Foundation Day Address, 2019
13th April 2019, County of Tytannia
Good afternoon, citizens of the Empire.
Six years ago yesterday, whilst researching for my GCSE history homework, I stumbled across the world of micronations. I was immediately fascinated. I spent that night reading all about the Principality of Sealand and the Republic of Molossia. I watched every episode of Danny Wallace's 2005 series, How to Start Your Own Country. I went to bed imagining the possibilities of a new nation. And so, six years ago today, the Empire of Adammia was born.
And what a journey it has been. On the 13th of April 2013, I claimed my bedroom as an independent country, with me as its only citizen. Fuelled by my ambition, within just a few months Adammia had grown to include several houses, had dozens of citizens, and had all the trappings of a nation-state: a functional government system, a military, a treasury, a newspaper, and of course diplomatic relations with other micronations. Since then, we have gone from strength to strength: from having colonies around the world, to launching a model rocket, to hosting our first ever tourist.
Although it was I who took much of the initiative in Adammia's early days, it was the citizens who gave Adammia its culture and its identity – one of the most crucial things any aspiring nation needs. The first ever person to join Adammia after it was founded was Lord Sir Alex Helliker, who ratified our original Supreme Directive and later went on to serve as our Prime Minister years later. Lord Sir Reginald Hall is the longest-serving of all my advisors and has been invaluable in all areas practical and financial. The Emperor Mother became our first ever Prime Minister and was instrumental in making this event – Foundation Day – the national institution it is today.
In recent times, Adammia has undergone a revival following a period of inactivity at the time I started university. Our diplomatic standing is thriving: I have been elected to a fourth term as Chair of the Grand Unified Micronational and the Empire is now considered to be one of the most influential nations in the MicroWiki community. Last summer, we signed the Cardiff Pact with Nolland, signifying a new chapter in the special relationship between our two nations, and I have had the opportunity to finally meet in-person a number of micronational leaders from around the UK.
Meanwhile, a new wave of Adammic politicians has provided fresh energy and new ideas. The biggest consequence of this is that we are now revising the relationship between the Monarch and the People, by proposing one of our biggest constitutional reforms ever. In two weeks time, you, the citizens, will be able to vote on whether to introduce a bicameral parliament with an online, proportionally-elected lower house, alongside direct democracy at the local level. This proposal has come about as the result of thoughtful negotiations between myself and the democractically-elected Storm Party government. The end result is, I feel, a fair redressing of the balance of power between the Monarch and the People.
This is important because it is only by working together that we have achieved everything that we have so far, and will achieve everything that we will in the future. Adammia is now in a unique position to reach a status unlike anything we have seen before. Now is the time for new citizens to join, and for old citizens to get more involved; for new provinces to be annexed, for new businesses to be set up, and for this Empire to lead the way on the intermicronational stage, becoming the next St. Charlie or Austenasia. We have come a long way, but our next goal should be to become a micronational superpower. One man's ambition brought us this far. Imagine what the ambition of an entire people could do.
But first, we are of course here today to celebrate, so do please enjoy the rest of Foundation Day. Seek wisdom and honour, and long live the Empire. Thank you.