Lucrecia: Difference between revisions
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* 79.4% [[Christianity in Lucrecia|Christianity]] | * 79.4% [[Christianity in Lucrecia|Christianity]] | ||
** 78.5% [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] | ** 78.5% [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] | ||
*** 71.2% [[Caphiric Church|Caphiric Rite]] | |||
*** 7.3% [[Catholic Church|Levantine Rite]] | |||
** 0.9% Other Christians | ** 0.9% Other Christians | ||
{{Tree list/end}} | {{Tree list/end}} | ||
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|GDP_nominal_per_capita = $65,177 | |GDP_nominal_per_capita = $65,177 | ||
|currency = [[Denario]] | |currency = [[Denario]] | ||
|currency_code = | |currency_code = LUD | ||
|time_zone = <!--e.g. GMT, PST, AST, etc, etc (wikilinked if possible)--> | |time_zone = <!--e.g. GMT, PST, AST, etc, etc (wikilinked if possible)--> | ||
|electricity = | |electricity = 230 V–50 Hz | ||
|drives_on = right | |drives_on = right | ||
|cctld = [[.lu]] | |cctld = [[.lu]] | ||
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The country derives its name from the [[Pelaxian language|Pelaxian]] translation of the name "Lucretia", itself in reference to {{wp|Lucretia}}, a [[Caphiria|Caphiric]] noblewoman whose brutal murder at the hands of a son of King Admoneptis inspired an aristocratic revolt that overthrew the Caphiric monarchy in favour of the Caphiric Republic, of which Lucrecia derives its form of government from and retained in an unchanged form from the establishment of the [[Emeritan Republic]] in 178 BC until the 1970s when a series of reforms dubbed the "Popular Amendments" federalised the nation as well as rationalising and democratising the legislature. With the traditional foundation date being 178 BC, Lucrecia lays claim to being one of the oldest extant sovereign states, as well as the oldest {{wp|constitutional republic}}. | The country derives its name from the [[Pelaxian language|Pelaxian]] translation of the name "Lucretia", itself in reference to {{wp|Lucretia}}, a [[Caphiria|Caphiric]] noblewoman whose brutal murder at the hands of a son of King Admoneptis inspired an aristocratic revolt that overthrew the Caphiric monarchy in favour of the Caphiric Republic, of which Lucrecia derives its form of government from and retained in an unchanged form from the establishment of the [[Emeritan Republic]] in 178 BC until the 1970s when a series of reforms dubbed the "Popular Amendments" federalised the nation as well as rationalising and democratising the legislature. With the traditional foundation date being 178 BC, Lucrecia lays claim to being one of the oldest extant sovereign states, as well as the oldest {{wp|constitutional republic}}. | ||
The federal government is unique in that it consists of a diarchic head of state, those being the [[Consuls of Lucrecia|Consuls]], as well as a {{wp|tricameral}} [[General Assemblies of Lucrecia|legislature]], itself consisting of the [[Senatorial House]], representing the aristocracy, the [[Centuriate Assembly]], representing the cantons and communities, and the [[Popular Assembly]], representing the provinces. According to the [[Constitution of Lucrecia|constitution]], the Consuls are elected for a two-year term by the Centuriate Assembly; the Consuls serve concurrently and share equal powers. | The federal government is unique in that it consists of a diarchic head of state, those being the [[Consuls of Lucrecia|Consuls]], as well as a {{wp|tricameral}} [[General Assemblies of Lucrecia|legislature]], itself consisting of the [[Senatorial House]], representing the aristocracy, the [[Centuriate Assembly]], representing the cantons and communities, and the [[Popular Assembly]], itself consisting of the [[Tributary Assembly]], representing the provinces, and the [[Common Assembly]], representing the people. According to the [[Constitution of Lucrecia|constitution]], the Consuls are elected for a two-year term by the Centuriate Assembly; the Consuls serve concurrently and share equal powers. | ||
As a popular tourist spot, one of the largest sectors of the Lucrecian economy is in {{wp|tourism}}, as well as {{wp|service (economics)|services}}, and {{wp|retail}}. | As a popular tourist spot, one of the largest sectors of the Lucrecian economy is in {{wp|tourism}}, as well as {{wp|service (economics)|services}}, and {{wp|retail}}. | ||
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==History== | ==History== | ||
===Antiquity and the first Emeritan state=== | ===Antiquity and the first Emeritan state=== | ||
It is generally accepted that Lucrecia was settled by the broader [[Glaistic civilization]] during the prehistoric period, but when they arrived and the extent of their settlement is the source of considerable debate. The only record of them comes from the first [[Adonerii]] settlers on the archipelago, who arrived in 750 BC. Until the 21st century, it was generally accepted that Lucrecia was the southernmost Adonerii settlement during the [[Latin Heroic Age]], though some modern archaeology and scholarship has suggested Lucrecia served as a staging ground for further expeditions south into modern [[Chrobonsk]]. Whatever the case, the Latin city of ''Emerita Maris'' was established at their first arrival and became the predominant cultural and political force in the archipelago. Historians generally agree ''Emerita Maris'' served as the primary southern outpost of the intricate Adonerii trade network, filtering exotic goods from South Sarpedon back to the other Adonerii cities in exchange for weapons, food, and other goods more common in [[Urlazio]] and beyond. | It is generally accepted that Lucrecia was settled by the broader [[Glaistic civilization]] during the prehistoric period, but when they arrived and the extent of their settlement is the source of considerable debate. The only record of them comes from the first [[Adonerii]] settlers on the archipelago, who arrived in 750 BC. Until the 21st century, it was generally accepted that Lucrecia was the southernmost Adonerii settlement during the [[Latin Heroic Age]], though some modern archaeology and scholarship has suggested Lucrecia served as a staging ground for further expeditions south into modern [[Chrobonsk]]. Whatever the case, the Latin city of ''Emerita Maris'' was established at their first arrival and became the predominant cultural and political force in the archipelago. Historians generally agree that ''Emerita Maris'' served as the primary southern outpost of the intricate Adonerii trade network, filtering exotic goods from South Sarpedon back to the other Adonerii cities in exchange for weapons, food, and other goods more common in [[Urlazio]] and beyond. | ||
[[File:Mykene BW 2017-10-10 13-23-40.jpg|thumb|left|The remains of the original | [[File:Mykene BW 2017-10-10 13-23-40.jpg|thumb|left|The remains of the original Emeritan senate, located near the modern capital of [[Mérida del Mar]].]] | ||
With the collapse of the Adonerii league, ''Emerita Maris'' became an independent power in the | With the collapse of the Adonerii league, ''Emerita Maris'' became an independent power in the southern part of the Kindreds Sea. It began to establish its own colonies and trade network throughout eastern [[Vallos]]. It soon expanded to rule over other settlements on its home island, eventually culminating in the establishment of the Emeritan Republic in 178 BC, with a form of government that closely followed that of the Caphiric Republic, that being a diarchical consular republic. Its first consuls were [[Sextus Luria Rufus]] and [[Marcus Cornelius Scaevola]], two prominent merchants who have greatly expanded the trading networks between the Emeritans and the other polities in Vallos. | ||
===Domination by the Imperium=== | ===Domination by the Imperium=== | ||
The | The First Emeritan Republic remained as an independent state up until the 8th Century when the [[Caphiria|Caphiric]] [[Caphiria#The_First_Imperium|First Imperium]] began to involve itself in Emeritan affairs. As a Latinic state, the Emeritan Republic enjoyed a higher degree of political participation within the Imperium than most vassal subjects had at that time. Although nominally independent, the Consuls-designate were subject to the approval of the Imperium, which had made itself the [[Imperial dictatorship over Emerita|permanent designated dictator]] of the Republic (a practice that would eventually return nearly one thousand years later under different circumstances), and the imperial government may at any time decide to unilaterally remove one or both Consuls from office if it deemed it necessary. This exercise in consular oversight was only ever used once, that being in the year 846 when the Imperium decided to unilaterally remove both Consuls when the two had failed to put down a [[Spartacus Revolt of 846|plebian uprising]]. | ||
