Akiteiwa

Akiteiwa, officially known as the Imperial and People's State of Akiteiwa is a Unitary Constitutional Monarchy located in the Akitei Peninsula in Eastern Kesh. It controls an area of 799,675 square km, divided over 116 Prefectures and 1 Special Administrative Zone, with a collective population of over 113 million people.

The Constitution of the modern state of Akiteiwa was created in the 19th century amid economic and political modernisation. The turmoil of which caused much social upheaval, with the state evolving from a Feudal monarchy into an Absolute Monarchy and then into a Constitutional Monarchy in the space of 40 years.

In the decades following, Akiteiwa has endeavoured to integrate itself more into the international community, becoming an important source of agricultural goods and steel for export.

Prehistory
According to evidence from Akitei archaeologists and historians, the peninsula that encompasses the borders of modern Akiteiwa have been inhabited for around 30,000 years, the earliest migrants coming from the south, near modern day Kodeshia. Until the development of agriculture, these people lived in nomadic band societies, hunting and gathering as they moved. On the coasts, fishing formed a large part of the caloric intake and larger semi-sedentary settlements arose as a result of the reliable food security. Population saw a stark increase in approximately 9000 BCE, with the domestication of rice in the PROPER NOUN River Valley in modern day Guurdalai. With the primary method of food production moving away from hunting and gathering, society became more specialised, leading to the formation of complex social structures and the earliest states.

Early States
It is believed the precursors to the modern Akitweiwan state arose approximately around 2500 BCE, coinciding with the the diffusion of Bronze technology from Kodeshia. These states arose from small cabals of warriors clad in Bronze consolidating their control over fertile rice farming territory, forming dozens of "Rice Kingdoms" around the river valley. In time, these rice kingdoms came into conflict with each other over resources and prestige. Records for this period are scarce, but academic consensus points to PROPER NOUN kingdom being the first incarnation of both Akitweia and Guurdalai, with the Imperial Family drawing direct lineage from its first ruler PROPER NOUN. By 900BCE, this Empire controlled much of the river valley and surrounding area, becoming prosperous on trading tin to Kodeshia and taxing the trade of goods across the bay of PROPER NOUN

The Early Empire 1100-900BCE
The early history of the Empire is one marked by conflict and war. Sparked by a militant and expansionist government, the Empire embarked on a series of conquests around the river valley, deposing the nearby kings and instituting a centralised system of provincial governance. These conflicts drew ire from a greater and greater number of nearby kingdoms, causing them to band together in alliance. These increasingly difficult wars required increasingly larger numbers of professional, aristocratic soldiery. These soldiers would be raised from the lower ranks of the soldiery of the conquered peoples and would in turn, demand payment for partaking in the Empire's wars. This led to an increasingly robust political-military-bureaucratic complex in which the tax collecting bureaucracy needed to be expanded to new land in order to raise the necessary funds required to fuel the increasingly large military needed to exert control over these lands. Eventually, the Empire would conquer most of its neighbouring Kingdoms, leaving it with an oversized and underpaid military.

The First Imperial Civil War
With the spoils of war drying up as the rich rice kingdoms fell increasingly under Imperial dominion, the colossal military which had been the driving force of the conquest had found itself underpaid and marginalised by the new bureaucratic elite. This new bureaucratic class had found itself at the centre of Imperial political influence after monopolising the rights to collect taxes from the newly conquered territory. More often than not, this revenue would be collected by a member of this new bureaucratic class, who would act as the provincial governor. This marginalisation of the military caused some discontent within the aristocratic class of warriors. Petitioning straight to the Emperor, the military sought to wrest some political concessions from this bureaucratic class. In response, the Emperor dismissed these concerns, stating that his rule is law and that they will serve in his armies for whatever he gives them. Understandably, much of the military revolted, seeking to take land from the Empire for themselves, believing that this land was rightfully owed to them. Had they acted in unison, they could very much have forced the Empire to come to terms, however many of them defected to the Empire either out of loyalty to the Emperor or the fact that they were paid a handsome sum. In either case, the Imperial military destroyed the rebel army in open battle, ending the crisis. In the following years, the military had found itself properly subordinated to the Imperial government, having lost much of its number in the war. Still an aristocratic class, the warriors would spend their time quelling unrest and defending the Empire from raiders beyond its borders.

Geography
Akiteiwa is a peninsula in the far east of Kesh. It's relatively flat, with forests and developed rice farmland dominating much of the landscape.

Monarchy
The Akitei Imperial Family can claims its lineage back to the Empire that spawned from the river basin on the borders of modern Akiteiwa and Guurdalai. More specifically it can trace patrilineal descent from Emperor XXXX after the Great Cleaving in the Xth century, following the Gurkhun conquest of most of the Empire. For centuries, Imperial authority was paramount in Akitei politics, with minor interruptions during the Regent Century and the Great Interregnum. In more modern times, the Imperial family has devolved power to the Imperial Diet, where it still holds considerable legal influence, if significantly less than when they reigned as absolute monarchs.

Parliament
The Imperial Diet is the foremost legislative body in Akiteiwa. The Diet is Bicameral in nature, split between the Canopy of Swords and the Common Bough. The Canopy of Swords is analogous to an Upper House, with its members largely elected from and by the peerage. The Common Bough is analogous to a Lower House, though the power of the purse is vested in the Canopy, unlike other legislatures. Each House is empowered to elect specific members of the Cabinet; for example the Canopy holds the sole right to appoint the Ministers for Defence and Foreign Affairs, while the Bough holds the power to elect the Ministers for Health, Education and Agriculture. Each Ministerial position and its powers are enshrined within the constitution and any bill to create new cabinet positions must pass with a majority in both Houses.

Agriculture
The Akiteiwan economy can be described as one somewhere between a Developing country and a Newly Industrialised country. Much of the wealth and industry is concentrated in the hands of old aristocratic houses. This is cause for much wealth disparity as these conglomerates have strong ties to the government, who in turn grant them favourable legal concessions in exchange for economic support.

Despite attempts at industrialising, much of the economy is still based in agriculture. The growing of rice, cotton and soybeans dominates much of the arable land, with millet and wheat occupying secondary roles in agriculture. While much of the output is for domestic consumption, most agriculture is geared towards export markets.

Mining and Industry
Akiteiwa is blessed with a considerable mineral wealth in the form of large deposits of iron ore and anthracite coal. These natural resources are the key to Akiteiwa's industrial sector. With mining firms being vertically integrated into heavy industry conglomerates and a low cost of labour, Akiteiwan industry has a solid foundation to stand upon. Akitei Industry is geared to outputting the machines to improve mineral and agricultural production while also arming the country for total war. Despite their best attempts, industrial growth is limited, bottlenecked by access to the money required to import the necessary skill and machinery. The government has taken to increasing taxes upon agricultural conglomerates in order to find the necessary funding, leading to tension among industrialists and agriculturalists in politics.

Services Sector
With the government pressing for the populace to mobilise for total war, the service sector has suffered significantly. Where restaurants, shopping centres and a fledgling media scene used to be, there is now people working in factories and the fields to serve the nation. There is rising discontent among much of the remaining middle class, who seek for the government to reverse its policy on potential war and ease up the national focus on wartime goods production. The only remaining vestiges of the tertiary sector are in education and healthcare, with the government clinging to the need for an educated and healthy populace as the large conglomerates seek to divert funding from the health and education budgets into their own coffers.