Camia

Republic of Camia Camia, 昭昌
Motto: Vi(s) et voluntas/tes (by) strength and will
Anthem: Blood of our forefathers
Map of Camia
Capital	Cooking / Tiung-kyaeng (中京)
Official languages	Tyrannian, Shinasthana
Demonym(s)	Camian
Government	Unitary presidential republic
• President	A.B.
• Vice President	C.D.
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Commons
Independence from Themiclesia  (Sept. 29, 1703)
• Din dynasty established	Jan. 5, 1701
• First Republic established	Oct. 3, 1757
• Second Republic established	Mar. 21, 1799
• Military dictatorship	Feb. 29, 1872
• Second Republic restored	Feb. 5, 1893
Population
• 2017 estimate	19,254,200 (31)
• Density	69/km2 (178.7/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2018 estimate
• Total	$758,394,000,000 (36)
• Per capita	$39,894 (17)
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	$690,188,000,000 (31)
• Per capita	$36,315 (21)
Currency	hyan (緍) (HYA)
Time zone	UTC+2
Date format	yyyy-mm-dd
Driving side	right
Calling code	+3
Internet TLD	.cm

The Republic of Camia is a country on the western coast of the Halu'an Sea, in the western part of the continent Hemithea. It borders Suularko to the north and Novnoebiya to the west. The county has 19.25 million inhabitants, and its capital city, Tiung-kyaeng, is situated to the northeast.

Name

The capital city's name, Cooking, is an imprecise transliteration of the Themiclesian name Tiung-kyaeng (中京, lit. "middle capital"). Tiung-kyaeng was originally named Yen-k'ang (延康, lit. "prolong prosperity") under the Din Dynasty and the First Republic. It is a popular myth that the original name references the name of the Themiclesian capital Kien-k'ang (建康, lit. "establish properity"), signifying a cultural tie with Themiclesia, the metrepole of Camia during the colonial period. But Yen-k'ang, long before being capital city of Camia, already bore that name, so it is unlikely this name was chosen to depict Camia as a successor to Themiclesia. Nevertheless, this myth was taken as fact during the Revolution of 1799 and changed to Tiung-kyaeng, to sever the semantic connection to Themiclesia.

History

Themiclesian rule

Under the direction of Emperor Tjaw-mjen (孟昭文帝, mrangs-tjaw-mjen-tis) of the Meng Dynasty (孟, 543–752), Themiclesia began to fortify the trade routes its merchants treaded, establishing several fortifications along them. During this period, these fortifications did not, generally, attempt or imply control over territory beyond the routes. In the following Dziai Dynasty (齊, 752–1020), these fortifications were used to establish military dominance over aboriginal societies in their vicinities; in 815, a marshalling of all fortresses' soldiers in one expedition overwhelmed the aboriginal coalition decisively at modern-day Keuruu, which affirmed Themiclesia's political dominance over the continent. In reference to contrasting architecture, they named Themiclesians as the "People of the Wide House". Later in the Dziai Dynasty, the continent was split into two regions; the area east of the Camian Mountains was called the Left, and west of it, the Right. In contrast with the Meng policy of appeasement and gift-exchanges, the Dziai regarded any non-submitting aboriginals as non-human and permitted its soldiers to do whatever they liked with them; since these soldiers were mostly violent (or even organized) criminals, disputes regularly occurred between them, merchants, and aboriginals.

The aggressive policy and poor conduct of Themiclesian soldiers encouraged alliances to form between aboriginal societies and the emergent Hallian settlers, who were more willing to interact as peers and with less coercion.

Colonial administration

In 1529, after the Yi dynasty of Menghe collapsed, Themiclesia rebuilt its navy in an attempt to recover positions it lost in Meridia in the late 1300s. Combined with increasing Casaterran presence on the Columbia, it also decided that a regular army was needed to address Casaterran threats. A regular army was built because settlement in the continent was insufficient to sustain a militia, like the government preferred. When it came to selecting troops, most of the prefectural militias were entirely distraught at the thought of being stationed for years or decades in a foreign land, without contact with their families; local gentry also did not wish to depopulate Themiclesia by encouraging emigration, which would reduce their source of tenants. In 1530 it was decided to conscript recidivist, violent criminals, mostly coming form local revolts and groups of highwaymen and bandits; in the edict, it is said that if "some are incurably violent, then let them be violent where it helps the country". While the effectiveness of such an army was questionable, it was an improvement over having no army at all. To secure their loyalties, the state offered to award them ten kw'rjiang of land in Camia and indemnity for their prevoius crimes, upon completion of a very long (usually 16 to 20 years) term of service. This army was then merged into the system of fortifications that dotted the trade routes, which had begun to expand into communities through unsanctioned settlement. These fortifications were originally managed by the Department of Ports and Passes, under which they served a notionally financial—collecting tolls on passing persons and duties on goods—purpose; after their merger, they became known as the Colonial Army. A similar model was pursued to fortify Meridian positions.

