Cartadania

Cartadania, officially the Federative Republic of Cartadania, is a in Sarpedon. Located in the heart of the western world and along the southern Odoneru Ocean, Cartadania shares land borders with Pelaxia and Caphiria. Cartadania covers an area of 4,122,251 km2 (1,591,610 sq mi), making it the worlds fifth-largest country by area, and has a largely. With around 369 million inhabitants, it is the second-most populous nation in Sarpedon and ninth-most populous worldwide.

A highly developed country, Cartadania owes its development to its healthy mixed economy and strong economic growth over the years, and has used it's size to maintain stability in the region. It has a very high level of human development and enjoys the second highest life expectancy in the world. Cartadania plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, with a number of academics considering the country to be both a regional power and a great power. Cartadania's economy is the world's fourth-largest by both nominal GDP and GDP (PPP) as of 2039. Cartadania until 2020 had one of the world's fastest growing major economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition and influence. Cartadania's national development bank plays an important role for the country's economic growth.

It is a founding member of the League of Nations, the now defunct Levantia and Odoneru Treaty Association, ARGUS, and the Community of Lusophone Nations. Cartadania is a great power in Ixnay and considers itself a great power in international affairs, while some analysts identify it as a great power with potential superpower status in the future. One of the world's major breadbaskets, it has also been the largest producer of coffee for the last 264 years.

Cartadania is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse countries in the world, with its rich cultural heritage reflecting influences by indigenous peoples, Latin settlement, forced Punthite migration, immigration from Levantia and the Middle East. It is among the world's 17 megadiverse countries, and the most densely biodiverse per square kilometer; its territory encompasses Satherian rainforest, tropical grassland and coastlines along three major seas and the Odoneru Ocean.

Pre-Latin era
Prior to the establishment of the Luson Province, all of which is today modern Cartadania, the area was inhabited by various native peoples. Unlike its southern neighbor, Pelaxia, Cartadania was shielded by natural features on all sides, delaying the arrival of Latin peoples to northern Sarpedon. The Turian ridge made it more difficult for terra quaesitores to reach the area, and the four seas that border the country made it more expensive for other nations to make a permanent settlement there.

The earliest human remains found in northern Sarpedon, Mulher Cambria, were found in the area of present-day Cambria and provide evidence of human habitation going back at least 11,000 years. The earliest pottery ever found on the Odridian peninsula was excavated in the Turian basin of Cartadania and radiocarbon dated to 8,000 years ago (6000 BC). The pottery was found near southern Verona where it meets the Bay of Attalus and provides evidence that the tropical forest region supported a somewhat complex prehistoric culture. Cartadania is the site of the domestication of pineapple, cacão, tomato, and cassava, which produced an agricultural surplus. This enabled the transition from paleo-Sarpedonic hunter-gatherers to sedentary agricultural villages beginning around 5000 BC.

The earliest complex civilization in Cartadania was the Adonerii culture, which flourished on the Urlazian and Odoneru coasts from around the 14th century BC. Adoneri cultural traits diffused through eastern Cartadania into other formative-era cultures in Alexandria, São Ricardo, Verona, and the Urlazian states. The formative period saw the spread of distinct religious and symbolic traditions, as well as artistic and architectural complexes.

Around the time of the Caphirian arrival circa 370BC, the territory of current-day Cartadania had an estimated indigenous population of 7 million people, mostly semi-nomadic who subsisted on hunting, fishing, gathering, and migrant agriculture. The indigenous population of Cartadania comprised several large indigenous ethnic groups (e.g. the Ettian, Linaca, Lombards, Veronese). There were also many subdivisions of the groups.

Before the arrival of the Caphirians, the boundaries between these groups and their subgroups were marked by minor conflicts that arose from differences in culture, language, and moral beliefs. These conflicts also involved large-scale military actions on land and water. While heredity had some weight, leadership status was more subdued over time, than allocated in succession ceremonies and conventions. Nonetheless, area taken into account, interaction between the groups is thought to have been mostly uncommon.

Latin Odros
The land now called Cartadania was claimed for the Caphirian Republic beginning in 370BC, with the arrival of the Caphirian fleet commanded by Pronius Álvares Sulpia. The Caphirians encountered indigenous peoples divided into several tribes, most of whom spoke languages of the Cartic family, and fought among themselves. Though the first settlement was founded in 200BC, colonization effectively began in the first few hundred years AD, when the Senate of Caphiria divided the territory into the six private and autonomous Banlieuregio of Luson. However, the decentralized and unorganized tendencies of the banlieuregio proved problematic, and in 349 the principate restructured them into the Governorate General of Odros, a single and centralized Caphirian colony in northern Sarpedon. In the first two centuries of colonization, Indigenous and Latin groups lived in constant war, establishing opportunistic alliances in order to gain advantages against each other. By the mid-4th century, cane sugar and coffee had become Luson's most important exports, and slaves purchased in Audonia, in the slave market, and those already serving the crown, had become its largest import, to cope with plantations of sugarcane, due to increasing international demand for Odridian coffee and sugar.

By the end of the 5th century, sugarcane exports began to decline, and the discovery of gold by debellatores in the 490s would become the new backbone of the colony's economy, fostering an Odridian Gold Rush which attracted thousands of new settlers to Odros from Caphiria and all Caphirian colonies around the world. This increased level of immigration in turn caused some conflicts between newcomers and old settlers.

