Semia 30, 777 WG: Four years after the government of the city-state of Shirley approved a proposal to join the Realm of Passio-Corum, the Council of Courts has voted in favor of a treaty of annexation. The treaty, which will now be sent to King Lucien IV for ratification, is a result of negotiations which have occurred between ambassadors from New Zimia and Shirley over the course of the past twenty-four months.
The modern city-state of Shirley was settled in 735 WG by Haifan immigrants following expeditions led by Corum Expeditions, a subsidiary of Wallis Islands Investment Firm. In 753 WG, the city-state refused an offer to join Passio-Corum in its successful bid for entry into the Micronational Cartography Society. Twenty years later Shirley’s government reversed its earlier decision by voting to join the Realm, following an extensive military campaign by the New Zimian War League, in and around the Siroccan colony of Port Brent. Today’s passed treaty comes following negotiations which began soon after the New Zimian government issued its “Passio-Corollary,” which granted the New Zimian War League the authority to lead public works projects across Northern Corum.
King Lucien IV, who is expected to ratify the new treaty between New Zimia and Shirley, has received heavy criticism for promoting annexation, especially amongst conservative, ethnically Haifan, and superstitious indigenous leaders who maintain that the city-state is cursed. These claims are inspired by official records which confirm that the city-state was at the heart of an epidemic, which in the latter part of the last century, wiped out all but a small fraction of the region’s human population. Critics of the king’s decision to annex Shirley argue that annexation poses a biological and spiritual risk to citizens of the Realm, while advocates claim that by playing a direct and active role in developing infrastructure in the city-state, the risk of another regional epidemic can be mitigated. The official stance of the New Zimian government, according to a spokesman for the Council of Courts, is that regional security is ensured by general unity between the states that constitute the region, and that the treaty, which was approved today, will play a greater role than any military campaign in efforts to eradicate regional problems such as piracy, and disease.
Realm of Passio-Corum 