Cavia
Republic of The Cavian State Cavia | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
Anthem: Forever Onwards | |
 Map of Cavia and the surrounding nations | |
| Capital | Oscar City |
| Largest | Oscar City(33.5 million) |
| Official languages | Cavian |
| Recognised national languages | Cavian |
| Recognised regional languages | Abyssinian, Continental, Crested |
| Ethnic groups | 90.8% Cavian
5.4% Aboriginal Cavian 3.8% Other |
| Demonym(s) | Cavian |
| Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional democracy |
| Mochi Williams | |
• Assistant Minister | Pippin Adams |
| Legislature | Parliament of Cavia |
| National Assembly | |
| Senate | |
| Independence from the Great Ursilian Empire and Divine Empire of Kitsiax | |
• Declared | August 19, 1351 |
• Grand Kingdom of Cavia | September 1, 1351 |
• Treaty of Willstown | September 22, 1354 |
• Republic established | January 25, 1605 |
• Current constitution ratified | May 3, 1605 |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,021,837 km2 (1,166,738 sq mi) (3rd) |
• Water (%) | 0.61% |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate |  945,741,830 (3rd) |
• Density | 312/km2 (808.1/sq mi) (8th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $53.510 trillion (1st) |
• Per capita |  $56,581 (3rd) |
| Gini (2020) |  31.3medium · 7th |
| HDI (2016) | 0.930 very high · 2nd |
| Currency | Porcii ( |
| Time zone | CST+10 |
| CST+11(DST) | |
| Date format | dd-mm-yyyy |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +2 |
| Internet TLD | .cv |
The Republic of the Cavian State, commonly called the Cavian State or Cavia, is a constitutional republic on the continent of North Magnia on the planet of Animalia. The majority of Cavians are comprised of guinea pigs, formally known as the Cavian people. The western Cavian coastline wraps around the Latian Sea, while the less-expansive eastern Cavian coastline borders the Amican Ocean. It is bordered by Lupen, Stalliand and Equifer to the west, Skylia, Ursilon, the Ursilian territory of Ailuria, and Rubria to the north, and Vulpion, as well as the two Cavian protectorates of Cricetinia and Lanichia to the southeast. Cavia covers about 3.02 million square kilometers and has an estimated population of almost 948 million people. Cavia is divided into 20 political subdivisions, called provinces, as well as three royal protectorates, dependent territories belonging to the Cavian crown.
Cavia was established in 1351 when a group of large feudal states declared their joint independence from the Great Ursilian Empire and Divine Empire of Kitsiax who had colonized large swathes of the present-day nation, forming the Grand Kingdom of Cavia. These unified states appointed Oscar Ainsley Jamison, known colloquially as Oscar the Founder, as the first monarch and leader of Cavia. The combined forces of serfs amassed by the Cavian feudal states eventually expelled both colonial governments in a three-year conflict known as the the Cavian War of Independence. Just a quarter-millennium after the nation's establishment, the fractious relationship between the monarchy and peasant class reached a breaking point, and resulted in the Cavian Insurrection, a commoner-led coup d'état that resulted in the overthrow of the Cavian monarchy as the head of government. As a result the Cavian Constitution was signed, establishing the Republic of the Cavian State and democratically-elected parliament while preserving the institution of the royalty by reducing it to a figurehead. The republic has survived to the present day, as has the majority of the framework laid out for the nation by the Consitution. In 1751, a dispute over the throne within the Cavian royal family resulted in the secession of Neo-Abyssinia, a breakaway state located in the eastern reaches of the nation. However, the Cavian Civil War put an end to the young rebel state when the Cavian army summarily defeated the Neo-Abyssinian forces and executed the rebel leaders.
Cavia is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. The current monarch, King Oscar, has reigned since 1980. The capital and largest city is Oscar City, a global city and financial center with a metropolitan area population of over 33 million.
Cavia's advanced economy, owing mainly of extensive international trade networks, abundant natural resources and specialized, skilled workforce, is the strongest in the world with a national GDP of $53.5 trillion. The per capita GDP of $43,019 ranks the nation third in Animalia, although the country also ranks near the top in income inequality for high-income countries. Cavia became the world's first industrialized nation and has since become a world power in the following centuries, establishing itself as one of the most prominent nations in the world, with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific, technological and political influence internationally. The nation ranks among the highest in Animalia in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, political freedoms, quality of life, economic opportunity, press freedom, internet freedom, and qualities of education, healthcare, and other social services administered by the government.
Cavia is a nuclear state and its influence as a world power is evidenced by its status as a founding member of the Animalian Union and its permanent seat on the Union's Directive Committee, and member of major international organizations such as the Global Economic Council (GEC), Grisleton Cooperative Armament Pact (GCAP), Latian Economic Forum (LEF), and M6.
Etymology
The word "cavia" comes from the scientific name for the guinea pig, the species that comprises the Cavian people, the main ethnic group inhabiting Cavia- cavia porcellus. This is widely believed to have been a corruption of the Ruimon civilization's word for 'people', which was pronounced 'kaiva'. Formally, the nation's name as established by the Constitution is the Republic of the Cavian State, and many internal government documents utilize the name 'The Cavian State', however, the far more common name 'Cavia' is used publicly by the government. The standard denonym to refer to Cavia's people is 'Cavian', which can be used as a noun or adjective.
History
Prehistory (before the 9th millennium BC)
The continent of Magnia was formed after it broke off from the supercontinent of Centralis around 1.3 billion years ago due to continental drift. Around 300 million years ago the climate of the planet warmed substantially, giving the Cavia its generally temperate, milder climate.
Approximately one million years ago, animals believed to be the evolutionary ancestors of guinea pigs traveled from South Magnia hoping to find warmer biomes by migrating north. Smaller animals without thick, long fur, settled in present-day Cavia, due to its warm climate- a result of its location on the equator- while the ancestors of larger quadrupeds which exhibited thicker fur- namely bears and canines- settled further northward on the continent.
Over the subsequent one million years, these primordial animals evolved into the current species that occupy the nations of Animalia today. It is believed that the first modern guinea pig, cavia porcellus, settled within present-day mainland Cavia around 250,000 years ago according to the oldest discovered archaelogical records.
Antiquity (9th millennium BC–5th century AD)
The bulk of primitive Cavian artifacts are concentrated around Abyss Bay and the Grayson River estuary. Based upon the age of discovered artifacts, it can be determined that early Cavians ventured up along the riverbanks of the Grayson River into the Cavian Lowlands during the Antelapic Era, the migration taking place gradually over a span of around a millenium- from 12,500 to 11,500 years ago.
The earliest discovered evidence of Cavian agricultural activity was determined to have taken place 8,500 years ago, with early agricultural communities forming and flourishing from the sixth millenium BC onward. Metalworking was discovered by the Ruimon civilization some eight thousand years ago, namely copper smelting conducted with deposits of the mineral which were located modern-day Lapishire, a Cavian region which remains a prominent mining area. The Ruimon are also credited for the invention of writing, as their writing system was standardized into the Early Cavian Logosyllaby around 5,500 years ago by the Ruimon people, and was utilized heavily for record-keeping. Its collapse in the 10th century BC allowed for the rise of the Abyssinian people and the Ar'tugenese Empire, the precursor to the Abyssinian Manor, whose direct descendants would later establish the Cavian monarchy and ascend to the throne.
The Ar'tugenese Empire is responsible for the foundation of the settlement of Ar'tugen- now known as Oscar City- which soon rapidly expanded due to its role as the center of Ar'tugenese government and culture. The hasty development and urbanization of the surrounding areas established Ar'tugen as the first true Cavian city, and despite the gradual decline of the Ar'tugenese Empire's influence over Cavia, Ar'tugen survived as a stronghold of early Abyssinian culture. The Ar'tugenese Empire is also responsible for encouraging the dispersement of the Cavian people throughout much of the current nation's territory, and for developing many of the first permanent settlements in Cavia. By approximately 55 AD, the Empire had completely disintegrated, leaving most former Ar'tugenese cities to govern themselves, with Ar'tugen itself being the largest city-state.
Feudal history (5th century AD–1314)
Well into the Classical Era, the Cavian people developed a manorial system, in which successful agriculturalists with profits generated from crop surpluses attracted workers who tended the fields for their barons or lords, with the lord responsible for providing their serfs with the basic needs required for survival and labor. The manorial system became widespread over the 5th century. The sudden increased need for infrastructure to support serfs and the economic production of manors gave rise to the rapid development of Cavian cities, while the creation of a new aristocracy enabled a blossoming of early Cavian literature and academics, resulting in the First Cavian Golden Age. The four main manors quickly grew into outright civilizations- the Abyssinians, Continentals, Shelties, and Texels each controlled well over a million workers apiece, with the largest, the Abyssinian Manor, recording over nine million subjects at its height. Smaller communities existed outside of the manorial system, however these Cavians only amounted around an estimated two million in number.
After repeated, extensive skirmishes took place between the Manors from c. 910 to 1065 AD, mostly between the Abyssinian and Texel Manor, the two most powerful feudal states, which resulted in large losses of manpower and infrastructure for all parties, all four major Manors, joined by eight smaller states, congregated to discuss and eventually pledge to the Ar'tugen Accords, essentially a non-aggression pact that put an end to the costly conflicts between rivalling Manors, while adding provisions for the promotion of regular trade between states. The Accords, which took effect in 1068, normalized relations between almost all influential parties within the Cavian feudal system, and laid the groundwork for the future establishment of the modern, united Cavian state.
In the centuries following the Accords, the general prosperity of the Cavian feudal states increased, and the population rose to an estimated total of fifty million. The Texelians developed early versions of steelmaking in the late 11th century. The eruption of Mt. Silverback in Lupen, which cast a thick cloud of volcanic ash over North and Central Magnia for the majority of 1175, resulted in widespread crop failures and famine across the continent, however, significant Cavian agricultural production prior to the eruption and food preservation methods are credited with preventing the extensive starvation recorded in neighboring civilizations.
Colonial Cavia and independence (1314–1354)
While the Accords, which had been observed relatively closely by all signatories for almost a quarter of a century, had ensured relative peace in the Cavian mainland, the lack of conflict between the feudal states had resulted in a severe lack of military equipment at the disposal of all parties to the treaty. This meant that Cavia was virtually defenseless, even more so outside cities that had natural defenses or fortifications.
In 1339, Jules Kitsiax seized control of the Vulpian throne, establishing the Divine Empire of Kitsiax and proclaiming himself Emperor Kitsiax I. Kitsiax was a major proponent of divine subjugation, using this as his justification to carry out invasions of modern-day Latranos and Muridia. However, due to the relative lack of ground gained in both campaigns, Kitsiax instead directed the attention of the Empire's forces towards Cavia. In May 1341, Vulpian forces entered Lanichia, quickly seizing the microstate before continuing on to the territory of Coronian Manor, in present-day Emersfield. Lord Coronet XVI, quickly realizing he was being completely overwhelmed by the technological advantages possessed by the Vulpians, surrendered after less than two weeks of fighting. The Vulpians pressed onward, overwhelming the rest of southern Cavia with little resistance. Three months later, King Blancton of the Great Ursilian Empire decided to exploit the weakened state of the Cavians, and mounted his own invasion of the Cavian lowlands, swiftly defeating the Texelian and Abyssinian Manors. By the spring of 1342, Cavia had been conquered in its entirety by Vulpion and Ursilon, who installed colonial governments headquartered in the cities of Rockliffe and Ar'tugen respectively.
