El Protectorado del Mar Azul

The Protectorate of the Azure Sea

The Equikoran Land Bridge and the Shattered Isles of the Azure Sea were once the embattled territory of five disparate and individual nations occupying the land bridge. They are now the undisputed territory of the Protectorate, a heavily militarized confederacy constituting what remained of those six nations after generations of bloodshed known as War of Contestation.

Structure

The Stratocratic government of the Protectorate is formed around a group of Military leaders known as the Admiralty Board, or the synonymous Board of Admirals, comprised of six elected Admirals in the Land Bridger Armada (one from each province, and a six one representing the colonies). Answering to the Admiralty Board is the Fleet Captains and The Provincial Governors. The Provincial Governors are elected into office and Govern the affairs of the Protectorate and her Colonies while the Fleet Captains command one of the Protectorates seven fleets and have absolute authority concerning all affairs that take place on international waters. Beneath each of these are various officers, aids, municipal representative and other civil servants all of who are either active or former military performing various executive functions for the Protectorate.

Each of the political titles within the Protectorate are simultaneously military positions within the Armada and, while they could be applied to a worthy officer of any rank, there are ranks most appropriate for each position. The Admiralty Board seats are almost exclusively reserved for flag officers, either Admirals from the fleet or Generals from the Marine or Militia Corps. The provincial governors form a unique class of soldier who are enlisted with both the navy and the army at the same time, and ubiquitously hold the rank of Captain-General. The Fleet Captains can be any office, though most often their are admirals. Beneath the Provincial governors are various Quartermasters, who's ranks largely depend on the size of their constituency, with larger more populous regions obviously requiring a higher ranking officer. Often Quartermasters have a council who advises them, theses counselors are not usually elected positions and therefore do not require a military commission. Certainly there are exceptions to the rule, but traditionally these counselors are chosen by the Quartermaster, and consist of a representative from the Clergy, The Army, The Navy (if their constituency includes a naval base) and occasionally members of the former aristocracy who have experience in running the lands which the Quartermaster now oversees.

For simplicity's sake, consider the Board of Admirals the President and their Cabinet, the Fleet Admirals and the Provincial Governors to be Governors as well as the Courts, and the Quartermasters would be Mayors.

Culture

The Protectorates location on the land bridge and shattered islands dictates large amounts of their resulting culture. The sea, the traversing of the sea, trade along sea lanes and other industries brought about by a coastal society are a constant in the daily lives of the people of the protectorate. As such Edall is incredibly important to almost every citizen of the Protectorate, and even those who prefer to follow a different Force of Creation more closely in their lives, Edall remains a close second in their prayers. Likewise Aqris holds incredible importance among the Protectorate citizens as they depend on her creation for fresh water and the survival of their cities.

As the sole nation with the knowledge of how to make and utilize black powder, combined with very limited natural resources on the land bridge, the Protectorate people have become a very expansionist-centered society, and are largely feared by most of their neighbors. That said, the abundance of natural resources in the colonies of the shattered islands has given

Assets

The Bridger Armada

Assuredly the Protectorates most valuable asset is its armada. Made up of seven fleets each under direct control of a Fleet Captain Answering only the Admiralty Board.

History

The Land Bridge has been populated by humans since the age of blood, during this time the shattered islands were still part of a large continent referred to by historians as the Isle of Doom, its real name in Q'che (Archaic Elvish) having been lost to time. After the Sundering (see below) and the invention of the Astrolabe

Demography and Population

Citizenship

Only those who have served the Protectorate in some way are given citizenship and permitted to run for office and vote. Active duty military is excluded until they attain veteran status (3 or more consecutive years of service) or have completed a higher level education (see below). Anyone living for more than 12 consecutive months within the Land Bridge or its Colonies, but has not attained citizenship, are considered residents of the Protectorate and are not permitted to vote or run for office. Note that military service is not required of any resident, nor is it the only service that permits someone citizenship. While military service is the most common and popular route to attain citizenship, any voluntary federal position qualifies.

Population:

• Land Bridge - 80,000

• Colonists - 60,000

• Indigenous - 26,000

Territories

The Protectorate controls all of the land on the narrow bridge between the North and South Equikoran continents. Additionally they claim ownership of several hundred square miles of ocean to the east and west which include 13 major and inhabited islands as well as several dozen uninhabited islands and an unknown amount of sandbars, reefs and atolls.

Military

There are only two branches of the Protectorate Military: The Navy and the Marines. The Navy is responsible for defending the Protectorate and its territories from naval threats ranging from foreign invaders to sea monsters. The Marines serve as the only land based military force, and they also serve as a police force for the colonies. Every Land Bridger vessel, from merchant to military, is staffed with at least one squad of Protectorate Marines.

Technological Level

The Protectorate is on par with the rest of Unorrea in regards to technological level, however given that black powder is only found in the contested isles they were the first to develop firearms. The production and sale of these weapons is heavily regulated by the Hierarchy and open sale of these weapons outside of the Land Bridge or its Colonies is a capital crime facing the death penalty. Still, a black market exists where these weapons can be attained, but due to their unpredictable and possible lethal nature in untrained hands (which is everyone outside of the Land Bridge) they are not a hot commodity.

