Reservation
Nation Name: Kingdom of Southern Italy
Territory: Southern & Parts of east Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Tunisia & Parts of Libya
#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)
*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.
EDIT:
Just a notice to say I would like to change the name of my claim from 'Kingdom of Sicily' to 'Kingdom of Southern Italy'.
Full Nation Name: The Kingdom of Southern Italy | Il Regno dell'Italia Meridionale | Regnum Italiae Australis
Majority/Official Culture: The primary culture of the Kingdom is Italian, though there are significant communities of Sunni Muslims in the Kingdom's North African holdings, and to a lesser extent in the home territories. Other significant communities are the Romano-Greeks primarily focused in the Puglia region, and Iberian Christians in Corsica, Sardinia, and Ifriqiya.
Territorial Core: Current Territory of the Kingdom of Southern Italy
Territorial Claim: Ambitions for the greater Kingdom of Italy
Capital City: Napoli, Palermo, Cagliari
Population: ~6.5 million
Government Type: Constitutional Rotating Monarchy
Government Ideology/Policies: Italian Unification, Militarism, Catholicism
Government Focus:
Head of State: King Alberto III
Head of Government: Prince Niccolo of Naples
Government Description:
Majority/State Religion: Roman Catholicism
Economic Description:
Major Production: Grain, olive oil, wine, timber, nuts, bacon, cheese, furs, hide, hemp, cloth
Army Description :
Army Weakness :
Naval Description :
Naval Weakness :
Further Military Description : [[OPTIONAL]]
National Goals : The unification of Italy, expulsion of Islam from mainland Europe, control of Algeria and Morocco.
National Issues : Political reform, expansion of the military, forming alliances with other Christian states.
National Figures of Interest : [[OPTIONAL]] [[Are there any Mother Teresas or Moses that we need to know about?]]
National Ambition/Aspirations : [[OPTIONAL]] [[Not really set objectives, but rather the big picture that your nation is drawing towards]]
History : [[Can be formatted in paragraphs or as a bulletpoint timeline.]]
RP Sample: [[Either a link to a past post, or an example written right here.]]
#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)
Majority/Official Culture: The primary culture of the Kingdom is Italian, though there are significant communities of Sunni Muslims in the Kingdom's North African holdings, and to a lesser extent in the home territories. Other significant communities are the Romano-Greeks primarily focused in the Puglia region, and Iberian Christians in Corsica, Sardinia, and Ifriqiya.
Territorial Core: Current Territory of the Kingdom of Southern Italy
Territorial Claim: Ambitions for the greater Kingdom of Italy
Capital City: Napoli, Palermo, Cagliari
Population: ~6.5 million
Government Type: Constitutional Rotating Monarchy
Government Ideology/Policies: Italian Unification, Militarism, Catholicism
Government Focus:
The focus of the current government is political reform. Currently the Kingdom operates on a complicated and unwieldly system of governance which relies upon a rotating succession of monarchy, and three levels of councils which in total comprise over 600 members. King Alberto III came to power four years ago and has made strenuous effort to overhaul and streamline the council system, centralise and standardise the military, and consolidate more autocratic power into the office of the King. All with mixed success. The ultimate goal of this streamlining is to enable the Kingdom to be the unifier of Italy.
A secondary but ever-present focus of the Kingdom is to weaken the Muslim neighbour states, particularly the Caliphate of Al-Andalus, which it views not only as a threat to Italy but a threat to Catholicism and Christianity as a whole.
A secondary but ever-present focus of the Kingdom is to weaken the Muslim neighbour states, particularly the Caliphate of Al-Andalus, which it views not only as a threat to Italy but a threat to Catholicism and Christianity as a whole.
Head of State: King Alberto III
Head of Government: Prince Niccolo of Naples
Government Description:
The Kingdom of Southern Italy operates on a unique system of government in which the Crown is rotated between three royal families. This is the result of the Sicilio-Napolese War of 1497-8 which ended with the 1498 Treaty of Rome. This treaty acts as a founding document and constitution for the Kingdom, and dictates a strict law of succession which was necessary to ensure cohesion and cooperation between old enemies. Upon the death or abdication of the reigning monarch, the Crown is not passed to his son but rather to the ruling Prince of the next constituent Principality. The current King Alberto III is of Sicily, his successor is currently Prince Niccolo of Naples. Being the Crown-Prince also means being the head of the Grand Council. When the Prince of Naples assumes the Crown, the next successor shall be the Prince of Sardinia and Corsica, whose successor shall the Prince of Sicily.
The Kingdom has a mixed form of government in which the King exercises considerable authority and control, but is kept in check by the Grand Council. The origins of the Grand Council are also to be found in that 1498 Treaty of Rome, though it has grown in size and power since those earlier days. It now numbers 150 members, including the Prince of Naples as its head and the Prince of Sardinia and Corsica as its deputy. Other members are a collection of upper members of the nobility and large landowners from across the three constituent Principalities. The Grand Council can exercise considerable authority enacting laws and conducting judicial oversight. A sub-council known as the Table of Twenty have further powers to ratify Crown certain decisions such as the appointment of Provincial Governors.
