Compadria

The Republic of Compadria is a huge, socially progressive nation, renowned for its punitive income tax rates. Its compassionate, intelligent population of 529 million love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Social Welfare, Education, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 100%. The private sector is almost wholly made up of enterprising fourteen-year-old boys selling lemonade on the sidewalk, although the government is looking at stamping this out.

History

The first people to arrive in Compadria were the Compadros, a nomadic group of unknown origin, who came from the sea and landed near Mustelidae point, sometime around 5000 B.C. They rapidly expanded inland, eventually, by 4500 B.C., occupying around 40% of the territory contained within the borders of the modern day Republic of Compadria.

By 2500 B.C., the Compadros had established an advanced civilisation in this region of Compadria, which they referred to even then as "Compadra Nostra". They had developed writing, the wheel, medicine and primitive hospitols and internal free trade. The Compadros had established an advanced governmental structure, dividiing their territory into 7 states. Each state was largely independant and had full lawmaking ability; they were governed by Enhydra, nobles chosen from the pre-eminent families of the region. The supreme leader of the Compadros nation was the Lutra, a largely ceremonial figure, who's main power was his leadership of the Compadros religion, Tarkanish. He was elected every 7 years by a great caucus, composed of between 1000 and 3000 delegates; held at Kataga, the home of the great shrine of Tarkan, the first leader of the Compadros, believed by legend to have been half-man, half-otter.

In 489 B.C., Marcus Antoninus, was elected Lutra and he claimed soon afterwards to have had a vision in which he was urged by an apparition of Tarkan to seize the Hydros land to the north, home of the Aonyx peoples, who had arrived their in 2000 B.C. Until then, the two peoples had had little contact and knew next to nothing about each other. Historians are divided as to whether he was mentally unstable or merely using religion as a pretext for seizing the fertile mountain slopes of Hydros for personal enrichment. In 488, an army invaded Hydros and by 485 had occupied it entirely, doubling the seize of "Compadra Nostra". The Aonyx were heavily persecuted and ethnically cleansed in many areas, resulting in bitter feelings that persist in some parts up to today. Their descendants are the Dutch speaking, Aonys, who still mostly live in the same region as their forefathers.

The fertility of the acquired lands immensly improved agriculture and by 430, the Compadros numbered some 8,000,000. By now they had begun to believe themselves invincible. In 397 B.C., the Lutra Petrus Magnus, Antoninus' successor proclaimed the "Imperium Compadra". The empire was to be badly rocked in 377 B.C. by a series of droughts, which killed of substantial numbers of people in the mountain areas and caused food shortages even in Tarkan. Alarmed, the Compadros began to look for new lands to exploit for raw materials and thus occupied Pteronura, a fertile, flat land, to the north-west of Hydros. This was completed by 366 B.C.

"Imperium Compadra" survived, even prospered until 50 B.C. During this time, sea trade routes were established with neighbouring kingdoms and the Imperium reached its peak. In 147 B.C., the Amblonyx archipeligo was seized from Szachminstra, thus bringing Compadria's frontiers briefly to their modern extent.

In 50 B.C. however, disastor struck: For unknown reasons, the population died off dramatically, falling from 15,000,000 to around 6,500,000 in around a decade. Little is known about this period, but scientists believe that a series of bad harvests induced famine, which led to infighting between the states over resources.

It was not until 890 A.D., that any sign of Compadrian civilisation emerged. Remarkably, after 900 years of the Dark Ages, the new rulers were Compadros, though reduced in numbers. They called their leaders Lontra and soon began to re-establish the Compadrian state, though this time as a highly centralised, monarchical system. Lontra Caius Andronicus was the first ruler and today is referred to as "Andronicus the Uniter". He rapidly built up Compadrian power until by 1000, they were able to re-occupy Hydros and Amblonyx, though not Pteronura. For the next 500 years, Compadria, now known as "Regno Compadra", remained stable and prosperous. It was to last this way until 1509 A.D., when Lontra Sia Ottarkus became leader, the first Aonyx to become so. This triggered another bloody civil war which rumbled on until 1756 A.D., when The Treaty of Compadra was signed, ending hostilities and allowing the descendants of Sia Ottarkus to remain Lontra.

