Caputia

The Kingdom of the Union of Caputia
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: Fier Et Combattant
Anthem:
Map versions
Capital	Zalae
Largest city	Judah, Abeis, Zurich, Forburgh, San Luis.
Official language(s)	Common Tongue; Alexandrian Fransch (French); Martino (Spanish); Wechu (Quechua)
Official religion(s)	Melusinian Faith; Bovinism; Church of Alexandria; Reformed Catologian Church.
Demonym	Caputian
- Adjective	Caputian
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
- Queen	Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I
- Prime Minister	Christophe Landry
- Legislature	Parliament of Caputia
Establishment	25 October 2017
Area	Unmeasured
Population	75,107,212 (1657 AN)
Active population	5 active citizens
Currency	Caputian Laurel (₺)
Calendar
Time zone(s)
Mains electricity
Driving side
Track gauge
National website	Caputian Website
National forum	Caputian Forums
National animal	Unicorn
National food
National drink
National tree
Abbreviation	CAP

Caputia (CAH-PYOO-SHA), officially the Kingdom of the Union of Caputia, is a sovereign country in the continent of Keltia, with overseas possessions in Apollonia, Eura and Cibola. On Keltia, Caputia shares a border with the High Realm of Stormark and with the Greater Pallisican Trade Association. On Apollonia, Caputia shares a border with Jingdao. On Cibola, it shares a border with Treisenberg and Natopia. Caputia is the official successor state of the now defunct Commonwealth of Hamland.

Caputia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth I, who has reigned since the founding of the nation after the end of the Hammish Civil War. The capital of the Caputia is Zalae, now the largest and most populous city in the country. Other major urban areas include San Luis, Petrynsk, Keybir-Aviv, Gotfriedplatz, and Monoviaville. Caputia is composed of ten states - Hamland, Bridgemoor (formerly Skjargorod), Wakefield (formerly Scottania and Petrynsk), Northpass (formerly Schoenland), Anglia and Israat, the Isles of Caputia (formerly the Lordship of the Isles), Haifa, San Luis, Monovia, and Neo Patrova. It also has a Royal District for its capital city, the Royal District of Zalae. The largely uninhabited Elizabeth Isle in Eura is a Crown dependency with the Caputian Government directly responsible for its defense and international representation. Santa Melusina is also a Crown dependency, located in the island of Anterra. Elizabeth Isle and Santa Melusina were ceded to Hamland, Caputia's previous incarnation, by Passio-Corum in the Treaty of Bel-Air.

Etymology

The name of Caputia originates from its distant past, as the land it occupies was once part of an ancient nation called Caput Popularis. Use of the term "Caputia" rose from the many rebel groups during the Hammish Civil War, in an effort to differentiate themselves from the National Provisional Authority and the Council of State for the Salvation of Hamland which governed the country during the war.

Occurrences of the name have been found in different ancient texts prior to the founding of Hamland but after the collapse of Caput Popularis, when tribes of the Green continued referring to the area as "Caputia" in general.

History

For the history of Caputia prior to the Hammish Civil War, please see Hamland.

Hamland had entered a period of chaos and instability with the disappearance of the Seneschal Juan Teaodir and Prime Minister Lewis. The disappearance of key national and regional leaders around the country led to a immense power vacuum, with several factions beginning to form around the country in the absence of a staffed central government. At the behest of all the political parties in Hamland, the military, and regional governments, the sole surviving member of the Hammish Government, the Minister of the Homeland Donat Ravaillac, issued a state of emergency across Hamland and suspended the Constitution. While there was some armed opposition over what some groups believed to be a coup d’état, Ravaillac’s state of emergency was generally welcomed.

A new Government was established under the name of the Council of State for the Salvation of Hamland, but later on, changes to the new government structure led to the Council being folded into the National Provisional Authority, which became Hamland's new government with Ravaillac as its Interim Prime Minister.

After a series of assassinations of key aides and civilian leaders of the National Provisional Authority, Ravaillac was left as the unwilling face of what had become a military dictatorship as clashes between government forces and opposition groups began to escalate, in particular in Haifa and Anglia and Israat. Ravaillac was later assassinated by a sniper at a military review held in New Kirrie to commemorate the pacification of Haifa.

