The Kingdom of Ulsino

The Kingdom of Ulsino is a state to the west of the Altian Republic, ruled by the House of Ulsino, a cadet branch of the formerly Royal House of Liege. Previously a vassal state to the Kingdom of Altia by way of a marital alliance, Ulsino would remain a bastion of monarchical sentiment following the First Republican Revolution. An absolute monarchy, internal power struggles against Ulsino's nobility would see Ulsino enter the Wars of May on the side of the Second Altian Republic, in an attempt to reduce the strength of the Ulsinian Nobility. Famed for its powerful army, Ulsino is a military power of some renown - still, its lagging industrialization and focus on the military make its economic and cultural clout limited, especially with regards to the other Royalist Successor states, such as the Constitutionally-limited Monarchy in Etruria.

History
The Kingdom of Ulsino is one among several states that bear strong cultural and historical ties with the former Kingdom of Altia. Located north of the Altian Republic (and the old borders of the Kingdom of Altia) Ulsino's permanent borders were not established for a relatively long period, and the political landscape would be dominated by many powerful semi-autonomous towns and cities linked in the "Ulsinian League," led by the House of Ulsino in Metternich. Ulsino's proximity, with relatively flat, temperate terrain (save its northern highlands) would make it an easy target for invading armies, and Ulsino would be overrun multiple times during the wars of the great powers. Indeed, prior to its establishment as a formal kingdom, the House of Ulsino's realm was relegated to a duchy, and the House alternated as a vassal to the Kingdom of Altia, the Kingdom of Hohenstaufe and the now defunct Kingdom of Ingria.

In 121, Justinian III would marry the daughter of Olivier I of the Kingdom of Altia, Anna II, thus solidifying a permanent marital tie with the House of Liege. An ambitious ruler, aided by the counsel of his foreign wife, Justinian sought about the modernization of Ulsino, starting with its military. Over the course of the next three decades, Justinian would set about an on-and-off military campaign against the semi-autonomous towns within Ulsino until the so-called "Ulsinian League" was dominated by the House of Ulsino in more than just name. That done, Ulsino would expand northwards, pushing into the lands of the Kingdom of Hohenstaufe, aided by the Altians under Olivier I and the House Liege. By the time of Justinian's death in 176, Ulsino would be raised to the status of a kingdom and her permanent borders would be largely determined.

The First Republican Revolution
The First Republican Revolution would see Ulsino fighting alongside the House of Liege in the ultimately abortive effort to retain the throne and leadership of the Kingdom of Altia. Still, with liberal fervor wracking the Kingdom of Ulsino as much as it's bigger southern neighbor, Ulsino's role would be limited to brief border excursions and the establishment of an expeditionary force. Nonetheless, Ulsino would provide asylum to fleeing royals and loyalist nobles whilst concurrently embarking on a brutal campaign of repression in Ulsino's own insurgent regions.

Economy
Ulsino's economy is a centralized system built on ideals of mercantalism, with high tariffs prevailing on foreign products and state-sponsored monopolies prevalent, especially on the lucrative wool industry. With industrialization just appearing in the more populous cities of Ulsino, such as the capital, Metternich, Ulsino is still dominated by cottage-industry and agriculture.

Ulsino is rich in many natural resources. Timber, used for shipping, has long been lucrative, as has Ulsino's famed trade in wool. Meanwhile, the highlands in Ulsino's northern provinces provide vast coal reserves that, while predominantly shipped to the more industrialized states, provide the seeds for Ulsino's own modernization. While Ulsino is not yet an industrial powerhouse, reforms by Leopold I has set the groundwork for an extensive planned economy. For the Ulsinian satte, even modernization requires a high degree of guidance and manipulation my government authorities.

Military
Ulsino's military, after the Royal Family, is the premier institution in the Kingdom of Ulsino. Composed of a devoted, professional and skilled Officer Corps, a martial society and stringent bureaucracy, Ulsino's military is highly respected by the Ulsinian citizenry, who are almost universally expected to commit eight years to its ranks. Whether at Ulsino's military academy, or foreign military institutions, Ulsinian nobles are all expected to acquire officer training, even if it is to simply to precede a civilian career.

Historically, Ulsino's birth owed itself to its role as a powerful buffer between the House of Liege and potentially hostile great powers in the west. The House of Ulsino initially being a weak family whose holdings were often overrun in wars between the Kingdom of Altia and its enemies, it was the marriage of Anna II of the House of Liege to Justinian III of Ulsino that would mark the beginning of Ulsino's remarkable militarization.



Bolstered by the lavish dowry of Anna II as well as the powerful connections with the House of Liege's military, Justinian III set about fortifying Ulsino's borders whilst concurrently enacting a system of near-universal conscrption, with exemptions provided only to women, foreigners and the clergy. By the time of Justinian's death, the Ulsinian military would number nearly 300,000 men-at-arms of a population of 5.3 million.

Ulsino's military forces would quickly prove their mettle in the field in wars against such states as the Kingdom of Hohenstaufe, whose invasion towards Altia was effectively reversed by the combined Ulsinian-Altian victory near Metternich in 187. It would be the strength of the Ulsinian military that staved off revolutionary fervor during the First Republican Revolution and allowed Ulsino to remain a monarchy.

