Stretta

Republic of Stretta
Flag
Capital and largest city	Giroux
Official languages	Latin, English
Religion	Roman Catholic
Demonym(s)	Strettan
Government	Republic
Area
• Total	327,014 km2 (126,261 sq mi)
Population
• 2024 census	45,103,622
• Density	137.93/km2 (357.2/sq mi)
Currency	Gold Piece
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy AD
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.str

Stretta is a sovereign state and island nation in western Astyria, located in the western Mare Ferum off the southeast coast of the continent of Lorecia. Its nearest neighbours are Aquitayne, ViZion and the island country of Arabona.

Stretta is governed as a republic. The government is formed by an elected First Minister (as head of state) and a cabinet that is built from trusted advisors. A second political party holds the government to account over important issues, but there is currently no set house of governance such as a parliament or senate. It is a nation that holds its heritage close, which can be witnessed in both the flag design and currency, both of which date back to times of monarchy and barter-economics. The people were given an open referendum on each of these aspects of their national identity, and overwhelmingly replied in favour of keeping both flag and currency unchanged.

Stretta is home to more than 45 million people The country's capital, Giroux, is also its largest city. has a relatively diversified economy, with considerable employment in agricultural and technology industries. Its main exports include information systems, fish and beef products. The tourism industry has grown to be a major economic driver thanks to Stretta's varied scenery, with Mediterranean beach areas and lush forests.

History

Main article: History of Stretta

Prehistory

The first human habitation of Stretta is believed to have occurred roughly 10,000 years ago. The Skarra culture. which came to be the leading culture in prehistoric and early Stretta, first began metalworking around 1050 BC. By the sixth century, the Skarra were producing an array of iron items, some of which have survived to the present era.

Early Strettan settlers

The first wave of settlers from Lorecia arrived in Stretta during the fifth century BC, largely displacing the Skarra.

By the early fourth century AD, following the collapse of the Merovian Empire, the Arlethic peoples began arriving in mass in Stretta, quickly spreading throughout much of the island and becoming the dominant ethnic group.

Medieval period

Stretta was divided between various Strettan kingdoms throughout the medieval period.

Early modern period

Exponential trading posts

The earliest trading posts from the Empire of Exponent were established in Stretta in 1562, under the orders of the Exponential Emperor Tiberius III. Through these posts, Exponential merchants were able to develop a lucrative trade with Strettan nobles and aristocrats, and also established themselves in various cities along the Strettan coast.

These trading posts became important access points for Catholic missionaries from Hesperidesia, who accessed the Strettan islands via these ports and then began proselytizing to the population there.

19th century Stretta

On March 8, 1801, the Strettan states unified to form one nation under the King George Pembroke, of the Pembroke dynasty which had long ruled over much of Southern Stretta.

Strettan Revolution

On September 2, 1916, pro-Republican revolutionaries launched a violent coup d'état against King Augustus. The coup led to the removal of the Pembroke dynasty and the transition to republican rule.

Pluthero era

With the country in a state of permanent unrest, the old military dictatorship was deemed a failure, and under mysterious circumstances, the chief of staff (who acted as Strettan head of state) was replaced by General Charles Pluthero in 1929.

Pluthero ruled until 1991, when the 93 year old General was overthrown and executed.

Modern Stretta

Following the deposing of General Pluthero, Stretta returned to being a republic.

EATA membership

On April 11, 2004, Strettan became an official sognatory of the East Astyrian Treaty Alliance, joining 17 other member states.

Geography

Mount Oso, Stretta's highest point, is a dormant or extinct stratovolcano

Stretta comprises three major islands of the Placeholder Archipelago and numerous smaller islands besides. The largest island of Stretta could be called Stretty, if you were so inclined. To its southwest, across a passage about 82 kilometres (51 mi) wide at its narrowest, is Arabona. Roughly 139 kilometres (86 mi) from Stretty, and 114 kilometres (71 mi) from Little Stretty, is continental Lorecia. Stretta's nearest mainland neighbour is Aquitayne. Stretta is in the tropics, lying between 16.8° and 23.3° north of the equator. It experiences a tropical climate that is drier in the west and rainier in the east. The southeast coast experiences tropical storms during the time of year when tropical storms happen.

Relative to other countries in Lorecia, Stretta is a medium-sized country, covering about 327,014 square kilometres (126,261 sq mi). Its largest islands, Stretty, Little Stretty and Littler Stretty, are respectively 303,592 square kilometres (117,218 sq mi), 21,821 square kilometres (8,425 sq mi) and 1,174 square kilometres (453 sq mi) in area, and all three need better names. The country has a relatively diverse topography, with rolling plains in the north and centre and hills in the south and west. The hills in the west rise to heights of over 1,900 metres (6,200 ft); the country's highest point, the stratovolcano Mount Oso, is 1,947 metres (6,388 ft) in height. The western seaboard is characterised by rugged terrain and long stretches of sea cliffs. The country's other coasts, the north and south more than the east, feature extensive beaches of fine, light-coloured sand.

