Civitas Americae
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| Flag of Civitas Americae | |
| Motto: "Tertius vicis lepor lepos" | |
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| Region | The Kingdom of Burgundy |
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| Capital | Neuhausburg |
| Official Language(s) | Latin and German |
| Leader | Emperor Paul VII |
| Population | 1 billion |
| Currency | Dollar |
| NS Sunset XML | |
The Holy Empire of Civitas Americae is a Catholic modern tech empire residing in The Kingdom of Burgundy.
Contents
History
Civitas Americae was founded as a colony of the Holy Roman Empire shortly after its discovery in the mid-15th century. A large, rich, and fertile land, it was devoid of native inhabitants. Younger noble sons quickly seized the opportunity presented them, and petitioned the Emperor for landholdings in the new land, which had been named Amerika. Rather shrewdly, the Emperor portioned out the holdings in such a manner as to ensure their loyalty to the Empire. It was thanks to this that when the fatal Protestant Schism arose a half-century later that the princes of this new land remained loyal to the Empire and hence to Rome.
The land that would become Civitas Americae was not populated solely by subjects of the Holy Roman Empire however. Many commoners from across Europe immigrated to the Imperial colonies. In addition, following the loss of Constantinople, many survivors of Byzantium settled in the New World. Unlike their counterparts who returned to schism under Turkish oppression, these remained faithful to Rome and the reunification at the Council of Florence. It is because of these that today, 30% of Civitas Americae’s population is Byzantine Catholic. All of these immigrants are the reason why the official language of Civitas Americae is Latin rather than German.
On September 28th, 1784, the Feast of King St. Wenceslas, Karl IX, the Holy Roman Emperor, recognizing that Civitas Americae had grown too large for him to govern, granted it its independence. The Habsburg prince Paul, nephew of the Emperor, was crowned as the first emperor of the new Empire, united to its parent in the desire to preserve Christendom. Alas, Christendom was destroyed in Europe, with the exception of the Papal States, which have been continuously preserved (and administered, on the Pope’s behalf), by Civitas Americae. Because Civitas Americae’s independence was granted on the feast of King St. Wenceslas, he has been adopted as the patron of the Empire.
Recent History
During the Kraven War in November of 2005, Civitas Americae aided the Anti-Kraven Alliance by launching air strikes against Kraven. Around the same time as Civitas Americae left the war effort via truce, it introduced the first modern tech powered armor, the Mk I Assault Battle Suit produced by Neu Sachsen Combat Systems Inc.
Military
Regular Forces
Please see:
Irregular Forces
Reserves
The Reserves are made up of the militias belonging to the principalities that form Civitas Americae. Under the traditional customs, the Reserves cannot be deployed outside of Civitas Americae’s borders, but they can be used in case of invasion or rebellion. As they are militia, they are not full-time soldiers, with the notable exception of a portion of Neu Sachsen’s militia, but rather serve mainly in weekend drills unless mobilized by Imperial decree, or by order of their prince or king.
Currently, approximately 20 million men are members of the various militias. These 20 million men form 473 mechanized infantry divisions, 218 armored divisions, 105 artillery divisions, 79 special artillery divisions, and approximately 100 fighter and bomber divisions.
Unorganized Militia
The Unorganized Militia consists of all able-bodied males between the ages of 18 and 35. In the event of an invasion, armories will be opened up and all members of the Organized Militia will be permitted to drawn weapons in order to conduct guerilla warfare against enemy forces. If a nuclear attack should strike Civitas Americae, the members of the Unorganized Militia may be called up to form reconstruction units.
People
The population of Civitas Americae is mainly Caucasian due to the initial immigration being drawn from the Holy Roman Empire and refugees from the Byzantine Empire. Except for the noble and royal families, and of course the Imperial Family, the ethnicity of most Americaens is too blended to state with certainty, though it is heavily German. Of the 12% minority population, half are descended from Japanese Christians who fled the persecution in the 17th century. There are also a large number of White Russians who were accepted as refugees after the rise of Bolshevikism. At the current rates of immigration and intermarriage, the minority population is expected to be completely absorbed within the next 200 years.
The official religion of Civitas Americae is Catholicism in union with His RL Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. 53% of Americaens belong to the Latin Catholic Church, while 32% are Byzantine Catholic. Of the remainder, 6% are Protestant, 3% belong to one of the other Catholic Churches in union with Rome, 2% are Eastern Orthodox, 1.5% are Jewish, and the rest are “Other”
Satanism, Wicca, other neo-pagan religions, and Wahabiist Islam are outlawed. Typical punishment is home confinement until a public renunciation of faith is made, but special circumstances such as participation in a Black Mass or knowingly giving aid to a terrorist organization may cause the death penalty to be given.
Transportation
Rail
Rail travel is still the most popular form of transportation within the nation of Civitas Americae. High-speed rail lines connect all of Civitas Americae’s major cities, and even some of the smaller ones. Maglev trains also service several of the more popular routes, providing service that has made short-distance air travel unprofitable. Unlike many foreign nations, a high class of service is still the standard for Civitas Americae railways. Full service dining cars and sleeper cars are available on long distance trips for all but the cheapest passengers.
It is not uncommon to see different rail companies servicing the same stations. All railway track is considered to belong to the government, who pays for its upkeep. This does not prevent rail companies from laying their own however. Companies choosing to do so are fully reimbursed for the expense of doing so and are granted a monopoly on the line for a period of several years, though most companies lease limited use of the rail to others to supplement their income. The taxes earned by the government on rail travel, both passenger and freight, and from the increased business associated with heavy rail use, are more than enough to offset the costs of maintaining all the track. The heavy use of the rails by the government, for troop and military equipment movement as well as for the railway guns in service, is considered by many to be justification for the cost, even if the rails were not in effect self-sufficient in revenue.