Both foreign powers would remain unchallenged in Cavia for a little over nine years. In April 1351, Oscar Ainsley Jamison, son of Ainsley Charles Jamison, who had been Lord of Abyssinian Manor up until its de facto dissolution upon its surrender to Ursilon, traveled to Lupen and upon being granted an audience with King Lycaon IX, managed to successfully negotiate the monarch into assisting the Cavians in waging war on both the Ursilians and Vulpians, exchanging Lupine military equipment and manpower for Cavian grain, teas, spices and herbs, as well as a large portion of fertile Abyssinian land in the western Cavian borderlands.
A joint Lupine and Cavian resistance, led by Jamison and Lupine Commander Alexander Lycophon soon made significant inroads into northern Cavia, culminating in the Siege of Ar'tugen, which began on June 13, 1351, lasting for just over ten weeks before the Ursilian bastion within the city walls surrendered. The remaining feudal lords convened at the retaken city of Ar'tugen, and decided to formally unite as one sovereign state, establishing the Grand Kingdom of Cavia. Jamison was appointed as the first monarch of the new kingdom, with the city of Ar'tugen renamed as Oscar City to commemorate Jamison's coronation and the city's new role as the seat of government for the now-united nation and her people. Now organized under the banner of a new sovereign nation, the weak opposing military garrisons installed in Cavian cities, mainly due to the Ursilians' perceived inability of the natives to mount any sort of significant resistance, resulted in decisive Cavian victories. Despite Ursilian reinforcements, whose arrivals were delayed and fatigued due to the natural barrier of the Northern Lapishire mountain range preventing quick and efficient deployment of troops, by December 8, 1352, the last remaining Ursilian garrison in Rogerston fell to the Cavian resistance, who then quickly set their sights on the Vulpian-controlled portion of Cavia.
While Vulpian forces, who were greater in number than their Ursilian counterparts, posed more of a challenge for the Cavians, their relentless assaults of Vulpian strongholds resulted in a steady progression south, with more and more territory falling back under the control of the Cavian government. By early 1354, the only Vulpian forces that remained within Cavia were located in the colonial capital of Rockliffe and in settlements near the Vulpian border. Cavian forces launched another wide-scale siege, this time targeting the seat of Vulpian power in Cavia, beginning on February 25, 1354. However, on April 10, Emperor Kitsiax was assassinated by members of the Royal Guard- the culmination of the widespread sentiment among Kitsiax's government that his rule was illegitimate. As a result, the newly-installed Vulpian government extended a formal peace treaty to the Kingdom of Cavia, which was accepted on April 29. Despite this, Vulpian forces at Rockliffe remained under the belief that Kitsiax was still in power of the Vulpian crown, and thus continued to follow his orders, enduring the Cavian siege despite Vulpian messengers notifying the Rockliffe garrison that a peace treaty had been ratified- these messengers were disregarded as Cavian attempts to trick them into a surrender. As a result, the Vulpians at Rockliffe would continue to hold out against the Cavian siege, in a vain effort later known as Kitsiax's Final Stand. In total, the garrison at Rockliffe continued to defend the city for 134 days after the peace treaty, finally surrendering on September 10, 1354, putting an end to the Cavian armed conflict for independence after three and a half years of fighting.
The end of the Cavian War of Independence was codified at the Willston Convention, where the Cavians, Lupines, Ursilians, and Vulpians all declared an official end to the conflict, with the joint peace treaty, the Treaty of Willston, taking effect on September 22, 1354. It is for this reason that September 22 is celebrated as Cavian Independence Day.
Grand Cavian Kingdom and Insurrection (1354–1605)
King Jamison, who later took the title Oscar the Founder later on into his reign, would rule as the Cavian monarch for almost 38 years until his death at the age of 66 in November 1388. Jamison was also responsible for drafting and enacting the various bills that would collectively form the framework for the Cavian government. Jamison's various decrees sanctified various civil liberties for Cavians, including the freedom of speech, petition against the government, and provisions banning false imprisonment. These bills, which took effect early into Jamison's reign between 1354 and 1357, have collectively become known as the Articles of Common Authority.
Jamison is also credited with establishing the Cavian Court of Final Appeal and other levels of the judiciary, guaranteeing Cavians the right to due process through trial in a court of law. The passage of the Royal Charter (which was also written by Jamison and enacted in 1358), which outlined the circumstances for the line of succession to the Cavian throne abd establishing the Cavian monarchy as a male-preference primogeniture, dictated that upon Jamison's death, the crown would be passed down to Jamison's firstborn son, Stephen Alfred Jamison. Stephen was coronated in a lavish ceremony at the Oscar City Public Square, which now sits in front of City Hall. Later that year, Stephen would order the construction of Hartstead Palace, which has housed the royal family since its completion in 1392.
Later Cavian monarchs would attempt to roll back the liberties that Jamison granted the people through the repealing of the various laws that comprised the Articles of Common Authority. One of the most alarming annulments of liberties to the Cavian people, King James III's decision to repeal the right to petition the government in 1512, allowed him to order the execution of his most prominent critic, author Robert Blacke, on charges of treason. James is recorded to have executed at least 350 people on charges of treason during the remainder of his reign.
Murmurs of an organized rebellion began to circulate throughout the Cavian populace as early as the 1550s, when King Crawford I refused to aid farmers whose livelihoods had been affected by the severe flooding that struck the central Cavian region. Many farmers petitioned the government to provide assistance in the form of tax relief and regulating the prices of steel in order to make equipment such as ploughs and horse collars more affordable. However, Crawford refused to consider either of the farmers' main proposals, culminating in the Alaister Rebellion of 1600, where a group of approximately two hundred farmers in Abysshire, led by revolutionary Joshua Cook, refused to pay taxes to the provincial government in protest of Crawford I's rebuff. The rebellion was violently quashed after royal forces killed a majority of the rebels in a standoff at Cook's farmhouse, including Cook himself. Cook was quickly martyrized by dissenting agriculturalists, and soon became the face of the reform movement as a whole.
Cook's adjutant and romantic partner Felix Kennedy traveled throughout central Cavia for over four years following the death of Cook, steadily amassing a much larger rebel force with which he planned to stage a coup d'état to remove Crawford from the throne. This culminated in the storming of Capital Fort on November 29, 1604, in which the rebels overwhelmed royal forces, seizing weapons and other military equipment. Crawford then convened an emergency meeting of the King's Council to determine a course of action to suppress the rebellion, but the rebels had breached the Hartstead Palace grounds. Crawford was soon located and executed at the hands of the rebels, with apocryphal legends asserting that Kennedy himself was responsible for executing Crawford.
Kennedy and his forces then occupied the palace grounds as King Crawford II who was in Rogerston at the time of the coup and had been automatically ascended to the throne upon Crawford I's death, led royal forces in a battle against the rebels. However, after fifteen days of fighting, the situation remained deadlocked between the two sides. Recognizing that the public sentiment was beginning to heavily favor Kennedy and his men, Crawford proposed a ceasefire and entered negotiations with Kennedy over a restructuring of the Cavian federal government.
The two sides reached an agreement on January 25, 1605, with the Papers of Reformation formally ending the Grand Kingdom of Cavia and establishing the Republic of the Cavian State in its place. The institution of the monarchy was preserved, with the King's powers limited to an advisory role to the newly-formed office of Prime Minister. The King was also granted a permanent voting seat in the Cavian Senate, but this has since been reduced even further to an observing member of the Senate.
Early Cavian Republic and Civil War (1605–mid-18th century)
The Papers of Reformation outlined the Cavian electoral system, as well as defining the twenty main constituencies in Cavia. These constituencies were to hold elections in which all Cavian-born men over the age of 16 could participate. These elections formed the composition of first Cavian Senate, who would later codify the mandated form of government set forth by the Papers of Reformation into the Cavian Constitution. The Constitution was ratified unanimously by the Senate on May 3, 1605, and officially established Cavia as the first-ever democratic nation. The date is now celebrated annually as Democracy Day, a national holiday.
Over the next century, various amendments would be made to the Constitution to ensure a more complete democracy and representative government. This namely included the creation of the National Assembly, which turned the Parliament into a bicameral legislature, and a change in the role of the Senate, as well as the formation of the first provincial legislatures in 1711.
In 1730, Choirolish warlord Lagarde XI declared war on Cavia after the Basilshire provincial government allowed settlers to encroach on Choirolish territory. Choirolish forces attacked the newly-formed Cavian settlements, prompting Prime Minister John Sanderson to deploy seven regiments to the area. Upon realizing the sheer inferiority of the Choirolish forces, Sanderson then ordered a full-scale invasion of Choirolish territory, annexing it as part of Palustria province, before establishing the Choirolish Royal Principality.
Cavia entered civil war in 1751 due to a dispute over the throne. The roots of the conflict can be traced back to 1747, when King Roger I named his second-born son, Prince Nicholas I as his successor. However, this contravened the long-standing Cavian monarchical custom of primogeniture, resulting in Roger's firstborn son and heir under the traditional system, Prince David II, to challenge his father's declaration, asserting that on the occasion of his father's death, he would rightfully take the throne as sovereign. To spite his son, Roger abdicated at the age of 44, and expelled David from the palace, crowning Nicholas as monarch.
Prince David would then travel to the province of Abysshire, where he managed to befriend multiple key figures in the provincial government and military garrison. He allured the leader of the province, Governor Russell Scott, and the commanding officer of the Abysshire Royal Division, General Marcus Saunders, to assist him in toppling the Cavian government and monarchy, by promising them positions as triumvirates in a new absolute monarchy that would replace the Cavian republic.
David spent the following four years increasing his popularity among the public of eastern Cavia, but kept his plans of staging a coup under wraps so as to not alarm the federal government to his plan. From February to April of 1751, David amassed a force of approximately 200,000 men, mainly from Abysshire, Lapishire and Bentley provinces, tasking General Saunders with leading them to the capital in order to topple the establishment. With his men mobilized, David officially declared war on the Republic of the Cavian State, and declared the aforementioned provinces as the territory of the new breakaway state of Neo-Abyssinia.
On May 31, 1751, an occasion now known as the Battle of May Day, Neo-Abyssinian troops engaged with the Cavian Royal Armed Forces near the Abysshire provincial border. The Cavian regiments were quickly overwhelmed, and the remaining units surrendered, hastily retreating to Rogerston. Realizing the severity of the situation, Prime Minister Zachary Donovan mobilized the entirety of the First, Second and Third Cavian Armies to engage the Neo-Abyssinians and halt their advance on the capital. By then, Neo-Abyssinian forces had made inroads into the Bay East and Lowlands South provinces. However, morale in the rebel camp was low, and this was exacerbated by their defeat to a full-strength Cavian force at the Battle of Stanley Bridge on July 5. However, Neo-Abyssinian forces dealt a blow to the Cavians three weeks later, successfully seizing Fort Waltonette, defeating the last remaining Cavian stronghold in Neo-Abyssinian territory.
