The Commonwealth (CivClassic 2.0)

The Commonwealth (CW) is a family of city states in the central southwest, spanning a large network of islands, with several former Civcraft nations established among them, and many smaller settlements scattering the countryside. The Commonwealth was established in 2.0 by Sashimii. Peter5930 is king, and PergySkeel is the current Prime Minister. The Commonwealth provides free transportation throughout the world via Union Station in Westminster, promoting trade through Shopside, the subterranean marketplace surrounding the station. Leadership, architectural style, political ideology and economic specialization are unique to each settlement. The Commonwealth is a member of SATO.

Kings
The Commonwealth has been a monarchy since its original founding. Sashimii, founder and king of the first age, experimented with various methods of power distribution in 2.0 - including the declaration of lords, the assembly of MPs into parties and the appointment of judges - upon which were modeled the more simplified modern Parliamentary council of Westminster. Succession of the crown is decided by way of selection by the host.

The legislature consists of each borough's representative along with high ranking and prominent citizens of the Commonwealth that specialize in various activities. These form a national council to advise the King on different matters and to make decisions on national policy in his absence. Each borough retains local administrative independence while referring international matters to the King and Legislature.

The Doctrine of the Eternal King
On the 9th of August, 2021, reffelruz, council representative of Fort Victoria, nailed a book titled "the DOTEK" to the door of Westminster Parliament. The document was a political diagnosis of the status of the crown in lieu of King Peter's long absence. reffelruz argues that the model of kingship upon which the nation operates has become a theological one - that is, Peter manifested God in this world, and therefore the governmental system has not merely become a mundane parliament, but that it has divided into a mundane parliament on earth and a cosmic kingship in heaven, upon which the earthly parliament must model itself. reffelruz asserts that all evidence of this rests in the story of Peter's Civcraft life, which he is attempting to disseminate through sermons, essays and plays. The council members personally knew the king in his time on Civ 2.0 and CivClassic, and so, according to the document, must simultaneously act as his apostles and judges to the nation.

This model of kingship places the origin of authority and law in the heavens. Peter is absent, yet is he king. The monarchy is selective, meaning the crown will remain in heaven until the return of the king. The solution, according to reffelruz, is to represent the king with the use of his story, and draw on the story as moral precedent; by modeling a national religion based on the story of the eternal king, a model for law is provided, as well as a model for the individual citizen; additionally, with each evocation of the king, his potential return is prompted; should he choose to remain king upon his return, he would assume the role like that of a Roman God-Emperor; should he instead choose to crown another, than he acts the role of the deity in heaven, declaring and anointing the new king with full divine right, legitimizing the crown in his passing; should he remain in heaven, then law too will remain in heaven, and the nation would continue to operate under the spirit of the King.

Prime Ministers
Following the departure of Peter5930 in late summer 2018, responsibility for rule became divided among the Parliamentary council. Initially it was established to help facilitate the governmental process, and the legislature would elect a Prime Minister, in the case of the absence of a king. Eventually, as the king is less focused on affairs nowadays, the Prime Minister is now the head of state.

In its current iteration, there have been five Prime Ministers: The Commonwealth guarantees economic freedom and self ownership for individuals and boroughs within its borders, while directing voluntary funding from across the nation for large cultural and infrastructural projects, leaving local administrative action such as building regulations to each borough's discretion.

The Commonwealth prioritizes the following policies: The Commonwealth is a member of SATO, an organization of countries within the southwest quadrant to further promote trade and security throughout the rest of the server.
 * Free markets, to encourage the individual citizen's industriousness
 * Internal security infrastructure in the capital city (walls, gated roads, moats, canals, maze-like city layouts, tunnels, etc.)
 * Free trade between boroughs, facilitated by a public interborough rail system and Shopside, the nation's most secure marketplace
 * Pro-immigration, providing a welcoming path for newcomers to become citizens through involvement in public projects and the acquisition of property

Geography
The Commonwealth was founded on a diverse cluster of biomes. The first town was built around the earliest established farms: cocao, melon and wheat farms planted next to a jungle by Peter5930 and Tabbynya. This became the capital city of the nation. Other settlements began to pop up on surrounding islands, each establishing its own hierarchy and style of architecture to match the unique landscape on which it was founded.

