Ebrary
Christian Commonwealth of Ebrary Republica Christian de Ebraria (Ebrarese) | |||||||
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Motto: "Deo et patriae" | |||||||
| Anthem: Hymn of Ebrary | |||||||
| [[File:|250px]] Map of Ebrary | |||||||
| Capital | Ceres | ||||||
| Official languages | Ebrarese | ||||||
| Recognised regional languages | Vorstish, Gallasian | ||||||
| Ethnic groups | Ebrarians, Vorsts, Gallasians, Others | ||||||
| Religion | Christianity (Amendantism) | ||||||
| Demonym(s) | Ebrarian (Ebrariano) | ||||||
| Government | Unitary dominionist presidential Christian republic | ||||||
• Protector Soveran | Daniel Lucas | ||||||
• Presidente | Carlos Renaldo | ||||||
| Legislature | Parliamento (Parliament) | ||||||
| Senato (Senate) | |||||||
| Assemblea Popular (Popular Assembly) | |||||||
| Establishment | |||||||
• Founding of Ceres | 413 | ||||||
• Founding of the Kingdom of Ebrary | 780 | ||||||
• Independence from Vorstland | 1099 | ||||||
• Proclamation of the Republic | 1932 | ||||||
• Founding of the 2nd Kingdom of Ebrary | 1943 | ||||||
• Christian Revolution | 1982 | ||||||
• Current Constitution | 15 June 1983 | ||||||
• Latest amendment | 28 July 1999 | ||||||
| Area | |||||||
• Total | 297,770 km2 (114,970 sq mi) | ||||||
| Population | |||||||
• 2020 estimate | 22,130,469 | ||||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate | ||||||
• Total | $259.03 billion | ||||||
• Per capita | $11,705 | ||||||
| Currency | Ebro (EBR; ∉) | ||||||
| Date format | dd-mm-yyyy | ||||||
| Driving side | right | ||||||
| Internet TLD | .eb | ||||||
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 | This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author. Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions. Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page. |
Ebrary (Ebrarese: Ebraria), officially the Christian Commonwealth of Ebrary (Ebrarese: Republica Christian de Ebraria), is a country located on Eurth, on the continent Argis, in the Yeetland region. Ebrary borders the Adlantic Ocean on its southwestern and eastern shores with its north and west bordering other countries. Its eleven provinces and two autonomous cities span an area of 297,770 sq km and over 22 million people. Ceres is the nation's capital and largest metropolis, and other major cities include Arsa, Corbo, Miron, Gana, Cierala, and Urtedo. The Government of Ebrary is an Amendant Christian authoritarian state which includes elements of a presidential republic and theocracy, with a large amount of authority vested in the "Sovereign Protector".
Ebrary was long inhabited by the Old Ebrarians, Geltic tribes who inhabited the area roughly coinciding with modern Ebrary. Ebrary was settled by Aroman-speaking Christian settlers during the fifth to seventh centuries, who eventually developed a common ethno-cultural identity as Ebrarians. Ebrary became a unified kingdom in the 10th century upon being conquered by the King of Vorstland, and during the 16th century, Ebrary became the center of the Amendant Reformation. Following the Ebrarian Civil War, the Republic of Ebrary was declared in 1932. However, efforts to nationalize its major industries and curb foreign ownership in the economy led to a foreign-backed coup in 1943 and the reinstatement of the monarchy. After the Ebrarian Revolution, the current Christian Commonwealth was established in 1983 by Daniel Lucas, who became the country's first (and current) Sovereign Protector.
Etymology and name
When the area now known as Ebrary was settled by the Aroman-speaking conquerors in the 5th century CE, they were led by General Marcus Ebraius to conquer and settle the coast of the nation. Originally the settlers referred to the country as Ebrarae, and made Ebrarius one of their ruling Consuls. By the 7th century, the Ebrarian chronicles began referring to the region as Ebraria in extant sources. The Anglish exonym "Ebrary" is derived from the native name Ebraria.
The full name of Ebrary in Ebrarese is Republica Christian de Ebraria, which directly translates to "Christian Republic of Ebrary". However, it is the preference of the government of Ebrary that the nation be referred to as the Christian Commonwealth of Ebrary in the Anglish language or the equivalent term in other languages.
History
(OOC: History section is definitely in rough draft status.)
