NationStates Jolt Archive


The Republic of New Transvaal

Nieuwe Transvaal
28-07-2007, 02:11
The Republic of New Transvaal
Die Republiek van Nieuwe Transvaal
La République de Nouveau Transvaal

I. Brief History
II. Government
III. People
IV. Land & Territories
V. Economy
VI. Transnational Issues

I. Brief History
The island of New Transvaal in the southern Indian Ocean has been known for several centuries, but settlement began in earnest during the period from 1902-1910, when dissident Boers left South Africa following their defeat in the Second Anglo-Boer War. Although immigration decreased to near zero after the founding of the Union of South Africa, steady internal growth meant that by 1950, New Transvaal had a population of close to 500,000; more than some British colonies a hundred years older.

New waves of immigration began in the mid-twentieth century as the great European empires began to fracture and crumble. The 1960s saw the arrival of French pied-noirs from Algeria; the 1970s Britons and Portugese from Rhodesia, Angola, and Mozambique; and in the 1990s, a new wave of Afrikaner immigration from newly democratic South Africa. Massive economic booms at the beginning of the twenty-first century brought immigrant workers from India, who are now roughly seven percent of the total population.

II. Government

Political Overview:
Westminster-style Parliamentary democracy

Official Languages:
Afrikaans
English
French (de facto)

Motto:
Ons vir jou, Transvaal ("We for Thee, Transvaal")

Major Political Parties-Representation in Government as of 2007:
National Party-67 seats
Democratic Party-58
Bloc Libéral-19
Independents and Minor Parties: 4
Total Seats: 148

The National Party is a traditionally Afrikaner party, though it has support from right-wing Anglos and French as well. Historically the dominant party in Transvaaler politics, the NP maintained close ties with its mainland counterpart until the fall of apartheid in 1994. Since then, the New Transvaal National Party has moved towards the center, but remains generally right-wing in its platforms.

The Democratic Party is a traditionally Anglo-dominated party, and is the more moderate and liberal of the two main parties. New Transvaal’s Indian electorate votes DP nearly universally.

The Bloc Libéral began as a French-oriented political party in the mid-1960s. However, the isolation of New Transvaal during the century, and the drawing of moderate and right-wing voters into the Democratic and Nationalist parties, respectively, coupled to transform the BL into a general leftist party. About half of French voters belong to the BL, along with significant percentages of the Anglo and Indian electorates.

Some Important People:
President: Johannus K. Botha
Deputy President/Minister of Defense: Piet van Aarten
Minister of Justice: Tommy Wilkins
Minister of Information: Robert Swart
Minister of the Interior: Charles van Zyl
Minister for Foreign Affairs: Koos DuToit

National Anthem
Official:
Steed Wenners (Still Winners)

National Holidays
Day of the Vow (December 16th)

III. People

Population as of 1 August, 2007: 5,000,000
Afrikaner-45%
English-33%
French-15%
Indian-7%

Religion:
Freedom of religion is guaranteed in the constitution, but many government officials hold religious degrees and clerical positions. It is not uncommon for government meetings such as Cabinet and Parliamentary sessions to begin with prayer.

Christianity-85%
Hinduism-5%
Non-religious/Atheist-5%
Judaism-3%
Islam-1%
Other-1%

IV. Land & Territories

Map Coming Soon

Total Land Area:
Absolute: 2,897,660 sq km
Comparative: Somewhat larger than Argentina
Population Density:
1.72 people/ sq km

Major Cities:
Maritzburg (capital)
Constantine
Beitkopje
Salisbury
Karasburg
Stellenbosch

Administrative Divisions:
Provinces
Natalia
Vrijstaat
Bellecôte
Rooiberg
East Transvaal

Territories
Northeast
Mooiberg

V. Economy

Economic Overview:
The RNT is fiercely free-market, with property rights being held sacrosanct. That being said, however, it is not uncommon for the government to have autocratic tendencies, especially during wartime and periods of civil unrest.

Currency
New Transvaal Rand
$1NTR=$1.46USD

Principal Exports
Gold, diamonds, platinum, chromium, uranium, tin, natural gas, coal, sugarcane, citrus fruit, wheat.

Principal Imports
Machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments.

