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The Kingdom of Tavaris Eredan Tavarís (Tavari) Tavaris riik (Rodokan) | |
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 Great Seal
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Motto: "Ítan Erevat, Ítan Eredan!" (Tavari) "For the King, For the Empire!" | |
Anthem: Uvari Tavarís (Tavari) "Beautiful Tavaris" | |
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| Capital and largest city | Nuvrenon |
| Official languages | Tavari Rodokan |
| Ethnic groups (2020) | Tavari Elven 95% Rodoka Native 3% Other 2% |
| Demonym(s) | Tavari |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• King | Zaram V |
• Prime Minister | Žarís Nevran Alandar |
| Legislature | Diet of Tavaris |
| Establishment | |
• Tavari settlement | cir. 100-400 CE |
• Kingdom of Tavaris unified | 1300 CE |
• Instruments of Governance ratified | 1793 CE |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,050,809 km2 (405,720 sq mi) |
• Excl. Disputed Claims | 1,033,789 km2 (399,148 sq mi) |
• Only Home Islands | 982,707km2 (379,425 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 54,282,007 |
• 2017 census | 52,068,944 |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | $1,798,797,147,966 SHD |
• Per capita | $33,138 SHD |
| Currency | Tavari Našdat (TAN) |
| Time zone | East Tavaris Time (UTC -8) West Tavaris Time (UTC -9) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +422 |
| Internet TLD | .ta |
The Kingdom of Tavaris, known colloquially as Tavaris, is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy located on Urth. It is a member of the Union of Commonwealth Alliances, a founding member and home to the headquarters of the Alliance of Northwest Gondwana, and an observer-state of the League of Novaris. Tavaris was a founding member of the International Forum and currently serves on the International Forum Security Council.
History
Tavari elves are believed to have migrated to the island of Avnatra sometime between the first and fourth centuries AD, though recent archaeological evidence shows that other elves may have been present earlier. From time to time throughout history, various chiefdoms would unite under a single leader to gain strength and control over other chiefdoms. By the beginning of the 14th century AD, they were all united in a loose confederation under the banner of a single King.
Beginning in the 1470s, a religious movement known as Akronism after a deity known as Akrona, arose in the northwest regions of the country, particularly near the Crystal Coast.
Modern History
In 1895, Tavaris hosted the The Worldwide Exposition, an international cultural festival. Previous hosts had been such large nations as Packilvania, Salovia, and Great Morstaybishlia. Tavaris hosted the 1895 Expo as an attempt to introduce itself to the world as an international cultural and tourist destination, as well as an advanced country with all the amenities of modern civilization such as streetcars, high-rise buildings, electricity and telegraph systems. By all accounts the Expo was popular, and Tavaris earned a reputation as an environmentally pristine destination to visit.
In 1904, the Great War began. Tavaris found itself on a frontier between two opposing colonial powers: Morstopackia, who controlled what is now Lunaria to Tavaris' west, and Asendavia, who controlled Tavaris' only neighbor by land, Vultuca. While Tavaris had maintained a friendly trading relationship with the Morst and had somewhat less interaction with Asendavia - mainly due to the fact that it was easier and less expensive to trade by sea than traverse the land crossing to Vultuca that was in most places undeveloped wilderness - Tavaris declared that it would be neutral in the war. However, in May of 1908, in what is known as the Anarís Incident, a group of Morst ships moved through Tavari-controlled waters off the coast of Metrati Anar to attack a group of Asendavian ships from behind. While Tavaris formally summoned the Morst ambassador for an explanation and sent a demand to the Morst government that its ships respect Tavari neutrality, Asendavia held the incident to be an Tavari violation of neutrality and declared war on Tavaris. Tavaris would then join the war on the Morst side.