Pre-Aroman era
The Old Ebrarian (Ebraro-Geltic) culture developed from the 6th century BCE, and possibly as early as the 5th century BCE, in the western and southern coasts of the Ebrarian peninsula. The Old Ebrarians lived in villages and walled-towns, and their communities were tribal in organization. The Old Ebrarians in the southern coasts were more urbanized than their inland neighbors to the north. The Old Ebrarian peoples were by and large Geltic, and had an understanding of metalworking, writing, and agriculture.
By the 5th century AD, Ateenian raiders had established a number of small-scale settlements along the southern coast of Ebrary, pacifying a portion of the local Gelts. These settlements allowed Ateenians strategic bases for raiding other areas. Piracy perpetrated by the Geltic inhabitants also flourished at this time, making Ebrary a source of instability in the North Adlantic.
Aroman settlement period
Knowledge of the Aroman settlement period is drawn from a number of sources, chiefly the account Victor Ex Ebrarae written by Marcus Ebraius detailing his conquest of southern Ebrary and subsequent establishment of the city of Ceres. Other sources include a few extant Aroman writings which mention Ebraius or the latter migration of Aromans to settle Ebrary. The Aroman settlement of Ebrary is principally thought to have occurred from the early fifth to mid-seventh centuries.
The period began with a series of military campaigns led by Aroman statesman and general Marcus Ebraius from 403-415 CE, where his army progressively conquered the lands of southern Ebrary and founded the city of Ceres. Ebraius states his task was God-given, and his efforts to forcibly convert the Ebraro-Geltic inhabitants and rid the area of pagan raiders and pirates are likened to a sort of proto-crusade by many historians. The city of Ceres, now the capital city of Ebrary, was established in 413 at the location of the Ebraro-Geltic village of Kenfar.
After word of the successful conquest reached the Aroman Empire, a steady flow of Christian migrants from all walks of life took the oceanic journey to Ebrary. It is thought that a majority came from core areas of the empire. It is estimated a large portion of them died en route of disease, ill-weather, or raiding by Ebraro-Geltic and Ateenian raiders, but a large number eventually settled in temperate Ebrary. Ebraius established Ceres as an independent polis, himself being made the first Consul of the new city and having a republican government complete with a Senate. Other Aroman settlements established their own independent governments, with only a tentative allegiance to Ceres.
After the death of Ebraius, migration from the Aroman Empire began to wane but did not completely cease for some number of years. Settlers from Europa and native-born Aroman-Ebrarians founded multiple settlements inland, and the Aromano-Ebrarian Confederacy began to develop as a loose confederation of independently-governed city states in Ebrary.
Genetic markers of Aroman migrations
Genetic testing has confirmed the large-scale migration of Aroman peoples to Ebrary, tentatively supporting the conclusion that the Aromance-speaking incomers, while contributing substantially to the current Ebrarian gene pool, did not replace the previous Ebrarian population. A study in 2002 by the Ebrarian Institute of Sciences found evidence of a large Aroman migration from the Europan continent, impacting 60-100% of the male gene pool in southern Ebrary. However, this and other similar studies have been criticized with claims that genetic similarity could be rooted in earlier, prehistoric movements of peoples. However, in 2017, three studies were published, based on data collected from skeletons found in Old Ebrarian, Aroman, and late medieval era graves in Ceres, Gana, and Cierala, concluded that the ancestry of the modern Ebrarian population contains large contributions from both Aroman migrants and Ebraro-Geltic natives, as well as a small but statistically significant Nordic contribution.
Ebrarian confederacy
Ceres remained the largest and preeminent city in Ebrary, but other cities rose to prominence as well. The three Ceresian Wars occurred in the 7th and 8th centuries, where the city-state of Ceres tried and failed to conquer multiple other Ebrarian city-states. It was also during this era that the Bishop of Ceres successfully established the autocephalous Orthodox church in Ebrary. Ebrary also engaged in a number of wars with Geltic tribal confederations and principalities. Eventually, Gelts in the far west of modern Ebrary established the Kingdom of Gallasia in the middle of the 6th century, which maintained its independence from the Ebrarians for centuries.
Ateenian raiders continued their raids on Ebrarian coastal settlements, with the Ebrarians largely unable to coordinate and repel them due to their loose organization. Due to this pressure, Ebrarians continued to settle further inland until pushing against a unified Kingdom of Gallasia and allied Geltic tribes. Multiple monasteries and cathedrals were completely ransacked during this time.