Foreign Relations

The Protectorate's foreign relations policy is complicated. While they are on relatively good terms with all of their political partners, they are widely despised and in many cases feared throughout the world; a position the Admiralty Board is entirely supportive of. Desiring never to return to their previous ways of war and destitution the Protectorate practices a policy of preventative defense and extreme response. Even the smallest slight against the Protectorate has, and will be, met with a punitive response exacted with extreme prejudice.

The prime example of this was during the Protectorate's formative years when the kingdom of Gresha saw the wealth of the Contested Isles and sought to take them for their own, figuring that the newly formed government would be unable to defend itself and hesitant to dive into another war after so recently having finished a generational long civil war.

The Admiralty Board showed them otherwise when a fleet of 16 Protectorate Men'O'War sailed into the harbor of Amburgh, Gresha's largest port, and without warning opened fire on its harbor defenses and the city itself killing thousands and razing the city to the ground. When the Greshan defense force arrive to render aid there was no sign of the fleet aside from a single note attached to the door of the magistrate's home that read:

Keep what you stole, use it to rebuild your city, but let the world know that the Protectorate will not stand for foreign interference in its affairs, and any slight against the Land Bridge will be met with fire and canon.

- El Protectorado del Mar Azul

Agriculture & Industry

When it comes down to it, El Protectorado del Mar Azul is an industrial power more than anything else. While the nation does have agricultural production centers (most of which are on the land bridge), the majority of the nations income is centered around its ship building. While many other nations of Unorrea have been able to reverse engineer the design of the Land Bridger Tall Ships, it is widely accepted that the Land Bridgers still make the finest tall ships in the world and most nations outfit their naval armadas with Land Bridger Ships.

The Protectorate, aside from and industrial power, would also historically be considered a Colonial power as well. Much of the Protectorate Navy's day to day job is supporting and defending the various colonies they have already established in the contested islands as well as planning and preparing future colonists to establish more colonies.

Trade & Transport

International trade is handled in two main ways, priority goods including money transfers and perishable goods are usually transporting by ship from one province to the other and from the land bridge to the various colonies and vice versa. Note that priority goods such as postal services, non-urgent supply requests and economy shipping on the mainland is transported by wagon via the Highway of the Monarchs, a memorial highway running the length of the land bridge north and south. All shipment, priority or otherwise, to the colonies are transported via tall ship.

Education

Every citizen of the Protectorate and its colonies are provided basic education so that they can, in some way, contribute to the Protectorate. This includes basic reading and writing skills, arithmetic, basic sciences as well as some kind of trade skill (farming, fishing, coopering, smithing, etc.).

Higher education is available to all without monetary cost, however it does have other costs. Prior to being given higher education at one of the various Protectorate academies, the intended student must serve the Protectorate in some entry level way. This can include serving two years as an enlisted person in the marines or navy, or some other federal position such as the postal service, police force, colonial administration and so on. Once the intended student has proven that they are willing to serve (and possibly die for) the Protectorate, the nation is happy to provide further education for them as well as provide them voting rights.

Once graduated from higher level education, the new citizen of the Protectorate is provided opportunities such as returning to serve in a high ranking position (if available, if not when one opens they will be considered first based on their seniority) in their previous line of service. They are now also eligible to serve as Doctors, teachers, merchant positions or in elected political positions such as Provincial or Municipal representative positions.

Founding Date

1156 AP

Type

Geopolitical, Stratocracy

Capital

Santana

Alternative Names

The Protectorate

Demonym

Land Bridgers

Leader

Gran Almirante Fransisco de Carrión

Head of State

Gran Almirante Fransisco de Carrión

Government System

Stratocracy

Power Structure

Confederation

Economic System

Command/Planned economy

Currency

Like almost every other nation in Unorrea, the Protectorate accepts and recognizes Imperial Coinage, however their own official currency is recognized as Notes which are broken down into single notes, 5 notes, 10s, 50s, 100s and 500s. Each of which are backed by the Depositario Nacional de Bienes Valiosos, the department managing the treasury of the Protectorate and the valuables gathered from the contested islands.

Major Exports

The main export commodities are alumina, bauxite, sugar, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, linens and clothing. The most profitable export is their Tall Ships.

Major Imports

The Protectorate's main imports are food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, parts and accessories of capital goods, construction materials machinery, and transport equipment (apart from ships).

Legislative Body

The laws, rights and policies of the Protectorate are written by the admiralty board and proposed to the portion of the population eligible to vote. Eligibility to vote is determined by state service.

Judicial Body

After the laws have been proposed and ratified, they are carried out and enforced by the Provincial Governors and the Fleet Captains.

Subsidiary Organizations

• La Casa de Seguridad para los Secretos del Protectorado

Location

Equikoran Land Bridge

Official Languages

• Common (Bridger)

Controlled Territories

• Santana

Neighboring Nations

• Vrossekar