Fortressian History
Fortressian History is the totality of the history of the Principality of the Pillow Fortress, from its earliest antecedents as various fictional worldbuilding projects through its immediate prehistory and planning phases up to its independence and through to the present day. Much of the earliest historical documents are lost due to poor record keeping, and even up until the founding of the Pillow Fortress Wiki many of the specific dates of important events are also unknown and must be reconstructed.
Archaic Prehistory
The Archaic Period of Fortressian Prehistory consists of all the worldbuilding and state building projects undertaken by the First Princess beginning in her youth and continuing off and on in different forms until adulthood. This period, lasting about twenty years, is archaic because no records or documents or items associated with these projects survive into the present, and so the First Princess's memory is the only guide, and since human memory is fallible and finite, its impossible to retrieve a 100% accurate accounting of this time, nor determine just what influences each worldbuilding project had on the next, and which if any have been carried on to the Pillow Fortress.
From the best of her recollection, these projects by the First Princess generally followed closely in form and function with both her intellectual development as a human being and her political understanding, with the earliest being purely fantastical, apolitical childhood creations, through to conservative republics, libertarian minarchist associations and plans to revive the Republic of Minerva, to liberal democracies, to Soviet-style communist states. While the First Princess was aware of micronations during much of this period, none of these worldbuilding projects ever reached that level of development.
Late Prehistory
The Late Period of Fortressian Prehistory begins in the year 2013 and continues through to late 2017. During this period, the First Princess's worldbuilding projects all retain various fantastical and science fiction elements, though many of them begin to converge, and overtime evolve closer and closer into what will become the Principality. This is the earliest period for which extensive documentation exists, and it will have to be studied and reviewed in order to determine an exact timeline of development. This section will receive many additional updates as the archives are pieced together.
Many of the terms associated with the Pillow Fortress appear for (presumably) the first time during this period, some surprisingly early, though often designating things very different than what they would come to in the Principality. "Pillow Fortress" was the name given to a stay-behind network to be activated in the event of the states' conquest by a hostile power, "Platinum Band" serves most often as the name of the sole military of the various projects, but in at least one instance was the name of the state, and "Libertine" is used in the sense of a political association, but here styled the "Libertine Society" rather than "Libertine Party". Many of the same government organizations as exist now are present in these past projects, but with slightly differing names and relations to other organizations.
The Late Period would come to a close when the First Princess's largest and most recent worldbuilding project would be lost due to the files becoming corrupted. There was a brief and subsequent attempt at a follow up, one radically different to all previous attempts, but this was unsatisfying, and for some time all such projects ceased.
Waiting for the Pillow Fortress
The Waiting Period of Fortressian Prehistory is the final stage before the Principality came into formal existence as a micronation, lasting from late 2017 to 19 January, 2018. As the fantastical elements of the worldbuilding projects had taken a backseat to the more grounded, state and nation building ones, it was decided that the next such project would not be fictional, per se, but rather take the form of a proper micronation. Work did not begin immediately, as it was decided that there had to be a sufficient inciting incident to justify the existence of a new state. Such a wait would not last long.
Independence and Foundation
The Independence of the Principality of the Pillow Fortress was declared by the First Princess on her Twitter account at 12:00 AM on 20 January 2018 in response to the United States federal government shutdown, an event that would serve as acceptable justification for the establishment of a new country, one which, though unstated within the declaration, would not be subject to such procedural foolishness as a "government shutdown." And though this turmoil in the US was over in only a couple days, the Pillow Fortress would continue to exist regardless, having been created ex nihilo independent rather than as a secessionist state, and therefore not having any ties to or interest in US politics.
By January 24th the first government organizations would be established, thus beginning the Foundational Period of Pillow Fortress History. The State Charter, which had been drafted in anticipation of independence, came into force the next day, thereby providing the legal framework which would govern the Principality going forward, followed later that year by the Summer Constitution and then the Autumn Constitution, all the while the size and scope of the government expanded.
Summer Constitution
- For the text of the Summer Constitution, see Law:Summer Constitution
The Summer Constitution (originally known as the Constitution of the Principality of the Pillow Fortress) was the first attempt at formally structuring the government, which had up until now developed and operated without any legal standing. The purpose then of the Summer Constitution was to approve of what had already been in existence for the past seven months. As its name implies, the Summer Constitution came into force in the late summer of 2018. This ultimately proved unworkable, and rather than go through the amendment process as it itself had established, the First Princess used her powers to dissolve a broken government to throw out the Summer Constitution and write a new one.
Autumn Constitution
- For the text of the Autumn Constitution, see Law:Autumn Constitution
The Autumn Constitution would be promulgated in mid September 2018 and be in force for nearly a year. The major thing which set apart this attempt at a constitution from the previous was the complete lack of a supreme court, that institution having come to be viewed as a danger to the stability of the Principality, and thus abolished. During this time a sincere effort was made to work within the Autumn Constitution's framework, with the document being amended a total of seven times. As the government reached a high level of development, the problem of the judiciary and law enforcement became ever prevalent, as they were the last areas which remained underdeveloped. This new status quo proved just as flawed as the previous, and so the Autumn Constitution was thrown out, thus ending the Foundational Period.
The Great Stability
The Constitution of the Year I was promulgated almost exactly one year after the Summer Constitution, in late August of 2019. It reestablished a supreme court, called the Xeer, and incorporated many of the amendments to the Autumn Constitution as well as made numerous tweaks throughout for clarity and to slightly alter the balances of power between the now three branches of government. This lead to the Stable Period of Fortressian History, the new constitution having been extremely successful and staying in force to the present day with only a handful of minor amendments. The government continued to change, most notably the Department of the Exterior and the Department of State Security were disestablished and reformed as bureaus within the Office of the Princess. The sustained lack of any major changes at the highest levels would allow the Principality the freedom to begin an online presence in the form of the Pillow Fortress Wiki, with most of the state's documents and organizational structures transferred by the fall of 2021.
COVID-19 Pandemic
The global coronavirus pandemic (2 - 5) was a challenge for the Principality. Despite taking all reasonable precautions, COVID-19 reached the Pillow Fortress in the year 4, and though those infected made full recoveries, the experience left what are expected to be lasting changes to the culture. SARS-Cov-2 was declared endemic near the end of the year 5, in somber recognition of the failure to eradicate the disease.