The Republic of Valentas

The Republic of Valentas is a medium-sized country located on a relatively-large island in Oceanica.

Capital: Catoni

Official Languages: English and Latin

Goverment: Limited Democratic Republic

Current Consul: Edgar Gracchus

National motto: "In knowledge there is strength."

Currency: The cogito

History
For most of human history the island that the modern country of Valentas was filled with different city-states and small kingdoms who frequently warred between each other. This was despite the fact that they all shared a similar culture and same language, which was English. In 100 AD the entire island was conquered by a large Latin-speaking empire from a nearby continent. This empire held the island for many years until around 450 AD when the empire descended into anarchy and chaos.

The empire that had conquered them for so many centuries had done wonders to homogenize the culture of the island. Rather than returning to the warring city-states period they banded together under the leadership of the charismatic King Faustus after a year of anarchy. He promised a return to the glories of the previous empire they had been part of and perpetuated Latin as the official language. English was still the most-practiced by the common people but Latin was the language of law and government, a trend that continues to this day. Faustus reorganized the government based on the bureacracy left over by the previous empire, patroned the arts, and gave the Valentans a sense of cultural uniqueness long before other nations sprung up from the shadows of the previous empire. He once remarked, with justification, that he "found Valentas in brick and left it in marble." To this day he is a venerated figure in Valentan history.

Unfortunately, the house that Faustus built couldn't stand forever. As with all hereditary monarchies, many bad rulers peppered the good emperors. Many times dynasties and ruling families changed after revolutions with only the same eventual effect. However, in 1526 AD a series of oppresive, terrible kings began, known as "The Years of Woe". Three kings, each in succession, bitterly oppressed and taxed the people. In 1601 they threw their support behind a charismatic "Leader of the People" named Adam Soros. His revolution toppled the existing monarchy and he gathered intellectuals from all over the world into a Congress to decide what form of government they would take. The gathered intellectuals were hesitant to create a democratic republic so decided to restrict the vote and running for office based on intelligence tests. That way, only the intelligent would run the government. This is the form of government that exists to this day.

Government
The government is structured like many democratic republics. A single legislating body known as the Senate handles the legislating side of business. There are 200 of them, each district of Valentas gets two, and they are elected by the eligible voters--known as "patricians" officially and "eggheads" by the common folk--in their district. The executive Consul is elected by all of the patricians of Valentas. The judges of the Supreme Court are nominated by the Consul and voted upon by the Senate.

As mentioned above, the greatest difference comes in the restrictions on the voting populus and the elected officials. Originally an intelligence test for both was created out of whole cloth and was subject to massive amounts of corruption, the current powerful party doing its best to keep out any undesirables by manipulating the tests. Since the invention of the IQ tests, however, an objective test to determine eligibility was born. The government adopted the IQ test as its standard shortly--the current powerful party fearing that if they didn't, it would be used against them if they ever fell out of power--with the IQ level of 120 being the cut-off between patricians and plebeians (the official term for the common folk). While technically this could mean the voting populus could be from a wide range of classes--rich and poor--in practice patrician status is a very good thing to put on a resume and therefore most patricians leapfrog up to middle and upper classes no matter what class they started from.

Before the adoption of the IQ tests, minorities and women were also kept out of the voting populus. With the adoption of the IQ tests, there was no way to stop anyone who was eligible from voting or entering politics. To this day, the Valentan political arena is a model of equality with many minority races and women holding elected office. The first woman consul was elected in 1924 and the first minority consul in 1977.

The government has shown to be, unlike other democratic republics, very cautious and conservative, prone to approach problems slowly and deliberately. While this slows down quick action it also assures that most of the time, the action they eventually take is the right one. Officially there is little restraint on the power of the federal government besides the Bill of Rights issued but continual fear of anger and revolt from the plebeians keeps an unofficial check on their power, ensuring the government does not get too involved in the lives of its people.

Economy
Historically, Valentas was largely an agricultural economy with little major industry except for in the main cities. The populus was largely filled with farmers and most people except the city-dwellers lived proudly in a pre-industrial state, using only the occasional modern machine to make their work easier such as tractors. Valentas had to import the vast majority of its industrial needs such as antibiotics, automobiles, and defense weaponry. Despite this, Valentas kept a clearly positive balance of trade with its neighbors.

Currently, the main industries of Valentas are cars, firearms, dancing monkeys, sheep, silk, lumber, novelty boxers, antibiotics, software, and enriched uranium.

