ORICHALCUM UNIVERSE: The Antillean Union

[Johnny1A.2]

This is the first of a series of posts about the world a century from now in my Orichalcum Universe setting. I plan to do several such, and then I may gather them all in one place as a sort of guidebook or travelogue.

ORICHALCUM UNIVERSE: The Antillean Union

In 2123, the Antillean Union is a sovereign polity that governs the territories generally known as the 'Greater and Lesser Antilles', as well as a few tiny other bits and pieces. The islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, the Caymans, most of the Lucayan Archipelago, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles island chains are all parts of the Antillean Union.

Population: 63,329,389 (as of January 2123)
Capital Cities: Havana and Kingston
Official Languages: French, English, Spanish, Antillean (Anglo-Spanish-French mix)
Government: Federal Parliamentary republic with elected President
Currency: Antillean Franc
Demonym: 'Antillean'

The Antillean Union is notable for many things in 2123. A time traveller from 2023 would find many aspects of the AU familiar, but some major changes have occurred. Not the least of which is that, per capita, the AU is the wealthiest nation-state in the world in 2123.

GOVERNMENT: Being comprised of many islands of widely varying land area, history, and population, the AU lends itself very naturally to a federal structure. Most of the component islands of the Antillean Union have a local government of their own, usually a parliamentary system of one sort or another. Hispaniola is the only member-island that has two component states, the Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The central legislature is the Antillean Parliament, which is comprised of two chambers, the House of Deputies, with two hundred seats distributed among the islands according to a combination of population and economic activity (using a complicated formula), and a Senior Chamber made up of two delegates from each island-state, together with fifteen elected 'at large' from the entire Union. The House of Deputies is up for election every three years, the Senior Chamber every five years.

Legislation requires a sixty percent majority in each chamber to pass, and can be repealed by a simple majority in each chamber. The exception is finance measures, which require only a simple majority in each chamber to be enacted. Taxation is considered a finance measure, but special provisions in the Antillean Charter (their highest law) limit the taxation power.

The Antillean Parliament is seated in Kingston.

The judicial authority is held by a system of federal district courts, using the French model of three judges, appointed for three year terms. The smaller islands each constitute their own federal district, the larger islands such as Cuba may have several such districts. Review power is held by a Court of Review seated in Kingston. The Court of Review is comprised of 21 judges, holding office for ten years at a time. The terms are staggered so that three seats come open each year.

The executive authority is held by the President of the Republic (customarily referred to as the 'High President' to distinguish from the several member-states that have 'presidents' as head of state), elected for a five year term from at large among the populace, and the First Minister of the Republic, who is usually the head of the largest party, or coalition of parties, in the Chamber of Deputies. The High President is expected to negotiate with the factions in the Deputies to assemble the cabinet, which controls most domestic affairs in the AU. External relations, diplomatic and military, are mostly handled by Presidential prerogative, the cabinet has only limited sway in such matters, other than through the financial powers of the Parliament.

The ministers of the Cabinet head the working departments of the state that are concerned primarily with internal matters. Separate of these, the Union has executive appointees who are responsible for external matters. The Union uses the title of 'Vice-president' to refer to them. Cabinet ministers must be members of the House of Delegates, Vice-presidents can not be, they served purely at the discretion of the President.

There are Vice-presidents supervising the Foreign Office, the Military Office, the Intelligence Office, and the Military Supply Office (a separate department from the Military Office). These officers do necessarily work with the Cabinet ministers on many matters, though, especially because the Cabinet does control their budgets through the House of Deputies.

The High President appoints all judges, subject to the approval of a simple majority in both chambers of the Parliament. Appointments to the Court of Review also require the approval of at least half of the heads of state of the member-states of the Union.

The High President chooses diplomatic representatives purely on his or her own pleasure, and they serve as the pleasure of the President as well.