Industrialisation began slowly, but picked up towards the end of the 18th century, though Compadria was never to become a great manufacturor. Political and Social reform dominated the 19th century political agenda, with notable feats being the "Libertas sul Populi" Act which established the first constitutional and civil liberties and the "Prosperitum" Act, which established a primitive welfare state. In 1775, Kataga was named capital and had its name changed to Tarkan. In 1782, Pteronura was re-captured and thus were the boundaries of modern day Compadria definitively set.

In 1924 A.D., a violent revolution broke out in the northern provinces and spread to the southern traditional states by 1925. The demands of the revolutionaries were political and social reform. They demanded an end to the "Regna" and the proclamation of democracy as well as a full welfare state, civil liberties and the recognition of English and Dutch as official languages (being spoken by 49% and 36% of the population respectively). They managed to overthrow the last Lontra, Albertus Mordicrae in January 1926, thus ending the "Regna Compadra". Throughout the late 20's and 30's, bitter struggles emerged over the governance of the country. Compadrians, naturally radical people, were usually voting for one of three parties. The Centre Coalition, a centrist-centre left party; The Radical Bloc, a far-left party and the Liberal Nationalists, a libertarian socialist grouping. The three squabbled endlessly about power, until 1935, when a second revolution was launched and the Radical Bloc installed.

This collapsed in 1951 and multi-party democracy restored. Throughout the 60's and 70's, a series of Democratic Workers Party governments (successors to the Radical Bloc) introduced the cornerstones of modern Compadrian society: The generous welfare state, nationalisation of public utilities and services, as well as the commanding heights of the economy, free education and healthcare, environmentalist protections and vast expansions of civil liberties. The constitution was drawn up in 1978 and the Republic of Compadria declared the next year (previously, from 1935, it had been known as the Free State of Compadria). The National Liberals came to power in 1983 and instituted some market reforms and privitisations, as well as a policy of corporate welfare to boost the flagging economy, but kept to the post-revolutionary economic and social consensus for the most part. In their 8 years of office, the arts were expanded hugely through public funding and the environment given top-priority. Tourism boomed and Compadria became an artistic Mecca. By 1991 however, an economic downturn, gave the DWP another term in office, in which they un-did several economic reforms undertaken by the National Liberals and presided over a slow period of economic growth. By 1999, the Centre Coalition, after 60 years in the wilderness, won power and largely embarked on economic recovery through tax cuts and modernisation. Compadria recovered and today is on the road to economic success and peace and prosperity.

Geography

Compadria is geographically versatile, with a wide range of habitats and biomes for plant and animal life. The country is exceptionally well blessed with rain, around 1200 millimetres fall every year near the coastal plains, 1400 millimetres in the highlands and 750 millimetres in the arid, north-eastern region. Lush forests cover 63% of the country, with numerous waterways and lakes dotted in between. 6% of the land is built up; 25% is arable, 3% wetland and 3% desert. The soil is fertile, with two rainy seasons in spring and autumn and a short dry season in the winter.

The coastal regions are flat and dotted with wetlands and estuary's, as well as coastal forests and scrubland. Farming is quite intensive here and the land is also heavily built up. 90% of Compadria's population lives in this small belt. The mountains are rocky and thickly forested in most parts, but in some areas, they offere exceptionally fertile soil, which, coupled with increased humidity, leads to bumper harvests in these places. The north-eastern desert is empty, dusty and barren, virtually un-inhabited and with real resources to speak of, other than uranium, the mining of which is forbidden by Compadrian law.

Demographics

Today, some 529,000,000 people live in Compadria. Of these, 73% are ethnic Compadros, 17% Anonyx and another 10% Morganates, who mainly live in the border regions of Compadria. English is the majority language; having been introduced in the 18th century, it is now spoken by 74% of the population as their first language. The old guard, Dutch and Latin, have now dwindled dramatically, with only 20% and 6% of the population respectivally, speaking them.

