Casari
| The Confederated Colonies of Casari | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Confederated Colonies of Casari is a Parlamentary Democracy which currently resides in the Allied Union of Nations. The nation is currently plauged with developmental issues, particularly the state and construction of infrastructure.
History
Colonial Period
Casari was originally founded as the colony of Ashford, a company-owned shipping and repair colony, in order to serve as a waypoint for transport ships to pick up supplies as they ventured towards the more populated parts of the former empire. Life in the colony rotated around agriculture and forestry, in order to support the vital shipping industry.
In I.Y. 954, the colony was appropriated by the crown and was placed under the command of Crown Governor J.T. Frali, and become the home of the 17th Colonial Army Regiment, formed in order to protect the now vital port as more and more of the nation's colonial trade was transferred between the nation's growing series of ports, as Tyrellia, Carlisle, and Kota were founded to increase the colony's trading ability. Slowly, expeditions into the interior of the island to determins other uses for the large amount of unclaimed land were prepared and sent, but as the interior looked less and less promising, focus turned back to the colony's role in trade, except for a quiet mining town of Tyir, founded in the West Highlands.
For 100 years, until I.Y. 1085, the colony was one of the Empire's crown jewels. However, advances in technology and new, more profitable colonies in other areas left Ashford and the other colonial cities in slow decline. New rich veins of minerals were discovered in Tyir, and an increasing agricultural base forced the population to move inland.
As the primary purpose of Ashford and the other colonies was no longer needed, poverty began to take a hold on the colonies, due to improper planning and the lack of Imperial interest in a colony in a no-longer-profitable area. In I.Y. 1130, sentiment among colonists had hit an all time low and the citizens of Tyrellia attacked the fort of the 17th Colonial Regiment. The fort fell without a fight, the soldiers being local themselves, and the city was declared the Free State of Tyrellia. The other colonial cities declared themselves Free States in the following weeks, and after mettings in the Tyrellian Town Hall between the various cities, the Confederated Colonies were formed.
Geography
Regions
Casari is split into eight seperate regions.
- The Colonies: Consists of the original Colonial cities and other founded along Casari's West Coast. Features hilly, forested terrain.
- The Silver Coast: Has many low-lying coastal plains which are subject to routine rains.
- The West Highlands: The West Highlands has many of Casari's highest mountains and is populated by scattered mining towns. Spends several months of the year under moderate to heavy snow.
- The East Highlands: The lower mountains and generally rocky terrain of the East Highlands are usually spared from heavy snow.
- The Northwest Islands: Several large and open semi-tropical islands make up the Northwest islands.
- The Northeast Islands: As opposed to the Northwest Islands, the smaller and much more numerous Northeastern Islands are densely forested and home to much of Casari's exotic species of flora and fauna.
- The Midlands: The Midlands are flat, continental plain, unworthy of attention except for it's lack of features.
- The East Coast: The East Coast, unlike the other two, is full of small inlets, bogs, and swamps.
Weather
Weather in Casari consists of the rainy seasons, which take place in both the spring and the fall, and the dry, which usually come during the summer and winter.
Maritime Claims
Casari claims exclusive maritime rights out to 50 Nautical Miles, including both fishing and undersea mineral rights.
High and Low Points
- Highest point- Mount Kelsari, 12,394 ft
- Lowest point- Sea Level, 0 ft
People
Nationality
- Noun: Casaran(s)
- Adjective: Casaran
Language
The national language of Casari is english. However, many dialects spoken by Casarans have incorporated terms from other languages as slang to the point where communication between people from different regions could have difficulty understanding each other.
Holidays
The naming of national holidays resides with the office of the Prime Minister who has the ability to declare any day a national holiday. While several days are nominated as tradition, the whims of the Prime Minister can result in the nomination of various odd holidays, as seen recently with "Qualification day", decalred after Casari qualified for the 25th edition of the World Cup.
- January 14th- Revolution Day
- April 22nd- Unification Day
- August 1st- Election Day
- September 14th- National Service Day
- December 18th- Minister's Day
Government
The Government of Casari is a bilevel parlamentary system which holds elections every three years. The Casaran Parlament currently consists of 641 members, 109 of them Barons and 532 Counts. For elections, the nation is split up into Baronies, usually centered around a major city, which each Barony then split up into Counties. Each person votes for one nominee for Baron and one for Count. Barons and Counts sit together in Parlament, however Barons are able to cast two votes in all parlamentary issues, while Counts can only cast one, which leads to a current total of 750 votes.
After elections have taken place, Parlament meets to elect a Prime Minister, who then nominates nineteen others to form the cabinet. Recently, the nominatation of the Prime Minister has been done through dealings between parties to form a Majority Union or Coalition, while the remaining parties take the title of the Opposition or the Opposing Union or Coalition. Sometimes, small parties not seeking to anger either major party or parties that do not agree with either platform form a Neutral body.
