Vorbarra District (Barrayar)
Vorbarra District | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto: Uslysh my zakaz | |
| Country | Barrayar |
| District | Vorbarra |
| Established in current form | 2792 |
| Founded by | Emperor Dorcas |
| Seat | Vorbarra District Capitol |
| Government | |
| • Count Vorbarra | Serg Vorbarra |
| Population (3003) | |
| • Total | 15,678,032 |
Vorbarra's District is one of the sixty Barrayar Northern Districts. It is ruled by Count Vorbarra, the head of House Vorbarra, who is also the Emperor of the Barrayaran Imperium. The district capital, Vorbarr Sultana, is also the overall capital. The District is made up of the ancestral domains of the Vorbarra dynasty, conquered and ruled before the proclamation of the Imperial destiny. It has the highest per-capita GDP among Districts on Barrayar, and the second highest of regions in the whole Empire.
Geography
Vorbarra District has a land area of 115,344 square kilometres: it is composed of geographical regions centred around Vorbarr Sultana. Around the capital, urbanization fills a first concentric ring commonly known as the "Small Ring", and extends into a second outer ring known as the "Large Ring". The Small Ring consists of the plains around the Star River, while the Large Ring is part of the hills and highlands which occupy the northern parts of the Northern Great Plains.
The Star River (also known as simply "Starred") runs through the District. The Star River has many tributaries. It is Northern Continent's largest river and the planet's second largest after the Löhr. The District is between an area of lowland called the Great Basin and the highlands and hill country prodromes of the Northern Massif, an area of highlands that are higher than the surrounding countryside but far lower than the Dendarii Mountains.
Seve'ka House
Seve'ka House is the main stately home of the Count Vorbarra in Northern Province, Vorbarra District. It is in the Derby Slopes region, about 78 km north-east of Vorbarr Sultana, on the south slopes of the hills bordering the north of the Northern Great Plains. It is among the oldest seats of the Count Vorbarra and has been the traditional retirement and vacation home to the Vorbarra family since 2699, when it was built replacing a previous fortress. Seve'ka House is the hub of a 140 km2 agricultural estate.
Standing on the west bank of the River Serpent, Seve'ka House looks across to the hills that divide the Serpent and Blue Wyne valleys. The house, set in expansive parkland and backed by wooded, rocky hills rising to heather moorland, contains an important collection of paintings, furniture, drawings, neoclassical sculptures, books and other artefacts. The name Seve'ka is a corruption of Severna Usadeka, meaning "Northern Mansion" in Barrayaran Russian.
Seve'ka House is built on sloping ground, lower on the south and east sides than on the north and west sides. The original mansion was built in the 2690s in a quadrangle layout, with a large central courtyard. The front entrance is on the east front, and the great hall is on the west side of the courtyard. The garden is surrounded by a wall 2.8 km long. It sits on the eastern side of the valley of the Serpent River and blends into the landscape of the surrounding park, which covers 4.0 km2. The woods on the moors to the east of the valley form a backdrop to the garden.
The north and west fronts were rebuilt by Emperor Dorcas. The design of the south front was revolutionary for an English house, with no attics or hipped roof, but instead two main stories supported by a rusticated basement. The facade is dramatic and sculptural with ionic pilasters and a heavy entablature and balustrade. Prince Xav Vorbarra, during the late years of Dorcas' reign, built an elegant curved double staircase. The west front is the quietest of the four on the main block. Like the north front it is unusual in that it has an even number of bays and no centrepiece. The emphasis is placed on the end bays, each highlighted by double pairs of pilasters, of which the inner pairs project outwards. The south front was altered in the 29th-century when Emperor Yuri, along with the architect Ivan Sermyour, built the South Wing, doubling the size of the house. Most of this wing only has two storeys, compared to the three of the main block's. It is attached to the south-west corner of the house, and is around 120 m long. At the end of the South Wing is the Watch Tower. Yuri built a gatehouse at this end of the house with three gates. Visitors enter at the central gate and enter the building at the east front.
Due to the long history, Seve'ka House's layout is unique, full of irregularities and the interiors a collection of different styles. Many of the rooms are recognisable of one main period, but in nearly every case, they have been altered more often than might be supposed at first glance.
Seve'ka House has 126 rooms; the house is well-adapted to allow the family to live privately in their apartments while the house is open to the public for formal business. The private rooms (over 100 out of 125) are on the ground and first floors of the north front, all three floors of the east front, and the upper two floors of the south front. Staircases in the southwest corner of the main block and in a turret in the west front enable the Imperial Family (when present) to move about without crossing the public route.
Economy
The Vorbarra District is Barrayar's premier centre of economic activity, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of IM 823 billion.