With Ravaillac's assassination, a savage behind-the-scenes purge of the National Provisional Authority saw Ravaillac's loyalists and aides removed from all of their posts and arrested. They were replaced by military officials and other civilian politicians who were loyal to Ravaillac's military-installed successor, General Augustus Eliphas. The ensuing crackdown to cement power by Eliphas sparked defections and revolts through out the country that sparked a new and more vicious civil conflict that pitted opposition groups (some receiving support from abroad) against the National Provisional Authority.

Use of chemical and biological weapons during the war was rampant and documented by the Hammish Humanitarian Council during the civil war. However, the real culprit was the crushing collapse of Hammish agriculture. The national ability to recover from national crop failures and extreme weather alerts was deeply hurt as key infrastructure in many parts of the country was heavily damaged during the civil war. Weather trends that are directly attributable to global climate change and effects of the fallout from the many detonations of atomic bombs in the last two decades on Micras.

End of the Hammish Civil War

For more information, see Hammish Civil War.

With the National Provisional Authority beginning to collapse amidst purges and defections, a temporary ceasefire was negotiated at the Maison Verneuil outside of Geneva, Alexandria between all of the opposition groups, united under the National League, and the National Provisional Authority. Brokered by the Council of Free Nations, the talks were slow, but during the process it was slowly becoming obvious that the National Provisional Authority had lost the war and that they were cornered into negotiations to end the slaughter and begin the transition to a new Government and a "refounding" of the nation.

After the ceasefire, the National League called a Constitutional Convention. The Convention gathered in the city of Zalae, at the City Hall building. Composed of 250 Deputies, they met to begin drafting a Constitution and set up the future Government. The Convention Deputies were chosen by the different factions involved in the civil war, representing territories they held. Representatives from NPA-held territories also attended. Most of them were defectors and people that escaped the oppressive Eliphas regime.

Regina Ravaillac was unanimously elected President of the Convention. It was agreed that discussions and votes would be kept secret until the conclusion of the Convention. Despite having elected Clerks and Secretaries, the Convention's proceedings left little records. Soon after the first few days of the Convention, Ravaillac left to Geneva for the conference at the behest of the National League representatives. The Convention elected Carrie Fitzwater as its President Pro Tempore.

Crown of Caputia

While Ravaillac was away, Fitzwater began sketching out her initial draft for a Constitution. It was clear that the Convention wanted to "refound" the country, a term that came from the many pamphlets circulating the city about what the Convention should do. Convention delegates discussed for days the name of the new nation, and after much debating, the Convention settled on the name of Caputia.

The Convention agreed on several principles. Most importantly, they agreed that the Convention should not go beyond its mandate of drafting a Constitution. It explicitly decided that as soon as a Constitution was approved, that it would dissolve itself and put the Constitution to voters for their approval.

Another principle they agreed on, despite some opposition from Delegates from the Hammish Republican Army, was that Caputia needed separate the head of state from the head of government, and preserve the monarchy. Few raised serious objections when Delegates George Blakeslee and Jean Overstreet put forth their ideal candidate for monarch: Regina Ravaillac.

The Constitutional Convention elected to put together an official delegation of various Deputies and officials representing the National League, headed by Theodulus Bertrand Michel. The delegation arrived at Maison Verneuil and offered the Crown to Regina Ravaillac, who had no previous notification of the matter and initially considered declining the offer.

Instead of declining the offer, she opted to accept with conditions:

"The wishes of the Constitutional Convention of Hamland in Zalae have touched me deeply. It cannot but be exceedingly flattering for me that they have turned their eyes to the Ravaillac family. Although the mission of maintaining the independence and welfare of Hamland on a solid foundation, and with free institutions, is a most noble one, I must, nevertheless, declare that the monarchy cannot be reestablished on a legitimate and firm basis without a spontaneous expression of the wishes of the whole nation. I must make my acceptance of the throne dependent upon a plebiscite of the whole country. On the other hand, it would be my duty to ask for guarantees, which are indispensable to secure Hamland against the dangers which threaten her integrity and independence. Should these guarantees be obtained, and the universal vote of the nation be given in my favor, I am ready to accept the crown. In case Providence should call me to this high mission, I must at once declare that it is my firm intention to open the path of progress by a Constitution, as my father wished, that will refound the country and renew its people, and after the complete pacification of the country to seal the fundamental law with an oath. By such means only can a new and really national policy be called into existence by which all parties, forgetting all disputes, would cooperate with me in raising Hamland to a prominent rank among nations. Carry back with you these frank declarations to your fellow citizens, and act in such a manner that it may become possible for the nation to declare what form of government it desires to have." - Governor-General of United Monovia, Regina Ravaillac

The Alexandrian Flu

Despite being called the Alexandrian Flu, an extremely deadly viral disease was released by the National Provisional Authority from a biological and chemical weapons facility in Porapa for use against the National Salvation Front, the Hammish Republican Army, and anyone else who was being targeted by the Eliphas regime.

