The American Empire (Impero Americano)

The American Empire (Italian: Impero Americano), sometimes abbreviated IA, is a constitutional monarchy consisting of thirteen regions (regioni) and two Grand Duchies acquired during the First Great War. The nation is located the continent of North Virginia, (or as it is called locally, America) and stretches from the gulf in the south to the Great Lakes in the north, with expansion centered primarily along the Mizzuzippiui river.

Indigenous Peoples and Pre-Corte-Real History
The first inhabitants of North Virginia migrated from northeastern Europe by way of the Bering Land Bridge and arrived at least 15,000 years ago, though increasing evidence suggests an even earlier arrival. After crossing the land bridge, the first Virginians moved southward, either along the Pacific coast or through an interior ice-free corridor between the Cordilleran and Laurentide ice sheets. The Clovis Culture appeared around 11,000 BC, and it is considered to be an ancestor of most of the later indigenous cultures of the Virginias.

Over time, indigenous cultures in the modern-day Empire grew increasingly complex, and some, such as the Mizzuzippiuian Culture in the southeast, developed advanced agriculture, grand architecture, and state-level societies. From approximately 800 to 1600 AD the Mizzuzippiuian culture flourished, and its largest city, Cahokia, is considered the largest, most complex pre-Corte-Real archaeological site in the modern-day American Empire.

Discovery
While the continents of North and South Virginia/America were first documented in Europe by Joao Vaz Corte-Real in 1472, it was instead the Italian Amerigo Vespucci who first determined that these landmasses did not represent the eastern portion of the Asian continent, but in fact, two new continents, later dubbed the "New World".

Vespucci, having been dispatched to the city-state of Venice by his employer Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici to oversee the Venetian branch of the Medici bank, where, in 1495/96, he would fulfill the provisions of a contract between the recently deceased head of the Venetian branch of the bank and the Doge of Venice to provide one dozen ships for an expedition to the “East Indies.” This action would win Vespucci the respect of the republican establishment, resulting in him becoming provisions contractor for this and future expeditions.

It was during a string of expeditions between the years of 1499 and 1502 that Vespucci (having been invited as an observer by the Crown of Portugal, would prove that the new landmasses were not part of East Asia, publishing his findings shortly thereafter. In 1507, these findings would lead cartographer Martin Waldseemüller to publish a series of maps labeling these new continents as "America" (from the Latin feminine form of Vespucci's name,) and sparking a controversy over the proper name of the New World that would persist to the present day.

Venetian Colonization
It was not until over two centuries after Vespucci's discoveries, in the 16th century, that a state would possess the resources and ability to attempt to colonize the New World, with Venice, one of the three richest of the city-states of the Italian peninsula, being among the first to do so. These initial waves of Venetian colonists would consist largely of debtors, itinerant artists and artisans, individuals fleeing cultural or religious persecution, and distant branches of various Italian noble households hoping to stake a claim for themselves in the New World.

Under the direction of Doge Carlo Ruzzini the ship San Marco, carrying the first wave of colonists, set forth for the Caribbean Islands in the spring of 1732. However, before the San Marco could make landfall, a sudden tropical storm blew it far off course into the Gulf of Mexico, where it drifted for several weeks. Weary and low on supplies, with the San Marco badly damaged, the colonists finally sighted a large delta, and managed to make landfall the following day. The delta, being much like the land the wayward colonists had originally set out from, was soon christened Nuovo Venezia, and would become one of the first permanent European settlements on the American continents.

Due to the state of their ship and supplies, having been driven so far off of course and having been forced to utilize provisions meant to last until well after landfall in the Caribbean, the initial weeks and years were extremely difficult for the new colonists, and they likely would have perished if not for the intervention of the native Choctaw people, who taught the colonists how to hunt, farm, and generally survive in this new and unfamiliar land. By the time contact with Venice was reestablished, the colonists would have formed a close bond with their Native allies.

Government
The Imperial Government consists of four entities: The Emperor (or Empress) as head of state, the Council, the Curia, and the Charter Court, with the Imperial Charter as its establishing document.