For the most part, the Republic remained stable throughout much of its suzerainty under the First Imperium as well as under the turbulent [[Caphiria#The_Second_Imperium|Second Imperium]] until the [[Great Civil War (Caphiria)|Great Civil War]] began in the year 1127 and lasted for forty-five years. During this time, the Republic began to gain more and more autonomy in its internal affairs which culminated in the unilateral termination of the Imperial Dictatorship in 1170, making the Republic nominally under Caphiric suzerainty by that point now that the Imperium was too busy trying to keep itself together to bother intervening, though independence was not yet declared due to fears of a military insurrection which had become a commonality during the civil war. | |||
===Second Emeritan Republic=== | ===Second Emeritan Republic=== | ||
The collapse of the Second Imperium in 1172 is considered to be the start of the Second Emeritan Republic, which had very little change from the First Republic asides from the creation of the role of [[Dictator (Lucrecia)|dictator]], a role that was appointed by the Consuls from amongst the senators for a term of one year. The reasoning behind the creation of such a powerful yet time-limited role was to provide the state with a means to ease internal tensions without risking a potential civil war like what happened to the Second Imperium. The Republic was among the first vassal states to formally secede from the Imperium as the remaining garrisons have either left to go home or stayed and pledged loyalty to the Republic. | |||
During the second era of Emeritan independence, the Republic experienced a renaissance of its own as interest in the Adonerum began to surface after the discovery of a treasure trove of lost Adonerii manuscripts and theses in the year 1246. With the recovery of Adonerii documents that were long-thought missing or destroyed, there began an interest in the idea that the Republic was the heir to the Adonerum and the ideals of bringing back certain aspects of Adonerii culture that were abandoned during the years of Caphiric suzerainty. | |||
The first century of the Second Republican era was also marked by a few attempts to restore the classical [[Caphiric Republic]], with prominent Emeritans arguing that the collapse of the Second Imperium has proven that there were many fundamental flaws with what they deemed to be the "royalist disgrace" that has emerged since the fall of the Caphiric Republic and that the only way to restore stability and prosperity is to establish a stronger republic based on the ideals of the classical era while making a few necessary modifications to prevent the rise of perceived royalist demagoguery that was said to have plagued the latter years of the Caphiric Republic. However, the Republic was at the time too far away from mainland Sarpedon and too small to effectively wield enough influence to do anything beyond declaring themselves to the true heirs of the old Caphiric Republic, and any and all ambitions of restoring the old Republic on the mainland were soon dashed with the emergence of the [[Caphiria#The_Third_Imperium|Third Imperium]] in 1283. | |||
===Pelaxian suzerainty=== | |||
Although the Republic would never fall under direct Caphiric suzerainty, it would soon find itself under the suzerainty of a nascent and newly-unified kingdom in western Sarpedon, the [[Pelaxia|Kingdom of Pelaxia]]. First contact with the Pelaxians began in 1499, by that time Pelaxia had already established a colonial empire in [[Vallos]]. Because of the Republic's relative stability compared to most of the polities in Vallos and overall Latinic homogeneity, the Republic was not to be made into a colony, but rather a protectorate wherein the Republic will be allowed to maintain its internal affairs without interference while in return they allow the Pelaxians to hold the exclusive right to maintain a military presence as part of its efforts to maintain its hold in the Southern Route to Alshar. | |||
The establishment of Pelaxian suzerainty over the Republic saw the emergence of a pelaxianised Latinic culture within the span of fifty years as Emeritan elites took on Pelaxian customs, traditions, and even a [[Emeritan Pelaxian|new vernacular of the Pelaxian language]] with many Latinic loanwords. By the year 1554, the Emeritans had effectively became a Romance ethnic group, a far cry from when they had seen themselves as a Latinic ethnic group. | |||
===Isurian Generality=== | ===Isurian Generality=== | ||
Isurians | {{main|Old Isurian Generality}} | ||
On a similarly-sized island neighbouring the island that the Emeritan Republic was home to there were multiple settlements that were home to the descendants of [[Isurians|Isurian]] peasants who had first arrived on the island in the year 1343 on their attempt to establish a new and independent homeland away from mainland Sarpedon and away from any form of authority beyond that of {{wp|God}} himself. These settlements made up the [[Old Isurian Generality]], a {{wp|peasant republic|republic of peasants}} under a loose {{wp|confederate state|confederacy}}. It had no {{wp|head of state}}, but rather a popular assembly in which anyone may attend on any given day, except for Sundays and religious holidays, and take part in the political process. Such a form of government was, and still is, a rarity, and to the Emeritans it was seen as a perversion of republican ideals due to the notable lack of a hierarchal class structure and the amount of power the peasantry had in the Old Generality. This sparked many fears that the Emeritan peasantry may very well attempt to overthrow the Republic and establish their own republic in emulation of the Old Generality. | |||
===Nobles' Treaty=== | ===Nobles' Treaty=== | ||
{{main|Nobles' Treaty}} | |||
To combat the perceived threat the Emeritan elites saw in the Isurian Generality, they began to discuss several possibilities on what to do with the neighbouring peasant republic. There was universal agreement that no matter what they choose to do, they have to make sure that the hypothetical union would be under the aristocratic Emeritan form of government and not the seemingly mobocratic Isurian form of government. The possibilities that were put forward ranged from invasion plans to plans for colonisation, from enforcing a protectorate status upon the Isurians to a tactful manipulation of the populace so as to encourage many Isurians to support the idea of joining up with the Emeritans. These discussions, known as the "Peasantry Question", lasted for well over a century until the year 1557 when it was decided that the best course of action was to tactfully manipulate the people of the Generality into thinking that there was an imminent invasion coming from mainland Vallos and that the Republic was more than happy to ensure their protection, so long as they unite with the Republic and form a new union. Surprisingly, the gambit worked and by 1561 delegates from both the Republic and the Generality met up to draft a treaty confirming a perpetual union between the two republics. The treaty, known as the [[Nobles' Treaty]] was signed and put into effect on 28 February 1561, forming the Most Serene Republic of Lucrecia, named after the island on which the Emeritan Republic was located upon. | |||
===Early 20th century=== | ===Early 20th century=== | ||
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==Geography== | ==Geography== | ||
The | Lucrecia is a small sub-archipelago within the [[Catenias]] consisting of three islands, two major islands and one small island. The major island that is closer to mainland Vallos is often known in [[Ænglish]] and throughout [[Levantia]] as [[Emerita]], although officially, and throughout Sarpedon, it is known as ''Isla Lucrecia'' from which the nation gets its name from. The other major island is known as [[Illa Herba Linda]], often known in older maps as ''Isla Yorba Linda'' (''yorba'' being the Emeritan pronunciation of the word ''yerba'', itself a Vallos variant of the Pelaxian word ''hierba'', meaning herb). The small island off the coast of Illa Herba Linda is referred to as [[Illa Vitoria]]. | ||
Altogether, the three islands covers just over 181,998 km² of land, with Illa Herba Linda being the largest of the three and Illa Vitoria being the smallest. As a nation that solely consists of islands, much of Lucrecia's geography is predominately just above sea level, with Illa Herba Linda being the sole exception being home to the nation's sole mountain and highest point, [[Mount St. Andrew's]]. The lowest point of the country is [[Sextus's Crator]], an oddly-shaped valley located in Emerita that was long thought to have been the impact site of a {{wp|meteorite}} that struck the planet in the 2nd Century BC, though more recent analysis have since debunked this theory, stating that it is nothing more than a deep U-shaped valley that came to be due to glaciation from long before the supposed date of impact and that there have been no evidence to support that a meteorite had struck Emerita in the 2nd Century BC. | |||
===Climate=== | ===Climate=== | ||