During transport to the Eastern Front against the National Salvation Front, a massive accident unleashed the dreaded disease through out Caputia, infecting locals and foreigners alike throughout the land. Many of the Alexandrian peacekeepers infected with the disease were brought to Cibola and other Alexandrian lands for treatment. This was to be a huge mistake - the disease spread quickly and viciously, bringing down Alexandria in a matter of months.

The Alexandrian flu ravaged the country, but where it hit hardest was the east of the country, held by the National Salvation Front. Travelling all the way up to Haifa, the disease's death toll is still too high to count, with some estimates sitting between 30–60% of the eastern regions of Hamland. In desperation, local authorities were known to have dug many mass graves to house the remains of those who died in the deadly rampage of the disease.

There are no exact figures for the death toll nationally; the rate varied widely by locality. In urban centers, the greater the population before the outbreak, the longer the duration of the period of abnormal mortality.

As the disease degraded the ability of all sides to fight, the Council of Free Nations ended its peacekeeping mission and withdrew all troops. The withdrawal then ended up spreading the disease more in Alexandria, culminating in the collapse of that country.

The spread of the disease throughout Caputia and then Alexandria brought the Geneva Peace Conference to a close, and it was moved to Monoviaville for a second round of ongoing negotiations between all sides. The spread of the disease degraded severely the National Provisional Authority, the National Salvation Front, and entirely eliminated the nascent Haifan Nationalist Army. It later made its way into areas held by the Hammish Republican Army and the Ravaillac Loyalists in the mainland.

With the withdrawal of the Council of Free Nations peacekeeping mission, the situation in Hamland began to degrade quickly. Sensing that the National Provisional Authority was near defeat, a combined offensive of the Hammish Republican Army and the Ravaillac Loyalists, supported by Natopia and Shireroth, pushed further and further into NPA-held territory until it reached the outskirts of the capital, New Kirrie, leading to a terrible siege that lasted for months.

The siege's stalemate, combined by the collective degradation of all sides to continue the fighting due to the famine and the Alexandrian flu, met once more in Monoviaville to continue the negotiations to end the civil war. A second ceasefire was instituted, more fragile than the first, since there was no formal peacekeeping force to enforce and supervise its implementation. Ravaillac left Monoviaville and deputized George Blakeslee to serve as the leader of the National League's negotiating team.

The Vision of Zalae

The Prophetess Melusine.

Having landed in the city of Judah, Regina Ravaillac made her way with a group of aides and protective detail to Zalae, following a road that runs along the shore.

On the road to Zalae, a large wave stuck Ravaillac and her companions, pulling everyone out to the mercy of the sea's currents. Submerged in the seas, Ravaillac believed she would drown and that all of her aides would also die. She closed her eyes and suddenly a voice said to her, "Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Regina, Regina, open your eyes and let me grant you a vision."

Suddenly the whole party was tossed back onto the shore unharmed with Ravaillac. Those accompanying Ravaillac heard the voice and saw emerge from the sea what they believed to be a mermaid. Introducing herself as the Prophetess Melusine, Ravaillac approached her and Melusine touched her forehead, releasing a blinding flash of light that temporarily blinded everyone. The Prophetess unveiled a vision of the future, a united, prosperous and happy nation, where the war was a distant memory and children played in a beach.

Melusine told them it was a vision of the future, a vision of a new nation called Caputia, that was bestowed grace and affection by Bous and by herself. She instructed them all to return to Zalae at once, where she would build an underwater cavern that would serve as her home and reveal to them a new vision for the country. In the following days, thousands of people flocked to the road to Zalae to greet their new Queen, drawn by the reports of the visions she was receiving. Believing that the visions had made Ravaillac holy, many Caputians flocked to her seeking healing from multiple diseases, including the Alexandrian flu.

