I said I'd post some revised version of the nations I have the most problems with, so here they are. I've tried to avoid any specific history of the fall, and get rid of specific statistics and anachronisms that have popped up. I think I've made these more medieval and believable, but someone may correct me if I'm wrong.
The Republic of California (AKA California Free State)
Totemic Symbol: Orange
Government: Oligarchy/Aristocracy(claims to be a republic)
Religion: United Christian Church of God
Capital: Santa Barbara
Ruler: President-Governor-General William VII
Since the fall, California has attempted to expand in every direction. Wars with the republics of the Northwest, border conflicts with Mormons, raids from the Southwestern wastes and the occaisional uprising have made life in California chaotic. During the reign of President-Governor-William II contact with the United States was reestablished and a church similar to the Non-Denominational Church, the United Christian Church of God established in California. With the amalgamation of the major Protestant sects it has since been the major religion of California. It was, however, unable to stop the rebellion of Scientologists in Losangeles and thus found itself face to face with the expressly Scientologist Republic of the Free Zone, many nobles' worst nightmare. The Catholic Church is one of the few other religions to gain tolerance, largely due to its high number of adherents who refused to join with the United Church. Indeed Los Angeles is the site of the Cardinal of the West adhering to all the Catholics west of the Mississippi and north of Mexico City. That said, violence between Catholics and Unites has been on the upswing as conflict with the largely hispanic nation in Southern California(Sandiego) has become more common.
The government of California claims to be a republic based on the old United States, when in reality is an oligarchy of the few families who managed to come to power since the event. The head of state is the President-Governor-General who has always been from the noble family lines since the death of the First Governor. There are many factions within the court, each with fairly obvious goals, but they have no official names. The trading guilds, called unions, also have a disproportional amount of power in the President's court.
The military of California is very large, partly due to the more authoritarian nature of its government. The armies are heavily offensive oriented with large fortresses on the frontiers. It is mainly infantry with thousands of talented crossbowmen which make the backbone of the California army. It’s cavalry are mainly strike teams rather then the heavy knights of the East. The navies of California are also highly powerful, although this has severely hurt trade as few nations trust California's openly militant navy.
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The Columbian Free-State
Totemic Symbol: Red and Black Yin Yang on white background
Government: Republic
Capital: Portland
Head of State: Mayor Philip Keller
The Pacific Northwest has changed a great deal since the Event, being one of the central areas for The Neopagan Revival, and one of the few areas where Christianity has actually fallen from grace.
The Columbians are Buddhist, although a very different form of Buddhism than the Asian mainstream, because of several strange circumstances. At the time of the fall, Christianity was at its weakest in this region, so following the chaos of the fall it is understandable that the few who clung to it abandoned it when it seemed to have done nothing. However, atheism does not succeed as well in a medieval world very well, and soon the citizens were experimenting with new religions. At first, Neopagan groups dominated, but eventually as contact was established with Asia Buddhism began to seep back into the Northwest. Eventually, a new version of the religion, Columbian Buddhism, came to the forefront and established rule over Columbia. Columbian Buddhism is different mainly because of its clear Neopagan influences, and could be described as very transcendentalist if such philosophies were still remembered. That said, Buddhism is simply the plurality here, and not anywhere near the majority. This precarious mix of religions has led to a policy of grudging respect for most religions, but by no means all.
The Columbians (ie the richest families of Portland) elect a Mayor to serve for life, who serves as military and political leader. As it's supposed to be for life mayors do not tend to live for a very long time. Education of the populace is mainly limited to bureacrats and monks, if a bureacrat finds a bright child they will either train them themselves or send them to be tested in the capital. Beauracrats run the day-to-day affairs of Columbia. There is a careful balance of power between the beauracrats and the merchant families of Portland.
Their main troops are pikemen, and rangers, who are archers that patrol the western mountains.
Columbia is on good terms with the Seattle-Vancouver Commonwealth. They are on unfriendly terms with Deseret, however (both claim the Snake River), and the expansionist Californian empire to the south.