Westminster
Westminster is the capital of the Commonwealth. It was the first borough within the Commonwealth, initially housing a "circus tent"-like factory building and a large mansion on the north coast, until it was demolished by mike0war. Today the city is filled with buildings and parks, with roadway expansions planned to the south. It currently holds Union Station and Shopside, a very active market and rail station. The entire Westminster underground was redesigned in March 2018 by specificlanguage. Westminster is notorious for its canals, separating the west and east halves of the city. Proponents of the canal go so far to prohibit bridges from being built across the canal, while others dislike the canals as it makes it hard to navigate around the city. Initially built for defense, Westminster's canals are mostly for aesthetic purposes, though development continues to make them more suitable for transportation purposes as the city continues to sprawl. The Jungle in Westminster is property of the king and a conservation area. It is the sole jungle biome of the quadrant and has been protected to prevent excessive tree farming and poaching of cats and parrots. The cocoa and vine farms present in the ravine below the jungle floor are open to the public courtesy of King Peter.

South Westminster was the site of the Second Olympics in January 2019. Prism Arena held pvp battles, boat games and the infamous "Thunderdome" event, while Capture the Flag was held in the city streets.

After the war was completed in April 2018, King Peter gave the land of his massive city farm to the government for use in constructing Victoria, a storied national citadel composed of ornate carved stone walls and a surrounding trench. Development of Victoria continues. One can access it by becoming a citizen of the Commonwealth and enter through a protected rail within Union Station.

Meditat
Meditat is a city in the Harakur desert located northwest of Westminster, built around a large oasis. It joined the Commonwealth in July 2017. Housing a pyramid, ziggurat, hippodrome and a very large village, the borough is run by mike0war and Lodish and is a centre for building desert structures. It was also a host for the parkour, thimble and horse arenas during the Second Olympics. Meditat is home to the Medic religion, emerging during the Somber War when founder reffelruz arrived in Meditat by rail as a refugee following the bombing of Westminster, and got a job as a construction worker. There, beneath the scorching sun of the Harakur Desert, he began to experience visions of god. reffelruz is hard at work writing down the revelations of the medic faith, and offers tours of the temple to travelers in the city.

In addition to being a city for scholars and builders, Meditat also contributes its own experience farms to be exported, and helps those in need. A settlement known as the Ashguard Basin later appeared west of the city. Built by one person, and is a dense village with a neigbouring palace and pyramid. A rail runs between the two cities.

Arran
Arran is located directly west of the Commonwealth. Arran has had a previous history on Civcraft 2.0 and brinton brought Arran to the Commonwealth on a snowy island west of Westminster. Although many people know it as an industrial area mainly focused on XP production, Arran houses a large train station, a huge Spleef and Archery arena that is free for people to use, the Bridgeway Social Club, and the Arran Theatre, the only public theatre in the Commonwealth. Arran possesses an extensive rail network, forming a regional hub connecting the capital city and neighbouring Southshire to the westward settlements.

An extension of Arran, the Plantation, was made on an island east of Arran and west of Westminster. Founded by DarkyDu, it is occasionally active and houses smaller farms. A local rail from Arran has been established to Plantation.

Taliesin
Taliesin is one of the few boroughs created east of Westminster. Initially founded by former Prime Minister and current admin LordOfMarzipan, as well as jayms, it was intended to be a large megabuild of a city with large canals and an equally large train station located in the middle of the city. It hosts the snowy mountains directly south of the city and a large pumpkin farm. Taliesin is currently under the leadership of Pergyskeel, who is leading and funding development of the borough, providing a large source of jobs to the country.

Albion
Main article: Albion

Albion is a large town spanning the northern peninsula of the central plain, forming a bridge between the cities of Westminster and Mount Augusta. Having made ties to the Commonwealth during the Somber War, they joined the nation following the war's end. Albion is host to many large builds, including an airstrip, a large docking bay with a cruise ship off the coast, and a big blue sheep.

Hexcorp
Hexcorp is located in a mesa far northwest of Westminster. The corporation, headed by Mokuno and SerQ, headed the Hexagon in Fellowship during Civcraft 2.0. In CivClassic, Hexcorp joined the Commonwealth shortly after building a rail to the capital. The settlement is primarily geared towards XP production. Its current caretaker, NobleArchitect, also helms the West CW Corp and its lands close by. Hexcorp was the location of the Commonwealth vault known as the Ironbank Vault but it is no longer in use.

Nymph
After Kraken dissolved early within the iteration, its founders relocated to a beach in the far west of the map and began to colonize. Soon after, they dug out a rail to then-borough Southshire and were offered admission into the Commonwealth as a borough. Nymph served as the start and finish line for the Marathon in the second Olympics. Housing a large beach, Nymph was the spiritual successor to Kraken and is well-liked throughout the rest of the Commonwealth.

