Belmonte

United Republic of Belmonte República Unida de Belmonte (Lusitan)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Non ducor, duco "I am not led, I lead"
Anthem: Hino Nacional Belmontês "Belmontese National Anthem"
Belmonte (green) in the Asterian Forum for Development and Cooperation (light green) in Asteria Inferior and Superior (grey)
Political map of Belmonte
Capital and largest city	Castelonovo
Official languages	Lusitan
Ethnic groups (2010)	See demographics
Demonym(s)	Belmontese
Government	Federal parliamentary republic
• President	Caetano Villa-Lobos
• Prime Minister	Rita Maurino
Legislature	National Congress
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Independence from Gaullica
• Declared	07 August 1764
• Recognized	21 November 1771
• Confederation	15 August 1764
• Republic	18 April 1819
• Current constitution	06 December 1836
Area
• Total	1,003,144 km2 (387,316 sq mi)
Population
• 2019 estimate	19,880,143
• 2010 census	17,346,974
• Density	19.8/km2 (51.3/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$385,038,610
• Per capita	$19,368
Gini (2019)	36.9 medium
HDI (2019)	0.734 high
Currency	Cruzado (₡)
Time zone	Belmontese Central Time (BCT)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+76
Internet TLD	.be

Belmonte ([bewmɔnte]), officially the United Republic of Belmonte (Lusitan: República Unida de Belmonte) is a country located in the continent of Asteria Inferior, sharing borders with Nuvania to the west, Vilcasuamanas to the northwest and Satucin to the northeast, as well as the Sublastrian Ocean to the south. With almost 20 million inhabitants and 1,003,144 km² (387,316 sq mi), Belmonte is considered to be one of the smallest countries of Asteria, both geographically and populationally, and is one of the few independent lusophone states in the world alongside Maracao.

Before being colonized, the actual Belmontese territory was populated by several native peoples, the majority of them being from Tupi, Guaraní and Gê tribes. In 1503, by order of the Lusitan Crown, an expedition led by Duarte Bórgia started the process of colonization of Belmonte, which became divided into seven captaincies for administration purposes. Due to the lack of abundant precious metals in the region, the colony was neglected for various years, which delayed its development but made its autonomy increase. After the annexation of the colony by Poveglia, Belmonte was integrated into the new colonial empire and had new administrative reforms, creating a more central system while maintaining its autonomy at the same time. With the defeat of Poveglia and the Congress of Cislania after the Ten Years' War, Belmonte was transferred again to Gaullica, who ended the existent autonomy and created a totally central government which was very rejected by the population. This made Belmonte declare its independence in August 1764 with the support of regional elites, right after other Gaullican colonies made the same.

Under the leadership of Sebastião Mascarenhas, the country had its independence officially recognized in 1771 and developed into a confederation which existed for almost 50 years. After the Federalist Revolt, Belmonte became a presidential republic that over the time turned into an increasingly authoritarian state which culminated in the Belmontese Revolution in 1836. Despite that the 19th century was characterized for various advances in several fields, the first half of the 20th century was marked by instabilities, the Great Collapse and the invasion and occupation by the Entente during the Great War. After the end of the war, Belmonte passed through a series of reforms that modernized the country and, despite suffering from insurgencies in the 60s and 70s, has maintained political stability since then.

Today, Belmonte is a federal parliamentary republic with an emerging economy, having as chief of state the President Caetano Villa-Lobos and as chief of government the Prime Minister Rita Maurino while the national legislature is invested in the National Congress, which is divided into two houses: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Its capital and biggest city is Castelonovo. Currently, Belmonte is a member-state of the Community of Nations, the Asterian Forum for Development and Cooperation, the International Council for Democracy, the International Trade Organization and the Global Institute for Fiscal Affairs.