Two other councils exist within the Kingdom but which have considerably less power. These are the Council of Merchants and Guilds, and the Council of Commons. The Council of Merchants and Guilds is also made up of 150 members, those being chapter heads, master craftsmen, and wealthy merchants. Though not able to directly pass laws or exercise great power, the Council enables the monied and skilled classes to organise and exert their will through public forum and petitioning the Grand Council or indeed the King himself. The Council of Commons is the largest of the three, being 300 members. These are freemen, land owners, town mayors, and other members of the monied classes who have the means to get themselves elected. Again this council cannot exercise any direct powers, but have used their forum to organise and protest the King and Grand Council for reform and proposed new laws for the Grand Council to consider.
The Kingdom has a mixed form of government in which the King exercises considerable authority and control, but is kept in check by the Grand Council. The origins of the Grand Council are also to be found in that 1498 Treaty of Rome, though it has grown in size and power since those earlier days. It now numbers 150 members, including the Prince of Naples as its head and the Prince of Sardinia and Corsica as its deputy. Other members are a collection of upper members of the nobility and large landowners from across the three constituent Principalities. The Grand Council can exercise considerable authority enacting laws and conducting judicial oversight. A sub-council known as the Table of Twenty have further powers to ratify Crown certain decisions such as the appointment of Provincial Governors.
Two other councils exist within the Kingdom but which have considerably less power. These are the Council of Merchants and Guilds, and the Council of Commons. The Council of Merchants and Guilds is also made up of 150 members, those being chapter heads, master craftsmen, and wealthy merchants. Though not able to directly pass laws or exercise great power, the Council enables the monied and skilled classes to organise and exert their will through public forum and petitioning the Grand Council or indeed the King himself. The Council of Commons is the largest of the three, being 300 members. These are freemen, land owners, town mayors, and other members of the monied classes who have the means to get themselves elected. Again this council cannot exercise any direct powers, but have used their forum to organise and protest the King and Grand Council for reform and proposed new laws for the Grand Council to consider.
Majority/State Religion: Roman Catholicism
Economic Description:
The Kingdom's economy is mainly agrarian focused, with all of the constituent Principalities and Provinces being highly fertile areas. Major port cities such as Napoli, Bari, Palermo, Amalfi, and Syracuse export the Kingdom's produce all over the Mediterranean. As much as the staunchly Catholic Kingdom denounces the evils of Islam and warns of its threat to Christianity, it will happily take gold mint from any hand be it Muslim, Jewish, or even Pagan. The Kingdom also makes considerable coin from the taxation of trans-Mediterranean trade, both Maritime and overland. By controlling the waters from Italy to Carthage it also controls the flow of ships and goods. It also controls and taxes the overland caravan routes which cross from the Near East and Egypt, across North Africa to Morocco and Iberia, as well as the many Muslim pilgrims who traverse in the opposite direction making Hajj.
Major Production: Grain, olive oil, wine, timber, nuts, bacon, cheese, furs, hide, hemp, cloth
Army Description :
The constituent principalities of the Kingdom each maintain their own standing armies which they are expected to contribute in full to the needs of the realm. The Kingdom has placed huge importance on the maintenance of a highly professional and modern army to deter invasion from the Muslim world; a rare item on which the Kings, Princes, and Councils are all on unanimous agreement upon. Muskets and pikes are the core of every Italian army, with artillery being favoured in smaller, more manoeuvrable cannons. Cavalry are still used, but they do not command the respect that they do in so many other European armies as martial tradition usually dictates. In the Italian army, cavalry has been regulated to a supporting and harassment role in which their primary purposes are to scout, flank, ambush, and generally hinder the enemy forces. The days of the heavy charge are over in all but the most rare circumstances.
Combined, the standing armies of Sardinia and Corsica, Sicily, and Naples number some 18,000.
Combined, the standing armies of Sardinia and Corsica, Sicily, and Naples number some 18,000.
Army Weakness :
Despite being well-equipped, disciplined, and trained, the army suffers from the same inefficiencies and fractiousness as the political system. As it is not one single army but rather three stitched together, there are large overlaps in administration and costs which could be reduced. There is also a mismatch in equipment, training, and doctrine between the three armies which can lead to battlefield confusion. It also suffers in that units from one Principality do not like taking orders from the commanders of another, leaving room for infighting and politicking.
Naval Description :
WIP
Naval Weakness :
Further Military Description : [[OPTIONAL]]
National Goals : The unification of Italy, expulsion of Islam from mainland Europe, control of Algeria and Morocco.
National Issues : Political reform, expansion of the military, forming alliances with other Christian states.
National Figures of Interest : [[OPTIONAL]] [[Are there any Mother Teresas or Moses that we need to know about?]]
National Ambition/Aspirations : [[OPTIONAL]] [[Not really set objectives, but rather the big picture that your nation is drawing towards]]
History : [[Can be formatted in paragraphs or as a bulletpoint timeline.]]
RP Sample: [[Either a link to a past post, or an example written right here.]]
#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)