Nymph left the Commonwealth as an independent nation, in February 2018. It departed at the same time as Southshire, citing fatigue and inactivity from the Somber War. It reclaimed its old territories from Kraken from this move. Upon rejoining the Commonwealth in July, both Nymph and Kraken became territories of the Commonwealth.

Strassburg
Strassburg (stylized Straßburg) was one of the first boroughs to join the Commonwealth. It consists of the Mesa and Snow Mountains located northeast of Westminster, as well as the plains in the far south.

It was initially made by fadedsoul, who built a small village and still incomplete cathedral in a valley. After difficulties with joining, the king, Cowguypig, began work on his grand mansion in another valley close by. However, after fadedsoul became inactive, no regulation was made and because snow biomes were one of the best biomes to harvest pumpkins in, many pumpkin farms were made to ramp up XP production. When fadedsoul returned, he attempted to combat this, attempting to pass a bill through the legislature to ban pumpkin farms without explicit permission. The measure failed, and the farms currently remain. Work on a new city has halted, although the arches still remain.

In the plains, various cities have come and gone. At first, the plains were notorious for skyfarms, and have been banned ever since. All farms are now made on the surface, and with the construction of the Great Overland Railway, cities have cropped up in and around the plains. The town of Mana, being built by Falvyu, is currently being made in the north of the plains. A new, small city made by Sashimii, a former CW monarch from 2.0, was made on an island formerly used for Charlameme. It was intended to be a home for newfriends who were enthusiastic about city planning, commonly known as YIMBYs, hence the name Yimbyville. It was the first home of AllenY, the current Mount Augusta mayor.

Transportation
The Commonwealth has one of the densest rail networks on the server, served by its main hub in Westminster and other stations within the area.

One of the Commonwealth's main goals was to provide free trade and transportation across the map; to fulfill this goal, a large rail station would be built beneath the capital city. The earliest rail lines connected the boroughs to the capital as they were founded. Westminster became a major hub when the HITS rail was beginning its construction in June 2017, connecting Westminster to other major cities in the Western Hemisphere, notably TdC, Mount Augusta, Impasse and Falstadt. Other connections at the time included SPQR and Southshire.

Surrounding the station is Shopside, the nation's premier marketplace. An expansion in early 2018 has established Westminster as the central train station of the western hemisphere, with connections throughout the map and a large multinational market. New rail connections are under construction, notably the Great Overland Railway and the Entranan Transcontinental Express connecting the Commonwealth to additional locations throughout the world.

The Early Days
The Commonwealth is one of the more historic nations on the server, with some of its players veterans of the original Commonwealth in Civcraft 2.0. Although many others have returned from previous Commonwealth-associated iterations in CivTemp, and Civcraft 3.0, this iteration of the Commonwealth began on the onset of Civilization Experiment 3.

On 14 May 2017, Cowguypig made a post on the subreddit calling for all players to join the Commonwealth in CivEx 3.0, where the remnants of Concordia and the Commonwealth united once more under the old flag to rebuild the nation which had pioneered security tactics and dominated commerce in the days of old. The result was a smaller town than former iterations, which did not attain comparable political leverage or influence. CivEx 3.0 quickly died, and with the launch of CivClassic on June 2nd 2017, the Commonwealth swiftly migrated to the new world.

Cowguypig reigned as King in the first days, leaving development of the capital in the hands of then prime minister and former king, Sashimii. Plans for the road network and canals were drawn, and the rest would be left to the citizens to decide for themselves. Development was swift, but chaotic - players did what they wanted, took on the projects they wanted, reinforced on the groups they wanted, and top-down administration was nearly non-existent. From this wellspring of untamed construction was born the city of Westminster. Strassburg would be founded soon thereafter on a nearby mountain by fadedsoul, becoming the first borough of the Commonwealth.

Westminster quickly became infamous for its extra security measures, including narrow winding streets gated regularly by iron doors, its canals, referred to before completion as trenches, and the first council's decision to stop people from making bridges across these trenches in favor of underground tunnels. Many regarded it as an urban maze, and many still do today, despite efforts to make it more traversable.

After a rocky start, Shopside opened to the public, and the city became a central rail hub for much of the Southwest. As more expansions for shops occurred in the area surrounding the station, more people made a stop in Westminster to trade.

