[CLOSED]Europae Virtutis (An Update of the Lore for Europa Pulchrae)

[Vittorio Giurifiglio]

I present the epitome of bloat, it was fun bloat to make, so I will present it none the less. 

Name: Europae Virtutis

Type (e.g. Planet, Faction, System): System as before

Founding/Settlement Date (if applicable):

 

Region of Space: The Inner Colonies

Controlled by (if not a faction): Non-Incorporated Region of the Sol Alliance for the past century 

Other Snapshot information:

As I did in the first education I will give some nice Wikipedia style information.

Political Information: 

Flag: https://i.imgur.com/uWdBsB4.png

Motto: In Hoc Signo Vinces 

Capital: Roma Nova

Head of State: By the Grace of God His Imperial Majesty Cesare V (Augustiani), Hegemon of the system of Europae Virtutis, Imperator of Europa III and Europa IV, Guardian of the Heavenly Virtues, Consecrated Prince of the Anuli Marii and Anuli Sancti Petrii, Pater Patriae, First Citizen of Europa I and II, Patrician of Roma Nova, Praetorian Centurion of the 1 ° Militia Legion, Loyal Son of the Sol Alliance.

Head of Government: (Chancellor of the Federal Senate) Marquis James X Stewart, Hereditary Ethnarch of Alba Nuadh, OEI, (Imperial League)

Description of Government:  The government of this system within the Sol Alliance is a Monarchic Federation. The Emperor who is the head of State is a very powerful figure within the Government, possessing Imperium, supreme executive power, and the power to introduce legislation to the Federal Senate. The Emperor is considered by the people of Europa to by divine right, as such he is not bound by any constitution beyond the generally accepted moral principals of the Populace. Because of these moral principals, it is perfectly valid for an Immoral Emperor to be deposed by the Senate or people. The Imperial throne, despite this traditional almost absolutist formulation, is non-hereditary, for when vacated the throne's next incumbent is selected by the Senate from the men of the Oldest and most noble families of the Twin planets. Once selected from the Patrician class the Emperor is crowned by an ecclesiastic figure and reigns until his death or deposition for tyranny (Depending on which Tribe the Emperor is chosen from, this could be a Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox Bishop). It is important to note that the Emperor was mentioned as being crowned by clerics, as such it is fair to question whether or not the state is secular. The answer to such a question is that no, the System is officially Christian, with individual Provinces and Federal subjects being able to declare their own specific confessional status.

The Legislative power of the system is based in two institutions, The Federal Senate and the Popular Assembly. The Federal Senate is the most important lung of the Legislature, it's numbers are selected from the sons of the ancient noble families of the twin planets, along with the most power prelates, and the highest ranking generals. However blood is not the only requirement for selection to the Senate, but one along with pedigree must have provided service towards the planet, whether through a minor magistracy or through service of administrating one of the many mining stations on the two consecrated asteroid belts. The power of the Senate is that of proposing legislation to the Popular assembly, and ruling on the Imperial budget for the year. The Senate also has the duty of organizing the Inter-Alliance relations with planets such as Earth and Mars, as well as managing trade with Megacorporations. The lesser lung of the legislature is the Popular Assembly, which is comprised of those of common blood. While being of commoner stock, this does not indicate that the Popular assembly is staffed by everymen, but even it has stringent requirements, such as the ownership of land, the fathering of children, a good word from their Cleric, and finally service in the Militia or Sol Alliance Navy (Either is accepted though the latter is preferred). The Popular Assembly's duties include electing the Tribunes of the People (Who posses a veto on laws that would harm the general populace), as well as voting on propositions by the Senate, and selection of Candidates for minor magistracies. The Tribunes of the People are the de-jure heads of the Popular Assembly and are in Europan law inviolable, and respected. In both houses of legislature the seats are divided amongst factions with ideological bents, what is quite paradoxical is that while the system is Democratic in the sense that it belongs to the Sol alliance, and any citizens may vote for Federal elections, the system for electing their system representatives is very undemocratic, as voting for either house is characterized by requirement of property and military service.

