Meanwealth of Gasconade

Meanwealth of Gasconade Gameinwelit fein Gasconeit
Flag Seal
Motto: "By God, Valor, and Labor"
Status	Active
Capital	Spurhoff
Official languages	Anglish, English, Bauwer
Ethnic groups (February, 2022)	89% White 11% Asian
Religion (February, 2022)	33% Christian other 22% Protestant 22% Catholic 11% Orthodox 11% Unsure
Demonym(s)	Gasconader Gasconadian
Government	Bauwersjteit
• Folkalder	Joshua Frederick Stoddard
Legislature	Folkmoot
• Established	27 September 2020
• Ozark Union Day	2 February 2022
Population
• February 2022 census	9
Currency	U.S. dollar (de facto) (USD)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right

The Meanwealth of Gasconade, commonly referred to as Gasconade (/ɡæskəneɪd/), is a county-level government within the Republic of Ethosia, located on land in the Missouri portion of the Ozark Mountains. It is apart of the Ozark Sector

Gasconade is currently ruled by Joshua Stoddard under a sort of soft despotism. The Meanwealth falls under classification 6 on the Boodlesmythe-Tallini Classification, making it a 6th world nation.

Internationally, Gasconade was historically apart of the Haston Sector, and the Micronational Assembly Sector, but since its union with Ethosia, all foreign affairs have ceased. Its alliances with various micronations have been retained however.

Etymology

The name Gasconade comes from the nearby Gasconade River, its tributaries, and watershed. Before the name Gasconade was chosen, the State was referred to as the State of Ozark, named such after the geographical region it was in. The name Gasconade is derived from "Gascon", an inhabitant of the French region of Gascony. The people of that province were noted for their boastfulness. It was applied by the early French to the Indians living on its banks who bragged about their exploits. The name means to boast or brag, and thus the river received its name. The waters of the river are boisterous and boastful and the name is also descriptive

History

Early Days

On September 27, 2020, Joshua Stoddard established the State of Ozark. He wrote a Constitution called the Articles of the Interim State. It was called such because it was designed to be temporary.

On October 28, the Folkalder, with the advice of the State Cabinet, changed the name of the State of Ozark to the State of Gasconade. Four other names were proposed.

Late 2020 - 2021

On December 14, 2020, Gasconade entered into a loose confederation with Republic of Ethosia and Vanceonia, this was in response to percieved attacks on the decedents of the former micronation Haston. The nations kept their sovereignty, while joining up to promote trade and power projection. The confederation adopted the name Confederation of Hastonian Nations.

On January 1, 2021, the State of Gasconade became a state of the Ethosian Federation, while apart of Ethosia there was little activity. After roughly a month of Ethosian statehood, on February 2, Gasconade filed the Peaceful Secession Act, which would have the State peacefully secede from Ethosia, and continue friendly activities with them.

After secession, there was a brief period of greater activity within the State of Gasconade, after March however, that steeply declined. Along with that the Confederation of Haston soon fell into inactivity as well. But, in May Gasconade experienced more activity, and opened up relations with other micronations, and on May the 5th, the State of Gasconade recognized the Dominion of West Canada and their claim to Vancouver Island.

Again, activity did not stay with the micronation, and was dormant from late June 2021, to September 2021. The Folkalder of Gasconade, Joshua Stoddard, announced in the previous months that he was leaving the micronational community, and it appeared especially so after he resigned from his role as Prime Minister of Wynnland. These fears were not to be, as Gasconade started to bounce back in late September, officially celebrating it first birthday on September 27, 2021.

During the latter months of 2021, Gasconade really shaped into its own unique culture. The first words of Bauwer were being invented, and laws and regulations were passed that established Gasconade as the market-socialist, anti-Marxist, nationalistic, Christian, traditionalist, and environmental micronation it is known for.

2022

The Meanwealth of Gasconade held its first Senate election on 4 January 2022, cementing the Folks Front as the leading party of the realm. Interest from foreign nations manifested itself in a total population of 12 at its peak. During this time, Gasconade also passed the Ozark Union Act, which perpetually unified Gasconade with the Republic of Ethosia.

Black January and Gasconade

Overall, it appeared as though Gasconade survived Black January quite well, until a series of events, starting in late January, manifested itself in the near-collapse of Gasconade in early February. Citizens awoke to find the Gasconadian Discord server deleted, and Folkalder Joshua Stoddard missing. For 11 days, from 5 February to 16 February, Gasconade was gone, this did not last as Folkalder Stoddard came back on 16 February as though nothing had happened. No details as to why the so-called Black February happened were ever released.

Late February and on

After Black February had subsided, Folkalder Stoddard reassembled the Senate and promulgated the Anglish Act, 2022, which officially established English, Bauwer, and most importantly Anglish as the official languages of Gasconade.

Politics and Government

The government, known locally as the leedward, of the Meanwealth of Gasconade is considered a soft despotism, or a presidential authoritarian democracy. It is characterized by a strong leader, the Folkalder, who is both the Head of State and Head of Government. There is also an elected legislature, the Folkmoot, which acts not only as an advisory board to the Folkalder, but also possesses some power to keep him in check. Judicial matters are handled by the Folkmoot.

