Republic of La Rossa

Republic of La Rossa
Flag
A pre-Calming map of La Rossa.
Capital	No Capital
Largest city	Padeno
Demonym	Rossan
Government	Advisory Democratic Republic
• Dux	Alessandro Spadi
Legislature	Advisory Council
Establishment
• Rossan City-States	before 2000 TT
• Unification	1044 TT
• La Denunzia	5 PC
• Joined the IgRS	10-4 41 PC
Population
• Estimate	5,900,000
Currency	Rossan Argotto

The Republic of La Rossa, commonly known as La Rossa, is an island nation situated in the western Attu Archipelago. Its six constituent city-provinces have a total population of 5,900,000 and an area of 189,355 square kilometers. Its largest city is Padeno, standing at 1,800,000 citizens. The nation has no formal capital. The island's territory is marked by its mountainous terrain and long coastline. Its highest peak is Mount Montesuvia, standing at approximately 3300 units above sea level. The country's name hails from the redbell flowers endemic to the island, which have become one of its most distinct luxury exports since the clearing of the archipelago.

Largely a devolved federation, the country's six city-provinces possess a significant degree of autonomy in most matters, but elect a single shared leader, or Dux, who wields significant power. The Dux is allowed to serve an unlimited amount of two-year terms, and is accompanied by an Advisory Council of five members, who provide guidance in decision-making. Although the island's historical records have deemed it to once have been a moderately wealthy nation, the political disruptions and instability of the past decades have made for a chaotic state of affairs in the years after the Grand Calming. Its currency is the argotto. The nation's economy has been described as stagnant, with its growth often overshadowed by inflation. 14% of the population is believed to live in poverty. The country's fertility rate stands at 2.4 children per woman. The infant mortality rate lies at 21 in 1000 births. The island's population is largely irreligious, and the small bouts of religiousness on the island usually find themselves centered around immigrant communities, and a small number of converts. Despite an emigrant efflux across the 30s and early 40s PC, the nation's population has once more began rising since the economic stabilization following international contact.

History

Early history

A modern example of Colscritto, piece by Umberto Buoni.

The island nation's earliest recorded history traces its roots back to the Montesuvian Pottery, a collection of clay artifacts discovered near the city of Buglio, dated to approximately 3700 TT. Although such discoveries from the Early Era have remained relatively sparse, the cultural attachment to the relics and their distinctive line has influenced several contemporary art movements in the Modern Era, such as linea and Colscritto. Other notable examples from the Early Era include the ruins of Averno, thought to be the first large settlement on the island, dated to 3250 TT, and the Minerian Stone (dated c. 3000 TT), the island's first sign of written language. Currency, in form of pieces of silver, is thought to have fully replaced barter by the Late Early Era.

Age of the city-states

Main article: Rossan city-states

The period of the Early Middle Era was characterized by the rise of city-states on the island shores. Smaller towns were quickly swallowed up into the spheres of influence of the great merchant hubs. Despite being connected by land, due to its high altitude and sparse fertile land, the island's inner center, characterized by the Montesuvian mountain range, has remained mostly barren and unpopulated, and unsuitable for travel. The cities, instead, remained connected through the surrounding seas. Due to the storm that engulfed the island, the ships were forced to stay close to shore. Despite some of the inconveniences that this method of transportation posed, ships remained a reliable route for travel and intercity trade, and led to the birth of a lively shipbuilding industry, to this day considered one of the island's most important pieces of national heritage.

The mountains' rich silver deposits, however, immediately made them a valuable prize upon discovery, starting the Silver Rush of 1296 TT. A number of city-states across the island were quick to establish outposts in the mountaintops. Competition in search of riches soon turned to open conflict, as armies were raised in efforts to seize the operations of the other cities. This brutal period, characterized by bouts of violence in the dangerous, snow-covered mountaintops, brought with it many military reforms, such as army service in exchange for regular pay. Enticements made by one city were soon matched by the others, in an effort to keep their own forces from defecting. However, open conquest was rare (although not absent), and trade blockades, shifting trade partnerships, and short-lived alliances often were used to prevent the need for outright conflict.

