Copake: Difference between revisions

{{Infobox country

|micronation =        <!--yes if a micronation-->

|symbol_type =        <!--emblem, seal, etc (if not a coat of arms)-->

|national_motto =    ''Knee henewa elad formaneh''

|national_anthem =    <!--in inverted commas and wikilinked if link exists-->

|royal_anthem =      <!--in inverted commas and wikilinked if link exists-->

{{Main|Polar Captaincy}}

In [[1652]], forces from [[Varshan]] arrived in [[Venua'tino]] and established loose control over the territory, with Varshani cities and outposts on the coast serving as nexuses of control and centers of tribute for the rest of the territory. This occupation took the form of the Polar Captaincy, primarily focused on exacting tribute and exporting a limited number of slaves to Varshan rather than directly administering or colonizing the territory. Accordingly, the nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples of northern and inland Copake were not significantly disturbed by the establishment of Varshani rule, though occasional parties of raiders or unofficial "tribute collectors" would periodically plague the area for the next several centuries. The Copaish cities on the Wappinger Peninsula, however, now fell under direct Varshani rule. The period between the 1650s and 1960s would see significant, Varshani-influenced changes to Copake's most urbanized region. The local population was generally treated as a subservient caste, but unlike mainland Varshan they still held major economic and even administrative posts in service of the Captaincy. The small number of Varshani settlers in these cities generally required higher standards of living than previously existed, creating complex temple, administrative, and leisure structures which are now iconic sites within Copaish cities. The Captaincy period had significant impacts on Copaish culture and likely was the origin point of the [[Venua Faith]]'s divergence from mainstream [[M'acunist]] religion, incorporating significant [[Arzalist]] themes. The Captaincy also created an implied sense of hierarchy within Copaish cities and a cultural inclination towards deference to perceived social betters, a trait that still exists within urban Copaish society but is absent among the range people.

The Captaincy is noteworthy from a historiographical standpoint as it is the first time in which the various peoples and regions of Copake were documented. A group of four surveyors from Varshan traveled throughout modern Copake and the modern [[International Nature Preserve]] from [[1652]] to [[1659]], meticulously documenting nomadic groups they came across, villages, languages, local religious practice, and the viability of various groups to be procured (by traditional deportation or by trading goods) for slavery. These documents, now collectively known as the "Great Survey", have proven an invaluable tool both to Occidental scholars as well as those in Copake attempting to define a shared and antique national identity.

==Government==

Copake is a constitutional {{wp|federal republic}} governed by the provisions of the Northeastern Charter, a document adopted in [[2034]]. The Charter provides for what has been described as an "asymmetric federal republic", wherein a large number of the federal units operate with significant autonomy. More than other democratic states, Copake's system is largely defined by its federal units, called Regions and Ranges. Regions are traditionally defined geographic areas, encompassing cities and the people living within them, and the country is divided into six regions. Citizens of regions are counted in the traditional Occidental fashion, with residency within a region considered to be sufficient to make an individual a citizen of a region. Ranges, however, are not based on geography but rather on individual and familial identity. Ranges are the political unit by which the nomadic peoples of Copake are represented, with the various tribal groups organized into fourteen distinct ranges. Ranges are generally organized along the lines of shared familial heritage (though not always). Individuals registered within ranges are eligible to vote for their ranger government and representatives but not the regional representation of any region they are in during election season. Though they are not geographic in scope, ranges nonetheless have constitutionally guaranteed rights to certain historical geographic areas on which grazing and other nomadic activities occurred. These areas, called ranger zones, are governed directly by the national government despite being within the nominal borders of regions. Ranges and regions hold elections for their own internal governance along the same basis as national elections.

