The Grand Dutchy of Aragon
Aragon means the Coast of Wine in halfing and thus the Dutchy is a independent nation that span the whole of it.
Structure
Like most feudalistic states the nation of Aragon is highly de-centralized, with peasants subserviently living under landed knights who are ruled over by the ranks of the Comtes' who are then ruled over by the Grand Comtes of Roadez, the Marquis of Aquitaine and then finally the Duke of Lyse whom is also the Grand Duke of Aragon itself. Each owing taxes and service to the next in a change as they had since the days of the first rebellions.
Culture
The Culture of Aragon differs from the poor and rich, the poor live as elsewhere working the fields and trying to survive. However the rich, often able to be free from work given their wealthy slave worked wine estates to focus on legacy and fame. Aragon has a strong culture of Knighthood and the concept of the romantic courtly noble. Rich dances and brave oaths are expected parts of growing up and ones reputation can be everything. It is often said the identity of Aragon nobility is to be absolutely enraptured in the beautiful portrait of Arthurian knighthood, as if making up for their dubious claims to noble blood.
Romantic Poetry, Courtly love, tales of Legendary knights and paintings and statues in hyper idealized styles make up the art movements in Aragon, as the people have never been able to avoid the hyper romantic view of their past.
Public Agenda
The Public Agenda of Aragon is as it has been for several hundred years, Status Quo. The Dukes have always lived wealthy and content, and key to that wealth is balancing the world on a stable axis. To not antagonize the Empire, to keep up alliances with Leon. To be weak enough to be worth trading with, but too strong to commit to war. The keep Roadez and Aquitaine both more concerned with echother than the Duke. So long as the wine flows all is well. This has changed with the growth of Hell's Landing as a threat and the upending of balance with the advent of modern professional armies and steam power, with that Aragons public policy has shifted towards naval power and a more aggressive stance on checking Hells Landing thus creating a more militant agenda.
History
Aragon was first settled by small halfing wine merchants forming very simple orchards no where near the scale we had today. This would change with the migration of humans moving it, promoted by the first empire as a way to help settle new lands. Here early wine merchants could make fortunes by buying up cheap lands and building the orchard economy we know today.
However' after The Second Calamity and with the rebellions succeeding throughout the empire, and neighboring Leon declaring independence in 141 starting the First Wine War, the regions governor and wine mavericks would rallied behind the idea of imperial General Lysander L'Moyne as Emperor and the formation of a merchant nobility. The coming war when this failed would morph into a war of independence and was intensely bloody, specifically around the castle fort of Aquitaine where the Mad Dog of Aquitaine, another former general of the Empire, stood in defense for the entire war. The First Drow War would break out and force Petro to allow Lysander to become Grand Duke in the Leonesse style and gave de facto, if not de jure Independence.
With independence secure thanks to their alliance with Leon, the wine merchants and former governor became Grand Duke and the many Comtes, with special titles bestowed to his lead general and right hand man acting as the origin of Marquis and Grand Comtes' respectfully. Though the peace treaty stipulated the Dutchy was still part of the empire De Jure, it would never be enforced. The alliance with Leon firm, the Dutchy would hold together for hundreds of years independence held on by force of trade, and when it was not enough, arms. Even after the short lived blunder that was the Second Wine War in 763, which forced the L'Moyne's to marry the heir into the Conde family just to retain power, yet still Independence was never truly in question.
However, this history has become more complicated with the recent Tiefling War. The sudden appearance of a sea bound threat has forever changed the history of the nation. Already destroying much of the capitol and the security of the elites. THe modern world has knocked and the nations reaction will make history.
Demography and Population
THe majority of the nation is human while halfings in the valleys, Tiefling slaves in the fields and wood elf and dusk elf natives in the mountains make up sizable minorities. Only the halflings are respected as many know Aragon was once their home before humanity.
Military
Aragon's Military is traditionaly formed by Fuedal lords or Comtes forming Levy Militias and commanding knights into battle. Recent reforms however has lead to the development of a La Grande Armée a professional modern Navy and army serving at the pleasure of the Duke much to the displeasure of the nobles taxed to fund it. Aragonesse knights however still manage the very famous Griffon airpower, as being a Griffon rider is an achievement all knights of the wine coast dream of and the enemies of Aragon have wisely feared.