The Great War caused significant loss in Tavari lives and property, due in large part to its disadvantageous position between Morst and Asendavian colonial holdings. With Asendavia's larger colonial presence in northwestern Gondwana, it had better supply lines, and was able to position military assets in the area at less expense than Tavaris' allies. Additionally, when Tavaris joined the war on the Morst side, neighboring Bana joined on the Asendavian side. Bana invaded and occupied Metrati Anar for the duration of the war and conducted a bombing campaign along the east coast of the country from Zaram to Good Harbor.
After the Great War, Tavaris entered into a period of isolationism as it became politically unpopular for policies to involve other nations. Tavari neutrality had been a resounding failure and it had ended up attacked on multiple fronts because, as the political wisdom of the time said, it had become "entangled" in the affairs of foreign powers. Tavari politics shifted heavily towards isolationism and anti-imperialism, with Tavari foreign relations largely reduced to denouncing the involvement of foreign powers in Gondwana. This period of isolationism lasted for nearly the entire 20th century, although towards the latter half of the century there was a gradual period of re-engaging with foreign affairs - especially as it came to communications technology and military equipment. In the 1980s, Tavaris began purchasing tanks and other modern military equipment from Morstaybishlia. In 2004, Tavaris joined the Arkian Civil War on the side of the West Arkian Republic in an effort to negotiate and enforce a cease-fire. The West would later lose to the imperialists who would install the Arkian Empire. In 2008, in a further attempt to counteract global dominance by the two major powers of Morstaybishlia and Asendavia, Tavaris joined the Union of Commonwealth Alliances.
On January 31st, 2017, the election of Šano Šonai Tuvria on a platform of increasing global trade and diplomatic relations is widely considered to have completely ended the isolationist era of Tavari politics. A major part of her platform was establishing a regional free trade agreement, the Alliance of Northwest Gondwana, which was negotiated in 2017 and took effect a year later. In 2020, Tavaris and Bana normalized relations by appointing ambassadors and announcing the opening of embassies for the first time in almost 50 years. Also in 2020, Tavaris became an observer-state of the League of Novaris, after having been denied full membership. In 2021, Tavaris announced that it had become a nuclear weapons state through developing its own nuclear warheads as well as purchasing warheads from Vistaraland.
Government
The Kingdom of Tavaris is a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch has theoretically broad reserve powers, but in actual practice is a figurehead who takes no part in the day-to-day administration of the country. The King, currently Zaram V, is expected to remain politically neutral, and does not use his reserve powers unless advised to do so by the Council of State, a body similar to the Privy Council in other monarchies.
In 1793, a document known as the Instruments of Governance was ratified, which became the Tavari constitution. It has been amended several times. The Instruments placed significant restrictions on the power of the Monarch and instituted a legislature called the Diet. Under the Instruments, executive power is formally vested in the Cabinet, which is headed by the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister leads the government and holds the positions of President of the Council of State and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. A Prime Minister must maintain the confidence of the Diet, and is therefore typically the leader of the largest party or coalition of parties in the Diet. The current Prime Minister, Žarís Nevran Alandar, took office on 18 February 2021 after her predecessor Šano Šonai Tuvria stepped down to become International Forum Secretary-General.
Diet
The Diet is a unicameral legislature with 1,172 members, each of them to be considered a delegate of a Line in the Tavari clan system. With the exception of the 20 seats allocated to Native Rodokans, members of the Diet are elected not from delineated geographic constituencies, but are instead each elected by every other Tavari sharing their line name, which is the second name out of the three every Tavari has. These lines are clans - groupings of Tavari according to kinship and common descent. As an example: each Tavari who is a member of Line Nevran would therefore use Nevran as their second name, and each of them would have a vote for Delegate to the Diet for Line Nevran regardless of where they lived.
When Tavaris annexed Rodoka in 1634, the Queen ordered that the 20 Rodokan tribal chiefs be integrated into the Tavari clan system. In 1992, the Rodokan Native Tribal Administration was formed as a legal successor body to the hereditary chiefdom system, and they re-allocated their 20 seats into geographic districts.
