blown up, and Spruceville was razed. The following repair effort resulted in the Montrosian Header setting up a running google document with every ongoing project in Montrose for better monitoring and organization. To repopulate Spruceville, Montrose built a rail line out to Acaciaville, officially dubbed "The Orient Express". Villagers were resettled from the then-unclaimed Acaciaville into Spruceville via minecart.

Barren Period (September 29th - November 24th, 2018)
At the onset of the Barren Period, Montrose grew its territorial claims considerably. At the Taco Bell Conference, Montrose annexed most of the holdings of Dark Forest Investment Co., providing it with coastline on the south sea. Montrose also claimed unoccupied land to its south in order to prevent it from being claimed by a possible resurgent South Sea Coalition. Additionally, a small patch of desert and grassland to the east was claimed to serve as the site of the Montrosian Production Emporium, although this was later abandoned and its current location was chosen.

Repopulation Period
Montrose maintained its place geopolitically during the Repopulation Period. It gained a number of new citizens in this period: Cassti, Lucavario, and Autraya. It withdrew its territorial claims that had previously been made to prevent the South Sea Coalition or Icedale Guild from claiming land on its borders, with the fall or inactivity of these states.

Unification Period
The early

Post-Sylvia Collapse
After Sylvia's collapse, Montrose would go on to fill the power vacuum that Sylvia's collapse had left behind, essentially taking Sylvia's place as a international superpower, while their older allies, HUM and Rhett, would go on to merge. After Sylvia's collapse, FlyingGMM would eventually step down from the position of Header around 8 months later, letting Abstacious take his place, in a historical move. This was the first change of leadership in Montrose decided through a vote, and this act altogether would go on to enforce Montrose's democratic views. Before this, Montrose would also be one of the first nations in the world to create it's own justice system, in a symbolic move, once again, displaying Montrose's democratic and pro-justice views. Montrose would go on to solve many cold cases, such as the Fianna thefts, successfully linking them to Goomlandian ex-officials but prominent members and essentially leading to the downfall of multiple criminals, notably ThePoptartTARDIS and old Black Hand collaborators.

Government
The Montrosian government has two branches: the executive branch and the legislative branch.

The executive branch is made up of the Header and their Ministers, who are essentially cabinet members. The Header is responsible for the management of national property, appointing Ministers, leading and organizing the Montrosian Armed Forces, and the enforcement of Montrosian law. In times of emergency, the Header may also issue "Executive Proclamations" which go into effect immediately for situations that would take too long to be voted on by the Montrosian Parliament. The Header can be removed by the Montrosian Assembly.

The legislative branch consists of the Montrosian Assembly. Each Montrosian citizen receives one vote in the assembly with the Header breaking ties. The assembly is responsible for most decisions in Montrose, including border changes, amendments to the Montrosian Constitution, and the criminal trials of citizens. When Montrose was part of the Sylvian Union, the assembly was also responsible for elections of Montrose's two delegates to the Sylvian Parliament. Furthermore, the assembly can vote to overturn any action taken by the Header.

The Montrosian government is governed by the Montrosian Constitution, an exhaustive list of Montrosian laws.

Investments
A main focus of the Montrosian government is investing in its population's prosperity. In order to achieve this, new Montrosian citizens are given a shulker box with a "starter kit" consisting of: This starter kit gives Montrosians the tools they need in order to establish themselves as members of Montrosian society. Rather than potentially spending hours grinding up to the level of gear provided by the starter kit, new Montrosian citizens receive a head start. After receiving their starter kit, Montrosians are encouraged to pick out seeds of whatever crops they intend to grow from a nearby chest. This also saves time that would otherwise be spent searching for seeds.
 * A full suit of diamond armor, all equipped with Protection IV and Mending
 * A diamond sword and Montrosian shield
 * A diamond pickaxe, shovel, and axe
 * A bow and stack of arrows
 * A stack of baked potatoes
 * Various other tools

Montrose's central storage, located under Castle Montrose, is also a major source of public investments. Montrosian citizens are encouraged to use the materials in the chests therein before relying upon their own.