The period of violence discontinuously went on for decades, with intermittent periods of conflict and peace, forcing many city-states to part with their own independence in exchange for protection. Skirmishes occurred as far as 1048 TT, until Giuseppe Giannone di Salino (1093 TT - 1017 TT) rose to become the head of the Salino merchant family. He proved to be a skillful negotiatior, and over many months struck a deal with the neighboring city-states of Padeno and Buglio, upheaving the status quo of fierce competition into careful cooperation. Intercity trade between towns once again calmed, and the mining operation, no longer under threat of fire, slowly turned to greater extraction. The remaining cities laid down their arms within a few years, and reluctantly joined the city-state compact. Ready to negotiate, invited were Six of the wealthiest merchant Families, forming the ruling aristocracies of the six largest cities on the island - Buglio, Salino, Mineria, Padeno, Lorma, and Tolia.

Unification

Main article: Unification of La Rossa

The Republic of La Rossa has for long prided itself with its Two-Thousand-Year Democracy. In spite of this, the history of the nation tells a far more complex story of shifting relations with power. Finally at peace, the heads of the Families of the six city-states sat down at the table, seeking to find a way for the self-destructive past not to repeat itself. A deal was struck, a fragile agreement keeping the Six on amicable terms, which saw a shared state that would be born to stand over them all, with forces at the ready to strike against he who refuses to stay in line. Given power with the responsibility of ensuring the relations between the city-states remained mutually benevolent, and that new conflict would not arise between them, above them all, an elected Dux would be chosen by the Families to preside over them. The early republic knew no concept of universal suffrage, instead, it was only the upper merchant class, associated with the Families (often through familial or marital relations), as well as their highest associates, who received the power of vote. Giuseppe Giannone (ruled 1044-1017 TT) would be overwhelmingly chosen to serve the first two-year term, and would hold the position until his death, being re-elected a stunning 13 times, before dying in his palace. With rare exceptions, a tradition of lifelong Duxes was born.

Despite the new status of rule over the island, the Dux's Republic would, for the most part, stay out of the way of local governance. Born from an agreement inherently based on weak foundations, for many years, the rule of the individual Families over their own domains continued unfettered. Power in the Dux, however, slowly emerged over the centuries, with greater power and legitimacy being vested in the throne. Bolstered by the influx of goods all across the island, as trade was mandate in place of blockades, followed a long-lasting age of prosperity. In 709 TT, the island would be blessed by the invention of the printing press, the advent of widespread communication. The Families soon realized that the invention simplified business as much as it allowed for the free spread of ideas, in many ways a blessing that nonetheless endangered them. To prevent it from reaching the wrong hands, the Dux took complete control over the production and possession of the machine. In 654 TT, under the rulership of Dux Francesco Buonestrotti di Buglio (ruled 662-652 TT), the state would centralize further, as silver coin, minted locally, and its value assessed in weight, would be replaced with paper currency, backed by silver. Divisible in parts of eight, as the old money used to be, and wishing to preserve the memory of the silver that for so long defined the island's trade, the argotto was born.

Industrial Age

The long reign of Dux Giorgio Miglio di Padeno (ruled 228-199 TT) saw a great amount of technological progress, following the invention of the coal engine in 248 TT. Innovation was swift, as machine labor soon replaced human, only to end up in need of more of it, as need for coal soared. The years following the invention saw an increase in child labor, as well as child mortality. New bodies are still being discovered in the mountains of Montesuvia. The oared vessels were replaced by coalships, capable of reliably pushing through even the worst of stormy weather at twice the speed of past vessels. 223 TT would see the opening of the first publicly-funded, mandatory schooling system. Children above the age of 8 were required to spend five years in schooling institutions learning about arithmetic, reading, and writing. Although private schooling had existed for centuries prior, the ability to afford private tutors was reserved mostly for the rich merchant class, and for a few years, factory owners. The years in the following decades all led to the rise of literacy rates, as each passing year saw one generation of old be replaced by literate youth.

The rise in literacy rates served to increase productivity as much as it led to rise of popular ideas. Due to the state monopoly on the printing press, however, their dissemination remained an impassable obstacle. Dissent, however, slowly but surely rose, pushed over the tipping point after the Piazza Rossa Massacre in 106 TT, a clash between protesters and armed forces which led to the deaths of 34 protesting students in Padeno, as well as 6 soldiers. The ensuing Spirit Revolution, as it would later become known, saw groups of radicals across the island violently seize control of several printing presses across the city-provinces. Over the course of the next several days, thousands of copies of the groups' manifesto, La Libertà, were printed. The text, 20 pages long, heavily criticized the archaic system of aristocratic rule across the island, and called for the violent overthrow of its rulers by the masses, in favor of what it called "true democratic rule". Although the participants in the uprising were all arrested or shot as the army broke through their defenses, they were never able to trace down every paper copy.