The High President is not specifically the commander of the armed forces, however. The President appoints the Commanders of the Army and the Navy, subject to Parliamentary approval, but the Charter places many limits and restrictions on what the military can and can not be used for, and many limits on the power of the executive over it. [1]

If the President dies or retires before the end of his or her term, the President of Cuba acts as Provisional President of the Union for thirty days, during which a special election must be held to fill the Presidency of the Union for the rest of the term. A High President can be 'impeached' by a simple majority in each chamber of the parliament, but this does not remove him. Instead, it triggers a special election in which the electorate can remove the High President.

The seat of the President and the First Minister are in Havana, as are most of the high-level executive and diplomatic offices.

The Antillean Union lays claim to the waters around its major islands out to a distance of thirty kilometers. It makes a special-case claim to the waters along the curve of the Leeward and Windward Islands, extending its claims of sovereignty across the gaps between them. While these are modest distances in individual cases, they add up to a long curve of ocean claims reaching from the Greater Antilles almost to South America. This is turn leaves the AU claiming sovereignty over most of the eastern edge of the Carribean Sea.

These claims are not recognized by all major powers, but at the same time are rarely directly challenged.

To be continued...

[1] This is a result of a tumultuous history of coups, juntas, and the like in pre-Union times in many parts of the region.

[Johnny1A.2]

ORICHALCUM UNIVERSE: The Antillean Union continued...

Linguistics: Historically, Spanish, French, and English were spoken in various parts of the Union. Cuba and the Dominican Republic spoke Spanish, Haiti French, the Bahamas English, etc. All three languages are 'official' languages of the Union. In practice, since the unification, a patois of all three, plus native elements, has emerged and is also an official language, called Antillean. [2]

Being close neighbors with both the USA (primarily English speaking) and Imperial territory in South America (mostly Spanish, French, or Portuguese speaking) has led many Antilleans consciously adopt Antillean as their day-to-day language, to differentiate themselves from both. The Union educational system teaches all four languages, however, and most Antilleans speak, read, and understand all four.

Economics:

The economy of the Antillean Union is primarily agricultural. What makes the agricultural economy of the Union so fantastically prosperous is the existence of the standard 'bioenhancement' technologies used in all the advanced Terrestrial states in 2123. These techniques make their recipients disease resistant, healthier, and extend lifespan significantly. The average lifespan of humans in 2123 is well over a century, because of these techniques.

The bioenhancement techniques are extremely complex and involve certain synthetic drugs. The synthesis of the most effective of these drugs requires precursor chemicals that are derived from plants originating in an alien (albeit still Solarigen) biosphere. It so happens that the combination of climate, volcanic and other soils, and other factors make the islands in and around the Carribean especially well-suited to the cultivation of these plants. [1]

Along with that, the science of such cultivation has been taken to its highest level in the Antillean Union. Horticultural science in the Union, combined with refined genetic engineering techniques, has enabled the Union to leverage its natural advantages of climate and soil to produce a quality of agricultural production unmatched in the world. The most profitable products, by far, are the anti-agathic and related precursors, but the knowledge cultivated to produce those have enabled the Union to produce other agricultural products at a level of quality unmatched elsewhere. Luxury foods are a profitable export of the Union as well.

Another product of Union genetic engineering is a strain of tobacco that is relatively harmless. While cigarettes and cigars are all but forgotten products in 2123, there is still a market for pipe tobacco, and it has revived considerably with the development of the neo-tobacco.

Other luxury exports include dozens of strains of specialty chocolate, and hybridized fruits combining the tastes and textures of apples, pears, citrus, and alien fruits as well. While none of these match the profitability of the precursor drugs, all of them are profitable.

The Union is not a major industrial power, per se. However, they do have some limited manufacturing capacity, especially of high-end agricultural equipment and horticultural/agricultural tools. The Union is the site of the largest and most efficient and sophisticated greenhouse complexes in the world, as well. The Union exports a limited amount of tools and specialized equipment in these areas, which sell at a high premium around the world and beyond Earth as well.

Tourism remains an element of the economy, but a far smaller one, by percentage, than in those island economies in 2023. Some parts of the AU are not usually open to foreigners at all, for reasons detailed below.