The two sides continued to exchange blows, with the Cavians and Neo-Abyssinians locked into a stalemate in central Bay East province for well over half a year. Frustrated with the lack of progress towards the capital, and fearing that the Cavians were much better suited to a war of attrition than his own men, David ordered General Saunders to begin implementing the first examples of guerilla warfare on Cavian soil, the most notable example being the attack of the Cavian camp at Calloway Embankment. The Neo-Abyssinians launched a surprise attack on Cavian forces during the night in an event later termed as the Calloway Massacre, due to the fact that thousands of Cavian troops were killed in their sleep. The First and Third Cavian Armies, whose camp had come under attack by the Neo-Abyssinians, were decimated, suffering total losses estimated anywhere from 25,000 to 40,000 men. If the historical consensus on the total casualty count is accepted, the Calloway Massacre was by far the deadliest engagement in the Civil War, and in Cavian military history as a whole.
In retaliation, Donovan ordered the assassination of both Scott and Saunders, but did not do the same for David- despite being an enemy commander, David was still an esteemed member of the royal family, with regicide legally punishable by death under treason. Donovan selected Aboriginal Cavian soldier Tayo Cholison to carry out the assassinations. Cholison successfully carried out both assassinations on the same day, February 17, 1752, but was captured after being caught by guards attempting to extract himself from Alaistar Fort in the Neo-Abyssinian capital, and was soon executed. Cholison has since been recognized as a folk hero amongst the Cavian public.
With Scott and Saunders dead, a power vacuum quickly consumed the rebel ranks, causing internal strife and tension. This culminated in the Neo-Abyssinians' next engagement with the Cavians. A lack of leadership on the frontlines at the Battle of Porterstown resulted in a heavy loss for the insurgent troops, and by the middle of May, the Neo-Abyssinian forces had been pushed back all the way to northern Abysshire. David surrendered on May 21, ordering the Neo-Abyssinian forces to stand down, effectively ending the Civil War, but when he learned that Donovan planned to jail him for life, he attempted to flee to Ursilon. However, he was soon discovered by an Ursilian patrol shortly after crossing the border, and was deported back to Cavia. He was jailed in the Oscar City Grand Crypt and remained there until his death in 1791.
Bentley was officially reinstated as a Cavian province on May 9, with Lapishire and Abysshire rejoining Cavia on the date of the Neo-Abyssinian surrender, May 21, and King Nicholas continued with his reign unchallenged, retaining the crown until 1799.
Industrialization and the Cricetinian War (mid-18th century–20th century)
In the late 18th century, significant technological improvements brought about by the Machine Era in Vulpion spread to Cavia, resulting in a major industralization of the Cavian economy. The Machine Era was a period of upheaval for socioeconomic and cultural conditions in Cavia and other developed nations, due to the transition from hand-based production methods to machinery-based production, facilitated by advancements in chemical manufacturing and metalworking processes, as well as major breakthroughs in the use of steam power to energize machines.
Manufacturing, agricultural, mining, engineering, and construction were all industrialized as a result of the changes the Machine Era brought to much of the developed world, leading to unprecedented population growth, urbanization, and development. Road, rail, and water networks were constructed or improved across the nation in order to facilitate the expansion of the economy. Infrastructure developments also increased the efficiency of national and international trade. Cavia quickly established itself as the chief manufacturer of the Magnian supercontinent, and established key trade networks with Lupen, Stalliand, Skylia, Ursilon, and Vulpion. The demand in Cavian products abroad, coupled by demand from the prospering upper class and newly-created middle class for products such as tea, porcelain, and jewelry sourced from foreign countries also necessitated the growth of the Cavian merchant fleet, and the expansion of the Cavian Royal Navy to protect trading vessels. This in turn led to the creation of naval trading routes to Lepia and Latranos, strengthening the economies of Southern Magnian nations. It was during this time that Cavia, among other Magnian nations, began to establish regular trade with Felifornian nations, in particular Felinus and Savannia.
The growing might of the Royal Navy allowed Cavia to begin a period of colonialization, beginning with the Cavian Outlying Islands in order to mine guano for agricultural production. Cavia soon began to colonize port cities abroad, establishing Cavian quarters in nations such as Felinus, Pantheron, Lepia, and Procyon, either by leasing land or through force. The most notable conflict during this period was the Cavia-Procyon War, which lasted for just two months. Cavian naval units bombarded Procyish coastal cities with little resistance from the exceedingly weak opposing navy, resulting in the surrender of the Procyish government and the Treaty of Lotorsburg, which ceded harborfront land and port facilities to the Cavian crown in three cities.
The Machine Era also turned multiple Cavian cities into hubs for manufacturing, trade, and commerce, resulting in massive urbanization as Cavian workers flocked from the countryside to cities in order to pursue higher wages and a better lifestyle. Metropolitan areas began to form in cities lining the Latian Sea, such as Oscar City, Mochiville, Northhills, Rogerston, and Grandcastle. Oscar City is widely considered to be the world's first industrial city. By the middle of the 19th century, the sheer economic prosperity and technological advancements enjoyed by Cavia cemented its newfound power on the world stage following the beginning of globalization, with Oscar City becoming the most populous city in the world, and a hotbed of Cavian culture.
In 1885, Cavia opened up the first trade routes with the Gramenian continent, mainly with the nations of Capricon and Cervidia. However, in order to cut down on travel times between Cavia and Gramenian nations, the Cavian government began to search for potential locations to construct a new trading port in eastern Cavia, on the coastline with the Amican Sea. This would dramatically reduce the ease of conducting business with western and southern Gramenia. However, much of eastern Cavia sits on wet marshlands, which was not a suitable environment to construct a major city. However, the neighboring nation of Cricetinia sat upon such land, with large, open grasslands lining the sea. Another significant geographical feature of Cricetinia was the Tranquian Bay, which naturally sheltered harbor cities on the Bay from severe weather patterns and storms that affect the eastern Magnian coastline.
Thus, Prime Minister Montgomery Burke ordered the invasion of Cricetinia in October of 1888, sending two Cavian armies into Cricetinian territory, where they engaged with the Cricetinian National Army on October 4, marking the beginning of the Cricetinian War. The ensuing engagement, the Battle of Morgan Creek, lasted for six days, with both sides taking substantial losses. Burke was expecting the invasion to be speedy and relatively unchallenging, and upon witnessing the result of the lengthy first encounter with Cricetinian forces, feared that the Cavian public would not approve of a major conflict that would result in large Cavian casualties. Burke then sent envoys to Vulpion, to confer with Prime Minister Théophile Beauvau. The Vulpians agreed to send troops to fight alongside Cavian forces, on the condition that the Cricetinians would cede a third of their land to the Vulpians on the event of their surrender, with the remaining land ceded to Cavia. As the land Vulpion laid claim to was mostly arable farmland, this did not conflict with the Cavians' goal of capturing coastal areas suitable for development, and terms were agreed upon within the week, with Vulpian forces launching their first attack on the Cricetinians from the south on October 13.
With Cricetinian forces now spread across two fronts, both the Cavians and Vulpians hastily pressed on with the invasion, with the Cavians having reached the outskirts of the Cricetinian capital of Roborovis by the beginning of the new year. Despite a lengthy and valiant effort by the remaining Cricetinian forces at the Battle of Roborovis, Vulpian forces caught up to the Cavian advances six weeks later. The joint effort of the Cavian and Vulpian militaries resulted in unconditional Cricetinian surrender on February 26, 1889. Cavian, Vulpian, and Cricetinian delegates met shortly afterwards and signed the Treaty of Auratian City, which confirmed the total surrender of Cricetian forces, as well as the terms of the Cavian-Vulpian deal, with Cricetinia ceding its land between Cavia and Vulpion.
The Cavian government subsequently established the Cricetinian Royal Principality, installing a new government and Governor, who would be appointed directly by the Prime Minister rather than being directly elected as in all Cavian provinces.
As planned, the Cavian government hastily began the development of Cricetinian cities on the Tranquian Bay, namely Roborovis, Auratian City, and Phodopius, which would later be renamed to Thomasville-upon-Tranquian. In the following years, Roborovis would transform into a major hub for trade with Gramenia, with North Magnian nations exporting the bulk of their goods bound for Gramenia from the burgeoning Port of Roborovis.
20th century
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The 20th century saw a radical period of change for Cavia. Cavian social movements gained ground in various fields. Pressure from the Suffragist Movement in Cavia contributed to the passage of the Universal Suffrage Act of 1910, which granted the ability to vote to all Cavian adults, regardless of race or gender. Women were previously barred from casting ballots, while Aboriginal Cavians were allowed to vote in provincial-level elections, but not federal elections.
Another popular grassroots movement which gained significant traction was the Tranquil Movement, which lobbied the Cavian government to adopt pacifist attitudes. Pressure from the movement, aided by dwindling enlistment in the Cavian military, contributed to a shift in the Cavian government's overall foreign policy, namely an abandonment of its previously isolationist tendencies. This also marked the beginning of Cavian decolonization, with some of the Cavian Outlying Islands being returned to Chiroptia and Selakia.
Socialist movements also began to take hold of the Cavian working class, inspired by the Feliniot Revolution, an armed, worker-led insurrection that resulted in the formation of the world's first socialist state. Cavian workers began to demand such rights as collective bargaining, the forty-hour work week, the minimum wage, worker protections, and government regulation of industry. However, the laissez-faire attitudes of a booming Cavian economy that had witnessed consistent growth for decades largely rebuffed these demands. Frustrated by a lack of change he witnessed in the establishment, civil servant Nathan Gibson founded the United Workers' Coalition (UWC), a far-left populist political party that advocated for the conversion of Cavia into a socialist atate, and the means of production to be returned to the workers.
The 1939 elections saw a landslide victory for Gibson and the UWC, as they took a plethora of seats in Parliament, with Gibson elected as Prime Minister. He immediately began to implement various reforms to Cavian business, culminating in multiple pieces of legislation, most notably the Labor Standards Act of 1940, which, among other things, introduced a federally-mandated minimum wage of P0.50 (around P10 today), the right for workers to unionize without fear of employer retribution, and created the Ministry of Labor Relations, tasked with overseeing worker protections and workplace standards.
The UWC continued to enact legislation in line with their socialist policies, and began to introduce government regulations of businesses, as well as increased taxes on the upper class and large Cavian corporations. This necessitated an expanding bureacracy and civil service, which expanded the size and scope of the Cavian government substantially. However, Gibson's legacy in Cavia is polarized. He drew inspiration from the fascist leaders of Felinus and Drakkony, and began to implement multiple policies restricting press freedoms and public demonstrations. While the UWC maintained a majority in the Cavian parliament, Gibson was voted out in the 1942 election, and his loss is widely attributed to his attempted implementation of fascist policies.
Gibson's replacement as Prime Minister and party leader, Ella Reid, quickly scrapped her predecessor's legislation that clamped down on political freedoms, but continued to foster nationalist sentiments among Cavians, ushering in the emergence of a new Cavian identity. This manifested itself in the adoption of the Cavian national anthem, Forever Onwards, in 1944, as well as the Three-Star Flag as the new national flag in 1946. Reid's continuation of social programs led to Cavia becoming the first true welfare state.
In 1952, the Cavian Economic Collapse, struck the nation. The beginning of the Collapse was marked by the sharp and sudden crash of the Oscar City Stock Exchange on March 10. The Cavian Corporate Value Average fell by over 18%, with investors trading a record number of shares. The market continued to plunge as trading continued the following day. The stock market crash resulted in the failures of some Cavian banks, who had significant investments in the market. This also significantly dented consumer confidence, as Cavians of all socioeconomic classes stopped purchasing and consuming. This, in turn, created a feedback loop which drove down economic output.