Caphirian expeditions, now known as Bandeiras, gradually advanced the original colonial frontiers in northern Sarpedon to approximately the current Cartadanian borders. In this era, Levantine powers tried to colonize parts of Odros, in incursions that the Caphirians had to fight after the end of the Latin Union.

The Caphirian colonial administration in Odros had two objectives that would ensure colonial order and the monopoly of Caphiria's wealthiest and largest colony: to keep under control and eradicate all forms of rebellion and resistance, such as the Quilombo of Palmares, and to repress all movements for autonomy or independence, such as the Desperado Conspiracy or the eventual Verona secession.

Separation from Caphiria
The region grew rapidly in the years leading up to the end of the principate and beginning of the Dominate era. Some parts of the region were not in favor of the problems plaguing Venceia, and the ascension of Imperator Legarus served as a catalyst for the Magna Discordia. Legarus introduced the first version of the Constitution of Caphiria, which was intended to be the solution to every problem past, present, and future within the imperium. In it, he outlined what he felt were the three most critical ideas of the state. These were explicitly defined as delineating the national frame of government, establishing the social contract between the citizen and state, and protecting the imperium's people. Despite this, some regions felt left out of the protection of the constitution, and in the case of Verona, the Veronese people felt extremely neglected around this period. Verona's autonomous government, in particular, passed a law known as the Vermiculo Actum (Vermillion Act), which effectively separated the province from the imperium, creating a wall between Verona (and its territory, Sancti) and the Alexandria region north of Verona. Initially, the imperium took little notice of this separation, choosing to overlook it as an international publicity stunt and pressing forward with the creation of the constitution. However, when Verona began to issue its own money, the Veronese Lira, backed at a value higher than that of the Taler, a value which was further increased by low circulation, Legarus took notice and began to pay attention to the region. It is said that he felt the idea of a separate entity threatened the very principle of the constitution: unity based on the national frame of government. With similar sentiments of the Burgoignesc for freedom from their national governments, some Odridians began to develop support on an international stage. Verona officially codified its initial set of laws as a nation-state in 1426, under the name REPVBLICA VERONEZE, and rewrote all of its information, culture, and signage in its local dialect, which would eventually standardize into Early Cartadanian half a century later. This was the first act towards what would become the current republic and Legarus considered the acts of the people of Verona treasonous. As a result, the imperium proceeded to declare a form of marshall law and nearly razed the young nation-state's infrastructure in an effort to bring it into submission. The result was, of course, Verona's forced re-entry into the imperium. Despite this, however, Verona's disdain for Venceia's rule began to spread and grow not only in Verona but in Alexandria and Sancti as well.

In late 1615, internal forces around the Great Schism threatened the security of Caphiria, causing the Senate to move one of the high courts from Venceia to Serdica (now part of New Venceia). Some of Cartadania's first financial institutions, such as its local stock exchanges, and its National Bank, were created here, and thanks to the region's receptiveness to immigrants from other parts of the world, the Caphirian monopoly on Odridian trade effectively ended, opening Odros to other nations, especially those of Levantia. This further catalyzed the eventual end of a single nation in Northern Sarpedon. Ironically, the same Ecclesiastical papers that were being published condemning the Catholic Church over a number of issues concerning Caphiria in the late 16th century are the same reason Cartadania has a religious history but complete separation of Church and State. The enumeration of the imperator as higher than the people of the imperium was a sentiment that Odros did not share with Venceia, but it did value the criticisms of the Catholic church, a set of beliefs it did share.

With the end of the Latin Wars in the late middle 17th century, the high court in Serdica was vacated after the Imperator ordered their return to Caphiria, deeming it unfit for them to continuously reside in Alexandria as they held positions granted only to those residing in Venceia. Groups of Odridians, impatient for practical and real changes, still demanded independence and a republic, as demonstrated by the 1661 Milanese Revolt. In 1665, as a demand of revolutionaries who had taken the city of Porto Cale, the last of the judges were unable to hold out any longer, and departed for Venceia. There they swore an oath to the new constitution, effectively leaving Odros to the control of the locals.

In 1671, Alexandria, Santiago, Verona, and then-both Urlazian provinces seceded from Caphiria. This time, although Imperator Magnus I attempted to bring the provinces back into the imperium, he was torn between the aftermath of the Great Schism and the changing nature of life in Venceia. Inevitably, he withdrew the military from those provinces, which generated a de facto new nation, one without name or identity.

The Federation era
In September of 1671, after Odros gained independence from Caphiria, the people simply existed in a state of shock and disbelief. Having heard stories of the initial efforts of Verona to separate, it was to many, a miracle. They were, nonetheless, very happy about the independence and celebrated on what is now Cartadania's independence day, officially 21 September 1672. Some of the leaders, however, still felt more aligned to Caphiria after the separation, and with the help of Venceia, the Two nations were formed by the creation of the Magna Discordia, which split the region in two and required they stay separate for a period of one-hundred years until a common accord could be reached, by which they would reunify. The provinces of Averius, Faraya, Sancta Irene, Spirito Santo united to form the Vachenan Federation (VC) on the western third of Odros, while the provinces of Acara, Alexandria, Galiza, Santiago, São Andreas, Triessa, Turiana Occidentalis, Veneza, and Verona united to form the Cartic Federation (OC) in the remaining two thirds and Urlazio. While much was accomplished in correcting human rights violations made under the former rule during this period, such as both formally abolishing slavery and freeing their Audonian slaves, with the OC doing so in 1675 and extending many rights to all people to create a more cohesive and united people, many problems still existed. The OC experienced a large period of political instability during this period, with the first governors being arraigned for many crimes. This continued for nearly ten years as the new nation sorted itself out.

