Community (Athamasha)

Overview

The Community refers to either the movement before the formation of the Community Government of Athamasha, the Community Government itself, or the Community faction in the Upheaval.

All these groups held the same three basic philosophical tenets:

• Athamasha should be as homogenous a society as is easily feasible,
• Power should be concentrated for decisive action, and
• The State can and should play a role in expanding trade and exploration routes, but should otherwise limit economic involvement.

The Community Movement

The actual island of Athamasha six centuries before the start of the Community Movement (in 598 Island Calendar) had been colonized by a Latin-speaking group known as the Colonii ("Colonists"). Other groups soon began to arrive. The native Asham-speaking group, the Kaleala ("sun-men") felt very poorly about this. This, when taken with the hatred the various colonial groups had for each other, quickly produced an ethnic conflict of enormous proportions, known as the "War of All Nations." Soon, though, it began to die down with the introduction of "homogenization" programs spearheaded by the Community Movement.

The Community Government

The Community Government began to assert its authority starting with the Proclaimation of Community on 21 July 674. It was initially a very simple setup, with the Concilium Maximum Athamashae ("Supreme Council of Athamasha") of twenty-five members ruling the entire country. The CMA quickly pacified the remaining Nationalist groups and propagated a Flaxenist ideology. Within fifteen years, the CMA's army had managed to subdue the entire country.

However, within less than a century the population of Athamasha began to spiral out of control. A few measures were enacted, including state birth planning, but this proved ineffective against the crush of immigrants. The Community established a few parallel countries as "off-lettings" for the pressure that had built up inside, including the famous Ward State of Mevamasha and the Zionist colony of Seonasha, in addition to several other, much smaller colonies.

Consitutional change came at last during the golden age of the Community around 780. David Horowitz, charismatic leader of the Free Democrats, wrote a new constitution which provided for a Concilium Tribuum Athamashae ("Council of the Tribes of Athamasha"), which permitted the CMA to delegate a majority of its legislative duties to a body that was seen as much more representative of the people.

Eventually, however, the Community Government collapsed in the Upheaval.

The Community Faction

During the ideological civil war known as the Upheaval, those wishing to maintain the Community government as is were the fourth-largest faction and continued to fly the Community flag, which is azure, a bend vert, a benzene in the dexter and base. The Community faction ultimately ended up being destroyed by the Society Faction during the Battle of Urbs Divae, which is considered to be the last really major battle of the Upheaval.