The Composition of the Houses of Legislature:

Senate (300 seats):

120(40%): The Imperial League*

-Ideological Bent: Traditionalism, Agrarianism, Distributism, Human-Xeno Segregationism, Confederalism, Sol Loyalism,  Rejection of Full Integration

60(20%): Faith and Justice*

-Ideological Bent: Traditionalism, Religious Fundamentalism, Social Justice, Luddism, Anti-Synthetics, Conciliatory to Xeno Migrants, Rejection of Full Integration

45(15%):  The Friends of the Emperor Faction

-Ideological Bent: Industrialism, Imperialism, Europan Independentism, Unitarianism, Antagonism towards Sol, Human Supremacy, Rejection of Full Integration

30(10%): The Blue Whigs

-Ideological Bent: Whiggery, Georgism, Industrialism, Sol Loyalism, Oligarchism, Social Liberalism, Pro-Xeno, Sol Integrationalism

15(5%): Reformists

-Reformism, Democratists, Social Conservatism, Freeholders Rights, Human Supremacy, Sol Intgrationalism 

Popular Assembly(1000 seats):

*Coalition Factions

Tribunes of the People

I.) Tribune Dr Emmanuel de Neufchateau, OSMA (FotE)

II.) Tribune Sir. Nicolas Carrington (IL)

500(50%): Imperial League

200(20%) Friends of the Emperor

116(11.3%) Reformists

107(10.7%) Faith and Justice

90 (8.6%) Blue Whigs

Demographics: 

Official Language:  Ecclesiastical Latin, Sol Common

Religion: (of Human inhabitants)

812,130,596 (60%) Roman Catholic 

311,316,728(23%) Protestant

203,032,649(10%) Eastern/Oriental Orthodox

67,677,550(5%) Traditional Religion/Atheism/Foreign Cults* Unrecognized by Imperial Law, but tolerated so long as it does not disrupt official cultus

 

Population of the System: 1,353,550,994 as of 5 years ago (Don't remember what my other pop was, feel free to criticize this number vigorously)

812,130,596 on Europa III

203,032,649 on Europa IV

67,677,549 on the other planets, asteroid bases, research stations, and orbital stations around the Twins

Racial Demographics: 

1,338,661,933(98.7%) Human (Predominantly of European stock)

31,131,673(2.3%) Xenos (Largest minority is Tajarrans)

10 Largest Cities in the Twin Planets

I.) Roma Nova (1,000,000 people)

II.) Camelot (450,000)

III.) Neu Aachen (359,000)

IV.) Nueva Santiago-en -Victoria (250,000)

V.) Cinncinati (150,000) (Europa IV)

VI.) Velika Kyviv (145,000)

VII.) San Marco (120,000)

VIII.) St. George on St Mary's River (105,000)

IX.) Tara (100,000) (Europa IV)

X.) Pompea Nuova (95,000)

Economic Information:

The economy of the European system is relatively developed, however, compared with other similarly aged and populated systems, it falls behind quite a bit. This underdevelopment is more a feature than a bug, because of the founding ideologies, philosophies, and ethics of the original founding stock. Due to the Agrarianism of the original settlers, much of the surface of the Twin planets have been preserved from extensive development, beyond that of small freeholds. This limited development is not only the result of conservationism and agrarianism but also the wider economic theory favoured by the state. That economic system, of course, was the system of Distributism, a system developed in the 19th century by the Englishmen Gilbert K. Chesterton, and Hilaire Belloc. The system of Distributism is largely based off of the concept of self-reliance of family units and small townships, it favours a large degree of anti-trust legislation, and heavy restrictions on the formation of large corporations. The largest form of economic organization permitted by this economic theory in Europa is the very skill specific guilds based on the medieval guild system, some call this system Guild Socialism as well. This economic policy has resulted in the surface of the Twins being dotted with self-sufficient family farms, or micro manufacturies, which while culturally and spiritually edifying, are greatly inefficient. While development on the Twins is highly restricted, the lifeless planets, gas giants, and asteroids are freely mined, and their ores processed and manufactured into finished goods in massive orbiting manufacturing stations, which to a degree helps efficiency as Zero-G manufacturing tends to be easier, considering the degree of automation implicitly involved in modern production. The planet of Europa II is well noted for possessing significant platinum deposits. As a final note about the economy of the system, it's currency (ambiguously separated from the Sol currency, although pegged to it) is a phoron backed currency, which is marked by a generally passive approach to reactionary policy.

Military Information:

The system of Europa, because of its nebulous position within the Sol Alliance, and its general location being near to the conflict-ridden frontier, does possess a small military of its own due to the rarity of Alliance patrols. The navy of the Imperial government is nothing particularly spectacular...In numbers or strength that is, the ships themselves are indeed quite curious constructions. Because of the eclectic, and perhaps a bit eccentric focus on aesthetics which dominates the system, the ships of the Imperial militia are absurd creations modelled on traditional European architecture wrought in steel. It is not uncommon to see the use of reinforced stained glass in the construction of these ships. The combat doctrine of these ships is even odder, considering the fact that Europa is almost universally Human, as it involves a significant amount of ramming and close quarters combat. This doctrine, of course, renders the Imperial Navy quite good at dealing with pirates, what with being able to actually capture them rather than blowing up their ships. The army of the Imperial Militia is a quite expansive institution, with of course military service being mandatory. The army is incredibly federalized with every city or municipality expected to arm and dress their own regiments. This makes the army rather disparate in the quality of its arms and training with the best regiments being raised in the large metropoles of the older colonies, and strangely the countryside of Europa IV (Which due to its rather lax rules regarding hunting, firearms, and well everything produces decent shots). The militia of the Imperial Government is noted among the other Solarian Planets for being rather old fashion in their dress, with depending on the area, uniforms sometimes looked as though they were drawn out of the 20th and 19th Centuries

