Marshdonia

Nation Information
Marshdonia is a growing, somewhat developed, and established nation at 147 days old with citizens primarily of Caucasian ethnicity who follow no religion. Marshdonia is a monarchy and is ruled by James I, although a Marshdonian parliament (Marshdonian Assembly) does sit. The Judiciary of Marshdonia also sits, although, as with the parliament, the king may overrule any decision.

Marshdonians tend to work in one of two trades: in cattle farming or coal mining. Both are paid relatively well, but salaries are highly taxed by the independent monarchy.

It is a mostly neutral country when it comes to foreign affairs, usually only attacking other nations if attacked first. James I, the king, refuses to permit the research of development of nuclear weapons and any attempt to do so is an act against the king and therefore considered treason. James I is also fiercely strict on the prohibition of all drugs and military is positioned at all border crossings, with arrest a common consequence of drug trafficking.

James I respects the right for protest against government, judiciary or himself, but but uses a strong police force to monitor things and arrest lawbreakers. Marshdonia has an open border policy, but in order for immigrants to remain in the country they will have to pass Marshdonia's stringent citizen compatability tests first.

Marshdonia believes in the freedom of speech and feels that it is every citizen's right to speak freely about their government. The government gives foreign aid to its allies when it can, but looks to take care of its own people first. Marshdonia will not make deals with another country that has a poor history of inhuman treatment of its citizens.

James I is a passionate atheist and admits that religion does exist in his country, despite his strong opposition towards it. He also recognises the need to offer his citizens freedom of expression.

Cities and Boroughs
The capital of Marshdonia is Hanslope, which also has the largest population of any city in the country and is home to the foreign ministry and parliament buildings. There are three cities: Hanslope, Redhill and Nottingham. Marshdonia is split into three boroughs: the Borough of Hanslope, the borough of Surrey and the Borough of Nottingham.

Below is a map of how the three country is split:



Each borough is responsible for different administrative areas. For example, the Borough of Nottingham is renowned for its academic excellence - it is home to Marshdonia's only university: the University of Nottingham, established on 26 December 2007.

All three boroughs have one school, catering for ages between four and eighteen years old - the most famous of which is the Borough of Hanslope's Royal School of Hanslope, based in the nearby town of Buckingham. Nottingham Royal Academy is Marshdonia's newest school and boasts its best facilities. The borough of Surrey is home to Redhill School.

Marshdonia has five stadia. The boroughs of Hanslope and Nottingham each have two stadia, while Redhill has just one, Selhurst Park, which holds 26,309. The Rec in Denbigh in the borough of Hanslope is Marshdonia's largest stadium, holding 32,000. Sixfields Stadium holds 7,653 fans, it is home to Castlethorpe. Nottingham is home to The City Ground (30,602) and Meadow Lane (19,588).

Redhill, the capital of the borough of Surrey, is home to Marshdonia's main harbour, exporting huge amounts of coal and cattle every day and importing large amounts of other resources required to keep the nation in good health. The borough of Surrey is Marshdonia's poorest area and all five of Marshdonia's Royal Factories are based in the borough, providing the majority of jobs.

The borough of Hanslope is largely a cattle farming area and this is the trade in which the majority work. This contrasts with the northern borough of Nottingham, which specialises in coal mining.

There are five Royal Banks of Marshdonia, each with the power to print Royal Shillings. Nottingham and Redhill each have one such bank, and the Borough of Hanslope has three.

Alliance History
Since its liberation, Marshdonia has always fought for sovereignty. However, at the same time it recognises the need for protection and has almost always been part of a multi-national alliance.

We Are Perth Army
Marshdonia's king, James I, took the decision to join WAPA on 2 August 2007, one day after the country itself was born. Marshdonia's Member Number was 0152 and full membership was held for three months and four days.

On 6 August 2007, WAPA and Marshdonia laid out their commitment to each other, with James I becoming Editor of WAPA's first ever newsletter - The Blueheaven. He published the newsletter every Saturday, usually before 12:00 Game Time. James I published four of the first five newsletters. Due to WAPA's commitments in the Unjust War, in which Marshdonia fought with WAPA against Global Democratic Alliance the newsletter was temporarily discontinued and James I took the opportunity to resign from the post on 15 September 2007.