Law and Order

The Meanwealth of Gasconade has no official police force, and an unused judiciary. Because Gasconade is so small, and very rural, crime is scant. While untested, it is thought that the militia of Gasconade could be used as a gendarmerie, that is, a military with law enforcement duties.

Foreign Relations

As Gasconade is a local-government within the Republic of Ethosia, is doesn't maintain any foreign relations. Before the union with Ethosia, Gasconade had relations, formal and informal, with 5 other micronations.

Below is a table showing the various relations Gasconade had, on 1 February 2022.

Micronation	Begin	Status
File:Official-Flag-of-Ausveria.svg Ausverian Volksrepublik	21 October 2021	Formal
File:MensenFlag1.png State of Mensenberg	1 November 2021	Formal
Bepistani Reich	2 November 2021	Formal
File:FaltrianCanvia.svg Canvian Confederation	31 October 2021	Informal
Faltree	13 October 2021	Defunct

Militia

Gasconade has no standing army. There are provisions in place to raise an irregular army, with ranks and positions able to accommodate 10 volunteers. There is no limit or regulation on when the militia can be formed, just whenever the Folkalder, and/or the Folkmoot, decide to.

Other

The Parishes of Gasconade are political entities subordinate to the Meanwealth. They exist mainly for administrative purposes rather than federal purposes.

There is one political party within Gasconade, the Bauwer National Front, it has majority control over the Folkmoot, and the Folkalder is apart of it.

Geography

The Gasconadian Social State sits on 9 acres of land in the Ozark Mountains. The land is split in half, the southern half is made up mostly of fields, with some other features including a wet-weather stream; and the northern half is marked by thick new-growth woods and a deep hollow, containing a pond.

Landscape

The land the State sits on is completely within the Gasconade River watershed. The nation is bounded to the north and the south by hollows, both of which contain wet-weather streams that feed into the Gasconade River. In the middle of the two hollows is a spur that originates half-a-mile to the west, ending roughly an eighth-of-a-mile to the east outside of the property. The State is not water independent, depending on water from the United States, however there have been talks of digging a well.

Flora

Several species of trees, including apple, persimmon, walnut, dogwood, cedar, and juniper, among others, have been found in the State, along with blackberries, lilies, pokeweed, and many many more. However, many types of invasive plants have been found, including Common Teasel, Thistle, Johnson Grass, and Chinese bushclover. Efforts have been made to eradicate these noxious plants.

Fauna

The land Gasconade sits on, because of its range of environments and location, is home to lots of fauna, both wild and introduced. Some wild fauna in Gasconade includes deer, turkeys, coyotes, snakes, frogs, and foxes, to name a few. There are efforts to eradicate some of the local predator populations because of a few of the introduced fauna, which includes chickens, guineas, dogs, and cats.

Farming

The Gasconadian Social State has a small farming operation. Crops grown include corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, and asparagus, among others. Chickens and guineas have been introduced, not only to cut down on the grasshopper population, but also for their meat and eggs.

Economy

With a total budget of $0 per year, Gasconade has no economy to speak of. Several plans have been made, and continue to be made, that would expand workers rights, access to markets, and economic equality county-wide. Its parent nation, Ethosia, does however have many plans for economic ventures.

Culture and Media

The culture of Gasconade is one deeply rooted in traditionalism and ecology, and closely related to other Anglo, and German derived cultures, especially that of the Southern U.S. This is reflected in the dialect of Gasconade, the agrarian lifestyle of its citizenry, among other things. Gasconade is noted for its deep commitment to the Anglo-German culture of the Ozarks, and its conlang of Bauwer.

Gasconadian English

Gasconader English
Gasconader, Gasconadian
Native to	Meanwealth of Gasconade
Native speakers	2  (2021) Thousands of speakers of sister dialects in Appalachia, and the Ozarks.
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic Anglo-Frisian English American English Appalachian English Gasconader English
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Official language in	Meanwealth of Gasconade

The dialect spoken in Gasconade is similar to the rest of the Ozark's and Appalachia, with a-prefixing and dropping end-of-word g's (a-goin instead of going), double nouns occur often (rifle gun, hound dog), and a Southern vowel chain shift.

Bauwer

Bauwer
Bauwer
Pronunciation	(/baʊwər/)
Native to	Meanwealth of Gasconade
Native speakers	L2: 1  (2021)
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic Anglo-Frisian Pre-Adrick Bauwer
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Official language in	Meanwealth of Gasconade

Bauwer is a constructed language meant to resemble Anglic and Frisian languages. Its grammar and syntax is based on English, whereas most vocabulary (aside from specific loan words like 'sjteit' meaning state) is of Germanic origin. Below is a section of the Swadesh list for Bauwer.

Bauwer Swadesh list

English	Bauwer
I	Itsj
You	Dauw
He	Hai
We	Wai
The	Die, din
You (plural)	Jai
One	An
Two	Twei
Three	Drai
Four	Faiwer
Five	Faif

Symbolism

The banner of the State is a a dark blue saltire fimbriated in white, atop a dark green banner.

The Great Seal of the State is two white fasces overlapping diagonally upon a blue field, a green circle with the words in white “GASCONADIAN SOCIAL STATE” surrounding the inner field.

• 

  Flag of the State

• 

  Great Seal of the State

External links

• Gab account of Gasconade
• Twitter account of Gasconade