Soon after the move, many different settlements appeared near the capital and became boroughs of the Commonwealth. One such settlement was Southshire, founded by Orinnari and StrPlatinum on 25 June 2017, roughly 800 blocks away on a peninsula in the south.

Meditat was settled by ZeeTip and mike0war on a desert far to the northwest of Westminster 5 July 2017 - a dense city surrounding a remote oasis in the Harakur desert, neighboured by a complex of various factories and xp farms. The desert city is home to a number of temples, and a new religion emerging from the translation of recently discovered carvings by local scribes, on tablets of clay excavated from the ruins of an ancient structure, buried deep beneath the sand by the oasis.

On 6 July 2017, a rail line was connected to Hexcorp and became a borough soon thereafter.

Prelude to the Somber War
As the capital grew in size, so did raids in frequency; the city dwellers, largely untrained in combat, retreated to their homes at the sound of the armoured raiders' approach. Attacks on citizens were common and frequent, prompting Sintralin, queen of Lexington, to request occupation of the city by her armed forces to aid in their eradication. This was at the dawn of Brinton's reign as king.

Though the presence of Lexington troops had quelled raider activity in Westminster, their occupation, coupled with the lack of administration over land development, brought with it new problems: when restless Lexington soldiers with few targets to engage began harassing citizens in the streets, tensions between the nations began to arise. On 21 July 2017, six Lexington citizens alt-raided Westminster. It was the first major attack on the server, leaving the town in flames. The altraids continued for many days thereafter. Short sentences were given to captured raiders.

On 13 August, sintralin pearled Bewsiej, one of the alt-raiders, and handed his pearl to the Commonwealth, but mistakes in coal allocation allowed him to be released early. On the 22nd of August, he escaped and was granted asylum in the Lexington bunker. This resulted in Commonwealth officials removing the bunker.

In late August, tensions rose in Westminster when ZeroRussia, CarrieUnderwear, and GeneralWindu raided ThePayman's and Ez2Crew's factory building. Arbitration was offered, but Payman and Ez2Crew eventually left the Commonwealth to join Lexington.

At the September elections in Southshire, Saren_Solaris became an elected official in Southshire, and it eventually became one of the most active cities on the server. It had more orderly canals than Westminster, and a stronger focus on building and aesthetics, eschewing the cumbersome security infrastructure found in the capital. However, during mid-September, Sintralin contacted the Chancellor of Southshire, StrPlatinum, to offer Southshire secession to Lexington. It was nearly accepted, but prevented last-minute through negotiations made by former Commonwealth Minister Sashiimi.

On 21 September 2017, Westminster was attacked by Bewsiej, XyngSnow and Posedion. Peter5930 was pearled but eventually got out at the cost of a beacon.

On 24 September 2017, the Battle of the Boeing 911 took place above the cityscape of Westminster. It was the only time the Boeing 911 was used for fighting purposes, along with Lexington alts fighting to take it.

On 26 September 2017, Brinton seized the throne from Cowguypig and took a more aggressive position on the upcoming war with Lexington.

On 27 September 2017, it was discovered that Saren_Solaris had been in communication with poortea in an attempt to cause Southshire's secession from the Commonwealth and start a war. Following this, Saren was promptly pearled by Westminster officials.

On 4 October 2017, Peter5930 discovers an illegal iron farm and reports it to the admins. Lexington repaid the iron but were compensated with 120 compacted stacks of obsidian.

On 8 October 2017, as tensions continued to grow, Sintralin messages StrPlatinum threatening to treat Southshire the same way as Westminster if they don't declare neutrality in the war.

The following day, Sintralin and Lexington declare war on the Commonwealth, using the breaking of Lexington's bunker in Westminster as a casus belli.

During The Somber War
Less than a day after the declaration of war, Lexington used the obsidian given to them by the admins to enact a grand assault on Westminster by obby bombing much of the city. The city became near-dysfunctional, however, when admins found out, they removed most of the obsidian from the city, refunded their 120 stacks of obsidian as recompense and temporarily banned sintralin and ShoPork, who deliberately lied to the admins to gain an advantage. While the grief was being cleaned up, Lodish, a member of the council, was pearled.

Mere days after the attacks, Jdcorral was pearled in Lexington while peacefully shopping for books.

On 14 October, MrLlamma submits a post to /r/CivClassic, "Why I Insided My Friends." In the post, he states that he deliberately gave information to the Commonwealth to prevent the pearling of more innocents. Although it was a heroic act that helped many, he was pearled for it. The following day, Peter5930 was pearled by Badash, who was subsequently pearled ten days later. Peter, when he was not getting /ppkilled every 10 seconds, began building the foundations of what would become his impenetrable end castle which served as a haven for all pearled Western Alliance members.

