Ramonsland

Ramonsland is a large, wealthy, cultured and scientifically advanced nation. It is an absolute monarchy ruled by Prince Ramon with the help of his hand-picked ministers. There is no underlying philosophy behind the nation, which instead functions on the principle of 'whatever the Prince feels like at the time'. The current Prince values science, culture, education and economic growth, with social equality and low taxes as secondary priorities, while crime, defense and environmental issues are handled only when there is some money left over.

## History

In the 5th century, what is now Ramonsland was a collection of petty fiefdoms so poor, that even the surrounding barbarians didn't bother to invade any. This changed in 784, when the barony of Glimbergen found gold. The fiefdoms split into two sides - those paid by Glimbergen to defend them, and an alliance, led by Wijheland, of those who would rather invade and plunder the barony. They two sides were evenly matched, and wars tore up the land until well into the thirteenth century.

By 1244, new advancements in mining allowed Glimbergen to dig up far greater amounts of gold. This brought Glimbergen into great danger - the enemies became more fanatical, and now had access to newer military technology than Glimbergen.

### The Founding of Ramonsland

The baron's advisor, Balthert van der Gerards, noticed that most of the plunder from successful wars went to the generals and kings, not to the soldiers. His plan was to bribe every single soldier in every enemy fiefdom. Somehow, Grimbergen managed to pull this off. Possibly fearing that his employer would not be an effective ruler of the new land, he killed him and took the throne for himself. To keep the nation safe from usurpers, he also assassinated the baron's family, friends and pets. He spent the rest of his life trying to enlarge Ramonsland by conquest, until his untimely murder in 1252.

### Expansion and Final Unification

Over the next centuries the new nation sometimes gained, sometimes lost territory, but always remained the dominant power. The new capital, Fort Balthersteen, was never taken by invaders! The nation didn't unify until the goldmines were exhausted and war became too expensive. War was now seen as foolish, and van der Gerards as a wise pacifist. In 1632 Balthertsland and the surrounding territories united to become the Principality of Balthersland.

### Later rulers

As a wealthy absolute monarchy, Ramonsland often made great strides in whatever the prince of the time was interested in. This progress rarely lasts long - one ruler's life work may be abandoned by his successor. The only exceptions are the economy, which none has dared to undermine, and art, because every ruler wants a well decorated palace. Democracy has been advanced and abolished multiple times under princes with different ideas. The nation has veered wildly between warmongering and pacifism. The nation is littered with ruins of great temples of religions that fell out of favor with the next prince. There is a half-finished 'perfect city' from the 19th century. Luckily, Ramonsland is wealthy enough to survive this extravagance.

### Current Ruler

The current ruler, Prince Ramon, started with some unpopular measures:

* He first named the country and the capital after himself, calling Balthert a jerk and his name stupid.
* He rolled back democratic reforms made by his predecessor.
* After that, he named a lot of cities, buildings and geographical bits after himself, as well as some of the wildlife.
* In his first year, 77% of the state's income was spent on statues of himself.

However, some of his decisions were more popular:

* The economy has grown to nearly $150,000. The Prince has stated he needs the money to build more palaces.
* The citizens think the new gilded ceilings in government buildings are really cool looking.
* Ramonsland is now the second most advanced nation in Calefacta Aquas Piscinae. Prince Ramon has declared his intention to "become more advanced than anyone else, and wipe that smirk of Merchant-Chancellor Wolfgram's face!"
* Bowling averages are *way* up.
* Ramonslandians have praised the policies that made Ramonsland the most cultured nation, saying they're feeling very smug about it.