Etymology

The word Belmonte is from Lusitan and Vespasian origin and means “beautiful mountain.” According to historians, the name was first used to designate the Monte de São Paulo, which was the first piece of land saw by Duarte Bórgia and his ships in the expedition that discovered Belmonte in 1503, with the name being officialized years later in 1508. During the time that the colony had been under Gaullican control, Belmonte had its name substituted by its Gaullican form, Beaumont, in official documents, although the name was never used by the population.

History

Main article: History of Belmonte

Pre-Ashtarite Belmonte

According to archaeological vestiges, the homo sapiens started to populate the actual Belmontese territory around 60 thousand years ago. Before the arrival of Lusitan colonists, studies affirm that two million natives lived in what is considered to be Belmonte, with the majority of them being divided into two ethnolinguistics groups: the Tupi-Guaranís and the Gês, which were divided into other smaller groups comprised by the Tupis, Guaranís, Gês, Tupinambás and Tupiniquins.

The first reports of the colonists about the natives said that they lived in considerable harmony, despite some conflicts between tribes for land demarcations and to assert superiority amongst others. All of them were still living the stone age during a transition period between the palaeolithic to the neolithic, although they already had ample knowledge of the local vegetation and being capable of domesticating some animals. Furthermore, the native peoples had their own religion and worshipped their own gods, and also had their own culture that varied from tribe to tribe.

Slavery was also practised, despite under different circumstances, and the social relationship was involved around the figure of the Cacique and his family, which was a hereditary office in the majority of the tribes.

Colonial era

Most part of the Belmontese population lived in small coastal villages in the first years of colonization.

Belmonte was officially discovered by the Lusitan Crown in 18 of October of 1503 but had its colonization process started only in 1508 through the Charter of Legislation of the Colony of Belmonte that divided the newly discovered lands into three captaincies: Anchieta, Laranjeiras and Favônia, and created fundamental organizations for the operation of the colony. The Lusitan interests in the colonization of that region consisted only to the exploration of precious ores that weren’t abundant. This led to frustration in the metropolis, and in less than thirty years the colony was in a state of neglect so serious that it was almost governed by the captains of their respective captaincies.

Despite this abandonment delayed in a substantial way the settlement of Belmonte and its development as well, this made the settlers, the majority of them being farmers and peasants that went to Asteria for a better life, create their own society in villages and small coastal cities. The economy was based on the subsistence agriculture and fishing, with the few that were planted in small properties being sold in the markets. Over the years, society was built around the image of the bandeirante while trade was sustained by tropeiros.

With the Lusitan defeat at the Luso-Poveglian War, Belmonte was transferred to Poveglia, which was at the time a maritime republic. This led to more mercantilist policies that increased international trade and consequently brought more administrative reforms that made public institutions more efficient at the same time that the colony’s old autonomy was partially preserved. The Catholic Church was a great influencer over the settlers and converted natives' lives and served as a base to the entire local society which enriched even more than before thanks to the slave trade, fishing and other mercantile activities.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Belmontese society was built around the image of the bandeirante.

However, after the Poveglian defeat at the Ten Years' War and the Congress of Cislania, Belmonte was transferred again to another colonial power, this time to the Gaullican Empire. Gaullica, unlike the previous nations, was against the great amount of autonomy that Belmontese captaincies had and due to that a series of laws, decrees and edicts were issued in order to decrease this autonomy and increase the power of the central government, in a move that reduced the profit of various merchants and caused an immense rejection by the population against the new administration. Slowly, among the local elites, nationalist ideas started to arise that would be supported by the more popular classes too.

It was only after the introduction of the Intolerable Taxes that a movement in favour of Belmontese independence started to be planned primarily by the literate elites and followed by merchants and farmers, who already revolted sometimes years before but without success. After the news that other Gaullican colonies were revolting in Asteria Superior, Belmonte declared its independence in 07 of August of 1764, joining the Asterian War of Secession.