Technological Level
For a long time the nation of Aragon was hobbled by low technical development, keeping to the same pre-industrial fuedal society of their youth neither adapting to the musket or to the steam power of their rivals. However The Tiefling War brought this limitation in stunning focus and has in tern shifted focus with the rapid adoption of modern military structures by Lyse and industrial pushes by Roadez, however such as the powerful Marquee of Aquitaine continues to reject this sudden changes.
Religion
Though all gods are worshiped in Aragon, but the patron god of the nation is Chauntee the goddess of nature cultivation and Wine. It is to her that the people can be trusted to get good harvest and for the bountiful land. As such many knights worship her as The Lady, a unique regional version of Chauntee as a maiden whom knights must earn the favor of to be blessed as paladins, usually in Orders with no formal structure, as such it is not uncommon to find traveling knights and paladins of Chauntee trying to or having already earned her blessing. Lords worship her by building groves to her and almost any castle can boast having a wild maze of growth and plantlife to her name. While farmers worship with prayer and alms to her many monestaries in the woods. Meanwhile the wood elves of the hills and mountains worship her and Selune as a pair, the lovers of night and day, or life and death, of the moon and the sun.
Foreign Relations
Aragonesse foreign relations are traditionally defined by its paranoia towards its former master The Edren Empire of which they manage a highly militarized boarder, and its centuries long alliance and friendship with its nearest neighbor the Kingdom of Leon formally agreeing to insure eachothers independence from any foreign power. This alliance has recently been tested against a threat accross the straight of Leon, The Republic of Hell's Landing. Having already somewhat lost a war over slavery and felt the sting of restrictions and a sacked capitol, the Aragons Foreign policy seeks allies against both its common enemies.
Agriculture & Industry
The growth of grapes and the manufacturing of wine is paramount to Aragonian society. The dry yet pleasent climate with light regular rains create the ideal conditions and almost all lands in the coastal valley are used for farming grapes. So much so that the nation imports food from Wallachia despite being a mostly farmland. The sheer quantity of wine produced is enough to feed the wine cellars of most of the world and leads to fuedal lords being almost always wine merchants on the side or more accurately these Wine mavericks have been made into Fuedal lords. This requires a notable slave work force which is limited to only farmwork per recent treatise. Though in general there is not much industry in the country there is some real textile and wood working industry in the rich port of Lyse as well as metal working common in the growing industrual center of Roadez.
Trade & Transport
The Wine produced in Aragon is so plentiful it is said no nation alone can drink it all and that remains true as such many means of transport are used to export. In fact the three major cities all match export points. The rich deep port of Lyse is a flurry of ships sailing in and out of the wine coast, Rhoadez has a train connection built to export wine to Leon directly, and the gates of Aquitaine open for wagons and carts coming from and to the Edren Empire.
Education
Most of the people find basic education from church schools throughout the country or basic home schooling. Among the nobility private tutors are common and being sent to a Bards college is very common especially the College of Lore in Edren and the College of Valor in Lyse.
Infrastructure
there is a major highway from the first empire that still runs through the Wine coast that acts as a major artery to the country, especially as the coastline is too rocky and difficult for shipping beyond Lyse. There has been a growing push to industrialize furthered by a train line between Rhoadez and Lyse.
Founding Date
143
Type
Geopolitical, Archduchy
Capital
Alternative Names
Dutchy of Aragon, The Dutchy, Aragon, Wineland
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Aragonesse
Leader
Leader Title
Grandé Duke D'Aragon
Head of State
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
1 - Copper Grapes
10 Silver "Fish"
15 Electrum "Blue Fish"
100 gold Crowns
1000 Platinium Mothers marked by Chauntee
Major Exports
The country pretty much exclusively exports Wine in increadible masses. Entire nations worth of wine.
Major Imports
Aragon i rich with natural resources but lacking in much industry outside of the creation of wine. As such there is a constant need for luxury and manufactored goods of all kinds. As well as a steady import of meat and grain from Leon as and the Edren Empire.
Legislative Body
The Estates General (called only in Emergencies)
Judicial Body
Comtes local courts Courts and Judgest sent out by the Duke.
Deities
Location
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
Comments