Great Council
From MoongatesWiki
The Great Council is based in Britain. Each of the eight towns and cities of Britannia has a seat in the Great Council.
Royal Governance
Under the firm hand of Lord British, Britannia underwent a great transformation from totalitarian monarchy to representative democracy in what is called a "Monarchic Republic". Britannia is now ruled by the Great Council and nominally at least, Lord British. Britannia is divided among eight major towns with their own political faction and a representative on the Council itself. Each of the eight towns has developed into a cultural centre for one of the eight major professions and no one is restricted to their town of birth. This council and Lord British would begin to build a document, based on nature and reality, that set forth those rights of the people that should never be usurped. British believed that the eight virtues would play a major role in the nature of the document.
Each year, a council member would be elected by his town. That council member would conduct town meetings at regular intervals to determine the problems in the town and to become acquainted with the needs and interests of the people. Several times a year, at regular intervals, the council member would travel to Britain to sit on the Great Council. Council recommendations would then be presented to Lord British, and he could accept them or object to them. If he objected, his own rules would require him to sit with the council to try and work out solutions acceptable to all.
The Government, symbolized by the crown and the scales of Justice, has its seat in Castle Britannia, former home of Lord British, the once and future king.
Interregnum Era
Lord British no longer sits the throne following his dissappearance from Sosaria many years ago. Rumour has it that he has departed on a quest of exploration to other realms, while some say he is trapped in the Ethereal Vortex. There are those who even doubt he still lives. If his apparent abandonment of Britannia has anything to do with countering future threats remains a mystery, though this remains the official line. The Kingdom has since been ruled by the King's court mage and closest advisor Nystul, and – following his own dissappearance – his apprentice Calinin (until his own demise) beside the famed Companions Sir Dupre, Shamino and Sir Geoffrey as well as provincial representatives and bureaucratic officials. Several members of the Council, including the Royal Treasurer Lord Francesco, were slaughtered by the Followers of Armageddon during the Warriors of Destiny event cycle. The Royal Ambassador, Lord Casca, would be the only survivor. For several months he would govern the kingdom almost single-handedly from behind the scenes, with only a small group of pawns and allies sitting the Council beside him. During the War of Shadows Lord Casca would make the leap from de facto ruler to de jure King, being proclaimed "from amongst [the Great Council's] noble selves".
Europa Politics
On the Europa-shard of Ultima Online, there has been an ongoing conflict between loyalists, whom swear their alligence to the King, and the rebels, who strive to "liberate" the cities of Sosaria, and bring about the end of the supposedly defunct Kingdom. The Kingdom of Britannia is a greatly decentralised unit in Europa, with the cities bearing almost full autonomy, free to wage wars at will and set their own laws and policies. To this extent the Great Council is scarcely more than a confederate assembly, rather than the united parliament of old.