The average life expectancy in Compadria is 82 for men and 85 for women. 19% of the population are under the age of 21, 50% between 21 and 50 and the remaining 31%, between 50 and 90. Compadria's population grows rapidly each year, leading to fears of overpopulation in the near future. For the moment however, government experts say they have the problem under control.

Economy

The Compadrian economy is stable yet recently has slowed somewhat, thought to be because it is encumbered with large amounts of regulations, workers rights and social policy accords and widespread nationalisation. The private sector is small, mostly concerning gambling and some industry and logging. The public sector is enormous, encompassing virtually all sectors. The nationalised industries and utilities are:

-Schools

-Hospitals, dentists and opticians

-Energy

-Steel

-Chemicals

-Logging

-Gambling and the Tote

-Shipping and Freight

-Mining

-Central Bank of Compadria

-Transport (minus airlines and some sea routes)

-Broadcasting (publically funded Compadrian Broadcasting Corporation)

-Social Security

In additon, all companies must abide by the "Workers Charter", which permits virtually all forms of strike action and sets a 50 hour week, with numerous conditions on redundancies. Compadrias nationalised industries are run in cooperatives with a balance between workers and top down governmental management. Extensive environmental and health and safety measures are required. Corporate manslaughter is a specific offence under Compadrian law. In addition, some 76% of GDP is consumed a year by government spending.

On the other hand, Compadria has a broad system of corporate welfare, offering tax credits and fiscal support to national and some international companies that invest significantly in Compadria. The Corporation Tax rates are set at 40% (higher) and 11% (lower) Fair Trade policies have meant a surge in imports, leading to a high quality of resources and the Compadrian workforce are mostly well educated and trained. For these reasons, the economy is thriving and Compadria looks forwards to significant future growth. Compadria suffers from moderate inflation, running currently at 5% (2005).

Personal taxation is set in 5 bands:

Basic Rate (12,000 strachans - 40,000 strachans): 90%

Secondary Rate (40,000 strachans - 100,000 strachans): 92%

Tertiary Rate (100,000 strachans - 250,000 strachans): 94%

Penultimate Rate (250,000 strachans - 1,000,000 strachans): 96%

Upper Rate (1,000,000 strachans - ): 98%

Indirect taxation is variable, with eco-taxation replacing VAT two years ago and Capital Gains tax being set at 20%. Average income is 10,000 strachans per annum, but this is often limited in value, as a result of moderate inflation, though wages rise each year in line with inflation rates.

Political System

Compadria is a parliamentary democracy, based on universal adult suffrage from the age of 20. The Houses of Parliament are composed of two great chambers: The Congress of the People, the lower house and The Union Senate, the upper house.

The Luris, the leader of the lower house, is responsible for all internal affairs and policy, as well as formulating foreign policy (in partnership with the Lontra, the supreme leader). He is chosen by the Lontra, usually from the largest party in the Congress of the People. The present Luris is Samuel Cromwell (MP Tarkan Watershed), leader of the Centre Coalition. The leader of the opposition is Vos Mulligan (MP Olmenholt East), leader of the National Liberals.

The Congress of the People is composed of 845 members, each elected from single member constituancies, by the First-Past-the Post electoral system. They are elected for terms of between 4 and 5 years and debate all legislation as well as vote on all laws. In order to stand for election as a member, you must be at least 20 years old and have collected 60 signatures on your Voting Petition.

The Lontra is supreme leader of the nation and chair of the Union Senate. He is selected by a vote of state delegations every 7 years and controls the armed services (during a time of war), decides foreign policy, signs treaties, has the final say over constitutional matters and presides over the Union Senate. The present Lontra is Gerald Lutinae, a DWP (Democratic Workers Party) member.