When Ravaillac reached the ruined city of Macsen, one hundred thousand people lined up to see her perform what many witnesses confirm is the first miracle of the Melusinian Faith. A pair of twins, Michael and Lucia, were presented to Ravaillac by a family as she went through the city. They were stricken severely by the Alexandrian flu. Her security detail tried to move them out of the way as they did with the many sick people who crossed her path. It is said that a whisper, emanating from the seas, repeating "Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Regina, Regina" blinded Ravaillac. A bright white light began to emanate from Ravaillac's fingers and as she touched the twins, they were instantly healed. Onlookers reported seeing that light was shooting out of Ravaillac's eyes and that her voice was transformed into "harps of beauty and splendor", promising that a miracle would be performed upon her arrival to Zalae.

After newspapers reported that Ravaillac had promised a miracle upon her arrival to Zalae, a huge crowd, possibly between 70,000 to 90,000, including reporters and photographers, gathered in the outskirts of the city. Various claims have been made as to what actually happened during the event. The two children who originally were healed by Regina in Macsen accompanied her, and reported seeing a panorama of visions during the event, including those of Melusine and Bous blessing the people and the vision of a Church of Caputia to spread the nascent Melusinian faith.

According to accounts, after a period of rain, the clouds broke and the sun appeared as an opaque, spinning disc in the sky. It was said to be significantly duller than normal, and to cast multicolored lights across the landscape, the people, and the surrounding clouds. A large tsunami wave appeared suddenly and as it crashed into the city, it dissipated into water vapor and multicolored lights. Witnesses reported that their previously wet clothes became "suddenly and completely dry."

Flag of the Order of Rochefort.

The widely reported miracle contributed to Zalae quickly becoming a major center of pilgrimage and spread interest in the new faith quickly. Initially called the Cult of Melusine, Ravaillac became the unofficial leader of the new faith, despite the fact that she repeatedly said she would not serve as the head of this new faith.

The Order of Rochefort, present at the stunning miracle, dropped to its knees and confirmed their wish to spread this new faith "by peace and by sword", as its leader Lee Grantham proclaimed. Based in San Luis, Anglia and Israat, and Haifa, the Order of Rochefort had large sources of funding primarily from the aid it obtained from the Greater Pallisican Trade Association as an instrumental part of the National Salvation Front in the east. Internal dissension within the National Salvation Front surfaced over the question of whether the Front wanted to actively engage in the spread of the nascent faith. When the NSF decided it would not work actively to spread what the Order of Rochefort believed was an "authentic Caputian religion," the Order of Rochefort separated from the National Salvation Front, taking its soldiers, equipment, munitions and funding with them.

Eliphas Dies, Declaration of Zalae

See also: Declaration of Zalae.

See also: Augustus Eliphas.

The miracle of Zalae spread quickly throughout the country and it reached the small National Provisional Authority-held areas. Emboldened by this divine sign of providence upon Ravaillac, armed insurgent groups began forming and attacking National Provisional Authority forces. In a matter of days, New Kirrie and what was left of Porapa lit up in violence, with armed insurgents attacking key roads, bridges and infrastructure. The guerrilla style warfare of the self-appointed Queen's Army degraded the weak and demoralized NPA forces. With the Eliphas purges having depleted the NPA from military talent, key defections weakened the NPA further.

Suddenly, a broadcast from Pratchett Hall in New Kirrie shook the country when it announced that General Augustus Eliphas had died in his sleep during the night. The broadcast revealed that it was the will of the deceased NPA leader to end the civil war and "invite the Queen-in-Zalae, Regina Ravaillac, to march upon the city of New Kirrie with her forces to reunify the country and bring a new era of peace and unity."

Many interpreted the sudden death of the General to be another sign from Melusine that the reunion of the country was imminent. As fighting across the country died down, Ravaillac sent out a notice for a "Grand Army of Liberation and Unity" to march upon New Kirrie and finally reunify the fracture country. The historic Queen's March saw over 200,000 Caputian citizens join the Queen, some were battle hardened soldiers from the National League and defectors from the National Provisional Authority. Others were homeless men and women that joined the March enroute to New Kirrie.