Officer Dress Image (Imperial Guard Commander):

Active Militiaman Image (2nd Camelot Cavalier Regiment):

Ships of the Imperial Militia Navy (Flagship HIMS Augustus):

Planet Descriptions:

Map of System: https://i.imgur.com/OPqLkMM.png

Europae Virtutis: 

To keep this section short, as there is not much to say about the star of the system, it must be said that star has played a great deal of importance in the culture and beliefs of the system, To begin the star is a simple class G star, only slightly larger than Sol. The star is around the middle of its life cycle with relatively normal expulsion of radiation. The star is notable among Alliance stars by being heavily populated with stations, though not as one would expect research stations, but instead stations which are in their most base forms floating Cathedrals and shrines. Why the star is surrounded in these strange structures is tied heavily to the story of the origin of the planet, or as the origin is recalled in the annals of Europan history. It is said that when the first settlers of the system arrived after a long journey from Sol, the engines and drives of the seed ship were failing and it looked as if the expedition would end as a failure and tragedy, however as reported by illustrious founder Ptr. Victor McLaughlin, after the Priests in charge of ministering to the masses, had preached what seemed to them their last sermon, and the Catholics prayed their rosaries in the star of the system appeared the visage of the Virgin Mary with twelve stars shining brightly around the corona of the star. After this miraculous event, the engines of the ship recovered, and the expedition was able to land on Europa III. This miraculous event (Which foreigners claim is superstitious nonsense) lead to the consecration of the planet to the Blessed Virgin of Europa. This event has shaped the fierce faith of the system ever since.

Europa I Castitas:  Also known as Rosaria

The smallest planet within the system, and also the most inhospitable, being, of course, the closest planet to the star proper. This in-hospitability has not stopped faithful Europans from performing the "Via Spatiale Pilgrimage", of which this planet is the second last stop in for reasons that will be described subsequent to this. While Castitias is far too inhospitable and out of the way for any meaningful use by the Europan citizens, some members of the systems' clerical class and faithful members of the Imperial Navy to perform the most significant piece of terraforming in the entirety of the system. The Navy under the command of the clerics and most notably the Archbishop of Roma Nova Zuan Galexio Marin used their weapons to carve on the surface of the planet, an entire 15-decade full rosary, with carefully designed portrayals of the holy mysteries. Subsequent to this act the Navy was chastised for their lack of initiative in informing high command but was still honoured for their accomplishment. Because of this terraforming, the entire planet was consecrated, in a ceremony attended by the Pope himself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These events combined with the miracle of the star have made the inner segment of the system one of the most notable sites of pilgrimage in the inner colonies.

Europa II: Temperantia: 

The second planet from the star Europae Virtutis, this planet unlike the two which surround it is rather boring. Europa II is heavily populated within its orbit and it's only slightly cold surface because of rich platinum deposits, which are mined and processed in the orbiting manufacturing plants. Following this processing, they are shipped to Europa III to be shipped to the Sol Alliance, or other Human systems. The planet is only otherwise notable for its rich and rather attractive red colouring to its surface, unsurprisingly Martian Tourists to the system often are reminded of home as they pass over the open mines.

Europa III: Caritas (Commonly known as Patria or Romulus?

The Capital planet of the system, and the first settled planet by Humanity in this system. The planet is slightly larger than earth at 1.4 Earth masses, with a Hydrogen-Oxygen atmosphere. The world is geologically active, with many mountain ranges and volcanos being active around the shifting tectonic plates. The planet is divided into roughly 5 continents, with most of the land mass being present in the northern hemisphere of the planet. The local life of the planet has largely retreated from around the exclaves populated by the Human settlers, however, due to careful environmental management, it has not been exterminated by the invasive life, as the settlers made efforts to contain their own biota. Many exotic species of large mammals populate the surface of the planet, some of these after a study by Imperial scientists have been domesticated and introduced into the ranching population. The settling people have attempted in their settling to make very little impact on the ecosystem, stemming from the original belief system of the great founder. Because of this belief system, the human population of the planet is concentrated largely in small communes which range far across the surface, sometimes a weeks travel from each other, even the largest cities on the planet would merely be small towns on other Alliance planets. The Architecture of the settlers is highly dependent on the stock from which they came, but is unique in Solarian space for the regulation of permissible styles, with mandates decreeing that only structures constructed in the system of Historicism may be tolerated, with exceptions permitted on a case by case basis. These regulations have created a world locked in time, for on the entirety of the planet there exists not one structure above the height of the largest church tower in the town. The manufacturing of the planet is done in the largest cities, with the excavation of new veins of resources being pursued with great caution, as such compared to other Alliance systems, the production capabilities of the European system may, in fact, seem quite lacking. The infrastructure of the planet is largely based around local spaceports, however, in the true historicist system of the planet, the Imperial highway paved with local materials connects many of the Communes to the Imperial Capital, along with several underground tramways.