In 1679, Meridia, the then-capital of the Odridian Federation, worked hard to iron out the kinks of the republic. One major step the group took was in 1680 when the federation elected to become one of the world's first federal republics. It was then the country took on the name Cartadania, meaning "land of the Cartic people", whom lived in the area prior to the arrival and intermixing of Latin explorers. The early republican government of Cartadania was very weak, riddled with internal issues and corruption. Many aspects of the government came under the control of wealthy elite, especially those involved in the stock markets and financial sector, and many lower class people were again stripped of their rights. Alexandria and Northern Verona were rocked with multiple uprisings and riots. Meridia was burned down twice in the span of five years. For 16 years, the lower class lived at the mercy of the wealthy elite, but, instability gradually began to increase. The upper class began spending without reason to fund large-scale projects with no real purpose aside from aesthetic appeal. This would continue until early 1695. 1695 was marked by extreme economic fluctuations and the serious instability of the central bank of Cartadania, and increasing national debt began to take its toll. Due to the government's lack of ability to insure, many banks failed. The peso, Cartadania's original currency, dipped sharply in value, and in 1696, economic strain coupled with large divisions between the wealthy minority and the lower class majority lead to the collapse of the Cartadanian economy. 1697 began the ten-year recovery period the lower class would endure rebuilding the nation. During this time, multiple upper-class Cartadanians were murdered, while others were forced to leave the nation, many fleeing to Cartadania's various territories in Crona. This is often thought to be one of the most aggressive domestic transitions of power between classes in history and is commonly known as Ano Roxo (Red Year). In 1707, with oversight from well-regarded politicians, Congress began rewriting the constitution for a new, more stable republic.

Current constitution
The need for a new "variety" of republic was very well known throughout the country during the early 18th century. Work on the new constitution was still underway in January of 1709, and after having the military step in to end the turmoil, the Supreme Court pressed the few legislators that remained to work faster. On 29 October 1709, the governments of Alexandria, Santiago, Veneza, and Verona called for the creation of a new capital, Alahuela, originally to sit between the four states with land ceded from all four. It was during this period, however, that the west Urlazian provinces, technically still part of Caphiria, began to experience the same neglect that Verona faced starting nearly 300 years before. Consequently, to keep the capital centralized and accessible by sea, the three states decided to place the capital between Alexandria and Verona along the Urlazian coast. This ensured access to San Ricardo, Milan, and Acara by way of the Urlazio Sea. In this time frame, Triessa and Andreas were looking to separate from Caphiria. They participated in the old republic as observers while the states already in existence figured out the issues of the first republic. They were, however, still part of Caphiria at this point.

In late September of 1710, the second and current constitution of Cartadania was finalized with a final review by the Supreme Court completed in early October. When its review concluded, the plan was to send the information off to the states for adoption, but the beginning of the rainy season delayed this by a few weeks. Finally, on 30 October 1710, Alexandria became the first state to ratify the new constitution, marking the end of the First Cartadanian Republic and the beginning of the Second. The new constitution renamed the republic from the "Republic of Cartadania" to "The Federative Republic of Cartadania", although the exact reasoning behind this decision is unknown, as the First Republic was also a federal system. After Alexandria, Verona ratified the constitution on 2 November, followed by Santiago on 5 January 1711, Veneza on 9 July 1711, and Milan on 24 March 1713. Even though other states had been part of the union before it, São Andreas became the sixth state by ratifying the constitution on 1 April 1715, separating it from Caphiria officially. Adoption of the second constitution was slow, and for a while, the country was divided by the reluctance of the first adoptees to do business with those that were late to the party.

On 7 September 1730, Porta Bianca, an old Cartadanian territory in the Taínean Sea that was first ascertained in the late 1690s, became the first territory of Cartadania to successfully lobby the federal government and be approved for statehood. For nearly forty years after this, the republic remained relatively unchanged. Then, in 1769, Acara became the 8th state to join the union. Having already been a part of Cartadania before, its adoption process was fairly quick after its government was able to agree on rejoining the union. Twenty-five years later, it was split in half to form the lower portion of Aleira on 6 September 1794. This was the first time a state had been partitioned in the country's history, as the only other two to have done it before, Santiago and Verona, split to their current borders while still part of Caphiria. The country was again quiet for a few years after this addition before setting its sites westward.

Annexation of eastern Vachena
In Spring 1798, Cartadania's western states of Santiago and Veneza were beginning to spread the idea of a better life for the people of Iordas and Carina the northwesternmost provinces of Vachena, which ultimately turned out to be an effort to expand their respective territories. Fueled by the lack of representation in their own capital of Carolina, and the lack of border control between Vachena and Cartadania, the people, first of Carina, began to intermix with the Venezanos and Santiagans, visiting Cartadania (albeit illegally) and vice-versa. In fact, Venezans actually started their own farms in Vachena, which went against Carolina and Alahuela's separation agreement, the historic Magna Discordia. Because the vast majority of then-western Cartadanians could speak Latin with dialects similar to those of eastern Vachena, it was becoming difficult to enforce the rule of the Magna Discordia.