Violent demonstrations only rose in the following months, as issues integrated into the movement compounded. Besides calls for democracy and liberty, more popular still became calls for just wages and working hours. Under much public pressure, Dux Edmondo Giannone di Salino (ruled 110-106 TT) resigned mere weeks after his re-election. In his place, his nephew, Dux Michelangelo Giannone di Salino (ruled 106-92 TT), a modest sympathizer to some of the movement's popular ideas, took it upon himself to quell public discontent. A wave of democratization followed in the ensuing months, and suffrage was extended to all men possessing property, or the ability to pay the poll tax. This reform effectively extended the right to vote to about a third of the population. An Advisory Council, made up of five members, one from each of the city-provinces, excluding the one from which the Dux hails, was formed, capable of halting the Dux's actions with a 4/5ths vote.

Silver Age

Main Article: Rossan Silver Age

The post-revolutionary period saw a great rise in literature and a flourishing art movement, regarded by historians to have been the country's artistic and social Silver Age. In the centuries past, artistic expression, despite being present in local communities, remained rather limited, due to the strong hold of the state over the distribution of text and print. While this hold remained firm over the course of most of the rest of the Modern Era, much greater liberty was given over the technology of print, and citizens with sufficient funds were allowed to use the government-owned presses, as long as they were deemed to not be overtly dangerous to the interests of the state or otherwise politically charged. This led to the rise of Arte Popolare, printed en-masse and widely distributed across the island. A catch-all term, Arte Popolare was home to a wide range of artistic movements, and the island's sudden focus on it allowed for the rise of a wide range of improvements in the art of print by the end of the century, such as color printing. Women's movements, despite remaining quite small, found refuge in more liberal circles of the art movement.

The adoption of machinery and automation gave rise to a new class of wealth, distant from the aristocratic background of the old nobility. Although independently acquired wealth was not an entirely uncommon phenomenon historically, its emergence not as a isolated incident but as a general rule of the time period would greatly change the island's society. Individual investors came to compete with the Six Families that had defined the island in both finance and politics, especially notable due to their recently acquired democratic rights. The Families would display an increased effort to court the new rich, in order to secure their own power in exchange for favorable outcomes to their backers. As such, the Silver Age, despite its high rate of societal progress, also came to be considered in the lens of corruption and abuses of power facilitated by the state.

Apart from artistic applications, the rise of print in many ways facilitated the work of the emerging scientific community, which developed from a field mostly dominated by amateur inventors into one that sought to create experts. The universities in each of the six cities greatly expanded in size, as entry slowly opened to the general population. The first scientific journal, La Rivista di Medicina e Tecnologia, was published in the city of Lorma, in the year 89 TT, and allowed for the collection of works of the collaborative effort of the island's scientific community. The discoveries of the following decades heavily cleared up misconceptions surrounding the spreading of illness and disease, allowing for a number of cures to be developed for the first time, lowering mortality rates, especially in children.

La Denunzia

Dux Giulio Falcone, crowned after La Denunzia.

Main article: La Denunzia

While the Rossan Silver Age period of wealth and prosperity lasted through the period several Duxes, an end to it was, in retrospect, for decades visible on the horizon. Few were envious of the position Dux Mario Buonestrotti di Buglio (ruled 2 TT to 5 PC) found himself in, when the task of dealing with the Silver Crisis befell him when it was announced in 1 PC that the silver reserves in Montesuvia dried up. Despite its use of paper currency, it was nonetheless backed by the country's reserves of silver, which continued to grow throughout the centuries until their sudden exhaustion. A destabilizing moment in the nation's history, the crisis resulted in mass unemployment and economic despair, manifesting itself in a wide, popular movement known as La Denunzia, the violent period resulted in the overthrow of the rule of the Six Families, and the crowning of the movement's leader, Giulio Falcone.

In many ways inspired by La Libertà, Dux Falcone (ruled from 5 PC to 15 PC) promised to end the sham democracy of the past eras, and enter a new age in the island's history. A sharp progressive taxation rate was placed upon the populace, in an effort to lessen the load of the austerity measures on the poorer parts of the nation, and redistribute the wealth of the founding Families. Utilizing the same methods as the past rulers, military force was used to quash pro-aristocratic voices, many of whom retained their powerful sway even after La Denunzia. Although elections were supposed to held in 7 PC, two years after the previous ones, as is custom, the Dux used his still high popularity to show there was no reason for another to be held this year, claiming it could easily be compromised by the aristocrats of the past, as he claimed they had done previously, and that corruption still remained to be rooted out.