Before leaving for New Kirrie, Ravaillac was visited by a delegation from the National Provisional Authority, which presented a verified copy of the will of General Eliphas and a signed statement from the National Provisional Authority declaring their surrender and allegiance to her. Stepping on the balcony of the Bellesea Palace, Ravaillac proclaimed the establishment of the Kingdom of the Union of Caputia in the Declaration of Zalae, taking as her regnal name the one that the Prophetess Melusine had given her: Elizabeth.

Fearing the security situation in New Kirrie, the Queen instructed an elite force led by General Richard Blackwell to secure the city prior to her arrival. Quen Elizabeth arrived and took command of the city of New Kirrie soon after. There was no longer any soldiers to oppose her, with the march southward proceeding unopposed.

After greeting the Queen in the outskirts of New Kirrie with the title of Queen of Caputia, Blackwell entered New Kirrie riding beside the Queen. Blackwell then resigned his commission and retired to his native city of Ersoy, while the remaining work of unifying the country was left to Elizabeth.

Three months later Blackwell, having seen his life's work nearly complete, died. When he was given the last rites, he purportedly said: "Caputia is made. All is safe. I can go."

Sectarian Violence

A Caputian Government poster condemning the persecution of followers of the Stripping Path.

The reunification of Caputia brought great joy throughout the country. The delegations negotiating in Monoviaville withdrew and returned to New Kirrie, and all proclaimed their allegiance and faithful obedience to the new Queen. The Order of Rochefort soon arrived to New Kirrie, accompanied by thousands of units that branded themselves as the "Tridents of Caputia." Proclaiming their loyalty to the new Queen, they returned to their communities in the newly reorganized areas of San Luis and Haifa.

While in New Kirrie and Zalae the new Government was put together, the Order of Rochefort launched a campaign of Melusianization, aiming for the conversion of individuals to the nascent Melusinian faith or the conversion of entire groups at once. Targeting local rulers or warlords for conversion, often the conversion of the rulers were followed by the compulsory baptism of their communities. Some were evangelization by monks or priests, organic growth within an already partly Melusinianized society, or by campaigns against what was deemed as "paganism" such as the conversion of "pagan" temples into Melusinian churches or the condemnation of pagan gods and practices.

After reunification of Caputia and the formal end of the Hammish Civil War, the population of Caputians adhering to the Stripping Path stood between 48,000 and 61,000 people in all of Caputia, mostly centered in the cities of Zalae and Keybir-Aviv in the northeast, and some near the border with Passas in the southeast of Caputia. At this time, followers of the Stripping Path who lived under Caputian rule were given full rights and freedom to worship, guaranteed by the Queen and the Government at Zalae. Some of these adherents of the Stripping Path were also Deputies of the Constitutional Convention, considered full and equal citizens of Caputia.

A Caputian Government poster encourages citizens to report Pallisican weapons smuggling that aids the Order of Rochefort.

However, upon the return of the Order of Rochefort to its home areas in the northeast of the country (north San Luis and Haifa), its leader began a campaign to force religious compliance with the new Melusinian Faith through torture and imprisonment in the cities of Tonar and Keybir-Aviv. This soon extended to the outskirts of those cities and further into some remote areas of central San Luis. Initial efforts at forcing the conversions of followers of the Stripping Path were started by Lee Grantham, the Grand Master of the Order of Rochefort, who arrived in Tonar after swearing allegiance to the Queen. Grantham adopted harsh and authoritarian measures, sending uncooperative candidates for conversion, especially noblemen and high profile members, to prison where they were treated severely (including reports of torture) until they converted.

Reports of the violence soon reached the nascent Government in Zalae, where it reached the ears of the Queen. The newly formed Caputian armed forces were not adequately prepared to deal with this internal threat, having been fully mobilized and deployed to secure the national borders and ensure order in Zalae and central Caputia. The Queen repeatedly sent orders and warnings to the Order of Rochefort to fully cease and desist, stating that followers of the Stripping Path were guaranteed freedom of religion "as Caputian citizens who love their country."

The forced conversions led to a series of clashes between the well-armed and trained Order of Rochefort (ironically by Passio-Corum, whose contined support and supply of weapons, funding and training to the National Salvation Front still reached the Order of Rochefort in what was called by some in Zalae as "a classic example of blowback and overmeddling") and local law enforcement officers. One specific instance triggered a large uprising in Tonar called the Yell of Tonar, where a policeman was murdered by soldiers of the Order of Rochefort when he tried to free a woman professing the faith of the Stripping Path who was resisting conversion. The violence ended with negotiations, after which the Order of Rochefort laid down their weapons and handed over those responsible for the murder of the policeman.