As stated earlier Europa III is the capital system of the system, as such the Imperial Capital city itself must be described. Roma Nova, or New Rome, is located in the Northern Hemisphere in a large valley. It is on this spot which the original ship of settlers and explorers landed. On the site which they landed a Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to Our Lady of Europa is located and is a site of great pilgrimage, not only for Catholics but for all Christians of the ancient stock of the planet. The city, as its name would suggest is built in a traditional, or one could say pseudo-traditional Roman style, with glistening marble facades clasping to a concrete base, and red terracotta roofs baking in the sun. The streets are lined with cobblestones as in the Imperial capital, as with all cities on the planet, vehicles outside of the spaceport are banned. The city is planned according to the 19th-century theories of Garden cities, and because of said fact, the population of the capital is limited to 1,000,000 to mimic the height of the original Rome. Going along with the previously declared Garden city basis, there is no shortage of green space within the city, with entire districts being devoted to new growth forests of Terran flora and Fauna. The population of the Imperial capital is largely Latin, but still throughout is scattered all of the sons of Europe, and even the Xenos posses a Ghettoized district, which is forbidden to man. Noticing what was said in the prior sentence it is important to note that in the cities of the Imperial Federation there exists significant segregation of the Xeno populations from the Human population, with each forbidden from mingling outside of state-sanctioned events, for in Imperial eyes the Xenos pose a threat to the preservation of traditional Europan Culture, and likewise it would be wrong in principle for the Europans to enforce their customs on the Xeno (This is the view of the Imperial League, Friends of the Emperor wish to expel the Xenos from the planet or worse.)

Now that the planet has been described in adequate detail, it would be fit to describe the space surrounding the planet. The planet posses two moons, one spherical, and one more roughly shaped. The spherical one is around the same size as Luna, and it dotted with manufacturing sites that would be too destructive or unsightly to be on the planet propper, likewise there exist several colonial settlements and research stations, including one of the few and far between outposts of the Nanotrasen Corporation. The more roughly shaped moon is largely untouched because of its unstable orbit, however, it has been questioned to the Imperial Constabulary whether rumours of organized smuggler rings exist on the moon, bringing narcotics and banned literature into the planet are true. Outside of the two moons there exists nigh upon thousands of small to large space stations orbiting the planet, including a large spaceport which ferries goods between the planet and the greater Sol Alliance. The large spacefaring population is federated into a separate political unit in order to be properly represented on the Planet's council.

Europa IV Industria (Commonly known as Pietas or Remas):

The second of the planets referred to as the "Romulus and Remus" of the system. Pietas is a rather rare example of a second lush and habitable planet within class g star's orbit, not only is this abundance of life odd, but it is also one of the rare examples of a terrestrial and habitable planet within a ring. This ring is filled to the brim with stations mining out the contents, and processing them in order to fuel the industry of Human space. They do however prove somewhat of an issue for any frequent space travel between the twin brothers, with skilled pilots being necessary to navigate the dangerous approach. Despite its name being Industria, this could not be a more ironic name for the largely agrarian and sparsely populated planet, this planet which is roughly equivalent to the size of the Earth is populated by little more  280 million people, roughly the same as the Earth's during the 11th century Anno Domini. This population is largely spread thin due to the consistent policy of freeholding. As of decree by the provincial governments of Pietas, every man is allotted a defined plot of land, enough in order for him to be self-sufficient, this is based on the 19th-century Economic system supported by the writers Gk. Chesterton and Hillaire Belloc. Unsurprisingly this form of land allotment has attracted many of the peoples more inclined to personal liberty, leading to greater support for the reformist and Whig parties amongst the population of this planet. Likewise, because of this policy, the surface of the planet is dotted with small largely empty towns in which all these independent farmers gather into to trade wares and items which they cannot acquire for themselves on their properties, These towns are much like the Gallic Oppida. The culture of this planet while being more inclined to liberty is still rooted in deep agrarian traditionalism, though the liberty really shines through with the 100fr tall statue of the Goddess Libertas in the town square of the capital Oppida. It is important to note, that because of the larger support for the Reformists, the planet of Europa IV is completely barred off to Xenos, and space patrols are often conducted to ensure that the Xeno filth is relegated to their ghettos on Europa III