In 9 PC, the Second Calming suddenly swept the archipelago, and the storm that had once been the end of the world cleared to reveal an entire world waiting across the seas. Another ground-shaking development in an already destabilizing era, the Dux once more called for the postponing of the elections, as the country rattled to adjust to the big wide world around them. An Entrance Commission to present the country to the world was soon established, and a flag was designed after the country's opening, to be hoisted atop of vessels as they were slowly sent out into international waters, in accordance with the tradition that the merchant ships of the six city-states once held. Inner turmoil, however, fated the nation to make no public announcement of its presence for several decades.

Modern Democracy

Elections were finally held in 15 PC, after massive demonstrations against the once popular leader. For the first time, universal suffrage was implemented, allowing women (and many men) to vote for the first time. Ducissa Alessandra DeGaio (ruled 15 PC to 29 PC, one of the former Dux's most outspoken critics within the government, was elected. Implementing a wide range of reforms, such as dismantling the silver standard, and establishing wide forms of welfare, in part funded by the collected past riches of the Six Families, in others by the nation's economic recovery, made her an incredibly popular leader, as the wealth of many parts of the population began to rise. Delivering a shock to the economy through economic liberalization and the dismantlement of the silver standard, the Rossan economy sustained a years-long period of two digit inflation, nonetheless outpaced by suddenly stimulated growth. Due to internal chaos, however, the country once built on trade was unable to fully take advantage of the freshly opened markets of the world. The economic prosperity was not meant to last. With slowing growth, and rising need for inflationary spending, the nation was once more thrown into economic hardships. Its leadership during the recession of Dux Dario Silvano and the slow recovery under Dux Giulio Moretti mostly remained internally focused, and the island isolated.

As inequality was equalized in the years after her reign, the stagnant economy soon proved to be a much greater issue in the public mind. The country, internally described as a struggling welfare state, strove for new leadership, away from the stagnation of the Denunzians. After 34 years out of power, a member of the Families was once again elected. Dux Leo Minestrici di Mineria (ruling from 39 PC to 49 PC) found his way to the throne on the promise that the once proud merchant industry would once more be revived, to the benefit of all living in La Rossa - by making formal contact with the rest of the archipelago, an event dubbed the Rossan Opening. Although individual ships had already travelled beyond La Rossa, the national leader for the first time came to forge deals with other nations. With a strong focus on exporting goods, for which he stated there are many of (and with transport highly subsidized), and high tariffs on imports (used to protect local manufacturers while they adjusted to the international market), his followers have enthusiastically dubbed the ideological platform mercantilismo. With cuts to taxes, and even bigger cuts to welfare, the government's budget for the first time in years no longer ran a deficit. With a great burst of international trade with the island, heavily linked with the foundation of the House of Light, an economic, political and military alliance, the tariffs came to be lifted with the revival of Rossan manufacturing. While income earnings rose stably for a great portion of the population, this did not happen uniformly across the island, with the west coast, facing away from the rest of the archipelago, coming to soon detest the arrangement that left them behind while businesses moved to the east.

Geography

The geography of La Rossa.

With an area of 11,860 square kilometers, the island of La Rossa is the 8th largest in the Attu Archipelago, though it remains one of the least densely populated nations in the world. With the mountains of Montesuvia covering most of the inner island, with peaks reaching over 3,000m in altitude, the nation's six cities have found themselves located on the coastline along a relatively narrow strip of land of low elevation. Although the rocky coastline fashions a dry summer climate, the higher mountains regularly reach cooler temperatures, with the tallest peaks being covered with permanent ice caps, with temperatures remaining below freezing throughout the entire year.

While the higher mountains have proven to be unsuitable for growth of most crops, due to low temperatures and steep inclines, the soil covering the lowlands has proven to be quite fertile, opening the doors to a robust agricultural industry. With most of the fertile lands finding themselves within the borders of the city-province of Buglio, the region has grown to become the most prominent food producer in the nation.

