Atlesia

The Federation of Atlesia
Flag
Motto: In Vindicium Libertatis
Capital and largest city	Atlas
Official languages	Reynish, Altish
Recognized languages	Auvernian
Demonym(s)	Atlesian
Government	Federal Constitutional Republic
• President	Douglas Granite
• Vice President	Ronald White
Legislature	Federal Congress
• Upper house	The Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Population
• 1935 estimate	110,346,000
Currency	Federal Dollar ($)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+1

The Federation of Atlesia (FOA or F.O.A.), commonly known as the Federation or Atlesia, is a country mostly located in Hibernia. It consists of 10 states, a federal district, and a number of self-governing territories and possessions. With a population of 110 million, it is the third-most populous nation in Verthandi. The federal capital is Atlas, and the most populous city is New Haven.

Humans first migrated from what is now Volkhov some 13,000 years ago, and Cybellean colonization began in the 16th Century. The Federation emerged from Auvernia, in the colonies established, and the Reynish colonies they'd conquered, on the east coast of Hibernia. Disputes with Auvernia led to the Atlesian War of Independence (1765 - 1772), which established Atlesia as an independent nation. Starting in the late 18th Century, the Federation began rapidly expanding westward, gradually acquiring new territories, oftentimes displacing or enslaving Native Hibernians, and admitting new states. By 1855, the Federation spanned to the Aster River. Enslavement of Native Hibernians was legal in the Federation until 1859, though the industry was never considerably large, and was ultimately dissolved due to the rise of industrialism in Atlesia. Atlesia's role in the Great War (1912 - 1921) ultimately reinforced the nation's position as an economic and industrial powerhouse, and the weakened state of Cybelleum in the post-War years allowed the Federation to secure that role and proceed in an elevated position in the international community.  

The Federation is a federal republic and a representative democracy with three separate branches of government, including a bicameral legislature. The Federation ranks high in international measures of economic freedom, government corruption, quality of life, and quality of higher education. The Federation also ranks high in measures of socioeconomic performance, and is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse nations in the world, with a population shaped through centuries of immigration.

History

Indigenous People and pre-Colonization

(For further reading, see main article: Native Hibernians in Atlesia, Prehistory of the Federation of Atlesia)

Map of Native Hibernian Tribes

It has been generally accepted that the first inhabitants of Hibernia immigrated from present-day Volkhov by way of land bridge and arrived at least 12,000 years ago; however some evidence suggests an even earlier date of arrival. The Noni Culture, which appeared around 11,000 BC, is believed to represent the first wave of human settlement in Hibernia. This was likely one of three major waves of human migration into the Hibernian continent. This first wave of early humans largely settled the western regions of Hibernia, stopping at the Aster River that divides present-day Atlesia from Duquesne. It is believed that the Peloux Culture, which migrated with the second wave, and the Chennawan Culture, which came with the third, was driven across the Aster by existing tribal nations in the west, and would go on to settle the lands that are present-day Atlesia.

Over time, indigenous cultures in Hibernia grew increasingly-complex. By 1000 AD, nearly five hundred years before the first Cybellean settlers arrived on the continent, six distinct cultures existed in Atlesia: the Ahote, the Ayawamat, the Tuari, the Annawan, the Shilah, and the Honaw. Historical evidence found in drawings and paintings suggests that conflict between the various 'nations' was common. A depiction found in a cave in New Reynland in 1831 depicts a brutal conflict between the peaceful Annawan nation and their southern Ayawamat neighbors-- an event that was later dubbed the Atlish River War, after the Atlish River for which it was fought over. Dated at around 1200 AD, the depiction - carved into rock - shows hundreds of dead, and crows feeding upon the corpses, with women and children fleeing from burning villages. While little is known on what transpired during the conflict, present-day representatives of the Annawan tribe suggest that the war began due to disputes over riverside hunting grounds, and that it ultimately led to the Annawan losing access to much of the Aster river for centuries. Another known pre-colonial conflict is the River Hart War of the 1400s, which was fought between the Tauri and Ayawamat, which resulted in the odd border shared between the two nations, and the enclave of Ayawamat natives inside of Tauri territory.

