Saintland National Information
History of SaintlandSaintland was founded in 966. Prior to that year, the island that is now Saintland was an uninhabited island in the World Changers region near the north pole. In the year 966, the Christian Church, which was still united at that time, held a now-forgotten Council. At this Council, they discussed some arcane matters related to Christology. There were 2 factions at this council that had irreconcilable differences. The majority faction are known today as the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.
However, a small minority of Christian bishops rejected the decision of the Council of 966. Knowing that they would be persecuted for their beliefs if they remained, they left their homes and got on a number of ships. Their brothers and sisters, members of the nobility, went along with them. A Prince by the name of Paulus chose to go with them, because he believed they were right. They set out across the sea, praying that God would guide them to safety.
Somehow, they ended up traveling several thousand miles by sea, arriving at a remote island far to the north of their original homes. They were widely believed to have perished at sea. Soon, the very existence of the Council of 966 would be forgotten. The Prince would be crowned King Paulus I, the first King of the Kingdom of Saintland. Centuries went by and the Sanctii were able to keep their existence secret from the rest of the world.
Despite their isolation from the rest of the world, starting in 1038, the King's Government sent periodic expeditions to explore the outside world. They would inevitably return to Saintland, with information regarding what had happened since the last expedition. The explorers brought knowledge of new inventions back to Saintland. The King consulted with the Patriarch of the Church and they jointly decided which of the new inventions and innovations were worth adopting and which should not be adopted. This would prove to be very useful to the authorities in Saintland, as they successfully kept the Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment out of the Kingdom.
The policy of isolation would be ended in 1788. In 1825, King Josephus X decided to abolish the practice of serfdom. After breaking the power of the nobility, King Josephus X industrialized Saintland. However, Saintland never adopted laissez-faire policies and has only developed a barely modern economy. Usury laws remain on the books, intellectual property legislation remains non-existent and protective labor legislation was adopted very early on in the industrialization process. As Saintland industrialized, a special legal status called "foreign resident" was created, which permits foreign nationals to reside in Saintland and remain exempt from some of Saintland's laws.
Today, Saintland is a semi-modern nation. Despite that, the nation retains its divine right absolute monarchy and the Church of Saintland remains a powerful force in the island nation. Saintland's population remains relatively small, as it is estimated at somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000. Despite the small population, Saintland has somehow developed a large number of world-class athletes that have been able to go toe-for-toe with the best athletes from the rest of the multiverse.
TransportationDue to the lack of an automobile manufacturing industry in Saintland and the prohibitive cost of importing foreign-made cars, the automobile has never been popular in Saintland. Several months ago, King Paulus XV decided to ban private ownership of automobiles for public safety reasons. Therefore, visitors to Saintland will not have the use of automobiles of any sort.
Under the laws of Saintland, automobiles may only be used by police, the military, fire departments and licensed bus or taxi services. In the cities, you should be able to find a bus or a taxi. If you see a police or military vehicle on the road, it is likely headed toward a crime scene of some sort or is being used to transport a criminal who has been apprehended by the authorities. It is highly recommended to move to the sidewalk when you see an automobile coming down the street.
Saintland has a highly developed high-speed rail network that connects every community in Saintland, from the tiniest villages to the cities of St. Petrus and St. Paulus. This is the only fairly quick way to travel between the communities of Saintland.
Bicycles are a popular form of transportation in Saintland. There are bicycle rental stores in most communities throughout the Kingdom. The most popular bicycle rental stores, among international visitors to Saintland, are located at the St. Paulus and St. Petrus airports. Bicycle parking is provided throughout Saintland and locks are included with every bike. The use of helmets is optional, but recommended.
LodgingUntil recently, Saintland lacked the necessary lodging to host large numbers of foreign visitors at a given time. However, in the hopes of luring a major international sports event to Saintland, the King's Government constructed a number of hotels in the major cities. All players, coaches and officials from the nations that advance to Saintland will receive complimentary lodging at the Royal Hotel in St. Petrus. If requested, hotel staff will perform a wake up call to ensure that your players make it to the ballpark in time for the start of their game.