Located within the tropics, the climate in Lucrecia is generally warmer and more humid than in most areas outside of the tropics. However, due to it being very close to the {{wp|Tropic of Capricorn}}, the climate is generally more temperate compared to the climates of areas further within the tropics such as that of [[Rumahoki]] or [[Equatorial Ostiecia]]. Overall, Lucrecia experiences a mostly mild {{wp|seasonal variation}}, though the coldest parts of the country are in settlements that straddle Mount St. Andrew's, much of which experience colder winters and milder summers compared to the rest of Lucrecia, with summer averages that reach no more than 18 degrees Celsius and winter averages as low than -12 degrees Celsius in contrast to the averages for the rest of the country (summer averages in most of Lucrecia are often as high as 25 degrees Celsius while winter averages can go as low as 10 degrees Celsius). | |||
==Government and Politics== | ==Government and Politics== | ||
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The legislature of Lucrecia is the [[General Assemblies]], a {{wp|tricameral}} legislature that is composed of the [[Senatorial House]], the [[Centuriate Assembly]], and the [[Popular Assembly]]. | The legislature of Lucrecia is the [[General Assemblies]], a {{wp|tricameral}} legislature that is composed of the [[Senatorial House]], the [[Centuriate Assembly]], and the [[Popular Assembly]]. | ||
The Senatorial House is made up of | The Senatorial House is made up of 500 senators, members of the aristocracy appointed by the consuls; [[Senator of Lucrecia|senators]] serve "for good conscience", meaning that a senator serves for life until they either retire, pass away, or are removed. The Senatorial House was historically the most powerful legislature in Lucrecia, but the reforms done since the 1970s have done away with much of its power, delegating much of said powers to the Centuriate and Popular Assemblies, but the Senatorial House does retain quite a few powers, such as the ability to petition the [[Supreme Court of Lucrecia]] to investigate either the consuls or the curia, the ability to prevent bills from passing into law, and being the sole legislative assembly to introduce {{wp|bill (law)|bills}}. | ||
The Centuriate Assembly is made up of 150 centurions who are appointed by the legislatures of the [[Communities, cantons, and linguistic areas of Lucrecia|cantons and linguistic communities]] and serve for five years. The 150 centurions are allocated as follows: 32 are appointed by the legislature of the [[Isurian Community]]; 21 are appointed by the legislature of the [[Isurian Generality]]; 16 are appointed by the Isurian language group of the [[Toledo-Administrative Canton]]; 8 are appointed by the Isurian language group of the [[Merida-Presidential Canton]]; 29 are appointed by the [[Pelaxian Community]]; 20 are appointed by the [[Emeritan Republic]]; 16 are appointed by the Pelaxian language group of the Merida-Presidential Canton; 8 are appointed by the Pelaxian language group of the Toledo-Administrative Canton. It is the sole legislative assembly in charge of electing the consuls, the sole legislative assembly in charge of drawing up information reports, and it serves as the main platform for the discussion of matters pertaining to the cantons and linguistic communities (making it the mediation chamber in the event of federated legislative conflicts of interest). | The Centuriate Assembly is made up of 150 [[Centurion of Lucrecia|centurions]] who are appointed by the legislatures of the [[Communities, cantons, and linguistic areas of Lucrecia|cantons and linguistic communities]] and serve for five years. The 150 centurions are allocated as follows: 32 are appointed by the legislature of the [[Isurian Community]]; 21 are appointed by the legislature of the [[Isurian Generality]]; 16 are appointed by the Isurian language group of the [[Toledo-Administrative Canton]]; 8 are appointed by the Isurian language group of the [[Merida-Presidential Canton]]; 29 are appointed by the [[Pelaxian Community]]; 20 are appointed by the [[Emeritan Republic]]; 16 are appointed by the Pelaxian language group of the Merida-Presidential Canton; 8 are appointed by the Pelaxian language group of the Toledo-Administrative Canton. It is the sole legislative assembly in charge of electing the consuls, the sole legislative assembly in charge of drawing up information reports, and it serves as the main platform for the discussion of matters pertaining to the cantons and linguistic communities (making it the mediation chamber in the event of federated legislative conflicts of interest). | ||
The Popular Assembly is made up of 200 tributaries who are directly elected under the system of {{wp| | The Popular Assembly is in fact two legislative houses that have been merged as one federated legislative house since the 1990s. The two segments of the Popular Assembly are the [[Tributary Assembly]] and the [[Common Assembly]]. The Tributary Assembly is made up of 200 [[Tributary of Lucrecia|tributaries]] who are directly elected under the system of {{wp|first-past-the-post voting}} within eighteen constituencies, and serve for three years. 109 tributaries are from the Isurian language group, and 91 tributaries are part of the Pelaxian language group. The Common Assembly is made of 200 [[Popular Representative of Lucrecia|popular representatives]] who are directly elected under the system of {{wp|open list}} {{wp|proportional representation}}, with an {{wp|electoral threshold}} of 5%, and serve for three years as well. Unlike the Centuriate and Tributary Assemblies, the Common Assembly, being directly representative of the citizens, is the only part of the legislature, other than the Senatorial House, that does not make use of quotas to allocate seats amongst the two language groups. | ||
Despite the Isurian language group holding a majority of the tributaries and centurions, the Lucrecian constitution mandates that both linguistic communities hold equal power in both the Centuriate and | Presently, the Popular Assembly holds the greatest amount of power and has the second-highest precedence in the General Assemblies when it comes to "ordinary legislation" (the Senatorial House retains the final say), including the ability to elect the edile, with the winner being subject to approval of the consuls, and, alongside the consuls, holds responsibility for the political control of the Curia. | ||
Despite the Isurian language group holding a majority of the tributaries and centurions, the Lucrecian constitution mandates that both linguistic communities hold equal power in both the Centuriate and Tributary Assemblies. Indeed, bills may not necessarily require a majority in both language groups save for bills pertaining to the linguistic communities. | |||
===Judicial=== | ===Judicial=== | ||
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| color6 =Brown | | color6 =Brown | ||
}} | }} | ||
===Ethnic groups=== | ===Ethnic groups=== | ||
{{main|Emeritans|Lucrecio-Isurians|Latins in Lucrecia}} | {{main|Emeritans|Lucrecio-Isurians|Latins in Lucrecia}} | ||
In Lucrecia, there are two main ethnic groups: the [[Emeritans]] and the [[Lucrecio-Isurians]]. The Emeritans are the direct descendants of the [[Latinic people]] of the [[Adonerum]] who have settled on the island that would become the [[Emeritan Republic]], and make up the second-largest ethnic group in the country. The Lucrecio-Isurians are the direct descendants of [[Isurians|Isurian]] settlers who came from mainland Sarpedon to settle the island upon which the [[Isurian Generality]] was established, and make up the largest ethnic group in the country. These two groups comprise almost three-quarters of the population of Lucrecia (39.8% Lucrecio-Isurians; 32.7% Emeritans). The next two largest ethnic groups are the [[Pelaxians]] and [[Delepasians]], related to both the Emeritans and the Lucrecio-Isurians, but have had differing origins from them; they make up just under twenty percent of the population; 9.1% being Pelaxian, and 8.3% being Delepasian. Lucrecia is also home to a sizeable Latin minority, the last remaining descendants of the Adonerii who have not been pelaxianised; they are often referred to as the "Old Emeritans" in reference to uninterrupted Latinic heritage, and make up nearly seven percent of the population. The remaining three-and-a-half percent of the population belong to other ethnic groups that are not listed separately due to having numbers that are too negligible to warrant their own category. | |||
===Languages=== | ===Languages=== | ||
{{main|Languages of Lucrecia}} | |||
Lucrecia is a {{wp|bilingual}} state; its two official languages are [[Emeritan Pelaxian|Pelaxian]], a vernacular of the [[Pelaxian language]] that makes use of Latinic loanwords, and {{wp|Galician language|Isurian}}, the traditional language of the [[Isurians]]. Historically, the language of Lucrecia's elites was Pelaxian, it having displaced [[Emeritan Latin|Latin]] during the years under [[Pelaxia|Pelaxian]] suzerainty. During this time, the Isurian language was seen as the language of peasants, with many high-class Isurians opting to learn Pelaxian so as to retain their status. It was not until the enactment of the Popular Amendments in 1970 that Isurian was raised to an equal status to Pelaxian. | |||
