South Arcea

South Arcea, officially the Empire of South Arcea, is a nation located on the island of Sudile, situated between the continents of Propastra and Propeterram, and bordered by the Sea of Coin and Iron Ocean. A relatively young nation, South Arcea boasts a high level of industrialization and strong economy. It is a founding member of the Second Alliance.

Early History
Sudile was colonized as early as 700RT by Sudfellian and Hoffnung tribes, creating coastal villages which would become the sites of later cities. The discovery of the lesser eve known as the General would lead to the settlement known as Thensour being created around his location in 1710RT.

By 914RT, the mainly Sudfellian elements on the western side of the island had become incorporated into the Duchy of Sudile within the Arcean Second Empire, while the eastern portion of the island remained dividied into small duchies. These would begin to unify in response to concerns of Arcean expansionism, unifying into the Confederation of Contact by 1010RT.

Arcea's discovery of maglev technology in the 1200s would lead to a worldwide transportation revolution, which would see maglev lines stretching accross the island of Sudile, tying together the coastal and interior cities in a manner unprecedented before. A similar boom would occur in the 1500s with the invention of airship technology, which removed the maritime shipping speed bottleneck on trade to the island, causing them to flourish.

Independance and Early Years
With the descent of the Second Empire into civil war in 1572RT, the three noble houses ruling the Sudile Duchy became increasingly convinced that the Second Empire was doomed to collapse. This caused them to declare independance in 1601RT, crowning Tobias Allard king and founding the Kingdom of South Arcea. King Tobias would mainly concern himself with domestic issues, passing the Maglev Standaardisatie Volgorde in 1610, which consolidated several regional maglev companies into Arcean Keizerlijke Trein Maatschappij, and standardized rail gauge to 2 meters.

National Reforms
Through the 1700s, calls for government reform in South Arcea inspired by the BdA movement in the UHR began to gradually enter the mainstream. Initially, the ruling nobility ignored these calls, utilizing their financial and political influence to suppress any large movements. However as the Hoffnung Nationale Gewerkschaft continued to gain power within the UHR and the Arcean Third Empire crumbled, the citizens of South Arcea became increasingly emboldened. This would culminate in a serious of large scale protests in the 1770s.

Fearing civil war, and possible intervention from the newly-formed Arcean Republic, King Phillipe Hizarious agreed to reform the government, passing the Decreet van Rechten in 1775RT. This decree limited the power of the monarch, abolished all nobility apart from that of the immediate royal family, and created the bicameral Parlement van Zuid Arcea.

Great War and Expansion
With the outbreak of the Great War in 1800RT, South Arcea remained neutral, with much of their citizens viewing the war as a foreign conflict that they did not wish to be apart of. King Phillipe however, saw this as a possible chance to increase his kingdom's territory, and convinced Parlement to fund a military buildup in the name of providing security against foreign invasion. This buildup would culminate in the construction of the two airfortresses Koningsgerechtigheid (King's Justice) and Erlijke Dageraad (Honorable Dawn) between 1805 and 1806RT.

The collapse and fragmentation of the UHR in 1806RT caused a worldwide economic crash, wreaking havok on the South Arcean economy, and causing the Contact Confederation to go into economic collapse. Seeing an opportunity, Phillipe invaded, seizing Contact's territory, and declaring himself Emperor of the newly created Empire of South Arcea.

With the value of the South Arcean Ramsmark now free floating, due to the dissolution of its basis, the Hoffmark, the South Arcean treasury began seeking an alternative source to attach their currency too. This would come in the form of Karelia, who would rise to become the new center of capitalistic trade in Unus Solem. This led to the Ramsmark's value being pegged to that of the Karelian Krone in 1808RT. This would allow the economic recovery of South Arcea to be well underway by the time of the Great War's end in 1810RT.

Reconsolidation of Power
In 1801RT, Johannes Spyker, a descendant of one of the former South Arcean noble houses, was elected into Parlament's Groots Volksfeest Partij (Grand People's Party). Aggressive and charismatic, he quickly rose to prominance, and was appointed Grote Beschermer (Grand Protector) in 1810RT. Spyker's administration would be quite popular, strengthening South Arcea's welfare system and promoting nationalism in the Empire.