The District economy has been gradually shifting towards high-value-added service industries and high-tech manufacturing since 2930s. The District's most intense economic activity takes place in the suburban regions, while external lands are devoted to agriculture and other industries. Tourism is a significant component of the regional economy, since the region includes Vorbarr Sultana and other historical cities. The District economy has been gradually shifting towards high-value-added service industries and high-tech manufacturing since 2930s. The District's most intense economic activity takes place in the suburban regions, while external lands are devoted to agriculture and other industries. Tourism is a significant component of the regional economy, since the region includes Vorbarr Sultana and other historical cities.
According to the last census, 49.0 percent of the local workforce is in commerce, transportation, and market services: 33.0 percent worked in non-market services (public administration, education, human health and social work activities); 10.6 percent worked in manufacturing, mining, and utilities; 4.3 percent worked in construction; and 3.1 percent worked in agriculture.
Government
The Districts's capital is Vorbarr Sultana. Vorbarra District is organized into a complex system of government. The Court Chancery is the supreme government body and deals with both executive and judicial functions; alongside the Court Chancery, the Assembly of the District operates as consultative and legislative body.
The executive branch consists of the Count Vorbarra and his own cabinet Secretaries (i.e. the political division of the Court Chancery), which the Count appoints. The judicial branch consists of the District Supreme Court (the judicial division of the Court Chancery) and of lower subordinate courts. Eventually, the Vorbarra District legislature consists the Count Vorbarra which operates in consultation with the Assembly of the District, an assembly composed by 120 individuals acting as legislative consultative committee.
Survival of Assignments
The "Survival" of a government Assignment is quite widespread in the Vorbarra District and allows the maintenance of the same government assignment in the same family for several generations. However, in contrast to the "inheritance" system (whether feudal or not), the "Survival of Assignments", though sometimes granted for purchase, is generally attributed by the Count himself by virtue of merits acquired by the applicant or his family in the service of the Districtand could only be transmitted for a generation and only from father to son. This aims to avoid abuses and degenerations of inheritance and leaves intact the prerogatives of the Count, who decides on every single case (and may revoke and dismiss both the predecessor and the successor in any time).
Court Chancery
The Court Chancery is the overall organization coordinating both executive and judicial forms of the Count Vorbarra's authority for the Vorbarras' hereditary lands. The Court Chancery is responsible for District Vorbarra outside Vorbarr Sultana as the central administrative and financial authority. The Court chancery also serves as a high court. The Chancellor is at the head of the Court Chancery; he is always a member of the (imperial) Privy Council and has a strong political influence. The Court Chancery is divided into two sections: one is for political affairs (District Cabinet), the other for judicial matters (District Supreme Court).
Local Government
The Vorbarra District is characterized by the preeminence of Vorbarr Sultana in the plains and by a dispersed population in hills and foothills.
Provinces
The District divided into 50 Provinces: they are the first-level subdivisions of the District. The provincial government provides services such as vital records, property assessment and records, tax collection, public health, health care, social services, libraries, flood control, fire protection, animal control, agricultural regulations, building inspections, ambulance services, and education departments in charge of maintaining District-wide standards. In addition, the Province serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas. There are three types of Provinces: 34 Provinces, 15 Chatellanies, and 1 Special Province.
Ordinary Provinces, administered by appointed Governor and provincial government, are the vast majority of the District Provinces. They serve as ordinary government structures and in almost every statistical provinces group, at least an ordinary Province is included (even in the north, where Chatellanies are concentrated). There are 34 Provinces.
Chatellanies are Provinces ruled by an hereditary Governor, styled "Vikon"; These Vikons may be heads of secondary and cadet branches of House Vorbarra or heads of liege Vor houses. Each Vikon has considerable leeway to organize his own government and some amount of autonomy in taxes imposition, as long as required services are provided and certain thresholds are respected; the Vikon has the right to keep for himself and his government a sixth of the total tax imposition. There are 15 Chatellanies.
The Direct-Rule Province is the Province of Vorbarr Sultana, which coincides with the City of Vorbarr Sultana. The Lord Governor of the City of Vorbarr Sultana, despite being an official of the Empire, is also the Governor of the Province of Vorbarr Sultana. As such, he is subject to the Count Vorbarra (and not to the Emperor of Barrayar) and his of directives, orders and guidelines. The Province of Vorbarr Sultana has the same powers and duties of the other Provinces, but intervenes only as long as the City of Vorbarr Sultana (as a whole including its subdivisions) does not provide identical or similar services. Differently from other Provinces or Chatellanies, the Province of Vorbarr Sultana does not include unincorporated land.