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Major Pilgrimage Sites in California
The Republic of California is home to various pilgrimage sites. Among the most notable:
The villiage of Simi Valley is home to the Shrine of St. Ronald the Beloved, the 40th Lineal President of America. He was beatified by the Non-Denominational Church and the United Christian Church of God.
The villiage of Yorba Linda is home to the Shrine of St. Richard the Unfortunate who as the 37th Lineal President of America was said to have done some evil things but overall saved the nation.
The villiage of Hollywood is however by far the largest pilgrimage site. It is the home of the Shrine of the Saints of Leisure such as Mikeal Jackssen and their holy footprints survive to this day. It is common practice to kiss those sites for good luck.
Not so sure about this. I could see Reagan getting that kind of respect(regardless of whether he deserves it or not) and I suppose that claiming Nixon was the good thing for the country could be a way to spite the New United States, but the Hollywood thing...that's a no. This "Saints of Leisure" thing doesn't really fit, sorry.
The Dineh Confederacy
Government: Elective Monarchy
Religion: Christianity, Neo-Ghost Dance
Capital: Albuquerque
Ruler: John Begay II
The origins of the Dineh Confederacy are obscure. It is though to have been formed about 200 years after the Event. Most of the population of the Soutwest had fled either west to California or south into Mexico because the poor agriculture of the area couldn't support large populations without modern technology. The huge demograpic changes resulted in an Indian majority in the region. The Navajo emerged as the most powerful tribe of the area and the Dineh Confederacy was established.
The Confederacy is comparable to the Old Medieval Turkic Khaganates in terms of goverment and the multi-ethnic makeup of the nation. About 40% are Navajo, 25% other Native America tribes (including Hopi, Zuni, Pueblos and Apache), 20% of European descent and 15% Hispanic. The economy is largely based on cattle ranching and some agriculture (mainly potatoes and corn) and raiding. Consequently, the Confederacy is unpopular with it's neighbours. Trade is also a major source of income, with much overland trading between Mexico and the interior of North America passing through Dineh lands.
The current ruler, John Begay II, has expanded Dineh lands considerably by invading the Republic of California and capturing most of the Republic's Arizonan holdings. The military of the Confederacy is tribal based, with the Indians providing the light cavalry and the White tribes supplying heavy cavalry and infantry. The horse archers of the Dineh are rightfully feared throughout the Southwest, mimicing the Mongols in their tacitcs and speed. With the military-focused Begay II leading them, the Dineh are sure to become major players in the region.
I think this is more likely than a Buddhist west coast
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If I interfered with previous posts, please let me know.
Not bad. I assume by Elective Monarchy you mean something similar to the HRE?
Government: Oligarchic Republic
Religion: Many, but all with a strong overlay of Confucianism
Ruler: Prime Minister Lee Ming Hui
The Serene Republic is much like a latter day Venice. It has a strongly oligarchic nature- a Cabinet of thirty Ministers is drawn from members of the major oligarchic families and the major trade and commerce guilds. These then elect a Prime Minister from among their number. The Prime Minister must be at least fifty and not older than sixty when elected and serves until his death. The adult male population may vote on certain strictly limited issues, mainly to do with citizenship law.
The state is strongly bureaucratic and a rigorous system of examination identifies candidates for the Civil Service. Another similarity the Republic has with pre-Event Singapore is the maintenance of two years compulsory militia service for all male citizens with the exception of those who work as crewmen of the Republic's trading fleet.
The Republic functions as the greatest spice port in the world- the neo-mediaeval nations of the West are hungry for spices and the Republic is eager to provide them...at a cost. The powerful Singaporean trading fleet maintains a network of purchasing ports around the Indonesian archipelago. It is a dire necessity for the Republic to keep the trade routes open for the city, though rich, cannot feed itself and is dependent on grain shipments from the Malay states and Java.
Culturally the city is polyglot- Singlish, the local variant of pre-Event English is the most commonly spoken language and has, indeed, become something of a SE Asian lingua franca though you can hear almost any tongue in the world on the streets of the city. Citizenship can be gained through wealth (a hefty contribution to state coffers can buy you citizenship) or, for those without the money, through military service to the Republic. A strictly limited number of foreigners are hired each year for two year military contracts offering citizenship upon completion.
Very nice, Flocc.