In late summer of the same year, uprisings along the coast of Carina caused the Vachenan military to enter the region which made many Santiagans uneasy. The land along the Trentine River which separated Cartadania from Vachena at the time was fortified by Vachenan military police, which caused Alahuela to send Marshalls to western Santiago. A minor disagreement between the two groups lead Cartadania's Supreme Court to call into question the validity of the Magna Discordia which lead to Senate Resolution 16, an assessment of the rules and protocols of the document by Cartadania's entire federal government. Heightening tensions along this border caused the Department of the Interior (now the Department of Homeland Security) to send agents to the area to assess the impending fallout, and in March 1799, the first Vachena Crisis ensued. The buildup of tensions in the region caused a ripple effect across the country. News of the civil unrest in Carina spread to Iordas and Faraya (now Ferara), and the Vachenan Parliament issued an emergency order to military police to end the uprisings. Venza Sentinate and Caille Herini, then-governors of Carina and Iordas respectively, petitioned Alahuela for voluntary annexation. They cited the willingness of Cartadania's federal government to accept anyone and ascension of Porta Bianca, a territory over 750 miles from Alahuela at its closest point. Originally, Congress still refused, not wanting to escalate into war with Vachena, who was still in particular alliance with Caphiria, but the Supreme Court, in essence, ordered Congress to comply with the agreement in place with Carolina and Venceia. Because the Magna Discordia only specified separation of 100-years, the separation had expired in 1771 by virtue of the Imperator, thus Senate Resolution 17 was authorized and Cartadania's government de jure annexed not only Iordas and Carina, but also the Southern Territory, of which today is Montecarlo, Siena, and southern Ferara.

This annexation did not so easily occur, though, because as Congress had feared, the ensuing turmoil caused by the implication rattled Vachena to its core. Cartadania's congress and Supreme Court argued that the basis for annexation was determined with the independence of both countries on the expiry of the Magna Discordia's separation agreement. The legal body of Cartadania further argued that the agreement set forth allowed the countries to reunify at the will of the respective people. Vachena's parliament stated that the claim was baseless as the Magna Discordia itself expired with the separation agreement and the sovereignty of Vachena was challenged with Cartadania's annexation (thus constituting a basis for war). Consequently, the battles raged on legally for some time between the two, with Vachena wanting to request the help of Caphiria's Tribunalis Ultima as a third party. Though it never escalated to war, the annexation lead to a complete downturn in Carto-Vachenan relations. Nonetheless, aside from temporary occupation, Cartadania did not have a permanent presence in much of the annexed area. However, because Cartadania had stronger relations with most of the world, especially the nations of southern Levantia, many maps and records reflected the change in borders.

Despite the upheaval and tension that the timing caused, Congress also did not officially annex the entirety of Vachena at that time. Instead, on 1 September 1799, it united Carina and most of Iordas to create the present-day borders of a new state and gave the area the name Lumbhardi for the river that flows through it. Still in political disarray, Congress moved quickly and filed a motion to admit Lumbhardi as a state. On 1 December 1799, the then-possession (aka Territory of Second Class) modified its name to the current Lombardia and was admitted to the union as the seventh state on 15 December 1799. This decision was very poorly received by many Vachenans around the Carolina area who opposed the events ongoing in the area. Public opinion improved when Congress allowed permissive retention of Vachenan and Cartadanian citizenship, the first instance of dual-citizenship between the two countries.

In an effort to, arguably, rub salt in the wound, Alahuela contributed large sums of money for the development of infrastructure to Lombardia, which was in contrast to the neighboring Vachenan provinces of Averius, Spero, and Spirito Santo (Aveiro and Espírito Santo, respectively) whom, like Lombardia's predecessors, were quite suburban and rural in nature. This lead to a short-lived public outcry that eventually settled during the events leading to the Great War.

Great War
Following the annexation of approximately fifty percent of Vachena's land area, Cartadania found it had entered a new stage of the world. Aligning itself with the ideals of southern Levantia through long-term allies, Burgundie and Urcea, it quickly found itself in a less-than-ideal position if a conflict arose against it from Caphiria. As conflicts between Caphiria and Urcea were starting to pick up, Congress felt the need to eliminate any unnecessary threat, and in a period of about six weeks, fully surrounded Carolina and annexed the remaining portions of Vachena, ceasing the country's existence. In accordance with its historical agreements and views, however, Alahuela allowed Vachenans who wished to return to Caphiria to do so without issue.

