Sultanate of Minecraftia

Not to be confused with this Minecraftia.

Minecraftia (Swedish: Minerige) (Dutch: Minerland) (French: Minerlande) (German: Mänerland) (Malay: Borneo Langit Tinggi, Jawi script: بورنيو لاڠيت تيڠڬي) (Chinese: 新比利時瑞典英文萊) (Tamil: புதிய சென்னை) (Hindi: नया बोर्नियो) (Arabic: جنة بورنيو, Janat Burniu) (Czech: Minerska) (Slovak: Minersko) (Polish: Minerski) (Hungarian: Minyarország) (Bulgarian: Минърландия, Minŭrlandia) (Romanian: Minărland), officially the Sultanate of Minecraftia (Swedish: Sultanat av Minerige) (Dutch: Koninkrijk Minerland) (French: Royaume du Minerlande) (German: Königreich Mänerland) (Malay: Kerajaan Borneo Langit Tinggi, Jawi script: كراجأن بورنيو لاڠيت تيڠڬي) (Chinese: 新比利時瑞典英文萊王國) (Tamil: புதிய சென்னை சுல்தானேட்) (Hindi: न्यू मद्रास सल्तनत) (Arabic: سلطنة جنة بورنيو, Saltanat Janat Burniu) (Czech: Minerské království) (Slovak: Minersky sultanát) (Polish: Sułtanat Minerski) (Hungarian: Minyar Szultánság) (Bulgarian: Султанат на Минърландия, Sultanat na Minŭrlandia) (Romanian: Sultanat Minărland), is a federal parliamentary constitutional sultanate located in Southeast Asia. It is divided into 11 provinces and 2 federal territories. Its capital and largest city is St. Minersburg, located in the Minecraftian Capital Territory.

Minecraftia is the 2nd-most ethnically-diverse country in Southeast Asia, with multiple languages spoken there, including Swedish, Malay, English and the three official languages of Belgium, citing colonial history and the migration of Chinese and Indians to the country. It is also home to various religions, Taoism being the most dominant among the Chinese minority, and Sunni Islam and Christianity being the most prominent religions in the country. It is ruled by an independent branch of the Swedish and Belgian royal families who defected to the island in the 1700's. Minecraftia has the most European influence among all the Southeast Asian countries, beating the Philippines.

Etymology
The name "Minecraftia" was derived from the nation's past as a mining-based country, due to the island's abundance of gold and diamonds, and the capital city of St. Minersburg (Malay: Bandar Stockholm Baru)'s industrial and trade-oriented past, hence the "craft" part of the name.

The Chinese name literally means "New Belgian-Swedish Brunei". "Brunei" is another name for Borneo, one name for the island on which Minecraftia is located, and "Belgian-Swedish-British" represents the British, Swedish and Belgian colonization of the country and the island itself. The Indian migrants call it "New Chennai/Madras" in honor of the old Chennai, located in their original country of India.

The Malay name translates to "Borneo, the Plain of High Heaven", derived from the founding legend of the country (first found in the Malay Annals), where the country's founder, Yang Bijak Ali, first landed on, and as he died from old age upon reaching the island, ascended to the realm of what he called "Langit Tinggi", meaning "Field of Highest Heavens".

Prehistory (2000 BCE-300 CE)
Malayans first immigrated to the country around 1000 years BC and set up mining communities after locals found a large reserve of diamonds in the area. As time passed, trade began to prosper and industry became more and more prominent. Agriculture also began to prosper in the area.

Ancient history (300-1100 AD)
Around 300 AD the first Chinese settlements began appearing in various places in the island. More and more mineral reserves and biologically-diverse areas were found, at this point, the people of the island began to believe their island had been blessed with wealth and beauty.

Colonial era (1100's-1778)
The wealth of the island started attracting the attention of other neighboring nations, who began trading with the country. In just a few hundred years, Minecraftia prospered into a rich island nation in Southeast Asia. Due to the country's wealth, it became known far and wide even to the Europeans.

In the mid-17th century, Swedish explorers set sail for Minecraftia and set up a colony in what would become St. Minersburg. This became Sweden's most successful colony and eventually, Sweden started setting up more colonies across the country. The natives accepted the Swedes as guests and treated them with pleasure.

Around the same time decades later, a joint Belgian-British expedition was made to colonize the remaining areas of the island. Unlike their other colonies, the colonists decide to use up the resources carefully and wisely, leading to Minecraftia keeping its reputation as a rich country. Tamils and Hindus also started to settle in the area around that time.

In the mid 1700's, the colonists and natives began to worry about the likely arrival of pirates stealing the island's resources. In response, the colonists set up the Anti-Piracy Coalition, consisting of Belgium, Sweden, Great Britain, and the native Malayans of the island.