This was further exacerbated by the Cavian public's mass withdrawals of cash from banks. As banks struggled to provide the cash necessary for the withdrawals, many began to liquidate loans, but unregulated loaning practices, especially to many Cavians who lacked the ability to repay them due to a lack of required credit, caused them to come up short and fail. As more and more banks hurried to liquidate loans and assets, the banking system as a whole began to fail. This resulted in a national banking crisis, in which over 1,200 banks closed within the year.
Prime Minister Edward McCarthy's attempts to correct the economic situation failed. Economic hardship befell Cavians as a result, with a deflationary spiral beginning in August 1952, as prices and wages fell. The national economy would remain in the depths of a depression for over two and a half years, with the 1953 fiscal year's total gross domestic product over 12% lower than that of 1951's total.
McCarthy and the ruling UWC were subsequently voted out of office in 1954, and replaced by the Party for Peace and Prosperity (PPP), led by Samuel Stone. Stone quickly began to target the rampant unemployment affecting the Cavian public, creating programs such as the Infrastructure Division, which provided young unemployed men with stable jobs in construction, which focused on improving the nation's aging infrastructure. Stone also began to subsidize the manufacturing industry, who had experienced large losses in the wake of the Collapse due to the lack of production originating from low investor and consumer confidence, resulting in overproduction and mass layoffs.
Stone, controversially, also decided not to cut many social programs despite his party's conservative fiscal policy, which were lambasted by some economists due to its supposed constraints on corporations and industry, due to the high taxes on businesses and the upper class required to support the welfare network, as well as enacting protectionist policies which restricted international trade in order to bolster Cavian productivity. Economists today are split on whether the retention of social programs and shift away from international trade helped the nation out of the collapse or hampered its recovery. The Cavian economy began to rebound by the beginning of 1955, with the nation recording its first increase in GDP since the Collapse.
Cavia experienced significant shifts in societal attitudes during the 1960s, a result of the secular, anti-establishment sentiments of many younger Cavians, which birthed a widespread counterculture among the New Generation, manifesting in the legalization of some recreational drugs, a period of experimentation and growth in Cavian art and music, an overall decline in the importance and role of Porcianism in the lives of younger Cavians, and a challenging of traditional Cavian societal expectations. The late 1960s were also notable for the Tensions, in which fringe Cricetinian independence groups were responsible for multiple acts of terrorism in Cavia.
Decolonization of Cavian territories abroad intensified in the 1960s and 1970s, with Cavian territories in Procyon, Pantheron, and Lepia returned back to their original nations, and the Cavian principalities of Choiroland, Cricetinia, and Lanichia given more democratic freedoms and autonomy away from the Cavian government, with their statuses changed to royal protectorates.
1976 saw the success of the efforts of Cavian Institute for Space Exploration (CISE) to land an animal on the Glacios. The Porcellus 1 mission landed two of its four Cavian crew members on the surface of Glacios, a feat that would not be repeated by another nation for six more years.
The current monarch of Cavia, King Oscar I, ascended to the throne on March 28, 1980 upon the death of his father and reigning monarch, King Roger III. Oscar has since advocated for a complete removal of the monarchy's presence in government, such as the King's observer seat in Parliament, and for a reformation of Cavian male-only primogeniture to include female heirs.
In 1985, Prime Minister Arthur Robertson announced the Open Arms Policy, a shift in Cavian foreign policy to the role of mediator in international conflicts. This culminated in Cavia becoming one of the founding members of the Animalian Union, an international organization dedicated to providing a forum for diplomacy and cooperation between nations. The nation also became one of seven members with a permanent seat on its Directive Committee.
However, the cut to military spending enacted as a part of the Open Arms Policy was quickly reversed by Robertson's successor, Patrick Dean, in 1988. A failed military coup attempted to overthrow the Cricetinian protectorate government during a state visit by Oscar I. The CRAFT garrison in Roborovis, the Cricetinian capital, was outmatched. A shoulder-fired missile struck and damaged the King's helicopter, resulting in a crash landing that injured him and members of his staff. While he and the rest of the helicopter's occupants were recovered by members of Regiment 15, fighting between CRAFT and the Cricetinian militia continued for three months until the latter's eventual surrender.
The failed coup once again raised the question of Cricetinian independence. This culminated in the 1990 Cricetinian independence referendum, where a slim majority of Cricetinian voters chose to remain a protectorate of Cavia. The Cavian government's planned cancellation of trade agreements with Cricetinia in the event of their independence attracted criticism from some pro-independence activists within the protectorate.
Originating from Cavian academic institutions' attempts to develop a technology that would form an interconnected network between their computer systems in the 1960s, the advent of personal computers greatly increased the use of the Internet among the public.
21st century
In 2001, Cavia became the primary destination of thousands of migrants from South Magnia, displaced by the Latranic-Muridian War. Over the next three years, Cavia would eventually accept a quarter of a million refugees, and serve as a gateway to the rest of North Magnia, with an estimated 200,000 additional refugees settling abroad in Ursilon and Skylia.
The 2005 Cavian general elections witnessed the ousting of the Conservative Party after Prime Minister Ralph Brooke and multiple high-profile members of his party's Members of Parliament were implicated in an electoral fraud scandal. The Labor Party won an unprecedented 268 of the 389 seats in the National Assembly, while the Conservative Party has yet to win a Senate seat in any general election since then.
In 2010, civil unrest broke out in eastern Cavia, namely the provinces of Lapishire and Abysshire, over the government's proposed green energy plan, which would shut down key coal mines and oil drilling operations that had become vital to the region's economy, with some critics fearing that the program, if enacted, would cut hundreds of thousands of jobs in the area. Protests in the cities of Port-au-Porcii, Willston, and Alaistar turned violent, with demonstrators clashing with police, resulting in over 500 arrests and the destruction of property worth approximately P30 million.
Shortly after rioting ensued, Minister of Energy Chris Dresden resigned, and was replaced by Deputy Minister of Energy Mochi Williams. Williams proposed a revitalization of eastern Cavia's energy sector, in which he recommended the construction of wind turbines, solar plants, and hydroelectric dams in the region, as well as large tax breaks to workers whose jobs were threatened by the proposed closures. Prime Minister Terry Chesley enacted Williams's modified plan, which was credited with quelling the discontent in Lapishire and Abysshire, and saving the Labor Party from a costly defeat in the region's National Assembly elections later that year.
As a result of his newfound popularity, Williams ran for Labor Party leader and was elected to the position with an outstanding 78% share of the vote. The Labor Party then went on to win 229 seats in the 2011 Cavian general elections, and Williams was appointed Prime Minister. Williams led the Labor Party to further majority victories in 2014, 2017, and 2020.
The SMaRS pandemic, which originated in Lepia, first spread to Cavia in September 2016. By December of that year, there had been a total 1,300 confirmed cases within Cavian borders, the majority of these cases being identified in Oscar City and Mochiville. Through the successful application of various public health measures, the virus was reported as contained within Cavia by April 2017. In total, 1,681 recorded cases of SMaRS had occurred in Cavia, with a total of 267 deaths.
During the run-up to the 2023 general election, Williams announced that he would not be seeking re-election, and that he would step down as Labor Party leader after twelve years upon the end of his National Assembly term. Williams endorsed his long-serving Home Secretary, Lumi Matthews to succeed him as party leader. Matthews would win his bid to become party leader, and retained the Labor Party's majority in Parliament, making him Prime Minister.
Geography
Bayou area of Palustria province, near the Vulpian border
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The coastal cliffs of western Sealen Island
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The town of Lowescroft at the foot of the Crested Peaks mountain range
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The Grayson River floodplains of Lowlands South province
The total land area of Cavia is 3,021,837 square kilometers. Of this area, 2,982,782 square kilometers form contiguous land, which is known coloquially as the Cavian mainland. The remaining 39,055 square kilometers is made up of Cavian islands in the Latian and Amican Seas, with the majority of total Cavian island area being Sealen Island, an island off the western Cavian coastline with the Latian Sea, which is 34,883 square kilometers large.
Cavia is the third-largest nation in the world in terms of total area, with only Drakkony and Ursilon possessing larger total areas. Of Cavia's total size, approximately 0.61% is comprised of water, namely lakes in the Cavian mainland, with some notable examples being Manorside Lake and Calculia Lake. Cavia's largest lakes tend to be located in the Cavian lowlands. However, if only land area is counted in terms of nation size, Cavia overtakes Ursilon as the second-largest nation in the world, edging out the Ursilian land area by just a few thousand square kilometers.
Cavia also possesses jurisdiction over three protectorate states and five outlying islands, which altogether have a total land area of 112,670 square kilometers. This is not counted in the total Cavian land area due to their semi-autonomous state, and are counted as separate entities in lists. The land area of Cricetinia, the largest Cavian protectorate, is 93,089 square kilometers, while Lanichia and Choiroland are 18,899 and 668 square kilometers large respectively. The five Cavian outlying islands- Greensea Island, Kennedy Atoll, Northumber Atoll, Thomas Atoll, and Edward Bank- amount to 14 square kilometers in total.
Climate
The large size and global location of Cavia, as well as its varying biomes and geographical features, contributes to the fact that the nation encompasses most climate types.
The western and southern areas of the nation enjoy a generally Mediterranean climate, with low humidity year-round, hot summers and mild winters. The eastern coast has a temperate climate with small seasonal differences and rare extremes in temperatures, as well as significant precipitation year-round. However, for the northern, mountainous areas of the nation, a colder, alpine climate sees no summers whatsoever with a normally colder temperature than the rest of the country, as winters can see the temperature drop near or freezing.
Cavia is ranked sixth in the world out of 62 states in the Animalian Environmental Friendliness Index. In 2016, the Cavian parliament enacted a law that targets national carbon emissions to net zero by 2040.
Elevation
The highest point in Cavia is Crested Peak, located in the eponymous Crested Peaks Autonomous Province, with a height of 18,750 ft (5,715 m). The lowest point is the Niximian Valley, created by collapsed limestone caverns, and is located in the Cavian lowlands, with an elevation of −132.1 (-433 ft). Cavia has three peaks that measure over 5,000 meters (16,404 ft), all located in the Crested mountain chain. Low elevations can be found across the Cavian lowlands and Palustria, near the border with Vulpion where Beaker Lake can be found, its lowest point measured at around -78.3 m (-257 ft).
Political geography
Cavia is bordered by Lupen, Equifer, Stalliand, Skylia, Ailuria, Ursilon, and Rubria to the north, moving west to east respectively, while it is bordered by the Amican Ocean to the east. To the south, Cavia is bordered by Lanichia, Vulpion, and Cricetinia, moving west to east respectively. To the west, Cavia wraps around the easternmost point of the Latian Sea.