Still, by the wars of May, the Ulsinian military had lagged somewhat behind the other, more industrialized powers. Technological advancements in weaponry were slow to be implemented and more effective methods of logistical administration and resource procurement had not been introduced. While Ulsino's armed forces, its officer corps in particular, has been thirsting for a war, the years of peace and policy dominated by interhnal repression has blunted the edge of Ulsino's once premier military. Still, the entry of Ulsino into the Wars of May against General Ferdinand's New Model Imperial army would be greeted with elation by the Revolutionaries.

Culture
The Kingdom of Ulsino is strongly influenced by the culture of the Kingdom of Altia, whose close political ties and economic interaction inevitably led to advanced exchange of cultural and societal features. The Kingdom of Ulsino, the Altian Republic and the Kingdom of Etruria accordingly share common characteristics. The value of individual freedoms, family ties and observation of the law, for example, are all universal features. Still, differences between the states exist in many forms.

Linguistically, the Ulsinian dialect and the 'received pronunciation' spoken in Altia are further apart than other variations within the former. Ulsinian speakers use many loan-words and linguistic mechanics from its non-Altian neighbors to the north and west, such as the Kingdom of Hohenstauffe. Thus, while Ulsinian pronunciation possesses a fair degree of mutual comprehension with its Altian neighbors, its precise variations are moderately difficult to master. Meanwhile, the Nobility of Ulsino tend to use the formal, vaguely ritualistic language associated with the Ancien Regime, further highlighting linguistic differences between Ulsino and her neighbors. The higher classes are very often able to switch between the formal, poetic registers of the old regime, and the natural Ulsinian dialect in evidence throughout the lower classes.

Popular Culture
Popular culture in Ulsino is still largely agrarian, and festival harvests and old semi-pagan traditions persist in the countryside. While technological advances have advanced the easy dessemination of news and movement of people, Ulsinian society is still largely geographically oriented. Most remain in home towns and villages for the majority of their lives, the universal exception being the years of conscription in Ulsino's armies.

The army and farm labor are both traditionally respected trades, however, intellectual pursuits and education are both held in extremely high regard, provided it is a scholastic rather than humanistic education. Men are expected to serve the King in the capacity as a soldier and earn an income for a family. The paragon of the ideal Ulsinian woman is a good homemaker who might instill bravery in her sons and patience in her daughters. Children are expected to be obedient and are not coddled, even from an early age lest they grow indulgent.

While progressive ideas relating to suffrage, representative democracy and even the rights guaranteed by a constitution are only lukewarmly entertained, the great fear of Ulsino's monarchs is that some of the vaguely socialistic messages swirling in the Altian Republic might incite reform-minded impulses in Ulsino's more restive populations - namely the serfs and poor peasants who might be won over by a cause based on collectivization of land. So long as the ideas relate strictly to the Industrial classes, which Ulsino lacks in any great size, the monarchy might buy its time and appease the poorer classes with a mixture of repression coupled with the merciful services provided 'by the King's own hand.' Generally speaking, liberal ideas such as those espoused in Altia and the Kingdom of Etruria are looked on with suspicion in Ulsino. The average Ulsinian is very religious, very conservative, somewhat supersticious, and exceptionally loyal to his or her God and King. While a fairly insular society, foreigners are more often the subject of curiosity than any contempt.

Culture and the Nobility
The Nobility's culture is far removed from that of the common people. Viewing themselves as the predecessor of the defunct Kingdom of Altia, the nobility in Ulsino has attempted to preserve much of the protocol and decorum of the Ancien Regime. That said, old practices that have grown out of vogue either as barbaric or unjust still persist. Dueling, for example is a popular pasttime of the nobility in spite of the King Leopold's personal opposition to the practice. Among the nobility, personal and family honor of the the utmost importance, whilst mercy and protection of the lower classes are viewed as obligations of a higher birth.



That said, proper military bearing and experience are both highly valued traits for Ulsinian nobility, although intellectual achievement very often provides an adequate substitute. The very worst traits for an Ulsinian Noble are indulgence and laziness. Liberal ideas persist amongst the nobility of Ulsino, more so than the population as a whole, however, while 'progress' connotes greater rights for the people in such realms as Altia, the definition of the word amongst Ulsino is the emancipation of rights lost by the Nobility to the monarchy years before. Everything else is largely subsidiary or even irrelevant to the political discourse of 'progress.'

Among the nobility, there exists the popular view (exemplified by the 'Patrician Republic') that the landed nobility is the best custodian of statecraft. Its pluralism and varied interests ensure no single individual or lobby dominates. All this, of course, is anathema to the Royal opinion, and Ulsino's nobility's greatest cleavage is that of "Royalist" nobles and the rather loosely termed "Liberal" nobles, who paradoxically invoke the days of the loosely federated "Ulsinian League" as the ideal to be emulated. Certainly, the Ulsinian Nobility puts greater faith in the Cortes (The Ulsinian Council of nobles) than the fiat edicts of the Ulsinian Kings and Queens. While the Cortes once had strong influence over Ulsino's monarchs, its importance has slowly faded over the years. That the Cortes has not been called in over a century (before the Patrician Revolution) is no doubt a great embarassment and annoyance to the nobles and a deliberate move on the part of the monarchy.