Eventually on January 17th 1778, the colonists let go of the island and give it its full independence, renaming it the Sultanate of Minecraftia. It would be ruled by a sultan and another monarch with the title "Supreme Leader of Minecraftia" both from one of the provinces' royal families, ten senators, and a parliament.

The independence goes short-lived as Belgium peacefully reclaims Minecraftia in 1793.

Early Modern Era (1780-1913)
On May 16th 1795, the Minecraftian Revolution began, however after a long and costly battle that destroyed half of Minevarden town, peace is resolved and the Republican-led revolutionaries were hanged for treason.

Sometime during the early 1800's, Central Europeans (mainly from Bulgaria, Romania and the four Visegrad nations) migrated to the island of Minecraftia and survive under the divide between the natives and colonists, followed by migrations of Indonesians and Tagalog peoples.

In 1872, the first pirate attack on Minecraftian waters was recorded. The pirates were led by ex-Sultan Datuk Ralph VI of the New Penang Royal Family, and several former members of the Republicans who led the 1795 revolution.

Wartime Era and the Cold War (1914-1997)
Minecraftia was invaded by Japan in 1940 and made a puppet state, however a peaceful revolt then led the Japanese to re-cede it to Belgium permanently. It lasted until May 13th 1965 when it was released through a referendum.

During the Cold War, Minecraftia refused to participate in any involvement with the US or USSR and chose to remain away from the war and with the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement), commonly referred to as the Third World.

Minecraftian Renaissance (1998-present)
Minecraftia, due to its generous nature and its conservation of resources, became one of the only countries, if not the only to remain unaffected by the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997. They helped the rest of the world to recover in just a year.

On September 11th 2001, instead of destroying the World Trade Center, Al-Qaeda terrorists blew up European Parliament in Brussels under Osama bin Laden. Minecraftia, shocked and appalled at their act, declared war on the Al-Qaeda terrorists alongside the rest of the world.

On June 19th 2004, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden were tried at the International Criminal Court and pleaded guilty to crimes against humanity, and were sentenced to death by hanging on December 31st of the year.

On December 1, 2008, members of the Serbian terrorist group Black-Eyed Army attempted to blow up the Royal Palace but were thwarted and sentenced to death after pleading guilty to treason and crimes against humanity. Minecraftia became one of the first countries to recognize Kosovo's independence.

On November 12th 2017, the incumbent monarchs, Datuk Jordan Antle of Antleburg, and Tan Sri' Joseph Garrett of Minevarden, were sworn into office, while Dato' Sri' Markus Persson of the Capital Territory, the previous monarch, became the country's Prime Minister.

Climate
Minecraftia has a tropical rainforest climate, due to its position on the equatorial island of Borneo. There are two seasons: summer and rainy. Thunderstorms are a rare occurrence in the country, unlike other countries above or below the equator.

Summers are usually hot and can go between 60 to 80 degrees F. Rainy day temperatures range between 15 to 20 degrees. It usually gets cold from October to February, with temperatures ranging from 20 to 25 F.

The lowest recorded temperature was 9 F in St. Minersburg on December 31st 2019. The hottest recorded was 74 F in the town of Nineflower, Minevarden, on April 15th 2013. The temperature in St. Minersburg during the cold season can go from 25 F to as low as 17 F, with some instances of 10 F or lower. It gets cold, but not enough to generate snow.

Despite its tropical climate, fruits and flowers that normally grow in temperate zones still grow there. Examples include blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and cherries. Pears also grow in Minecraftia. Minecraftia also teems with species of flowers normally found in temperate zones.

Geography
Minecraftia has at present the following biomes: Off the northern coast is the Warna Reef, a coral reef home to tropical fish, crustaceans, anemones and over 250 species of colorful corals. It also is home to a community of stingless jellyfish and octopus, and to a small community of hermit crabs and starfish, located in a small area of the reef also inhabited by clownfish and angelfish.
 * Plains
 * Hills
 * Jungle
 * Reef
 * Swamp
 * Mountains

The Rimba Kehidupan (Jungle of Life) was declared a national park in 1978 as a result of its biological diversity, which teems with orangutans, parrots, and other animals loitering around the canopy. From there, people can tour the jungle over its three layers on a glass tunnel staircase, which is part of the government-run national park itself.

In 2009 a Chinese-based real estate firm tried to cut down the forest to make way for a housing estate, but due to its protected status and after a successful petition from angered community leaders, its franchise was revoked for breach of contract and the company declared bankruptcy due to its contract loss. The company closed down a year later.

Economy
Minecraftia's economy is at present the largest in Southeast Asia. It is best attributed to its richness of resources. The country invests mainly in trade and agriculture and is praised for being one of the world's most generous nations, giving out billions in foreign aid annually. The major industries are agriculture, biotech, chemicals, construction materials, electronics and software.

