Soltenish Confederacy

Soltenish Confederacy Confederazione Soltenitana
1756–1894
Flag of the Soltenish Confederacy Confederate Coat of Arms
Motto: Dio è con noi "God is with us"
Capital	Ad Novas
Common languages	Regional Languages Almaran Sulman Solerian Liberocolpese Irassian Aestas Islander Vultesian Riamese Common Gassasinian
Religion	79% Soltenish Orthodox 9% Vultic Orthodox 5% Catholic 5% Protestant 2% Other
Government	Confederation of oligarchic merchant republics
Speaker of the Assembly
• 1756-1768	Cristoforo Faraghi (first)
• 1888-1894	Giovanni Missiaggia (last)
Legislature	Assembly of Republics
Historical era	Trading Era
• Established	4 July 1756
• New Year's Day Constitution	1 January 1894
Population
• 1756	2,124,000
• 1894	28,300,00
Currency	Credito Comune (₵)
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Almara Sulman Republic Liberocolpi Soleria Irassia Aestas Islands Union Soltenish Federation

The Soltenish Confederacy (Soltenish: Confederazione Soltenitana) was a confederation of merchant republics in what is now Soltenia that existed for 138 years from 1756 to 1894. Dominated by the coastal states of Almara, Sulman, Soleria, and Liberocolpi, it absorbed other Canterian colonies in the region such as the Aestas Island settlements or Irassia. Colonists from Almara, Sulman, and Soleria would also bring the previously unexplored interior of Soltenia under the control of the Confederacy. The Confederacy grew into a trading power during the eigheenth century and strengthened this position in the nineteenth. Citizens spoke a variety of regional languages, but most publishing and governance were done in a dialect spoken primarily by upper class Almarans.

In its early years, it prospered on the trade of agricultural goods between the various Aestas Sea states. In subsequent years, the Confederacy established a thalassocracy, with most of the population and political power living in thin strips along the coasts. It dominated trade on the Aestas Sea, including commerce between Meredonne and Olivacia, as well as Astariax. The Confederate navy was considered a relatively powerful military force and parts of its fleets were leased out to other states as government-sponsored mercenary fleets. In stark contrast to most publishing at the time, publishing within the Confederacy was often free and uncensored. The Confederacy achieved territorial conquests along the interior of Soltenia and the Aestas Sea. It became home to an extremely wealthy merchant class, who patronised renowned art and architecture along the coasts. Confederate merchants were influential financiers in Meredonne and Olivacia.

The Confederacy was ruled by the Assembly of Republics, which consisted of two to five members from each republic (varying throughout the history of the Confederacy), appointed by the various republics themselves. The Aestas Islands and Irassia were given representation, albeit with less votes, in the Assembly. The interior republics were not granted any representation at all. This power distribution ensured the political dominance of the coastal republics within the Confederacy. The Assembly was headed by a Speaker of the Assembly, who was elected for a six year term by the Assembly. The speaker's powers varied wildly speaker to speaker, with some controlling the Confederacy as a proper unified state, others controlling in conjunction with the oligarchic Assembly, and others merely presiding over the Assembly as a first among equals. The ruling class in the republics themselves tended to be oligarchies of merchants and aristocrats. The Confederacy, along with Riamo and Vultesia during this era, is generally considered to have normalized and modernized capitalism over mercantilism.

The increase in population among the coastal republics led to an increased reliance on the agricultural goods of the interior republics. By 1880, none of the coastal republics could grow or mine enough resources to feed their populations without imports from the interior. Eventually, the interior republics of Amonte, Terrenero, and Granacasta united under the "Triple Alliance". The Triple Alliance successfully negotiated a new agreement that shared power more equitably under a democratic federation of republics in 1891. In 1894, with the term of the 23rd Assembly of Republics finishing, the Confederacy was dissolved and replaced by a provisional government of the Federation of Soltenish Republics.

Government

Assembly of Republics

A meeting of the Assembly of Republics by Francesco Guardi, 1822-1827

The main body of government, with de jure control over common laws, the currency, foreign relations, and the unified armed forces of the Confederacy was the Assembly of Republics, which consisted of a varying number of representatives from each republic. While most votes in the early years of the Confederacy took place along republic lines with each republic having a single vote, more and more votes would be put before the membership of the Assembly as time went on.

Every six years the constitutent republics were required to "reexamine" their delegation. While an official term was six years, there was in practice a high amount of variability to term limits. For instance, in Libercolpi a representative was allowed to serve two terms and no more before being replaced. On the other hand, Almaran representatives often sat for life.

At its creation in 1756, the aristocratic leaders of the four coastal republics of Liberocolpi, Soleria, Sulma, and Almara were each given two representatives in the Assembly of Republics, for a total of eight members. This number would be increased to twelve, three from each, in 1799 as more groups demanded representation. In 1812, the "overseas" republic of Irassia was given representation at two members, bringing the total up to fourteen. In 1817, the Aestas Islands would also be given two members for a total of sixteen. Fearful of increasing influence of the overseas republics, the number for the coastal republics was increased to four, bringing the total to twenty members of the Assembly in 1822. The coastal republics would up their own representatives to five each and three from the overseas republics in 1847, bringing the total to twenty six members of the Assembly. This number would remain unchanged until 1891, after the Interior Republics War. After the war, each republic was given three representatives each, totaling twenty seven members of the Assembly.

The Assembly's powers shifted over time. In the early years of the Confederacy, the Assembly was simply the government, as no bureaucracy yet existed. As the Confederacy grew larger, became more integrated, and expanded its jurisdiction the bureaucracy to accompany it began to grow larger and take on power. The Assembly gradually lost control of the military, the civil service, and governing of non-integrated territories and became soley focused on making the common law for the Confederacy, essentially shifting from an executive oligarchy to a role better described as a legislature.

The Assembly also elected a presiding officer, the Speaker of the Assembly. The Speaker was selected by a secret ballot and no Speaker could neither appoint a deputy from the same republic as him nor be from the same republic as his predecessor. There were a total of 19 Speakers in the history of the Confederacy. While most tended to serve two terms, a total of twelve years, some Speakers served differing amounts of time. The longest serving speaker was Lula Zaia, who served for 23 years, from 1786 to 1809. The shortest serving speaker was Maximo Gianelli, who served from March to August of 1834, dying of a stroke just six months into his term.

Much like the Assembly, the Speaker's role shifted over time. In the early years, the Speaker was a "first among equals", merely keeping order among meetings of the Assembly. As the government grew, the Speaker began to govern more and more like a Prime Minister, who was without a doubt the leader and public face of the Assembly and Confederacy, but who still governed in conjunction with the Assembly. However, by 1880 the Speaker's control over the civil service and status as commander-in-chief of the Confederate military left the Speaker as acting more akin to a president or a monarch than the presiding officer of a legislature.