The Union Senate is composed of 135 members, elected by Single Transferable Vote, based on a regional list. They are not allowed to obstruct manifesto commitments by the Congress of the Peoples largest party from passing, but can debate finance bills, constitutional bills, armed-services bills, appropriations bills and welfare policy.

The local governance is conducted at a state level. There are 7 states, each of which have a local legislature and devolved powers on secondary legislation concerning education, law and order, environment, housing, health-care and transport.

At the last elections (2001), the party results for The Congress of the People were as follows

Centre Coalition (centrist-centre left) 468 seats, 21,465,321 votes

National Liberals (liberal-social democrats) 217 seats, 19,398,777 votes

Democratic Workers Party (far-left) 100 seats, 12,900,004 votes

Advance Compadria (centre-right) 41 seats, 5,732,224 votes

Greens (environmentalist-left) 10 seats, 1,356,617 votes

Liberatrians (libertarian) 9 seats, 205,852 votes

For the Union Senate:

Centre Coalition 54 seats, (40%)

National Liberals 50 seats, (37%)

Democratic Workers Party 22 seats, (16%)

Advance Compadria 4 seats, (3%)

Greens 4 seats, (3%)

Libertarians 1 seat (1%)

Turnout was 62%

A general election is due on the 3rd of December, 2005 and is expected to hand victory to either the National Liberals outright or the DWP in coalition with the National Liberals.

Infrastructure

Rail

Compadria's rail network is extensive, containing some 17,543 kilometres of track. The rail industry is nationalised and run by Compadria Rail, which delivers a service noted for punctuality and safety, though criticised by some for being inefficient and being over-subscribed. The railways use electrified trains and run regular inter-city services as well as transporting 75% of the country's freight and 90% of its post. Rural areas are well served by railways, usually constituted of sleeper trains, though there have been proposals to ease these out of operation. The sector enjoys numerous public subsidies and the RMTC union has often been criticised for making exorbitant wage demands, especially at times of economic turbulence. For these reasons, some have called for a cut-back in funding and a shift of focus to air and automobile networks as the centre of transportation policy.

Roads

Compadria's roads were once a regional joke. Rutted, limited and seemingly constantly gummed up with traffic, they were the butt of numerous comedians routines. Now however, a programme of record governmental investment has led to Compadria having a steadily improving road network, that is also expanding furiously, often creating entire suburbs as it goes along. Environmentalist groups have criticised the funding, claiming it is wasteful and damages areas of great natural beauty. These criticims have been rejected by the central government. Recently, a congestion charge was enacted for those wishing to enter major city centres by car.

Sea

The naval network is largely under community ownership in the most isolated archipelago regions, but on the more densely populated east coast, it is entirely under private ownership. The ferries are more expensive than rail and road tolls, yet offer a relatively luxurious service, as opposed to the bare-bones treatment of Compadria Rail's rolling stock and are reasonably quick (longest journey, 194 km, 8 hours). The seamens union has repeatedly struck for full nationalisation, yet has never had its demands met, causing significant tensions between passangers and crew, on several occasions. The service is widely used and remains one of Compadria's most popular means of transportation. Historic cruises, run by the tourist board, are also in fashion and run from 6 locations on the coast.

Air

The air network of Compadria is underused and not needed in the already transport abundant country. Recent enivronmental regulations have put even more pressure on the sector and led some to question the wisedom of giving it public subsidies, as it no longer contains a national carrier. Many insist that the air services will completely collapse in the near future, due to a spike in fuel prices, resulting from Resolution no'122. Others claim that the sector will carry on as usual and merely switch to more economic fuel measures. The outcome remains to be seen.

Culture

Languages

The three languages of Compadria are English, Dutch and Latin. The languages used to be split between the three ethnic groups of Compadria: The Compadros spoke Latin, the Aonys spoke Dutch and the Morganates, who immigrated during the late 18th century, spoke English.