The tertiary education system in the AU is recognized world-wide as the best available for agricultural sciences and related genetic and eugenic technology. Only a limited number of foreign students are accepted in the Antillean University system, but these slots are hotly competed for, because the knowledge and practical skills they confer are highly saleable. A degree from the University of Antillea (multiple campuses throughout the Union) includes both theoretical instruction and hands-on practical experience as well.

(Some of the information is not taught to foreign students, but what is is still quite valuable.)

To be continued...


[1] Without these plants, less effective drugs can still be synthesized, and were before the discovery of the better plants.

[2] A speaker/understander of English, French, or Spanish can understand Antillean at -5 to their skill in that language. If that person speaks/understands two of the three constituents, understanding Antillean is at -3, someone familiar with all three is at -1 (of the language with the highest skill level).

[Johnny1A.2]

ORICHALCUM UNIVERSE: The Antillean Union continued...

Geopolitics: The precursor chemicals the Union produces in amounts and quality beyond any competitor are both fantastically valuable economically and critically important politically. The specialized knowledge that enables their production is also extremely valuable. The unique climate and soil conditions make the territory itself valuable.

Furthermore, the Antillean Union is geographically positioned in a delicate strategic location. To the northwest lies the United States, with a gap of only about one hundred and fifty kilometers between Cuba and the State of Florida. To the south lies Imperial territory along the northern coast of South America, with a gap of ocean even smaller than that between Cuba and the USA separating Antillean Granada and Imperial lands.

Historically, both Cuba and Haiti had periods American overlordship, and Cuba was in a decades-long alliance with Russia that had overtones of colonial control as well. Other parts of the Union have also experienced foreign control in varying degrees.

This history, together with the value of what they now possess in 2123, makes the Antilleans very sensitive about their sovereignty.

At the same time, the Antilleans are aware that they now live in and control a very valuable territory, with very valuable contents; territory and contents valuable both economically and geopolitically. They Antilleans are also acutely aware that they are a high-value prize that is militarily relatively weak.

The Union does have a military force, or rather, it has more than one. Given its nature, it naturally emphasizes naval power. The Union makes no attempt to project power beyond their immediate territories, their fleet is defensively positioned, and consists mostly of small surface warships and a number of cutting-edge attack submarines. Antillean submarines do cruise regularly all over the Carribean Sea, and into the Atlantic, but again their deployment is primarily protective of the Union coasts and territories.

The Antillean Army is more complicated. The Antilleans are torn between their recognized need for a deterrent force, and a history of internal coups and other upheavals involving misuse and corruption of military forces. By 2123, the Antillean military is much more professional than most previous forces in the region, and a growing sense of 'Antillean' identity reinforces this. Still, the memory of the past runs deep.

For that reason, the Antillean Army is divided into the actual combat forces, and the 'armorers', who actually possess most of the weaponry and vehicles and other equipment. In military emergencies, the Army gets access to the equipment, or for training purposes, but the divide is intended to help make sure the Army stays in its defined place.

The Antilleans have no separate air or space branch, but their navy maintains a substantial force of armed aircraft, mostly helicopters and other platforms suited to defensive deployments around the islands.

The Antilleans refuse to either confirm or deny possession of nuclear and other mass destruction weaponry. (They do have some, but they keep it very quiet, intending it as a final deterrent.)

The Antilleans maintain an extensive intelligence network, which reaches all over the world, and beyond Earth. These agents are almost entirely involved in information gathering, however. The Union mostly eschews 'covert operations' (with a special case set of exceptions, see below). As with the army, a history of misuse of intelligence organizations haunts the region.

The Antillean 'foreign policy' is generally one of broad neutrality. They make no direct alliances and prefer to trade with everyone. They are especially careful to tred a neutral path between the Empire and the United States, both of whom are next-door neighbors, either of which is vastly more powerful than the Union, and both of which are bitter rivals to each other (at the best of times). Positioned between them, neutrality is seen by the Antilleans as simple prudence, the more so because both are lucrative trade partners.