Members of the Diet, often referred to by the title Delegate, are elected through an instant-runoff vote system in both the Rodokan seats and the Tavari line seats. Voters rank the candidates, who are typically nominated to run by political parties, in order of preference. If no candidate attains an actual majority of votes, meaning at least 50% plus one vote, the lowest performing candidate is removed from consideration and the votes that were given to that candidate are re-allocated according to the second choices on the ballots. The process repeats until one candidate attains a majority.
The Monarchy
The Tavari monarchy is based in absolute-primogeniture from among the descendants of King Utor I. The current monarch is King Zaram V, who assumed the throne on March 31st, 2000 upon the death of his father, King Zaram IV. He has one son, Crown Prince Otan. His wife, the Prince’s mother, was Queen Torevar, who passed away in childbirth. Zaram has stated his intention is to never remarry.
The monarch, as Head of State, represents Tavaris to foreign countries and receives ambassadors from foreign countries. The monarch is also the pinnacle of the traditional Tavari clan system. It is by virtue of the monarch’s position as Head of Line Nuvo that they are the King or Queen of Tavaris, and one of the monarch’s titles is “Chief of Chiefs.” Other than Line Nuvo, no other extant clan has a “Chief,” with those offices replaced by Delegate to the Diet in 1793. (Non-royal members of Line Nuvo also elect a Delegate to the Diet.) By ancient custom, this means that the monarch has the absolute right to make any changes to the clan system - such as creating a new clan, or abolishing an extant one. The monarch may also declare particular individuals members to be a member of a clan. This power was commonly used in the early years of the Empire, but has only been used once since the year 1496.
The legal powers of the monarch are established in the Instruments of Governance as well as through historic convention. Officially, the monarch appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister, summons and dissolves the Diet, declares war and peace, imposes and repeals taxes, and promulgates laws. In reality, all of these powers are exercised only on the advice of the Prime Minister or upon passage of legislation by Diet. The monarchy does reserve the power to appoint or dismiss the Prime Minister, or dissolve the Diet, on its own initiative, but has never done so since the ratification of the Instruments of Governance.
The monarchy also reserves the right to veto legislation passed by the Diet. However, by law, the monarch may only do so on the advice of the Council of State. As the Council of State is composed almost entirely out of members of the Cabinet, no monarch has ever done so since the Instruments were ratified. However, a monarch may always choose to refer a bill to referendum, in which case the bill only takes effect if approved in a national referendum. Also, the monarch may refer a bill to the Constitutional Court if they believe the bill to be unconstitutional. These two powers are granted to the monarch to exercise on their own initiative, with or without advice from the Council of State to do so.
Since the annexation of Rodoka in 1634, the monarch has also been the head of the Rodokan tribes, of which there were historically twenty, all of which are now part of the Rodokan Native Tribal Administration. Since then, the title “High Chief of the Tribes of Rodoka” has been part of the monarch’s title. The title of the current monarch is, in full: His Majesty Zaram V, King of Tavaris, High Chief of the Tribes of Rodoka, Chief of Nuvo, Chief of Chiefs, Lord-Patron of Ilaris, Defender of the Faith. While the monarch does not use a line name or family name in day-to-day life, they do have them just the same as other Tavari. King Zaram’s name as recorded on his certificate of birth is Zaram Nuvo Šolosar.
Political Parties
In the current day, Tavaris is a multi-party system in which coalition governments are common, especially since the dawn of the 21st century. The current government, however, is comprised of just one party, after the Democratic National Party (DNP) won a majority in the election on February 10th, 2021. The current leader of the Democratic National Party is Žarís Nevran Alandar, who assumed that position on the 18th of February 2021 when her predecessor was elected International Forum Secretary-General.
