Salanian Civil War

The Salanian Faux Conflicts and Adversaries refer to a collection of fictional micronations and micronational wars created by the President of the Republic of Salania, Jordan I. As the accounts of these conflicts and enemies were conceived at a time when Salania was out of contact with the micronational world, it is presumed that they were not an attempt to gain attention or status, but were merely the creation of an overactive imagination for personal entertainment. Despite their fictional status, the nations and wars mentioned herein had some real world basis, and may have been an attempt by the young man who wrote them to make sense of true events. They have a small cult following in the Grand Republic of Delvera.

Story
The “Salanian Civil War” pitted the brand-new, democratic Republic of Salania against the extremist, monarchist “Kingdom of Torana” in a supposed week-long struggle for dominance over the same small area of land. Salania was led by several heroic soldiers, including the President and others, both real and fictional. Torana was commanded by the dastardly forces of the President’s sister, who had proclaimed herself queen after attempting to “assassinate” the President. She and some fictional lackeys fought a series of battles against the Salanian forces, which of course emerged victorious. The kind President, however, chose to forgive his sister and let the former Kingdom become a new Salanian province.

Background
The “Civil War” was one of the silliest conflicts devised by the President, and the handwritten account was obviously meant to amuse. However, the events were apparently based on a verbal disagreement regarding several features of the new micronation, such as the national anthem and flag design. The President’s mother defended the girl’s right to disagree, which the President interpreted as “taking her side,” leading to the notion of a group of rebels. The pink and purple flag proposed by the President’s sister became the “rebel flag” of Torana, which was later used in the flag of her province, Icathia. The idea of a kingdom stemmed from the sister’s purported proclamation that she was a “princess.”

Story
The “Milligansan War” was a far more serious conflict between the now-larger Republic of Salania and its new neighbor, the totalitarian “Kingdom of Milligansa”. On the day that the new nation proclaimed sovereignty, the new king’s first act was to invade Salania without warning. This led to a complex two month war involving four fronts and nearly two dozen battles. Once again, heroes both real and imagined rose to defend the glorious Republic, and, albeit after more losses and a significantly longer period, eventually Salania prevailed again. The result was the signing of a peace treaty that gave all the territory and citizens of Milligansa to the Salanians.

Background
The “war” was clearly an allusion to the European Theatre of the Second World War, pitting the German-esque Milligansa against the America-like Salania. Milligansa even used blitzkrieg tactics, and most of its fictional leaders had German names. Despite this, “Milligansa” was a reference to a real-world financial and territorial dispute between the M family and several other families in the President’s community. It all started many years before the President was born. An elderly woman, Mrs. V, had a small fortune of some $3 million, which she had bequeathed to two relatives in a will, Mr. M and Mr. C, a distant relation of the President. Months later, she passed away, but for reasons still unknown to this day, Mr. C did not receive any money: it all went to Mr. M. Mr. C filed several lawsuits, but there was never enough evidence to go to court. Meanwhile, Mr. M began to expand his large family’s influence in the local community. He bought vast tracts of farmland and expensive new vehicles and farm implements. In an effort to make more money, he began to charge other farmers to run cattle on his land. However, Mr. M was a poor manager, and he had too much land even for his large family to care for properly. As a result, the properties owned by the M family soon became rundown and lost value. They consistently offended neighbors by leaving dead animals near to others’ land, failing to repair damaged fences, and driving extremely fast on the local dirt roads. These issues also caused safety concerns, particularly the driving, to the extent that individuals felt that walking or even driving on the roads was too dangerous. These things hit especially close to home when an elderly neighbor of the President died and his land went up for auction. Members of his family tried to buy it, but the M family got there first. Sure enough, the quality of the land in the adjacent farm began to deteriorate and dead animals would appear from time to time. The President saw the actions of this family as a malicious force, and feared that his own family’s holdings and that of his friends and neighbors were in jeopardy.

Story
The “War of Retribution” came nearly a year after the events of the “Milligansan War”. This time, a disgruntled relative of a former Milligansan general led a massive, technologically superior military force against the now-stagnant Republic of Salania, which had been resting on its laurels for many months. This new fictional adversary was aided by a vast network of former Milligansan territories that refused to accept the results of the previous war, termed the “Milligansan Rebellious Provinces”, as well as a resurgent monarchist movement within the Republic, the so-called “Free Kingdom of Salania”. The “war” began with a serious of monarchist riots within Salania, suppressed by the military. The Archduke of the “Grand Duchy of Faradan,” a former territory of Milligansa, launched a surprise invasion in the midst of the turmoil, sparking even more riots and eventually the establishment of a new breakaway state, the Free Kingdom of Salania. At first, like before, Salania was consistently defeated. However, thanks to the valiant efforts of the glorious heroes of the Republic, as well as some unexpected allies in the form of a newly-re-established and Salania-friendly Kingdom of Milligansa, the Republic eventually prevailed.

Background
This was the most unbelievable account of a Salanian “war”, citing the enemy’s use of tanks, both sides’ participation in naval and air battles, and Salanian usage of paratroopers. The titanic struggle supposedly lasted for six months, and comprised around forty separate engagements, some of which lasted up to ten days. There was also extensive use of defensive earthworks, including a massive trench system, barbed wire, and tank traps. These elements point to the account drawing heavily from the Western Front of the First World War. Despite the incredulity of this story, it also has relations to real-world events. After the initial problems with the M family’s use of the land next to the President’s home, the situation began to improve. One of the major M family members gave the President’s family permission to use the property for the harvest of timber and worked to make sure fences in the area were up kept. This could have inspired the “alliance” between Salania and Milligansa. Other members of the M family were not so generous, however, and continued to make inroads on the neighboring properties. The President was dismayed to learn that the M family were considered “land barons”, and owned many more farms in a much wider area than he had previously known. The driving problem also persisted, as it does to this day. Acts of defiance by a local “coalition” of families had been conducted with the President’s knowledge, such as illegal trespassing and hunting operations. The M family is still the subject of jokes and angry remarks even now, though there are reports that their power in the local area is receding, and perhaps the next generation will begin to sell the lands their forefathers obtained with questionable legality.

In Popular Culture
Though the Salanian Faux Conflicts and Adversaries are blatantly fictional accounts written as true events, they have become a subject of folklore in the Grand Republic of Delvera. This is largely due to their historical basis and heroic and thematic elements, wonderful ingredients for a story, as well as the inclusion of prominent former citizens of Salania as heroes who fought against powerful enemies and overcame the odds to achieve victory. The stories are officially celebrated on National Folklore Day, a part of the Delveric Heritage Festival.