Cavia's land border stretches 11,861 kilometers in total. Moving in a clockwise direction, the westernmost point of Cavia is located in the province of Raffield. The border runs for 915 kilometers, running north from where it meets the Latian Sea, moving east to the border with Equifer. From here, the Cavian border roughly follows the peaks of the Crested mountain range, which begin roughly on the tripoint of Cavia, Equifer and Stalliand. The Cavia-Stalliand border, which stretches 1,870 kilometers, sharply deviates right to continue following the mountain chain around 16° N. It then continues northeast to the tripoint with Skylia, and continues mostly due east until it meets the tripoint with Ailuria. From there, the border curves southeast, running for approximately 545 kilometers before beginning the border with Ursilon proper. The Cavia-Ursilon border, the longest border Cavia shares with a neighboring nation, continues for an additional 3,310 kilometers, cutting through mostly flat grasslands, until reaching the border with Rubria, which is inversely the shortest border Cavia shares with another nation, at just 228 kilometers. The border then arrives at the Amican Sea in Lapishire province, the easternmost part of Cavia at Johnstone Peninsula. Now moving southwest, the border runs along the Cavian protectorate of Cricetinia for around 1,403 kilometers before meeting a tripoint with Vulpion. The border cuts through thick woodland, running mostly south-southeast until it reaches the source of the Chincharion River, which the border follows for an additional 2,250 kilometers until it reaches the tripoint with Lanichia. The Lanichia-Vulpion border continues along the river to the Chincharion Delta, while the Cavia-Lanichia border instead follows the Flectere River until it flows into the Latian Sea.
Demographics
Population and species
Racial makeup of Cavia in 2020
Cavia has an estimated population of around 945.7 million, which makes it the third-most populated Animalian nation. A national census is conducted every five years with the first recorded data from 1750, most of it extrapolated from a smaller sample size. According to the Realm's Book, a factbook about the Cavian people compiled in 985, the total number of Cavians was estimated at 25 million. By the beginning of the 18th century, the Cavian population was predicted to have been approximately 118 million in total, with the 1750 Cavian census estimating a total Cavian population of 168 million. Cavia, along with most of the developing world during the Industrial Era, experienced a significant population spike, with the 1850 Cavian census putting the total population at approximately 409 million. This number would continue to increase into the 20th century. The 1960 census estimated the Cavian population to a figure of 771 million. Cavian birthrates have since leveled off, and Cavian deaths are forecasted to begin outpacing births sometime in the 2040s, with an estimated peak Cavian population near or just over one billion.
The Realm's Book also estimated that around 8% of Cavians lived in urban areas. This number has since increased to 85.5% as of the 2020 Cavian census, with the largest increase coming in the late 18th to early 20th centuries, which saw rapid expansion of urban areas and the creation of new cities around industrial hubs across the country.
The Cavian people are ethnically made up of the guinea pig species, known scientifically as cavia porcellus. Ethnic Cavians make up approximately 90.8% of the total population. Of the ethnic Cavian people, the vast majority are of Abyssinian descent (52%). Significant Cavian racial minorities include the Continentals (19%), Shelties (12%), Texels (8%), Coronets (3%), and Rexians (2%). 4% of ethnic Cavians did not identify with any of the aformentioned racial backgrounds.
Around 5.4% of Cavian citizens identify as Aboriginal Cavian, who are ethnically separate from the Cavian people. The overwhelming majority of Aboriginal Cavians are concentrated in the Crested Peaks Autonomous Province. Around 55% of Aboriginal Cavians are of Crested racial background, with the vast majority of remaining Aboriginal Cavians identifying as Sheltie. The most distinguishable feature between Cavian and Aboriginal Cavian peoples are the natural fur length of both ethnic groups- Aboriginal Cavians have evolved longer fur lengths to compensate for the colder climates of higher altitudes.
3.8% of the Cavian population are not of the guinea pig species, whose families emigrated to Cavia at some point in time. Of these, the most prominent immigrant ethnic group are of Lupine, Ursilian and Vulpian descent, which comprise 71% of the Cavian immigrant population combined. The majority of these groups reside in the border regions of Cavia, or in the Oscar City-Mochiville metropolitan area. The majority of ethnic non-Cavians settling in the nation in the new millennium originate from Latranos and Muridia, and are displaced refugees from the war being fought between the two states.
Language
The Cavian language is the national language of Cavia, and it is by far the most widely spoken language among its citizens. The Cavian government also recognizes three languages at the federal level, namely Abyssinian- a Cavian dialect, Crestish, and Sheltish. This is due to the fact that certain provinces have declared languages and dialects spoken by a majorite of the local population as the official language. These provinces include the Crested Peaks Autonomous Province and the province of Greensmanor, both of which list Cavian, Crestish and Sheltish as the official provincial languages, and the Abysshire, Bay East, Sheltshire and Kingsland provinces, which recognizes the Abyssinian dialect as an official language alongside Cavian. Old Cavian is also used in some official research and governmental documents as part of procedure and decorum.
The Cavian language is spoken by approximately 98% of the Cavian population, with 94% speaking it as a first language. The second-most commonly spoken language in Cavia is Abyssinian, spoken by around 19% of Cavians, mainly concentrated in central Cavia. The Abyssinian dialect, while very closely related to Cavian, is mutually unintelligible. It is taught alongside Cavian in schools of provinces where Abyssinian is a commonly-spoken language, but due to Cavian being the lingua franca of these provinces, its role is diminished in comparison to Cavian in day-to-day usage.
Inversely, Crestish and Sheltish are the lingua franca and first language of the inhabitants of the Crested Peaks mountain range, who are generally ethnically Aboriginal Cavian. Due to federal legislation enacted in 1970, Cavian is also taught in majority-Aboriginal schools, resulting in almost all younger Aboriginals being able to speak Cavian fluently, despite it not being used in either casual or professional settings. It is spoken by about 5% of Cavians, and are overwhelmingly the most commonly spoken languages in Crested Peaks Autonomous Province and Greensmanor, where it is spoken by 90% and 57% of the population respectively.
Cavian schools are mandated to teach Cavian from primary school up until college, as well as a foreign language from secondary school onwards. The most widely taught foreign languages are Lupine (45%), Ursilian (27%), and Vulpian (21%). About 74% of Cavians claim to speak Cavian and a second language, while 43% claim to be able to speak a second language to a fluent level.
Religion
Cavia is religiously diverse. The right of the Cavian people to practice their religious beliefs freely is enshrined in the Cavian Constitution, and Cavians are allowed to freely congregate and worship accordingly, without interference or limitation. Religion is now mostly viewed as a private matter in Cavian society. Porcianism was the most dominant religion in Cavia for almost three millennia, and was widely integral to Cavian society, daily life, and culture. However, while it is still the most practiced religion, Cavia is now a post-religious, secular state, a result of the Cultural Explosion in the 1960s. According to the 2020 census, only 36% of Cavians attend church or worship regularly, with 59% of Cavians considering religion to not play an important role in their lives.
Census statistics also state that 61% of Cavians believe in a God or higher spiritual power, with 44% identifying with the Porcian faith. Of these, the most common Porcian denomination is the United Cavian Church of Porcianism, which accounts for approximately two-thirds of Porcians in Cavia. Other significant denominations include the Holy Porcian Church, and the Royal Branch of Porcianism.
The most commonly practiced non-Porcian religion is Cuyalan faith, which is an integral part of Aboriginal Cavian culture. It is practiced by around 4.5% of Cavians, chiefly in the Crested Peaks and Greensmanor provinces where a vast majority of the citizens align with Cuyala. Inaranity, practiced by 3% of Cavians, is most common in the provinces bordering Vulpion, the religion's place of origin. This is most visibly evidenced in the province of Palustria, where 62% of Cavians practice the Inaranian faith.
19% of Cavians identify as atheist, 16% identify as agnostic, and 5% list their religious beliefs as "spiritual but not religious" (SBNR).
Education
Education in Cavia is provided publicly to the majority of students, and is funded and overseen by federal, provincial, and municipal governments. The responsibility of administering adequate education falls on the provinces, and the curriculum is overseen by the province in question, subject to oversight from the national government. Cavian provinces are also responsible for education provision. Education in Cavia is generally divided into primary education, followed by secondary education and upper education. Education is administered in Cavian, but education in local dialects and commonly-spoken languages, such as Crestish, Sheltish, and Abyssinian, are also available in provinces where it is applicable. Cavia has the most universities of any nation in the world, the vast majority of which are publicly funded. Established in 1438, Porcian National College, now the Cavian Holy Royal Institute of Science and Technology (CHRIST College), is the oldest university or upper educational institution in Cavia. The largest university in Cavia is the Capital University of Oscar City (CUOC) with over 105,000 students. More than a dozen universities are regularly ranked among the top 100 worldwide, with the most notable being CHRIST College, CUOC, University of Oscar City, King's College at Mochiville, Rogerston National University, Oscar City Metropolitan University, and Halley College.
According to a 2018 report by the Animalian Union Council on Education, Cavia is one of the most educated countries in the world. The country ranks first worldwide in the number of adults having some level of tertiary education per capita, with over 58% of Cavian adults having attained at least an undergraduate college or university degree. Cavia spends almost 6% of its GDP on education. The country invests heavily in tertiary education- spending more than P45,000 per student. As of 2016, 87% of adults aged 25 and above have earned the equivalent of a high school degree, compared to an GEC average of 72%.
The mandatory education age ranges between 4-5 to 17–18 years of age, contributing to an adult literacy rate of over 99 percent. Just over 2.3% of children are homeschooled as of 2016. In 2012, 43% of Cavians aged 25 to 64 possessed an upper education. For those aged 25 to 34, the rate of upper education reached 54%. The International Scholastic Assessment Program indicates that Cavian students perform well above the GEC average, particularly in mathematics, science, and reading, ranking the overall knowledge and skills of Cavia 16-year-olds as the fourth-best in the world. Cavia is a well-performing GEC country in reading literacy, mathematics, and science with the average student scoring 91.88 points, compared with the OECD average of 84.29 in 2015.
Health
Healthcare in Cavia is delivered through the national and provincial systems of publicly funded health care, informally called Cavicine. Its scope, structure, and operation is dictated by the provisions of the Cavian National Healthcare Act of 1977, and is universal. Universal access to publicly funded health services is often considered by Cavians as a fundamental value that ensures national health care insurance for everyone wherever they live in the country, as equal access to quality medical care is widely considered by Cavians to be a right to all citizens. Despite this, upwards of 25% of Cavians' healthcare is paid for through the private sector. This mostly goes towards services not covered or partially covered by Cavicine, such as prescription drugs, dentistry, optometry, and cosmetic surgery. Approximately 65% of Cavians have some form of supplementary health insurance related to the aforementioned reasons. Many receive it through their employers or utilize secondary social service programs related to extended coverage for families receiving social assistance or vulnerable demographics, such as seniors, minors, and those with disabilities.
In common with many other developed countries, Cavia is experiencing a total cost increase of the administration of healthcare due to a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age paying taxes which fund the public healthcare system. In 2000, the average age was 38.5 years; within fifteen years it had risen to 43.1 years, with a life expectancy of 83.1 years. A 2016 report by the Minister of Public Health found that 85% of Cavians, one of the highest proportions of the population among GEC countries, indicated that they "had good or very good health". 70% of Cavian adults self-report having at least one major risk factor for chronic disease: smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy eating or excessive alcohol use. Cavia has one of the highest rates of adult obesity among GEC countries, attributing to approximately 53 million cases of diabetes (types 1 and 2 combined). Four chronic diseases—cancer (the leading cause of death in Cavia), cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and diabetes—account for 65% of deaths in Cavia.
In 2019, the Cavian Institute for Public Health Policy reported that total government healthcare spending in Cavia nearly $5.7 trillion, or 10.7% of Cavia's gross domestic product for that year. Cavia's per-capita spending ranks as third on the list of countries by total health expenditure per capita in the GEC and above the average of 8.2 percent of GDP. Cavia has performed close to, or slightly above the average on the majority of GEC health indicators since the early 2010s. In 2017 Cavia ranked above the average on GEC indicators for wait-times and access to care, with average scores for quality of care and patient outcomes, and below-average scores for use of resources and scope of care. A comprehensive study from 2017 of the top ten countries ranked Cavia's health care system eighth. Identified weaknesses of Cavia's healthcare system were comparatively higher infant mortality rate, the prevalence of chronic conditions, long wait times, poor availability of after-hours care, and a lack of prescription drugs and dental coverage.
