Dorado
| |
| Flag of Dorado | |
| Motto: "Freedom through Christ" | |
| n/a | |
| Region | The New Meritocracy |
|---|---|
| Capital | Santa Fe |
| Official Language(s) | Latin, Spanish |
| Leader | Pope Pius XIII |
| Population | n/a |
| Currency | New Merit |
| NS Sunset XML | |
Dorado is a state located the central area of The New Meritocracy. It is bounded to the northwest by other countries, to the north by the Meritocratic Administrative District and the Northern Sea, to the east and south by Kitimat and to the southeast by the South Sea. Dorado has varied terrain ranging from mountains and forests to open plains. Blessed with abundant natural resources, Dorado is almost totally self-sufficient.
Contents
People, culture and language
People
Dorado is a federal republic consisting of sixty-four states and one federal district. The federal government is made up of three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. The executive is headed by the President. The legislative consists of the Parliament, a bicameral legislature. Its two houses are the Assembly, its 937 members popularly elected, and the Senate, its 256 members appointed by the state legislatures. Each state has four seats in the Senate. The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and other lesser courts. The Supreme Court may exercise judicial review over all laws, federal and state. Judges are nominated by the President and approved by the Senate.
General Overview
Dorado has many large cities. The largest is New Albuquerque. It is the federal capital and as such is located in the federal district. There is no single ethnic group in Dorado that claims supremacy. Largely settled by immigrants over time, the only people of Dorado who are indigenous are the Navaho. They mostly reside in the interior and most of their population is within the state called the Navaho Territories. They are fully integrated into the larger Doradan society, though memories of past atrocities are not forgotten.
Dorado is mostly open. The southwest is mountainous. Along the coast and along rivers leading inland is the center of Doradan agricultural production. The mountains provide rich mineral resources along with lumber for building of all kinds.
The people of Dorado are mostly Christian. The native Doradan population has its own tribal worship systems. Religious freedom is guaranteed. A multi-ethnic society, Dorado has no overriding culture that can be described as solely 'Doradan'. However, there are a few common characteristics. Baseball is universally recognized as the national sport. In the Federal League, the Alamogordo Isotopes consistently win the pennent most years, though the New Albuquerque Senators are always contenders as well. Doradans have a strong civic duty. At the local level in most states, most towns are governed by councils of selectmen who serve as administrators while the townspeople in 'town meetings' decide important laws and policy for their town. Participation in elections at all levels usually runs over 80% of registered voters.
The most common profession in Dorado is engineer (of all kinds), followed by teacher.
Election Information
On June 21st, 2004, Dorado held elections for the first time under the revised Doradan Constitution.
President
- Robert Mackenzie of the Free Commerce Party - 83%
- John Nguyen of the Union of Doradan Soviets - 17%
Assembly (937 seats)
- Free Commerce Party, 604
- Centre Party, 109
- Communists, 224
Senate (256 seats)
- Free Commerce Party, 185
- Centre Party, 45
- Communists, 26
History
The area that now makes up Dorado has been occupied for millennia by the indigenous Navaho people. A group (or several groups) based in tribes and clans, the Navaho lived a nomadic life for the most part, though some communities were settled in small villages that relied upon fairly advanced forms of irrigation to cultivate the land.
By the 16th century, immigrants from far countries began arriving in Dorado. The first immigrants were Spaniards who were searching for gold for their king. Settling the land, these Spaniards brought with them their religion, Roman Catholicism. The missionaries were of the Order of St. Khidr and they built schools and churches in newly built villages or the existing villages of the Havaho. The Navaho who were settled quickly converted, but the nomadic segments were less impressed by the Spanish 'invaders' and resisted. This led to repression and in some extreme cases slavery. However, the Catholic Church formally banned such repression over time. In the end, the Navaho were subdued not by the Church or the Spanish colonists but by disease which reduced their numbers by two-thirds before they began to develop immunity and replace their numbers. By that time, most all had been fully integrated, though many still lived in the interior of Dorado, clinging to their old ways of living.
The Spaniards who arrived in Dorado were quick to establish their rule over the technologically inferior natives. As a viceregality of the King, El Dorado as it was called was ruled with an iron fist by the Viceroy, though the Church, always independent, made sure the common people were not too harshly treated. Over time, many of the Spanish intermarried with the Navaho, creating the Doradan ethnic group that occupied a middle ground between the pure-blooded Spanish overlords and the peasant Navaho villagers and farmers.
By the early 19th century, the Spanish had fallen economically and the Doradans had slowly replaced the Spaniard ruling class. A revolution broke out in 1826 and in the next year, the first Republic of Dorado was proclaimed. Large numbers of English-speaking immigrants arrived in Dorado soon after, looking for wealth and a new start. These 'English' (the common term for them due to their language) slowly asserted control and created a large economic empire that spanned Dorado and adjoining lands. Well into the 20th century, the 'English' dominated the republic, using their financial leverage to keep the Doradans and Navaho in line. The republic became decidedly secular and the Church lost much influence.
Again, the masters were eventually overthrown, as by the 1980s, Dorado found itself in the midst of foreign invasion and internal conflict. The peasants had risen up in revolt and several foreign powers took advantage of the unrest to move in as well. The republican government fell apart and was replaced by a dictatorship. The Free Republic, as it was called, was ruled by a triumvirate through what was called the Defense Central Committee.
The members of the Junta and their 'official' positions:
- Colonel Mackenzie, chairman of the DCC and President-for-Life
- Marshal Chedwiggen, Dorado Military Chief of Staff
- General Marcos, Chief of the Dorado Secret Police
Dorado retained its parliament and judiciary along with the executive under the old republican constitution, but under the junta, the constitution was suspended along with most all civil rights. After Dorado's government was reconstituted and subsequently joined the Meritocratic Senate, reforms were initiated and slowly the old constitution was revised. Due to his work in dismantling the dictatorship, Robert Mackenzie won the first presidential election under the revised constitution on June 21, 2004.
OOC
The Free Republic of Dorado was founded in either late 2002 or early 2003. Its early history was linked with that of the region Northeastern Pacific Rim. Dorado was engaged in a series of conflicts with other states of that region for control of the Corto Maltese Islands. The conflict was never decisively decided.
During the summer of 2003, Dorado was purged and sent to Lazarus, where it was reconstituted in November. Dorado promptly moved to The New Meritocracy, where it applied for membership. Its application was approved and Dorado took its seat on November 28. Since then, the Free Republic has served in various capacities in the Meritocratic Senate, most notably as Lictor.
Originally apart of a larger republic, when that state was dissolved amid civil war and foreign invasion, Dorado was formed from one of the fragments. (See the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' book Escape for more information.) Initially a republic, a military junta was quickly installed.
