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Land of Townside | Overview
Overview | History | Geography | Culture | Politics | Law | Religion | Military | Economy | International | Trivia
Overview
Land of the Town Beside the Sea
...Royal Union Flag | ...Townsider Blue Ensign | Commonwealth Flag |
Coat of Arms |
Motto | Nulli expugnabilis hosti |
Royal Anthem | |
National Anthem |
History | |
British control (Colony) | 1786 |
Responsible government | 1854 |
Dominion declared | 1899 |
Statute of Westminster adopted | 1940 |
Capital | Townside Borough (city-state) |
National language | English (de facto) |
64.8% Townsider | |
43.9% Christian | |
Demonym | Townsider |
Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy | |
Monarch | HM The King |
Governor | Admiral Sir Norwood Williams |
Lieutenant Governor | Chief Justice Warwick Huntingdon-Stafford |
Premier | Benjamin Chancellor |
Legislature | |
Upper house | |
Lower house | |
Area | |
Total | 18,448 km2 |
Water (%) | 0.11 |
Highest elevation | 2,935 m (9,629 ft) |
Population | |
July 2023 estimate | 323,981 |
July 2022 estimate | 319,856 |
Density | 17.6/km2 |
GDP | |
2022 estimate | $19.439 billion |
Per capita | $60,000 [Permission granted] |
Gini (income) | 28.2 |
Gini (wealth) | 0.902 |
HDI | 0.976 |
Currency | Townsider pound (TSP; £) |
Time zone | Penrith Mean Time (PMT) |
Summer (DST) | PMT+01:00 (PST) |
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy |
Driving side | left |
Internet TLD | .ts |
Townside has a temperate climate, with mild summers and cool winters. Its climate also exhibits oceanic features similar to other coastal areas in the Northern Hemisphere, with moist air from the ocean ensuring relatively high humidity and stabilising temperature.
The capital is the Borough of the Town Beside the Sea (Townside Borough), which is the country's only urban area, located on the north of Deliverance Island around the mouth of the Everflow River. The borough was named after its literal geography, and lends its name to the country as a whole. The rest of the country beyond the borough is known as Lafonia. The island has been permanently inhabited since 1786 when the British settlement was established. Forming part of the British Western Isles, Townside was governed under royal charter until 1856, when it became a crown colony. The first labourers were taken to Townside between 1786 and 1800 in what were known as the First, Second, Third, and Fourt Fleets, but a full plantation economy did not develop, and the immigration largely ceased by the end of the 18th century. The economy instead became maritime-focused, with the colony serving as a base for merchants, privateers, and the Royal Navy. Its proximity to Gael resulted in it becoming an Imperial fortress, an important British naval and military base in the Western Isles, with vast funds lavished on its Royal Naval Dockyard and military defences.
While the defence sector still contributes a sizeable 10% to the national economy (kept alive by the ongoing sovereignty dispute with Najimam), the "twin pillars" of the country's modern economy are offshore financial services (40% of GDP) and tourism (30% of GDP). Tourism has been a significant contributor to Townside's economy since the 19th century. Meanwhile, the country only became a prominent major regional offshore financial centre and tax haven for regional businesses and wealthy individuals after [World War II], largely as a result of the state not charging taxes on any income earned or stored.
Townside is a unitary parliamentary democracy with a bicameral parliament located in Townside Borough. The House of Assembly (the lower house of Parliament) dates from 1854 when it first met after the colony achieved responsible government. The Island Council (the upper house of Parliament) and the Executive Council (the formal meeting of the Cabinet) were formed in 1824 when they were split from the Governor's Council. The premier is the head of government and is formally appointed by the governor and lieutenant governor jointly. The governor and lieutenant governor are appointed by The King to be his joint-representatives in the country. Townside does not have a single independence date. Rather, Townside's sovereignty developed over time. Townside achieved responsible government in 1854, was declared a self-governing British Dominion in 1899, and in 1940, the Townsider parliament adopted the Statute of Westminster, which removed nearly all of the British Parliament's authority to legislate for the Dominion, and effectively made Townside a largely sovereign nation in its own right.
With a GDP per capita of $60,000, Townside has the highest GDP per capita in the Western Isles, but the country is wracked by extremely severe wealth inequality and a deeply entrenched social class divide, with a handful of influential individuals (the so-called “Four Families”, or the “Bunyip Aristocracy” according to detractors) holding outsized influenced over a country often termed to be the personal playground for the rich and powerful. Additionally, the country's idyllic image and safe, clean streets hides a regional underground centre for organised crime and black market activity, known as Townside's "Underbelly". Nevertheless, the country's apparent economic success and outwardly peaceful appearance attracts many unwitting workers from around the region. Immigrants from almost every country and territory in the Western Isles reside in Townside.