So I have this idea for a short story about twin sisters separated at birth sort of like the book series/Disney channel movie twitches. I have planned that the twins were originally from a fictional chain of islands off the coast of Australia. I'm starting out my short story with the history of the island. The island started out as a British colony where people were sent for practicing witchcraft. After World War II the island gained independence from Great Britain and the people of the island started their own government. I can't seem to come up with what kind of government the islands started after gaining their independence as I'm unsure of what government I'm for. I have thought that after gaining their independence the islands became a republic like here in the united states, but I'm unsure. By the way I'm just writing this story for fun not to state my political views, which at the moment I'm unsure of. The main focus of the story is suppose to be emotion not politics.
If they gained independence from Great Britain, then their government system will probably be influenced by that of Britain's. I don't mean that they will have a monarch per se (and they probably won't anyways), but that they'd have a parliamentary system quite similar to that of Britain. I would suggest looking up (on Wikipedia, maybe) the basic outline of how Britain's government work, and compare that to some of its former colonies - such as that of India, South Africa, Belize, Canada, etc., for instance - your fictional country will likely have something similar as a former part of Britain.
A country of witches might have a system of government based on the flavor of witchcraft you developed. Maybe a council of elders or most powerful witches as the ruling body That is if they still practice witchcraft and/or they actually had real power.
Well, the united states use to be a colony of Great Britain over 200 years ago so why can't the government be like that of the united states. I'll do some research on the governments of other former British colonies such as Canada, India, and Australia and see which government I like best for my fictional chain of islands. By the way the people of the island still practice magic and there are people on the island who are naturally more attuned with their magical abilities. As a Wiccan I believe that everyone has the potential for magic but some are naturally more attuned with their magical abilities then others (sort of how some people are more gifted at music then others) and I tend to put that belief in a lot of my stories. By the way if you don't know what Wicca is look it up as it's hard for me to describe it other then it's an earth based religion that believes in magic.
While the US was a colony of Britain over 200 years ago, that was a while ago - most of the former British colonies these days tend to have similar governments. It's probably partly because it's easier anyways to keep similar power structures than invent new ones outright.
Choose the government in your story for the social environment your story requires. You really don't need to justify it. Remember the whole point of the setting is to provide the necessary backdrop for your story.
I have done some research and you're right some former British colonies such as Canada and Australia have the same sort of government in which they recognize Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.
this may be true, but why would a group of witches/ wizards want a head of state that is "appointed by god/"
Witches and wizards like all people believe in a god, but they also believe in a goddess. So why can't a group of witches and wizards be ruled by a head of state believed to be appointed by the divine.
oww what Atheist/Jainism/Buddhist/Shintoism/Taoist people do not exist? still seems odd they would pick the Church of England to be the divine they would trust to "appoint" a head of state.
Yes atheist people do exist. I know for a fact because my dad's atheist, which makes it hard to discuss religion with him. I should of said most people not all people. My mistake. However it is safe to say that a majority of the population does believes in a higher power. At least here in the states.
The original point is that the witches and wizards wouldn't choose a government based on a deity-appointed head of state. But to what degree do any of us get to choose our government? At best, we may be allowed to choose from aq handful of alternatives. At worst, we may have no choice at all. As a writer, you should welcome a choice of fictional government that is not favorable to your characters. That is an additional source of conflict or tension in your story. This is why I say to choose the fictional government that works best for your story. That is not necessarily the one your characters would prefer.
I feel like this is one of those details that will come naturally once you start writing the story. Try not to get hung up on stuff like this unless it is absolutely pivotal to the story. Just start writing and the idea's will solidify on your mind as you go. And if you get to a point and say, "I don't like idea anymore," you can always change it.
Well, I'll see how a government like Canada's and Australia's works out for the story. If that doesn't seem to work out for the story then I will change it to something else. And by the way as I mentioned the main plot of the story is not politics.
Remember, they used to say that the sun never sets on the British Empire. Meaning, it controlled so many lands, that at any given moment, at any given time, there was light in some area of that empire. The many regions controlled by the Brits were inspired by them, and created a somewhar similar system, but tweaked it a bit, and had no king. The US and Israel are two examples. Israel was created by people who had some history with a British occupation, people who were both the allies and adversaries of the British military (depends on the given time and context. I don't wanna get into that). Look at the US, look at Israel, look at India. No king, no queen.
I remember hearing that saying, and as I mentioned earlier I was thinking about making the government similar to the United States and I still might.
If the islands gained independence from Britain, then they will probably still be closely tied to the Brits in one form or another. Similar government, culture, etc. Keep in mind that after World War II the Brits dismantled their empire but did not let the former colonies stray too far off the reservation with the Cold War beginning.