Urban centres
Urban and inhabited centres in the Vorbarra District may be either unincorporated or incorporated. In the first case, the urban centre does not its own "Corporation of Government" and it is directly administered by the relevant Province: it merely is a concentration of buildings (from a legal point of view). In the second case, the incorporated centre has its own "Corporation of Government", i.e. has its own government bodies (either elected or appointed).
Since middle 30th Century there has been a constant push to induce medium to large centres to demand incorporation, in order to better address administrative problems. Nowadays, the Vorbarra District has 480 incorporated cities, towns and villages; of which 400 are villages, 48 towns and 32 are cities. The District recognizes two kinds of cities: charter and general law. General law cities owe their existence to District law and are consequently governed by it; charter cities are governed by their own city charters.
District Cabinet
The Vorbarra's District Cabinet consists of The Count Vorbarra and his own cabinet Secretaries, each overseeing a Department or a District Bureau; Secretaries are appointed, dismissed and removed at Count's will and are coordinated by the Chancellor. The Count Vorbarra, which is also the Emperor of Barrayar, may also appoint the Crown Prince (currently Gregor Vorbarra) as his Council Delegate, Chancellor and Steward of the District in order to let the Emperor deal with national government issues; he also may appoint another person to this position, although the last person to be appointed to this position without being an Emperor's relative or a Regent was John Piembroke, one of the closest Yuri's collaborators until the defenestration of the Privy Council.
Secretaries are the heads of the District-level government departments and most often are professionals who arose through the bureaucratic ranks. The executive branch is composed of the principal departments:
- Department of Agriculture;
- Central Bureau of Security;
- Department of Education;
- Department of Health Care;
- Department of Justice and General Government (in charge of judicial affairs, archives, controversies with the Empire, local government and organized public services);
- Bureau of Borders Affairs;
- Department of Labour (in charge of labour policies, welfare state and retirement);
- Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (in charge of District Militia, Imperial Service accomodation and Veterans treatment);
- Department of Natural Resources;
- Department of Personnel and Administration (in charge of personnel management, general administration of public resources);
- Department of Public Health and Environment;
- Department of Transportation;
- Department of Economy.
Assembly of the District
The Assembly of the District is the legislative consultative assembly of the Vorbarra District. It is a unicameral body consisting of 120 members. New legislators convene each new six-year session. The Assembly is in session year-round and consists of 80 elected Representatives and 40 Councilors appointed by the Count: Representatives are elected every six years in single-member constituencies among the candidates approved by the Count's government according to the District Law. The appointment as Senator of the District is for life and guarantees higher privileges than the election as Representative; the Count can appoint up to 40 members of the Assembly by choosing in the following categories:
- Representatives after three full terms (also non consecutive);
- District Secretaries (also dismissed ones);
- Ambassadors of the Empire, whether originating in the Vorbarra District;
- The Chief Justice of the District;
- Generals and Admirals, whether originating in the Vorbarra District;
- The senior officers of the Vorbarra District Militia;
- Those with services or merits eminent honour the Vorbarra District;
Male Princes of the Imperial Family are full members outside the 120 ordinary members. They come to join at the age of twenty-one and earn the right to vote at the age of twenty-five. Currently Crown Prince Gregor is a voting member, while Prince Vorbarra has not yet earned the voting right.
The Assembly of the District formally "advises" the Count, who is fully enabled to proceed without or against the opinion of the Assembly; however it is very rare the case where the Count Vorbarra would forcibly govern against the Assembly.
Judiciary
The justice, in the Vorbarra District, emanates from the Count Vorbarra. This means that the Count Vorbarra may in any moment derogate from his own laws and set up the case, grant pardons, amnesties and grace. However, due to the need to protect stability and predictability of the system, the Count's Prerogative is very rarely exercised.
District Supreme Court
The supreme judicial body is the District Supreme Court, formally the judicial branch of the Court Chancery. The District Supreme Court is headed by the Chief Justice of the District and consists of other eight Justices of the District. The District Supreme Court has the authority to review decisions by all the lower courts of the District and the authority to determine certain legal matters over which no other court has jurisdiction. It further has the authority to issue any necessary orders to carry out the general superintendence of the judicial system of the Vorbarra District.
The Chief Justice of the District serves as the administrative head of the judicial system of the District; the court makes all rules governing administration, practice, and procedure for all courts which administer justice on behalf of the Count Vorbarra. Each Justice of the District is appointed by the Count upon recomendation of the Assembly of the District for staggered six-year terms. The Count may fill vacancies when they occur for the remainder of unexpired terms. There is no specific limitation on the number of terms to which a member may be elected. However, the District law prohibits any member from seeking re-election once they have attained the age of seventy-five years.