Knowing how valuable their knowledge is, the Antilleans take extensive steps to protect their proprietary information. Immigration to the Union is almost forbidden, only marriage is the common method of gaining citizenship, and this requires several years and an extensive background check. The penalty for 'selling marriage' to would be-immigrants is a fifteen year sentence.

Many areas of the Union are simply off-limits to tourists and other foreigners entirely. Access to these regions requires permission from the federal government of the Union, and often from the local state as well. Those Antilleans who hold 'economically sensitive' information must sign non-disclosure agreements, and are often restricted from travelling outside the Union without special permission.

Given how much some groups would be willing to pay for that information, or for smuggled precursor chemicals, there are still occasional defectors and smugglers who try to sell their knowledge or smuggle the chemicals. The Antilleans refuse to publicly admit it, but it is known that some such people have met with 'accidents' in their new homes before they were able to enjoy their payment.

(This is one of those special-case exceptions to the covert operations ban.)

Foreign students in the university system are restricted in what they can be taught, and before they can be accepted for matriculation, they undergo an extensive background check. The Antilleans are perfectly well aware that many foreign governments and groups would love to infiltrate agents into their educational system, and they are on guard against it. The penalty for such an attempt is fifteen years in prison. (In theory. In practice, an agent of a major power might simply be repatriated and exiled, for obvious practical reasons. But a few such infiltrators have received the full sentence.)

The penalty for natives attempting to smuggle precursor chemicals is life imprisonment without possibility of parole.

As another, unspoken deterrent, the Antilleans have quietly made in known to everyone that it might concern that in the event of an invasion or other attack, they have assets in place to destroy much of what would make an invasion attractive in the first place. This is never publicly admitted or discussed, but it is not a particular secret, either.

That said, the Union is not a dictatorship or a dystopia. Citizens enjoy a wide range of legal rights, and the government mostly makes a point of following their own rules. The people holding the 'sensitive' information are informed before they begin their studies of the conditions. [1]

To be continued...

[1] In GURPS terms, the Antillean Union internal control rating would be a high '2' or a low '3' for most citizens.

[Johnny1A.2]

FORTELEZA DE NEPTUNE: This Antillean phrase is the commonly used term for the most important military base in the Antillean Union. Located in what was once the Dominican Republic, it is a naval base and shipyard where the Antilleans construct most of the various submarines that make up most of the wet-navy fleet.

Though the Antilleans are not by any means a major industrial power, they do prefer to be able to construct their own warships. At this base, they have created a state-of-the-art naval construction center, as well as a hardened command center for their fleet and the overall defense of the Union. The various submarines are assigned to different cities and home ports around the Union, but most of them are built here.

Though the Antilleans construct their own vessels, they lack the necessary industrial capacity to fully manufacture all the necessary components, to say nothing of the necessity to import some materials that simply do not exist within the Union territories. As a matter of policy, whenever possible the Antilleans design their warships to use components and materials available from multiple possible suppliers. They avoid as a matter of policy becoming too dependent on any one source of technology or materials, especially either the United States or the Empire.

The Fleet: The Antillean Union maintains a standing naval fleet of one hundred and fifteen vessels, not counting small support craft. The majority of these vessels fall into one of three overall classes of submarine. The Antillean Union maintains fifty fast-attack submarines, very small and agile and heavily armed, intended to wreak havoc on any invading force. The Union also maintains twenty heavier submarines, capable of prolonged deep submergence and carrying heavier weapons, in a war they would be used to carry the fighting to a presumptive enemy. The remaining ships are a mix of surface craft, scouting vessels, medical and support ships, and other sundry vessels of varying classes and sizes.

Air Defenses: The navy maintains a number of fast small aircraft, but most of the defense against air attack lies in batteries of concealed, high-end ground-to-air missile and anti-aircraft laser emplacements, spread out across the islands. The Union has very little in the way of an offensive air arm, their aerial expenditures are almost entirely defensive and deterring.