VI. Transnational Issues
N/A

Foreign Relations:
The following all possess embassies in New Transvaal
Oceania
Uiri
British Londinium
ISA
New Brittonia
Tartarystan
Neko-Opolis
Bredford
Mathism

Membership in International Organizations:
N/A
Nieuwe Transvaal
03-08-2007, 05:34
OOC: Moved the military stuff to a different post, in order to make it a bit easier to find things. Air Force and Navy sections are still under construction.

Military Strength of the Republic of New Transvaal

The Transvaal Defense Forces are divided into three branches of service: the Transvaal Army, Transvaal Air Force, and Transvaal Navy.

Army
The Transvaal Army is made up of the active Field Force and the reserve Strijdburgerkracht (lit. “Armed Citizen Force”), in addition to the rural Kommando militia. The Field Force consists of seven brigades, nominally divided into the First (Light) Division, consisting of two infantry and one parachute brigades, and the Second (Assault) Division, consisting of three mechanized and one armored brigade.

The modern Transvaal Army was trained by a cadre of ex-SADF soldiers in the mid-1990s. As such, influences from units like Koevoet, the Recces, and the 3/2 Battalion are strong. In point of fact, there exists a strong rivalry between the historically French 2nd Infantry Brigade and the 6th Parachute Brigade, due to the latter’s use of “The Ride to Agadir” (the 3/2 Battalion’s unofficial funeral dirge, which contains lyrics about relieving “infidels from France…of their godforsaken lives”) as their brigade song.

NB: Each brigade of the Field Force, with the exception of the 7th Armored Brigade, is designed to operate separately from a main line of supply and communication. The battalion, rather than the brigade or division, is the basic combat unit of the Transvaaler Army.

Field Force
1st Infantry Brigade
2nd Infantry Brigade (Nouveau Lègión)
3rd Mechanized Brigade
4th Mechanized Brigade
5th Mechanized Brigade
6th Parachute Brigade
7th Armored Brigade

Total Active Strength: 35,000

Reserve
8th-19th Infantry Brigades
20th Parachute Brigade
21st Parachute Brigade
22nd Mechanized Brigade
23rd Armored Brigade

Total Reserve Strength: 80,000

Kommando
Approximately 108 companies*

Total Kommando Strength: 65,000 (note: for logistic purposes, a kommando is assumed to be about 600 men strong; naturally this varies, and kommandos generally range from 50-1000 men.

Vehicles In Services with the Field Force:
Tanks/AFVs
Olifant MKIII
Rooikat 76
Rooikat 105
Ratel-81
Patria "Badger" AMV

Artillery [Self-propelled]
G6 Howizter [155 mm]
T6 Howizter [155 mm]
Valkiri MLRS [127 mm, 24 tubes]
Bateleur MLRS [127 mm, 40 tubes]

Artillery [towed]
G7 Howizter [105 mm]
G5 Howizter [155 mm]

Other
Casspir MKIII [mine-protected, patrol]
Mamba MKIII [mine-protected, patrol]
RG-32 Nyala [mine-protected, patrol]

Transvaal Air Force
The Transvaal Air Force is a hodge-podge of modern and antiquated aircraft, but over the course of the nation's history there has been little impetus for development and modernization, given the country's isolation from international affairs. However, now that the Republic has entered the international political arena, its mix of fighters and helicopters from the 1960s, '70s, and '80s will no longer suffice for defensive purposes. As such, the Ministry of Defense has begun a scaled plan to replace the Air Force's more obsolete aircraft with new planes and helicopters. To this end, only the modern aircraft are listed below:

48 FA-16 Priest Tactical Fighters (Candrian; GEM Aerospace)
16 ACI-37B Corvus Attack Helicopters (Doomani; Imperial Aerospace Corporation)
78 TRA-92 Eiko Light Attack Helicopters (Tyrandisian; TPMI/EC)
120 Cheetah C (RSA; Atlas)
96 AH-2 Rooivalk (RSA; Denel)
54 JAS 39 Gripen (Swedish; Saab)
24 Super Lynx (UK; AgustaWestland)

The new purchases have been assigned to infantry support roles in conjunction with army manuevers; dedicated Aerial Combat Wings are expected to be created once the Air Force possesses sufficient numbers to make tactical air wings a feasible logistical operation.

Transvaal Navy
Coming Soon

*The current Transvaal Navy is a brown-water affair, essentially more of a glorified coast guard than an actual navy. It can be expected that with the entry of the RNT into world affairs that a modernized, more capable navy shall be sought in the near future.