Republic of Iustitia

Republic of Iustitia
1798–1837
Flag
Motto Under His Watch, the Seas are Bountiful
Capital		Iustitia City
Capital-in-exile		Atlas, Colony of Iustitia
Languages		English
Religion		Protestant
Demonym		Iustitian
Government		Unitary oligarchic republic
High Councilor
•	1798-1800	Ross Ashley (in exile)
•	1800-1802	Donald Walton (in exile)
•	1802-1807	Henry Briggs
•	1836-1837	Solomon Clarke
History
•	Established	1798
•	Independence from Valahandia	1802
•	Disestablished	1837
Population
•	1824 est.	2,300,000
Currency		Iustitian Dollar
Today part of		Libertas Omnium Maximus

The Republic of Iustitia, also known as the Provisional Iustitian Government, was a short-lived thalassocratic republic in south-east Hesperida and precursor state to modern Libertas Omnium Maximus. Having split from Valahandia, the nation was formed in 1798, though its legitimacy was disputed until 1802, when the Iustitian War of Independence concluded. The nation was ruled by a non-elected body, originally comprised of leaders from the war, elites, and merchant guildsmen. This particular setup proved to be extremely ineffective, quickly resulting in rampant corruption and abuses of authority. In 1837, the Provisional Iustitian Government was overthrown and abolished, being replaced by Libertas Omnium Maximus in 1840.

History

The Republic of Iustitia was first conceived of by the Ashley Committee, a congregation of guildsmen, merchant leaders, and lesser nobility led by magistrate Ross Ashley, seeking to sever ties with Valahandia in 1798. As the Iustitia Colony descended into rebellion later that year, the Committee attempted to unify the independence war effort and pay to train and arm troops, often drawing on their own wealth to do so. The Committee proved ineffective and was replaced by a successor commission, the Walton Committee, led by Donald Walton in 1800. Although the Walton Committee, based in Atlas, a small town on the then Iustitian frontier (now thirty miles northwest of Litudinem) was more successful in securing funding, withdrawing substantial loans from colonial adversaries of Valahandia, internal conflict over the nature of an independent Iustitian government led to the ousting of Ashley and Walton from meaningful power towards the end of the war. In 1802, colonial irregulars successfully besieged and captured Iustitia City, leading to the Valahandian recognition of the Republic of Iustitia as a sovereign state, then led by merchant tycoon Henry Briggs.

Although a mix of pragmatic business incentives and enlightenment ideas motivated the initial rebellion, Briggs guided the nascent state away from liberal republican values, establishing a semi-autocratic governing body to lead the nation. Membership to this board, though determined by a public vote, was extended only to established landowners and former Valandian noblemen. Voting rights, too, were extremely restricted. Ashley, an opponent of the Briggs regime, was given a lifetime appointment as foreign minister plenipotentiary in order to limit his influence domestically; Ashley died just a few years later, in 1809. Although Briggs and his successor, Horace Goodwin, as de facto leaders of the Republic, did work diligently to stabilize the nation's economy, they were unable to quash growing resentment among the disenfranchised. Dissent began to grow for the Republic's leadership, particularly in growing urban areas outside of the capital, Iustitia City.

In 1837, a popular uprising toppled the existing provisional republican government, replacing it with the Maximusian Republic in late 1840.