New Archduchy

The Republic of New Archduchy is a country in Crona. Tracing its foundations to a wave of Urcean colonization in southeastern Crona during the 17th century, New Archduchy gradually became the lone remnant of Urcean culture in the region as a result of the rising fortunes of nearby Coscivian colonies. Gradually developing a strong economy and political life, New Archduchy underwent significant changes in the late 19th century. Chafing from administrative centralizations during the reign of Aedanicus VIII, fissures grew between Urcea and the colony. The Red Interregnum gave the country the pretext to declare independence in 1890, and two years later the Republic was formally established under a new constitution. New Archduchy's transition to independence and democracy have been mostly perceived as smooth and the country's independence was recognized by Urcea in 1902.

During the 20th century, New Archduchy became a well-used neutral refueling station along the Odoneru, leading to significant economic development and a focus on mercantile interests. It maintained neutrality during the Second Great War, though it served as a waystation for covert operatives and weapons smuggling for both sides of the war. During the latter half of the 20th century the nation remained neutral during the Occidental Cold War and became a popular and tourist destination, greatly enhancing the nation's wealth. The country is characterized by a deep religious faith, like Urcea, as well as considerable economic inequality, especially between the primarily urban Levantine-descendant majority and the primarily rural indigenous minority groups.

Etymology
New Archduchy is named for the Archduchy of Urceopolis, one of the constituent parts of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea. It is unusual among Urcean colonies for being named for a type of the constituent entity rather than the place name, but historians believe the reference to the Archduchy was intended to confer prestige to what was once a thriving mercantile colony.

Geography
New Archduchy is a crescent shaped nation on the western shores of the Odoneru Ocean. The central geographic feature of the nation is Adrian's Bay, the center part of the "crescent" which provides a natural harbor. Due to prevailing winds, travel to the harbor in the age of sail was relatively easy, making New Archduchy a viable port and allowing for a mercantile economy. The climate is, with relatively cold winters and warm summers. The small interior part of the country in the northwest is considered good for agriculture.

Exploration and settlement
New Archduchy was one of the first locations in Crona explored by Levantine sailors, as its natural harbor and the direction of prevailing winds made it an easy place to reach and to lay anchor. The area was referred to as the "Bay of Sorrows" during the late 16th and 17th centuries due to the many shipwrecks and abandoned vessels that blew into the harbor, and modern scholars believe that hundreds of years worth of strewn the shore from various eras during the first recorded entry to the bay in the 16th century. Many of the wrecked ships and driftwood were used by Occidental explorers to build temporary shelter for various exploration and inland trading missions. Urcea was the first to attempt to settle the bay, establishing the colony of Adriansville in 1606 and again in 1618 when the initial population died of starvation. Expanding outward from the bay, several other colonial settlements were erected.

Colonial era
During the 17th century, the fledgling colonies in modern New Archduchy were used by Urcea as a base from which its later Julian Belt colonies were established. Traffic in and out of Adriansville was significant, and the colony was briefly the most busy port in Crona outside of Varshan until cities in the Cape became more prominent later in the century. In 1690, the colonies in the region were reorganized as the Rectory of New Archduchy and given a formal colonial charter governing the area.

In 1844, New Archduchy was invaded by Aciria during the Cholera Expedition, a failed campaign wherein the Acirians were ejected from the territory in three months following significant casualties due to disease.

Government
New Archduchy is a, governed by the Constitution of 1892, which establishes a  legislature, the 134-seat Common Council, lead by the Chancellor of the Common Council who serves as the  of New Archduchy. The Common Council is elected every five years in years ending with "0" and "5" and are apportioned every ten years. The Common Council is largely modeled after the Urcean Concilium Daoni, and is elected from single member constituencies. Unlike Urcea, political parties are not represented in any government capacity, cannot endorse members of the Council, and members of the Council are legally prohibited from organizing along party lines. Political parties can be organized and can endorse candidates on the local level, however, and the government of New Archduchy effectively assumes a partisan nature despite constitutional prohibitions against partisanship.

Limited executive powers are invested in the Popular Regent, an officer who holds the responsibility of but holds little administrative responsibility. The Popular Regent, who serves as the embodiment of national sovereignty on behalf of the people of the Republic, serves a single twenty-five year term. Elections for the office are non-partisan and held either at the end of the term of the previous occupant or upon the death of the previous occupant. Accordingly, elections for the office do not take place at fixed increments. The office of Popular Regent is open to any baptized Catholic over the age of forty.

Culture
New Archduchy draws cultural traditions from many Occidental sources including its neighbors and indigenous peoples as well as from Urcea which established the New Archduchy colony. A majority of people in New Archduchy are descendants of Urcean settlers and speak Julian Ænglish, though several other settler groups from South Levantia - including Derians, Caens, and Carnish people - participated in the colonization of the region. New Archduchy also has considerable Coscivian influences from historic Kiravian cultural and geopolitical involvement in the region as well as from nearby Paulastra.

The indigenous peoples of New Archduchy, closely related to the people of Titechaxha, have long influenced New Archducal society through the dual means of cuisine and music. Self-identified indigenous people comprise about eighteen percent of the Republic's population.

The Catholic Church plays a prominent role in the lives of the residents of New Archduchy and serves as the overwhelming religion of the residents of the Republic, both those of indigenous and Levantine origin. Catholic practices exist at all levels of society and feature prominently within popular culture. Religious observances, like in Urcea, form the bulk of the country's holidays. The Church has a less pronounced influence on public affairs than in many Levantine countries but Catholic morality remains a bedrock of public discourse.

Many sports popular in Sarpedon are popular in New Archduchy, with association football being the most popular sport in the country.

Economy
New Archduchy is characterized as having one of the least regulated economies in the world and serves as a popular for Levantine, Sarpedonian, and Cronan nations. Its economy is characterized by tourism, an emergent technology services sector, and maritime trade, with fishing also serving as a major industry. The Republic has very well developed transportation infrastructure including modern ports. Much of its energy comes from offshore renewables, an industry which sprung up in the Republic during the late 1990s.

New Archduchy initially had a guild system similar to Urcea, but it was gradually weakened under the 1892 Constitution before its abolition in 1920.

Military
The Republic of New Archduchy has a three branch military force, called the New Archducal National Defense Force (NANDF); the Republican Army, the Republican Navy, and the Republican Air Force. The military is relatively small with an active personnel size of 35,582 as of 2026. The NANDF is equipped with largely modern equipment acquired from Arcerion as well as major military powers from Sarpedon and Levantia.

Every male between the ages of 18 and 35 in the Republic are required to do one year's reserve service, which entails operations and training regularly scheduled every other weekend (excluding holidays) as well as random readiness tests and formation training. Following their active reserve year, men are required to take one hundred hours of remedial training every other year until age 50. In the event of war, the NANDF has a registry of current and former reservists with men automatically assigned to what is referred to as "readiness brigades", brigade-level formations that largely only exist on paper during peacetime. Most readiness brigades are homeland reserve defense units comprised of men over the age of 30, but a small number of the brigades are intended for seamless integration within the regular armed forces. Assignment to a readiness brigade is largely dependent upon the age and tested aptitude skill of the reservist.