An army known by Ebrarians as the "Grand Pagan Host" invaded an area of northern Ebrary inhabited largely by unorganized Geltic tribes and small Ebrarian settlements and established the Kingdom of Vorstland centered on the city of Egschwil. These initial Vorstish conquests and migrations occurred c. 705-716. The origins of the Vorstish people are historically uncertain, but the Vorstish language is linguistically related to the languages of other peoples who historically practiced Odinistic religions. The Vorstish Kingdom was eventually Christianized when their king converted to Ebrarian Orthodoxy in 745.
Vorstish Conquest and foundation of the Ebrarian Kingdom
In 765, the Vorstish King began a series of conquests of Ebrarian city-states, which culminated in the conquest of Ceres in 777 and the crowning of King Alsting by the Bishop of Ceres as the King of Ebrary in 780. A handful of small wars eventually pacified the east of the country by the end of the century. During this time, the Vorstish people were heavily influenced by Ebrarian culture, and it is in this time period which historians point to the Vorstish people as becoming "culturally Christian." The Vorstish kings would rule Ebrary and Vorstland separately in personal union until the Veno Revolt established an Ebrarian dynasty as rulers of the Kingdom of Ebrary. Due to being united and under personal union with Vorstland, Ebrary was able to better defend against continued coastal raids by Ateenians. While the raids declined in number, they did not conclusively end until well into the 9th century.
Ebrarian War of Liberation and Veno era
The Ebrarian War of Independence began as a revolt of peasants in southern Ebrary, which quickly saw Ebrarian nobles rise up in arms also and fight against the increasingly burdensome rule of the Vorstish Konger dynasty. Jon of Veno, a minor noble from Patriana, distinguished himself as a brilliant general and was crowned King Jon of Ebrary in 1099. The House of Veno would continue to rule Ebrary for two centuries. Ebrary and Vorstland became bitter rivals for a century after the war. Ebrary later conquered the Kingdom of Gallasia (1126-1129).
Amendant Reformation and Borth era
In 1502 the Ebrarian Church separated from the wider Orthodox communion when King Charles 'the Greedy' declared himself head of the church in Ebrary in order to expropriate church lands and wealth for the use of the Ebrarian state. This caused a break in communion with other autocephalous churches in the Orthodox communion. Discontentment with the state of the church ultimately led the priest August Roel to publish his "Proposal for Amending the Church" in Miron in 1513. Due to the weakening nature of the Ebrarian monarch, and a succession of short-lived kings after the death of Charles, the Amendant Reformation spread throughout Ebrary and Vorstland.
August Roel founded the first Parishist church independent of the Church of Ebrary in 1518, after being tried in absentia for heresy and excommunicated from the church. Other Amendant groups arose after this event, chiefly Christenism and the Sanctity movement. Roel (himself of Vorstish descent) fled to Vorstland where a number of nobles had converted to Parishism, while in Ebrary the Amendant Reformation continued to spread among the populace and minor nobility. Vorstish King Gustav II of House Borth converted to Parishism and granted general religious tolerance for all Christians in Vorstland in 1555 and elevated the Parishist Church in Vorstland to the status of the national church. Gustav II then inherited the throne of Ebrary in 1567 and instituted reforms to scale back the corruption which had plagued the Church of Ebrary, and appointed Amendant theologians to positions of leadership. This heralded the complete break of the Church of Ebrary with the Orthodox communion, and its reinvention as a national church. In 1560, Gustav II extended general tolerance of most Christians to the lands of Ebrary as well.
Vorstland continued to be in personal union with Ebrary until a member of the Ebrarian House of Lecua inherited the throne of both countries in 1702. Vorstland was incorporated as a realm of Ebrary in 1710, which sparked the two-year Vorstish Revolt of nobility in northern Vorstland. The revolt ended in defeat for the rebels, and Vorstland has remained a constituent part of Ebrary since that time.
Return of native rule
The last king of House Borth died and the throne of Ebrary passed to an Ebrarian nobleman.
Civil War and Republican era
The Ebrarian Civil War lasted from 1920-1932 and ended in a victory for Republican forces. Ebrary became a liberal democracy.
Coup and restoration of the monarchy
A Socialist won the presidency of Ebrary and began to nationalize the natural gas, coal, and tungsten extraction industries. For some time these had been controlled by foreign companies. A coup backed by foreign intelligence agencies occured in 1943 and reestablished the monarchy. The monarchy proved unpopular and extremist elements, including religious nationalists as well as separatists, began to grow in numbers.