After the Red Interregnum broke out in Urcea, and with the beginning of the Depression of 1900, which destabilized the Holy Levantine Empire, Alahuela's worst fears were soon realized. Though Caphiria had not really retaliated against Cartadania's continued growth at the expense of its own territory, renewed enmity between Caphiria and Urcea posed a threat to Cartadania on its largest domestic front. With the annexation of Vachena having been some time past, Cartadania refocused its sights on Caphiria. Venceia's annexation of Veltorina was a strong catalyst in the Great War venturing to Sarpedon, and Cartadania's position made it particularly vulnerable during the Great War, especially considering its largest land border is that with Caphiria. Thusly, Alahuela began moving troops from Forte Ataris, one of the largest Army bases in Cartadania that had been established throughout the Vachena Crises. It positioned troops at other bases on standby during a period where Cartadania and Pelaxia were both fearing invasion from Caphiria. As an act of preemption, Alahuela and Albalitor found themselves strongly allied, despite prior historical issues, and allied themselves with Veltorina, completely condemning the annexation. Many of the Vachenans who remained in Cartadania for one reason or another found the stance of Alahuela hypocritical, as it had just previously annexed Vachena, and in a move that is almost ironic, Cartadania proceeded to annex the Caphirian province of Dacian that extended Caphiria from the Urlazian to the Kindreds, in conjunction with the insular area of Dominica Sancta (See Santa Domenica), which it now shares with Pelaxia.

Climate
The climate of Cartadania is characterized for being tropical with strong Mediterranean zones presenting variations within several natural regions and depending on the altitude, temperature, humidity, winds, and rainfall. The diversity of climate zones in Cartadania is characterized by having tropical rainforests, savannas, steppes, deserts, and mountain climates.

Mountain climate is one of the unique features of the Aegis, Turian, and Ursa mountain ranges and other high altitude reliefs where climate is determined by elevation. Below 1000 m in elevation is the warm altitudinal zone, where temperatures are above 24 C. About 82.5% of the country's total area lies in the warm altitudinal zone. The temperate climate altitudinal zone located between 1001 - 2000 m is characterized for presenting an average temperature ranging between 17 and 24 C. The cold climate is present between 2001 - 3000 m and the temperatures vary between 12 and 17 C. Beyond the cold land lie the alpine conditions of the forested zone and then the treeless grasslands of the charnecas. Above 4,000 m, where temperatures are below freezing, the climate is glacial, a zone of permanent snow and ice.

Biodiversity and environment
The Cartadanian ecology is and the country is thought to have the largest diversity of flora and fauna outside of Crona (however, this measure does include its Cronan territories). The megadiversity is in large part due to the varied geography and climate, which in turns causes a large variation in biomes available for ecological development. Many of the species have found themselves becoming symbols of the state and territorial governments where they are found. The Cartadanian Harpy eagle is both the national bird and the national land animal of Cartadania, while the is the national marine mammal, both of which are enduring symbols of the country itself.

There are 72 national parks and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and wilderness areas. Altogether, the government owns about 30% of the country's land area. Most of this is protected, though some is leased for oil and gas drilling; about .86% is used for military purposes.

Environmental issues have been very low but have been on the national agenda since 1984. Environmental controversies include debates on oil and nuclear energy, dealing with air and water pollution, the economic costs of protecting wildlife, logging and deforestation, and international responses to global warming. Many federal and state agencies are involved. The most prominent is the Department of Environmental Integrity (DEI or DIA), created by presidential order in 1984. The idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since the 1960s, with the many federal regulations and acts being passed. The Endangered Species Act of 1940 is intended to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats, which are monitored by the Bureau of Game, Wildlife, and Inland Fisheries.

Government
Cartadania is a, , republic with a tradition of liberalism, and an egalitarian political ideology. Federal legislative power is vested in the National Congress consisting of the Senate and Chamber of Emissaries, which together form the legislative body. It makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government. The Cartadanian political system operates under a framework laid out in the 1710 constitution, and all members of Congress have been directly elected since its introduction. Currently federal law sets a minimum three senators per state, while the number of Emissaries is dependent on the population. As of 2024, this number has been fixed at no more than 550, with 524 seats currently active. Amendments generally require a two-thirds majority of both the Senate and the Chamber of Emissaries; the fundamental principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the rule of law, are valid in perpetuity. The legislative bodies in each political entity are the main source of law in Cartadania. The President of Cartadania is both head of state and head of government of the Union and is elected for a four-year term, with the possibility of re-election for a second successive term. The current president is Samaria Kalanie of the Progressistas Party. The President appoints the Secretaries of each federal department (except Veteran Affairs, who is actually appointed by the Secretary of Defense), who assist in government. Since 1757, the party system has been dominated by the Social Democracy Party and the United Conservative Party, with occasional one-offs from the Progressistas Party. So far every president since 1759 has been a member of one of these parties (the Partido Conservador was the predecessor to the UCP).

The judiciary of Cartadania consists of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are now appointed by the incumbent bench with Senate and presidential approval. It interprets laws and overturns those it finds unconstitutional, like any other branch of government, but the degree of autonomy granted to the courts via has allowed the interpretation of law to sometimes result in the courts acting more as a legislative body. On more than one occurrence, the supreme court has ordered the other branches to comply with a decision its bench has made, and historically, it has very rarely been challenged.

According to the World Democracy Index, Cartadania ranked first in 2020, a position it had not held since 2000. With regard to the freedoms and laws of Cartadania, the country is seen as a "full democracy" with a high degree of freedom and autonomy. It is considered to be one of the most stable countries in the world, and its citizens often rank as some of the world's happiest.