Major cities
Cavia is an incredibly urbanized country, with an estimated 85.5% of Cavians living in urban areas. A large concentration of the largest cities and metropolitan areas are located on or near the nation's coastline with the Latian Sea. The largest city in Cavia is Oscar City with a population of 11,371,563, making it the most populous city in the nation by some margin. With a total population of 33,665,084, the Oscar City metropolitan area is the largest in the world by population. While it is counted separately from the Mochiville metropolitan area in government statistics, some sources combine the two to form the Oscar City-Mochiville metropolitan area, which would dwarf the size of any other conurbations in the world in terms of population, with a total of 56,840,258 people estimated to live there.
In terms of population within city limits, however, Oscar City is followed by Mochiville (8,181,133), Texelton (7,451,694), Northhills (7,034,637), and Lessington (6,804,015).
Largest cities or towns in Cavia
2020 census | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Province | Pop. | Rank | Province | Pop. | ||||
 Oscar City  Mochiville |
1 | Oscar City | Capital | 11,371,563 | 11 | Stonewall | Lowlands South | 5,516,272 |  Texelton  Northhills |
| 2 | Mochiville | Sheltshire | 8,181,133 | 12 | Plessier | Lowlands South | 4,879,423 | ||
| 3 | Texelton | Texelia | 7,451,694 | 13 | Chalkenham | Albifield North | 4,350,146 | ||
| 4 | Northhills | Bay West | 7,034,637 | 14 | Ironsview | Lowlands North | 4,159,673 | ||
| 5 | Lessington | Texelia | 6,804,015 | 15 | Alaistar | Abysshire | 4,047,784 | ||
| 6 | Port-au-Porcii | Lapishire | 6,548,311 | 16 | Rothersfort | Bay West | 3,931,279 | ||
| 7 | Rogerston | Bay East | 6,321.756 | 17 | Hallsford-upon-Latium | Raffield | 3,711,417 | ||
| 8 | Alban City | Lowlands South | 6,220,245 | 18 | Thornetown | Bay West | 3,585,385 | ||
| 9 | Grandcastle-upon-Latium | Bay East | 6,005,117 | 19 | Gemmersby | Palustria | 3,230,125 | ||
| 10 | Willston | Lapishire | 5,760,011 | 20 | Cuthpool | Lowlands South | 3,161,466 | ||
Government
Cavia is described as a "full democracy" by the Democracy Index, with strong traditions of liberalism, and widespread egalitarian attitudes. The sentiments of the Cavian public generally center around Template:Centre-left politics political ideology.
Cavia is a federal state under a constitutional monarchy. King Oscar I is the reigning monarch and current head of state of Cavia, as well as the three Cavian protectorates of Choiroland, Cricetinia, and Lanichia, as well as Cavian territories abroad. These territories are collectively known as the "Cavian crown". The Cavian monarch reserves the "right to consult and be consulted, to warn, encourage, and inspire". The Cavian Constitution is codified, and originated from the Articles of Common Authority, a group of laws enacted early in Cavian history from 1354 to 1357, guaranteeing specific rights and freedoms, and the Papers of Reformation in the wake of the Cavian Insurrection, which outlined the structure of the Cavian government and electoral system. These documents were consolidated into the Constitution in 1605, and have since been interpreted by federal courts, and clarified or expanded by federal or provincial legislation and statutes, comprising the nation's constitutional conventions- how the Constitution is specifically executed. The Parliament of Cavia, however, has the authority to amend any and all parts of the Constitution, and can revise, adjust, repeal, and propose new sections to the Constitution as it sees fit, although this action is rarely practiced.
Cavia is a parliamentary democracy. The federal legislative body, the Parliament of Cavia, is sovereign. The Cavian Parliament is bicameral, and is comprised of a upper house, the 389-member National Assembly, the 25-member Senate, and the crown. Bills are proposed, debated, and voted upon by the National Assembly and Senate, but in order for a bill to become a law, it must be approved by both the Prime Minister, and the reigning monarch, a process known as royal assent. However, with the near-total removal of the monarchy's role in government, royal approval of bills is merely a formality, and any bills that fail approval by either the Prime Minister or the monarch may be enacted into law anyway if enough members of Parliament vote to overturn the decision.
On a federal level, Cavian politics are currently dominated by two parties, who both advocate for leftist political policies but have been described as generally centrist on the Cavian political spectrum. These two parties are the center-left leaning Labor Party of Cavia, and the center-right leaning Party for Peace and Prosperity of Cavia. These two parties have generally exchanged the control of government throughout recent Cavian election cycles. The largest third party, the Peace Coalition of Cavia occupies the center of the Cavian political spectrum, acting as a political moderate and generally aligning with the party which wins the most seats in Parliament, often helping said party form a majority government.
Currently, eleven parties are represented by at least one member of the National Assembly, with the Labor Party making up a minority government. The Party for Peace and Prosperity currently form the official Opposition, with the Peace Coalition and two other parties forming the official majority coalition, with enough total seats to form a government. Two other parties gained enough MNPs to be represented in the Senate- the Conservative Party of Cavia and the United Workers' Coalition of Cavia.
Cavian general elections are held every three years. The term of all members of Parliament lasts three years. As an special member of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister is technically a member of Parliament, and his term lasts for three years as well. Cavia is divided into 389 constituencies, known as electoral subdivisions. Electoral subdivisions are apportioned prior to every general election on the basis of population, with each aiming to represent an equal number of citizens. Each electoral subdivision is represented by one seat in the National Assembly, and subdivisions elect one member of the National Assembly (MNP) per election to fill the seat.
For senatorial elections, the entire nation acts as one constituency. In the senatorial primary elections, Cavians belonging to a certain political party may cast their ballots for nine candidates in a ranked-choice system. The makeup of the National Assembly is then used to determine the proportion of Senate seats to be filled by each party. The rankings of candidates from the primaries are then used to determine which candidates from the relevant parties will be able to fill a seat. Political parties must be able to meet a threshold of at least 4% of ballots cast, or a minimum of one seat in the Senate. If they are not able to do so, their votes will be transferred to a party that can meet the threshold.
The Prime Minister is the head of government in Cavia. The Prime Minister is the Majority Leader, or the party that gains the most seats in Parliament, and is appointed by the Chairman, a member of the National Assembly who serves as its speaker. However, as the Chairman may only appoint the leader of the ruling party to the position, and the position of Chairman is directly elected by the people during the general election, essentially, the Prime Minister is indirectly elected by the people. The Prime Minister, through constitutional convention, also serves as Chief Minister of the Civil Service, and Chief Minister of the Treasury.
If the party with the most seats can win a majority of the 389 seats in the National Assembly, they will be able to form a majority government, also known simply as a government. However, if the party with the most seats can only come up with a plurality of the seats in the National Assembly, they will form a minority government, and must rely on other similarly-leaning political parties in order to form a coalition. A coalition will act as a government, and will assist the majority party in enacting their legislation and furthering their political agenda. The leader of the party which opposes the majority party, which is often, but not always the party with the second-most seats in Parliament, form the Opposition, with the head of the Opposition's party known officially as the Opposition Leader. The Opposition is intended to keep the majority party in check by challenging the direction and actions of the majority.
The Prime Minister is tasked with multiple statutory functions. He is the monarch's chief advisor, recommends appointments of chief ministers to various government ministries, and heads the Cabinet. The Prime Minister also serves as the mouthpiece of the federal government, and generally ensures that laws enacted by Parliament are being executed by conferring with his Cabinet, who then carry out the directives of the Prime Minister.
Administrative divisions
The main administrative divisions of mainland Cavia are its twenty provinces. Each province holds jurisdiction over a defined geographical area, and its sovereignty is shared with the federal government, with the responsibilities of administering government services such as healthcare and education shared between the federal and provincial levels. Provinces are subsequently divided into counties, whose governments are responsible for the execution of federal and provincial legislation, as well as the collection of tax revenue. On the lowest rung of political subdivisions are municipalities, who are responsible for localized services, such as first responders.
One province, the Crested Peaks Autonomous Province, holds a higher degree of self-governance than other provinces. It can, to a certain extent, enact its own civil laws and execute its own political will. For example, public schools in Crested Peaks do not have to conform to the federal curriculum.
Broadly speaking, Cavia is divided into four main geographical regions- Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern Cavia. However, these are used mainly for statistical purposes.
Cavia is also broken down into 389 electoral subdivisions, whose borders are constantly redrawn prior to every election cycle in order to ensure all subdivisions contain roughly the same number of citizens.
Cavia also maintains sovereignty over three protectorates who feature their own political subdivisions. Cricetinia utilizes the same tiered system of provinces, counties, and municipalities as Cavia. However, the protectorates of Lanichia and Choiroland both forego the provincial level, with counties and municipalities sharing the duties of governance and sovereignty with the protectorate government.
Cavian territories abroad, namely the Cavian Outlying Islands, are all uninhabited and thus do not require any defined political subdivisions. They are governed directly by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Citizenship is granted upon birth in all provinces, protectorates, and territories of Cavia.
Protectorates
Cavia's three dependencies, formerly known as protectorates, Choiroland, Cricetinia, and Lanichia, have each had their own separate, devolved governments and executives since 1974. Their governments are led by a President, who is democratically elected by citizens of the dependency. Each protectorate also has its own Parliament, which is a unicameral legislature. As the Cavian government solely has legislature on Cavian soil proper, laws passed by the Cavian legislature have no effect in Cavian protectorates, and vice versa.
Despite this, Cavian protectorates are still tethered to their mother government in some forms, the most prominent being the judicial system. Protectorates have their own local, provincial and national court systems. However, the highest court in all Cavian protectorates is the Cavian Court of Final Appeal, which serves as the most superior decision in legal matters for Cavia and her protectorates and territories. However, as the Court of Final Appeal only selects a small proportion of the cases put before it to consider, the national courts of Cavian protectorates usually form the final decision for cases originating there.
Territories
Cavia possesses direct sovereignty over its five overseas territories, collectively known as the Cavian Outlying Islands. Cavia's territories are remnants of its colonial era. They are Greensea Island, Kennedy Atoll, Northumber Atoll, Thomas Atoll, and Edward Bank. Of the five territories, only two are inhabited year-round on a permanent basis. However, these inhabitants are scientists and officers of the Cavian Armed Forces, and as such, most governance is provided by the authority of the military, with legal issues and disputes settled by the Cavian military justice system.
In terms of decisions concerning territories on a grander scale, such as development, all Cavian territories are directly governed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who acts under the directives assigned to them by the Prime Minister.
Foreign relations
Cavia has an established structure of foreign relations with other Animalian nations. It is a founding member of the Animalian Union, with a permanent seat on the organization's Directive Committee. The Animalian Union General Building, the headquarters of the organization, is located in Oscar City, and meetings of its International Assembly congregate there. It is also a member of the Global Economic Council (GEC), I8 and M6.