According to the most recent census, the percentage of Lucrecians who speak Isurian (Lucrecio-Isurians) is around 53% of the population, with the percentage of Pelaxian speakers (Emeritans) being around 47%. Asides from the official languages, there are a number of minorities who can speak a non-official language alongside one of the official languages (all residents of Lucrecia are required by law to be fluent in one of the nation's official languages), the most notable being the Emeritan vernacular of the Latin language, one of the only two colloquial forms of Latin, the other being [[Caphiric Latin]], in the world, and the Standard and Rumahokian vernaculars of Pelaxian from amongst the [[Pelaxians]] and the [[Delepasians]] who reside in Lucrecia. | |||
===Religion=== | |||
{{main|Catholic Church in Lucrecia|Neo-Caphiricism|Religion in Lucrecia}} | |||
Lucrecia, like much of [[Sarpedon]], is a nation in which a majority of its people adhere to a denomination of Christianity. The vast majority of the nation's Christian population are a part of the [[Catholic Church]], with a vast majority being a part of the [[Caphiric Church|Caphiric Catholic Church]] which is a {{wp|particular church}} in communion with the [[Pope]] in [[Urceopolis]]. Historically, and even to this day, Lucrecia is one of the few nations in Sarpedon in which the Caphiric Catholic Church is the majority faith, although the years of [[Pelaxia|Pelaxian]] suzerainty has given the Caphiric Church in Lucrecia a distinct Levantine character; it should be noted that since 1924 there exists a movement within the Catholic clergy of Lucrecia aimed at de-Levantising the Church and returning it to its Caphiric roots, this is known as [[neo-Caphiricism]]. A very slim minority of Christians are members of denominations that are not in communion with the Pope, essentially forms of {{wp|Protestantism}} for the most part. The next-highest group are people who identify as {{wp|irreligion|irreligious}}, people who hold no religious beliefs or practices whether out of disinterest or an active rejection of faith. The final group are religions that do not fit within either category, most often associated with the nation's minorities | |||
==Culture and Society== | ==Culture and Society== | ||
==Economy and Infrastructure== | ==Economy and Infrastructure== | ||
{{main|Economy of Lucrecia}} | |||
Lucrecia's economy is a {{wp|capitalist}} {{wp|mixed economy}} with its three major sectors being the {{wp|tourism}} industry, {{wp|service (economics)|services}}, and {{wp|retail}}. As the sole sovereign nation in the southern islands of Vallos, Lucrecia is also an established global logistical centre as well as a key financial centre in the area. Because of its key position, the Lucrecian economy is known for being one of the most innovative in the world as well as one of the freest and easiest to do business in, with robust competitiveness. Through agreements, certain major corporations are given tax breaks and all neighbouring nations have been given very generous free-trade agreements. Although it has consistently ranked high in economic freedoms, the nation also has a significant disparity in income between the wealthier [[Isurian Generality]] and the stagnating [[Emeritan Republic]], a dual nature that has existed ever since federalisation in the late 20th Century. | |||
Since federalisation, the Lucrecian economy has grown by an average of over 7% annually between the years 1975 and 2015, making Lucrecia a {{wp|highly developed}} nation. It attracts a large amount of foreign investment, as well as indirect influence, as a result of its location, economic freedoms, corporate tax breaks, free-trade agreements, and global trade connections. Lucrecia also has one of the world's largest foreign exchange reserves. | |||
===Tertiary and secondary sectors=== | |||
The {{wp|tertiary sector of the economy|tertiary sector}} comprises a major proportion of the Lucrecian economy, with tourism, services, retail, shipping, and banking making up the primary components of this sector. Lucrecia is currently the seventh-largest trading entity measured by imports and exports, trading an amount of goods worth more than its total {{wp|gross domestic product|GDP}}. The nation’s [[Toledo Stock Exchange]] is among the largest in the world by market capitalisation, at $5.9 trillion as of Q3 of 2034. Its major banks, the [[People's National Bank]], the [[Federal Credit Union]] and [[New United Bank]], are among the largest in Vallos, and have been ranked as the 3rd, 4th, and 6th most stable and strongest banks, respectively. Lucrecia also maintains a small {{wp|secondary sector of the economy|secondary sector}}; focused on the manufacturing of electronics such as terminals for [[Rumahoki]]'s [[Videocom]] service. | |||
===Currency=== | |||
{{main|Denario}} | |||
Lucrecia's currency, the [[denario]], is one of the few currencies in the world not to have been {{wp|decimal currency|decimalised}}, instead being divided under the ratio of 1:20:12, a rationalisation of ancient pre-decimal currencies. Notes are exclusively issued by the [[National Bank of the Republic]], the nation's {{wp|central bank}}, and coinage are exclusively minted by [[National Mint of the Republic]]. Because of Lucrecia's global connections and key position in global trade, the Denario is one of the strongest currencies in Vallos. | |||
===Regional wealth disparity=== | |||
=== | Although with one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, Lucrecia continues to have wealth disparity issues, which have been an issue plaguing the nation since its founding. Although wealth is not tightly concentrated in the hands of high income-earners, wealth has historically been concentrated in one of the two main regions of the nation. Before federalisation, wealth was mostly concentrated in the hands of the Emeritan elites and in the [[Emeritan Republic]]. However, with the advent of federalisation and globalisation, the economic centre of Lucrecia has shifted away from the stagnating and elitist Emeritan Republic and towards the [[Isurian Generality]] due to its more central location and potential for development. This disparity is only predicted to grow as the Isurian areas of the country continue to grow and develop economically and remain the focal point of international trade. | ||
Although with the | |||
To help combat this without changing its economic policies, the Lucrecian government has been giving the Emeritan Republic a monthly stipend since 2030 to aid in keeping the region's economy from further stagnating. These stipends, although met with support from most parties, has seen its greatest opposition from the [[United Isurian Caucus]], particularly from the [[Party for an Independent Generality|PXI]], seeing it as a considerable drain on the Generality's finances. Most [[Isurianism|Isurianists]] wish to either turn Lucrecia into a {{wp|confederation}} or, if that is not possible, {{wp|secede}} the Generality from Lucrecia; one of the most well-known Isurianist slogans is "Isurian money for Isurians; no more stipends!" in reference to their most brought-up talking point in elections. | |||
====Housing==== | ====Housing==== | ||
The wealth disparity between the regions can also be seen in real estate. In the wealthy Isurian Generality, the rate of home ownership has risen sharply since the late 1990s as wages in the region began to surpass that of their counterparts in the Emeritan Republic, with the most recent figures indicating a home ownership rate of 83% in the Generality. In the Emeritan Republic, although real estate values have risen sharply since the early 2000s, wages in the region have been stagnant since the 1980s and there exists a lack of open land to build additional housing units which has led to a decline in home ownership rates in the Emeritan Republic, with most recent figures estimating a home ownership rate of 57%. Since 2018, the term "high working class" has emerged to refer to a growing middle-class income group that are not impoverished enough to qualify for welfare, but are still not affluent enough to own their own homes. | |||
According to the office of the | According to the office of the [[Censor of Lucrecia|Censor]], this disparity in housing can be primarily traced back to the transfer of the nation's economic centre from the Emeritan Republic to the Isurian Generality and a lack of government intervention for fifty years until the introduction of the stipends. The lack of government intervention can be linked to the lack of political will for keeping the Emeritan economy from stagnating, especially with the rise of the first generation of Isurian elites in Lucrecian politics who sought to prevent any form of welfare for the Emeritans from being enacted. With the rise of the second generation of Isurian elites, this approach has been softened considerably as these new elites grew up with little to no memory of the years of Emeritan dominance in national politics. | ||
