The Republic of Insulam

History

At less than a hundred years old, the Republic of Insulam is a relatively newer player on the world of Arixa. Prior to that, the cities that would become Insulam had been under the control of the same rulers as the lands of Ovedur to the west.   This all changed with the founding of The Empire of Ovedur, or more specifically with the institution of their state religion. The regional government of the city of Insulam, which held council in an ancient church to the Goddess *Waukeen*, rejected the idea of a single state religion. This was also likely to do with the Toskan view of magic, as the de facto head of the Insulam government, Duke Althera Torez, was a practicing wizard.   The newly founded Empire moved quickly to supress the dissidents in Insulam, sending a 70 warship fleet to conquer the city. The vast majority of Insulam’s ships were merchant vessels, which while armed were no match for the Toskan warships. This left Insulam with only 20 ships to defend themselves against naval domination.   The Battle of Insulam Bay in 3893 is one of the single most important events in the Republics history. Under the command of Admiral Mira Kartell, often referred to as “the mother of the Republic”, the severely outnumbered Insulamiam navy, fought a week long battle to stop the Toskan advance. Despite being outnumbered 3-to-1 the fled the city that would go on to lead the Republic was able to defeat the Empire, largely owing to the strategic brilliance of Admiral Kartell. After her victory, the city state of Insulam, and later the Republic, started flying Kartell’s personal flag, a black winged sword on a red background, as their own.   With a large part of the Toskan navy at the bottom of the bay of Insulam, Duke Torez wasted no time in opening negotiations with the Empire. Torez didn’t wish to see unnecessary bloodshed, and the Emperor was unwilling to send another hundred ships to the bottom of the ocean, so both sides had a vested interest in peace. To this day, the citizens of Insulam still celebrate the 3rd day of the 3rd month, the date of the signing of the peace agreement, as their “independence day”.   In the peace agreement, Ovedur ceded the Insulam peninsula and the land on the coast of the bay of Insulam to the control of the Duke. In return, the treaty included a clause that the Insulamiam navy would be responsible to patrolling the Insulam straight (between Insulam and Amano), with the long term goal of weakening the city state in the event of an escalation of hostilities between the two.   The liberation of Insulam set a dangerous precedent among the other cities on the island of Insulam. In order to prevent these cities from seceding in the same manner as Insulam, the Empire began a brutal crackdown on the citizens of these cities, along with attempts to redistribute power from the regional governments to the Empire. This crackdown, rather than placating the potential rebels, inevitably escalated the tensions.   The newly elected Duke Aislan Thorn, seeking to liberate more cities from the fist of the Empire, immediately set out to arm the rebels. Rather than simply selling them weapons, however, he set out a plan that would change the nature of trade in Insulam. The first step was establishing a firm trade relationship with the Empire, with a special attention placed on acquiring gunpowder weapons. While building this relationship, Duke Thorn also hired the head of Insulam’s thieves guild, asking him if he would be able to smuggle said weapons into the rebelling cities.   With this simple question, Duke Thorn laid the groundwork for what would become the Republic’s infamous black market. With the benefit of hindsight, perhaps it wasn’t the best idea for the leader of a city state to give a thieves guild unlimited freedom in establishing a smuggling network, in order to arm rebels, wasn’t the best decision.   Regardless of the long term outcomes of the decision, Duke Thorn’s plan worked as intended. It quickly became too difficult for the Empire to effectively control the various cities, and one by one they began abandoning them. As each city state attained independence, the council of Insulam quickly stepped in and signed various treaties and defensive pacts with them. By the year 3920, the “Alliance of the United City States of the Island of Insulam”, now having control of the whole island, was renamed “The Republic of Insulam”.   The newly founded Republic and the Empire maintained a delicate peace with the Empire. This peace was severely strained by the Republic’s “acquisition” of the city of “Kaven” on the Empire’s easternmost island, in the year 3938. The coastal city had suffered through a series of natural disasters in recent years, and had been struggling to support its own population. Rather than providing the aid the city requested, the Empire instead chose to withdraw support and declare the city independent. The governor of Kaven petitioned the Republic for their aid, to which the recently elected “President of the Republic” Anton Rein wholeheartedly agreed – on the condition that Kaven become part of the greater republic.   While the Empire and the Republic have officially been at peace for all those years, they often butt heads over their shared border. The eastern island is a particular point of contention, as the Empire were extremely vague over how much territory was under Kaven’s control. Subsequent negotiations to attempt to standardise the border have almost always fallen through, largely due to radical elements on both sides. The Republic also have constant issues with Empire ships encroaching on their carefully set out trade routes. When the hostilities do boil over into localised conflict, however, both sides are quick to reach a peace settlement. This is largely due to the Empire’s desire to have access to the Republic’s wide trade network, and to potentially use the Republic as a buffer nation in the event of a war.   Approximately twenty five years ago, in order to increase the reach of their trade network, the Republic President oversaw the “acquisition” of the two cities of “Eramouth” and “Brightcastle” on Erathia’s southern coast. This provided the Republic far easier access to the main land, without having to go through the port cities of other nations.      

