Cultural Protocols of Jelbania

[Dynastia]

I've never made a cultural protocol before, but I just dug through centuries of horrible, mislabelled and otherwise messy bills looking for anything that relates to culture or governmental stylings (seriously, one guy who named a bunch of his bills '...'). I've posted this in the Jelbanian debate section, but as all the Jelbanian players are fairly new to the game I was hoping some oldbies here would weigh in with what they think too, especially people who've had a hand in establishing cultural protocols (especially the people who did something similar and dug through history to find appropriate bills)

Anyways, here's a what I posted in Jelbania. Please weigh in if you have any ideas or opinions.

The vast majority of nations have something called "Cultural Protocols", a bill which reflects their unique culture, history and heritage and protects the nation from future players arriving and arbitrarily deciding to shit all over that history by making the place, say, Dutch, or Chinese, or what-have-you. Unfortunately, it seems Jelbania has been the victim of such shenanigans many times over before the Cultural Protocols were a thing, so it can get pretty confusing figuring out what kind of culture we're actually supposed to have. But I think it would be very desirable for us to write a cultural protocol, to avoid that happening in the future.

I just spend a long (long, LONG) time digging through the bill history of Jelbania, and I've made something of a timeline of the cultural history here.

~2136, Jelbania is created by the game-devs. It's a generic republic and devoid of any cultural theme, like every other newly created nation.

-2283,
Jelbania gets her first taste of cultural identity. The Jelbic culture is designed, taking a vaguely steppe-person or central asian theme, and using a conlang with entirely too many consonants and not enough vowels. Jelbic culture is initially very popular, with related ethnic groups springing up in Barmenia, Vanuku, Pontesi and Dissuwa (a Deltarian minority)
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill.php?billid=71805

-2318
New players. unhappy with the "weird gay language", turn Jelbania back into a featureless anglophonic republic for no apparent reason.
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill.php?billid=88563

-2384
The Jelbic cultural stylings of the government are restored
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=109401

- 2388
Again, the nation becomes a featureless anglophonic republic when one of the original anglifiers ends up the sole party
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=110707

-2392
Oddly, that same anglofier decides to randomly declare Jelbania to be a francophonic for no apparent reason. I'm getting the impression he truly, TRULY hated the Jelbic conlang. This is precisely the sort of thing cultural protocols are here to protect against ; you can't just change a country to another culture without a long-term and realistic program of assimilation, genocide or what-have-you.
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=111865
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=112526

~2605?
The first empire is arbitrarily declared by a certain player named EmpireStv, who is now permabanned for bringing a cartel of minions to the game and being an egregious cunt about everything (going on five years now, and he continues to be insta-banned every time he shows his pustulent repulsive face around here ; the most recent was just a week ago) Unfortunately, I simply cannot find any other bills declaring the HoS, HoG, etc., so for all I know the Jelbanian culture could have changed several times over between 2392 and 2605
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=205597

- 2647
A new Jelbanian republic is declared, using both French and Jelbic as the official languages of the government, while the aforementioned banned player is leading his minions on nationraids to turn other nations into parts of the Kennedy Empire. This sort of thing is usually tolerated, but in the past players were always respectful of whatever culture they were invading. This guy just showed up and declared "now the nation's culture is whatever I decide it to be"
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=221576

- 2653,
The worst person in PT history returns to restore his Kennedy Empire. Note the incredibly original name of his colony, NamViet.
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=223806

- 2657
The Jelbic language is restored as a language of government by one of that guy's friends, in response to pretty much the whole game community being furious at his ridiciously obnoxious shenanigans.
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=225106

- 2658
Deltaria is nationraided and becomes a part of the Jelbanian-Deltarian Empire, or "Jeltaria" as it was sometimes called. Again, I have a lot of trouble locating the bills that change HoS, HoG, etc. I suspect they' were hidden under nondescript titles. I didn't bother looking up the Deltarian legislative history to find the relevant bills turning it into part of Jelbania (and then declaring independence later), but I can do so if anyone feels those are relevant. .
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=225500

2683-89,
The Deltarian reaction ; the Empire is dismantled, and a new Jelbic republic is declared with the popular support of the Jelbic people. The Francophone and anglophone minorities are killed, deported, or chased from the nation en masse, and for a generation or two it becomes punishable by death to refer to the dethroned Kennedy Emperor as anything but "Tinklecups, Queen of the Bed-Wetting Fairies"
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=232348
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=234002
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=234004
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=234156
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=234155

- 2734
Independence is declared from Deltaria, and the Kennedies are immediately restored as if nothing happened.
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=245767
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=245766

- 2737
Jelbania becomes an Imperial... kingdom...
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=246079