The Cabinet
The Cabinet consists of the Twenty ministers who are appointed by Parlament (Prime Minister) or nominated (all others).
- Prime Minister
- Deputy Prime Minister
- Foreign Minister
- Defense Minister
- Justice Minister
- Commerce Minister
- Interior Minister
- Treasury Minister
- Health Minister
- Education Minister
- Culture Minister
- Labor Minister
- Science Minister
- Housing Minister
- Trade Minister
- Agriculture Minister
- Industry Minister
- Environment Minister
- Transportation Minister
- Energy Minister
Political Parties
Political Life in Casari centers around the three major Political Parties, and a large number of Minor parties.
- Major Parties
- National Conservative
- National Labor
- Casari Liberal
- Minor Parties
- Green Party
- Pan-Mountain Party
- Farmers Party
- Socialist Party
- Hooligan Party
- Independence Party
- National Drunkard Party
- Union Party
- National Front
- Red Hat Party
- Isolationist Party
- Funny Colors Party
- World Unity Party
- Coastal 40
Transportation
The transit system in Casari relies on a variety of roads, rails, and airstrips to move people from town to town.
Road
A variety of roadways exist in Casari, connecting various cities in various ways. The biggest transportation complaints in Casari consist of unreliable connections to many smaller cities and towns.
National Expressways
Expressways are limited-access high-speed roads, usually consisting of 3 or more lanes in each direction. The roads are monitored and the speed limit controlled from a central location in order to limit traffic, which in clear weather and low traffic can reach up to 95 miles per hour. Expressways currently connect all major cities in Casari and are signified by their Red, White, and Blue Signs.
National Highways
National Highways are 2 lane roads with no stop signs or lights, although other roads can connect directly to it. The lowest maximum speed limit on highways is 65 miles per hour, which is raised up to 75 in some areas. Highways connect many minor cities and are signified by white and black signs.
Barony and County Roads
Barony and County roads are controlled and maintained by the local governments and connect most small towns. The usual speed limit on these roads is 55-60 miles per hour.
Mountain and Coastal Routes
Mountain and Coastal Routes are Nationally-Managed routes, noticeable by their triangular yellow signs, pointing up on Mountain routes and Down on Coastal Routes. Mountain and Coastal Routes are roads Highway level or below which are more dangerous to traverse in adverse weather conditions at night due to placement, weather, or road condition. Routes that experience routine dense fog, heavy snow, are situated on a mountainside and have sheer cliffs on one side, or are suseptable to flooding are all nominated Mountain or Coastal Routes. The problem with these routes is many coastal and mountain towns are only accessable through them, leaving these towns easily cut off in a natural disaster.
Rail
While it's Road system is in reletive disrepair, the rail system is well-maintained and serviced by a number of rail companies who competitively bid on routes between cities.
Air
Air travel between cities takes place by many small airlines flying small to medium sized propeller and jet aircraft. Many small towns have airstrips and small airports, but the large runways necessary to handle large Passenger aircraft only exist at Casari's few International Airports.
Sea
Sea travel is available through many small companies to other ports in Casari along with neighboring nations.
Media
Television
Television in Casari consists of the government-funded networks and their private competitors. The government funded CasariTV organization has 4 seperate channels. Casari1 features national news and entertainment programming, which is mirrored on Casari1+1, which is offset by an hour. Casari2 is a local news station, with some regional and national entertainment programming as well. Casari3News is their 24 hour news station, specializing in both World and breaking news and discussion shows. Lastly, Casari4Sport is a 24 hour sport channel, specializing in live broadcast of sporting events and analysis.
The primary corporate opposition to CasariTV is the Casari Broadcasting Alliance, which has a variety of channels designed to compete with the government funded alternatives. CBA is similar in format to Casari1, with National and Local news and entertainment programming. CBA News is their competing 24 hour News network, and CBA Sport competing in the 24 hour Sport category. Finally, CBA World specializes in showing popular programs and events from around the world, exploiting CasariTV's mandate to promote Domestic Television instead of promoting Foriegn shows.
The third competitor in the television market is National Broadcasting, who shows a variety of programming on their NB Red and NB Blue Networks. Many specialty cable and sattelite networks also exist to exploit niche interests that the main networks cannot afford to spend valuable airtime catering too.
Radio
The major players in Casaran Radio are the same as in television. CasariRadio, the government funded option, has seven seperate radio formats, four of them national, two regional, and one local, numbered similarly to their television stations, designed to cater to individual tastes. The CBA has 4 national feeds and 1 regional, while National Broadcasting has 1 National and 3 Regional networks. The rest of the dial in many locations is filled out with minor local and regional stations who manage to compete despite their smaller fanbase.