Ebrarian Revolution and aftermath
The Ebrarian Revolution happened between 1980 and 1982 led by Daniel Lucas, with the current constitution being drafted in 1983. The king was overthrown and exiled, and the current political system with Christian theocratic elements was put in place.
Geography
Ebrary's large territory covers 297,770 km2 (114,970 miles2) and spans diverse geographical regions with access to the ocean. Geography ranges from the Gallasian mountains, hills in the west, the Ceres Delta Region, and the West Ebrarian Plains. The climate is mostly humid continental throughout the country (Dwa in the west, Dwb in the east), with some subarctic climate in the northwest of the country. Generally, Ebrary experiences dry winters and wet summers, with hot summers in the west and warm summers in the east. The eastern side of Ebrary is also known as having a hemiboreal climate midway between the temperate and subarctic climates.
Economy
Ebraria is an upper-middle income[1] mixed economy. From the 1940s to the 1970s, Ebraria transformed into a moderately industrialized economy with notable scientific and technological research output. The 1980-1982 Ebrarian Revolution and the adoption of extreme economic protectionism via restrictions on exports and imports, in an attempt by the new regime to achieve economic autarky, led to a sharp decrease in industrial and agricultural output. This significant rise in tariffs ultimately led to the 1985-86 Ebrarian Depression. Afterwards, the country loosened trade restrictions, but still had significant barriers to trade in many sectors. Ebrary has a heavily unionized economy, with around 65% of the Ebrarian labor force unionized. Significant barriers to economic growth in Ebrary include below-replacement fertility, significant tariffs, and an inflexible labor market with low labor force participation of women.
Mining and resource extraction
Mining is an important part of the Ebrarian economy, and provides a significant proportion of Ebrary's exports. Mining is generally performed by private corporations, although the industry is heavily unionized and regulated. Significant coal deposits are primarily found in the mountains and hills of Gallasia, and large tungsten and manganese mines operate in the plains in the east of the country. Jobs related to mining and resource extraction constitute approximately 4.5% of the nation's employment, and prospects are good for further growth in this field.
Agriculture
Approximately 70% of Ebrarian agricultural exports are beef products. Cattle is primarily raised on ranchos (ranches) in the eastern provinces. While the state provides significant tax breaks and subsidies to family-owned and worker-owned ranches, the share of cattle produced by corporate-owned farms has increased sharply in the last decade. Most Ebrarian cattle are traditionally of the long-haired Miron breed, which descend from cross-breeding of the cattle brought to Ebrary from Europa by Aroman settlers and the cattle of the original Ebraro-Geltic inhabitants. The Miron cattle are hearty and able to survive the cold Ebrarian winters. Ebrary also has a large tobacco industry, as it bans the import of all foreign tobacco products. While the smoking rate in Ebrary has declined, the usage of Ebrarian snus has marginally increased and Ebrarian officials have taken little action to reduce tobacco usage. The very warm to hot summer weather in most of the country permits crops such as maize and wheat to be grown at high yields, and soybeans, flax, millet, and barley are also produced in notable quantities.
Manufacturing and industry
Most of Ebrary's industry was heavy industry from the 1940s to 1970s. Because Ebrarian industry was configured to export markets, the loss of those markets due to the adoption of heavy tariffs and domestic quotas led to a depression in manufacturing output in the mid-1980s. After showing growth in 1995, Ebrary's industrial sector has grown slowly but steadily into the early 2000s. The performance of individual manufacturing industries has been uneven, however. Food processing and tobacco processing has increased in the following decades while, textile processing generally has declined. Natural gas and coal generally survived the economic shocks of the late-20th century due to continued domestic demand for the products. Production of automobiles, locomotive, buses, and trucks still has not recovered to former capacity, although agricultural machinery is being produced in increasing quantities.
Infrastructure
The Ebrarian road system is mostly centralized around the capital, with five limited-access highways connecting Ceres to Gallasia, Egschwil, Galava, Adansema, and Lecua. There are also two highways along the western and eastern coasts, respectively. All public and private bus fleets are required to be natural gas vehicles (NGV), and either run solely on natural gas or be bi-fuel vehicles. The Ebrarian military also runs the majority of its transportation vehicles and armored fighting vehicles with retrofitted bi-fuel NGV/diesel engines. Approximately 4.5% of the registered civilian vehicles in Ebrary are either full NGVs or bi-fuel vehicles. Conversion kits for both diesel and gasoline engines are subsidized by the national government, and the NGV share of the Ebrarian automotive fleet continues to increase. Approximately 0.4% of automobiles in Ebrary are electric vehicles.