The history of the Colonial Army would prove inextricable from that of early Camia. The colony was formally divided into counties in 1536, conceding to the existence of large agricultural and commercial communities forming there. The original land grants to the criminal soldiers, at ten kw'rjiang per capita, ultimately meant to isolate them and lead an existence in solitude, was exceedingly generous compared to land grants to peasants (at 0.1 kw'rjiang) and militiamen (at 0.2 kw'rjiang) in Themiclesia-proper. It is believed that the court did not want these former criminals to form communities and trade with each other, so they had to be given enough land to produce everything they needed; it was indeed seen that grants typically had both arable areas and woodlands. But with tales of former criminals enjoying vast swathes of virgin land, landless tenants began to emigrate to the west, seeking to become a tenant to these landlords who were desperate for assistance. With a surge in population in the 1500s, disinherited young men have been known to commit capital crimes to be sent into the Colonial Army, for itsgenerous terms. Soon, the government recognized this absurdity and permitted landless vagrants to join its ranks. Yet since the Colonial Army was originally a penal unit, the government often ordered it to engage recklessly, without due regard for their lives. Conversely, it was also not as tightly disciplined and supervised as the home militia, and violence within the ranks was virtually unchecked. Enlistment was therefore considered both dangerous and disreputable, suitable for the destitute, vagrants, and roughs who had "nothing but a body to offer".

In 1585, the Camian Colonial Army was divided into the Left Division and Right Division. It was briefly considered in Themiclesia to place them under the War Secretary's jurisdiction, but they remained under the Appropriations Secretary. Ultimately, this may be connected to their early reliance upon the Navy's armoury for weapons and armour, before establishing their own munitions, and shipment of supplies by the Navy. The Navy was, too, under the Appropriations Secretary. Curiously, Themiclesia never established a prefecture in Camia to govern its 36 counties, leaving them answering directly to the central government. Though no discussion survives to shed light why a prefecture did not exist, its effects were profound. The home militia in Themiclesia was organized by prefecture and, during peace, subordinate to the prefecture, but Colonial Army operated without civil control from Camia locally. This has been connected to the Colonial Army's later hubris in dealing with the independent Camian government, disregarding the new civil administration as something it had made possible rather than was deigned to serve.

Politics

Camia is a unitary, presidential republic. The president is directly elected by electors under universal suffrage and serves fixed-length terms of six years; there are no statutory limits on how many terms a president may serve consecutively or in total. The candidate with most votes becomes president, regardless of the actual share of votes he receives. A candidate for the presidency must be at least 40 years of age and an elector. The vice president is elected by the Senate in tandem with the president and serves the same term; each senator has one vote, and the candidate must also be a senator. The candidate that receives a majority of senatorial votes is elected; if no candidate receives a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and another vote is held, and so forth, until a vice president is elected. The incumbent vice president may not seek re-election, though this is a rule established by the standing orders of the Senate, rather than statute. The president is head of state and government, issues ordinances (secondary legislation), appoints civil and military officers, and oversees the executive branch.

The legislature of Camia is bicameral, with a higher house called the Senate and a lower house called the House of Commons. The terms "higher house" and "lower house" are statutory. Each of Camia's 17 prefectures elects one senator for life, though some senators have retired early to make way for new elections, which is believed to be more democratic. As a senatorial term technically is for life, senators-emeriti may not seek re-election to the Senate. The House of Commons is composed of members elected under the first-past-the-post system in single-seat constituencies, each with around 100,000 people. Members serve terms of three years, and there is no limit on re-election. Both houses are co-equal in their powers, except the Senate may not propose or reject bills of supply. Bills must otherwise obtain the support of both houses to become statute.

The judicature of Camia consists of the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, and other courts. Judges and masters (a class of officials who maintain court records) are appointed for life and protected against arbitrary dismissal and reductions in remuneration by the executive; however, they can be imprisoned by higher courts for misbehaviour, without losing their status or income as judges or masters. Statutes maintain that certain qualifications are necessary for the bench, including standards of personal character; the Senate has power to determine if a candidate's personal character is faulty, if the House of Commons requests it. The Supreme Court has original and appellate jurisdiction in all civil and criminal suits, while the Court of Appeal has appellate jurisdiction over the Supreme Court. In certain cases where the Court of Appeal rules that statutes are unclear, the question may be reserved for the Senate, which may resolve the question by a simple majority. The Supreme Court has three benches of six justices each; each case heard by the Supreme Court is decided by one bench. If an appeal is sought, the two benches uninovlved in the present hearing compose of the Court of Appeal.