Mercantilist States
The Dominion of Mercantilist States, or simply Mercantilist States, is a confederation of independent democratic states united on the principles of free trade, defense, and expansion located on the Tallent Archipelago in the Southwestern hemisphere of Taijitu. A citizen from the Mercantilist States is known as a Mercantilian, or a Merchant.
Its capital is Decartes and the largest state is Jazzo. The President is Benjamin Lafayette and its national currency is the tallent.
Contents
Articles of Confederation
The Mercantilist Articles of Confederation is the governing document of the Mercantilist States. It establishes the capital as Decartes, Decartes and a governing body known as Congress. Each state is given one seat in Congress and determines how its representative is selected. In all cases it is the chief executive and/or head of state of the government.
Congress convenes at the beginning of each year and elects the President. The person who recieves the most votes becomes the President. It then reconvenes at the discretion of the members. The President serves as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and is vested with supreme executive authority. He can be removed from office by a 3/5 vote of Congress.
Congress is also responsible for electing the Supreme Court. It serves as the court of last resort for the states and dominions and is made up of 7 members, with at least one member from each state. The Court has the authority to review the actions and declare unconstitutional the actions of the President. How or what exactly would happen after this is unclear and has never happened in Mercantilist States history. The states, dominions, and the Mercantilist States Federal Government use a common law legal system.
Additionally, Congress is responsible for admitting new states to the Mercantilist States and granting territories Dominion status. A 4/5 vote of Congress is required for a new state to join, and a 3/5 vote is required to grant Dominion status.
It is often referred to colloquially as BOGSAT (bunch of guys sitting around a table) because of its small size and boardroom-like meeting place. Its discussions are often also shrouded in an air of secrecy, and members often meet informally and without aides.
Following the nuclear disaster on 9/18, Congress saw the need to take more of a proactive role in national security and amended the Articles that a representative from Department of Defense has a seat in Congress. The DoD representative must be a commissioned military officer and is elected by all current and former (honorable) members of Mercantilist Defense Force. The Governor of Decartes still technically has a seat in Congress, but a new Governor has not been elected since the island of Decartes became uninhabitable.
The 9/18 nuclear device was tracked back to the Republic of Bayan, a terrorist state. The invasion took only weeks before the capital city was secured. It was then immediately granted Dominion status and a Governor was appointed by Congress.
Congress
Congress is made up of 5 members from each of the Mercantilist States:
- Prime Minister of Jazzo, William "Chip" Jackson VI
- Ambassador from Newsouth, Michael Book
- President of Wikitree, Manuel Concepcion
- Governor of Decartes, Unoccupied
- Governor of Tenokee, Robert Adams
- DoD Official, Capt. Henry McCain
- Cartesia Observer, Willard Clayton
Executive Branch
The Executive Branch, in addition to the President, is made up of the Department of State, Department of Defense, Department of Commerce, and then a number of lesser departments. The Ambassador from the Mercantilist States serves as the head of the Department of State and is appointed by the President. He outranks everyone except the President. Additionally, he often serves as the President's right hand man and speaks for the Mercantilist States in international negotiations.
The Department of Defense is the branch of government with control over the Merchant Defense Force and is based in Pentagon City, Jazzo. It is the location of the offices of the Secretary of Defense, Admiral of the Navy, and General of the Army; who together make up the core of the President's War Staff.
The Department of Commerce is the branch of government responsible for regulating banks and financial institutions including the Decartes Stock Exchange (DSE), managing government finances and collecting taxes, inspecting cargo at Mercantilian ports, regulating agriculture, and federal law enforcement. It is led by the Secretary of Commerce with the Deputy Secretary and Attorney-General of Commerce under him, and a number of Undersecretaries below them. The Department of Commerce also administers the sale of islands on the Tallent Archipelago.
Military
The military, commonly known as the Merchant Defense Force, is made up of the Mercantilist Navy (MSN), Mercantilist Army (MSA), Mercantilist Air Force (MSAF), and Mercantilist Subcorps (MSC). All military bases are shared by the four divisons.
The Mercantilist States is notable for its compulsory military service, with all male citizens over the age of 16 lifetime members of the Merchant Reserve and required to serve at least two years of military service. Military training is institutionalized as part of the education curriculum with all males required to report for one year of military training between their sophomore and senior year of highschool, and then serve their two years of service before the age of 35.
The Navy is the backbone of the MDF with Essex class aircraft carriers and Nimitz supercarriers . It also includes a number of Merc class Destroyers, Duke class frigates, and Maritime class auxiliary ships, anchored by Jazzo class battleships.
Mercantilist Army
The Mercantilist Army is by far the smallest divison of the MDF, and is made up entirely of personnel. However, the Army is also responsible for training the conscripts. Thus the Army represents the greatest number of the military personnel in the MDF, but only accounts for roughly 10% of the military budget. The Mercantilist Corps of Engineers and Mercantilist Marine Corps is also under the command of the Army.
