General Information
Galactic Empire - General Information
The Holy Galactic Empire (HGE; Chinese: Shénshèng yínhé dìguó (神圣银河帝国 ), Latin: Imperium Galacticum Sacrum (IRS)) is a union of planetary systems in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy under a Holy Galactic Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Ian I, crowned in 2247. The current Emperor is Henry, who ascended to the Imperial Throne in 2902.
The Empire's territorial extent has varied over its history, but at its peak it included regions now allied with the United Sovereigns, including the Kingdom of Hauara, the Kingdom of Marida-Lete, and the Rhesaenan March. For much of its history the Empire has consisted of hundreds of smaller sub-units including principalities, duchies, counties, Free Imperial Planets, as well as other domains.
Rimward from the Empire is a loose coalition of worlds known as the United Sovereigns; clockwise lies the Orion Confederacy, and counter-clockwise is the Mahana Confederation.
Basic Information
- Type of Government: Elective Monarchy, ruling some 533 systems and embracing a total population of 234 billion.
- Languages: English (official), Chinese, Primary.
- Money: The unit of exchange is the Imperial Credit. Most Imperial citizens carry no cash, all monetary transactions being taken care of electronically. On lower technology worlds where this is not possible, the Gold Sovereign is the medium of exchange.
- Identification: All Imperial citizens and citizens of Associated Planets and Colonies must carry their Imperial Identity Cards at all times and present it to local or Imperial authorities at once when requested to do so.
Additional Medical Supplements may be necessary when leaving certain low technology systems or worlds.
- Customs: Free trade is practiced among the Home Worlds. Associated Planets and Colonies may have their own custom or trade regulations.
History
Main article: History of the Galactic Empire
The Empire was founded 645 years ago by Admiral Ian Mackenzie, who successfully united the fleets of Cytheria, Lucifer, and Olympia at the Battle of ? Trianguli in 2247. Mackenzie spent the next 7 years consolidating the central part of the Orion Arm into a cohesive political entity, and proclaimed the Holy Galactic Empire on St. Andrews Day, 2254, with himself as the first monarch, Ian I.
Empress Royal Leonora died suddenly in 2890. The Empire was ruled by a three-member panel composed of Admiral of the Fleet Malcolm MacInnes, Duke Henry of Camplum, and John Halstead, Archbishop of Camplum until the rival claims to the throne can be evaluated. Eventually, Duke Henry was elected King of Canopus by the Imperial Electors, and he ascended to the Imperial throne on St. Andrew's Day, 2902.
Government
Main article: Government of the Galactic Empire
Although having great industrial and technological might, the Empire is unable to directly exert total control over all regions within its boundaries due to the vast distances and long travel times involved. To make the governance of the Empire possible, ten sectors have been created, each of which is governed by an appointed Proconsul|Proconsuls of Ducal rank.
The ten sectors are:
- Home Worlds Sector|Home Worlds (/Orbus Centralii/)
- Cambrian Sector|Cambria (/Cambrensis/)
- Lycian Sector|Lycia (/Lyciae/)
- Hibernian Sector|Hibernia (/Hibernensis/)
- Amazon Sector|Amazon (/Amazonus/)
- Cleopatran Sector|Cleopatra (/Cleopatrae/)
- New American Sector|New America (/Nova Americus/)
- Newtonian Sector|Newton (/Newtonii/)
- Beijing Sector|Beijing (/Pechini/
- Novya Petrograda Sector|New Petrograd (/Nova Petropolii/)
Proconsuls and other appointed officials wield extensive powers, and are empowered to govern the worlds in their sectors as they see fit. Provisions are made for raising and maintaining armed forces for local security, enforcement of local laws of personal conduct, and the regulation of interstellar commerce.
The supreme legislative authority within the Empire is the Imperial Parliament, which meets annually on the Imperial Home Planet of Cytheria. The Parliament is composed of the Houses of Lords and the Houses of Commons, which itself is composed of the Imperial Senate and Imperial Assembly|Assembly.
Within Parliament, the Assembly is usually reckoned as being the most powerful, as all money bills must originate there.
Within each sector, there is a Sector Congress, which is convened annually by the Proconsul. Sector Congresses have very specific powers that are delegated to them by the Imperial Parliament.
Local Government Structures
The Empire has a variety of governance structures and has split up the different worlds into categories depending upon the government found on that world. The categories of government are:
- Imperial Home World
- Associated Planet
- Crown Colony
- Colony
- Fief
- Interdicted World
Imperial Economics
Main article: Economy of the Galactic Empire
The Empire enjoys a diversified and thriving economy, with a large number of commercial enterprises competing in a marketplace, which, although nominally free, is bound by many Imperial rules, regulations and edicts, as well as the traditions of the many corporations themselves. Many corporations enjoy virtual monopolies on services and products, for while the Empire does promote a free market economy, the general feeling is that as long as quality goods are available at fair and reasonable prices it does not matter whether one or a dozen firms act as suppliers.
True to the semi-feudal nature of the Empire, many corporations are family controlled, and refer to themselves as Corporate Houses|Houses. Labor and trade unions call themselves Labor Guilds|Guilds and represent most types of workers throughout the Empire.
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