Almost all Animalian nations have embassies in the capital of Oscar City, with many larger nations having constructed various consulates in other major cities across Cavia. Cavia also maintains diplomatic missions in almost all foreign nations, located in various Cavian embassies and consulates abroad. The only nations which currently do not maintain official diplomatic relations with Cavia are Jungland, Karubia, Ornithio, and Latranos.
Cavia enjoys strong diplomatic ties with all North Magnian nations, namely Ursilon and Lupen, and maintains the "Central Alliance"- or robust diplomatic, cultural, and economic relations with the nation of Vulpion, its neighbor to the south. Cavia's history of colonialism in South Magnia and Gramenia have resulted in strong diplomatic relations with nations such as Capricon, Cervidia, Lepia, Procyon, and Sciuridia. The effects of the Aggressions saw Cavia, along with other developed Magnian nations, attempt to exert influence over Felifornan nations bordering Felinus. As such, the nations of Camelon, Ceraton, Pantheron, and Savannia all exhibit strong ties with Cavia, especially in terms of military support.
Cavia works closely with other Magnian and Gramenian nations in matters such as joint military operations and national security under the terms of the Grisleton Cooperative Armament Pact (GCAP), a multilateral defensive pact, and its immediate neighbors of Lupen and Vulpion in the Magnian Allied Defense Initiative (MADI). Cavia is also a member of numerous influential economic organizations, such as the Global Institution for Free Trade (GIFT), the Global Bank, the Global Economic Council (GEC), an organization that ensures the cooperation of the world's most developed economies, and the Latian Economic Forum (LEF), which preserves the free-trade agreements between Cavia and its neighbors.
Cavia exercises full international defense authority and responsibility over its three protectorates of Choiroland, Cricetinia, and Lanichia.
Law and criminal justice
Cavia utilizes a mixture of the civil and common legal system, in which the rule of law is derived by written, codified statutes, but the judiciary may overturn these statutes if it is found to be in violation of the Constitution or the Cavian spirit of the law. The Cavian Constitution is the supreme law of the nation. The Cavian justice system is established purely to mediate and settle legal conflicts by interpreting and administering the law. Based upon the precedent set by Articles of Common Authority, the Constitution guarantees Cavian citizens certain rights and freedoms that must be obeyed and respected by the government, including the right to due process. The Constitution also dictates that Cavian laws must only prohibit actions detrimental to society. The first Chief Justice of the Cavian Court of Appeal, Fabian Thomas, described the Cavian legal system as "based upon freedoms of the citizens. The law exists to ensure the prevention of the abuses of such freedoms, where necessary and with restraint when applied". This sentiment is collectively known as the spirit of the law in Cavia.
Cavian law is divided into three main areas- civil law and criminal law, which falls under the scope of private law, and administrative law, which pertains to public law. In Cavia, criminal ex post facto laws are prohibited, and courts cannot retroactively criminalize the actions of a defendant, although they may legalize a crime committed under a law deemed to be unconstitutional. While administrative law is considered to be a direct type of civil law in many countries, Cavia has two legal systems which separately handle private law and administrative law. However, the highest level of appeal in both systems is ultimately the Cavian Court of Final Appeal.
Religious law is no longer accepted as the basis for the enactment of laws and legal punishments in Cavia. Porcianism was closely intertwined with the Cavian government in the early days of Cavia, with a variety laws enacted in accordance with Porcian beliefs during the rule of the Grand Cavian Kindgom. However, since the Cavian Insurrection in 1605, the Cavian judicial system has consistently upheld the position that the Cavian government's duty to uphold all religious beliefs (as per the Constitution), should outlaw all religious motivations to influence the legal system, in order to prevent favoritism and discrimination against those of other religious backgrounds. This was cemented with the Cavian Decree on Separation of Churches and the State of 1705, codifying the basis for the Cavian government's state secularism.
Blasphemy and sodomy laws originating from the days of the Grand Cavian Kingdom were swiftly abolished following the establishment of the Republic of the Cavian State. Same-sex marriage has been legal and recognized by the Cavian government since 1609, with LGBT adoption and same-sex sexual relations never having been criminalized or prohibited by law. Laws prohibiting discrimination based upon race or sexual orientation have been in place since 1710. A question of constant debate in Cavia is whether laws prohibiting hate speech are too broad or contravene the spirit of the law.
The majority of law enforcement in Cavia is handled by local and provincial police departments. These departments are overseen by the Ministry of Justice. Federal agencies such as Royal Office of Investigation and the Royal Guard provide nationwide services and perform specialized duties, such as the protection of civil rights, investigating allegations of federal crimes, administering national security, and handling complex criminal cases such as fraud.
The largest municipal police department in Cavia is the Capital Police Service, which serves the Oscar City metropolitan area. The CPS employs approximately 185,000 people, including 150,000 uniformed officers.
Recorded crimes in Cavia increased during the 1960s and 1970s, peaking in 1977. Since then, there has been a 68% decrease in recorded criminal activity in Cavia, when compared to 2018 statistics. The prison population of Cavia is estimated at 1,872,500 people, amounting to an incarceration rate of approximately 198 per 100,000 people. This is the second-highest rate of any North Magnian nation, and fourth-highest of any nation in the Global Economic Council. Prisons in Cavia are overseen by the Royal Prison Service, which reports to the Ministry of Justice.
Since the mid-2000s, the murder rate in Cavia has stabilized to a rate of roughly 0.8 per 100,000 people. The peak murder rate was recorded in 1974, an estimated proportion of 2.2 per 100,000.
Capital punishment is abolished in Cavia, per the Criminal Justice Reform Initiative of 1918. Since then, life sentences have replaced the death sentence, and prisoners sentenced to such a punishment are typically sent to one of the nation's 115 maximum security prisons. As of 2019, there are currently 188,150 people serving life sentences in Cavia.
Military
The Cavian Royal Armed Forces Terminal is comprised of three branches- His Majesty's Army (of which the Royal Guard is a subdivision), His Majesty's Air Force (of which the Royal Aerospace Force is a subdivision), and the subdivisions of the Royal Navy, Royal Coast Patrol, and Royal Marines, which together form His Majesty's Navy. The armed forces of Cavia are overseen by the Ministry of Defense, and controlled by the Security Council, which is chaired by the Senior Minister of Defense.
The Senior Minister and members of the Security Council are appointed by the Prime Minister, whom they advise and receive orders from. The Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces is the reigning Cavian monarch, whom all servicemembers swear an oath of allegience to. Similarly to his role in the federal government, the monarch's authority over the armed forces has been gradually diminished over time to its present state, where the monarch acts solely as a figurehead.
In 2019, all three branches of the Cavian armed forces reported a total of 2.9 million personnel on active duty. When factoring in the Royal Guard (who are part-time military personnel), the total number of Cavian troops rises to 4.4 million. Conscription was abolished in Cavia in 1977, following the passage of the Establishment of His Majesty's Reserve Forces Act of 1972. The act created His Majesty's Reserve Forces, commonly known as the Reserves, in which eligible Cavian adults were given the option to partake in three months of basic military training, in exchange for an interest-free loan from the Cavian government to pay for university tuition. The Reserves may be called up and deployed abroad in the event of Cavia issuing an official declaration of war. However, Cavia's recent foreign policy makes this situation highly unlikely. As such, enlisting with the Reserves has become a popular choice for many young Cavian adults, with an estimated 57 million Cavians currently a member of the Reserve Forces. The Ministry of Defense employs approximately 500,000 Cavian civilians.
The Cavian armed forces are tasked with protecting Cavia, its citizens and its territories, promoting Cavian global security interests, and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active members in such international military coalitions as Grisleton Cooperative Armament Pact (GCAP), Magnian Allied Defense Initiative (MADI), the Cross-Amican Military Offensive Unit (CAMOU), and others.
A total of 15 overseas garrisons and facilities housing deployments of more than 100 active duty personnel are maintained in Anubia, Aviatia, Bosmia, Camelon, Ceraton, Cervidia, Lutrinia, Pantheron, Savannia, and Selakia, as well as the outlying islands of Greensea Island, Northumber Atoll, and Thomas Atoll.
The historical might of the Cavian armed forces, namely during the 18th and 19th centuries, enabled the growth of the Cavian crown through the establish of colonies abroad, and established it as the dominant world power of the contemporary era. Despite the decolonization and devolution of Cavian territories and colonies in the 20th century, Cavia has upheld its military might. The 1920s Tranquil Movement, combined with the end of the Cavian colonial era, resulted in the current foreign policy of Cavia, the Open Arms Policy, defining Cavia's role as an international mediator, in which demanding military offensives with Cavian troops may only be conducted through international coalitions.
Today, Cavian forces can be readily deployed anywhere across the globe through the Rapid Response Corps, comprised of the Air Force's wide array of transport aircraft, the Navy's 7 active aircraft carriers and fleet of transport vessels, and the Army's Regiment 15, more commonly known as the Elite Regiment, which is usually deployed by Air Force transport aircraft.
The Aerospace Force operates the Geolocation Program, the Satellite Reconnaissance Network, which is most often used to scout, track and surveil enemy targets, and the Early Missile Detection System (EMDS)
In terms of mass deployments, the Army's Field Army A and B are best-equipped for immediate deployment, while the Navy's various Maritime Battle Units can be assigned to strike naval targets and ground targets with ranged attacks, to support Cavian land forces, and to protect Cavian and allied transport vessels en route to their destinations. The Air Force, due to its various oveeseas garrisons, has the ability to strike any target across the globe in a matter of hours at the most with its array of strategic bombers. An extensive fleet of fighter aircraft secure Cavia's airspace, and can provide air support to ground and naval units.
Cavia is one of the six nations with the ability to produce nuclear weapons, and one of nine nations that possess nuclear weapons. Cavia maintains the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, which comprises 55% of the world's 7,500 estimated nuclear weapons.
According to the Animalian Union Statistical Committee, Cavia's total military expenditure ranks second in the world, only slightly behind that of Ursilon. Cavia's defense spending equates to approximately 3% of its national GDP.
Economy
Cavia is a wealthy nation with a mixed economy. Its GDP per capita of $56,581 ranks third-highest in the world, while the rate of poverty among Cavian citizens is relatively low. In terms of average wealth, Cavia ranked fourth in the world. The country's relative poverty rate stands at 15.5%, while its unemployment rate measures at 6.11%. Cavia was identified by the Grisleton Financial Group as having the third-highest average wealth in Animalia, as well as the second-highest median wealth in 2015.
Cavia uses the porcii as its currency, as does the nation's protectorates of Cricetinia, Lanichia, and Choiroland. The Oscar City Stock Exchange is by far the largest in the world by total market capitalization, with an average daily trading value of $175 billion; while the Cavian Securities Exchange is the third-largest. Cavia's economy ranks second in the world in economic freedom by the Grisleton Financial Group. In terms of total GDP, Cavia boasts the world's largest economy.
Cavia's Habitability and Development Index, or HDI, ranks fourth in Animalia at a figure of 0.925. Northhills was ranked by the Central Committee of Living Standards as the fourth-most livable city in the world. Texelton, Oscar City, Mochiville, and Rogerston all ranked within the top fifteen at fifth, eighth, eleventh, and twelfth respectively. Cavia's total government debt measures at $22.5 trillion, or 42% of its GDP, while Cavia's average household debt ranks among the highest in the world. When adjusted for inflation, Housing prices have nearly doubled in Cavia over the past twenty years, while the cost of living in urban areas has also increased significantly.