The Tavari political left tends to be split among three different parties: The Socialist Party for Democracy (SPD), a social democratic party; the Green Tavaris Party, which broadly focuses on environmental issues; and the Tavari Communist Party (TCP), which is an explicitly Akronist-socialist political party. The TCP is the most popular among Akronists, but tends to have less reach into non-Akronist communities. The Greens are not explicitly Akronist under party rules, but tend to be dominated by Akronists, as the Akronist faith emphasizes stewardship of the environment. All three major leftist parties advocate for abolishing the monarchy, and SPD and TCP call for replacing the line-based electoral system with geographic districts. A minor Akronist center-left political party, Orange Left, has had representation in the past but won no seats in the most recent election.
The Tavari political right is similarly split. The DNP is generally described as center-to-center-right, and both Žarís Nevran Alandar and Šano Šonai Tuvria are considered to be among the centrist faction of the party and are sometimes referred to as “neo-liberal.” Other parties on the right include the Liberal Party, which as its name suggests is a classical liberal party; and Goddess and Country (G&C), a socially conservative Akronist political party. Unlike the Akronist parties on the left, G&C advocates for integrating an Akronist political system into the extant monarchical system. Minor parties on the right include the Tavari Nationalist Party, who are generally described as far-right, and Republican Alternative, which advocates for removing the monarchy but otherwise professes generally center-to-center-right policies.
Geography
Physical geography
Tavaris is composed of territory on two continents. The Gondwanan portions of Tavaris, known as "the mainland" despite their island location, are located on four islands in the Gulf of Northwest Gondwana. It is south and west of Vultuca and to the east of Lunaria. The largest island, which contains most Tavari territory, is known to Tavaris as Avnatra, which is Tavari for "elder sister." (In comparison to the neighboring largest island of Lunaria, which is Tanatra, "younger sister.") In addition to the southern and western portions of Avnatra, the Empire controls the island known as King's Island to the south, upon which the capital of Nuvrenon is located, and two small islands immediately to the west of Avnatra known as the "Tears of the Moon." The islands are considered sacred ground by Akronists. Both of these islands, known individually as the Greater and Lesser Tear of the Moon respectively, are national parks where very little development is permitted, largely due to Akronist political pressure. Among the most notable features on the Tears of the Moon are two large Akronist missionaries, including one at the site of a meteor impact in the year 1 CE whose impact is the epoch of the Common Era Calendar.
The Novari portion of Tavaris is the island of Rodoka, which is located off the coast of West Novaris between Meagharia and the Lapinumbian island of Rhodos. Rodoka was initially settled by the Rodokan people, it is believed, in the 9th or 10th century CE. Tavari settlers reached the island in 1620. The Tavari and Rodokan people found much in common, both being largely clan-based societies with strong maritime traditions. In 1634, Tavaris and Rodoka signed the Treaty of Sinajärv, which annexed Rodoka into the Kingdom of Tavaris but established significant autonomy for the Native Rodokans. On August 18th 2020, Rodoka voted in a referendum to become the 18th Province of Tavaris. The capital and largest city of Rodoka is Lantaž, an Tavari word meaning "paradise." However, the Rodokan Native Tribal Administration still maintains the same level of autonomy, which has been described as making it basically a province in and of itself.
Also in Novaris are the Isles of Kanor, two islands seized from Milofia in 1714 during the Tavari-Milofite War, in which Milofites attacked Rodoka in an effort to seize the islands and in response to what they considered to be heresy. Tavaris won the war and claimed the islands as a “buffer” between Rodoka and Milofia. They are not administratively part of the Province of Rodoka, but most land on the islands that is not taken by military facilities is owned by the Rodokan Native Tribal Administration.
The Aequator passes through southern Tavaris, bisecting the Greater Tear of the Moon. Given the country's location on the Aequator, the climate is tropical. All of Avnatra was once covered in rainforest, although the southern portions of the island have been cleared since ancient times. Akronist political opposition to logging and resource extraction, especially in the north where Akronists are politically stronger, means there are many protected or otherwise undeveloped areas in the north, including much of the area along the border with Vultuca. Most of northern Tavaris is undeveloped and sparsely populated, particularly in the far north, which is significantly more mountainous than the rest of the country and in some places is even a desert. Crystal Coast is the largest city in the region, and also the country's most popular destination for domestic and international tourism.
