Travsylvania

Flag of Travsylvania
Motto: Trust me, I know what I'm doing. Really.
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Region	Imperial Alliance of Calafalas
Capital	Garetta
Official Language(s)	English, Latin, and Calafalian
Leader	Prime Minister Ookami
Population	62 million
Currency	Medallion
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The Constitutional Monarchy of Travsylvania is a relatively small nation on the western coast of Calafalas. The nation has a strong economy, but it's heavily moralistic population tends to place many limitations on itself in the way of civil rights. It has a strong economy that relies predominantly on the private sector, although the populace is protected from corporate gouging by light antitrust and extortion laws. The Travsylvanians retain a large military that it prefers not to use, but is not afraid to send it where it is needed. All citizens age 25 and up are conscripted into the military. Travsylvania has a large reserve of nuclear weapons, as its chief resource is uranium, although the nation has never found cause to use them. Travsylvania is active in both the regional and international theatres, as it was a co-founder of the Imperial Alliance of Calafalas and is now the Empire's United Nations Delegate.

Early History

Travsylvania was initially nothing more than a collection of small farming and mining villages in eastern Calafalas. Over time, the villages became town, and towns became cities. A distinct class barrier arose between the peasants and nobles of the regions, and the results of their strife often resulted in headaches for their Calafalian governors. The governors finally ended the bickering by attempting to subdue the entire population with a vicious, sweeping tax. The disputes did end, but not in the way that the governors expected: the nobles, who now had no money but still had their educations, organized the peasants and staged a near-overnight revolution which resulted in the executions of 8 Calafalian mayors and the forced expulsion of the regional minister. The Calafalian Warlords, outraged by the insolence of the Travsylvanians, attempted to muscle their way into the region and regain control; however, the genius of the nobles combined with the strength and numbers of the peasantry held back the Calafalian armies, and after a short but bitter war the warlords relented and left the Travsylvanians in relative peace.

The Formation of the Government

The Travsylvanians, who had never before known peace without oppression, first set out to set up a regional government. The nobles at first attempted to set up an aristocracy; but, after several nobles "mysteriously vanished," they saw that another form of government could work better. After much debating, the populace came up with a three-layer government made up of elected officials: at the top was a Prime Minister who ruled until removed from office. The first Prime Minister was named Travinatus Maximus, the most prominent of the nobles who acted as a head general during the revolution, and it is after him which the country is named. The second layer of government is a representative council. Each city elects a representative who wields a number of votes proportional to his city's population. The council's duty is to provide a check against the Prime Minister: the PM has full authority over the region, but can be overruled by a 2/3 vote of the council, and can be expelled from office by a 5/6 vote. The third layer of government is the population itself. A vote by the population has uncontested authority over all other governmental powers; a vote is initiated by a petition signed by either 1/3 the population of a single city or by 1/10 the population of the nation, regardless of city. The government is undergirded by a light constitution that guarantees certain rights and limits the power of government.

Economic Re-Establishment

The hard work of the Travsylvanians was nearly all undone when the issue of economics arose. The nobles predictably wanted to go keep the current system, in which the nobles were rich and the peasants were poor, but the peasants obviously refused to accept this idea. The peasants wanted complete economic equality akin to socialism-- an idea which horrified the nobles. There were many fierce conflicts about this, and the fledgling country nearly erupted into civil war. The argument was eventually settled by Prime Minister Travinatus Maximus: he absorbed all currency and property into the government and portioned it out equally to the population, stating that the Travsylvanian economy would be a meritocracy. The old currency was melted down and reminted as silver medallions, which has been the Travsylvanian currency ever since. Several clauses regarding economics were added into the constitution, and Travinatus declared the issue settled. The peasants accepted this as fair, and as the nobles were a minority, they were forced to accept the situation as well.

Travsylvanian Institutions

Religion

Travsylvania considers freedom of religion to be a fundamental right, but the nation has always been essentially a Christian nation-- the old towns were often centered around churches, and the nobles commonly studied theology during their educations. Travinatus Maximus himself was a preacher, and established many churches during his reign. Missionaries are often funded by the federal government, and many more are supported by private donors. The church has equally supported the nation at times: during the revolution, churches organized medical squadrons that would assist wounded revolutionaries, and churches regularly offer their services and facilities for government use.

Economics

Travsylvania relies heavily on its private sector to provide an economic structure. There have been few corporate debacles regarding extortion or monopolization, and what disturbances there were were solved through light legislative work. Travsylvania's largest industries are uranium mining and automobile manufacture, although the gambling industry has gained a substantial foothold in the economy to the chagrin of much of the population; however, there are few laws against gambling in the nation, so the practice continues. Travsylvania's economic practices have proven successful thus far, as the economy is strong, although it has been slightly damaged because of recent corporate scandals.

The Military

Travsylvania has retained a significant military since its formation, although it rarely has had need to use it. All citizens are conscripted from the age of 25, although anyone above the age of 17 is permitted to volunteer. The training programs of Travsylvanian soldiers is renowned throughout the region as being especially rigorous, almost to the point of being abusive, but the result is that Travsylvania's army, although comparitavely small, is extremely tough and well-trained. Travsylvania's military is technologically modern, with the greatest advances having been made in aeronautics and rocketry. The nation has stockpiled an unknown number of nuclear weapons and has been known to use the threat of a nuclear holocaust to end arguments, although none of the weapons have yet been used against another nation.