Politics

  The Republic of Insulam is run by a position called “The President of the Republic”, or simply “The President”, the leader of the dominant (usually, though not necessarily the largest) party within the Republic Parliament. They serve as both the head of state and the head of the Government. Despite being above the Parliament in a practical sense, the President derives their power and authority from the support of the Parliament – who have the power to issue a vote of no confidence to remove them from power.   While the President is technically the leader of the entire Republic government, the Republic constitution requires them to delegate the responsibility for running specific areas to individual ministers, who form a group known as the “Republic High Council”. While the President is responsible for filling all of the offices of the High Council, the Parliament must then vote to approve said Minsters for those positions.   Members of the High Council are equally accountable to both the President, and the Parliament beneath them. They can be dismissed from their position either by the President directly, or by a vote of no confidence within the Parliament.   Prime Minister serves as the personal advisor to the President, as well as filling the role of “acting President” should the President be temporarily or permanently unable to serve. The Prime Minster is considered to be the head of the Council.   High Counciler of Foreign Relations represents the Republic when negotiating with other countries.   High Counciler of the Treasury is responsible for overseeing and managing the Republic’s economy, as well as the various guilds and merchants that operate within it.   High Counciler of Law is the president’s official lawyer when dealing with other countries, as well as managing the various laws of the Republic and the assorted city guards that operate throughout the republic.   High Counciler of Construction is responsible for handling the various state construction projects undertaken by the Republic, both military and civilian.   High Counciler of Merchants and Labourers is responsible for maintaining workers rights, and looking after the interest of Insulam’s various merchants.   High Counciler of War is responsible for overseeing the Republic army and navy, as well as liaising between the government and military High Command   Beneath the High Council sits the Insulam Parliament, a group of 600 elected ministers who empower the Council and President to act on behalf of the people. They hold the final say on propositions that the President brings before them, as well as having the power to issue votes-of-no confidence.   Ministers within the parliament are elected every five years, in the week following Independence day. The polls open at 9AM on the Monday and close at 9PM on the Sunday. Every currently registered citizen of the Republic is automatically eligible to vote, though they must vote at their local polling station.   The minsters are elected via a single-transferable-vote, and every citizen gets to vote once. Electors rank their candidates in order of preference, and may vote for as many or as few of the candidates as they like. Once they have filled out the polling card, then it is stored in a lead box which is shipped to the capital to be counted. The votes themselves are counted by volunteers, who are placed under a magical oath in order to only record the true results.   Once the results have been counted, the Ministers are free to claim the appropriate seats. If a single party holds a majority of the seats, then they are free to nominate one of their members to serve as the President (though in practice, this is typically done before the election).   If no party holds a majority, then the remaining parties are free to then form a coalition government, with a member of the largest party within the coalition serving as the President, and a member from the second largest serving as the Prime Minister. If the coalition consists of more than two parties, members from every party in that coalition must be granted positions within the High Council, effectively preventing coalitions of more than seven different parties.   Once again, rather than micromanage every aspect of the Republic, the Parliament tends to designate the management of specific areas to various government departments.   The Republic Treasury is run by the High Counciler for the Treasury. They are responsible for determining the annual Parliamentary budget, which the High Council is responsible for distributing. They are also the managing authority for every bank within the Republic, and as such a responsible for authorising the minting of new currency. They handle the setting and collection of taxes on both an individual and nationwide level.   Military High Command comprises the highest ranking members of both the Republic army and navy, and is responsible for the tactics and strategy that the military employs, as well as distributing the funding awarded to them by the treasury.   The Merchant Council is not technically a government department, though in practice it might as well be. The Merchant Council is comprised of the various guild and union leaders that operate within the Republic. The Council is run by a the “Chairman”, who is elected by its membership at the start of every year. The High Counciler of Merchants and Labourers technically holds a seat on the council, though this is only so that they are able to pass messages between them and the Parliament.   The Dukes are the elected regional governors of cities within the Republic, as well as the surrounding administrative district. They are elected in a separate election every six years. The title is a holdover from the pre-Republic days, as the original leader of Insulam held the title of Duke.    