Stretta is a patchwork of intensive agriculture, lush forestry and large, web-like urban agglomerations. Tight zoning regulations and strong enforcement of urban planning has largely limited the impact of urbanisation on the country's natural landscapes, except in the Hollo metropolitan area where there is a massive, low-density sprawl.

Politics

Government

Stretta is officially a republic, with the head of state (First Minister) being elected by popular vote, who is then free to draw a cabinet of officials, usually from his or her own party, who are given power to govern. The elected government is kept in check by opposition parties who hold the government accountable for their decisions.

Future plans have been drawn up to form a parliament or senate, based on the Westminster system of government, whereby a regular meeting of party officials will take place, allowing for greater discussion on future law-making processes.

Law and criminal justice

Strettan law is based on a system of common law, first laid down in history by regal judgements made by the King or by regional officials of the monarchy. Today, law is formed by judges in courts of law, who preside in courts on three levels - Magistrate Court, Court of Appeal and High Court.

The Magistrate Court is split into two tiers, the first, the Lower Magistrate, dealing with petty crime and bail hearing, which may then refer cases to the Upper Magistrate. This is the main court for all crimes pertaining to citizens, and will hear all cases ranging from serious theft to murder. The Magistrate is helped by a jury of peers, and decisions reached are deemed final, with verdicts of "guilty", "not guilty" or "not proven" given. If "guilty" is found, sentence is then determined by the Magistrate. Any result but guilty, the accused is released without charge. If unhappy with a result, both prosecutor and defendant can ask for a trial to be referred to the Court of Appeal. Here, the evidence supplied in the original case may be re-examined, further evidence added, or further testimony taken. There is no time limit on referral. If still unhappy with a verdict, the High Court may, at its discretion, hear the case one final time. The High Court is a judge-only court with no jury present, and is responsible for handing out so-called "definite justice", where any verdict is non-appealable.

A High Court may be the only court that hears trials relating to treason or governmental matters, which ignore Magistrates and Appeal courts due to their sensitive nature. Furthermore, decisions made by the High Court will form common law unless repealed by government. Decisions in lower courts are also reviewed periodically by High Court, which may enter verdicts from these trials into common law also.

Military

The Strettan armed forces are formed of three components, an Army, a Navy and an Air Force, and is officially referred to as the Armed Forces of Stretta (AFoS). Together, all three branches employ around 1.1 million personnel, of which around 580,000 are in active full-time duty. They are currently engaged in the responsibility of defending the sovereign borders of Stretta and its allies, as well as the region of Astyria. The government recently announced a major restructuring of the armed forces, a plan that will take 7 years to complete and will result in the complete re-equipping of the nation's armed forces, and a restructuring of its command structure.

Economy

Economic system

The economy of Stretta is a partially regulated market economy. The government does not play any part in pricing structures of business, but does levy business taxes, import taxes and small excise duties on valuable commodities such as fuel, tobacco and alcohol.

Currency

The economy operates on the Gold Piece, a throwback currency to the days of barter-economics, where gold bars would be split up by the Royal Treasury and stamped to produce a tradable currency, and were hence "pieces of the King's gold", or gold pieces. Today, this takes the form of paper and coin currency. Paper notes are in denominations of 100, 50, 20, 10 & 5 Gold Pieces. Coins carry values of 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.10, 0.05, 0.02 and 0.01 Gold Pieces. Total amounts are commonly referred to by locals as "207 and quart" (207.25GP) or "207 and 1" (207.01GP). Exchange rates are approximately 1GP = $1.33.

Demographics

Further information: List of cities and towns in Stretta

At last count, the population of Stretta stands at 176 million, with 6 major cities housing the largest percentage of the population. Giroux houses around 16% of the total population, and is the largest city in the country. The nation is predominantly caucasian (White Strettan - 76%), with Black Strettan making up the majority of the remaining 24%. A large percentage of the Black Strettan population comes from Hesperidesia, although a sizable number comes from Kamalbia and Bhormakaro as well.

Education

All Strettan children attend compulsory schooling from 4-16 in a mixture of private and state schools. After this time, optional 16-18 education is provided for by Colleges, and 18+ education is provided for by Universities. Universities can be found in all major towns and cities, with the University of Landstown consistently ranking as the top university in the country.

University loans are available to students meeting certain financial criteria, allowing disadvantaged young people to continue their education.

Literacy and numeracy rates are over 99%.

Healthcare

Both private and public healthcare systems exist in Stretta. Public healthcare is free for all through state-run healthcare facilities, while private healthcare is administered on private grounds. An emergency ambulance service will serve both private and public healthcare patients, but will only deliver patients to state facilities.

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Sport

Sport is big business in Stretta, with the sports of Darts, Ice Hockey and Gridiron Football fighting for dominance. Stretta fields competitors in all of these sports internationally, with its most successful team being its Football team who claimed victory in the Baptism of Iron, their first international tournament