Europa V Patientia:

Europa V is like its name suggests a calm and peaceful gas giant. The atmosphere of the gentle giant is mostly hydrogen, with a significant amount of Krypton, giving the planet an attractive orange hue. Because of this pretty vista, Europa V proves a popular place for the Haute Bourgeoisie of the system to build their space getaways for romantic soirees with their mistresses. There exist very few mining stations around this planet due to the relative commonality of hydrogen, and the relative uselessness of Krypton outside of limited applications. This only further increases its score with vacationers. Many of the more, let us call them morally progressive Capitalists in the system have plotted for a significant amount of the time to turn the planet into a Free-Market zone to avoid the strict morality laws in place in the Imperial Law book. This has been met with severe opposition from the government, however, in anticipation of action of this cabal of immoralists, scores of the haute-bourgeoisie have begun constructing stations of ill repute in the darker sections of the planet, and even going to the extent of hiring mercenaries to guard their structures which has led to periodic firefights with the Imperial Militia Navy.

Europa VI Humanitas:

Humanitas, named after the Roman, and Christian virtue of kindness and refined civility, is a large gas giant about the same size as it's brother Europa V. The atmosphere of Europa VI is largely Helium, which gives to it it's whitish-orange hue. It is a tumultuous gas giant, with storms that rage constantly on its surface being easy to spot, even from Europa III. The veracity of the winds on the planet has made it interesting enough for many scientists to set up research stations just above the atmosphere of the planet. Beyond this phenomena the planet has orbiting it, 50 moons with three being of any notable size. These three moons are Fides, Spero, and Caritas named after the three theological virtues. It is on these moons where the main attraction of the planet is located, that is the largest university within the system of Europae Virtutis, that University being "The Pontifical University of St Thomas". The university itself is largely focused, not without acknowledgement of serendipity, on the study and propagation of the humanities, however, due to generous donations from the upper classes of Europa IV the medicine department of the University has been gaining some renown. The University in a rather interesting manner is spread out over all three of the moons with continuous connecting flights being made between them. Because of its location on the outer end of the system, it is unsurprising that these flights are accompanied by escorts from the Imperial Militia. This point leads into the secondary and more ironic attraction of the planet known as Kindness: The Military complex of the system. It is around this planet that the largest concentration of military assets and stations within the authority of the Emperor is located. The largest station which houses the Central Command of the Imperial Militia is named Cato, partly as a joke, and partly as aggrandizement to overstate their resoluteness. These military stations house the training facilities and officer schools which prepare Europans for service in the Militia, and due to the peculiarities of the political system of Europa, also prepare them for the vote.

Europa VII Humilitas:

Despite its name (Being the Latin word for the Christian and Aristotelian virtue of humility), Humilitas is the largest planet in the Europa Virtutis system, while also being the farthest from the star. It is an example of a Class 1 Gas Giant, possessing ammonia clouds. The gas giant which is considered a superjovian is larger than Jupiter in Sol and has a deep orange colour with clouds of green swirling in its endless storms. The planet has 4 moons of comparable size to Io, and 20 moons of variably smaller sizes. Considering the distance from Humilitas to the Warp gate into the system, it has become a hub for visitors and fuel salesmen and other merchants. As such there are thousands of stations which cater to these galactic nomads, which make this otherwise unnotable planet a hub for the state economy. What is perhaps more interesting than being a glorified space truck stop is the other industry in which Humilitas shines: The Monastic industry. Humilitas is home to 200 monasteries of the various denominations, whether on the moons or in stations orbiting the planet. These monasteries are variably isolated depending on their order, and denomination, with many of the Catholic Monasteries containing manufacturies for luxury goods, or even mining for materials, while more of the Orthodox monasteries engage in Quietism.

Long Description: Treating this as History

Europa Virtutis began as a vision within the mind of the First Emperor, the Illustrious St. Emperor Cesare Augustiani. Little is known about the first Emperor’s past beyond that he was from the Terran country of Italy. Many historians within the system have attempted to research him, but most just come up with nothing past his arrival in the system. However, because of the great record keeping of the First Senate, the early history of the system was able to be pieced together. The system’s origin lies in a traditionalist movement started within Terran Europe, presumably by the Emperor himself. The organization originally aimed to attempt to change Europe through advocacy and political action. However due to continuous setbacks, many within the movement lost hope for change within the firmament of Earth. It was only with the discovery of warp travel that the movement reached its seminal idea: The Aeneid Initiative. The Aeneid Initiative (Named for the Ethnogenetic legend of the founding of Rome written by Livy) was the result of the conclusion by the governing council of the organization, that if traditional Europe was to be preserved, the only place to do so would in the stars. So the construction of the Aeneas Colony ship was initiated. The plans propper for the initiative, such as the route, and the location of the future colony itself was cobbled together quite haphazardly. None the less the ship was able to be built and was filled with around 7,000 volunteers, and various elements of European flora and fauna. The Ship launched from Earth’s orbit and reached the Terran Warp gate on the Feast day of St Benedict of Nursia, the Patron Saint of Europe.