Administrative divisions
Cartadania is composed of 31 states and seven territories (Alahuela is considered a territory). The states and territories are the principal administrative units in the country. These are divided into subdivisions of counties (comarca) or parishes (paroquia or paroisse) and independent cities (cidades independentes). Alahuela is a federated independent city that serves as the capital of Cartadania and is equal in power and status to the states. The states and seven territories (Alahuela, Ciulaga, Lotoa, Providência, Santa Domenica, Santa Elena, and The Solemias) choose the President of the Republic. Each federal entity has presidential electors equal to the number of their Representatives and Senators in Congress, Alahuela has 5. Congressional Districts are reapportioned among the states following each centennial Census of Population. Each state then draws single-member districts to conform with the census apportionment.

The states are further grouped into six informal regions–the Charente, Etracian, Luson, Satheria, Taínea, Turiana Ocidental, and Valeria, mostly associated with historical and cultural ties. The Luson region is the largest by both population and land area, covering 1,126,318.5 km2 with a population of 188.9 million, while the Valerian region is the smallest by area at 240,871 km2 and the Etracian region is the least populous, with 8.513 million people.

The governments of the states have jurisdiction over their rules and regulations (as long as they do not conflict with federal law) and share sovereignty with the federal government. Some states utilize a specific set of shared code rules, and consequently, may be associated together. For example, the Commonwealth states–Lombardia, Milan, Porta Bianca, and Verona–share a basic law framework commonly, but informally, known as the Commonwealth Code (, and because these states tend to have a policy of zero-tolerance regarding intentional crimes, the "Commonwealth" states are sometimes thought to all be stricter. However, the title "Commonwealth" is one purely of choice that originated during the end of the Ano Roxo, and holds no true political value.

The territories operate in equal weight to the states but lack the degree of autonomy afforded to the states. Territories are semi-autonomous regions with their own charters and codes of law, but do not possess constitutions of their own, and as a result operate at the will of the federal constitution. Therefore, a territory may not codify, with the intent to undermine, any regulation or law brought into force by congress. Even if that law is then devolved to the states, the decisions of Congress will continue to stand (except where struck down or challenged by a federal court). In every other aspect, the governments of the territories are nearly identical to those of the states.

Law
The Constitution of Cartadana is the supreme law of the country, and consists of written text and unwritten conventions. The Constitution Act affirmed governance based on congressional precedent and divided powers between the federal and state governments in a system of parallel sovereignty. The Constitution guarantees basic rights and freedoms that usually cannot be over-ridden by any government—though a notwithstanding clause allows Congress and the state legislatures to override certain sections of the Constitution for a period of five years.

Cartadania has a bijuridicial law system based on Common law, but some states (i.e., Haia and São Andreas) operate under civil law based on Caphiric law. Criminal law is primarily a federal responsibility, but is not truly uniform throughout Cartadania as many laws may fall to the states. Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is officially a state responsibility, conducted by state and municipal police forces.

The Supreme Court is Cartadania's responsible for constitutional matters, with the power of judicial review. It generally hears appeals from the courts of appeals (and sometimes state courts), operating under discretionary review, which means that the Supreme Court can choose which cases to hear, by granting writs of. Consequently, there is generally no basic right of appeal that extends automatically all the way to the Supreme Court. In some situations (e.g., lawsuits between state governments or some cases between the federal government and a state) it sits as a court of original jurisdiction. It is regarded as among the most interventionist and powerful national courts in the world.

Military
The armed forces of Cartadania are some of the largest in the world by active personnel and in terms of military equipment. It consists of the Cartadanian Army (including the Army Aviation Command), the Cartadanian Navy (including Naval Aviation), the Cartadanian Marine Corps, and the Cartadanian Air Force. The president is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and appoints its leaders, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Department of Defense administers four of the five service branches, which are made up of the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy. The Coast Guard, also a branch of the armed forces, is normally administered by the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime, but can be transferred to the Department of the Navy in wartime. Military service in Cartadania is voluntary, and has been since 1974, but conscription may still occur in wartime. Reservists are available to the armed forces and participate in defense exercises and deployments abroad on a pretty regular basis. Cartadania spent $1.072 billion on its military in 2024, approximately 4% of its GDP. Numbering close to 220,000 active personnel, the Cartadanian Army has one of the largest number of armored vehicles in the world, including armored transports and tanks. It is also unique in Sarpedon for its large, elite forces specializing in unconventional missions, the Cartadanian Special Operations Command, and the versatile Strategic Rapid Action Force, made up of highly mobilized and prepared Special Operations Brigade, Infantry Brigade Parachutist, 1st Jungle Infantry Battalion (Airmobile) and 12th Brigade Light Infantry (Airmobile) able to act anywhere in the country, on short notice, to counter external aggression. The Air Force, it is one of the largest in the world has about 5,276 aircraft in service and effective about 328,000 personnel.

Cartadania has not been invaded in modern histry, with the only invasion occurring in the 5th century, prior to the country's existence. Additionally, Cartadania has no contested territorial disputes with any of its neighbors, nor does it have rivalries since the fall of Varshan. The Cartadanian military has also once intervened militarily to subdue the Cartadanian government. It has, for the most part, though, built a tradition of participating in LON peacekeeping missions.