Estimating the population of Native Hiberian tribals at the time of Cybellean contact is difficult.  Richard R. Peterson of the Canaan National Institute suggested that between 5-700,000 lived in present-day Atlesia in 1500, but many academics regard this figure as too low. Anthropologist Henry A. Whittaker suggests that upwards of 1.5 million could've resided in the region at the time, with the largest populations concentrated near the coasts and freshwater rivers and lakes, though it is impossible to get an accurate estimation.

Colonization

(For further reading, see main article: Colonial History of the Federation)

The extent of claimed territories by Reynland and Auvernia in 1670

Claims of very early colonization of coastal New Reynland are disputed and controversial. There are many suggestions that voyagers from Norraland could have arrived on Atlesia's northeastern coast as early as 1370, but they are widely-unproven by historians, and thus have no validation. The first recorded arrival of Cybellean settlers came in 1517, when John Gates and his Caananites - religious exiles from Reynland - arrived near the present-day city of Canaan. In the early 16th Century, the Caananites were a very small sect of Christians living in Reynland, which at the time, existed in a dual-kingdom with Auvernia. Highly persecuted for their 'heretical' beliefs, as they shunned many practices of the Catholic Church, the Canaanites were ultimately led by John Gates on an exodus from their homeland. Cramming onto a single vessel, in an eight-month voyage, they crossed the sea to the New World in search of freedom. Of the 300 Canaanites that boarded the vessel, less than half would make it to the Hibernian shores alive. In the following months, even more of the early Canaanites would die from starvation and disease, and with the winter of 1517-18 approaching, it seemed that their voyage for religion freedom would end with their total annihilation. It was in October of 1517 that the Canaanites would make contact with members of the Annawan tribe, who would ultimately prove to be their saving grace. The peaceful Annawan had seen the plight of the Canaan settlers, and in an act of good will, assisted them in preparing for the winter. The Annawan taught the settlers how to hunt and fish, how to dry and preserve meets, and how to yield crops. They also provided dried foods, blankets, and other supplies in order to help the Canaanites survive the harsh winter. It was only through the Annawan that Canaan survived the winter of 1517-18, and in the years that followed, the settlement would go on to be a bustling, prosperous community. The goodwill of the Annawan, however, would yield disastrous consequences. Cybellean diseases such as Smallpox - which the natives had no natural immunity to - ravaged the Annawan, killing tens of thousands and wiping out entire villages throughout the early-to-mid 1500s. This led to the widespread belief among the Annawan that they were being punished by the gods for helping the citizens of Canaan, and by the 1560s, the Annawan had developed a rather-fearful attitude towards Reynish settlers.

It was around this time period that news of Canaan's success had spread back to Cybelleum , launching a race for the New World. Auvernia established a colony of its own, Archangel, in present-day Hannover in 1577, and Reynish colonies continued to be establish up and down the northeastern coast throughout the rest of the century. By 1600, there were six major settlements in New Ryenland, with Canaan serving as the de facto 'capital' of the New World. Meanwhile, in the south, the Auvernian settlers of Archangel were having much more trouble. Unlike the Annawan of New Reynland, the Ahote tribals that inhabited Hannover were aggressive and fiercely territorial. They had avoided the settlers early on, but when Auvernia made efforts to expand its colonial territories down the coast and further inland, they were met with fierce resistance. The 1607 Aurinne Creek Incident resulted in the first official 'war' between Cybellean settlers and Native Hibernians: the Aurinne War, which lasted more than five years. The Auvernian settlers weaponized the diseases of the Old World against the Ahote, and used modern weaponry to inflict devastating losses. It is believed that between 1607 and 1712, more than 50,000 Ahote were killed by disease alone. During the conflict, settlers would often leave blankets infected with Smallpox near Ahote villages, and wait for the disease to take effect. By the time that armed militiamen would arrive in these villages, most of its residents would've succumb to the illness, and the rest were subsequently executed. Women and children would oftentimes be raped and subsequently beheaded by Auvernian settlers during these violent campaigns.  Steven Balbrandt from the Atlas Museum of Atlesian History describes Auvernia's tactics against the Ahote as "some of the most egregious acts ever committed by man against fellow man".