The journey of the Aeneas was to be a long one, expected to last over 5 years (Don’t actually know how fast warp goes). With very little of that journey taking place within Human explored space. The plan of the organization was to remove themselves as far as possible from the ills which they believed plagued their contemporary society. The Organization, despite building and launching the Aeneas, was almost luddic in its outlook being shaped by Ellulian and Traditionalist ideals. The Aeneas reached the system that was to be the destination of the New European homeland almost directly on time. However as noted previously, disaster struck and the ship was almost made inert by (at the time) unknowable reasons. European Historians have often speculated on the cause of the disaster which almost resulted in the death of their colony before it even started. Some theorized that it was meteorites causing damage in the agricultural storage, leading to the fauna invading, and damaging the wiring of the ship, and indeed even the engine. While others considered it a result of the inexperience of the Organization with space travel, and a direct marker of their incompetence (This claim dares not be presented within the cities of Europa III). Regardless of the cause of the disaster, the result was the Miracle of the Sun, which led to the dedication of the new system to “Our Lady of Europa”. It is at this point where the records of the Imperial Government begin, with the triumphant landing on Europa III, and the erection of a Cross.

The founding era of the colony was fraught with action, with the scientists contained within the crew setting out to enact an ecological survey of the planet, engineers setting out to establish FOBs, and soldiers rushing to set up preliminary defences. The Settlement established by the Aeneas was named New Rome, the contemporary capital of the system. The system’s development from that period progressed rather steadily, with advertisements being placed in Terran Media, offering land grants, and privileges to anyone who would be willing to settle the new planet. Despite this call for settlers, the rigid structure of European society was already starting to be established. It became evident that the 7,000 men and women who were the vanguards of the settlement, were establishing themselves as a pseudo-aristocracy. So the first Emperor, then only chairman of the organization decided to formalize the situation and wrote the first charter which would become the basis for the government system. After establishing his place as legitimate overlord of the colony, the first Emperor began the difficult task of allotting land. The vision of the organization, and indeed now the Imperial Senate, was to preserve the various cultures of Europe, and their lifestyles, so it logically followed to them that land ought to allocated to the Ethnic groups, who could then decide individual allotments. This began the complex system of tribal governments on Europa III, in which each Ethnic group would establish for themselves a province within the landmasses of the planet. No official laws of segregation were established, but on the genetic similarity principle, the populations of the various provinces tended not to mix frequently and were expected to become self-sufficient. This form of land management turned the system’s government into more of a confederation of tribes than the Roman Dominate it was modelled off of.

The peculiar case about Europa Virtutis was its isolation from the rest of Human space, largely before most of the frontier was settled, Europa represented one of the furthest arms of human expansion. This fact was reflected in the fact that most of the contact between Earth and Europa III was through the arrival of settlers. The existed only no communications between the governing authorities of Earth and the Imperial Government, so much so that the advent of the Sol Alliance was almost ignored. In this period of isolation, because of the unreliability of large settler arrivals stringent pro-natalist policies were enacted, requiring at least 5 children per family unit, and offering significant bonuses for even larger families. These factors combined to create an insular mindset amongst the people of the system, giving them almost a xenophobic reputation among the other daughters of Earth. When Sol finally began to take more of notice in its fringe territories the system had largely been independently developed, even possessing its own rudimentary military force, which greeted the surprised Solar Navy. Despite the insularity of the Hermit Empire, the government of the system while wary of centralized governance, was still proudly human, and proud of their Terran origins. The Alliance officials however, once arriving in the system were not the most pleased with what they found, and even more dissatisfied over the headache which the system caused the legal system of the alliance. Europa was the only one of Humanity’s loyal colonies which had established a monarchy, and indeed a reactionary monarchy nonetheless. To many within the alliance, the idea of letting Europa Virtutis into the Alliance was anathema. It was only through the shrewd negotiation by the 17th Emperor Victorius II (Augustiani) that the Treaty of Pietas was signed, admitting the Imperial system as a associate state of the Alliance which allowed the citizens of the Empire the right to vote in Sol Federal Elections, along with semi-free movement, however as a result of the deal the system would be responsible for its own defence, and could not expect much financial support from alliance coffers.