==Military== | ==Military== | ||
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[[Category:Catenias]] | |||
Latest revision as of 17:11, 7 May 2024
 | This page is currently undergoing major reconstruction in accordance with broader lore changes. |
Most Serene and Federative Republic of Lucrecia | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
Motto: Libertas ("Liberty") | |
| Capital and largest city | Mérida del Mar |
| Administrative center | Toledo dos Prados |
| Official languages | Isurian Pelaxian |
| Ethnic groups | |
| Religion |
|
| Demonym(s) | Lucrecian (Noun) Lucrecian (Adjective) Lucrecians (Plural) |
| Government | Federal semi-presidential diarchic semi-aristocratic directorial republic |
| Amadeo II | |
• Consuls | |
• Edile | Eduardo de San Francisco |
• Censor | Fernando Jimenez |
| Xulia Valladares | |
| Legislature | General Assemblies |
| Senatorial House | |
| Centuriate Assembly Popular Assembly | |
| Establishment | |
• Founding of Emerita Maris | 750 BC |
• Independence declared | 570 BC |
• Emeritan Republic established | 178 BC |
• Caphiric suzerainty established | 731 AD |
• Independence reaffirmed | 1172 |
• Founding of Toledo dos Prados | 11 June 1343 |
• Isurian Generality established | 15 June 1343 |
| 28 February 1561 | |
| 14 July 1582 (statutes) 8 August 1970 (Popular Amendments) | |
| Area | |
• Total | 181,998.46 km2 (70,270.00 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 15,108,800 |
• Census | 15,103,636 |
• Density | 82.99/km2 (214.9/sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | $984.75 billion |
• Per capita | $65,177 |
| Currency | Denario (LUD) |
| Mains electricity | 230 V–50 Hz |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +378 |
| Internet TLD | .lu |
Lucrecia, officially the Most Serene and Federative Republic of Lucrecia (Isurian: Serenísima e República Federativa de Lucrecia; Pelaxian: Serenísima y República Federativa de Lucrecia), is an archipelago country in the Kindreds Sea's Catenias, consisting of three major islands. It is characterized by its bilingual, bicultural nature, consisting of both Isurian-, and Pelaxian-influenced cultures.
Lucrecia is a sovereign federal diarchic directorial republic under a semi-presidential system. Although the highest rank in the country is that of the grand duke, it should be noted that the title is purely ceremonial and cultural; it carries no authority nor designation as the head of state (hence why the title uses "in" instead of "of"). Its federal structure is highly complex, consisting of both highly autonomous cantons, of which there are four (the Emeritan Republic, the Isurian Generality, the Merida-Presidential Canton, and the Toledo-Administrative Canton), and linguistic communities, of which there are two (the Pelaxian Community, and the Isurian Community). The Presidential and Administrative cantons are officially bilingual in Pelaxian and Isurian. This complex form of government, formed from linguistic diversity and sociopolitical conflicts, is reflected in the fact that there exists no less than seven different governments within Lucrecia.
The country derives its name from the Pelaxian translation of the name "Lucretia", itself in reference to Lucretia, a Caphiric noblewoman whose brutal murder at the hands of a son of King Admoneptis inspired an aristocratic revolt that overthrew the Caphiric monarchy in favour of the Caphiric Republic, of which Lucrecia derives its form of government from and retained in an unchanged form from the establishment of the Emeritan Republic in 178 BC until the 1970s when a series of reforms dubbed the "Popular Amendments" federalised the nation as well as rationalising and democratising the legislature. With the traditional foundation date being 178 BC, Lucrecia lays claim to being one of the oldest extant sovereign states, as well as the oldest constitutional republic.
The federal government is unique in that it consists of a diarchic head of state, those being the Consuls, as well as a tricameral legislature, itself consisting of the Senatorial House, representing the aristocracy, the Centuriate Assembly, representing the cantons and communities, and the Popular Assembly, itself consisting of the Tributary Assembly, representing the provinces, and the Common Assembly, representing the people. According to the constitution, the Consuls are elected for a two-year term by the Centuriate Assembly; the Consuls serve concurrently and share equal powers.
As a popular tourist spot, one of the largest sectors of the Lucrecian economy is in tourism, as well as services, and retail.
History
Antiquity and the first Emeritan state
It is generally accepted that Lucrecia was settled by the broader Glaistic civilization during the prehistoric period, but when they arrived and the extent of their settlement is the source of considerable debate. The only record of them comes from the first Adonerii settlers on the archipelago, who arrived in 750 BC. Until the 21st century, it was generally accepted that Lucrecia was the southernmost Adonerii settlement during the Latin Heroic Age, though some modern archaeology and scholarship has suggested Lucrecia served as a staging ground for further expeditions south into modern Chrobonsk. Whatever the case, the Latin city of Emerita Maris was established at their first arrival and became the predominant cultural and political force in the archipelago. Historians generally agree that Emerita Maris served as the primary southern outpost of the intricate Adonerii trade network, filtering exotic goods from South Sarpedon back to the other Adonerii cities in exchange for weapons, food, and other goods more common in Urlazio and beyond.
With the collapse of the Adonerii league, Emerita Maris became an independent power in the southern part of the Kindreds Sea. It began to establish its own colonies and trade network throughout eastern Vallos. It soon expanded to rule over other settlements on its home island, eventually culminating in the establishment of the Emeritan Republic in 178 BC, with a form of government that closely followed that of the Caphiric Republic, that being a diarchical consular republic. Its first consuls were Sextus Luria Rufus and Marcus Cornelius Scaevola, two prominent merchants who have greatly expanded the trading networks between the Emeritans and the other polities in Vallos.
Domination by the Imperium
The First Emeritan Republic remained as an independent state up until the 8th Century when the Caphiric First Imperium began to involve itself in Emeritan affairs. As a Latinic state, the Emeritan Republic enjoyed a higher degree of political participation within the Imperium than most vassal subjects had at that time. Although nominally independent, the Consuls-designate were subject to the approval of the Imperium, which had made itself the permanent designated dictator of the Republic (a practice that would eventually return nearly one thousand years later under different circumstances), and the imperial government may at any time decide to unilaterally remove one or both Consuls from office if it deemed it necessary. This exercise in consular oversight was only ever used once, that being in the year 846 when the Imperium decided to unilaterally remove both Consuls when the two had failed to put down a plebian uprising.
For the most part, the Republic remained stable throughout much of its suzerainty under the First Imperium as well as under the turbulent Second Imperium until the Great Civil War began in the year 1127 and lasted for forty-five years. During this time, the Republic began to gain more and more autonomy in its internal affairs which culminated in the unilateral termination of the Imperial Dictatorship in 1170, making the Republic nominally under Caphiric suzerainty by that point now that the Imperium was too busy trying to keep itself together to bother intervening, though independence was not yet declared due to fears of a military insurrection which had become a commonality during the civil war.
Second Emeritan Republic
The collapse of the Second Imperium in 1172 is considered to be the start of the Second Emeritan Republic, which had very little change from the First Republic asides from the creation of the role of dictator, a role that was appointed by the Consuls from amongst the senators for a term of one year. The reasoning behind the creation of such a powerful yet time-limited role was to provide the state with a means to ease internal tensions without risking a potential civil war like what happened to the Second Imperium. The Republic was among the first vassal states to formally secede from the Imperium as the remaining garrisons have either left to go home or stayed and pledged loyalty to the Republic.