Council of Appeals
A Council of Appeals is a provincial appellate court of the Vorbarra District. The Vorbarra District has 3 Councils of Appeals. Councils of Appeals consist of a dozen or more appellate judges each. They are the court of appeal of the judicial system, and wield much power over a wide range of subject matter, particularly taxation. The members are mostly Vors, and exercise a substantial amount of independence from the Count. The Councils of Appeals are among the most staunch stalwarts of the Vor-class' resistance to the absolutism and centralization.
The Councils of Appeals hear written argument from lower state trial courts on a regular basis. The Count appoints a court of appeals judge from a list of qualified candidates submitted by the Assembly of the District and vetted by the Justices of the District. The Councils of Appeals have jurisdiction to hear appeals from judgments in criminal and civil cases.
Lower courts
Lower justice is generally overseen either by the seigneur's delegated judicial officers (in surviving fiefdoms) or by District Judges (in demanial lands). Both judicial officers and District Judges are taken from a pool of authorized judicial officials and have the same qualification.
Law enforcement
Unlike the other 59 traditional (Count-ruled) Districts of the Northern Continent, the Vorbarra District does non have its own police service, relying on the Imperial Police Force, the Constabulary which operates on the whole Southern Continent. In this case, the District Command has the same jurisdiction of the apposite Group Command; the State Councillors, 1st class in charge of The His Majesty's Own Vorbarr Sultana Municipal Guard is directly subordinated to the District Bureau of Public Security.
Emperor's Own Militia
The District Militias are preventive District forces responsible for maintaining public order within each District, and are subordinate to the District Count; Vorbarra District is no exception, and it maintains the Emperor's Own Militia. The Militia is distinct from the Internal Troops, which collaborate with; it also acts as reserve troops and ancillary forces of the Imperial Service. Training is weighted more heavily toward riot control and rural manhunt matters, but counterinsurgency training is also carefully included. Arms and equipment of District forces include machine guns and armoured cars, in addition to other items generally associated with police.
The Emperor's Own Home Guard is currently commanded by Colonel (ret.) Thomas Vorkerry, a retired officer originating from Vorbarr Sultana; most of the command staff is made up of local retired military officers, both to maintain a set of advanced capabilities and to award distinguished military professionals.
The primary mission of Emperor's Own Home Guard is ostensibly preventive policing for the maintenance of public order in the Vorbarra District; secondary missions include uprising suppression, riot control support, facility surveillance, local garrisoning and disaster relief, also outside the Vorbarra District (previous formal request of the competent body).
The Militia is operationally organized into Regional Commands (Barrayaran Russian: Regionalnye Komandy), Home Guard Battalions, Companies, and Platoons. The size is notably smaller than other Countly Militias, mostly due to the fact that within the Vorbarra District there are many of the most elite units of both the Imperial Police Force (which provide policing services) and the Imperial Service, the latter ones tasked with garrison and surveillance duties.
The Vorbarr Sultana Regional Command is the main and foremost command and it is responsible for the capital city and its immediate surroundings: it includes two Battalions and several auxiliary offives. Ordinarily, an important town other than Vorbarr Sultana is policed by a single Battalion (which equals the relevant Regional Command), while other settlements are policed by dedicated companies within their Battalion-level command or by the whole Battalion without difference, while smaller districts are garrisoned by a Platoon (the latter ones mostly led by Warrant Officers).
Alongside the territorial units, which may be mobilized for a major operation on a medium notice, there are also some special unit which may be mobilized on a short notice or even are in stand-by as routine condition: a Mounted Squadron (company level), an Highway Patrol Battalion, a Riot Control Battalion, a Special Police Operations Battalion.
The Emperor's Own Militia wear black uniforms with silver trims and buttons; while rank insignia are those adopted by the Imperial armed corps, its members do wear additional rank/functional insignia, mostly on their shoulders, but also on the breast, as well as on the uniform sleeves. The Militia is widely noted for the orderly uniforms worn by its members.
Vorbarra District Vor Titles of Excellency
In the Vorbarra District, there is a complex and unique titles system pertaining to the Vor families residing in the District. Because the District Capital is Vorbarr Sultana, heavily populated by foreign Vors, Vorbarra titles usually do not include Vorbarr Sultana itself. It is to note that, with the exception of the Imperial Family, every Vor of the Vorbarra District is considered to be a "Lesser Vor".