Mercantilist Air Force
The Mercantilist Air Force is the largest division of the military, accounting for roughly 36% of the defense budget. The MSAF is under the command of the Admiral of the Navy and all its actions are coordinated with the Navy. Thus, Air Wings are based out military bases and aircraft carriers. The primary aircraft of the MSAF is the M-16 Spider, a lightweight, medium range, multi-role fighter jet, the F-4 Phantom II, and the F-35 JSF. It is supplemented by the MH-44 Terrapin class attack and transport helicopter and the B-17 Flying Fortress.
Recent purchases have expanded the MSAF to begin production of the RQ-4A Global Hawk.
Mercantilist Subcorps
The Mercantilist Subcorps is the underwater defender and first line of defense of the Mercantilist States. It is comprised primarily of Mercwolf class submarines, but also includes a number of Ohio, and Los Angeles class submarines. It also includes one seaQuest DSV.
States
Each state is essentially an independent actor complete with its own laws; however the Mercantilist States Supreme Court serves as the court of last resort. Each has its own National Gaurd fleet under the command of the chief executive of its state.
Decartes
Decartes is the capital state of the Mercantilist States. Its capital city is Decartes which also serves as the capital city of the Mercantilist States. It is the location of the Decartes Stock Exchange (DSE) and the location of the President's residence, the Cerulean House. It is also the home of the flagship university of the nation, the University of Old Mercantilism. Its national animal is the monkey.
Its government is made up of a popularly elected Governor and a unicameral legislature elected on a national party-list system.
Newsouth
Founded by settlers from South Nashville, its capital city is Newsouth. Consequently, its Constitution features a bicameral legislature with a popularly elected Ambassador, who serves as the representative in Congress, and a popularly elected Governor, who serves as the chief executive. Its national animal is the mockingbird.
Jazzo
Jazzo is the largest state in the Mercantilist States. Its capital is Jazzville and its national animal is the brown recluse. Its government is a unicameral legislature with a Prime Minister serving as the chief executive and elected by the Jazzan Parlaiment. Its representatives are elected from single member districts.
Wikitree
Wikitree is notable as the only state not to have a federal military base and to not enforce compulsory military service for its citizens. Its islands are known for rich diamond fields which supply all the diamonds in the Mercantilist States. Its capital city is Wikipedia and its national animal is the wikoctopus.
Its government has a bicameral legislature with the lower house elected from single member districts and the upper house made up of representatives from the largest corporations in the state. The lower house elects the President who serves as the chief executive.
Tenokee
Tenokee was the fifth state to join the Mercantilist States. Called a "Mercantilian birthright" by President Washington, it was settled primarily by Newsoutherners and Jazzans. Its Constitution and form of government is very similar to Jazzo's with the exception that the Governor is popularly elected. It was given a fast track to statehood by Congress following the ratification of its Constitution and election of its Governor.
Major Corporations
Easteros Merchant Co.
The Easteros Merchant Co. is the largest corporation in the Mercantilist States complete with its own private army and police force. Headquartered in Jazzville, Jazzo, it was created by the Easteros Merchant Act to represent Merchant interests on the Easteros continent. In accordance with the Mercantilist Companies Act, it was created as a public-private partnership with the Mercantilist States Federal Government as the majority share holder to gradually reduce its stake as the company found investors. As the government’s stake in the company decreased, its scope expanded to acquiring controlling interests and investing in companies primarily in the Mercantilist States and its Dominions. The Mercantilist States Federal Government still holds about a 20% stake in the company.
Mercantilist West O Company
The Mercantilist West O Company is the second largest corporation in the Mercantilist States headquartered in Decartes, Decartes. Similar to the Easteros Merchant Co., it was created to represent Merchant interests on the O continent, primarily in the Ginto territories. However, like with the Easteros Merchant Co., as the government’s stake decreased, it too expanded its business model to a multinational holdings company that now makes up the majority of its business. Today, the Mercantilist States Federal Government holds about a 25% stake in the company.
Mercantilist Brewing Co.
The Mercantilist Brewing Co. is an alcohol and tobacco producer with a worldwide distribution network headquartered in Decartes, Decartes. All of its alcohols and their ingredients are guaranteed to be from the Mercantilist States. It also has two tobacco lines; ‘Mercantilist Tobacco’, tobacco grown in the Mercantilist States, and ‘Dominion Tobacco’, tobacco grown in other nations and Mercantilist Dominions, and owns a number of tobacco farms across Taijitu. Its alcohol is known to be found in the taverns across the unclaimed lands. Its Board of Directors includes a number of current and former politicians from the Mercantilist States.
Other Corporations
The Northrup-Mercantile Company is the major arms manufacturer in the Mercantilist States. It does 80% of its business with the Mercantilist States Department of Defense. It is responsible for the development and production of the bulk of the Merchant Defense Force military equipment.
The DeWi Diamond Trading Company is the exclusive supplier of diamonds in the Mercantilist States. All of its assets are located in Wikitree.