The Corporation Ferrovia National de Ebraria (CFN) is the state-owned railway corporation of Ebraria, which owns and operates the commercial and passenger rail lines in Ebrary. Ebrary has an extensive railway network, but it is not well-maintained and the locomotive fleet is outdated. Since 2018, the Ebrarian government has been funding research into transitioning the CFN locomotive fleet to natural gas engines.
Ebrary has an extensive land-line telephone network that covers nearly the entirety of the population, as well as relatively sizable coverage by cellular phones on a national scale. Since 1998, the Ebrarian government has banned residential buildings from having access to the internet, and cellular phones have been banned from accessing the internet since 2003. However, commercial enterprises, educational institutions, and government offices are able to use the internet for business and research purposes only. Currently, the internet is accessed via dial-up outside of major metropolitan areas. Private individuals are still able to own and operate computers, but their adoption has been restricted to a few hobbyists due to the lack of internet proliferation. Fax machines are still widely used as a primary form of business and personal communication due to the lack of email.
Energy
Ebrary has moderate but steadily growing energy needs, and produces an increasing majority of its own energy in a concerted effort by policymakers to attain full energy self-sufficiency. The state-owned Compania Methano de Ebraria (CME) manages and extracts Ebrary's ample natural gas resources, which exist almost entirely off its eastern shore. Approximately 55% of Ebrary's energy needs are met by natural gas power plants controlled and operated by CME. Large coal deposits also provide approximately 22% of the country's electricity. Ebrary is a net exporter of both coal and natural gas. 7% of Ebrary's energy needs are met with renewable resources such as wind, solar, and biofuel.
Electricity and other utilities are provided to commercial and residential end-users via government chartered consumer cooperative corporations, except in Gallasia where these companies are operated by municipal governments.
Science and technology
Publicly-funded research is managed by a government-run system of grants to universities and corporations, while private funding for research and development makes up about half of total funding in the country. Ebrarian research and development in recent years has been largely geared toward developing more efficient natural gas vehicles, and improvements in natural gas extraction and the mining of coal and other resources. The country lags significantly behind in the domain of software development and computer science.
Government and Politics
Ebrary is governed under a system outlined in the Ebrarian Constitution of 1983. Ebrary has a syncretic political system which combines aspects of a Christian dominionist theocracy with representative democracy.
Parties and elections
Ebrary has operated under a three-party system since 1991, when the Center Reformist Party (Partito Reformator Centro; PRC) was formed, which is currently the largest party in Ebrary. The other two major parties are the Ecumenical Dominionist Party (Partito Dominionista Ecumenic; PDE) and the Farmer-Labor Party (Partito del Fermeros e Laboratores; PFL). The Center Reformist Party is generally considered to be center to center-right in orientations, while the Farmer-Labor Party is considered center-left, and the Ecumenical Dominionist Party is right-wing to far-right. There are other political parties in Ebrary, but they do not hold any seats. A party may be banned by the High Ecumenical Council for reasons of promoting unchristian or unpatriotic values.
Voting rights are extended to all Christian male citizens, with membership in an approved trinitarian church, who have reached the age of 21, and who have completed national service and have not been convicted of a felony offense. Voting rights have also been granted to unmarried widows over the age of 25, provided they too show acceptable church membership and have not been convicted of a felony.
Currently, the Popular Assembly is controlled by a coalition of Center Reformists and the Farmer-Labor Party, and the Senate is narrowly controlled by the Ecumenical Dominionist Party. The current President is Carlos Renaldo, a Center Reformist who heads a "unity cabinet" which incorporates members of each party proportional to each party's representation in the Popular Assembly.
Sovereign Protector
The head of state of Ebrary is known as Sovereign Protector, who heads the High Ecumenical Council. The office is held for life, and an individual can only be removed from office by a 4/5ths vote of the Supreme Court. The protector exercises a veto power over laws passed in the Parliament, may refer any law to review by the Supreme Court prior to enactment into law, appoints certain seats in the Senate, may dissolve the Parliament, has the right to attend cabinet meetings, moderates and votes in meetings of the High Ecumenical Council, and can refer treaties to popular referendum. Upon the death, resignation, or removal of a Sovereign Protector, the Senate and High Ecumenical Council will vote on a replacement in a joint session.