Subsequently, Grantham slowed down his conversion campaign and began to force those who would refuse conversion to leave the area. The predominant position of local Stripping Path scholars had been that a follower of their faith could not stay in a country where proper religious observance impossible therefore, a follower of the Stripping Path had the obligation to leave when they were able to. In many cases, as some of the faithful left the area, they would be gunned down and chased by soldiers of the Order of Rochefort. Consequently, leaving was only practically doable for the wealthiest, and even then with great difficulty.

As violence continued to climb, the Caputian Government authorized Operation Cobalt and deployed 20,000 troops to the area. The Government also provided newly formed security contractors letters of marque and reprisal authorizing them to do their utmost to eliminate the Order of Rochefort and end the sectarian violence that was ripping the northeast of the country apart.

A New Constitution

A consequence of the collapse of governmental authority that accompanied the civil war was the emergence of piracy in the unpatrolled waters off of the coast of southern Caputia. The phenomenon arose as an attempt by local fishermen to protect their livelihood from illegal fishing by the National Provisional Authority to supply their held areas with food. Negotiations with the new Government in Zalae was able to reach a compromise when it guaranteed local fishermen their rights to continue fishing in Caputian waters and instituted regulations to ensure clean water and cleanup from contamination due to the war. In exchange, they disbanded their armed campaign and were granted an unconditional pardon. This was the Government's first key victory after the proclamation of the Kingdom in Zalae.

Voters display their inked fingers after casting votes in the Caputian referenda at a polling station in Tonar.

The nascent Government in Zalae was facing incredible challenges. The country was heavily fractured because of the war and there were fears that the Government's authority did not extend to all of the country yet as the sectarian violence by the Order of Rochefort began to show. The Privy Council at the time advised the Queen, composed of key members of the different factions within the National League. Without a Constitution, the Government could not do much, and pressure began to fall upon the Constitutional Convention still meeting at Zalae.

Faced with severe internal threats, the Constitutional Convention suggested to the Queen that she institute a policy of armed neutrality for the country before she ordered the full mobilization of the newly formed Caputian armed forces. This became one of the first acts of the Queen upon her accession, prompted by the need to pacify areas of the country that were facing sectarian violence at the time.

Offical Results of the Caputian referenda.

Soon after the accession of Queen Elizabeth I, the Constitutional Convention finally released their finalized first draft of the Constitution after much debate. Main points of contention were the establishment of the national capital at Zalae and the wide range of powers that were granted to the Queen and Her Government. Eventually, the Delegates at the Convention voted overwhelmingly to pass it, underscoring the need to hurry up the formation of a central Government to deal with the rising internal challenges of the country.

The ratification of the Constitution by the Constitutional Convention immediately triggered its transitional clauses calling for a referendum to approve the Constitution and confirm Queen Elizabeth I as the Queen of Caputia. The newly formed National Elections Board launched a massive campaign to create a unified list of voters throughout the country in record time. Voter rolls were composed thanks to records and information from the Hammish Humanitarian Council, the defunct National Provisional Authority, and an aggressive voter registration campaign throughout the country. The campaign ended up registering over 12 million voters, with nearly 90% of them participating in the referendums.

The two part referendum asked voters to first indicate their approval or disapproval of the current Constitution, while a second question asked voters to confirm Regina Ravaillac, now known as Queen Elizabeth I, as their choice for Queen. On the first question, the yes campaign won 8.3 million more votes than the no campaign meaning that the Constitution had been ratified. On the second question, the yes campaign won an overwhelming 9.2 million more votes than the no campaign, meaning that Queen Elizabeth I is the confirmed choice of the Caputian people for Queen.

In the weeks that followed the ratification of the Constitution through the referendum, sectarian violence dropped dramatically as the Order of Rochefort's capabilities began to be degraded somewhat by Operation Cobalt. Early successes had chased the Order out of the city of Tonar and pacified it, but with great loss of life and destruction. Throughout the country, military units and local police kept security and guarded the polls in what was deemed the first successful test of the security apparatus for a national election. Soon after the referendum, however, the Order of Rochefort renewed its reign of terror, this time in the countryside.

