An Overview of Solacia's History
Pre-History
Solacia began as a nameless, largely philosophical concept within the mind of Niamh Iltani sometime around 2012. When making difficult decisions, Niamh (pronounced “neeve”) would often ask herself “What would I do if the world was watching?” She found this simple question very good for quickly figuring out the best and most ethical course of action. This question later evolved to “What would I do if I were a queen, and I wanted to set an example for an ideal society?” or “What world would we live in if everyone behaved like me?” Adjusting her personal creed to take into account the responsibility she had for the greater good of society, she felt, was the logical thing to do. At this point in time the idea of the kingdom in her mind was a nebulous one- the concept was far more important to her than any details about what this kingdom would look like if it were to become a reality.
2014
Due to a series of life-changing events, Niamh found herself relocating from the US to Germany in the fall of 2014. In all the chaos of the move to a totally new country and culture, Niamh began to feel she was losing her sense of self. During this time, she used speculating about the type of society she would create if she could as a way to identify her core beliefs and values, writing about the topic frequently in her journal. Because she found the exercise an enjoyable distraction from the turmoil and loneliness of adjusting to a new country, the nickname she used for her imaginary kingdom was “Solace”. It was during this time that she made the first sketches of what would eventually become the Solacian flag, though she never even considered that Solacia could one day become a real kingdom.
Solacia’s Founding
In the spring of 2017, Niamh found herself musing about the concept of citizenship. She was disturbed by the events happening across the sea in her homeland at that time and realized that she no longer felt like she identified with the concept of “being American” (whatever that could be). However, she was dissatisfied with the political situation in Germany and did not feel especially patriotic toward her new country of residence either.
One day in response to some particularly upsetting news from the US, Niamh said to her husband, “I don’t want to be American anymore.”
“Well, do you want German citizenship then?”
Niamh responded, “No, I want to start my own country.”
A few days later, Niamh decided upon the name and flag for her nation. The Kingdom of Solacia was officially founded on the 5th of April, 2017.
The Stomarian Era
In the spring of 2022, Queen Niamh was approached by Emperor Andrew Stott of The Empire of Stomaria with the offer of becoming a member state. Queen Niamh accepted, and Solacia was officially integrated into Stomaria on March 11, 2022.
Solacia Declares Independence
Due to some ideological differences with Stomaria, Queen Niamh decided the correct course of action was to liberate Solacia from imperial rule. Solacia declared its independence on December 17th, 2022. Since then, December 17th has been celebrated yearly as a national holiday.