The admittance to associate status within the Sol Alliance, was a large step towards stability for the system, however after this event came the largest period of civil unrest, and indeed almost rebellion within the system’s short history. Because of the way in which land was allotted early on in the colony, some of the tribal groups who had settled (Most notably the various Anglosphere tribes), had developed differing views of governance informed by their cultural heritage. These tribes dissatisfied with the DeMaistrean Ideology of the Europa III Elites set off to settle the twin planet of Europa IV. This secession was not taken lightly by the Imperial Government, and Nobles from the descendants of the 7,000 were appointed as governors of the newly founded territories. The tribes which had decided to settle the new world were none too pleased about this arrangement and viewed as an affront to their traditional liberty. They brought it to the Imperial court, and after many years of deadlock, violence erupted. The organization on Europa IV which called themselves Cartesians (After the founding charter of Europa which professed that the cultures of Europe ought to be preserved and their traditional rights respected) elected to depose by force the magistrates who were appointed over them, and held them hostage. This organization of 10,000 men had erupted into full-scale rebellion. Fighting and rioting had broken out in many cities across the Empire. However the struggle was ended at the Battle of St. Huberts Plains in which the Imperial Guard landed and defeated a large portion of the rebellious forces (At great cost mind you, the Cartesians, even by Imperial historians now are lauded as excellent shots). Emperor Rudolfus, in the interests of the public good, and social stability, pardoned the leaders of the rebellion and ordered his senate to draft a statute of autonomy for Europa IV granting them further devolution. To this day the legacy of the Cartesian Rebellion still marks the political life of the system, with the citizens who live on Europa IV celebrating Libertas day annual in remembrance of their defence of the traditional liberties of their people. This divide can also still be seen in the electoral politics with the Whigs and Reformists holding a great deal of sway in the citizen councils.

In more contemporary times, under the reign of His Imperial Majesty Cesare V, the system has remained in relative peace and prosperity. With the further enlargement of Human space, Europa has become a lot less isolated from greater Sol Politics and now must contend with a variety of issues. Because of Xeno immigration into Sol, the typically insular people of its sole associate state, have come to adopt a policy of Human Paternalism, or even outright Human supremacy viewing the Xeno races as like children requiring the guidance of Man. Because of this, combined with the traditional concept of self-governance within Europa, Xeno populations have been confined to Ghettos within the largest European cities, with their living conditions often varying depending on the benefactor tribe, and the race itself. The Skrell ghetto within the confines of New Rome, is considered one of the more advanced (in the luddic agrarian environment which Europa Virtutis exists) and wealthy areas on the twin planets. Also contributing to their negative views towards Xenos, the system often has to defend against raids by Unathi against commercial and civilian transports, which has led to the militia’s peculiar fighting style. These factors have combined into making the Europa system a bastion for the ATLAS party within the Solar Federal government, and indeed many of the leaders of the ATLAS party have come from within its borders (The prior leader for example). Still, some within the Sol Alliance still take issue with the Reactionary Black Swan of their possessions, and it is often a matter of debate whether or not the system is worth the legal headache it is.

 

Edited January 1, 2020 by BoryaTheSlayer

[DeadLantern]

Okay. There are a few problems.

There is absolutely no way an absolute monarchy can be a colony government. In fact, it would just be a copy of the Sol Government, just on a smaller scale. 

It is ok for there to be a constitutional monarchy (like the Queen of England) but not that famous outside of this particular colony. 

The flag looks terrible. I do not mean to insult. As a fan of vexilology, it can be a bit disheartening if someone doesn't like a flag. But it commits a few major sins for flags:

1. There is an emblem (the sun in the middle) that is hard to draw and hard to spot from a distance

2. There is a flag within a flag, which just clutters the flag

3. There is incredibly small writing on the flag.

There are worse flags that exist out there, but in this sci fi realm, we have the freedom to create the coolest flags.

 

[Vittorio Giurifiglio]

4 hours ago, DeadLantern said:

Okay. There are a few problems.

There is absolutely no way an absolute monarchy can be a colony government. In fact, it would just be a copy of the Sol Government, just on a smaller scale. 

It is ok for there to be a constitutional monarchy (like the Queen of England) but not that famous outside of this particular colony. 

The flag looks terrible. I do not mean to insult. As a fan of vexilology, it can be a bit disheartening if someone doesn't like a flag. But it commits a few major sins for flags:

1. There is an emblem (the sun in the middle) that is hard to draw and hard to spot from a distance

2. There is a flag within a flag, which just clutters the flag

3. There is incredibly small writing on the flag.

There are worse flags that exist out there, but in this sci fi realm, we have the freedom to create the coolest flags.