- 2767
Jelbania becomes an imperial republic... There's actually a lot of bills by the same guys regularly changing the Imperial Kingdom to the Imperial Republic to the Imperial Mortgaged Tract of Land and what have you. I've left a lot of t hem out for the sake of brevity, and because they're pretty damn stupid.
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=253454
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=253466

- 2812,
Jelbania asserts itself as Jelbania-Deltaria once again. This time I'm pretty sure Deltaria is fully independent and it's just an empty claim on their former title.
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=263250

- 2826
Empirestv is now permabanned. All of this happened on the old forums, so I'm going by memory here, but ; the Kennedies and all who support them are put to death and chased from one corner of the globe to another. Many nations of the world put out bounties on the heads of any Kennedy, the Terran Catholic Pope and one of the Islamic Caliphs promise free entry to heaven/paradise to anyone who murders a Kennedy, and the Deltarian government pays ridiculous sums of money to have their earthly remains disinterred and mutilated. The few nations who refuse to join in with the persecution or offer safe haven to Kennedies are pressured, coerced or outright invaded and brutalised in an effort to destroy that family, root and stem.

In the wake of that, Jelbik culture is restored once again.
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=259950

-3179
New parties decide to randomly become the United States of Jelbania, because, y'know, 'MERKA!!! Again, I couldn't find the bills changing the governmental stylings, so I don't know if anything happened between then and the last Jelbic restoration.

-3284
The current Empire is established, under the Sebastian Dynasty.
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=343604

- 3332
The Empire is replaced with a Republic...
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=353626

-3384
And once again, an Empire
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=362918
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=362918

That pretty much brings us to now. Although I *did* find one excellent reference, a census of 2990. With all said and done, and while the history of Jelbanian culture can give us a lot of points to work from, I think that should be the main reference for us to create a cultural protocol from.
http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=299241



So, that took me a ridiculous amount of time and digging through shitty, badly-labelled bills looking for the ones that affect culture and linguistic stylings, so I hope that (some of you, at least), will bother reading it. Now it's up to us to discuss and decide on what the ethnic, religious and linguistic demographics of modern Jelbania should be. Any thoughts?

[JuliaAJA]

I am rather proud that you liked that census, that was mine.

[Dynastia]

Oh good, I'd like to ask you a few things about the religions. Going through the history, I found a very early period of forced athiesm, a later forced Islamification which lasted a fair time, then a Terran Catholic forced christianisation, and finally a fairly long period of mild discrimination against anyone from non-Christian aiths.

So where'd you come up with those Jelbanian Church religions? And what's Islamic Buddhism?

[Duke Matthus]

Dynastia, that was one of the most entertaining histories I have ever read. Though I do believe it might possibly have a slight anti-Kennedy slant.

[catparty]

The party which was dominant there in the 3200s was a militantly pro-democracy party run by Kennedies as well. During that period Jelbania was the most hawkish country in the Alliance of Terran Republics in terms of foreign policy. The player (Jelbanian Liberty Front, I miss him, he was a good sidekick to JBN's Union Socialist Alliance) had a different writing style from the illustrious Steven Kennedy, so I'm guessing it was a different guy. He did a good job of carrying on the Kennedy legacy for wanting to fight other monarchs everywhere possible. It was never (unless I missed it) overtly stated that they were the same Kennedy family, but it was subtly implied.

Based upon the long-term Kennedy legacy, we will want to include something in the protocols about sizable portions of the Jelbanian population thinking of them as an illustrious and revered (albeit controversial) family. Something akin to how Americans view George Washington, or (more similarly) how democrats view the real world Kennedy family.

[Duke Matthus]

The party which was dominant there in the 3200s was a militantly pro-democracy party run by Kennedies as well. During that period Jelbania was the most hawkish country in the Alliance of Terran Republics in terms of foreign policy. The player (Jelbanian Liberty Front, I miss him, he was a good sidekick to JBN's Union Socialist Alliance) had a different writing style from the illustrious Steven Kennedy, so I'm guessing it was a different guy. He did a good job of carrying on the Kennedy legacy for wanting to fight other monarchs everywhere possible. It was never (unless I missed it) overtly stated that they were the same Kennedy family, but it was subtly implied.

Based upon the long-term Kennedy legacy, we will want to include something in the protocols about sizable portions of the Jelbanian population thinking of them as an illustrious and revered (albeit controversial) family. Something akin to how Americans view George Washington, or (more similarly) how democrats view the real world Kennedy family.

He started the family in Luthori though, so they technically were foreign "tyrants," though over time I guess they could be seen as one of Jelbania's own. Much like Aldurians and Hulstrians are seen as equals to Luthorian people (either because they are decedents of, or because they have been intermingled for so long).

[IdioC]

Krsyijotrnat, upon their return, were a Batasuna-like entity.

