For Want of a Nail - Nation Application
Nation Name: Rzeczpospolita Szlachecka Narodu Sarmackiego / The Noble Republic of the Sarmatian Nation
Informal names: Sarmatia, Poland-Lithuania, Poland
Flag/Symbols:Head of State/Head of Government: By the Grace of God and the Sarmatian Nation, the Grand Hetman of the Noble Republic, Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski
Government Type: A noble republic built upon the ideas of Sarmatism. The core belief of Sarmatism is that the Polish and Lithuanian people are the descendants of the Sarmatians, an ancient people and the legendary conquerors of the Slavs in antiquity. Followers of Sarmatism seek to espouse the virtues and values they believe to make them unique from any other nation in Europe - most notably "Golden Liberty", a belief in the equality of all of their peers between each other, and all of their common right to decide on matters of state. A Sarmatian must also be a pious Catholic, yet tolerant of other Christian denominations, a skilled horseback rider, invincible in the face of an enemy, and dress, act and talk appropriately. Knowing Latin is considered to be mandatory for any Sarmatian, and thus many Polish nobles speak not "Polish", but rather a Macaronic mix of Polish and Latin, a process known as makaronizowanie.
These Sarmatian values are expressed in the form of a republican government, as the elective Polish monarchy was abandoned for good during the Swedish Deluge. The Grand Hetman, elected for life, is the head of state due to his command of the armed forces, while below him is a complex conundrum of various positions and offices, and ultimately the Sejm, the legislature of the Sarmatian state. The nation is rather militaristic, its public life oozes with aristocratic manners and values.
Population: 12 million.
Military Population: Difficult to quantify, because the army of Sarmatia, much like the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth before it, is a highly complex and convoluted affair.Territory: Corresponding to the territory of the Commonwealth in the preset map.
- The standing force, wojsko kwarciane ("Quarter Army", named after the Quarter Tax which went to maintaining it) has about 2500 men at peacetime.
- At wartime, the wojsko kwarciane would be supplemented by the wojsko komputowe ("Komput Army", named after the budget of the Commonwealth for military matters), mercenary units paid for by the budget of the state, numbering up to 60 000 men in wartime, and the żołnierz powiatowy ("Powiat Guards"), semi-standing forces organized in each powiat as a sort of local militia, used both for defense and offense, and numbering up to 40 000 men across the entire country.
- Unlike its neighbours and their professional armies, Sarmatia still holds a relic of medieval levy-based warfare, the pospolite ruszenie ("Mass Mobilization"). It is the duty of every noble in the country to pick up their banner at times of war, rally an army he trained from his pocket, and join the conflict. It is difficult to quantify just how many soldiers Sarmatia could be able to rally through the pospolite ruszenie - the nobility composes about 10-15% of the population, but many of those nobles are just as poor as peasants, while plenty of others would rather sit wars out in exchange for a tax.
- Aside for the formations already listed, there are a number of other formations and unofficial formations. The most notable of these is the Cossack Registry, a listing of military-able Cossacks in Sarmatian territory for recruitment during wartime - the same policy is also extended towards Lipka Tatars, living in Lithuanian territory. An another notable unofficial formation are the Lisowczycy or Straceńcy ("Lost Men"), free cavalrymen raiders who are under tenuous command of the Sarmatian military commanders and are allowed to loot foreign lands as they please.
- Needless to say, the Sarmatian military is under dire need of reform.
History: The history of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth remained unchanged from history until the Swedish Deluge. In the midst of the chaotic invasions from Sweden and Russia respectively, the last king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania, John Casimir Vasa, caught a bullet in the retreat. The country was left in chaos, but its nobility remained stern in the face of adversity. They no longer needed to follow an ineffectual Swedish king, and rallied behind charismatic leaders calling for a new, free republican government, they managed to push the Swedish and Russian invaders alike from their premises. Most notable of them was John Sobieski, who would go on to become the first Grand Hetman of the newly established Noble Republic. The long held beliefs of Sarmatism among the Polish nobility, without a King serving as an anchor in reality, could finally be expressed to their fullest, the disparate Polish and Lithuanian nations united under a singular name of Sarmatia, and a republican form of government established.
Sarmatia recovered rather quickly from the Swedish Deluge - the lack of North America meant that local timber, furs and grain remain profitable, while many trade routes continue going through their territory instead of being redirected by the Age of Discovery. In the last 50 years, the population losses across the country have recovered and the economy has stabilized. The incumbent Grand Hetman of Sarmatia, Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski, is turning older and older by the day, and it is expected that he will not remain in this world for long - his last dream before his inevitable demise it to somehow rally a coalition of Christian nations to rid central Europe of the Turks at last, a chance which they missed in 1683...
RP Sample: Here's the last time I participated in a worldbuilding exercise like this one - app IC post
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove
