Pinascimate Penal Authority
The Pinascimate Penal Authority was the governing body of the planet Pinascimate, modern day Tersten. It existed between 0PC and 18PC, and was directly governed by a Superintendent.
The Penal System has its origins in the various civil unrest and riots that took place across the Lordanian Cluster between 2BC and 1PC as a means of alleviating overcrowded prisons and quelling dissent. While the founding of the PPA succeeded in its first task, it utterly failed in its second. From beginning to end, the penal system was the source of widespread condemnation and criticism by all but the most privileged.
The system worked as a form of indentured servitude in which the convicts were employed by local governments or by private companies. The lines between prisoner, slave, and employee were consistently blurred here. Many convicts lived in Harelstone Prison, or were sent out into the frontiers of modern Tersten County to work on infrastructure between the new towns and settlements that were establishing themselves. Life under the Government was not as repressive as life under private entities, and systems were established to allow for pardons, and for convicts to return to their planet of origin. However, these systems were often decided by arbitrary individuals. Some penal authority were dutiful in upholding justice, some took bribes for pardons, but many more Lordanians used this position of authority to rule over the convicts. The 'Authority' is often considered to be nothing more than a ruling class of rich elite administrators, who enforce their will through the use of the authoritarian and highly criticised Penal Guard: half-soldiers, half-police.
It is no surprise that a large number of convicts opted to flee the Authority, many forming bands or groups. The prevalence of horses across North Tersten facilitated their use by escapees and colonists attempting to cross the vast plains.
At its greatest extent, the PPA extended as far as the modern Tersten County borders. Its eastern border roughly aligns with modern Tersten County borders, with Quincy and Mehmet's Cove being settled as free cities. In the west, the Samuel Moore Rift Valley marked the boundary between Pinascimate and Moore. In the east, the Pinascimate Penal Authority operated a system of land ownership known as the PPA Colonial Expanse, which makes up a large part of the eastern Respublika Rovenya, including Krasnodar, which was settled by Slavyano-Terskiy settlers from Saladone, Lordania. Fort Leviathan was founded on the edge of Crater Bay as the PPA's eastern capital.
Structure
The Pinascimate Penal Authority was governed by a Superintendent, and largely organised like a business. From 12PC onwards, the Penal Authority appointed a Prisoner-Ambassador, a position filled by Jonathan Tersten from its creation until the end of the penal system. The Prisoner-Ambassador was a prominent role that represented the needs of the various convicts of the planet, as an attempt to alleviate many of their issues.
History
The Pinascimate Penal Authority was founded in the year 2235, commonly recognised as Year 0 in Tersten history. The Authority has its roots in the Years of Protest , a wave of civil unrest and protests that swept across the Lordanian Cluster between 2230 (5 BC) and 2239 (4 PC). The Penal Authority's first Superintendent was Eckhart Zannholt, governing directly from Harelstone Prison. Under Zannholt, the Prison-Industrial Complex grew tenfold, using penal convicts as a form of indentured servitude. This early period saw the arrival of the first Upper Lordanian peoples, where they imported their class systems, creating a very stratified system.
In 6 PC, the Exodus of The Hundreds took place. It was long believed that the convicts would simply be unable to survive in the wilderness of Tersten, nor would they be able to make the journey to Nevada on foot. However, the Exodus proved this to be simply untrue. As a result, a period of great military expansion took place, leading to the formation of the Pinascimate Detective Agency, commonly known as the Bastards. Under the terror of the Convict Catchers, the Pinsacimate Penal Authority came into conflict with escapees and their settlements, such as Jesus-Save-Our-Souls and the Eden Republic. The various battles and wars that took place in this period are referred to as the Eden Wars.
In addition, this period saw the rise of naval action on the Samaritan Sea as the Penal Authority reached the border of the Moore Republic and found itself facing off against a free people who sympathised with escaped convicts, often allowing them travel into the Lawless Frontier. Under Eckhart Zannholt, The Limes were established across the Pinascimate Mountains, cutting off travel through the mountains and forcing people eastwards across the Courtsend Pass. In addition, the PPA Colonial Expanse was established beyond the borders of Moore, leading to the founding of Fort Leviathan and the spread of Slavyano-Terskiy peoples.
In 9 PC, Zannholt gave his now infamous "This is a Prison World, Now And Forever" speech, threatening to declare all out war on the República de Nevada, leading to several within his own cabal to grow concerned over the growing militarism of the Authority. In response, Zannholt was lured into a trap, where he was assassinated by infamous outlaw 'Dynamite' Clara Gingers. Following Zannholt's death, Tyrone Pindall took control of the Pinascimate Penal Authority. Under Pindall, the Eden Wars continued, albeit with far less support from the Authority. Instead, the Penal System was expanded to include vast stretches of the northern hemisphere, with new cities settled all over the land. Pindall oversaw the settling of the Krasnodar Vinyards and the Dambak Expeditions that led to the settling of Calama.
In 10 PC, the Republic of Nevada held local regional elections, leading to the election of Jonathan Tersten, an escaped convict, to the position of Governor of Libertas. This attracted some attention in the Penal Authority, and Pindall submitted a formal request for Tersten to return to the prison to complete his sentence. Nobody truly expected him to return, but he did. In 12 PC, Pindall and Tersten were able to make an agreement, with Tersten becoming the Prisoner-Ambassador of Pinascimate, who would serve to represent the convicts in their struggle for better rights and fairer treatment.
However, Pindall's death in 13 PC saw the arrival of Finley Macaulay, known as Ol' Ironboot. Macaulay was a stubborn mule of a man who consistently butted heads with Tersten, actively disrupting efforts to see penal convicts afforded equal protections. This coincided with a period of Lordanian history known as the Great Economic Depression , which saw almost ninety percent of the Penal Authority's funding cut by the First Lordanian Republic. They could barely afford to pay their guards, let alone vital maintenance repairs. This period saw the biggest exodus of convicts, many of whom simply walked out with their guards after the money and supplies stopped flowing into their prison camp. Most of these people left to found their own settlements, with the Bastards completely overwhelmed.
In 17 PC, Harelstone Prison suffered the devastating Harelstone Fire , leading to the near-total destruction of the Prison. In response, Jonathan Tersten led many of the survivors to settle the city of Freetown, which would one day become modern Tersten City. This led to the establishment of the first civilian government, the Pinascimate Republic, with Jonathan Tersten as its first President. With a new civilian government taking charge, Tersten argued directly with the First Lordanian Republic to recognise their state. They accepted.
On the 19th of September 18 PC, the Pinascimate Penal Authority became subservient to the new civilian administration. Tersten was now Macaulay's boss, and the first official action of the government was to abolish the Penal Authority and its system. As of the 20th of September, all convicts were pardoned by the government and recognised as free human beings, awarded the same rights and protections as everyone else. The Penal Era had come to a firm end.
"There Will Be Justice"
0 PC - 18 PC
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