Gaming industry
A famous video game company in the country is Lionheart Games Sdn Bhd., considered a rival to Epic Games and EA of the United States, Traveller's Tales of the United Kingdom, and China's NetEase and Moonton. It is at the same level as Malichka's Eima Jolum Entertainment and Japan's Nintendo.

Electronics
Minecraftia is a major phone manufacturer alongside China. Its most popular phone brands are MinePhone, Vivacia (targeted at the general public) and Reason (owned by Malichkan hardware manufacturer Eima Jolum Gaming, targeted at hipster boys). It is also a major manufacturer of gaming equipment, which is mainly exported to the rest of Southeast Asia. Famous gaming equipment companies in MInecraftia include Propellerheads, Invictus and InXanity (the first and last are also owned either wholly or partially by Malichkan companies, mainly Eima Jolum Entertainment).

Ecological conservation
Minecraftia harnesses solar and wind power and other forms of alternative energy. Animal slaughtering is done in ethical ways and killing of rare animals is prohibited, in Sharia law it is punishable by stoning, while national law states that the penalty for doing so will be at least 30-40 years in jail.

Illegal logging, selling products made from rare animals on the black market and destruction of forests is considered treason and is punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Culture
Minecraftian culture is predominantly European-influenced (specifically Belgian and Swedish influence), but does keep all of its Malayan cultural influence.

Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are official holidays in Minecraftia, as well as Chinese New Year, Deepavali, King's Feast, Christmas and Walpurgis Night.

May 13 is billed as Minecraftia Day, commemorating the independence of the country from the Belgian Empire in 1965. January 17 on the other hand is the nation's Independence Day, commemorating its independence in 1778.

Traditions
On Christmas Eve, Minecraftians usually prepare a special buffet titled a meja sampah, which literally translates to "table of garbage" reflecting the buffet's diversity of options, and, like Westerners, are said to leave cookies and milk and hang stockings on their walls in order to invite Santa Claus to their homes. The next day, they will find presents under their Christmas tree, and that the stockings are now filled up with candies.

Unlike the beliefs of Westerners, Santa is believed to give anyone they desire, regardless of them being nice or naughty, however most so-called "moral guardians" are lobbying for people to switch to the Westerners' traditional perceptions of whoever will get presents (whereas nice kids get what they asked for, while naughty kids either get coal or even nothing), worried that their kids are becoming spoiled as a result of the twist in the legend.

On New Year's Eve, Minecraftians celebrate by making loud noises and bright lights with firecrackers and fireworks, and smashing objects with their fists, baseball bats or other weapons, hoping to destroy all forms of bad luck and misfortune that may lurk in every nook and cranny. Likened to a riot event, it is similar in nature to the NYE celebrations observed in the Philippines. Organized fireworks displays also take place, especially in malls and other public places, most importantly at the Plaza Merdeka in St. Minersburg.

Famous superstitions

 * If one eats too much minerberries (Minecraftian blueberries), one is likely to turn into a blåbärpojke (which literally means big blue ball), a round/spherical humanoid filled with blueberries and blueberry juice. Blåbärpojke, also known in english as blueberrybubs, or bola biru besar in Malay, have an insatiable appetite for blueberry pies or blueberry donuts, which always, and always will, lead to them bursting and spraying their blueberry filling all over. The folklore creature served as inspiration for Violet's transformation into a blueberry in the 1964 novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by American children's book author Roald Dahl and is believed to have spawned the whole blueberry inflation fetish.
 * Minecraftians also believe in näcken. The Malay word for this is penipu telanjang (naked fiddler), or other times, they call it penipu lamas (drowning fiddler). In Dutch it is called a nimf-met-vool (fiddler nymph), in French a eau-violoneuse (water fiddler) and in German, the name for it is the same as the Swedish original. The Chinese call it a shuǐ yāo (water demon), and Indians call it a maut-kee-ladaee-karanevaala (death fiddler) (in Hindi) or a kaḻuvappaṭṭaḥpiṭlar (washed up fiddler) (in Tamil). The legend now appears not just in Minecraftia, but also in the neighboring nations of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
 * Waving a finger at someone means you are wishing to sell the person's soul to the devil and wanting to forfeit his/her life. The gesture is normally often used by people as a mark of discipline and is even being used as the signature sign of Moralists' Association of Minecraftia since 1970. Because of this superstition, the MAM is now being compared by Minecraftian elders to a satanic or masonic cult. The legend was so well-known, music videos featuring the gesture were either edited out or censored altogether. This is very similar to the popular "waving-finger-means-bad-luck" superstition in Malichka.
 * On June 3rd 1998, a heavy thunderstorm hit the mountain town of Kampung Perak. At 12:03 pm, villagers reported seeing an unpleasant, pitch-black cloud rolling towards them. 15 minutes later, villagers heard ear-piercing thunder and bright white lights flashing for a split second, along with intense rain and marble-sized hail. The storm continued for 2 hours before dissipating, by then, the whole village was already destroyed either from the lightning strikes or the hail. A weather forecaster from state broadcaster RTNB, taking the guise of a shaman, appeared the day before and advised the villagers to get indoors, turn on the lights, and cover their ears. Majority of the townsfolk heeded his instructions while others passed it off as a drill. This is the last time a thunderstorm occured at daytime in Minecraftia.

