Allied Cities

Allied Cities of North Catica
Flag
Recognised national languages	English, French, Mandarin, Latin, German
Government	Federal presidential constitutional republic
Establishment
• Treaty of Biaking	August 18, 1905
• Allied Cities Union Charter enacted	November 1, 1954
Area
•	9,240,000 km2 (3,570,000 sq mi)
• Water (%)	8%
Population
• 2020 estimate	19,133,100
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	NSD 137,000,000
Gini (2018)	46.7 high
HDI (2020)	0.820 very high
Currency	Allied Dollars
Date format	mm-dd-yyyy
Driving side	right

The Allied Cities of North Catica is an international mandate federation in Northern Catica, bordered by Shen to the east and south and Gladysynthia to the west. The Allied Cities was created in the aftermath of the Golden Flag Rebellion. The 1905 Treaty of Biaking between the Shen Empire and the Allied powers, or nations that had participated in putting down the rebellion, mandated that the decaying Shen Empire granted them legation cities and spheres of influence around those cities. Xianjiapo, Dugou, Jidu, Shizizhen, Gangkou, and Ziyou, became legation cities, granted on an lease of indefinite duration to the legation powers.

To better manage their new spheres of influence, the Allied Nations set up the Allied Council. Over the years the territory recognized the Allies' sphere of influence and slowly morphed into a nation, with the Council of Mayors electing a president to serve as head of state of the Allied cities. Although the council still exists and was expanded to include Shen, Xiomera, and local representation from the Allied cities itself, dysfunction has stripped the president and the Mayors Council of much of its power, leaving the authorities of individual legation cities as the predominant governing body.

In the modern day, the Allied Cities is composed of seven separate legation or mandate city-states, six of which come under the authority of foreign powers and one of which, Fanzui, is independent. Roughly 20 million people, largely of Shen origin but including various immigrant populations as well as the indigenous Hani tribal people, live within the Allied Cities. Because of its central location near the Strait of Xuanhou, the port cities of the Allied Cities are highly developed and have become a thriving mercantile economy.

The Legation Cities

Laeral - Xianjiapo

Arcadia Dazeber- Dugou

Shen- no Legation city

Ecclesiastical Dominion- Jidu

Legionas- Shizizhen

Xiomera- no Legation city

Zamastan- Gangkou

Libertas Omnium Maximus- Zìyou

Allied Cities - Fanzui

Although Shen and Xiomera do not control any of the seven mandates that make up the Allied Cities, they have been granted representation on the Allied Council since 1954.

History

Early Age

Located on the periphery of the area that would become the Shen, the area which is now the Allied Cities was largely inhabited by scattered groups of peoples largely subsisting on fishing and gathering. The Allied Cities were incorporated into the Shen Empire in the 8th century, during the conquests of the Chang Dynasty. The Allied Cities, then referred to as "Taidao", were a relatively peaceful portion of the empire, avoiding much of the chaos and upheaval over the following centuries. During the centuries-long decline of the Shen Empire, foreign traders began to call at port cities across Shen in search of access to Shen markets. Per imperial decree, merchants were forced to trade exclusively through the Taidao ports, notably Xianjiapo and Gangkou. By 1890, the cities of the region included thriving embassies and businesses of foreign nations such as Zamastan, Libertas Omnium Maximus, Legionas, and Laeral.

Golden Flag Rebellion

Depictions of Golden Flag rebels attacking foreigners, such as this 1904 depiction appearing in the Laeralian press, spurred calls for foreign intervention.

With the coming of foreign influence and ideologies threatening the entrenched structures of Shen society, Shen Emperor Liu Changpu released the Ivy Courtyard Declaration in 1903, declaring that reform to the structure of the empire's society would be impossible as long as heavy foreign influence remained around the country. This aggravated existing tensions between the Shen people and foreigners, and sparked the Golden Flag Rebellion. Ordinary Shen citizens, largely peasants allied with the conservative ruling class, united behind the symbol of a golden flag with the goals of removing foreign influences from society. On New Years' Eve of 1903, Golden Flag rebels stormed the foreign quarter in the port city of Biaking, taking thousands of prisoners and destroying all markers of foreign influence. Mobs of Golden Flag rebels emulated this in the port cities of Taidao, notably in Gangkou and Xianjiapo.

Demographics

Although specific racial demographics vary based on the city, the Allied Cities is predominantly (around 70%) ethnically Shen and around 15% members of the Hani tribal group, with the remainder made up of various other ethnic groups in the cosmopolitan cities of the nation. Exact census data is difficult to ascertain, but the most popular religion in the Allied Cities is likely the Minjian Faith, introduced by missionaries around the 16th century, while the Shen Imperial Cult is also practiced by many citizens of the Allied Cities. Christianity and other foreign religions also have penetrated further into society in the Allied Cities than in the rest of Shen, due to the long history of foreign influence in the region.

Culture

The Allied Cities is known for its blend of Shen and foreign culture, creating successful Mandarin-language media products exported into the Shen market. The nation's characteristic pop music, with Mandarin lyrics and foreign-style production values, is known as "Tai-pop" - a portmanteau of Taidao and pop.