Name of Nation:
The Imperial Lancian Archipelago States
Territory:
The Green
Description of Government:
The Imperial Lancian Archipelago States is the colonial possession of the Lancian Empire and so has a Colonial Government that is directly under the rule of the Lancian monarchy. The Colonial Government is headed by the Pro-Duke/Duchess, shorthand of Provincial Duke/Duchess. This position is taken by someone chosen by the Kaiser every 5 years, and holds the power of the Kaiser in the colony due to their monarch’s absence. The Pro-Duke/Duchess however is just one individual and so delegates the day to day running of the colony to a number of Ministries, each with their own department of expertise and magistracies that are chosen by the Pro-Duke/Duchess from those in the colonies, and those in Lancia who wish to put themselves forward for a colonial position. Beneath the Ministries are two houses. The House of Freeman and the House of the Assembly. The House of Freemen is where local constituencies send representatives to discuss the needs of the people and propose bills and subjects for the Ministries. However the House of Freemen actually holds no power, and the only thing passing a motion assures, is that the government must address the matter and release a statement, even if their response is to ignore the subject. The House of the Assembly is more of a platform than a political establishment. Here every citizen of the Imperial Lancian Archipelago States has the right to voice their opinions and concerns, as well as magistrates having the right to release public addresses without fear of recrimination for doing so. In both Houses representatives of the Pro-Duke/Duchess must be present for the business to begin, and this normally happens daily, unless circumstance means that the Government are unable to do so, such as during times of crisis.
Description of Economy:
The Imperial Lancian Archipelago States has the economy of a banana republic. Vast swathes of land are farmed through plantations, mined heavily and forested creating a huge section of working class citizens. Producing raw materials on a vast scale in comparison to their other goods. Whilst actual industry and processing of raw materials is desperately lacking, making a minute middle class. The number of factories is derisory and the seemingly national focus on producing goods to ship home makes the States less than appealing to capitalist investors due to the unfavourable policies imposed. In wealth the States are still quite well off as a majority of costs are fed back into the Lancian Empire, and more favourable tariffs mean that States produced goods are snapped up, much to the benefit of the colonial treasury. However, the state is so reliant on importing their manufactured goods, and exporting unprocessed ones that economists predict downfall for the economy if it falls too far behind competition from the ‘Old World’ and is unable to modernise.
Description of Culture:
The majority of citizens in the Imperial Lancian Archipelago States are Lancian colonists, with a smattering of assimilated natives and a minute number of generations of colony born citizens. However of the total population, the majority are not citizens. ‘Readjusted’, or non-citizen native peoples, are a majority of the population, with little to no rights as they work tirelessly on the fields and down the mines to continue keeping the cogs moving on the industrial machine that a colony is supposed to be. As such cities and towns come in fairly uniform nature, with a plain solid structures of little aesthetic value making up the city proper, well thought out in organisation and being home to the citizens of the colony, the hubs of business and seat administration. Outside of most major towns though there are desolate slums, shanty towns of thin wood and palms are the homes of the Readjusted.
For citizens life is fairly good, whilst most are working class. They are an upper working class, foreman and the like, with enough money to feed and clothe their families, and a little to spend at the end. Beer halls and cheap shows are normally held in most towns and are very popular with the people, some of whom pine to return to Lancia. The minority of citizens who are rich enough to own the land or businesses actually reside in estates out of the cities, or buy up large plots to build manors. These people live in great luxury, with the finest goods imported from Lancia as well as making use of elaborate establishments of culture for the more high brow shows.
For the Readjusted, life is hardship. Barred from entering city limits during certain hours of the day, the readjusted are forced to live and work outside of the cities in whatever clothes and homes they can fashion themselves. Public gatherings are criminal acts for these people and every one is required to carry a permit to work during the few hours they are allowed into cities to buy the food and goods they need to survive.
Religiously Adasim is the official following, and many stick to this teaching. However a small sect of Adasists have watered the teachings down, intermingling it with the Animalist religion of the natives to form Natural-Adasimism. Meanwhile Adasim has proven very unpopular with the native populations and in attempts to subdue discontent, forcible conversion is stamped out quickly, allowing the native people to maintain their right to religion keeps many in a slightly more contented place.
Finally the Imperial Lancian Archipelago States has had little to add to the global culture and art world, some paintings of note and even a royal symphony a number of years ago. But not much else, the previous Pro-Duke called it a ‘travesty of extraordinary proportions’ but did little to alleviate it.
Description of Military:
The military mirrors that of the Lancian Empire, divided into the three different branches. However where it does differ is on its effectiveness. The land forces of the States are trained to be more amphibious than that of traditional forces, allowing for the fact the States are mostly broken up islands, and as such the purely land based units are mainly tight knit groups tasked with protecting key locations and sent from Lancia directly. The navy is by far the largest of any colony, and is heavily invested into at the cost of other facets. Armadas of well maintained ships patrol the waters of the States like clockwork, keeping the shipping routes and waters there completely monopolised with protection agreements and the like, causing money to flow in. Lastly the air force is totally underfunded. Whilst it would make sense to use the air in tandem with the sea, no infrastructure for maintaining an air fleet has been implemented and as such leaves any real advanced aircraft unmaintainable and the numbers maintained thoroughly underwhelming.
History:
The Imperial Lancian Archipelago States has a short history, but it is one that is filled with some 'questionable' periods. During the rise of the Kingdom of Prukin, landfall was made by the coloniser Dietrich Hanz-Shcroder at the current site of the capital city, Achriposkin upon the charter that he had the right to create a state of colony in the islands nearby. Here three ships worth of settlers begun to build a 'utopia' in the New World. Early efforts were fruitful and the colony was one of the fastest growing in the New World. However, with faster progress, come bigger problems and as the borders of the colony spread, contact was made with the native populations. At first progress halted completely, people had not expected to find human life on the island. However progress halts for very little and before long the Secretary of the Archipelago declared them 'sub-human' and 'appropriate for extermination as is every pest'. This led to a process of organised killings. Mobs of settlers were armed and incited to go to nearby villages, killing everyone they came across. This time was jumpy and angry, propaganda was produced painting the natives as animals and free to hunt for the settlers. But this process was messy and more often than not burning villages started fires that were expensive to put out. And so once the States begun spreading to new islands, a new policy of 'Readjustment' begun. The natives were 'investigated' by a team of scientists over the course of a number of years and after extensive research found the natives to in fact be a less developed version of humankind, their own group. And as such needed their own rights in this state. They were declared a property of the colony and a resource to be traded and used. Now the Archipelago had a more effective way of controlling the natives who opposed them. The unreleased violence of people was replaced with coordinated efforts of Lancian forces in forcing the natives into servitude. With the native population dealt with, Lancia felt that more federated control would be appropriate for better administration and faster growth. The Pro-Dukeship was established within the Lancian Court and the position became one to covet as the Readjusted natives work paid fruits in the form of wealth. In recent years the States have filled in the remaining islands that were part of the original charter from the crown and directed more towards the efforts of colonising the mainland, however work here is slow. And no real valid reasons have been given for their taking of this land.
Other: N/A