[Johnny1A.2]

CULTURAL MATTERS:

Antillean: As noted above, the official languages of the Antillean Union are English, French, Spanish, and Antillean. Antillean began as a French-Spanish 'patois' language, which was later intentionally developed into an 'artificial' language incorporating large elements of English and the local indigenous languages as well. Originally spoken only by a small percentage of the population, by 2123 it has become a popular colloquial tongue in the Union, especially among the younger generations, as a sense of common 'Antillean identity' has emerged since the unification of the various island-states.

As an artificial language, its English, French, and Spanish roots cause most linguists to categorize it as a 'stepchild' within the Indo-European language family. French and Spanish both had their origins as dialectal variants of Latin, but English was of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family of languages. The combination produces some peculiar grammatical and lexical results, especially with the indigenous elements mixed in as well.

As a language, Antillean is Mental/Average to most humans. To anyone who is fluent in both English and either French or Spanish, it is Mental/Easy to learn. (The reason only one of the Romance root languages is necessary for this is that they are both more akin to each other than either is to English.)

As noted above, a person fluent in any one of English, French, or Spanish can attempt to understand spoken Antillean, at a -5 penalty. Fluency in both English and either French or Spanish reduces this to -3. Fluency in both French and Spanish gives a -4. A person fluent in all three root languages can usually understand spoken Antillean at -1, though comprehension will take additional time.

The Antillean Union is a young state, and between that fact and the existence of the anti-agathic technologies, there are still many citizens of the Union who can remember when the component states were independent. The formation of the Union is still well within living memory of most of the older population.

As a result, the former national identities remain emotionally powerful, though there is also a growing sense of Antillean common identity, especially among the younger generations. Many Antilleans casually refer to themselves as a hybrid identity, (i.e. 'Antillean-Cuban, Antillean-Dominican, Antillean-Martiniquaise, etc). This remains common even among the younger citizens.

A quirk of the Haitians is that they tend to refer to themselves as 'Haitian-Antillean', placing the federal identifier second in the sentence. This goes back to the fact that Haiti was the only major component state of the Union that did not enter entirely voluntarily, instead being more or less of a conquered territory at first. The conquest was not entirely unpopular with the common people of Haiti, but it did leave a certain resentment that has not yet entirely faded in by 2123 (though there is little Haitian sentiment for independence). Haiti has gone from being one of the poorest polities in the world to one of the wealthiest, and that plus experience of a government that is not mostly corrupt has eased much resentment.

The Union has an excellent educational system, and it is a point of national pride that most of its citizens are fluent in both the Antillean language and the three major contributor languages as well. A cultural quirk is that even though Antillean began as a 'creole', mixing the modern form of it with the parent languages in conversation is considered rather rude. Likewise, if one chooses to converse in English, or French, or Spanish, one speaks either English, French, or Spanish. To switch from one to another in mid-conversation is acceptable, casually mixing them is seen as sloppy and vulgar.

RELIGION: The most common religious profession in the Antillean Union is Catholic Christianity, professed by over sixty percent of the population. Twenty-two percent are various denominations of Protestant Christian, with about five percent Muslim, with two percent Judaism and nine percent a variety of other faiths or no religion. There are no formal or official restrictions on religion in the Union, and no official limitations on political participation.

SECRETS: The most important state secret held by the Antillean Union is one they have only held for less than a year as of 2123, but it is a critically important one, holding great potential opportunities for the Union, and also great risks and problems.

For many years, there has been speculation about the possibility of small, scatterered orichalcum deposits on the Atlantic Ocean floor, here and there on the abyssal plain.

(See here: http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=191121

What a very few people in the Antillean Union know (the High President, a handful of intelligence and naval personnel, a very few academic and scientific types, and a small party of deep sea explorers) is that such deposits do in fact exist, and the Union has located a few of them. While the total amount of orichalcum they contain is small in absolute terms, at over ninety million U.S. dollars a gram, a little goes a long way, and the potential applications of orichalcum are almost endless.

Because this discovery is both incredibly valuable and incredibly dangerous, as of May 2123 it is probably the most classified secret of the Union Government.