Independent Gemean state
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Pirate Republic of Porto Natal (1498-1523) Pirate Republic of Portas Gemeas (1523-1702) Most Serene Republic of Portas Gemeas (1702-1820) Sovereign Kingdom of Portas Gemeas (1820-1976) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1498-1976 | |||||||||||
.svg) Post-1949 flag | |||||||||||
| Capital | Various (1498-1702) Porto Natal (1702-1804) Porto Quaresma (1804-1976) | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Cartadanian | ||||||||||
| Religion | Catholic | ||||||||||
| Government | Piratocracy (1498-1702) Merchant republic (1702-1820) Elective monarchy (1820-1976) | ||||||||||
| First Captain | |||||||||||
• 1498-1508 | Antonio Moseisley | ||||||||||
• 1698-1702 | Pedro Aviz | ||||||||||
| Captain of the People | |||||||||||
• 1702-1708 | Pedro Aviz | ||||||||||
• 1818-1820 | Miguel de Sousa | ||||||||||
| King | |||||||||||
• 1820-1828 | Miguel I | ||||||||||
• 1968-1976 | Miguel III | ||||||||||
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From 1498 until 1976, there was an independent Gemean state ruled by people of Cartadanian ancestry located in northeastern Vallos. Initially a plutocratic piratocracy, Portas Gemeas under the leadership of Captain Pedro Aviz was reformed into a merchant republic as part of a long process of legitimisation ranging from escort contracts with major Occidental powers to taking part in legitimate trading enterprises. The final major governmental reform happened in 1820 under the leadership of Captain Miguel de Sousa when the Act of Gemean Regality was passed, turning the merchant republic into an elective monarchy, the form of government that remains in place to this day in Portas Gemeas.
The origins of the Gemean piratocracy is said to have its roots in the establishment of Porta Natal in 1498 by former Cartadanian privateer Captain Antonio Moseisley. He, alongside fellow former privateers Captains Henrique Aviz and Alberto de Sousa, have used their immense fortunes to overthrow the local Tainean rulers and established a plutocratic regime in which the leadership rotated between the three and their descendants every decade, starting with Moseisley himself. In 1523, Porto Natal had merged with the nearby Porto Queresma, established twenty years prior, thus dubbing the union Portas Gemeas for the first time as well as bringing in an additional four great pirate houses into the regime alongside the houses of Moseisley, Aviz, and de Sousa.
The beginning of the 18th Century saw the decline of piracy in Vallos as the Levanto-Cronan trade declined. In an effort to both legitimise the regime and to prevent domestic turmoil, First Captain Pedro Aviz had set off on a series of reforms to shift the main source of income away from piracy and towards more legitimate pursuits and enterprises, ultimately turning the piractocracy into a merchant republic. Good fortunes soon returned when Aviz had managed to secure a lucrative escort contract with the major Occidental powers, which furthered the decline of Oustec's state revenues as these escorts inevitably became anti-piracy convoys. The success in the escort business allowed for the major Gemean houses to invest into additional trading enterprises, thus further exploding profits.
The rest of the 18th Century saw the newly-legitimised great houses of Portas Gemeas consolidate their rule over the region, soon taking on certain royal trappings and the like. Indeed, when Captain Miguel de Sousa became Captain of the People in 1818, he decided to put an end to the pretense of republicanism and declared Portas Gemeas an elective monarchy in 1820, with the great merchant houses becoming its royal families. This new monarchy remained independent until it became a signatory of the Pact of Eighteen in 1976, making Portas Gemeas and its dependency of Trescolinia a part of Delepasia and eventually Rumahoki as a states.