On 9 November 2017, a new borough was founded - Nymph was built on an island to the far west by former Kraken founders Seekinq, SpankMeHarder, JayTeeR, _Monkee, and ItzJosh.

That same day, Lexington presented terms of surrender to the Commonwealth, which included unconditional surrender and permapearling of Peter. After deliberation with the Council, King Brinton declined; Lexington approached the council once more later that month with lighter terms, but Brinton once more declined.

After the terms of surrender were denied a third time, Lexington launched an attack on the end castle; during the the next two months, Peter's gate was charged three times to no avail. Soon, the Commonwealth ceased to be the main target of these attacks, as the tide had turned to Hjaltland (now Falstadt) whom by this time had pearled many prominent Lexington soldiers.

On Christmas Day, brinton resigned as King of the Commonwealth, handing the crown to Peter5930. It was at this time that Peter became the subject of religious veneration in the city of Meditat, where Medic scholar reffelruz identified Peter as a messianic figure.

In late January, jdcorral and Lodish were released after building houses for Lexington officials.

Around the same time, Southshire decided to secede, electing to become a Yoahtlan state. It was a very controversial decision, but they decided it was for the best to bring the city back to its former glory. In addition, Nymph decided to go independent on 8 February 2018, to avoid any further drama with the war, and build peacefully. Both cities remain close with the Commonwealth.

By March 2018, the war slowly declined, bringing about a new sense of spirit, and a desire to bring the Commonwealth back to its former glory. A new station was made after extensive planning that brought a massive overhaul to its current rail hub.

After failed peace talks, the war became a stalemate. Falstadt elected to make the first move and began a two-day offensive on the Lexington Vault. After pearling five Lexington soldiers, the Western Alliance broke through the vault gate; Lexington evacuated the vault and left the pearls inside, and a day later, all pearled individuals were freed and the war was declared over.

Post-War
Peter returned among the prisoners of war as their king; their arrival was met with cheers and celebration across the country. His coronation would take place on the first of May, in the field which was once his farm. He would give this land to the people who fought to end the war, and those who remained through the war to preserve the nation. They would use it to construct a brand new city - one that would stand tall and proud among the others to memorialize the nation's enduring legacy and victory over Lexington.

Following the war, activities surged within the Commonwealth.

In the first week, Peter declared derelict many inactive houses in Westminster, and promptly tore them to their foundations. The new city then began its planning stages. It was to replace the old city farms, and would represent a new start for Westminster, with stronger security measures, making it a proper, secure citadel, as well as a more extensive building code, balancing security and aesthetics like never before in the nation's history. Building of infrastructure is nearly complete, and the city has begun taking in residents, workers, shopkeepers, scribes and guards. This became the new Victoria section of Westminster, a fortified city that is similar to New Yoahtl City.

Although Commonwealth was not a founder of SATO, it was invited because of its reputation in the Somber War, and happily accepted the invitation to the defensive alliance. With more people arriving in the Commonwealth, its position as a central rail hub for much of the server makes it one of the most optimal locations in the world for trade. As a result, people increasingly set up shop within Shopside, including Yoahtl, Falstadt, Etherium, and many more. There are so many shops that at times, demand is exceeding supply.

On 3 July 2018, Nymph decided to reenter the Commonwealth, and was passed by the legislature that same day. Around the same time, Albion joined the Commonwealth after a long period of independence. It was to join the Commonwealth much earlier, but joined on 4 July 2018.

In fall 2018, the Commonwealth made its first link to the deep +,+ through the Entranan Transcontinental Express to the Entranan Republic, with other stops in Okashima and soon Maltovia. The Commonwealth continued to be a haven for new players. The country has developed a reputation for administering good diplomacy and advocating deescalation of conflicts.

On 7 January 2019, Commonwealth hosted the Second Olympics, to much success. After LordOfMarzipan was named an admin in early 2019 after the Olympics, mike0war was elected to be the new Prime Minister, with specificlanguage as the deputy. Westminster has continued to be a grand hub for builders, writers, newfriends throughout the winter and spring.

Subsequent prime ministers have peacefully and ceremoniously passed on their duties every three months or so, with specificlanguage, Lodish, Falvyu and currently PergySkeel as the prime minister since March 2020.