UR History 101: The Nobility
The United Republic of Caprica is a nation steeped in tradition, respect, and industry. For many centuries, our great Republic has been one of the world's foremost bastions of peace, liberty, and freedom. We Capricans believe that it is our respect for our time-honored traditions that have safeguarded our noble experiment for generations and continues to do so this very day. Traditions such as observing a moment of silence on Unification Day or bowing our heads during a national prayer during official holidays remind us, often enough that scores of men and women have fought and died to erect and preserve our country as a monument to liberty itself and only through the proper knowledge of our traditions can a healthy respect be cultivated and passed on from generation to generation.
The nobility in Caprica is unlike any other in the world. Their position and responsibilities come not from a monarch nor from themselves, but from the Congress and People of the United Republic and it is because of their continuing service that the system of peerage is allowed to exist.
Our system of peerage has it's rooted in the earliest days of the United Republic, as the Wars of Unification in the late 16th century slowly came to a close, the United Republic Congress was ever aware of the realities facing our new nation and that prudent action had to be taken if the country was to survive. Intellectuals of strength, character, and vigor would have to be brought into holy communion with the government in the Capital if all were to benefit from the liberty and freedom now enshrined in our most treasured of documents, the very charter of our noble experiment.
Before the foundation of the United Republic; there was an abundance of men of learning and position who through both the circumstances of their birth and the constitution of their character, saw fit to aide the nation by whatever means at their disposal and even as the fledgling nation struggled to stand itself upright as it entered into a new century, they continued their noble mission, on their own initiative for the betterment of all Capricans.
On December 11th, 1799, through an act of Congress, 273 leading men were ennobled by the federal government creating the first 13 Dukes, 23 Marquesses, 47 Earls, 69 Viscounts, and 121 Barons in the nation. This number would grow to exceed over a thousand peers in the coming decade but their number would never exceed 6,000 men.
As stipulated by Congress, the peers of the Republic would be limited to men of exceptional character, learning, and prestige entrusted with the duty and honor of maintaining peace and ensuring prosperity in realms under the flag of the United Republic. In a nation that numbered more than twenty million souls and covered more than 4 million square kilometers that would be the eyes, ears, sword, and shield of the federal government. To assist them in their mission, they were granted lands that the government had seized from rebellious citizens or that were otherwise underutilized and wasted. These holdfasts would be garrisoned by troops raised and trained by the nobles themselves and instructed to administer the peace of the realm.
In areas where federal authority was lacking