Home to an endemic species of flower, the Montesuvian redbells have grown to become a beloved national symbol. Able to grow only in a narrow slice of the mountains that cover the island, the flower is extremely sensitive to climate variations, and prone to wilting under sub-optimal condition. Due to the specific conditions required for its growth, which only the mountains of Montesuvia are known to satisfy, the plant is taken as a sign of symbolic distinction from the rest of the Attu Archipelago, and is featured prominently on the nation's flag in order to evoke national pride.

Government

La Rossa functions as a federal republic of six city-provinces, with power split between each of them. The nation has no formal written constitution, although a long history of ingrained political tradition has largely dictated its political and electoral processes. Unified in 1044 TT, the nation has organically experienced shifts in its ways of rule over the centuries, with moves towards more centralized power at first, and more egalitarian forms of rule in its later periods. Its current democratic system of universal suffrage traces its origins to the revolution of La Denunzia and the dictatorial rule of Dux Giulio Falcone, who upon resigning mandated elections be held.

National government

The government of the Republic of La Rossa is composed of two branches. The nation has no formal capital, and the functions of the government are largely decentralized across the nation. The nation follows an advisory democratic model, where power of lawmaking is centralized in a single leading figure, although a council of Advisor is able to veto them.

• The Dux of La Rossa is the Rossan head of state, the admiral of the Rossan Armed Forces, the leader of the nation's executive branch, and has near-absolute power to rule by decree. The Dux has the power to unilaterally act to solve national issues, or to appoint people with the responsibility of carrying out those duties. Due to the lack of a written constitution, the Dux is theoretically not in any way constrained from changing fundamental laws of the nation, although in practice such instances have been rare, in no little part due to the pressure that would be felt through the ensuing violence and protests. The Dux is elected nationally every two years by a plurality vote.
• The Advisory Council, formed in the year 106 TT, serves as a check on the power of the Dux. Composed of five members, each one represents a city-province from which the Dux is not. Despite superficial similarities, the Advisory Council does not take the position of a legislature, as it has no ability to pass laws. However, it is capable of vetoing the decrees of the Dux with a 4-person majority. The Council also does not take the place of a traditional judiciary, as it does not pass judgement on new decrees based on past laws, but with responsibility to constituents. Its members are elected every two years, one month after the Dux.

National Departments

Main Article: Government of the Republic of La Rossa

The Rossan state operates a set of seven departments within its bureaucracy responsible for carrying out the duties of government. While they are all directly subject to the power of the Dux, some have effectively been left to operate independently, in order to avoid interfering with their actions.

• Department of the Treasury - tasked with raising government revenue and funding government function
• Department of Commerce - tasked with dealing with labor disputes and managing infrastructure projects
• Department of Justice - tasked with upholding the nation's legal system
• Department of Education - tasked with promoting and managing education across the nation
• Department of the Peace - tasked with administering law-enforcement efforts and public policy
• Department of Foreign Relations - tasked with managing relations with other nations
• Department of War - tasked with administering the Rossan Armed Forces
• Department of Security - tasked with matters of national security

Provincial governments

In addition to the national government, led by the Dux, the island is also governed on a regional level by the provincial governments. While they can be overridden by the Dux at any moment, they are otherwise accepted as holding power within their own borders. The structures of government vary between the six city-provinces - Buglio, Lorma, Mineria, Padeno, Salino and Tolia - although after the formation of the Advisory Council, they have tended to merge the position of Advisor with one of power within their home city province. In the city of Tolia, for instance, the Advisor has held locally absolute power comparable to that of the Dux, while in the city of Salino, the Advisor holds an executive role that presides over a law-making legislature.

Military

The Dux is the Ammiraglio of the Rossan Armed Forces, the military force of La Rossa. The duties of the Armed Forces concern any and all external threats to the island, although it has no jurisdiction within the nation. Formed in 13 PC, the creation of the army came as a result of a necessity to potentially face outside enemies following the Calming. The organization's heritage dates back to the Rossan Moschettieri, an armed police which existed before La Denunzia, later reorganized into the Rossan police force. The island makes no distinction between its navy and land armies.

Foreign Relations

Since the Rossan Opening, the nation of La Rossa has broadly pursued a diplomatic policy of free trade and multinational agreements, and has worked to attract foreign workers to the island, in order to boost its manufacturing industry, left troubled after a wave of emigration in the 30s PC. La Rossa is a founding member of the House of Light, an economic and military alliance, and has led largely amicable relations with the other member states. Lighthouse Island, the alliance's headquarters, is located off the coast of Buglio, a city in La Rossa.