Independence and Confederation

The declaration of independence was widely accepted by the population, which immediately started to prepare themselves to fight against Gaullican loyalist forces that were present in Belmonte and other colonies. Within weeks, the National Militia was created with the objective of launching attacks against these colonial forces, being led by Sebastião Mascarenhas. In its first year of combat, the militias were able to expulse loyalist forces in coastal areas and fought an asymmetric war during the rest of the conflict, with its independence being officially recognized through the Treaty of Vicalvi in 1771.

During and after the war, Mascarenhas was seen as a hero by many and was the main responsible for the creation of a confederation months after the independence despite the widespread support for the creation of a presidential republic. According to him and his followers, the isolation of great part of the Belmontese territory from another, the lack of proper roads, the difficulty in the communications and even the damage caused by the war would make a federation impossible to happen, with a confederation being the most practical solution to that situation and the only one that would fit better in the values that the captaincies have been fought previously.

The confederation increased the power of the rural elites and established Belmonte as a country almost entirely aimed to maritime activities, such as fishing and the slave trade, at the same time that the internal development of several cities and villages occurred.

With the start of the 19th century, many philosophers, military officers and politicians, inspired by enlightened and republican ideas, started to see the old confederalist system as weak and antiquated, which led to the creation of the Federalist Party that supported the creation of a presidential republic with a strong executive and other national institutions. After years of political rivalry, the Federalist Revolt exploded in 1817 and ended two years later with Jorge Aranha being sworn as the first Belmontese president.

First Republic and revolution

Initially, the republic was very popular, especially in urban areas, since it gave a voice to them against the dominant rural elites and guaranteed a more democratic representation and leadership with the establishment of elections and the creation of the National Congress, which became the first national legislature of Belmonte.

Since the first republican elections, the political scene was divided between the victorious federalists and the liberals, with the later one defending less presidential powers and the introduction of a parliamentary system of government. The first republic also witnessed the end of the slavery amid Estmerish pressure, although black people would still be marginalized by society for the next years. Despite all these advancements, after time, Belmonte would start to become even more authoritarian due to the quasi-dictatorial powers that the president had, which led to extreme unpopularity of the regime from the more liberal and urban classes of the population.

Things started to become even more authoritarian after the election of Joaquim Durão, who utilized his powers to close the congress in order to approve a series of laws rejected by the parliament and population. This caused various protests that after weeks became the Belmontese Revolution, which was supported by diverse social groups, politicians and core members of the armed forces.

19th century and early 20th century

The National Congress in 1836, after approving the new Belmontese constitution.

Soon after the revolution, a provisional government arose under the leadership of the general Augusto Cintra. Cintra, now a national hero, exerted extreme influence over the political landscape of Belmonte and served in several senior roles, including the offices of president and prime minister, for more than 35 years.

The remaining part of the 19th century was known as a very positive era for Belmonte. Politically, the parliamentary system was formed and consolidated during its first years, with the politics being dominated by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. Furthermore, a third party also existed: the Caramuru Party, who had the support of the clergy and some members of the armed forces, being capable of electing some prime ministers when not composing a coalition government with the conservatives. Economically, Belmonte saw the industrial revolution and the opening of the first factories, being exclusively dedicated to the production of food-related goods for exportation and internal use. Railways started to cross the country and decreased the delay in communications, and other innovations such as the telegraph and the telephone also appeared at this time.

Belmontese soldiers liberating the village of Nícia after years of functionalist control.

The beginning of the 20th century, however, saw the start of an economic stagnation that worsened every year until the Great Collapse in 1913. During the economic crisis, a series of general strikes, revolts and protests happened, which caused a very serious political instability that aggravated the situation. Thanks to ostensive economic policies, Belmonte left the recession at the end of 1917, but the instability caused by it would continue in the following decade.

Social and economic recuperation defined the 20s, with such being led by the Liberal-Labour Party and the Progressive Republican Party, both of them with leftist orientations. After 10 years, the conservatives went back to power through the leadership of former colonel Júlio Lobato in October of 1929. Elected promising to maintain the neutrality that Belmonte had during the Great War, he, in fact, maintained the secret support of guns and ammo to Vilcasuamanas, which was discovered by Entente nations months later and caused the invasion of Belmonte at the same year. Although Belmontese forces were able to contain the enemy advance for some months, the front fell in 1930 and a major part of the country was occupied by the enemy, who created a functionalist puppet state while the government was evacuated to Paquatinga, in the northwest.