The Imperial Charter (La Carta Imperiale)
Based largely on the Magna Carta, and signed into law upon the nation gaining its independence in 1786, the Charter delineates the form and functions of the Imperial Government as well as the rights of her subjects. Notable among the latter are the access to a swift and fair trial, the right to seek redress from the government, the right to bear personal arms, the right to petition for heraldic arms, and an outline of the rights afforded to native peoples in terms of customs and movement.

The Throne
(See Also: List of American Monarchs)

The Emperor acts as head of all branches of government, civilian and military (IE, the Supreme Executor and Commanding Chief). As such, the Emperor must give their assent before any legislation may be passed into law. The Emperor has the right to propose legislation before either of the two other bodies (though this right has been seldom exercised in recent times,) and in the event of a tie during the legislative process, casts the tie-breaking vote. A hereditary position, the title of Emperor was originally passed down along agnatic-cognatic lines. Subsequent legislation, however, has rendered inheritance a more informal affair, with the most ready-and-able among the reigning monarch’s close family typically being selected for the job.

The Council (Il Consiglio)
An assembly of the major nobility and tribal chiefs of the Empire, with each member typically serving for life or until retirement (at which point their chosen successor is vetted and usually assumes their seat). The Council is able to propose legislation, though it must then pass through the Curia and receive Imperial assent.

The Curia
The lower body of the Imperial government, the Curia consists of an assembly of elected officials from the various regions of the Empire. The head of the party with the largest number of seats in the Curia is appointed its Chancellor (Il Cancelliere della sua Maestà Imperiale) and is responsible for overseeing and directing curia business. As with the above, legislation must pass through the other body and be given Imperial assent before it may be passed into law. Noteworthy past Chancellors are often awarded personal nobility for their efforts.

The Charter Court (Corte della Carta Imperiale d'America)
The Charter Court represents the supreme judicial authority of the Empire, and as such handles all cases deemed to effect the Empire as a whole, or which it deems have not been fully decided at the lower levels, as well as being charged with assessing all legislation that may circumvent or contradict the Imperial Charter – thus making it the only body able to conceivably override the Imperial prerogative.

Other institutions
Other noteworthy American institutions include the nation's three military academies, (army, naval, and air force) as well as the State Heraldic Institute or Bison Court, (Corte dei Bisonti) which regulates the distribution and usage of arms and armorial devices throughout the Empire.

National Symbols
The most well-known symbol of the American Empire is the thunderbird, often depicted in a wide range of American and European styles, and, in evoking both the Roman aquilla as well as the American bald eagle, is taken to be emblematic of the union of Italian and Virginian peoples.

Other major national symbols include the Lion of St. Mark, (a holdover from the nation's days as a Venetian colony) as well as the Virginian Bison and the Imperial honeybee used on the arms of the Apolloni dynasty, and which can be seen prominently displayed on the arms of many national institutions.

The national motto is E Pluribus Unum, Latin for "Out of Many, One," and is meant to reflect the vast diversity of peoples and cultures that constitute the nation.

Demographics and Culture
The American Empire, like its Venetian predecessor, is a highly diverse polity, with the largest group being made up of those of European (primarily Italian) descent, Followed by native North Virginians, with significant minorities of Portuguese, South Virginian, Afrikan and other Black, and Jewish descent.

Popular sports include fencing, futball, and krofbal, as well as 'Pasuckuakohowog,' sometimes colloquially referred to as 'extreme hardcore beach futball.'

Other popular pastimes include outdoor activities, attending society functions, cinema, live theatre, and listening to radio broadcasts, with popular media genres including action/adventure, war films (both documentary and dramatic), romance, science fiction/fantasy, and comedy, with a recent upswing in the popularity of alternate-history fiction.

Religion
America is a primarily protestant nation, with the American Church, which combines both Catholic as well as traditional Native (primarily southeastern/Mizzuzippiuian) religious practices, as the official state religion, with the Emperor as its head. Imperial subjects are, however, given broad freedom of religious practice, and there exists a significant Catholic minority, as well as numerous pockets of traditional Native practice.