High Ecumenical Council
The High Ecumenical Council, also known as the High Council or Ebrarian High Council, is an 11-member council which wields considerable influence and power in Ebrary. The President of the Council is the Sovereign Protector of Ebrary, while the other members are selected by various organized religious denominations in Ebrary. Members serve at the leisure of the religious denomination they represent, and can be recalled by them at any time. Newly-appointed members may also be rejected by a 2/3rds vote of the existing members, but there is no mechanism for unseating a member which has already been seated other than recall by their denomination. The council has direct control, with no court supervision, over the law directly concerning marriage, divorce, burials, inheritance, adultery, sodomy, and the sabbath. Otherwise, the council is empowered to make edicts with the force of law concerning any other matter, but these edicts may be later rejected by the Parliament or struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. The Christian Defense Legion, a paramilitary organization whose commander-in-chief is the Sovereign Protector, is under the jurisdiction of the council.
President and cabinet
The head of government of Ebrary is the President, who is elected by an instant-runoff voting method to a five-year term with a two term limit. The power of the president includes the execution and enforcement of national law, and the responsibility to appoint national executive, diplomatic, regulatory, and judicial officers, and some seats in the Senate. The president is also commander-in-chief of the Ebrarian armed forces, excepting the Christian Defense Legion. While a veto is reserved solely to the Sovereign Protector, the president may introduce bills directly to the Popular Assembly for consideration, review, and voting, and call a special meeting of Parliament in the event of a national emergency.
The Cabinet of Ebrary consists of the heads of the executive branch's national ministerial departments, appointed by the president, with approval of the Senate. All members of the cabinet serve at the leisure of the president. The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed office-holders in the executive branch as Cabinet-level members of the Cabinet. The Sovereign Protector also holds the right to attend Cabinet meetings, although he is not considered a de jure member of the Cabinet.
Legislature
The national legislature of Ebrary is the bicameral Parliament, made up of the Senate and the Popular Assembly. The Parliament makes national law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove the President and sitting members of the cabinet and the judiciary. The Parliament may, by a 4/5ths vote of the Popular Assembly and a 3/5ths vote of the Senate, override a veto by the Sovereign Protector.
The Senate is the upper house, with 40 appointed members who serve life terms. Senate appointments are allocated to different institutions in the government and Ebrarian society. The Ecumenical High Council, Sovereign Protector, President, Ecclesiastical Amendant Church, Christenist Union, and the Theology School at Ceres University all appoint varying numbers of Senators, and two seats are hereditary seats. The Senate regulates its own membership and may vote by a 2/3rds majority to unseat one of its own members at any time, but the Sovereign Protector may reinstate a Senator whom he believes was wrongfully unseated. The Senate is presided over by the Consul, who is selected from amongst its membership by a simple majority of Senators. The Consul holds the ability to break a tie vote if the occasion occurs.
The Popular Assembly comprises 125 members directly elected by the people of Ebrary using mixed-member proportional representation, where each voter places a vote for his single-seat constituency and one for a political party. It is presided over by the Speaker of the Popular Assembly, who is generally a member of the largest political party in the assembly. Seats are apportioned to the various provinces and two independent cities proportionally.
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the highest authority concerning the interpretation of the Ebrarian Constitution, and is made up of 9 members who serve until they reach the age of 75. Justices of the Supreme Court are selected by the President of Ebrary and approved by a simple-majority in the Senate. On matters not concerning those which the High Ecumenical Council has supremacy, the court may strike down laws or council edicts and interpret their meaning in light of the meaning of the constitution and "Christian morality".
Military and national service
National service
All males over the age of 17 are required by the Ebrarian Constitution to spend an allotted period of time performing national service before their 25th birthday. For males, engaging in national service in the allotted time-frame is a requirement for voting. Those with severe disabilities or criminal records may be disqualified from national service. The Ebrarian constitution does not specify the method and time period which this national service will take, but legislation has defined three methods to engage in national service. Ebrarians who enroll in career military service are exempted from further service, and are considered to have completed national service. The National Service program is administered by the Directorate of National Service.