Upon Emperor Phillipe's sudden death from heart attack in 1811RT, his daughter Anna Hizarious ascended to the throne. Seeing an opportunity, Spyker immediately reached out to the new Empress, making a point to spend large amounts of time consulting with her. During this time, a secret romance emerged between the two as their consultation sessions took more and more time.

Spyker's close association with the Empress only served to increase his influence in Parlement, as the members of the Kroonhuis approved of his respect for the monarchy and noble heritage, and the members of the Mensenhuis enjoyed his strong leadership and successful policies. This emboldened him enough that in early 1813RT, Spyker called an early-morning special vote of Parlament, using his supporters to pass the Versterkte Bevoegdheden Act, which gave much of Parlament's decisionmaking authority to the Grote Beschermer. His power secured, Spyker began quietly working to remove political opponents, utilizing government apparatuses to remove their credibility and power.

Upon learning that Anna was pregnant with their child in late 1813RT, Skyper convinced Anna to marry him, which was done in 1814RT. Later that year, Anna gave birth to twins, which they named Phillipe and Fleurine. After dealing with pregnancy, and now with two children to raise, Anna became more and more detached from her role as the monarch, focusing on family more and more while leaving Spyker to handle duties in her stead. After several years of this, Spyker convinced her to appoint him Keizerlijke Regent in 1818RT, allowing her to formally retire from most functions, and allowing him to assume complete power over the Empire.

Geography
South Arcea occupies the entirely of the Sudile island landmass, with an approximate area of 4 million square macrometers. Due to glacial activity millions of years ago, the coastline is extremely rugged, with myriad small island chains and fjords. The island interior is divided into low rugged mountains, cross-crossed with valleys and both inland and mountain plains. The nation's island nature, combined with its southern latitude give it a cool maritime climate, with cool summers, mild winters, and a high annual precipitation.

Government
South Arcea is a unitary state, controlled by a constitutional parliamentary monarchy.

Monarchy
The monarch is the sovereign head of state, providing legitimacy to the government and the ultimate source of executive power. As the head of state, the monarch wields a variety of powers, which are:


 * Issue all official documents and currency
 * Approve and veto bills passed by Parlement
 * Give and remove commissions to military officers
 * Give and remove awards and noble titles
 * Declare war and make peace
 * Pardon any conviction
 * Make and ratify treaties
 * Recognize other nations
 * Power to create and dissolve government entities below Parlement and corporations
 * Create royal proclamations, which are executive orders dictating executive branch policy on a given topic. These must be based upon existing laws or royal powers.

By tradition (and pragmaticism) the monarch approves all acts of Parlement, and delegates many of the royal powers to various government ministers.

Keizerin Anna Hizarious
Born in 1770RT, Anna ascended to the South Arcean throne in 1811RT. A somewhat reluctant monarch, Anna’s true desire is to be able to retire from public office and pursue her love of painting, while raising a family with her husband, Heer Spyker. As of 1818RT, she has officially retired from all official duties except for public appearances as the nation's figurehead.

Executive Branch
At the head of the executive branch is the Grote Beschermer (Grand Protector), who is elected by the Mensenhuis for life. The Grote Beschermer functions as head of government, with the following duties:


 * Calling and dismissing sessions of Parlement
 * Authority to create and organize as they see fit, ministries and other executive branch organizations
 * Appoint and remove ministers and other executive branch officials and employees
 * Function as commander-in-chief of the armed forces
 * When empowered by a supermajority of Parlement, remove the monarch

Below the Grote Beschermer is the cabinet, composed of the heads of each armed force and the leaders of each government ministry.

Heer Spyker
Holding the titles of Grote Beschermer and Keizerlijke Regent (Imperial Regent), Heer Johannes Spyker is the head of government and de facto head of state for the Arcean Empire.

Born in 1768RT to the former noble house of Spyker, he first gained power when he was elected to the Mensenhuis on the Parlament's Groots Volksfeest Partij ticket in 1801RT. A South Arcean nationalist, Spyker wishes to restore South Arcea to the former glory of the Arcean Second Empire, with a world-wide territory featuring a powerful modern economy and strong military. To make this happen, he has been manipulating his way into maximum executive authority within the government, and is pushing through plans to expand the military and build up the country’s infrastructure and manufacturing, so that the nation can eventually begin conquering some of its neighbors for resources and living space. While not personally a soldier, Spyker sees himself as the strong leader the nation needs to become great again, and is willing to do some serious rearrangement of the nation’s status quo to make his vision happen.