During the second era of Emeritan independence, the Republic experienced a renaissance of its own as interest in the Adonerum began to surface after the discovery of a treasure trove of lost Adonerii manuscripts and theses in the year 1246. With the recovery of Adonerii documents that were long-thought missing or destroyed, there began an interest in the idea that the Republic was the heir to the Adonerum and the ideals of bringing back certain aspects of Adonerii culture that were abandoned during the years of Caphiric suzerainty.
The first century of the Second Republican era was also marked by a few attempts to restore the classical Caphiric Republic, with prominent Emeritans arguing that the collapse of the Second Imperium has proven that there were many fundamental flaws with what they deemed to be the "royalist disgrace" that has emerged since the fall of the Caphiric Republic and that the only way to restore stability and prosperity is to establish a stronger republic based on the ideals of the classical era while making a few necessary modifications to prevent the rise of perceived royalist demagoguery that was said to have plagued the latter years of the Caphiric Republic. However, the Republic was at the time too far away from mainland Sarpedon and too small to effectively wield enough influence to do anything beyond declaring themselves to the true heirs of the old Caphiric Republic, and any and all ambitions of restoring the old Republic on the mainland were soon dashed with the emergence of the Third Imperium in 1283.
Pelaxian suzerainty
Although the Republic would never fall under direct Caphiric suzerainty, it would soon find itself under the suzerainty of a nascent and newly-unified kingdom in western Sarpedon, the Kingdom of Pelaxia. First contact with the Pelaxians began in 1499, by that time Pelaxia had already established a colonial empire in Vallos. Because of the Republic's relative stability compared to most of the polities in Vallos and overall Latinic homogeneity, the Republic was not to be made into a colony, but rather a protectorate wherein the Republic will be allowed to maintain its internal affairs without interference while in return they allow the Pelaxians to hold the exclusive right to maintain a military presence as part of its efforts to maintain its hold in the Southern Route to Alshar.
The establishment of Pelaxian suzerainty over the Republic saw the emergence of a pelaxianised Latinic culture within the span of fifty years as Emeritan elites took on Pelaxian customs, traditions, and even a new vernacular of the Pelaxian language with many Latinic loanwords. By the year 1554, the Emeritans had effectively became a Romance ethnic group, a far cry from when they had seen themselves as a Latinic ethnic group.
Isurian Generality
On a similarly-sized island neighbouring the island that the Emeritan Republic was home to there were multiple settlements that were home to the descendants of Isurian peasants who had first arrived on the island in the year 1343 on their attempt to establish a new and independent homeland away from mainland Sarpedon and away from any form of authority beyond that of God himself. These settlements made up the Old Isurian Generality, a republic of peasants under a loose confederacy. It had no head of state, but rather a popular assembly in which anyone may attend on any given day, except for Sundays and religious holidays, and take part in the political process. Such a form of government was, and still is, a rarity, and to the Emeritans it was seen as a perversion of republican ideals due to the notable lack of a hierarchal class structure and the amount of power the peasantry had in the Old Generality. This sparked many fears that the Emeritan peasantry may very well attempt to overthrow the Republic and establish their own republic in emulation of the Old Generality.
Nobles' Treaty
To combat the perceived threat the Emeritan elites saw in the Isurian Generality, they began to discuss several possibilities on what to do with the neighbouring peasant republic. There was universal agreement that no matter what they choose to do, they have to make sure that the hypothetical union would be under the aristocratic Emeritan form of government and not the seemingly mobocratic Isurian form of government. The possibilities that were put forward ranged from invasion plans to plans for colonisation, from enforcing a protectorate status upon the Isurians to a tactful manipulation of the populace so as to encourage many Isurians to support the idea of joining up with the Emeritans. These discussions, known as the "Peasantry Question", lasted for well over a century until the year 1557 when it was decided that the best course of action was to tactfully manipulate the people of the Generality into thinking that there was an imminent invasion coming from mainland Vallos and that the Republic was more than happy to ensure their protection, so long as they unite with the Republic and form a new union. Surprisingly, the gambit worked and by 1561 delegates from both the Republic and the Generality met up to draft a treaty confirming a perpetual union between the two republics. The treaty, known as the Nobles' Treaty was signed and put into effect on 28 February 1561, forming the Most Serene Republic of Lucrecia, named after the island on which the Emeritan Republic was located upon.
Early 20th century
Staying neutral throughout the First Great War to focus on the development of its infrastructure and economy, Prime Minister Empastiro who was in office during the years leading up to the Second Great War and its initial years was interested in joining the war to curry favor with Caphiria. Described as a nationalist and an idealist, Empastiro had ignored how damaging the war would be to the nation economically and demographically, especially with its military equipment consisting mostly of outdated weapons from the First Great War. The military eventually found out about Empastiro's ambitions, and staged a coup to overthrow the Prince and Prime Minister. General Demethanos, already a popular figure with the people, assumed a leadership position in the nation, declaring that the military intends to only hold power for the duration of the Second Great War, holding free elections after the end of the conflict to ensure no foreign influence in the election.
Demethanos then passed in 1951, with his second in command, Myriolio assumed office, but after the end of the war, refused to give up power, claiming it to be in interest of the people due to foreign influence in the nation being widespread. While the reign of Demethanos is remembered rather fondly by the people, Myriolio never won the hearts of the people, despite his efforts of creating a cult of personality.
Popular Amendments of 1970
On June 8 1967, the Lucrecian Revolutionary Front seized power from the military junta which had lead the country since 1934. Following the coup, the name of the island country was changed to the People's Republic of Lucrecia, and began preparing the country for self-sufficiency. The leaders of the newly established People's Republic imprisoned and executed all leading figures of the former military junta, and eventually began to imprison and execute anyone with ties to the military junta.
Following the Lucrecian imprisonment and execution of COUNTRYn ambassador to Lucrecia Viceri Battanari, the COUNTRYLEADER declared the People's Republic a rogue state and dispatched two Imperial Guard battalions to spearhead the liberation of Lucrecia. The Imperial Guard battalions and the accompanying companies quickly seized the capital, but the Lucrecian resistance continued until 1969 when the last leading figures of the People's Republic were captured. Close friend of the COUNTRYLEADER, Spiraklis Anastrotsis was appointed as the Archon of the new Archontia of Lucrecia, and both their constitution and legislature was recreated, basing it on the COUNTRY constitution and legislature.
Present history
Geography
Lucrecia is a small sub-archipelago within the Catenias consisting of three islands, two major islands and one small island. The major island that is closer to mainland Vallos is often known in Ænglish and throughout Levantia as Emerita, although officially, and throughout Sarpedon, it is known as Isla Lucrecia from which the nation gets its name from. The other major island is known as Illa Herba Linda, often known in older maps as Isla Yorba Linda (yorba being the Emeritan pronunciation of the word yerba, itself a Vallos variant of the Pelaxian word hierba, meaning herb). The small island off the coast of Illa Herba Linda is referred to as Illa Vitoria.
Altogether, the three islands covers just over 181,998 km² of land, with Illa Herba Linda being the largest of the three and Illa Vitoria being the smallest. As a nation that solely consists of islands, much of Lucrecia's geography is predominately just above sea level, with Illa Herba Linda being the sole exception being home to the nation's sole mountain and highest point, Mount St. Andrew's. The lowest point of the country is Sextus's Crator, an oddly-shaped valley located in Emerita that was long thought to have been the impact site of a meteorite that struck the planet in the 2nd Century BC, though more recent analysis have since debunked this theory, stating that it is nothing more than a deep U-shaped valley that came to be due to glaciation from long before the supposed date of impact and that there have been no evidence to support that a meteorite had struck Emerita in the 2nd Century BC.
