Commonwealth of San Espara

[San Espara]

OOC: This factbook is pretty basic and will likely remain that way.

Official Name: Commonwealth of San Espara
Demonym: San Esparan (or Esparan)
Capital: Brayton
Head of State: His Majesty King Stephen II
Head of Government: Prime Minister Lord Evan Hernandez (The Fifteenth Duke of Brazas)
Population: 1,021,273,917 (2010 Census)
Currency: San Esparan Pound (SE$1 = US$0.93)

Racial Distribution:
Caucasian- 37.3%
Hispanic - 31.4%
African - 24.7%
Other - 6.6%

Religious Make Up:
Christian - 91.9%
Other - 9.1%

Economy:

GDP per capita - US$30,325
Unemployment Rate - 9.2%

Key Exports:
coffee, tea, fruit, manufactured goods, vehicles and machinery, textiles, petroleum

Key Imports:
electronics, coal, cattle


Military:

Budget (FY2012) - 3.01% of GDP
Personnel: 0.74% of population

Geography:
The Commonwealth primarily consists of the San Esparan Home Islands located in the Esparan Sea, along with colonies scattered around the globe.

[San Espara]

Government

The Commonwealth of San Espara is a Constitutional Monarchy. The powers of the Crown are legally quite vast (including the power to refuse recoginition to a newly formed Government), but are rarely wielded in practice.

Parliament is unicameral and consists of 250 seats.

Parliamentary seats are divided as follows:
*150 General Seats - General MPs are elected by simple majority in each of the Commonwealth's 150 Provinces. Suffrage is universal at age 18.
*75 Hereditary Peerage Seats - Hereditary MPs hold the sixty most prominent peerages in the Commonwealth. Appointment to the Seat is effective upon assuming a Title and are for life.
*25 Crown Seats - Crown MPs are appointed by the Monarch (subject to veto by a 70% vote of the Elected Seats), and may serve a five year term at the pleasure of the Crown.

The party (or coalition of parties) that holds the majority in Parliament elects one of their members to serve as Prime Minister. The Prime Minister must then resign from Parliament (and chooses their own succesor) and forms a Government. The Prime Minister wields considerable executive power (provided they retain the confidence of Parliament), subject to the Crown Court.

The Coalition of the Conservative Party and the Crown Loyalist Party is the dominant force in San Esparan politics and has currently held power for seventy-six years.

[San Espara]

History

The San Esparan Home Islands were settled by South American Indian tribes in a time long before recorded history. In 1425, after Landing Island was discovered by Adam Thomas, a mad rush to settle the San Esparan Islands was set into motion. The two most powerful colonizing powers were the Espadan Empire (a nation long since collapsed) and the Kingdom of Upper Weston (itself another failed state). The two great empires soon carved the entire region into a patchwork of colonies and protectorates and no small number of skirmishes ensued. In 1543, the Governor of Upper Westonian Espara, Andrew Beck, declared his intention to secede from the increasingly harsh rule of Upper Weston. Emboldened by this the Espadan Colonial Governor, Enrique Sanchez, also declared independence. The combined forces of the rebels defeated several attempts by the former masters to reclaim the region, culminating in the Battle of Handrick in which a joint force under Admiral Silas Greer crushed a powerful Espadan armada bound for Brayton.

Free from their colonial masters the once bitter rivals merged their lands to form the Commonwealth of San Espara with the signing of the Commonwealth Charter in 1549. Andrew Beck assumed the Throne of the Southern Cross as the first King of San Espara, thus founded the House of Beck that holds the Throne to this day. Enrique Sanchez easily won election as the first Prime Minister of ther Commonwealth and his line (his eldest descendent holds the venerated title of Duke of Churchton) remains influential even now.

The newly formed Commonwealth quickly set to work consolidating its hold over the Caribbean and forming its own colonies abroad.

[San Espara]

Military

Royal Marines
The Royal Army fields the Commonwealth's expeditionary ground forces such as airmobile, amphibous, and armoured forces. The Royal Army were founded alongside the Royal Navy at the signing of the Commonwealth Charter in 1549 and several Regiments can trace their lineage to the very founding of the Commonwealth.

Royal Navy
As an island nation the Royal Navy has long held an important position in defending San Esparan interests.

Royal Air Force
Formed in 1947 by granting the Air Service independence from the Royal Army, the RAF has become an important part of San Esparan military.