Economy

  The Republic of Insulam’s biggest asset is trade. They have access to the largest merchant navy on Arixa, and control of several important shipping lanes. Their greatest advantage, however, is their strategic position between the Glimmering Empire, the Empire of Ovedur, and the mainland. This enables them to act as an economic buffer between the three groups, claiming a portion of almost all trade as their own.   While the Central Bank of Insulam, and thus every merchant within the Republic, recognises the currencies of other nations as legal tender, they are responsible for minting new currency when it is required. Insulam coins are all the same size, with the winged sword embossed on one face. The other face bears the date the coin was minted, as well as the city it was minted in.   Taxes in Insulam are standardised throughout the entire Republic, so regardless of where in the Republic you are you pay the same taxes. Owing to the sheer amount of money circulating in the Republic’s economy, even the poorest citizens are typically able to maintain a modest lifestyle. An unskilled labourer can be expected to earn a gold piece a day, once they have paid their taxes.   The Republic Government maintains a tight control on the economy, to ensure that it keeps working. They control both the types of goods that can be traded, as well as the prices of these goods. While this does work to keep the economy moving, and helps to ensure that any benefit to the economy is spread equally among all citizens, it is also largely responsible for the prevalence of Insulam’s black market. To those in the know, there are no goods that can not be acquired in Insulam.    

Culture

  The Republic of Insulam is an incredibly diverse nation, with no single race representing a large majority of the population. Each of the cities within the Republic has a slightly different culture, drawing on their history prior to the Republic’s unification. There are, however, a few aspects that tie them together.   The Republic has a reputation for both working and partying extremely hard. Many citizens take every opportunity to drink extremely heavily, while maintaining the same work ethic regardless of how hungover they get. It is traditional for Insulam birthday celebrations to go on for several days, and their Independence “day” celebrations last for a whole week. Many citizens, however, choose not to drink while travelling, a tradition that dates back to the earliest days of the Republic – as ship captains were not allowed to drink on voyages, in case they run their ships aground.   Another unifying aspect of Insulam culture is the card game of “Insulam Poker”, a betting game using a standard deck of cards. The goal is to build the best set of five cards, utilising a pool of five shared cards and a hand of two cards. The game was developed by the first President of the Republic, to pass the time between High Council meetings. The mix of luck and skill it requires promotes multiple different playstyles, and makes the game near impossible to play perfectly.   There are two further variations of “Insulam Poker”, pauper and platinum, though it is not required that the players specifically play one of these variants. Pauper is played using copper and silver pieces, and Platinum is played using gold and platinum pieces.   Rather than constructing different temples and churches for each deity, cities in Insulam have a single Cathedral that incorporates multiple faiths into a single building. At least one priest from each major religion can be found with relative ease.   Marriage in Insulam is viewed more as obtaining legal recognition of a relationship, than any kind of expression of commitment. Such expressions of commitment are usually made in private, rather than the public ceremonies common in other cultures. However, a public marriage ceremony presents yet another opportunity for a party, and the flexibility of the religious and cultural practices provide ample opportunity for adaption to fit a non-Republic culture’s ceremony.   Insulam as a culture, and many individual citizens within the Republic, also value art and artistic ability extremely highly. Dedication to an art form, even if you are not particularly skilled, is considered an admirable trait, and mastery of such skills is an even more prodigious achievement.   The idea of looking for any excuse for a party even bleeds over into their funerals, which are traditionally a celebration of a persons life and achievements. Citizens of the Republic tend to mourn in private, while often pretending to be happy around others.