Climate
Located within the tropics, the climate in Lucrecia is generally warmer and more humid than in most areas outside of the tropics. However, due to it being very close to the Tropic of Capricorn, the climate is generally more temperate compared to the climates of areas further within the tropics such as that of Rumahoki or Equatorial Ostiecia. Overall, Lucrecia experiences a mostly mild seasonal variation, though the coldest parts of the country are in settlements that straddle Mount St. Andrew's, much of which experience colder winters and milder summers compared to the rest of Lucrecia, with summer averages that reach no more than 18 degrees Celsius and winter averages as low than -12 degrees Celsius in contrast to the averages for the rest of the country (summer averages in most of Lucrecia are often as high as 25 degrees Celsius while winter averages can go as low as 10 degrees Celsius).
Government and Politics
Lucrecia's government is organised under the framework of a semi-aristocratic diarchic directorial republic under a federal semi-presidential system. The consuls are the heads of state, with the edile serving as the head of government. The government of Lucrecia is based on that of the Caphiric Republic, albeit with some rationalisation, federalisation, and democratisation since the Popular Amendments of the 1970s.
Executive
The consuls are elected by the Centuriate Assembly and serve concurrently for a two-year term and share equal power with each other. In the name of political fairness and balance, as well as to prevent cases of cohabitation, the consuls are traditionally members of opposing parties meaning that there is almost always a left-wing consul and a right-wing consul serving together. Of the powers granted to the consuls, this includes the ability to appoint an edile if both are not satisfied with the Popular Assembly's choice of edile, the ability to appoint members of the curia, and the ability to issue dictars, meaning executive decrees, so long as the dictar is not in violation of the constitution or federal law.
The edile is elected by the Popular Assembly and serves for a three-year term. The election of an edile is held in the month of March, and in theory any Lucrecian citizen may run for edile, but in practice the edile is often selected from amongst the ranks of the governing parties. The winning candidate is then sent to the consuls who either approve of the candidate or reject them. In the event of a rejection, or if the Popular Assembly is unable to elect an edile, the consuls may either ask the Popular Assembly to run another election or appoint an edile; the latter case may not be rejected by the Popular Assembly.
The Curia is the main executive organ headed by the edile and chaired by the consuls. The Curia is dually accountable to both the consuls and the legislature, thus meaning that the Curia has to not only command the confidence of the legislature, but also the approval of the consuls. An edile, or even the entire Curia, may be dismissed by the consuls or be removed in a vote of no confidence by the legislature.
Legislature
The legislature of Lucrecia is the General Assemblies, a tricameral legislature that is composed of the Senatorial House, the Centuriate Assembly, and the Popular Assembly.
The Senatorial House is made up of 500 senators, members of the aristocracy appointed by the consuls; senators serve "for good conscience", meaning that a senator serves for life until they either retire, pass away, or are removed. The Senatorial House was historically the most powerful legislature in Lucrecia, but the reforms done since the 1970s have done away with much of its power, delegating much of said powers to the Centuriate and Popular Assemblies, but the Senatorial House does retain quite a few powers, such as the ability to petition the Supreme Court of Lucrecia to investigate either the consuls or the curia, the ability to prevent bills from passing into law, and being the sole legislative assembly to introduce bills.
The Centuriate Assembly is made up of 150 centurions who are appointed by the legislatures of the cantons and linguistic communities and serve for five years. The 150 centurions are allocated as follows: 32 are appointed by the legislature of the Isurian Community; 21 are appointed by the legislature of the Isurian Generality; 16 are appointed by the Isurian language group of the Toledo-Administrative Canton; 8 are appointed by the Isurian language group of the Merida-Presidential Canton; 29 are appointed by the Pelaxian Community; 20 are appointed by the Emeritan Republic; 16 are appointed by the Pelaxian language group of the Merida-Presidential Canton; 8 are appointed by the Pelaxian language group of the Toledo-Administrative Canton. It is the sole legislative assembly in charge of electing the consuls, the sole legislative assembly in charge of drawing up information reports, and it serves as the main platform for the discussion of matters pertaining to the cantons and linguistic communities (making it the mediation chamber in the event of federated legislative conflicts of interest).
The Popular Assembly is in fact two legislative houses that have been merged as one federated legislative house since the 1990s. The two segments of the Popular Assembly are the Tributary Assembly and the Common Assembly. The Tributary Assembly is made up of 200 tributaries who are directly elected under the system of first-past-the-post voting within eighteen constituencies, and serve for three years. 109 tributaries are from the Isurian language group, and 91 tributaries are part of the Pelaxian language group. The Common Assembly is made of 200 popular representatives who are directly elected under the system of open list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of 5%, and serve for three years as well. Unlike the Centuriate and Tributary Assemblies, the Common Assembly, being directly representative of the citizens, is the only part of the legislature, other than the Senatorial House, that does not make use of quotas to allocate seats amongst the two language groups.
Presently, the Popular Assembly holds the greatest amount of power and has the second-highest precedence in the General Assemblies when it comes to "ordinary legislation" (the Senatorial House retains the final say), including the ability to elect the edile, with the winner being subject to approval of the consuls, and, alongside the consuls, holds responsibility for the political control of the Curia.
Despite the Isurian language group holding a majority of the tributaries and centurions, the Lucrecian constitution mandates that both linguistic communities hold equal power in both the Centuriate and Tributary Assemblies. Indeed, bills may not necessarily require a majority in both language groups save for bills pertaining to the linguistic communities.
Judicial
Political culture
Even before the Popular Amendments of the 1970s, Lucrecia's political institutions has been noted to be among the most complex in the world. With much of the power held by the Senatorial House being delegated to the Centuriate and Popular Assemblies since the 1970s, it has been the main cultural communities that have held much of the political power in Lucrecia. Indeed, this is even reflected in the composition of the nation's political parties, which have been split both ideologically and linguistically. As such, the four main groups in partisan politics are the Catholic conservatives, the liberals, the socialists, and the nationalists. Of these four groups, only the conservative, liberal, and socialist groups have in place a "federal pact" between their respective linguistically-aligned parties within each group; the nationalists are only united in their wish to openly support separatism. Of course, there does exist the occasional "unitarian" party which has not split between linguistic lines, often representing single-issue matters or wishes to reform and further modernise the current system.
Federated entities
Historically, the upper classes of Lucrecia have spoken either the Emeritan vernacular of the Pelaxian language or Emeritan Latin while the Isurian language was deemed as being just a "less refined dialect" of Pelaxian, effectively preventing those who could only speak Isurian from reaching the governing classes without having to learn Pelaxian. This, on top of the dominance and power of the Senatorial House, had led to an alliance of both the Generality movement and reformists who sought to strip the Senatorial House of much of their powers and delegate them to the Centuriate and Popular Assemblies.
These demands were met starting in the 1970s with the introduction of the Popular Amendments, a series of constitutional amendments that not only decoupled much of the senatorial powers in favour of delegating them to the centurions and tributaries, it also reformed Lucrecia into a bilingual federation under a tri-level power structure. The three levels being the federal government, the linguistic communities, and the cantons. Although this should give the federalised Lucrecia five curias and legislatures, there exists the Presidential and Administrative Cantons, effectively two capital regions, which are both under the jurisdiction of both linguistic communities, and both with their own curia and legislature, boosting the amount of curias and legislatures up to seven; these two cantons respectively contain the cities of Mérida del Mar, and Toledo dos Prados, respectively designated as the presidential and administrative capitals of Lucrecias.
Demographics
Self-reported ethnicities in Lucrecia (2032)
Ethnic groups
In Lucrecia, there are two main ethnic groups: the Emeritans and the Lucrecio-Isurians. The Emeritans are the direct descendants of the Latinic people of the Adonerum who have settled on the island that would become the Emeritan Republic, and make up the second-largest ethnic group in the country. The Lucrecio-Isurians are the direct descendants of Isurian settlers who came from mainland Sarpedon to settle the island upon which the Isurian Generality was established, and make up the largest ethnic group in the country. These two groups comprise almost three-quarters of the population of Lucrecia (39.8% Lucrecio-Isurians; 32.7% Emeritans). The next two largest ethnic groups are the Pelaxians and Delepasians, related to both the Emeritans and the Lucrecio-Isurians, but have had differing origins from them; they make up just under twenty percent of the population; 9.1% being Pelaxian, and 8.3% being Delepasian. Lucrecia is also home to a sizeable Latin minority, the last remaining descendants of the Adonerii who have not been pelaxianised; they are often referred to as the "Old Emeritans" in reference to uninterrupted Latinic heritage, and make up nearly seven percent of the population. The remaining three-and-a-half percent of the population belong to other ethnic groups that are not listed separately due to having numbers that are too negligible to warrant their own category.