By the mid-17th Century, Reynland and Auvernia had driven the natives almost-entirely from the coastal regions and deep inland. Although the two countries shared the same monarch, they maintained separate parliaments, and as such, their colonial empires were separate. The Reynish ruled in the north, while the Auvernians dominated the south. It was around this time that Auvernian colonists made a discovery that would utterly change the course of history: cotton. The cash crop flourished in in present-day Hannover, Dixon, and Nouvelle Soissons, but harvesting it was a demanding task that required harsh manual labor. In order to maximize the harvest, Auvernia turned to the natives. By this point in time, many members of the Ahote nation still lived within Auvernia's colonial borders, and had developed some level of immunity to a number of the Old World's deadly plagues. Entire villages were rounded up and pressed into slave labor-- selectively bred to be resistant to disease, to be stronger, and to have other traits that would allow them to better-perform their duties. This was the beginning of the Native Hibernian Slave Trade.

The Ten Years' War

(For further reading, see main article: Ten Years' War)

Prior to the 1680s, both Auvernia and Reynland had existed as a dual-kingdom-- maintaining two separate parliaments, but sharing a single monarch. This system had existed well before colonization of Hibernia had begun, but had become exacerbated by political instability and religious conflict.

Geography

(For further reading, see main article: Geography of Atlesia)

Government & Politics

Atlesia is a federal republic of ten states, a federal district, four territories, and several uninhabited island possessions. It is the world's oldest surviving federation. It is a federal republic and a representative democracy "in which majority rule in tempered by minority rights protected by law". The basis of Atlesia's system is that the people enfranchise government, and that the rights afforded to its citizens cannot are divine in origin, and thus cannot be stripped by state powers.

In the Atlesian federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government: federal, state, and local. The local government's duties are commonly split between county and municipal governments. In almost all cases, executive and legislative officials are elected by a plurality vote of citizens by district.

The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Atlesian Constitution, which serves as the nation's supreme legal document. The original text of the Constitution establishes the structure and responsibilities of the federal government and its relationship with the individual states. Article One protects the right to the write of habeas corpus. The Constitution has been amended 20 times; the first ten amendments, which make up the Bill of Rights, and the 14th Amendment form the central basis of Atlesians' individual rights. All laws and government procedures are subject to judicial review, and any law can be voided if the courts determine that it violates the Constitution. The principle of judicial review, not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, was established by the Supreme Court in Hannover v. Williamson (1811) in a decision handed down by Chief Justice Robert Pledge.

The federal government comprises three branches:

• Legislative: The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and House of Representatives, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaty, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government.
• Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law (subject to congressional override), and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
• Judicial: The High Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.

The House of Representatives (???) voting members, each representing a congressional district for a five-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population. Each state then draws single-member districts to conform with the census apportionment. The Federal District of Atlas and the four major Federation territories each have one member in Congress, but these members are not allotted a vote.  

The Senate has 50 members, with each state having 10 Senators, elected at-large to five-year terms. The Federal District of Atlas and the four major Federation territories do not have senators. The president serves a five-year term, and while no term limits are in place, no president to date has served more than two terms consecutively. The president is not elected by direct vote, but by an indirect electoral college system in which the determining votes are apportioned to the states and the capital of Atlas. The Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of the Federation of Atlesia, has nine members, who serve for life.

Parties and Elections

(For further reading, see main article: Politics of Atlesia)

Foreign Relations

(For further reading, see main article: Foreign Relations of the Federation of Atlesia)

Armed Forces

(For further reading, see main article: Armed Forces of the Federation of Atlesia

Demographics

(For further reading, see main article: Demographics of Atlesia)

Economy

(For further reading, see main article: Economics of Atlesia)

Transport

(For further reading, see main article: Transportation in Atlesia)

Culture

(For further reading, see main article: Atlesian Culture)

Literature

(For further reading, see main article: Atlesian Literature)