Copake has a bicameral legislature, the Northeastern Congress. The upper house, the House of Constituencies, affords the regions seven seats and the ranges three seats each, for a total of 84 total seats. The regions and ranges elect their members on a constituency-wide basis for the House of Constituencies. The House has a very limited scope of responsibilities, including all matters related to range regulation, all proposed changes to the constitution, impeaching the President, and any foreign treaty. All other legislative responsibilities - including budget, making war and peace, approving or changing laws, and approving appointment of officials - falls to the National Assembly. The National Assembly has 100 seats apportioned after a decennial census. Based on the [[2030]] census, 76 seats were afforded to the six regions, which elect their Assembly members on region-wide proportional votes. The remaining 24 seats were apportioned among the ranges, with the elected leaders of the ranges directly appointing the members of Assembly. The Assembly elects a Speaker of the Assembly, which serves as the presiding officer of the body. The Speaker is generally considered to be head of the legislative branch.  

==Culture==

Despite centuries of being organized under different polities, necessary trade and proximity interactions have made Copake's regional cultural groups relatively closely aligned. Copake culture is subject to a long-running project of {{wp|nation-building}} as the government has worked to identify key shared historical events, commonly held social mores, and other subjects which relate the once-disparate peoples together. As such, the work of defining Copake culture is still ongoing, and according to the prominent Kirvian scholar on Crona Velel Arenva, "Copake culture will...ultimately be determined by those who choose to be its practitioners or choose otherwise." In this sense, there is a public focus on democratizing the future of the Copake identity, as newly formed cultural institutions such as museums, schools, and magazines all offer their own version of what it means to be Copaish.  

The city of Tekuma, on the central peninsula of Copake, is the largest economic driver of the country. Significant foreign investment has been made to connect Tekuma to the rest of the country by rail and road as part of the [[improvement economy]] model, intended to bootstrap an urban, modernized, Occidentalized economy by means of massive infrastructure investments; by design, this has created a massive construction sector within the country. Unique to Copake is a process of radical urbanization, moreso than other improvement economy subjects, due to the completely decentralized nature of Copaish society as it existed prior to the [[2020]]s. Additionally, urbanization and modernization has proven challenging in Copake due to the significant portion of the population which lives nomadic lifestyles, making it difficult to concentrate population and capital within the major cities. These efforts not only includes material connections to other places but also, as a critical part of {{wp|nation-building}}, the transformation of Tekuma into the cultural heart of what was once a disparate and fragmented people. This has meant the construction of elaborate government buildings, museums, [[Venua Faith|Venua]] and [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] worship sites, and grand boulevards and other public works measures in both new and traditional Copaish styles. These new structures incorporate newfound and valuable Copaish marble which, though not traditionally part of Copaish architecture, has been incorporated into inidgenous designs to transform Tekuma into the "marble city". While improvement economy efforts have sponsored improvements in other major cities, only in Copake has it had the effect of intentionally transforming a single city by means of massive investment within city limits themselves. In the process, Tekuma has transitioned from a backwater regional trade hub into an impressive city. This process has necessarily required the relocation of artists and architects, of which there were a small number, from the outlying portions of the country to Tekuma by means of impressive facilities and expansive grant programs. Accordingly, in addition to the usual group of construction workers and construction contract firm owners, Copake is relatively unique among the improvement economy countries in having artists and other niche artisans making up a sizable role of the emergent middle class. As part of these efforts, the University of Tekuma was chartered and opened in [[2034]], using primarily Occidental instructors but also a small core indigenous group of professors from both Copake and other areas in the Nysdra.

Though not significant prior to [[the Deluge]], Copake has become a major source of high quality and desirable {{wp|marble}} in trade with other Cronan states and [[Levantia]] to a lesser extent. Copaish marble is denser and tougher than other types of marble, making it more resistant to wear and better for use in construction. It's primarily made of high-quality calcite, which gives it a unique crystalline structure and distinct appearance. In the [[Occident]], Copaish marble is generally viewed to be similar in quality to the types of marble used in Antiquity in [[Caphiria]] and [[Great Levantia]], making it highly prized but expensive and somewhat complex to procure. Copaish marble was used heavily in the rebuilding of Tekuma. Mining operations have scaled up significantly since around [[2030]], and efforts to better equip the country for global export are underway.

[[Category:2023 Award winning pages]]

[[Category:IXWB]]

[[Category:Venua'tino]]