The total government debt owed by Cavia amounts to P39.6 trillion, or $19.8 trillion annually. This is approximately 37% of Cavia's total GDP. Cavia's average annual economic growth has been measured at 2.2%, in comparison to the 2.5% average for GEC member nations.
Industrialization began in Cavia at the end of the 18th century. While Vulpion is widely regarded as the first industrialized country, Cavian economic output and trade would quickly outpace their southern neighbors. Cavia would consolidate their position as the world's foremost trading nation as advancements in production methods, such as the creation of factories and the assembly line, and the advantage of Cavian naval might ensured its hegemony over international trade in the 19th century. Capitalist countries, including Cavia, would experience rapid economic growth during this time, and breakthroughs in other fields of technology and medicine increased the average Cavian standard of living and life expectancy.
As Cavians moved to cities in overwhelming numbers, urban areas such as Oscar City and Mochiville would become industrial powerhouses. Up until the early 20th century, the Cavian government had remained mostly laissez-faire in its control over the economy, resulting in harsh labor conditions for workers, and the emergence of a clear socioeconomic class structure. Business magnates at the time held considerable influence over the Cavian government, and corporate pressure encouraged the Cavian government to colonize South Magnia and Cricetinia for economic benefit. Cavian products would enter markets across the world, and Cavia would become the world's largest manufacturer of textiles, chemicals, and machine parts for the better part of a century and a half after its industrialization.
Worker- and commoner-based revolutions abroad would foster socialist schools of thought in Cavia throughout the early 20th century, and encourage proponents of workers rights to run for office. Widespread sentiments of government and corporate collusion would see many of these candidates elected throughout the 1930s and 1940s, and various worker protections would be implemented. Cavian economic output would level off from its period of expansive growth, yet continue to grow steadily until the Cavian Economic Collapse of 1952.
In the wake of the Collapse, the government would subsidize the manufacturing industry with various employment and infrastructure development programs, as well as protecting social programs enacting in previous years. These general attitudes have created the Cavian mixed economic system that continues to this day. While the vast majority of Cavian companies and sectors are privatized, such as the telecommunications, electricity, and rail sectors, some others are government-owned, such as the postal system, fossil fuels, and water. Other sectors are dominated by state-owned companies, such as the airline and mass media sectors.
As Cavia progressed into the latter half of the twentieth century, its economy began a shift to post-industrial activity, becoming a true service economy by the 1980s. Cavian manufacturing is now limited to consumer products, such as electronics, automobiles, and appliances. The top commodity exported by Cavia in 2020 was transportation equipment, automobiles, and aviation parts, accounting for 21% of all Cavian exports for that year. Major Cavian cities such as Oscar City, Mochiville, and Texelton have all been listed as global cities, vital to the operation of the global financial system, and have established themselves as major financial centers and economic hubs.
Science and technology
In 2016, Cavia spent approximately $131.5 billion on domestic research and development, of which around $48 billion was provided by the federal and provincial governments. As of 2018, the country has produced 77 Campbell laureates in fields including physics, chemistry, and medicine, and was ranked second worldwide for scientific research quality in a major 2012 survey of international scientists. It is furthermore home to the headquarters of a number of global technology firms. Cavia has one of the highest levels of internet access in the world, with over 1.5 billion users, equivalent to around 97.8 percent of its total 2015 population.
The Cavian Aeronautics and Space Program(CASP) operates a highly active space program, conducting deep-space, planetary, and aviation research, and developing rockets and satellites. Cavia was the second country to design and construct a satellite after Bearilea, with the 1955 Oscar 1 launch. Cavoa is a participant in the Animalian Unified Space Station(AUSS), and is a pioneer in space robotics, having constructed the Caviarm and AmbiDextre robotic manipulators for the AUSS and CASP. Since the 1960s, Cavia's aerospace industry has designed and built numerous marques of satellite, including SurfaceSat-1 and 2, GIMS and HORS. In 1959, William Briggs became Cavia's and Animalia's first-ever astronaut. Cavian also became the first nation to put animals on Glacia, which they achieved with the 1966 Porcellia IV mission.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is managed by national and local government. Cities report for the funding they need for infrastructure projects and the provincial government, which is responsible for tax, funds the cities. National projects or projects on government-owned land or unincorporated territory are paid for by government coffers and are managed by national government.
Transportation
The Department of Transportation is the government body responsible for overseeing transport in The Cavian State. There are many motorways in Cavia, and many other trunk roads, such as Highway 1 linking Oscar City and Northhills, runing through all of western Cavia (much of this section is motorway) and onward to the Cricetinia border. The longest motorway in Cavia is Highway 5, from Oscar City through Stonewall and Rockcliff to the northwest up to the Cricetinian border, a distance of 4,580 miles (7,371 km). Other major routes include: the C2 from Oscar City through Mochiville to Rogerstown, the C1 which encircles Oscar City, the SE8 which encircles Texelton, the S4 from Oscar City to Crested Point, and the S33 from Williston via Rogerstown to Port-au-Porcii.
Bus transport across the country is widespread; major companies include Royal Express, Destina and Capital Metro Buses. The blue Oscar City scenic buses have become a symbol of Cavia. There is a rapid transit network in five Cavian cities: the Texelton Metro, Port-au-Porcii Transit Network, Island Metro in Sealen City, Crested Point Metro, and Cavia's largest rapid transit network- the Capital Metro, servicing Oscar City, Mochiville, and Rogerstown.
Rail transport in Cavia is the oldest in the world: passenger railways originated in Cavia in 1825. Cavia's 59,000 miles (95,000 km) of rail network covers the country fairly extensively, although a high proportion of railway lines were closed in the second half of the 20th century. There are plans to reopen lines such as the Peak Line between Rogerstown and Crested Point. These lines are mostly standard gauge (single, double or quadruple track) though there are also a few narrow gauge lines.
Cavia has extensive domestic and international aviation links. The largest airport is Oscar City International, which is the world's busiest airport measured by number of international passengers. Other large airports include Mochiville Metropolitan, Northhills Airport, Rogersville Airport and Port-au-Porcii Airport. By sea there is ferry transport, both local and international, including to Cricetinia, Bearilea and Aviatia. There are around 19,400 miles (31,220 km) of navigable waterways in Cavia, half of which is owned by the Royal Waterway Trust, however, water transport is very limited. The Whitecap River is the major waterway in Cavia, with imports and exports focused at the Port of Oscar City in the Ancient Bay, one of Cavia's four major ports.
Energy
The Cavian energy market is about 166,000 terawatt hours per year. Energy consumption per capita is 4.8 tons (4,354 kg) of oil equivalent per year. In 2005, 25% of this energy came from petroleum, 23% from coal, and 15% from natural gas. The remaining 48% was supplied by nuclear power(29%) and renewable energy(19%) sources. Cavia is the world's largest consumer of petroleum. The United States has 37% of global coal reserves. It is the world's largest producer of natural gas and crude oil.
Nuclear power is the largest source of Cavian energy, and has been for well over a decade, since 2001. Cavia is the world's largest producer of nuclear energy, and produces the second-most solar energy in the world. Many rural Cavian households are powered by wind energy.
Culture
Cavian culture and traditions hold its roots to the customs celebrated by agricultural lords from tribal times. These include cuisine, sport, daily rituals and customs, etc. Other factors include its long history as a power and symbol of democracy.
Sport
Cavia places much emphasis on sport. It has been the creator of armball, holeball, hunt-dueling, and Cavian-rules football. Many of these sports were developed in the late 19th century or early 20th century. International Sport Organization President Zachary Fowler was quoted as saying "Animalian culture holds its roots within this grand, enduring nation which has sprung forth a crucial form of what helps shape our image- sport. Cavia is the birthplace of Animalian sport." for the centenary of the Cavian Armball Association.
In international competitions, Cavia, Cricetinia(called the 'Cavian Protectorate of Cricetinia' at competitions) and overseas territories compete under separate flags and teams. The Royal Department of Cavian Sport administers Cavian teams, the Hamster Bureau of Sport organizes Cricetinian teams, and the overseas territories of St. Terry's Island and Greentree Island have their own state sporting organizations.
By far the most popular sport in Cavia is football, affirmed overwhelmingly by the 2010 census(65% listed football as their favorite sport). Football has been played professionally in Cavia since the 19th century after its invention. Cricetinia Region have split their football system, resulting in a different football association and league system. Cavian football is administered by the Cavian Football Federation. The league system is extensive composing 21 tiers of professional, semi-professional and amateur teams with over 8,200 teams and 140,000 people involved in the system. The top league of Cavian football is the Cavian Super League. Average attendances average around 56,000 with hundreds of thousands more watching via television. The CSL is the most-watched league in Animalia by far.
The Cavian national football team is ranked first in Animalia by the International Federation of Animalian Football, Animalia's football governing body. In international competitions, Cavia has won the Animalian International Cup five times(1960, 1968, 2000, 2012, 2016) and the Confederational Cup three times(2014, 2015, 2017).
The second-most popular Cavian sport originates from the country itself, armball. Since its creation in 1919, armball has been played professionally in Cavia. Twelve other Animalian nations have formed official armball teams. Cavia consistently ranks in the top three nations for armball, but has not won an international armball competition since 2011. Cavia, Bearilea, Ramsdale, Foxtia, the Savannah Republic, and the Hog Federation annually compete for the Six Nation Open. The top Cavian club armball league is the Cavian Armball League composed of fifteen teams from around the nation.
Holeball, the third-most popular sport is another sport originating from Cavia in 1913. Holeball is contested by club teams in Cavia but is not played internationally due to its lack of attention abroad. Armball's top club league is the Armball League of Cavia. The league does not function in a league system format with the same ten clubs contesting for the league title each season.
Another Cavian sport, developed by rich Cavian landowners, is hunt-dueling. Developed in the 12th century, the purpose of the sport was to settle claim disputes to land and property. Played over four square kilometers, wealthy landowners with deeds to more than thousands of square kilometers found this easy to play. During the King Roger I era of land redistribution in the 17th century, the popularity of this sport declined. However, it has made a resurgence with thickly-wooded parks dedicated to professionals and amateurs of the sport. Regular tournaments are held for hunt-duelers domestically and internationally.
Symbols
The flag of the Cavian State was conceived in 1881 by MP Sir Cameron Dawson. The red stripe running vertically represents the struggles of the nation, mainly the Great Struggle and the revolution for independence. The blue stripe running horizontally represents the sea, and at the top of the flag, represent the boundaries of the land and civilization, as guinea pigs are not accustomed to venturing into water. The blue stripe is also said to represent peace and stability, marking no attacks from war on Cavian soil for over eight centuries. The three stars represent the three triumphs of the nation and are put over the blue stripe to represent overcoming the boundaries that were needed to achieve such triumphs which were independence, the writing of the Constitution, and the Recovery period of Cavian history. The national anthem, "Forward, Forward", was written by poet Arthur Cranston in 1702, embodies the spirit of Cavian cheerfulness, resilience, and perserverance.
The national personification of the nation is usually Oscar the Founder, the leader of the revolution against the conquering forces. Characterized as an abyssinian, shorthaired guinea pig with a sword and red robes. He is associated with government posters released during crises cheering and rallying the nation's people forward. As the symbol of the nation he has been used in political cartoons or advertisements and PSAs. He also appears on the nation's monetary system on the five-Porcii bill and the ten-Porcent coin.
Population: 945,741,000 · Capital: Oscar City · Languages: Cavian | ||
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