The Piero Republic

Population:
approx. 12,800,000 citizens
42% rat, 28% squirrel, 23% rabbit, 11% gerbil, 6% other rodents (hamsters, chinchillas, etc.)

Territory:
approx. area - 850,000 square miles
predominately forests and mountains, very few grasslands and prairies

Society and Culture:
The Piero are classified as the most technologically advanced people on the planet and as such, they continually strive towards acquiring knowledge and researching new technologies. Through their ingenious use of chemistry, physics, mechanics and mathematics, the Piero have been on the forefront to the latest discoveries and inventions known to the world. Such discoveries include internal combustion engines, steam-powered vessels, electricity, metallic alloys, cartridge weapons and various mass production techniques. Very few of these discoveries have been shared with other nations though since the Piero are afraid of losing their technological superiority.

Men and women within the Republic are all classified as equals. This means neither gender has a specific role within Piero society. A common example of this is the wife going to work and the husband staying home and raising the children. The Piero's sense of fashion is very similar to that of the Landonians', however, the Piero have been known to wear their work gear along with their usual clothing. Typically it's equipment like goggles, heavy gloves or tool belts. Furthermore, Piero women tend to wear pants more often then dresses since they consider such garments to be more practical. The pursuit of knowledge is a motivating force behind many Piero so it's not uncommon for a citizen to attend the many universities and academies that dot the Republic. Families tend to be fairly small compared to other nations since most Piero women have about two or three children in their lifetime.

Piero society is very similar to Landonian society in the sense that there is a lower, middle and upper class. However, unlike Landonian society, it is possible for someone in the lower or middle class to rise up into the upper class. This is based on the fact that most Piero within the upper class acquired their vast fortunes through patents on their inventions.

Government:
The Piero practice a democratic system in which the citizenry elect their leaders. Mayors, governors and senators are elected directly by the people through ballot voting that takes place every three years. The prime minister (the official who leads the Republic) is elected by members of the Senate every four years. Mayors, governors and senators can serve a maximum of two terms (6 years) while the prime minister can serve a maximum of three terms (12 years). The Senate acts as the main legislative body for the Republic while the prime minister acts as the executive body. This means that the Senate creates would-be laws known as bills and that the prime minister either signs these bills into laws or he vetoes them; thus forcing the Senate to take the bills back and amend them.

The Senate can never remove the prime minister from office, unless he commits a crime. In turn, the prime minister can never dissolve the Senate under any circumstance.

The current leader of the Republic is Prime Minister Raphael Vinci and he is currently serving his third term. Vinci is an older gentleman that originally served as a senator before becoming the prime minister. So far, he's acted as a very effective leader but his many years of government service have made him very blunt, if not down right rude.

Religion:
The Republic doesn't have an official church since many Piero don't truly believe in a higher power. Instead, they believe in more scientific concepts like Evolution or the Big Bang. Those that do believe in a god, however, worship a deity called Demimesimo (de-meh-mee-see-mo). Demimesimo is usually portrayed as a white rat with scholarly robes and his dogma teaches that one should use logic and reason in order to overcome obstacles and that the acquisition of knowledge will lead to intellectual as well as spiritual enlightenment.

Brief History:
Ages ago in 1365 AD, Venicia (the kingdom of the rats) was attacked and eventually taken over by the Landonians. However, as the Landonians marched on Venicia, the Venician people decided to flee their kingdom in a mass exodus. Since they didn't have the strength to fight against the Landonians, they acquired as many ships as they could and set sail into the open ocean. After several months at sea, the Venician refugees eventually landed on a large island. They would call this island New Venicia and for the next 40 years, they would work on rebuilding their kingdom.

In 1407 AD, refugees from other kingdoms immigrated to New Venicia. These refugees were originally neighbors to the Venicians and much like the Venicians, they fled to escape Landonian rule. The refugees came from the lands of Romal (the kingdom of the rabbits), Arpegia (the kingdom of the gerbils) and Monteban (the kingdom of the squirrels). One year later, after the tens of thousands of refugees arrived; conflict occurred. The Venicians refused to let the refugees stay and create their own homelands, thus causing riots all over New Venicia. The Refugee Riots would last for the entire spring of 1408 AD and in the end, nearly 15,000 people were killed. When the rioting finally stopped, the various leaders of both the refugees and the Venicians made a compromise. They decided to share the island and in so doing, created a nation. After many discussions, the various leaders began writing documents that would create a new government, ensure the rights of their citizenry and form a unified front against their enemies. In 1410 AD, the Romali, the Montebani, the Arpegians and the Venicians renamed themselves the Piero (a word that roughly translates to "united") and thus, the Piero Republic was born. After the Republic was founded, the now unified Piero began to rely on science and technology to make themselves more powerful. In the process, the Piero became the most advanced civilization in the world and through constant research and development; they continue to be so today (1786 AD).