One of Montrose's most important investments in its society is its extensive system of well-lit and efficiently-routed roads. This road system provided the base for Montrose's early expansion, and today, provides a very reliable, low-maintenance, safe method of transportation. This is especially important for newer Montrosian citizens, many of whom would die along unlit roads to hostile mobs at night and potentially lose all their gear and materials. This is a common issue in states without well-lit or extant roads, and Montrose has eliminated inside its borders. During the Bagelonian Question, Montrosian civil engineers lit and rerouted many roads in Goomlandia.

Property
Property in Montrose has two categories: estate and national.

Estate land is land owned by Montrosian citizens. Estates are "domestically" autonomous. What this means is that the Montrosian government may not use stored goods to destroy or create development. Estates may expand into unoccupied national land as they see fit. This level of autonomy is evident by the fact that most Montrosian estates have their own banners wiht and some having their own laws.

National land is land owned by the Montrosian government under the direct administration of the Header. Within national land is "administrative land" which is mostly reserved for the Montrosian government's development. Non-administrative national land is intended to be given out to new or expanding estates to encourage Montrosian private development. The Montrosian government also owns a significant amount of goods stored in chests, each of which have different rules of ownership and distribution. For example, citizens are encouraged to take the goods in Castle Montrose's storage and invest them in their estates, but gunpowder at the Montrosian Industrial District is strictly government property. The Montrosian government also owns a number of industries, all of which have their own ownership rules. (See the "economy" section for more.)

The Circle
The Circle is essentially the trusted role of Montrose. This role is to be given to Montrosian citizens who have proved that they can be trusted with vital information and, are generally considered, the command of Montrose, despite having no superior power in the assembly. The Circle is no different than an average Montrosian citizen, except for their faction perms and armory access. A small number of people have met the requirements for this role and less have received it.

Economy
The Montrosian economy is a thriving, multi-industry economy. The economy has two sectors: private and public.

The private sector of the Montrosian economy is driven the Montrosian estate system. Given the large amount of autonomy that each estate receives, many estates have branched into many different industries. Some focus on the exportation of beef products while others raid end cities in search of elytras and end materials. This unique, diverse economy is highly valued in Montrose as a sign of freedom its citizens are afforded.

The public sector of the Montrosian economy consist of a number of state-led industries. There are two state industries: villager trading and guardian farming. The Montrosian government owns three ocean monuments to farm prismarine materials. To protect the Montrose government's control over these two industries, Montrosian citizens are allowed to use the capital for their personal uses, but may not sell any products gained from its usage. These industries provide the Montrosian government with a source of income which allows it to maintain its many social programs without taxing its people.

Organization
The Montrosian military is a hierarchy with the Header at the top. For each individual mission, a commanding officer is appointed to oversee action on the ground and report to the Header if they are absent from the action.

Equipment
For war equipment, each Montrosian citizen is given a shulker box with the following: Montrosians are encouraged to add onto this gear with their own enchantments and other customizations. For individual missions, this base gear is often supplemented with tools, potions, horses, building materials, etc.
 * A full suit of diamond protection IV armor
 * A sharpness V sword and Montrosian shield
 * A power V bow and a stack of arrows

In order to fulfill the cost of such an armament, "meisters" are appointed by the Header. These function similar to ministers, except their roles are exclusively military-related. Each meister is in charge of supplying a particular type of gear.

Artillery
Following the Great Western War, the Montrosian government experimented heavily with TNT-artillery designs as these were hugely successful during the war. Old designs used against Vailan were improved upon with several different models being created. These models focus on velocity, propellant efficiency, and accuracy, each with a model specializing in a particular strength.

Notable Locations

 * Archives of Montrose: The world's oldest public library. It contains banners for every nation of Elgeis, as well as a myriad of historical, religious, and other texts.
 * Castle Montrose: The seat of the Montrosian government. It is a walled castle with three floors. The bottom floor is a meeting place for the Montrosian Parliament, the second floor is an armory and contains the starter kits for new citizens, and the top floor has facilities, such as beds, an ender chest, and an autosmelter.
 * Montrosian Production Emporium: A large farm containing every available crop in the game. It is where Montrose sends its labor prisoners, and where many new players are directed. It is the eastern-most location in Montrose.
 * Spruceville: A town containing many villagers, and an Iron Golem for each banned player on the server.