Foreign policy
The foreign policy of Cartadania is the way in which it interacts with foreign nations and sets standards of interaction for its organizations, corporations, and individual citizens. The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the Cartadania, including all the Bureaus and Offices in the Department of State, as mentioned in the Foreign Policy Agenda of the Department of State, are "to build and sustain a more democratic, secure, and prosperous world for the benefit of the Cartadanian people and the international community". In addition, the Cartadanian Chamber Committee on Foreign Affairs states as some of its jurisdictional goals: "export controls, including nonproliferation of nuclear technology and nuclear hardware; measures to foster commercial intercourse with foreign nations and to safeguard Cartadanian business abroad; international commodity agreements; international education; and protection of Cartadanian citizens abroad and expatriation. Cartadanian foreign policy and foreign aid have been the subject of much debate, praise and criticism, both domestically and abroad, especially in times of budget surplus expenditure.

The vast majority of Cartadania's international relations are amicable and it maintains relations with more than 190 countries. Although oversight of foreign policy is the responsibility of the Department of State, the development policy of Cartadania is a semi-independent area of foreign policy. It is formulated by the multiple bureaus within the Department of State and carried out by the implementing organisations. The Cartadanian government sees development policy as a joint responsibility of the international community. The country has participated in various organizations for international development, including those for educational attainment like ARGUS, international peace and security diplomatic organizations such at the League of Nations, and has even participated in economic and military organizations, such as with the now-defunct Levantia and Odoneru Treaty Association.

Law enforcement and crime
Law enforcement in Cartadania is primarily the responsibility of local police and sheriff's departments, with state police providing broader services. Federal agencies such as the Departamento Federal de Investigação (DFI) and the Federal Marshals Service have specialized duties, including protecting civil rights, national security and enforcing federal courts' rulings and federal laws. At the federal level and in almost every state, a legal system operates on a common law. State courts conduct most criminal trials; federal courts handle certain designated crimes as well as certain appeals from the state criminal courts. Plea bargaining in Cartadania is very common; the vast majority of criminal cases in the country are settled by plea bargain rather than jury trial.

Capital punishment is sanctioned in Cartadania for certain federal and military crimes, and used in 8 states. No executions took place from 1997 to 2012, owing in part to a Supreme Court ruling striking down arbitrary imposition of the death penalty. In 2011, that Court ruled that, under appropriate circumstances, capital punishment may constitutionally be imposed. Since the decision there have been more than 1,300 executions, a majority of these taking place in three states: Aveiro, Lombardia, and São Andreas. Meanwhile, several states have either abolished or struck down death penalty laws.

While Cartadania itself has no federal civilian police department (federal marshals are an arm of the Department of Justice and perform specific tasks), the various agencies (e.g., the Department of Justice) work with local police on various tasks, and its not uncommon to see various agencies' officers at crime scenes.

The Border Security agency (ASF) is a Cartadanian federal law enforcement agency tasked with securing the nation's border. Its mission is to detect and prevent illegal aliens, terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering Cartadania, and prevent illegal trafficking of people and contraband. It was an agency within Cartadanian Customs and Border Protection, a component of the former Department of National Security, but the two have been consolidated into a single entity under the Department of Homeland Security. The force was created during the Vachena Crises and was continuously in operation during the Great War and cold war, when relations between Cartadania and Caphiria were still uncertain. With over 21,000 agents, the Border Patrol is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in Cartadania.

Demographics
With a population of 368 million according to the 2020 census, rising to 372.6 million as of 2024, Cartadania is the second-most populous country in Sarpedon after Caphiria, and the ninth-most populous country in the world. Its population density stands at 92.9 PD/km2. The overall life expectancy in Cartadania at birth is 84.19 years (81.87 years for males and 86.51 years for females). According to health data from participating institutions reporting to the Department of Health and Human Services, Cartadania had a net gain of one person every 100 seconds, or about 864 people per day. The median age of the country is 39.3 years, but is beginning to increase as the nation's largest demographic sector matures.

Cartadania is a fairly diverse land, settled mostly by the Latin people of Caphiria and from descent of Adonerum. Their arrival and settlements played a profound role in the development and culture of the country. The Latin-descent groups that arrived in Cartadania eventually blended with the native Italic populations throughout the country. As such, some 14% of people in Cartadania are Latin, while nearly three-quarters of the population is of some Latin or native Cartadanian combination. Small, relatively homogenous minorities of other ethnicities, making up the remaining portions exist in Cartadania, spread throughout the nation in many different areas.


 * Metropolitan areas



Language
Cartadanian is the official and predominant spoken language in Cartadania. It is a derived from vulgar latin of the Caphiric latin offshoot in Odros and the Kindreds (hence its categorization as Odo-Kindredian). Cartadanian is one of the most widely spoken first languages in the world, with around 440 million native speakers, and is the second-most spoken Romance language on the planet with a total 520 million speakers (including L2 speakers).

Recognised native minority languages in Cartadania are Charentais, Ettian, Latin, Lotoan, and Suyaran; they are officially protected by the Code for Regional or Minority Languages. The most used immigrant languages are Burgoignesc, Carnish, Coscivian, Ænglish, Etzilian, Lebhan, and other Taínean languages. Cartadanians are typically multilingual: 71% of Cartadanian citizens claim to be able to communicate in at least one foreign language and 34% in at least two. Cartadania's position so close to the largest countries on the planet, both of which have a very large Latin-speaking population, means that being able to communicate in that language is important. A strong willingness to build relations between countries has germinated a culture of learning foreign languages very early in life, and many schools in Cartadania have multilingual options.