Languages
Lucrecia is a bilingual state; its two official languages are Pelaxian, a vernacular of the Pelaxian language that makes use of Latinic loanwords, and Isurian, the traditional language of the Isurians. Historically, the language of Lucrecia's elites was Pelaxian, it having displaced Latin during the years under Pelaxian suzerainty. During this time, the Isurian language was seen as the language of peasants, with many high-class Isurians opting to learn Pelaxian so as to retain their status. It was not until the enactment of the Popular Amendments in 1970 that Isurian was raised to an equal status to Pelaxian.
According to the most recent census, the percentage of Lucrecians who speak Isurian (Lucrecio-Isurians) is around 53% of the population, with the percentage of Pelaxian speakers (Emeritans) being around 47%. Asides from the official languages, there are a number of minorities who can speak a non-official language alongside one of the official languages (all residents of Lucrecia are required by law to be fluent in one of the nation's official languages), the most notable being the Emeritan vernacular of the Latin language, one of the only two colloquial forms of Latin, the other being Caphiric Latin, in the world, and the Standard and Rumahokian vernaculars of Pelaxian from amongst the Pelaxians and the Delepasians who reside in Lucrecia.
Religion
Lucrecia, like much of Sarpedon, is a nation in which a majority of its people adhere to a denomination of Christianity. The vast majority of the nation's Christian population are a part of the Catholic Church, with a vast majority being a part of the Caphiric Catholic Church which is a particular church in communion with the Pope in Urceopolis. Historically, and even to this day, Lucrecia is one of the few nations in Sarpedon in which the Caphiric Catholic Church is the majority faith, although the years of Pelaxian suzerainty has given the Caphiric Church in Lucrecia a distinct Levantine character; it should be noted that since 1924 there exists a movement within the Catholic clergy of Lucrecia aimed at de-Levantising the Church and returning it to its Caphiric roots, this is known as neo-Caphiricism. A very slim minority of Christians are members of denominations that are not in communion with the Pope, essentially forms of Protestantism for the most part. The next-highest group are people who identify as irreligious, people who hold no religious beliefs or practices whether out of disinterest or an active rejection of faith. The final group are religions that do not fit within either category, most often associated with the nation's minorities
Culture and Society
Economy and Infrastructure
Lucrecia's economy is a capitalist mixed economy with its three major sectors being the tourism industry, services, and retail. As the sole sovereign nation in the southern islands of Vallos, Lucrecia is also an established global logistical centre as well as a key financial centre in the area. Because of its key position, the Lucrecian economy is known for being one of the most innovative in the world as well as one of the freest and easiest to do business in, with robust competitiveness. Through agreements, certain major corporations are given tax breaks and all neighbouring nations have been given very generous free-trade agreements. Although it has consistently ranked high in economic freedoms, the nation also has a significant disparity in income between the wealthier Isurian Generality and the stagnating Emeritan Republic, a dual nature that has existed ever since federalisation in the late 20th Century.
Since federalisation, the Lucrecian economy has grown by an average of over 7% annually between the years 1975 and 2015, making Lucrecia a highly developed nation. It attracts a large amount of foreign investment, as well as indirect influence, as a result of its location, economic freedoms, corporate tax breaks, free-trade agreements, and global trade connections. Lucrecia also has one of the world's largest foreign exchange reserves.
Tertiary and secondary sectors
The tertiary sector comprises a major proportion of the Lucrecian economy, with tourism, services, retail, shipping, and banking making up the primary components of this sector. Lucrecia is currently the seventh-largest trading entity measured by imports and exports, trading an amount of goods worth more than its total GDP. The nation’s Toledo Stock Exchange is among the largest in the world by market capitalisation, at $5.9 trillion as of Q3 of 2034. Its major banks, the People's National Bank, the Federal Credit Union and New United Bank, are among the largest in Vallos, and have been ranked as the 3rd, 4th, and 6th most stable and strongest banks, respectively. Lucrecia also maintains a small secondary sector; focused on the manufacturing of electronics such as terminals for Rumahoki's Videocom service.
Currency
Lucrecia's currency, the denario, is one of the few currencies in the world not to have been decimalised, instead being divided under the ratio of 1:20:12, a rationalisation of ancient pre-decimal currencies. Notes are exclusively issued by the National Bank of the Republic, the nation's central bank, and coinage are exclusively minted by National Mint of the Republic. Because of Lucrecia's global connections and key position in global trade, the Denario is one of the strongest currencies in Vallos.
Regional wealth disparity
Although with one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, Lucrecia continues to have wealth disparity issues, which have been an issue plaguing the nation since its founding. Although wealth is not tightly concentrated in the hands of high income-earners, wealth has historically been concentrated in one of the two main regions of the nation. Before federalisation, wealth was mostly concentrated in the hands of the Emeritan elites and in the Emeritan Republic. However, with the advent of federalisation and globalisation, the economic centre of Lucrecia has shifted away from the stagnating and elitist Emeritan Republic and towards the Isurian Generality due to its more central location and potential for development. This disparity is only predicted to grow as the Isurian areas of the country continue to grow and develop economically and remain the focal point of international trade.
To help combat this without changing its economic policies, the Lucrecian government has been giving the Emeritan Republic a monthly stipend since 2030 to aid in keeping the region's economy from further stagnating. These stipends, although met with support from most parties, has seen its greatest opposition from the United Isurian Caucus, particularly from the PXI, seeing it as a considerable drain on the Generality's finances. Most Isurianists wish to either turn Lucrecia into a confederation or, if that is not possible, secede the Generality from Lucrecia; one of the most well-known Isurianist slogans is "Isurian money for Isurians; no more stipends!" in reference to their most brought-up talking point in elections.
Housing
The wealth disparity between the regions can also be seen in real estate. In the wealthy Isurian Generality, the rate of home ownership has risen sharply since the late 1990s as wages in the region began to surpass that of their counterparts in the Emeritan Republic, with the most recent figures indicating a home ownership rate of 83% in the Generality. In the Emeritan Republic, although real estate values have risen sharply since the early 2000s, wages in the region have been stagnant since the 1980s and there exists a lack of open land to build additional housing units which has led to a decline in home ownership rates in the Emeritan Republic, with most recent figures estimating a home ownership rate of 57%. Since 2018, the term "high working class" has emerged to refer to a growing middle-class income group that are not impoverished enough to qualify for welfare, but are still not affluent enough to own their own homes.
According to the office of the Censor, this disparity in housing can be primarily traced back to the transfer of the nation's economic centre from the Emeritan Republic to the Isurian Generality and a lack of government intervention for fifty years until the introduction of the stipends. The lack of government intervention can be linked to the lack of political will for keeping the Emeritan economy from stagnating, especially with the rise of the first generation of Isurian elites in Lucrecian politics who sought to prevent any form of welfare for the Emeritans from being enacted. With the rise of the second generation of Isurian elites, this approach has been softened considerably as these new elites grew up with little to no memory of the years of Emeritan dominance in national politics.
Military
Notes
- ↑ Although technically a higher rank than the consuls, the grand duke serves a purely ceremonial role and exists solely to promote Lucrecian identity and harmony between the two main ethnic groups and is not designated as the nation's head of state. As such, Lucrecia is officially and internationally not called a monarchy, but rather an aristocratic republic.