Legislative Branch
Laws are created by the Parlement van Zuid Arcea (Parliament of South Arcea), a bicameral body consisting of an upper house, the Kroonhuis (King's House), and a lower house, the Mensenhuis (People's House).

Members of the Kroonhuis are hereditary positions given to former nobles by the monarch, and serve for ten year terms. It is their job to check the constitutionality of proposed laws.

Members of the Mensenhuis are directly elected by the citizens, and serve five-year terms. It is the job of the lower house to propose, debate, and approve bills to be made into laws. Additionally, the lower house has the ability, by supermajority, to vote to give emergency powers to the Koninklijke Beschermer in times of crises, up to and including removing the monarch, in the case of a tyrannical individual.

Judicial Branch:
The judicial branch is composed of a hierarchy of courts, with the Supreme Court at the top, with descending levels of courts that become more and more local. Their jobs are to hear cases and interpret the law, however they are subordinate to Parlement.

Economy
The Empire runs a well-regulated capitalist economy, which has been traditionally friendly to private enterprise, taking advantage of the UHR's collapse to become a southern haven for former Hoffnung companies.

Currency and Monetary Policy
South Arcea’s currency unit is named the Ramsmark, the value of which is pegged to the Karelian Krone. Creation and regulation of the Ramsmark has been delegated by the monarch to the Ministerie van de Schatkist (Ministry of the Treasury), who are also responsible for collecting taxes. Government revenue is collected from taxation on individual and corporate income, sales tax on certain items, wealth taxes, and a variety of duties and fees.

Public and Private Sector Relationship
Apart from government regulation, the private sector largely functions on its own, with the government purchasing what it needs from private companies. The one notable exception to this however, is in military research, where the Ministerie van Defensie partners closely with private manufacturers to research and design new hardware for the armed forces.

Important Industries
South Arcea is primarily a manufacturing economy, with the most important entities participating in the military-industrial complex and transportation.

Major Economic Entities

 * Beyr BV: a Sudfellian company, known for being one of the best small arms manufacturers in the Hoffnung area.
 * Bruijn: a former Hoffnung company, specializing in aircraft and light airships.
 * Zielgelhaus BV: specialize in automotive, military vehicles, and airships.
 * Christoffel Luchtvaart: specialize in aircraft manufacturing and electronics.
 * Société d'Ingénierie Générale (SIG): specialize in ground vehicles, aircraft, and firearms.
 * Afdeling Defensieonderzoek: the research division of the Ministerie van Defensie (Ministry of Defense).
 * Arcean Keizerlijke Trein Maatschappij: one of the earliest maglev train companies in the nation, created by order of Parlement to consolidate several smaller train companies. Their main payload is passengers.
 * Ijzer-Munt Uitdrukken: a maglev train company mainly dealing with freight. Their main lines run north to south between the Sea of Coin and Iron Sea, which is where they derive their name from.
 * Algemeen Maglev-vervoer: a maglev train company that handles both freight and passenger service.

Protectionism
The Empire maintains some tariffs on foreign goods, which are mainly focused in markets deemed strategic, such as airship building, automotive, and farming.

State Welfare and Entitlements
South Arcea’s government maintains multiple services to ensure that its citizens’ basic needs are met, including subsidizing certain food items and other products, providing a single-payer medical insurance system, and safety net programs for unemployment.

Organized Labor
Labor unions are legal and common within the Empire, although certain limitations are placed upon public sector unions.

National View and Philosophy
Citizens of the Empire tend towards nationalism, seeing themselves as the inheritors of the Second Empire’s legacy, and that it is time to seize their destiny of fully reclaiming the Second Empire’s territory and throne to rule the world.

This imperialistic belief has been complimented by a moderate amount of collectivism, which has only increased as Spyker has taken more power and stoked belief that the nation must work together and sacrifice to make their goals of conquering the world a reality.

