Official UFPDOCA Submission Template
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Colony Name: New Brittania
Creator: Jeffrey Jenkins
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GEOGRAPHY
System/Location: Alpha Canis Minoris (Procyon)
Distance to Nearest Starbase: 11.3 LY from Sol
Planet Classification: M-class (1.08 Earth gravities)
Satellites/Space Stations: 2 natural, multiple artificial, 2 stations
both moons inhabited with pressure domes
Land/Water Ratio: 24/76
Single supercontinent with large central
sea, extensive river system, multiple
islands
Climate Controlled: Yes
Native Sentient Life: No
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COLONY INFORMATION
Colony Age (approximate): founded 2053 by the sublight sleeper ship
SS QUEEN VICTORIA
Population (approximate): 1,400,000,000 (including moons)
Species Present: 95% Human, 5% other
Colony Status: Federation Member
Government: Constitutional Monarchy/Parliament
Major Cities/Settlements: Londinium, Camulodunum, Verulamium
History: SS QUEEN VICTORIA was launched in the brief era of the sleeper
ships. Before Earth discovered faster than light travel, there were few
voyages to the stars. Still, in the dark days before the Third World War
(the Eugenics War), some hoped for a better life and took the long road to
the stars. It was one such ship that founded the world of New Brittania.
The crossing itself took 29 years during which time most of original
12,000 colonists were in cold sleep. Miraculously, in those days, 97
percent of the colonists survived the hibernation.
Economy: Modern, significant manufacturer of sublight engines for
military and commercial starships
Tech Level: Federation member
Culture: Because of the expense of the original trip of the QUEEN
VICTORIA, cetain members of the crew funded the venture more than others.
It was decided early in the venture that those who contributed more fund
would be awarded priveledged in the new society that was to be founded.
It was thus that the original nobility was created. Others with necessary
skills but insufficient funds for the journey were still welcomed and
become and commoners of the new realm. Many doctors, scientists, and
engingeers were in this group.
These skilled professionals formed the corps of the middle class. Other
unskilled laborers were also brought along and were, initially, little
more than indentured servents. They formed a lower-class labor pool that
was very important to the early society, however, and their contribution
has never been forgotten. These segments of society were give government
representation in a House of Commons.
The system of nobility has evolved into a society that resembles eigteenth
century Britain. Those first nobles guaranteed that they, and those who
would rise in social status to become nobles later (through service to the
kingdom, not through purchasing titles), would always have representation
in the government in a House of Lords.
Selected titles and forms of address on New Brittania in order of
precedence in the peerage:
King - Your Majesty
Prince - Your Royal Majesty; subsequently Sir
Duke - Your Grace; Duke
Marquess - Lord (Remington)
Earl - Lord (Leeds)
Countess - Lady (Leeds)
(wife of an Earl)
Viscount - Lord (Bemis)
Baron - Lord (Lancer) (never Baron)
Baronet - Sir (Thomas)
There are also several orders of knighthood carried on in the British
tradition. The most prestigious of these being the Knights of the Bath
and the Knights of the Garter.
Notes: When Sol finally emerged from the horror of the Eugenics War, all
records of the New Brittania expedition were lost. This led to great
confusion when the first FTL capable ship came across New Brittania. The
New Brittanian Defense Fleet rapidly seized the warp-driven ship, trapped
in-system and unable to go to warp, and interogated the crew. The Earth
that they had left had not been a friendly place and they were not willing to
take chances.
The New Brittanians stripped the Earth ship of its faster-than-light drive
and installed it in one of their smaller ships. This ship proceeded to
penetrate the Sol System and confirm the claims of the Terran crew.
Still, the New Brittanian natural paranoia was not going to let them admit
a mistake.
The NBDF copied the warp technology, installed FTL drives in 30 ships of
their fleet, and, in effect, invaded the Sol system, demanding an appology
from the United Nations government for invading their sovereign space.
This did not sit well with the UN. However, the presense of 30 armed
ships in their system went a long way to persuade the diplomats to talk
peace.
After several years of negotiations, it was decided that New Brittania
would join the Terran Alliance for the purpose of joint negotiations with
the other new races that FTL drive had revealed: Vulcans, Tellarites,
and Andorians. The United Nations also reevaluated its policy of having
unarmed starships during this time.
The New Brittanians fiercely defended their right to an independed
government and sovereignty of their territories. These rights for member
planets were written into the Articles of Federation partly at their
insistence. The New Brittanian government signed the Articles of
Federation as part of the Terran Alliance delegation.
The world maintains a strong military tradition and the NBDF to this day.
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The New Brittanian Defense Force has patterned itself largely on the
Royal Military of England, with a rank structure of the early twentieth
century. The principle branch of the NBDF has always been the Navy. The
New Brittanians originally wanted to ensure the safety of their planet
from invasion from what they felt was likely to be a hostile Earth. Even
after a more peaceful meeting with the Terran Alliance, they continuued
the militant tradition that had grown on the world.
While the NBDF's largest branch is undoutedly the Navy, there are also
Marine and Army branched. These also pattern themselves on the British
Military.
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