Southern Tavaris is the country's industrial base and most populated region. Most of Tavaris' major cities are located here, especially along the Bight of Tavaris in the southwest. Further inland is the primary agricultural region of the country. Off the southeastern coast is King's Island and the capital of Nuvrenon. With the distance too long for a bridge, Nuvrenon is connected to the mainland by a fleet of state-operated hovercrafts and private boats and ships. The portions of King's Island not taken by the Nuvrenon urban area are primarily palm oil plantations, and heavy industry such as manufacturing. There are fewer large cities along the east coast, as this region has borne the historical brunt of Banian invasion, but the city of Good Harbor is one of Tavaris' major ports and the heart of Tavaris' primary coffee and cocoa-growing regions. The body of water to the east of Avnatra is known officially as the Strait of Vultuca but is also known among Tavari as the Sunrise Sea.
Political geography
Tavaris is divided into eighteen provinces for the purpose of civil administration. The provinces are units of civil government established by the Diet, with the current system established by the Province Reorganization Act of 1961. While most power in civil government resides with the national government in Nuvrenon, the provinces have the power to set income taxes, regulate certain businesses and industries, and establish public school systems, among other responsibilities. Each province elects a unicameral Legislative Council, from which a government headed by a First Councillor is appointed.
Areas of Tavaris that are not provinces are administered differently. Metrati Anar and the Isles of Kanor are referred to by a term that translates into Staynish roughly as “Unprovinced Territory.” The Tavari term is Nomanerís Ítaktanerísa, but the Staynish acronym “UPT” is used most commonly. UPTs have an appointed Administrator who is responsible for the day-to-day governance of the territory. Residents of UPTs also elect an Assembly that acts as a legislature, though the Administrator has the power of veto.
The Province of Rodoka has a special arrangement due to the status of the native Rodokans. The Treaty of Sinajärv signed in 1634 between the Tavari government and the Rodokan tribes integrated the island of Rodoka and all the Rodokan tribes into the Kingdom of Tavaris. Certain areas of the island were reserved specifically for tribal use, including most of the northern “branch” of the island. These reserved areas remain and are today governed by the Rodokan Native Tribal Administration, a body composed of representatives from the twenty tribes. The reservation is able to set its own tax rate and regulate businesses and construction in its own territory. Notably, things that are illegal in the rest of Tavaris, such as gambling or cannabis, are legal on the reservation.
Officially, each province is divided into townships and cities. Cities are built-up population centers that have a certain degree of autonomy, whereas townships are largely subject to governance from the province of which they are a part. While under the law, cities have the power to establish municipal police departments, nearly all of them have not done so, leaving the Royal Tavari Marshals to serve as the police. The three cities with their own police departments are Zaram, Dravai, and Lantaž.
Military
The military of Tavaris is the Royal Tavari Armed Forces. Tavaris has a strong military tradition, and for centuries maintained mandatory conscription for citizens of all genders. Mandatory conscription was ended in 2016. The strong military culture was shaped early in Tavari history by the frequent armed attacks from the Tavari. Despite the fact that there has been no such attack from the Tavari since the Great War, the two peoples remain bitter enemies and there is still a belief that the country must be protected. As such, the military remains one of the most popular institutions in the country.
The Royal Tavari Armed Forces consist of:
- The Royal Tavari Army
- The Royal Tavari Navy
- The Royal Tavari Air Force
- The Royal Tavari Marshals
While citizens are no longer required to serve in the military, many choose to serve in the reserves, of which there were approximately 2.5 million servicemembers in 2020. The law allows for conscription to resume in the event of a defensive war, in which case all adult citizens would be called back into reserve status to begin training. These reserves would be drawn from as needed onto the front lines. The law does not allow for wartime conscription if Tavaris has not been directly attacked.
