The Third Republic of Portland

## Third Republic of Portlands

Flag

Emblem of the Deer College

### Offcial Languagei

Common (officia), Elvish (official), Halfling (common), Undercommon (common), Dwarvish (common), Primordial (minority)

### Demonym(s)

Portlandser (official), Portlander (common), Portlandian (common)

### Government

Federal parliamentary merchant republic with an executive presidency under a semi-direct democracy

### Legislature

The Major Council of Portlands (unicameral)

### Population

???

The **Third Republic of Portlands** (Latin: *Reipublicae Portlandensis*; Modern Celtic: *Tríú Poblacht Portlands*; Scottish Gaelic: *An treas Poblachd na Portland*), commonly referred to as the **Portlands Republic**, **Portlands** or **Portland**, is a sovereign state and merchant republic on the north-western islands of the main continent of Yamga, set across the Western Seas. Portlands is a trading power and thalassocracy, actively participating in and partially dominating international trade across Yamga with established (naval) commercial routes around the Western Seas. The total area of the republic is 529,000 square miles (1,370,103.71 km2).

The Third Republic is a federal parliamentary semi-direct democracy organized under a presidential figure, with the Major Council of Portlands exercising combined legislative and executive functions under the nominal oversight of the president. The Major Council is a unicameral body, whose members are selected by nation-wide election using a medieval single transferable vote system to achieve proportional representation. All permanent residents of the Portlands above the age of majority are entitled (and required) to vote in these elections. The current "head councillor" (head of state and head of government) is a clandestine figure going by the nickname of "the Mayor", who is largely uninvolved in the day-to-day legislature and internal affairs of the republic and almost never appears in public.

The Third Republic of Portlands has evolved from a series of regional battles, unions and separations of the integrant islands over several decades, with said territories today being organized into different local administrations/councils/districts to maintain peace and cooperation between the various cultures and peoples which populate the republic. The Portlands is a melting pot and has historically served as an asylum for refugees and immigrants from the adjacent regions.

## Etymology

Despite the fact that the title of the "Third Republic" (Modern Celtic: *Tríú Poblacht*; Scottish Gaelic: *An treas Poblachd*) is recognized on a state level and the Portlands has been referred to as such by its own administration on numerous occasions, historical records have shown no indication of the existence of a first *or* second republic that precedes the Third Republic of Portlands. Due to a lack of proper documentation and information released by the republic's government, the most concrete answer to this unusual and baseless naming convention is a vague hypothesis at best. The most common theory is that the 'third' in the "third republic" refers to the three major islands which comprise the land claimed by the Portlands, and is thus a synonym to the "Three Portlands Republic", or a similar title. This, however, does not account for the two adjacent islands to the left of the nation's westmost territory, which have been recognized by the nation ever since its founding.

Another theory suggests that two partially (or entirely not) recognized republics existed prior to the establishment of the third one, likely confined to the two islands west of the nation's mainland, and that--for one reason or another--the current government refuses to acknowledge the existence of its preceding nations, likely for political reasons. This, however, is yet to receive any substantial evidence, especially considering the autonomy given to the two islands by the federal government today.

## History

The origins of the republic are largely unknown, and the subject of much speculation by historians of other nations in Yamga, but it is generally assumed that the nation did not exist prior to an agreement established between the people of the islands which today constitute the territory claimed by the Portlands Republic. The earliest reliable record of the nation's existence is a memorandum of explorers affiliated with the Ocrenian Empire dating from year 876, documenting the activities of various minor clans, tribes, cabals and other independent communities in the south of the mainland and the adjacent islands; this memo indicates that the Portlands had been lightly populated by its current inhabitants for at least a decade at that point.

In 879, following negotiations with the native genius loci, the south-eastern portion of the mainland began using the islands to house refugees from the battles covering the nearby regions. Many of these would eventually be assimilated to into the local civilization, the influx of displaced communities greatly increasing the islands' populations and leaving a lasting influence on their cultures and future developments. Despite the massive shift in population, foreign authorities remained largely disinterested in the lands (despite the ravaging anarchy at the time), leaving a significant time frame for a proper, unified community to form in the meanwhile.

In 880, a council consisting of elders from the different cultures of the islands was elected and a municipal government organized, although this went unrecognized by a large portion of the local population, who continued the constant turbulence in the lands and attacked the mainland community at the time; this lasted until 881, when the charter of the community was amended to include the genius loci in the government as the head of the council, finally establishing the Third Republic as a state.

The near total absence of any law enforcement authorities due to the conditions of the people at the time was quickly capitalized upon by various criminals, who used the city's geographical circumstances to evade mercenaries and sheriffs from nearby nations. Even after the founding of the republic, the government did little to curb the growth of crime in its areas, despite the increasing presence of organized militias and other partially armed forces to act as law enforcement. However, recognizing the strategic importance of the city in the Western Seas and its newfound conditions, local authorities began working to actively conceal its existence from other countries in Yamga, though this was eventually deemed unnecessary due to the arrival of explorers from foreign nations.