 

2

5

1.) It's not an Absolute Monarchy per se, The powers of the Monarch are simply defined by tradition, In pure function it is a lot more like Constitutional Monarchy because the Senate and Popular Assembly originate most legislation, furthermore the powers of the Emperor as describe are not too different from those of a President in  a Presdential Republic.  The Government system is of course based off of the Roman Principate.

2.)  You have a very good point in regards to the flag because I made it at 2:30 on MS Paint I would be insulted if you thought it WAS good, but I'll address specifics anyways since why the fuck not.

I.) Good point.

II.) This is actually a real element of vexiology, mostly practiced by the Church of England, that is to say a Canton within a St. George's Cross.

III.) It's not supposed to be writing, Just Alpha and Omega symbols .

Edited March 25, 2019 by Vittorio Giurifiglio

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

A monarchy in any form is not very proper within the Alliance itself without being a very notable exception to the genre of the Alliance. How would you feel with this being in the frontier?

[Vittorio Giurifiglio]

2 hours ago, Senpai Jackboot said:

A monarchy in any form is not very proper within the Alliance itself without being a very notable exception to the genre of the Alliance. How would you feel with this being in the frontier?

I wouldn't be too opposed to this change because it's almost irrelevant to the application, but isn't it Canon that the leader of ATLAS is from Europa. To not be a completely unhelpful person, I can propose some solutions to this problem within the SA. It could possibly work depending on the age of the colony no? If for example, it was an early colony who's institutions were developed before Sol Authorities could catch up to everything is there the possibility of being grandfathered into the system? I'm fine with whatever you rule to be clear, just offering suggestions.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

This is probably really embarrassing but I always thought that when they said Europa (which came without the additional context) I rolled with it being a colony on our actual Europa.
https://www.nasa.gov/subject/3148/europa/

I'm really leery about it being an exception. There are very clear rules of thumbs and generalizations that make the huge lore of humanity sort of easy to follow along with. Sol is roughly the same with different levels of development but it's all nominally democratic, and the frontier is where all the whacky fun stuff happens. To be represented in the alliance government a system needs to have a democratic or republican government, even if it's super corrupt or something. A monarchy isn't the right mouthfeel.

There are a few paths to take that I can see.

1) Europa is in the frontier but is best buds with sol and gets the protection of the mighty Alliance navy. This has the benefit for you of nothing major really needing to change outside citizenship.
2) The Emperor is retconned and there is a senator and a few of them gets to go to Sol to represent the system in the Senate/Parliament. This would be a big reboot.
3) Europa is an unincorporated territory of the Alliance but SolGov refuses to make them a territory until they stop the whole monarchy business but Europa doesn't want to do that so they've been arguing for a hundred years. This is messy IC'ly which is on brand for the Alliance.

Edited March 26, 2019 by Marlon Phoenix

[Vittorio Giurifiglio]

5 minutes ago, Senpai Jackboot said:

This is probably really embarrassing but I always thought that when they said Europa (which came without the additional context) I rolled with it being a colony on our actual Europa.
https://www.nasa.gov/subject/3148/europa/

I'm really leery about it being an exception. There are very clear rules of thumbs and generalizations that make the huge lore of humanity sort of easy to follow along with. Sol is roughly the same with different levels of development but it's all nominally democratic, and the frontier is where all the whacky fun stuff happens. To be represented in the alliance government a system needs to have a democratic or republican government, even if it's super corrupt or something. A monarchy isn't the right mouthfeel.

There are a few paths to take that I can see.

1) Europa is in the frontier but is best buds with sol and gets the protection of the mighty Alliance navy. This has the benefit for you of nothing major really needing to change outside citizenship.
2) The Emperor is retconned and there is a senator and a few of them gets to go to Sol to represent the system in the Senate/Parliament. This would be a big reboot.
3) Europa is an unincorporated territory of the Alliance but SolGov refuses to make them a territory until they stop the whole monarchy business but Europa doesn't want to do that so they've been arguing for a hundred years. This is messy IC'ly which is on brand for the Alliance.

Three sounds like a lot of fun, and a perfect fit for a colony started by fringe folks who built Eco-Rome. 

[Zundy]

I can dig three.

[Zundy]

So this'll be an outter, contentious colony for the Sol Alliance?

[Vittorio Giurifiglio]

17 hours ago, Zundy said:

So this'll be an outter, contentious colony for the Sol Alliance?

Yeap, Sort of past colony stage though.

[Vittorio Giurifiglio]

This is done now btw

[BoryaTheSlayer]

Sorry that this took so long.
I must say that you put it very well in the first sentence.
 

Quote

I present the epitome of bloat, it was fun bloat to make, so I will present it none the less. 

We don't really need more planets/colonies right now, especially with me revitalizing some of the neglected stuff in the Sol Alliance. And remaking this into something else is also not something I , or other people on the team would do.

Denied.
Locking and archiving.