One interesting feature of Civitas Americae rail lines is the prevalence of third party rail cars. Either leasing vending space on a car owned by the railway, or purchasing one of their own and hiring the rail lines to carry the car along with the normal passenger cars, many companies receive a majority, or even the entirety, of their revenue through this practice. While many nations had popular fast food restaurant chains develop through the mass use of the automobile, in Civitas Americae, these chains were born on the rail system. The food provided generally isn’t a threat to the sales of the dining cars as the dining cars serve more elegant meals on longer travels that typically do not have as many third party vendors. In addition, a number of rail lines have their dining cars provided by third party companies, eliminating the concern to the bottom-line completely.
Food is not the only service provided by third party rail cars. Bookstores and arcades are very popular as well, and a few routes even have massage parlor cars. On many routes, you can also find hair salons and barbers, and routes that take multiple days often have a car with showers attached to the sleeper cars.
Other forms of transportation
For the most part, highways are limited to connecting cities that do not have rail access to those that do. Most highways have only two lanes in each direction, though a few have four lanes in some relatively highly traveled areas.
Transcontinental travel is usually provided by one of the many supersonic airliners that fly Civitas Americae’s skies. The Sonic Cruiser, a derivative of the B-70 Valkyrie bomber, is one of the more widespread planes. For those who have a fear of flying, it is possible to take a maglev train across the country with only two to three days of travel.
For the absolute speed freaks, suborbital shuttle flights occur daily and travel not only cross-country, but to a variety of foreign nations as well. Suborbital flights have also been noted as becoming very popular for travel to and from the colony of Westamerika. Of course, orbital flights to the commercial hotels and research stations in space are a routine occurrence.
Government
Civitas Americae is a subsidiary absolute monarchy. While the Emperor holds all authority, this authority is almost never used to its full extent. Problems are preferably solved on the lowest level possible. This allows the Emperor to concentrate his attention on national matters, without having to worry about local matters, or squabbling between any of the 217 principalities and kingdoms (including the Kingdom of Neu Bayern, of which the Emperor is King) which make up the Holy Empire of Civitas Americae.
Aiding the Emperor in his ruling are the Inner Council and the Council of Advisors. The Inner Council is selected by the Emperor himself, and may be dismissed at anytime. Currently the Inner Council is composed of:
- Minister of Foreign Affairs: Kurz Weber
- Minister of Domestic Affairs: Jakob Schneider
- Field Marshal of the Air Force: Karl Arinze
- Grand Admiral of the Navy: Johannes Schönborn
- Commandant of the Marine Corps: Norman Adler
The Council of Advisors, on the other hand, is composed of delegates appointed by the states which make up the Holy Empire. Currently most states, including Neu Bayern, allow for popular election of at least some delegates, but 34 still appoint all their delegates. The Council of Advisors is split into an Upper House and a Lower House. The Upper House holds three delegates per state, while the Lower House grants a delegate per state per half million people. Mainly a ceremonial organization, in large part due to the sheer number of delegates, the Council of Advisors takes care of the more mundane paperwork involved in running the Empire. The limits placed on the Emperor by his only being one man, and the likelihood of a bill never passing the Council of Advisors, helps ensure that the principle of subsidiarity remains effective.
Nuclear Defense
Because the role and duty of government is to protect its subjects, the local governments and principalities, in cooperation with the Imperial government, have made a heavy investment in nuclear shelters and warning systems. Along with a large industry in family-sized bomb shelters, and the practice of locating military bases away from cities whenever possible, this contributes to the estimates that at least 97% of Civitas Americae’s population would survive a strategic nuclear attack large enough to saturate the Organized Milita’s defenses.
Notable Sites in Civitas Americae
The Missile Factory
Located in Neu Sachsen, in the middle of the country, the Missile Factory is owned and operated by the Missile Consortium, a gathering of independent missile and rocket companies. Spread out over 10,000 square miles, the Missile Factory contributes greatly to Civitas Americae’s ability to manufacture enough missiles and bombs to supply its Armed Forces. Though it is not the sole source, it does provide a majority of Civitas Americae’s missile production capacity. Because of its obvious strategic importance, the Factory’s equipment is built on shock absorbers to protect them from nearby nuclear detonations and there are 12 ABM batteries, funded by the Consortium and staffed by Neu Sacshen militia, dedicated solely to the protection of this facility. In addition, much production is being moved underground.
King St. Wenceslas Cathedral
Dedicated to the patron of Civitas Americae, construction on this cathedral began in in 1830 under Karl VII. Completed in 1893 under Paul V, it is twice the size of the Hagia Sophia and considered to be one of the most magnificent churches in the world.
Neu Sachsen Combat System Inc. Factories
Although Neu Sachsen does not have one extremely large factory as does the Missile Consortium, it does operate over a hundred large factories across the nation of Civitas Americae, including two in the capital, Neuhausburg. Free guided tours of the factories are available on weekdays between 9am and 9pm, and each factory contains a gift shop, which contain models of the Mk I Assault Battle Suit of course, and an anime-theme arcade.
Westamerika
Westamerika is a colonial region of Civitas Americae, divided into five principalities: Styria-Sulzburg, Thurn und Taxis, Neuvarel, Troppau, and Anhalt. It provides Civitas Americae’s only land border, with Spizania. Map
Westamerika’s ABM defenses include fifty Organized Militia batteries. It is also surrounded by a dense belt of over 600 S-400 batteries.
![[1]](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c209/CivitasAmericae/map.jpg){kind=link}