12 October 2007 marked a proud day for the Marshdonian natives with their king taking up the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs at WAPA, gaining 60% of the vote in a 7-horse race.

6 November 2007 was the day that an era came to a close in Marshdonia. King James I resigned from his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs, left WAPA and moved to the Black Team. The country entered peace mode for the first time in its history.

Order of the Black Rose
James I briefly became a supplicant to the Order of the Black Rose after leaving WAPA. However, 6 days into the 14-day questioning period, he withdrew his supplication and changed back to the White Team. The main reason for his withdrawal was the prospect of joining several ex-WAPA allies at the newly-formed Deck of Cards.

Deck of Cards
17 November saw Marshdonia become one of the founders of the Deck of Cards, taking on the role of Jack of Spades, which entailed making public announcements on DoC's behalf and publishing the weekly newsletter, The DoCument.

The Marshdonia Football Association
The Marshdonian Football Association runs a monthly football league, The League of Marshdonia. The format is known to change, but it remains in the form of a league, each side playing all others twice, home and away. There is no national football side representing Marshdonia.

The League of Marshdonia


There are six participating teams - Beeston Athletic, Castlethorpe, Hanslope Hornets, Lenton United, Redhill Town, Reigate Rovers. The league started in August, with (as of the end of the December 2007 season) Hanslope winning the title on all 5 occasions. Redhill Town and Castlethorpe have each competed 5 times, Reigate Rovers 3 times and Beeston Athletic once. Lenton United will be new participants in January 2007. League rules dictate that all stadia must be all-seater.

Hanslope Hornets play at The Rec, which has a capacity of 32,000, the largest stadium. They play in amber and black stripes with black shorts and hooped socks. Their away kit is blue and black stripes. Their 5 titles are represented on their shirt by a gold star. It is considered Marshdonia's largest and richest club and is much hated by the other five sides' supporters.



Redhill Town, The Soils, who share 26,309 all-seater Selhurst Park with Reigate, play in red and white hoops with an away kit of all brown. On the left sleeve of their shirts is a crown representing its five months of existence. Their passionate home support is considered the league's finest.

Castlethorpe, play in white shirts, white shorts and black socks. Their home ground, Sixfields Stadium, holds 7,653, by far the smallest stadium. Their away kit is all brown. Having run Hanslope close in the first two editions of The League of Marshdonia, Castlethorpe have gone on to win just 3 games in the subsequent 3 months.

Reigate Rovers, who play in all-blue at the shared stadium in the borough of Redhill of Selhurst Park (26,309), are famous for never having won an away game since their inception in October 2007.



Beeston Athletic have competed just once and have yet to win a game. They have, however, managed creditable draws against the rest of the league's teams. They are renowned for their stifling style of play, which promotes physical strength over fast-paced passing football. Their nickname, The Magpies, is due to their black and white quartered home kit design. They play at Meadow Lane, which holds 19,588.

Lenton United are the League of Marshdonia's newest team. They play in red with black shorts and are yet to compete in the League of Marshdonia. They will move into the City Ground which, currently undergoing refurbishments, will hold 30,602 people.

Marshdonian Teams Abroad
On 26 December 2007, the MFA's President Eric Butler made the decision to ask for permission on whether or not Marshdonian club sides could be allowed to play against teams from other nations. James I granted this permission. On the same day, the Transvaal Football Union and the Marshdonia Football Association agreed the Transvaal-Marshdonia Super Cup would take place in Pretoria of Transvaal on 7 January 2008. The Transvaal-Marshdonia Super Cup will pit Transvaal's strongest side against Marshdonia's perennial champions: Hanslope Hornets.

In a wider sense, this step was taken to bring about the 'the internationalisation, commercialisation and ultimately improvement' of the Marshdonian game, which has seemingly become dull and repetitive as Hanslope Hornets continue to dominate the national game. The counter-argument put forward has been that the entry of only Hanslope Hornets will, while improving their level of football, widen the gap at the top of the league.