Culture of Asteria

Asterian culture is a complex subject that goes as far back as the original settlement of the region by the Atemeraw over a thousand years ago.

Society

Confederalism

Asterian society exists largely in the form of municipal groupings in a cultural phenomena called confederalism. The earliest example of confederalism can be found in the Atemeraw peoples, who were united under one national entity, but largely divided into self-governing clans that consisted of several villages. Each Atemeraw commune was self-governing, with its own warrior class, hunting grounds, and waterways. Each of these communes were linked together by a wider confederal system, joining together for mutual defense, trade, and managing disputes between each clan peacefully. This system is widely regarded to have allowed the Atemeraw Confederacy to survive for nearly four centuries with little civil conflict, and to withstand attacks from larger tribal states. Confederalism continued when the Midlands Company began to settle the coastal regions of Asteria. The Milsboro Colony, Yarmouth Colony, and Waverly Colony all were self-governing, and as Ænglish and later Gaelic peoples settled in the region and formed new settlements, those regions became self-governing. When Faneria's monarchy established the unified Colony of West Asteria in 1775 and organized the region into counties, the confederal system survived. Cities and towns were drawn up and settled, often by members of the same church or militia. As the Atemeraw integrated into Asterian society, their ideas on individual clans being part of a wider political entity carried over. During the Asterian Revolution, this system of self-governing counties, cities, and towns made it difficult for Faneria to effectively defeat the rebels. The Constitution of Asteria enshrined the rights of self-governing counties, and while the central government has grown more powerful, Asteria is still widely seen as having a confederal, provincial culture.

Religion

Differences of faith are one of the largest dividing points in Asteria. As a nation founded primarily by Protestants fleeing Levantia, the northern counties hold a view that Asteria is inherently a Protestant nation. However, 15.7% of Asterians belong to the Catholic Church, largely centered around the Lower Counties, where they form a majority. Social discrimination was common, especially during the colonial period under Faneria. The region around Yarmouth was especially impacted under West Asteria, with raids, burning of churches, workplaces refusing to hire Catholics, and other forms of discrimination. Asteria's religious division is also closely linked with racial and ethnic divisions, with the Ænglish largely being part of the Asterian Chantry, and the Gaelic and other groups being predominantly Catholic.