Religion
The majority of the South Arcean population subscribes to Alterianism, which espouses the belief that modern humanity on Unus Solum was left there by ancient ascended humans living with the gods in a heavenly realm referred to as Earth. It is the goal of Alterian practitioners to advance themselves to the point where they can construct a spaceship to return to Earth, using the Librarian eve as a guide.

Located within Thensour is a minor eve specializing in tactical planning, known as the General, who has been chosen as the patron saint of South Arcean Alterianism, which has given their sect of the religion a militaristic streak.

Counter-culture
While the majority of people within South Arcea are inclined to supporting military expansion, there also exists a merchant culture which seeks to privatize more public services, deregulate the economy, and focus more on making money than war and conquest, in the vein of the UHR. This viewpoint is currently in the minority and held mainly by many of the top financial elites.

Art and Architecture
Much of the Empire's decoration involves a large amount of art nouveau, with more recent additions adding art deco into the mix. Architecture, especially for older government buildings, tends to use the neoclassical or baroque style.

Languages
Official Language: Unsere Stimme

Others: Anciens, Sudfellian, Handelsrede, Mullic (Antikori)

Population Centers

 * Thensour: the national capital, Thensour is a major metropolin city built on a cluster of small islands, connected by a variety of roads and bridges.
 * Konnigentroon: metropolis-sized city
 * Emden: city-sized settlement
 * Grote-Snelheld: city-sized settlement
 * Leewarden: city-sized settlement
 * Lelystadt: city-sized settlement
 * Kotorlijk: city-sized settlement
 * Mengsk: large town
 * Ijshaard: large town

Military
The Zuid-Arceaan Krijgsmacht (South Arcean Armed Forces) is the body of military forces responsible for the defense of the Empire and its interests abroad. Authority to control the armed forces stems from the monarch, traversing down to individual unit commanders. Historically, South Arcea has always been a first-rate military power, second only to the Republic of Arcea and Karellia, with well-trained soldiers and modernized equipment. Despite its advantages in training and equipment however, its officer corps still has some issues with aristocracy.

Operational Chain of Command

 * 1) Grote Beschermer
 * 2) Minister van Defensie (Minister of Defense)
 * 3) Theater Commanders
 * 4) Unit Commanders

Advising the Minister van Defensie are the Chefs van Staven (Chiefs of Staff). Each is the senior-most uniformed officer within their respective branch, and advises the Minister van Defensie on military matters, but are not part of the chain of command.

Zuid-Arcean Keizerlijke Landmacht (ZKL, South Arcean Imperial Army)
The senior-most branch of the armed forces, the Army is responsible for all surface-based operations, both at home and abroad, that the military performs. It maintains infantry, armor, and logistics forces, with an emphasis on armored units.

Zuid-Arcean Keizerlijke Luchtmarine (ZKLM, South Arcean Imperial Air Navy)
The Air Navy operates the nation’s flying assets and their associated infrastructure, providing air superiority and airborne logistics.

Paarse Beywaker (PB, Purple Guard)
An elite infantry brigade answering directly to the Koninklijke Beschermer, they function as both a national guard, and provide security to the government.

Notable Officers

 * Fleet Marshall Hendrik Asperen: commander of the Keizerlijke Vloot (Imperial Fleet), the main airship formation within the Air Navy.
 * Fleet Marshall Dirck Espen: commander of the Alert Vloot (Alert Fleet), which forms the reserve air elements within the Air Navy.
 * Major General Hachson: commander of the Hoofd Gevechtsgroep (Main Battlegroup), a division-sized combined arms formation, which acts as the primary Army fighting element. One of the senior-most officers in the military, Hachson believes politics and the military should be separate. He is a purely military man, with a bit of a creative and unconventional streak when it comes to tactics. He is known for being unafraid, and prefers to be with his troops. He dislikes Spyker because he knows Spyker isn’t willing to fight personally and wouldn’t lay down his life for the nation, but does appreciate that Spyker value of the military has meant more resources for the Army.
 * Major General Pieter Wilona: commander of the Westelijke Gevechtsgroep (West Battlegroup), the secondary/reserve division-sized fighting element within the Army.
 * Major General Menno Ginkell: commander of the Purple Guard.