I doubt any RL nation had "(owner on holiday, don't delete)" in a constitutional reform...

[Jacobites]

I played in Jelbania back in the 25th Century, and one of the Bills that I proposed ( http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill. ... lid=134754 ) attempted to clarify linguistic differences, that Jelbania was Jelbic in origin, but also tried to explain how we could have ended up with a Francophone "elite" or "high" culture. Discussion in that debate included the following (apologies the links don't work);

We wish to have an explanation providing a basis for the linguistic history of our nation. Currently we are a nation that has a French basis for the name of its state, and its national institutions. However our name was only changed in July 2391 (http://80.237.164.51/particracy/main/vi ... lid=111865 , and the Frenchification process was continued in April 2394 (http://80.237.164.51/particracy/main/vi ... lid=112526 ). It can also be established that we have had an on/off relationship with French speaking nations since it was first proposed that we join the Accord des Nations Amicales in April 2344 (http://80.237.164.51/particracy/main/vi ... llid=97175 ), although we finally joined the Treaty in April 2390 (http://80.237.164.51/particracy/main/vi ... lid=110715 )

However prior to our nation becoming French, and us joining the French Treaty, the following Bill was passed (http://80.237.164.51/particracy/main/vi ... lid=110707 ), which RESTORED English, rather than French names for our institutions.

However, all of the above follows a period between May 2349 and March 2388 in which the following party largely dominated (http://80.237.164.51/particracy/main/vi ... rtyid=3423 ), the Cynical Bastardry Party. The CBP launched the Jelb�k revolution (http://80.237.164.51/particracy/main/vi ... llid=71805 ), in which Jelb�k became the language used for our national institutions. One may assume that it was the Restoration Bill mentioned above that undid these Jelb�k terms, which within a short term were replaced by French terms.

===

So here we enter what the JKK wish to discus, the status of the two languages that have been used within our nation to name its official institutions since 2283.

It is our belief that the following explain current circumstances as to the languages associated with our nation.

Jelb�k � Historical records ascertain that this language has been in the region since AD 400 (http://particracy.wikia.com/wiki/Terran ... ies#Jelbic ) (http://particracy.wikia.com/wiki/Jelb%C3%A9k ), and is part of a group of languages that have been spoken in the region, initially covering fair chunk of our continent (Majatra), but now reduced to Pontesi and Jelbania.

French � On the other hand French, ethnicity and language (http://particracy.wikia.com/wiki/French_%28ethnicity%29 ) have no real heritage in either Jelbania, or our continent Majatra. In fact French speaking nations are primarily located in southern Seleya (http://80.237.164.51/particracy/main/vi ... eatyid=481 the red blob in the bottom right hand corner of the map ). Indeed of the five nations on Terra that have French names, Jelbania is the only one located outside of Seleya, indeed the only one located outside of southern Seleya.

Conclusion � Therefore it can be seen that French cannot be native to Jelbania. The history on the wikia points to the conclusion that French is native to southern Seleya, whereas proto-Jelbic is native to northwestern Majatra. Therefore Jelb�k must be considered as the ancestral language of the nation, and the people of this nation.

Proposal � However we recognise that French is a part of our history and culture, and has a special place in the nation, therefore we propose the following.

Jelb�k is the language, or rather ancestral language of most Jelbanians. However today it is often seen as a sign of backwardness, and is largely spoken in rural areas and amongst the lower orders of society. It maintains a toehold in high culture, but has lost its official status within the nation. On the other hand there has been a shift amongst the cultural, political and economic elite�s of the nation towards the use of the French language, something that was evident a long time ago (say when the CCU was first founded), and became an established fact in the 2390�s, and continues today. Thus the French language and culture is an important part of the ruling class of our society, but note they are not of French ethnicity, as people of such ethnicity dwell in southern Seleya, but never in Majatra.

Ooc: Basically think of Lebanon today, where French became the preferred language of the Christian elites in that nation, and was used as the official language, whilst Arabic remained largely spoken amongst the rest of the population. Also look at Latin in medieval Europe, weher it was the language of the elites, but not of the poor, nor was it the ancestral language of most Europeans.

CCU I have sent this to you in order that we can come to some compromise regarding the two languages. Ideally I would like to present this case to the other parties at some point, so that we have a clear RP context with which to relate to other nations, particularly our neighbours, and the ethnic French nations of southern Seleya. I believe it is fair as it takes into account information I have found elsewhere, and the Bills that have passed in our nation. It also legitimately explains why our languages exist side by side, and how we can both see ourselves as Jelbanians, despite a desire to use different languages, one the ancestral but low cultural language, and t�other an imported language that forms our high culture and is used by our elite�s. What do you think?

Gist of it was that I had Jelbic down as a rural/working class language, French as an urban/business/political class language. Hope that helps.