WeatherSaintland is located in a polar region, which means that the weather is relatively cold, even during the summer. The average summer temperature in Saintland is 14 degrees (Celsius), which is the equivalent of 57.2 Fahrenheit. On an exceptionally warm day in Saintland, the weather may reach the mid-70s Fahrenheit (24 Celsius), but temperatures in the neighborhood of 7 Celsius (44.6 Fahrenheit) are not unheard of during the summer.
LanguageSaintland speaks a dialect of Latin. Sanctii Latin is a living language, so it does have some differences from classical Latin. The difference between the Latin of the Vulgate and the Latin spoken in Saintland is similar to the difference between the English of the King James Bible and the English that is widely spoken today.
Although Latin is the native language of the Sanctii, foreign language education is heavily emphasized in the nation's education system. The average person you run into on the street should be able to speak English relatively fluently, so there is not much of a language barrier.
CurrencySaintland uses a currency based on bullion. The main coins in Saintland are the Denarius, which is a one-ounce gold coin and the Argentii, a one-ounce silver coin. Gold and silver coins are also available in smaller weights, all the way down to 1/100th of an ounce of silver.
If you do not possess bullion, Universal Standard Dollars are widely accepted, as is the Republican Thaler and the Acedonian Ace.
EntertainmentSaintland is a theocracy that operates under a very strict version of Biblical law, so many forms of entertainment are illegal in Saintland.
There are 5 television networks in Saintland, which are numbered from Royal One to Royal Five. With the Olympics now relegated to a single prime-time block on Royal Five, the WBC will receive heavy coverage on the Royal Networks. Once the World Cup and World Bowl begin, Saintland's games from those events will be aired live and prominently on the Royal Networks.
All players on the teams that reach the playoffs and end up playing in Saintland will receive complimentary copies of the Saint. The Saint is an "interactive entertainment" handheld device which also has numerous features that are commonly found in smartphones. Every Saint will include a copy of
the Bible and the Real Baseball Simulator. This will be the full version of the Real Baseball Simulator.
Additional programming is available on Sanctustube. The Royal Networks maintain a popular Sanctustube channel, which will include live streams and on-demand access to every game from the WBC. It already includes on-demand access to any game from the last 2 WBCs, free of charge. If you'd rather watch programming from your home nation, you can probably find it on Sanctustube. Outside of Saintland, if you watch an unauthorized video of a non-Sanctii show on Sanctustube, you will see the show unedited. However, when accessed within Saintland, Sanctustube displays a highly edited version. Anything that is deemed incompatible with the values of Saintland will be removed and background music is usually replaced with music of Sanctii origin. It is not unheard of for the King's Government censors to ideologically translate a foreign television program or movie to reflect the values of Saintland.
There are movie theaters in the cities of Saintland which mostly show (low-budget) movies produced by Sanctii directors. Movies must be approved by the censors before they can be shown in movie theaters. Sometimes, popular foreign films will be broadcast in the theater, typically after an ideological translation and massive editing.
Cantus Virginum is the most popular musical group in Saintland. The group consists of around a hundred members at any given time. Their members are young women who are either still legally minors under the laws of Saintland or have only recently become adults. Their music is primarily popular with their peers and with girls slightly younger than them. It is widely considered, even among citizens of Saintland, to be of poor quality. However, it is considered impolite in Saintland to publicly criticize their (lack of) singing ability and they remain extremely popular.
Important LawsAs Saintland is a theocratic nation, pornography, prostitution and public nudity are all highly illegal. The ban on pornography includes "written" pornography, a category that includes most romance novels of foreign origin. Tobacco, Cannabis and other recreational drugs are also illegal. Drinking alcohol is legal, although it is highly regulated. There are limits on how much alcohol an individual may purchase. Drinking alcohol outside of communion is unlawful for minors, university students and soldiers that are not officers. Excessive drunkenness in public is illegal. Contrary to popular misconception, protesting is actually legal in Saintland, but sedition and blasphemy are illegal. In effect, this means that any protest against the King's Government or the Church of Saintland is considered a criminal act. However, a protest against horse racing at the Saintland Triple Crown by citizens of the Equestrian States was permitted. There are laws on the books that prohibit aiding unlawful organizations, such as
Feministvs Sanctvsterra and
Vindicta Progressvm, in any way whatsoever. Possession of firearms by anybody who is not a police officer or a soldier is strictly prohibited.