The First Landry Ministry

With the new Constitution approved, the Queen dismissed her previous Privy Council and proceeded to welcome Christophe Landry at Bellsea Palace, appointing him as her first Prime Minister. Following the Prime Minister's advice, she proceeded to appoint the former President Pro Tempore of the Constitutional Convention, Carrie Fitzwater to serve as the Chancellor of the Exchequer. George Blakeslee was appointed as Foreign Minister, Ford Dalton Tollemache as Home Minister and Allen Greenstreet as Defense Minister.

The newly formed Landry Ministry has continued the efforts to defeat the Order of Rochefort and end religious sectarian violence. The Landry Government has also pledged to continue the neutrality policy, indicating that Caputia will not align itself with either the USSO nor SANE. The Foreign Office has reached out to nations on both alliances in the hopes of developing cooperation and friendship, staying away from further war and conflict.

The Royal Caputian Air Force heavily bombed a secret Order of Rochefort command center and killed several of its key leaders in the ruins of the city of Rudolfh. Invaluable information was recovered that will help the armed forces continue to hunt down sectarian extremists and apprehend the leader of the Order of Rochefort, Lee Grantham. The continuation of Operation Cobalt has brought some success. The National Salvation Front has finally moved to close off continued resource sharing with the Order of Rochefort, but the flow of weapons and support for the Order from abroad continues, bringing the question of whether this is an operation to destabilize the Kingdom from foreign agents like Passio-Corum or other groups in the Keltian Green.

The Defense Office announced weeks after the attack on a secret Order of Rochefort command center in the ruins of the city of Rudolfh that a daring military operation in the outskirts of Tonar led to the capture and death of the leader of the Order of Rochefort, Lee Grantham. This was considered a great victory for the Caputian Government in its fight against religious sectarian violence in northeastern Caputia.

Transformative economic reforms, key investments in infrastructure, favorable trade deals, and renewed international interest in Caputia has led to robust economic growth and a large drop in unemployment under the Landry Ministry.

Despite previous efforts to fight sectarian violence by the Landry Government, Bellesea Palace issued an unprecedented Edict (the only previous use of an Edict was to found the country), the Edict of Pallisican Expulsion and Repudiation. The edict was brought about due to overwhelming public pressure on the Landry Government, with several political pressure groups along with the National Salvation Front and the Haifan nationalist party Hatunah petitioning the Landry Government to designate the Stripping Path as a hate group due to its mounting list of atrocities in Keltia and Apollonia. After the vigorous enforcement of this decree, government agencies and independent groups have corroborated fully that the Stripping Path has been completely eradicated from Caputia.

A National Credit System has been proposed by some members of the National Unity Party and the National Salvation Front to develop a national reputation system. The proposals are reported to intend to assign a credit rating to every Caputian citizen based on government data regarding their economic and social status, as well rating businesses operating on the Caputian market.

Goverment and Politics

See: Government and politics of Caputia.

Caputia is a unitary state and is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, in which the monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth I, is the head of state and the prime minister, currently Christophe Landry, is the head of government.

The Constitution of Caputia provides a vague framework for the Government, having been ratified by the Constitutional Convention and then by popular referendum.

Despite having a Constitution, the Constitution grants ample powers to the Queen, but traditionally she has chosen to exercise these powers through the Caputian Government, which does it on behalf of and by the consent of the monarch.

Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Caputia. The parliament of the Caputia meets in the old Zalae City Hall building and is unicameral, composed of 250 members. All bills passed by Parliament are given Royal Assent before becoming law.

The Zalae City Hall building, where the Caputian Parliament meets.

The position of prime minister, Caputia's head of government, belongs to the person most likely to command the confidence of Parliament; this individual is typically the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that holds the largest number of seats. The prime minister chooses a cabinet and its members are formally appointed by the monarch to form Her Majesty's Government. By convention, the monarch respects the prime minister's decisions of government.

The cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the prime minister's party or coalition and mostly from Parliament, the cabinet being responsible to it. Executive power is exercised by the prime minister and cabinet, all of whom are sworn into the Privy Council of the Kingdom of the Union of Caputia, and become Ministers of the Crown. It is possible, however, for a member of the Cabinet to not be part of the Privy Council and vice versa, although this has never happened.