Education
Minecraftians are, since 2015, legally required to bring phones or tablets to school, regardless of restrictions on use of portable electronics. The average Minecraftian IQ is 100, equivalent to Austria and the UK. School days there last only 4 hours a week, with 30-minute lectures every week. Minecraftian students have to use the notes app to write down notes, if they have to. Only a few schools continue to use traditional books and notebooks instead. Minecraftia uses both the imperial and metric systems of measurement, and is the only country to do so.

Media
The national media is usually delivered in Swedish, Malay, the three official Belgian languages (Dutch, French and German), English, Chinese and Tamil. RTNB (Radio Televisyen Negara Borneo) is the flagship TV station of the country and is owned wholly by the Royal Family. RTNB uses a broadcast system inspired by the Dutch and Swiss broadcasting models.

Minecraftian Press Corporation, a publisher of the newspapers St. Minersburg Gazette and MineNewspaper, the latter of which is the oldest national newspaper, is owned 85% by 13 Bintang Group and 15% by RTNB.

Under the Media Act of 2010, the Minecraftian broadcasting system constitutes:

Governing organizations

 * RTNB (Radio Televisyen Negara Borneo) - Main broadcaster
 * RTBSB (St. Minersburg Television) - Broadcaster for Greater St. Minersburg

Member-based organizations

 * PRU-YST (Penyiar Radio Umum-Yayasan Siaran Televisyen) - Focusing on entertainment
 * PPRA-TB (Persatuan Pekerja Radio Amatur-Televisyen Belia) - Youth-oriented broadcaster
 * RIB-PTM (Radio Islam Borneo-Penyiaran Televisyen Muslim) - Islamic broadcaster
 * TWE (Televisyen untuk Warga Emas) - Distributes programming for viewers over 60
 * PRK-RKB (Penyiar Radio Kristian-Radio Katolik Borneo) - Catholic broadcaster
 * PEB (Penyiaran Evangelikal Borneo) - Protestant Christian broadcaster
 * TP (Televisyen Pekerja) - Broadcaster owned by the Minecraftian Communist Party (defunct 2010)

Task-based organizations

 * YPB (Yayasan Penyiaran Borneo) - Coordinator of the other broadcasters, news broadcaster
 * PRP (Penyiaran Radio Pendidikan) - Educational broadcaster

Language-based organizations
Based on the Swiss broadcast system.
 * BSS (Borneo Svensksändning) - Swedish
 * RPBCB (Radio Penyiaran Bahasa Cina) - Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien
 * PRBI (Penyiar Radio Bahasa-Bahasa India) - Tamil, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu
 * PBN (Penyiaran Bahasa-Bahasa Nordik) - Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Old Norse
 * RBB (Radio Bahasa-Bahasa Belgia) - Dutch, French, German, Luxembourgish
 * TRBA (Televisyen Radio Bahasa Arab) - Arabic
 * PBEST (Penyiaran Bahasa-Bahasa Eropah Selatan-Tengah) - Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Silesian

Religious-based organizations

 * BBR (Borneo Buddhist Radio) - Buddhist broadcaster. Joint venture between PRBI and RPBC.
 * RYB (Radio Yahudi Borneo) - Jewish broadcaster, broadcasts from the Chabad of St. Minersburg.
 * TR (Taoist Radio) - Broadcaster for Taoists/Shenists/Confucianists. Merged with RPBC.
 * HMG (Hinduists' Media Group) - Hinduist broadcaster. Merged with PRBI.
 * ORB (Orthodox Radio Broadcasting) - Orthodox broadcaster. Merged with PBEST.
 * SHR (Secular Humanism Radio) - Broadcaster for secular Humanists.

Politics
The Minecraftian political landscape is dominated by five political parties: The country is a federal parliamentary constitutional Islamic monarchy, borrowing elements from Malaysia, Belgium, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The current Sultan is Datuk Jordan Antle of the Antleburg Royal Family, while the current Supreme Leader is Tan Sri' Joseph Garrett of the Minevarden Royal Family. The Prime Minister is Ingrid Virtanen, a Minecraftian of Sweden Finnish descent.
 * Minecraftian Liberal-Democrats (incumbent)
 * National Front for Conservatism
 * Communist Party of Minecraftia
 * Fascists United Minecraftia
 * Minecraftian Environmentalists