Latin

Compadria's longest used language and the traditional speech of its rulers and commoners alike has been Latin. It used to be spoken by 95% of the population, with the remaining 5%, the Aonyx, speaking Dutch. After the immigration of the Morganates in the 18th century, the Compadros resisted the adoption of English, yet by the 1880, the percentage of the population who spoke Latin had fallen to 30%. Why English was so quickly taken up is unclear, but it may have corresponded with a rise in Republican sentiment and the Enlightenment phase of the late 18th to mid-19th centuries. By 1924, with the deposition of the monarchy, it was spoken by a mere 17% of the population.

Latin has received much support over the years and repeated attempts to revive it as a language have been attempted. All have failed. Today only 6% of the population, mostly concentrated around the south-eastern city of Olmenholt and some suburbs of Tarkan.

Leonard Otterby, ambassador for the Republic of Compadria to the U.N., is a noted native Latin speaker (though he uses English for his official duties).

Dutch

Traditionally the preserve of the Aonys ethnic group in the Hydros region, Dutch has endured a rocky ride over the years of Compadrian history, particularly during the reign of Marcus Antoninus, who fiercely persecuted the Aonys and brutally ethnically cleansed and culturally supressed the Aonys. Dutch almost vanished as a language and only Antoninus's death in 482 B.C. saved it (and the Aonys too). Over the years, the Aonys lived precariously close to destruction; only the collapse of the Imperium in 50 B.C., saved them.

U.N. Ambassador

The Ambassador

Leonard Otterby is the current ambassador for the Republic of Compadria to the U.N. Born in Tarkan, on the 5th of January, 1957, Otterby was educated at Compadria Public School (Coastal) and the University of Tarkan, where he majored in politics and economics. He worked as a civil servant in the Foreign Office from 1988 to 2005. He was appointed ambassador in August 2005 and has worked tirelessly to advance Compadria's interests as well as the political philosophy of the nation. He is a member of the Centre Coalition party. He is due to step down on the 8th of December, 2005, when he will be replaced by his deputy Anthony Holt.

Military

The Army of Compadria is theoretically composed of two corps, Nostra Compadra and Tarkan Ottarkus, both numbering roughly 40,000 men. They are only mobilised during general hostilities and otherwise operate like a territorial army, as a part-time service, active on weekends for training and instruction.

Units:

-Nostra Compadra (40,000 men)

_100 Tanks

_250 Armored Vehicles

_55 Field Guns

_300 Assorted Artillary

_20 Self-Propelled Guns

_20 Rocket Launchers

Nostra Compadra is the main defensive corps of Compadria and has only been used once since 1799. It is supported by Air Groups Regna and Imperium.

-Tarkan Ottarkus (40,000 men)

_85 Tanks

_190 Armored Vehicles

_40 Field Guns

_200 Assorted Artillary

_10 Self-Propelled Guns

_10 Rocket Launchers

Tarkan Ottarkus is the secondary defensive corps of Compadria, that operates in conjunction with Air Group Kataga.

The Navy of Compadria is composed of 40 warships and is the most active and highly maintained branch of the armed services.

Units:

Flagship: Victory (Air-Craft Carrier, 105,000 tonnes)

-2 Air-Craft Carriers (Victory, Hubris)

-5 Battle-Cruisers (Hunt, Warspite, Malice, Curzon, Vendetta)

-7 Cruisers (Sea-Knife, Wolf, Cutter, Salt Dagger, Crusher, Tsunami, Bowspite)

-13 Destroyers (Shark, Orca, Otter, Guillotine, Smasher, Wave, Mordecai, Roe, Punish, Strife, Master, Commander, Crow)

-13 Frigates (1-13) Frigates are not given names, only numbers.

Modern, but small, the Airforce of Compadria is instrumental to the defence of the nation and possesses a limited first-strike capability. It comprises 300 fighters and 100 bombers.

Units:

-Fighters:

Warbird 3-49A: 20

Falcon-J66: 120

Bird of Prey 8-90: 55

Warbird 3-49B: 10

Buzzard CC-22: 95

-Bombers:

Z-62: 50

B-92: 50

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