The current Prime Minister is Christophe Landry, who has been in office since 21 November 2017. Landry is an independent politician, but he does have the support of the National Unity Party, the largest party in the Caputian Parliament.

The National Unity Party, the National Salvation Party and the Liberal League are considered Caputia's three major political parties, representing different parts of the Caputian political spectrum. Hatunah is a minor Haifan nationalist political party that has seats in Parliament, but the party only contests elections in the state of Haifa.

Foreign Relations

See Foreign Affairs of Caputia.

The diplomatic foreign relations of Caputia are conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (also known as the Foreign Office), headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Prime Minister and numerous other agencies and officials play a role in setting policy.

Caputian neutrality is one of the main principles of Caputia's foreign policy which dictates that Caputia is not to be involved in armed conflicts between other states. This policy is self-imposed, permanent, and armed, designed to ensure external security and promote peace. Nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and seeks to be involved in peace-building processes around the world.

Military

See Military of Caputia.

The armed forces of the Kingdom of the Union of Caputia — officially, the Armed Forces of Caputia — consist of five professional service branches: the Royal Caputian Army, the Royal Caputian Navy, the Royal Caputian Air Force, the Royal Caputian Coast Guard and the Royal Strategic Defense Forces. The forces are managed by the Ministry of Defense.

The Commander-in-Chief is the Caputian monarch, to whom members of the forces swear an oath of allegiance. The Armed Forces are charged with protecting Caputia and its dependencies and promoting Caputia's security interests.

Political Divisions

See also: Subdivisions of Caputia.

Caputia is composed of ten States, one Royal District for the capital, and two dependencies.

The states are the principal administrative districts in the country. These are divided into subdivisions of municipalities and independent cities. The States and the Royal District of Zalae choose their Members of Parliament. The Dependencies are combined into a single multi-member Overseas Electoral District.

Parliamentary districts are apportioned among the States following a census of population. Each State then draws single member districts to conform with the census apportionment.

States of the Kingdom of the Union of Caputia
Dependency		Capital		Population (1657)
Hamland		Orno		8,103,895
Wakefield		Forburgh		6,877,000
Northpass		Weanburg		6,239,450
Bridgemoor		Skajargorod		4,750,811
San Luis		San Luis		7,120,411
Anglia & Israat		Judah		8,255,923
Haifa		Abeis		8,360,351
Isles of Caputia		Gotfriedplatz		5,100,950
Neo Patrova		Freedom City		5,955,184
Monovia		Zurich		12,975,823
Royal District of Zalae		Zalae		693,057

Dependencies

Caputian Crown Dependencies.

Caputia has sovereignty over two unincorporated territories which do not form part of the Caputia itself: Elizabeth Isle, located in Eura; and Santa Melusina, a portion of the island of Anterra in the Corprian Archipelago. Both of these territories were ceded by Passio-Corum to then-Hamland as part of the land exchange that came with the Treaty of Bel Air that settled the Passasian Question.

Dependencies of Caputia
Dependency		Capital		Population (1657)
Elizabeth Isle		Marielagrad		295,177
Santa Melusina		Santa Melusina		379,180

Both of these dependencies are considered Crown dependencies. They are possessions of the Crown itself, as opposed to overseas territories or states like Monovia and Neo Patrova.

Besides Queen of Caputia, part of Queen Elizabeth I's titulary is also Queen of Elizabeth Isle and Queen of Santa Melusina.

Demographics

See also: Demographics of Caputia.

Population

The population of the Caputia (1657) is 75,107,212.

Language

The main languages of Caputia are the Common Tongue, Wechua, Haifan, Martino and Alexandrian Fransch.

Religion

The largest and most practiced religion in Caputia is the Melusinian Faith, with 73% of the population as faithful adherents.

Other large religions in Caputia are Bovinism (15%), Church of Alexandria (6%), Faith of Inti (4%), among other faiths (2%).

Culture

Cinema

See also: Cinema of Caputia

Lakeside, a movie by renowned Caputian horror film director, Hans Backovic.

Under the Landry Government, film incentives and other cultural initiatives have led to a flourishing film industry, centered around the cities of Zalae and Judah. Both cities hold yearly film festivals that have begun to attract films of all genres from all over Micras to compete for their coveted prizes. Films that win prizes at both of these film festivals go on to earn big profits at Caputian box offices and are a springboard for international distribution and syndication.