Most Ebrarians elect to serve six months in either the Army Training Corps or Navy Training Corps, where they are taught basic combat and afterwards make up the bulk of Ebrary's military reserves. It is also common for those in the Army Training Corps to be assigned to patrol the Ebrarian land border. Ebrarians may also serve eight months in either the Ebrarian Conservation Corps, which engages in environmental work on public lands and disaster relief, or eight months in the Foreign Missionary Corps, which sends Ebrarians with sufficient Biblical literacy abroad to act as missionaries for the government-funded Worldwide Amendant Missions. The majority of Ebrarians who serve in civilian national service are either medically disallowed from service in the military or a member of a Christian denomination practicing nonviolence, such as the Lamenters, but this is not a requirement and civilian service can be chosen entirely due to personal preference.
Ebrarian Armed Forces
There are currently 89,580 active duty members of the Ebrarian Armed Forces. Military of the Christian Commonwealth of Ebrary comprises:
- Army
- Navy
- Air Force
- Coast Guard
Christian Defense Legion
Christian Defense Legion (paramilitary) 5,453 members
Provinces and autonomous cities
Ebrary has eleven provinces, two of which (Vorstland and Gallasia) have greater autonomy than the other nine, as well as two independent cities (Ceres and Egschwil). Because Ebrary is a unitary and not a federal state, the Ebrarian provinces and independent cities are granted devolved powers by the national government.
Ebrary's independent cities are governed by an elected mayor and elected city councils, which function similarly to other municipal governments but also retain the powers devolved to Ebrary's nine standard provinces. Ebrary's nine regular provinces all have elected Provincial Councils, which can legislate in limited areas defined by national legislation. As established in the Autonomous Provinces Act (1986), the autonomous provinces of Vorstland and Gallasia have much greater powers, with elected Provincial Assemblies, elected Governor-Presidents, and a regional cabinet and bureaucracy. Powers devolved to autonomous provinces include the ability to determine matters of education, tourism, property taxes, animal welfare, the provision of utilities, cultural promotion, and more. The governments and legislatures of all provinces and independent cities may be dissolved at any time by the Ebrarian Parliament. The Ebrarian government may legislate in matters that are not devolved, as well as legislate in areas that are devolved, and national law and regulation always takes precedence over provincial law and regulation.
List of provinces and autonomous cities
| Name | Capital | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Aberna | TBD | Province |
| Adansema | TBD | Province |
| Ceres | N/A | Autonomous city |
| Egschwil | N/A | Autonomous city |
| Etria | Miron | Province |
| Galava | TBD | Province |
| Gallasia | Vugo | Autonomous province |
| Laverna | Urtedo | Province |
| Lecua | TBD | Province |
| Opa | TBD | Province |
| Patriana | TBD | Province |
| Rothnacia | TBD | Province |
| Vorstland | TBD | Autonomous province |
Demographics
According to the 2020 Ebrarian census, Ebrary's population was 22,130,469. Its population is expected to decline gradually as a result of sub-replacement fertility rates and negative net migration rate.
Ethnicity
The majority of Ebrarians are ethnic Ebrarians, whose language Ebrarese is an East-Arhomance or Amutian language derived from dialects spoken in the Aroman Empire with some West-Arhoman and Buranic influence. The Gallasian minority are a Geltic group which constitutes Ebrary's largest minority and find their homeland in the province of Gallasia. The Vorstish people have their homeland in the province of Vorstland and speak a Nordish language.
Language
The sole official and national language of Ebrary is Ebrarese. Census figures state that 96.7% of Ebrarians are proficient or better in Ebrarese, and 81% of Ebrarian residents primarily speak Ebrarese in the home. The Vorstish language holds official status in the province of Vorstland, and the Gallasian language holds official status in the province of Gallasia. Both Vorstish and Gallasian are almost exclusively spoken by their corresponding ethnic group, and have been slowly declining in number of speakers since the early 1900s.
The vast majority of Ebrarians over the age of 35 do not speak a second language. However, due to increased language education, approximately two thirds of Ebrarians under 35 report speaking more than one language. The most common foreign language spoken in Ebrary is Laimiaic, with Anglish also being popular.
Religion
While Ebrary has no established church, the official religious doctrine of the state is Amendantism. Male citizens who profess to be trinitarian Christians are granted full voting rights in Ebrary, assuming other qualifications are also met. Non-Christians are not forbidden to be residents of Ebrary, but they must register with the state and cannot evangelize within the country.