Including the Royal Tavari Marshals, the total number of active duty Tavari troops is 507,718. The Marshals are the primary police force for the entire country, as only three cities (Zaram, Dravai, and Lantaž) have established independent, civilian police departments. The Marshals also include the Coast Guard Division and the Border and Immigration Control Division. Excluding the Marshals, who would not be counted among military personnel in many countries, the number of Tavari troops is 307,695.
Tavaris maintains a blue-water navy capable of deployment across the world, although a majority of operations are conducted within the Tavari EEZ, or alongside fellow UCA members in international joint operations. The Empire maintains two nuclear-powered submarines as part of its nuclear deterrent, and two diesel-electric aircraft carriers, one of which is typically (though not always) deployed in a helicopter dock configuration.
On January 19th, 2021, Tavaris announced that it had begun a nuclear weapons program through both a native production program and through an agreement with Vistaraland. The two countries will continue to cooperate in nuclear weapons research and development. Tavaris does not maintain a nuclear triad, instead maintaining sea and air-based nuclear weapons systems. Tavaris does not maintain biological or chemical weapons.
Notable international conflicts in which the Tavari armed forces have participated include the Great War, the Arkian Civil War, the Civil War in Ni-Rao, and UCA engagements in Puntalia and Balistria. Along with Durakia, it participated in the LN military occupation of Karolingia.
Economy
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Tavaris is considered to be a developed economy. As in most similar economies, the service sector has grown to become the largest sector of the economy. Historically, agriculture and fishing were the center of the Tavari economy, and both of them remain significant.
A tropical country, Tavaris grows and exports timber, tropical fruits and nuts, palm oil, coffee, sugar, and cocoa, among many other products including paper and paper goods. Perhaps Tavaris' most well-known agricultural export is chocolate - the production of chocolate is dated to almost the very beginning of Elven settlement in the region, and Tavaris exports more chocolate than any other country on Urth. Additionally, Tavaris produces significant amounts of ethanol and bio-fuels, although these are not typically exported but used by the population instead, due to policies that encourage the use of renewable sources of fuel.
Akronist religious teaching has a significant influence on the economy in that it has led to relatively unusual proportions of land use in the country. Akronist religious teaching holds life as sacred, and killing animals in general, but especially to eat, is discouraged. With nearly half of the population being Akronist, demand for meat from livestock is significantly lower than in other countries. As a result, there are much fewer livestock farms, freeing the land to be used for the growth of planted crops. There is, however, one major exception to the Akronist rule on eating animals: seafood. Because Akrona is said to have emerged from the sea, the Church of Akrona teaches that everything that comes from the sea is a blessing and gift from Akrona to the people. A significant percentage of Tavari off-shore area is devoted to fish farms and other aquaculture. Tavaris both eat and export large amounts of seafood and also engage in whaling within their territorial waters. Kelp and algae are also grown as bio-fuel resources.
Tavaris has some mineral resources, including copper, nickel, significant cobalt deposits, and sand and gravel. It has smaller reserves of precious metals like gold and silver, and was once a source of diamonds, but Tavari diamond reserves are thought to have been mostly depleted since the 20th century. There are some oil reserves off Tavari coastlines, especially among the islands in Metrati Anar. Tavaris does have domestic heavy manufacturing, including automobiles, watercraft, renewable energy equipment such as wind turbines and solar panels, and especially arms and military equipment. Most of these industries are subject to significant environmental rules and other regulatory scrutiny as well as protest by members of the public, especially Akronists.
The services sector, as in other countries, is the largest driver of the Tavari economy. While the relatively strict environmental regulations result in difficulty in other sectors of the economy, they are largely credited with creating an environment that is very popular to visit. Tourism and hospitality are a major source of economic activity in Tavaris, and the government leans hard into tourism as a way to make up for economic limitations elsewhere.