Education
Responsibility for educational supervision in Cartadania is primarily organized within the individual state and local governments, with regulations by the Department of Education. Optional kindergarten education is provided for all children between four and five years old, after which school attendance is compulsory for at least twelve years. Primary education usually lasts for five to six years, while Secondary education is divided into intermediate and high schools, lasting three and three to four years, respectively. Secondary schooling can also be divided into tracks based on whether students pursue academic or vocational education. A system of apprenticeship leads to a skilled qualification that is almost comparable to an academic degree. It allows students in vocational training to learn in a company as well as in a state-run trade school.

Cartadania has many private and public institutions of higher education. A sizeable portion of the world's top universities, as listed by various ranking organizations, are in Cartadania. The Erudite University of Alahuela is one of the largest universities on the planet, enrolling more than 130,000 students on a regular basis. Each state also has its own university system for its respective jurisdiction. While post-secondary education is readily attainable in Cartadania, it is not free like the primary and secondary systems. Costs vary from zero tuition and only the cost of room and board in the Luson partnership states, to standard costs of attendance at many other public and private institutions. Tuition can also vary dramatically, not only from state to state but within a state as well. There are also local community colleges with generally more open admission policies, shorter academic programs, and lower tuition.

Cartadania has some of the most educated citizens in the world, with a 97% secondary graduation rate, of which 71% of those individuals go on to pursue tertiary education. The basic rate in Cartadania sits at 99%, with the largest gaps being those of rural populations in some insular territories. The federal government, in conjunction with state and local governments, works to promote tertiary education, and through its partnership with ARGUS, students from outside the country can come to Cartadania to learn, which in some cases, can afford those individuals a quick track to citizenship.

Health
The Cartadanian health care system is, by law, one of universal health care largely financed by government national health insurance, although, healthcare is provided to all citizens and residents by a mixed public-private system. During a world health care systems assessment, the World Health Organization found that Cartadania provided one of the best overall health care systems in the world. The Cartadanian healthcare system was ranked second worldwide by the World Health Organization in 2020. In 2024, Cartadania spent 7.5% of its GDP on health care, or $5,382 per capita, a figure much higher than the average spent by countries in cultural proximity to it. Approximately 75% of health expenditures are covered by government funded agencies, and care for people affected by chronic diseases such as cancer, AIDS or cystic fibrosis is generally free.

Average life expectancy at birth is 81.87 years for men and 86.51 years for women, one of the highest of the World. The fertility rate in 2024 stood at 1.71 children born/per woman and has been below the replacement rate of 2.1 since 1973. With a low birth rate, women also become mothers at a later age, the mean age at first live birth being 28.2 in 2024. A study published in a Merced medical journal found that Cartadania also had the lowest stillbirth rate out of the occidental countries.

Religion
The Cartadanian constitution enshrines secularism in governance, as well as freedom of religion or belief for all, saying that no religion should have a "state character," while allowing for the state to "cooperate" with religious groups. With regard to the constitution, Cartadanians are free to worship as they please, and freedom of religion issues often prove to be top priorities for local and state governments. A vast majority of Cartadanians are Christian, with many falling under Catholic or some other Christian faith. Islam is the second-largest religion in the country. In 2020, as part of a national survey unrelated to the census, 1.9% of the census population (7.08 million people) gave their religion as Islam. It tends to be concentrated in areas with large Audonian populations, especially those who immigrated from the UAE. Cartadania is unique in that its religious sites are not exempted from taxation by way of property. Income earned from religious jobs in Cartadania may be subject to income tax by specific states, dependent on their laws, but the federal government assesses a specialized, low, flat-rate income tax for religious leaders. Though controversial, this was allowed due to public outcry that special treatment of religious sites went against the separation of church and state, and one of the very reasons Caphiria and Cartadania did not get along, which resulted in its independence.

The confluence of faiths during the Caphirian colonization of Cartadania led to the development of a diverse array of syncretistic practices within the overarching umbrella of Cartadanian Catholic Church, characterized by traditional Cartadanian festivities, like the large Carnival festival. There is also a number of individuals professing no religion constituting a significant demographic group, exceeding 11% of the population as of the 2020 census.

Despite such strong efforts to keep religion out of the government, Cartadania has one of the largest numbers of geographic areas named after catholic saints, including four states and two territories–Santa Domenica, Santa Elena, Santarém (Sancta Irene), Santiago (Sancta Iacobu), São Andreas, and São Ricardo–and hundreds of counties and municipalities. There have been several Cartadanian Popes, including the current, Pope Gregory XVII.

Energy
Cartadania is one of the world's largest energy consumers with much of its energy coming from nuclear and renewable sources, particularly hydroelectricity and ethanol; the Granita Dam is the world's largest hydroelectric plant by energy generation. The governmental agencies responsible for the energy policy are the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, the Energy Commission, the Cartadanian Electric Reliability Corporation and the Congressional Energy Board.

The nation's power transmission grid consists of about 600,000 km of lines operated by approximately nearly 500 companies. The Cartadanian Electric Reliability Corporation (CICE) oversees all of them.