The Valentan Industrial Revolution
The current majority party in Valentas was elected on the promise of industrializing Valentas and it has begun to live up to its promises. New industries have been created in the cities, which has created a demand for workers therein. This has created a rapid movement of centralization of Valentas not in the countryside but in the cities and many large cities besides the capital have sprung up almost overnight. The robust research program of the Valentan government has also borne fruits for the private sector: Lab 72, a government-created software company, was unleashed upon the private sector and is flourishing. The government also unlocked the secrets of the atom and has given the secrets to the private sector--with regulations on its usage, of course--and is rapidly moving towards nuclear energy and becoming a nuclear power.

The industrialization is accompanied by a boom in the Valentan economy. The GDP of Valentas has surpassed many industrialized nations. Also accompanying the industrialization is a host of social problems such as pollution, worker's rights, and the like. The Valentan government, however, remains solidly pro-business in regards to all of these concerns, seeing no reason to jeopardize the country's future prosperity and power even if some sacrifice is involved. For the most part, the voting patricians share this belief and continue to vote for the current majority party.

Valentas is potentially a haven for outside businesses due to its low wages but the government will not have any outside industries coming in and setting up monopolies despite the possible benefit. The reason being is that, in addition to industrialization, the current majority party ran on a promise of promoting self-sufficiency in Valentas' industries and commerce. They allow no outside industries the ability to start a company or factory in Valentas yet. Tariffs had been kept high at the beginning of the industrialization process but are gone now that Valentas' industries have largely grown strong enough to handle and prosper in the rigors of the free market.

Culture
The main culture dually glorifies both the intellectual and the common man working hard at his job. The former is most prominent in the cities--especially Catoni, which has a population far above any other city in Valentas--while the latter is more prominent in the countryside. The cities tend to produce more novels, poems, and other written work while the visual and musical arts flourish in the countryside.

Some cultural pursuits are intrinsically linked to the main Valentan industries. Silk-painting has a long, flourishing history in the Republic of Valentas due to the abundance of silk. Wood-carving is another art form that flourishes in the countryside, originally started by bored lumberjacks on breaks. Dancing monkeys, of course, are a large part of the musical tradition of Valentas. There are thousands of pieces of music stretching back many years composed solely for the primates to dance to. They primarily dance to classic Valentan songs but today the outside cultures are seeping into the musical routines of Valentas' favorite animal. It's not uncommon to see a playful monkey dancing to Soulja Boy's "Crank That".

Education
Education is extremely important in Valentan culture and the worst disgrace a parent could ever have--even in the country--is to have a child who is failing class. Excellence is expected of all children. There are three levels of school in Valentas:

Basic School
Children begin school at age six at the first grade. Basic school is funded for free by the state--though many private schools exist--and comprises all the way to twelfth grade and is largely "basic" in name only. School lasts six days a week with Sunday the only free day in the week. Attendance is absolutely mandatory in all grades even if the student is a legal adult. The penalty for disobeying this law and dropping out is grim: if you consistently miss class without a reason you get one warning to go back to class and see things through. If you do not obey, you are jailed for five years. Unsurprisingly, the nation's graduation rate is very high.

Here all knowledge one needs to succeed in the world is taught: math, science, history, geography, literature, etc. English and Latin are learned early on with English being taught first. Also early on, children must learn a foreign language of their or their parents' choice.

It is when one graduates basic school that the IQ test is given to determine if the individual will be able to have a say in the matters of the state or be resigned to the status of "plebeian". Those who do not continue to college are released into the workforce.

College
If, when the IQ test is administered after basic school, one makes a score of 120 or better the state will cover tuition in college for free. If their score is 130 or above, the state will pay for living residences as well. Plebeians are allowed to enter college but are only admitted if there is enough space after the patricians, must pay their way themselves, and face discrimination from their patrician classmates--calling someone a "plebe" is the ultimate insult in college life.

College lasts for four years and covers specialized topics for each student which they are either interested in or wish to pursue for a future career. Along with the basic teaching, a sense of duty to country and responsibility to others is taught here--unfortunately often perverted by the political beliefs of those in charge of the college.

Graduate School
Once the student graduates college, he or she may enter the workforce or continue on to graduate school (often in the same campus he or she went to college in)). The state will only pay for tuition for those with an IQ of 130 or above and will not cover housing for any. Here the specialized training in a field continues and the time varies depending on the field. As before, priority goes to those who are paid for by the state and the patricians but the plebeians can get in if they pay.