A Knight of Excellency is a Vor man who holds one or more title of Excellency and the estate bestowed upon him or his direct ancestor by the District Count of the Vorbarrra District. Although other members of his family might be addressed by his own title, none of them are Knights of Excellency; their titles are all courtesy titles, including his wife's. A Voyenachal is addressed as "Your Grace" by social inferiors, and as "Voyenachal" by social equals. All other Knights of Excellency are called by "Master" ìprefixed to the title, for example, Master Vorberg. The six titles, in descending order of precedence, or rank, are:
- Voyenachal;
- Pograkast;
- Grav;
- Vikon;
- Magnat;
- Squire.
The higher the rank, the more likely it is that the Knight of Excellency holds several titles. Historically, retired Chancellors have been granted the title of Grav, unless they have a senior title already.
Titles of Excellency are hereditary, meaning that they pass on from father to son. They cannot be willed or bequeathed. Sometimes a Knight of Excellency dies without a son to succeed him. When that happens, the succession goes back one generation, to the Knight's father, and traces the next eldest male direct lineal descendant. But if Knight's father's line has died out, then the Title of Excellency could be traced back up to the first holder of the title, and descend through the eldest of his other sons who had surviving legitimate male issue. If there is no legitimate surviving male descendant, then the individual Title of Excellency would become "extinct". However, if there is a legitimate surviving male descendant of the first holder's father, then that person would inherit the father's title, if any.
If a Vor inherits a Title of Excellency, it is because he is the eldest surviving legitimate male who can trace a direct (father to son) lineage back to an earlier holder of the Title. He does not inherit because he was the brother or the cousin or the uncle of his predecessor, but because his own father, or grandfather, or great-grandfather, or great-great-grandfather, etc., was an earlier holder of the Title of Excellency. "Eldest" in this context means that his line is the eldest one.
There are three types of Titles of Excellency. The first, and most ancient, is a Title of Excellency held by Sword Creation, which is a direct promotion by the District Count on the battlefield; the second is Letters Patent, which is a direct summons by the District Count to assist him; the third is by tenure, i.e. a recognition of a lordship held by immemorial times. Peerages by Sword are almost all Squires, because the most immediate form of promotion was to grant the right to carry the Count's shield: Titles by Sword are the most prestigious titles.
The acquisition of Titles of Excellency could be done in one generation or gradually over several generations: Excellency in the first generation is generally awarded after 20 years of service or by death in one's post, while Excellency awarded in the second generation is generally awarded after 20 years of service by both father and son.
Attainder and Extinction
There are two ways that a Title of Excellency can end, or become "extinct". The first is "by attainder", which is what results when the District Counts gets seriously upset with a Vor, and revokes his Title: this happens for attempted treason or unsuccessful rebellion against the Count or the Crown. Sometimes the descendant of an attainted Knight of Excellency, or the Knight of Excellency himself, manages to win back the favor of the Count and have his Title restored.
The second way a Title of Excellency can become extinct is indirectly, when the current title-holder dies, and there is no heir who can trace a direct descent from the first Knight of Excellency and is eligible to inherit it. When a Title of Excellency becomes extinct, it reverts to the Count, and the Count can, if it so chooses, bestow the title anew on a member of a different family (either another branch of the original clan, or a totally different and unconnected family). This would be a new creation, and would set up another opportunity for the Title of Excellency to either continue in the new line or become extinct again.
Rights and Privileges of Knights of Excellency
Knights of Excellency enjoy many privileges. They have the right to be tried for treason and felony only in the Court of Vors; they do not have to serve on ordinary courts; they cannot be arrested without a warrant under the personal authority of the Count. But the principal right of a Knight of Excellency is to serve the Count with his own arms or advice.
An Knight of Excellency sits in the Council of Vors, a special convention of the District' Vors. There are a few more qualifiers: a Knight of Excellency, but in general a Vor of the Vorbarra District, may not take his seat if he is bankrupt, if he is a lunatic, if he has not yet served in the Imperial Military Service or in another armed corps at the Count's or Emperor's service, or is under the age of twenty.
Precedence
- The District Count of the Vorbarra District and Emperor of Barrayar
- The Crown Prince and Voyenachal of Vorbarr Sultana;
- Emperor's Sons
- Other District Counts
- Emperor's Brothers and their wives
- Emperor's Sisters and their husbands
- Emperor's Uncles and their wives
- Emperor's Aunts and their husbands
- Emperor's Grandsons
- Emperor's Brother's or Sister's Sons
- Chancellor and Steward of the District (if different from Crown Prince)
- President of the Assembly of the District
- Chief Justice of the District
- Voyenachals, according to their creations
- Pograkasts, according to their creations
- Voyenachals' eldest Sons
- Gravs, according to their creations
- Vikons, according to their creations
- Magnats, according to their creations
- Magnats' younger Sons
- Squires, according to their creations