The occupation period was marked by the extreme use of violence on both sides. While the functionalist government used authoritarian and genocidal ways to repress and avoid revolts, the Paquatinga Government not only continued leading what’s left of the armed forces but created a resistance force known for its brutality that performed terrorist attacks, sabotage and espionage in the occupied zone as well in other Entente countries. In 1934, an uprising known as the Spring March was launched by the resistance which counter-attacked the puppet government and its forces, liberating the country a year before the end of the war.

Post-war era and recent history

After the war, Belmonte passed through several reforms, both social and economic, that established a welfare state mainly during the government of the social democrat Cédrico Alvim. In 1954, the National Conservative Union (UCN in Lusitan) won the general election of that year with the support of the middle class, the clergy and the armed forces, with the later exercising a crucial role with extreme relevancy in the cabinet, especially against communist groups who ended being criminalized in 1963. This, combined with more militarist, socially conservative and even authoritarian policies, made the period being classified as a southern democracy nicknamed Sword’s Republic and caused the radicalization of left-wing groups which led to the Mauás’ War, where the government become even more authoritarian until its fall in 1969.

In the 70s, Belmonte suffered from economic stagnation and unpopular governments until 1979 with the election of Félix Bragança and his party, the SDP (PSD), which governed for almost 20 years. During the social democrat governments, the then welfare state that had been reduced by previous administrations was instituted again and still exists today.

In 1999, the UCN wins the election after 30 years out of power, electing Paulo Gaertner as prime minister from 1999 to 2005 who is succeeded by former cabinet minister Ludovico Rosa. In 2015, former governor of Favônia Rita Maurino from the PSD becomes prime minister through a coalition of left-wing parties, becoming the first and only woman to be elected to the office.

Politics and government

Main articles: Politics of Belmonte, Government of Belmonte, Cabinet of Belmonte, and National Congress of Belmonte

President Caetano Villa-Lobos

Prime Minister Rita Maurino

According to the constitution of 1836, Belmonte is a federal parliamentary republic where the chief of state is composed by the President of the Republic (Lusitan: Presidente da República), while the chief of government is composed by the office of the Prime Minister (Primeiro-Ministro). The federal government is divided between three branches: the executive, legislative and judiciary, with provinces enjoying a high degree of autonomy and powers guaranteed by the law.

The president is the highest office of the Republic and has as its constitutional functions ceremonial roles with few political powers, being responsible to officially command the armed forces; appoint the prime minister and its cabinet; enact new legislation; convoke elections and referendums; dissolve the parliament, appoint ambassadors; represent the Belmontese State in international meetings; order pardons among others, and it’s elected through the Electoral College (Colégio Eleitoral), which is composed by the National Congress, for a mandate of five years that could be renewable. During its office, the president couldn’t be a member of any political party in order to be as much independent and impartial as possible. Furthermore, the president has the State Council of the Republic (Conselho de Estado da República) as its advisory council and also is the chief of the National Defence Council (Conselho de Defesa Nacional).

Template:Belmontese Parliament The prime minister is one of the chiefs of the executive (alongside the president) and is responsible for lead the country through its cabinet of ministers (Gabinete Ministerial) appointed by itself, being the leader of the party with the biggest number of seats in the congress. The role doesn’t have a defined term of office which allows the prime minister to stay in power indefinitely as long as it has parliamentary support. Since 2015, the prime minister of Belmonte is the former lawyer Rita Maurino, from the PSD, which maintains a coalition government with the Socialist Bloc.