Amendantism is the dominant religious grouping in Ebrary, accounting for about 95% of all Ebrarians. Ebraricist Christians collectively form the largest religious denomination in Ebrary, all belonging to the Ecclesiastical Amendant Church of Ebrary. Other Amendant categories include Christenists, the Sanctity movement, Parishists, and Lamenters. The largest non-Amendant Christian groups are the Orthodox Aroman Church in Ebrary and Ebrarian Orthodox Catholic Church.
Education
Public education in Ebrary is administered by the national government, except in the autonomous provinces of Gallasia and Vorstland where it is administered by the provincial governments. Education in Ebrary is mandatory from age 5, up to the age of 18 in Gallasia and 17 in the rest of the country. The Ministry of Education administers the educational system and also provides funding to the provincial education systems in the two autonomous provinces. The government provides free education for grades 1 to 10 and two years of free optional vocational training or community college. A minimum level of Bible education is a mandatory subject in all Ebrarian schools, technical schools, and universities.
There is also an extensive network of private, religious primary and secondary schools. Secular schools are banned, so a school must be sponsored or connected to a church organization in Ebrary to legally operate in the country. The Ministry of Education runs a voucher system and a private school receives fixed per pupil funding from the Ministry of Education, as well as being required to teach a minimum curriculum. There are no regulations on the tuition and fees a private school may charge, so the cost of a private education typically exceeds that of the voucher.
Universities in Ebrary are a mix of publicly run institutions and church-run universities.
Healthcare
Healthcare accounts for approximately 7.5% of Ebrary's GDP and the public and private sectors are both involved. The government mandates participation for every employed person in a national medical savings account system, and mandates the purchase of health insurance by all employed persons who meet a government-defined income minimum. Health insurance may be purchased directly from non-profit corporations or from labor unions. All children 12 and under[2] and those unemployed or under the income minimum are provided health insurance by the National Christian Healthcare Fund, a government managed health insurance fund. Ebrarians over the age of 65, widows over the age of 60, and those who are disabled are enrolled in the Special Medical and Pharmaceutical Fund, which provides coverage more generous than the National Christian Healthcare Fund. The national government operates a network of public hospitals which compete directly with private hospitals, and all private and public hospitals are required to accept payment from all government and private health insurance schemes. A subsidy scheme exists for those on low income to fund their medical savings accounts.
Culture
Ebrarian culture is an Arhomance culture with heavy influences from Geltic and Nordish people. The culture of Ebrary, especially since the 1980-82 Christian Revolution, is strongly religious. Traditional Christian gender roles in Ebrary are upheld strongly, and the government actively promotes a collectivist family-oriented culture.
Notable landmarks
Literature and art
Philosophy and theology
Ebrarian philosophy originates from Aroman roots, with the Ancient Laimaic philosophy having great influence. The writings of Marcus Augur, son of Marcus Ebraius, combined cynicism with early Christian doctrine and had a great influence in the days of the Ebrarian confederacy.
More modern Ebrarian thought since the Amendant Reformation has focused on theology and Amendant Christian apologetics. Notable theologians during and since the Reformation include August Roel, Jon Vulpe, and Daniel Lucas.
Cinema
Cuisine
Ebrarian cuisine has been influenced by Aroman and Geltic cuisine, but also shares some similarities with other cuisines in the northern latitudes. Beef and chicken are the most important types of meat, but pork, lamb, and fish are also popular. Ebrary has a long tradition of beer and whiskey production. Ceriso is a type of whiskey legally only allowed to be produced in the Ceres Delta Region, and uses water from the nation's rivers in its production and a specific local mode of production.
Sport
Forms of football have been played in Ebrary as far back as the Aroman settlement, and sports in Ebrary has been dominated by association football since the late 19th century. The two most popular football teams in Ebrary are Ceres Unite and Urtedo Citate.
Another very popular sport in Ebrary is bull fighting, although the autonomous Province of Vorstland has banned the practice in their jurisdiction. Other sports with notable popularity in Ebrary are basketball, motor racing, horse racing, ice hockey, and boxing. Boxing was banned by the High Ecumenical Council in 1990, but the efforts were largely ineffective, and the ban was lifted in 1994.
Public holidays and festivals
Ebrary celebrates a variety of Christian, national, and local holidays. The most important holidays celebrated in Ebrary are the Feast of St. Ebraius (Sept. 29), Ebrary Day, Dominion Day, Easter, and Christmas.
