Union of Republics

Union of Republics
Flag Great Seal
Motto: "The Stars Advance!"
Anthem: "The Stars Shine Forever"
Union of Republics territory (dark blue)
Capital	Marotta
Largest city	Vastecote City
Official languages	Venran
Recognised national languages	Venran
Recognised regional languages	Sakir, Volkish, Plantsae
Demonym(s)	Unitean
Government	Representative federal republic
• President	Jackson Rich (U)
• Vice President	Allison Lire (U)
Legislature	Assembly
• Upper house	Senatorial Hall
• Lower house	Hall of Representatives
Independence from Holy State of Venra
• Declaration	February 2, 1791
• Venran Surrender	March 19, 1794
• Treaty of Marotta	April 3, 1794
• Constitution	June 21, 1797
• Great Defining of Rights	December 30, 1797
Area
• Total	4,340,653 sq mi (11,242,240 km2)
• Water (%)	2.9
Population
• 2020 estimate	392,560,000
• Density	168/km2 (435.1/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$18,396,914,000,000
• Per capita	$51,485.82
Gini (2019)	51.2 high
HDI	0.912 very high
Currency	Union Dollar (Ū)
Date format	mm/dd/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+1
Internet TLD	.uor

The Union of Republics (UoR) is a nation spanning much of the continent of Alandria. It consists of 40 republics, a federal district and some minor possessions abroad. With a land area of 4,340,653 square miles, it stands as the largest nation in the world, several hundred kilometers ahead of Sargasso. With a population of over 392 million people, it is the second most-populous nation in the world, behind Kambukstan and ahead of Hazakura. The national capital is Marotta, and the most populous city Vastecote City.

Etymology

The first known documentary of a "Union of Republics" was written in 1797 in Frank Marotta's personal journal, where he first began to document his ideas of republicanism and a democratic federation in place of the Holy State of Venra. Marotta's entry stated, "My soul strives for nothing more than a federation of the Venran provinces in a Union of free and just Republics".

The first publication of the term "Union of Republics" was during the Venran Collapse of 1786, in which a Vastecote newspaper used the term to describe the Venran Republic Army.

Alternatives to "Union of Republics"

A popular alternative to "Union of Republics" during the Venran Collapse was simply the term "Venran Republic", which was used much more frequently by the Venran Republic Army and Marotta's colleagues. Once it had been unanimously decided by the Republican Assembly that the nation they were to create would not use the term "Venra" in its official name, several other terms for the new nation were proposed, such as "Republic of Libertaria", "Republic of Alandria", and the poorly-received "Republic of Marotta".

However, "Union of Republics" was seen as a much better way of portraying the federal-republican form of government that would soon be put in place by the Republican Assembly. The name "Union of Free Republics" was briefly supported before the drafting of the Unitean Constitution, but the term soon fell out of use as "Union of Republics" was written as the official name of the new republican state.

History

Indigenous peoples and pre-Vespuccian arrival

It is widely accepted that humans first moved into what would become the Alandrian continent around 16,000 years ago during the Ice Age, in which land bridges stretched from Sierran lands to Alandria. These indigenous people would slowly form into larger groups, primarily around the Hollister and Largas Rivers, forming large civilizations that would farm and settle across these rivers. The lack of domesticatable animals, however, prevented much of the continent from progressing to Andusan and northern Sierran levels of advancement.

The largest settlement in the pre-Vespuccian era was a city situated upon the Hollister river named Kalkalkal, which literally translates to "Three Streams". Kalkalkal is believed to have had a population of over 450,000 people from all across the region, and the city showed progress and development comparable to a north Sierran settlement. Most of Kalkalkal's population would eventually leave the city, as diseases and looting significantly lowered the quality of life. What little population remained in the city was killed during the early Venran expansions.

Venran settlement

The first Venrans to arrive in Alandria landed on the shores of modern-day New Gretin in the year 1305, when religious settlers from the island of Gretin attempted to flee to the Kingdom of Czepedyeia to escape the destruction ongoing Third Maleczet-Szomakje War. These settlers spread along the coast and migrated upwards for the next century, naming the region of primary settlement "Vast Coast", establishing Vast Coast City on Godiva's Point in 1437.

The loose bands of settlers would unite in 1481 into one centralized authority with power held in a supreme leader by the name of Kris Raven, who held control over the church and state. Over the following decades, Raven would name his land "Venra" after himself, with his last name rearranged as to provoke a national identity between the settlers of the coast. Venra began to thrive through crusades into indigenous lands and mass-production of goods, which were sold to Andusan kingdoms in exchange for slave labor from Sierrans, which exponentially increased the production of goods. Slavery became the cornerstone of the Venran economy, with kings using their power over religion to lead the populace into believing that enslavement was the word of God. Criminals were to be made slaves, and in 1564, the Great Venran Charter gave the Venran state the power to place anyone into slavery without prior warning or proper reason.

The Holy State of Venra expanded across the whole of northern Alandria, bringing indigenous peoples to the brink of extinction while enslaving the survivors. The indigenous population is said to have dropped by 78% during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, leading to Venran settlers establishing forts and settlements all across the newly-conquered regions. Blytheville was established in 1616 as a trading post, and the Venran king soon had a "grand epiphany" in the city, drawing hundreds of thousands of Venrans to pray in the city, growing it into the largest city in Alandria by 1654. The city was soon transformed into the religous center of Venra, leading it to be christened the status of "Grand Capitol of the Holy State of Venra" in 1689.

The vast distances of Venra led to regional dialects and identities arising, with a separate language called "Sargan" slowly forming in the region of Sargasso. Similar cultural deviations began to occur in other regions, including Becian in the central-Andusalian province of Bezia and Zeiran in the slave province of Zeira.

Venra would be drawn into a war with the newly-established Kingdom of Cepediea in 1725 over claims in the Cepediean Channel, with Venra obtaining a victory three years later, gaining every island in the channel and humiliating Cepediea across its home continent. The Venran victory, however, came at the cost of much of the nation's wealth and resources, leading to an ever-increasing need for labour and goods. Over the course of two decades, large amounts of the general population would be forced into slave labour under the guise of a "holiest decree" by the Venran church and king. Entry into the Serene Army of Venra was the primary way to avoid enslavement, bolstering the Venran army further.

The Venran Collapse

It was during this two-decade period of mass-enslavement that Frank D. Marotta was born in a hut along the Hollister River, born to Margaret Hutchin and John Marotta, slaves, on August 28, 1747.