While there are sumptuary laws on the books, most of them will not be enforced upon visitors to the World Baseball Classic playoffs in Saintland. However, women who are playing in or attending WBC games in Saintland will be required to wear a head covering. Visitors who are not following the sumptuary laws should keep their IDs with them at all times and be ready to show them to any soldier or police officer upon request. This exemption will apply to nationals from nations that have a team competing in the World Baseball Classic and will remain in effect until up to 72 hours after the elimination of their nation's national team. Any foreign nationals that remain in Saintland 3 days after the elimination of their team will automatically obtain visitor status, with their 90 day clock to either apply for foreign resident status, apply for immigrant status or leave starting at the moment they arrived in Saintland.
CustomsEverybody visiting Saintland for the World Baseball Classic should plan to go through Customs prior to entering the nation. Customs is a branch of the Royal Army, which is tasked with keeping contraband out of Saintland. Customs will thoroughly search all items that are taken into Saintland. They will primarily be searching for guns, tobacco, cannabis, other recreational drugs, blasphemous material, seditious material and pornography. If a book appears to be "written pornography," that can cause a long delay in Customs while the Customs officials check the list of known works of "written pornography" to see if the book in question is on the list.
StadiumsDuring the World Baseball Classic, games will be hosted in 4 stadiums in the cities of St. Paulus and St. Petrus.
Royal ParkLocated in St. Petrus, Royal Park is the home stadium of the Saintland National Baseball Team. Seating 51,773 fans, Royal Park is a traditional ballpark, but with a SaintTurf surface. With a moderate amount of foul territory and fences at 325 feet in left/right and 405 in center, Royal Park is a fairly neutral park.
Royal StadiumRoyal Stadium, located in St. Petrus, is Saintland's National Stadium. The spacious stadium seats 62,383 fans and is normally the home of the National Soccer Team and the National Gridiron Team. Not designed for baseball, Royal Stadium is a massive stadium with a huge amount of foul territory. The left field fence is only 288 feet away, but the center field fence is 468 feet away and the right field fence is 392 feet. Royal Stadium has a grass surface, which was re-seeded several months ago after an
incident at the 20th World Bowl.
Via Damascus StadiumThe Via Damascus Stadium, which means "Road to Damascus" in English, is located in St. Paulus, the largest city in Saintland. Via Damascus is Saintland's second most prestigious stadium. It was the home of the National Rugby Union Team during the most recent World Cup of Rugby Union. It is also the home stadium of the St. Paulus teams for soccer and gridiron. Although not designed for baseball, Via Damascus has a SaintTurf surface and a large amount of foul territory. In Via Damascus Stadium, the fences in left field and right field are 345 feet away. The distance to the center field fence is 420 feet.
King Paulus XIV ParkKing Paulus XIV Park is a baseball stadium in St. Paulus, which is named after the great-great-great-grandfather of King Paulus XV. King Paulus XIV was a legendary pitcher in the early days of baseball in Saintland. He was every bit as dominant in his time as Prince Andreas and Prince Ioannes are in their respective sports today. In honor of King Paulus XIV, the best pitcher in Saintland's baseball league is awarded the King Paulus XIV award. Although the park is named for a legendary pitcher, this natural grass stadium is a very traditional ballpark in its design. King Paulus XIV Park has very little foul territory and the fences are fairly short. In left, the fence is 298 feet away, but the wall is 30 feet high. In right, the fence is just 313 feet from home plate, while the center field fence is 401 feet away. These dimensions make King Paulus XIV Park one of the most difficult places to pitch in Saintland.
Additional InformationFor additional information, please consult the following RPs:
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