St.Charlie, Once a Micronational Superpower, is No More

Havilland, WE, Jan 27 · 12 Plowshare 71 – The Federal Republic of St.Charlie, a titan of the micronational community and the inspiration for a number of micronationalists, has officially ceased to exist following confirmation of its dissolution today.

The Austenasian Times has reported that St.Charlian Chancellor Alexander Eastwood (also known as Alex Specter) contacted Austenasian Emperor Jonathan I on January 21 (6 Plowshare) to inform him that he considered the nation “defunct”. This is the only action known to have taken place in St.Charlie in the last year and a half.

Austenasia formally ended relations with St.Charlie yesterday by passing an act of Parliament which cites “the inability of the St.Charlian government to continue to function to the extent necessary to exercise sovereignty”.

Suggestions had been put forward that former president Alexander Reinhardt should take power as monarch, but these were dismissed by Reinhardt himself.

Reactions to the news of St.Charlie’s dissolution have ranged from expressions of regret to reflections on long-standing warnings of the nation’s inactivity and remembrance of its earlier years.

The Siroccan government has expressed its “great sadness” at the news of St.Charlie’s disbandment, and confirmed that relations between Sirocco and St.Charlie were considered to be terminated. Sirocco and St.Charlie had agreed to recognise each other on January 15, 2011 (31 Argus 65), and had maintained good relations over the years. Sirocco notably went to “war” with St.Charlie and the Federated Republics of A1 on April 1, 2011 (17 Prime 65) in an April Fool’s Day joke intended to mock micronational warfare.

St.Charlie had been troubled by inactivity for some time, with government activity becoming less prevalent from early 2014 onward. This had been explained by then-President James Lunam as a result of St.Charlian leaders focusing on macronational commitments as they got older.

Despite hopes of increased activity following former Prime Minister Alexander Reinhardt’s ascension to the presidency in 2014, the republic’s inactivity continued, interrupted only by the Federation of Koss’s secession from the republic, and Eastwood’s controversial assumption of office as Chancellor in 2015 and his focus on transforming St.Charlie into a primarily Italophone nation.

A Brief History of St.Charlie

The Kingdom of St.Charlie was declared by Patrizio I on Christmas Day 2000, who reigned as king until the November Revolution of 2008, which saw Alexander Reinhardt, one of the principal revolutionary leaders, declare a republic.

St.Charlie boomed in activity during the first half of 2009, but following the departure of several citizens, the nation entered a brief period of inactivity. To counter this, new elections were called, which ultimately brought a number of new politicians into office, and established St.Charlie’s reputation as a functioning democracy.

In 2011, Reinhardt’s National government was defeated by the Socialists, led by Nicolò Alvisi. Alvisi proved unpopular with voters, and chose not to contest the 2012 general elections. Reinhardt subsequently returned to office, but opted to serve only one year, stepping down at the 2013 elections.

Following the January 6, 2013 (22 Argus 67) vote, the Socialists returned to power under Alex Eastwood, who retained office through the 2014 and 2015 elections, becoming St.Charlie’s longest-serving and most electorally successful leader. Eastwood’s tenure was criticised for its inactivity, and in 2015, Eastwood merged the offices of President and Prime Minister into a new Chancellorship, which was criticised by many, including former President Lunam, as creating a “useless and dangerous superpresidency”.

The St.Charlian Observer, one of the MicroWiki community’s leading news services, published its last article on August 13, 2015 (29 Trinity 70), which discussed Eastwood’s rise to the chancellorship and his announcement of his ultimately ill-fated reforms.