The legislative branch is vested over the National Congress (Congresso Nacional), which is the national legislature of Belmonte. As a bicameral parliament, the congress is divided into the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Chamber of Deputies (Câmara dos Deputados) is the lesser and most important house of the congress, being composed by 206 MPs or deputies (deputados) elected for a mandate of 5 years, including the prime minister and its ministers, through a closed party-list proportional representation system. The higher house, in turn, is the Senate (Senado), which is composed by 21 senators appointed by the president under the consent of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition after general elections, with the role of representing the provinces and the federal capital. Due to a series of constitutional reforms and amendments, the senate has few practical powers and only performs some ceremonial functions.

The judiciary branch has as its highest tribunal the Supreme Court of Belmonte (Suprema Corte de Belmonte, SCB), which is composed by 12 ministers appointed by the president under the consent of the senate and acts as a court of last resort thus having superiority over regional courts in relation to criminal cases as well as a constitutional court that evaluates and analyses new legislation, having the power to veto them if they infringe the constitution. In every province, there is regional courts that also holds similar functions, however, they are limited to their jurisdictions plus the fact that they are considered inferior in comparison to the SCB. Other federal institutions are the Federal Parquet of the Republic (Procuradoria Federal da República), which is charged to represent the society and justice against public illegalities while the Attorney General of the Federation (Advocacia-Geral da Federação) advises the executive branch and represents the government in legal cases.

As a federation, Belmonte is divided between six provinces (províncias) and the Federal Capital (Capital Federal), which corresponds to the city of Castelonovo. All provinces have its own constitutions and branches, with the executive being exerted by the province’s governor (governador), the legislative by the legislative assemblies (assembléias legislativas) and the judiciary by regional courts. Also, the provinces are subdivided into municipalities (municípios) that are also governed by a mayor and a municipal chamber, being the lowest level of administrative division.

Belmonte has a multi-party system, where various political parties exert a significant influence over the national political scene. The two biggest parties are the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Conservative Union (UCN), with the PSD being a centre-left social democratic party while the UCN is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Sotirian democrat party. Followed by the PSD and UCN, other relevant parties are the Socialist Bloc, Sotirian Democrats, Citizens’ Alliance, People’s Centre Union, Social Worker's Party, Green Party and the National Movement.

Military and law enforcement

Main articles: Belmontese Armed Forces and Law enforcement in Belmonte

The Belmontese Armed Forces (Forças Armadas de Belmonte) are divided into three branches: the Army (Exército), Navy (Marinha) and the Air Force (Aeronáutica), with a total personnel of nine hundred thousand members, both reservists and effective soldiers. Conscription is enforced by law to all men above the 18 years of age. Despite the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the three branches have the majority of its functions decided by the Secretary of Defence or by their own commanders that act as chiefs-of-staff. Since the last conflict that Belmonte participated was the Great War in the 30s, new laws and reforms changed the armed forces to become a self-defence institution with few international involvements in wars and combats, being focused on peacekeeping programs and the promotion of regional peace.

It’s the responsibility of municipalities with the federal government’s assistance to provide public security to its citizens through the Civil Guard (Guarda Civil), which is the principal law enforcement agency. Other law enforcement agencies are the Federal Police (Polícia Federal) and the National Force (Força Nacional), that are responsible for the protection of the federal government and its patrimony and the preservation of the law and order in crisis situations, respectively. Belmonte also has an intelligence agency, the National Information Service (Serviço Nacional de Informações), which performs espionage and counter-terrorism operations.

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Belmonte

The foreign relations of Belmonte are in charge of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and its secretary, who in turn is appointed by the prime minister. Over the time, the Belmontese diplomatic policy changed drastically although always trying in some form to maintain some kind of neutrality among international conflicts at the same time that promoted a bigger relationship with Euclean and Asterian countries. Currently, Belmonte is a member-state of the Community of Nations, the Asterian Forum for Development and Cooperation, the International Council for Democracy, the International Trade Organization and the Global Institute for Fiscal Affairs.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Belmonte

The Castelonovo Stock Exchange, one of the biggest in Asteria.