NationStates Jolt Archive

Section 1 - Basic Information:

Capital: Brayton
Official Language: English
Population: 2,723,579,412 (2000 Census) - 2,980,389,962 (2008 estimate)
Land Area: 6,225,737 sq. km.
Population Density: 437.47 per sq. km (2000 Census) – 478.72 per sq. km (2008)
Type of Government: Democratic Republic
Head of State: Prime Minister Tyler Hutchins
Date of Independence: 1737
Currency: Tolvanic Pound
International Calling Code: +1337
Internet TLD:[ /B].tol


[B]Geography and Climate
For the most part Mainland Tolvan has a termperate climate and consists primarily of lush grasslands and small but dense forests. The average rainfall is about 200 inches (5,080 cm) and the normal temperature range is 20 to 40 degrees C.


In addition the Tolvanic holdings in San Espada, the Ascension Islands, and Sand Island have climates as varied as their geographic locations (the Carribean, off Africa, and the West Pacfic, respectively).

Demographics
Tolvan's population has the following ethnic breakdown:

*Caucasian: 72.24%
*Asian/Pacific Islander: 11.17%
*African: 6.51%
*Hispanic: 7.83%
*Other: 2.25%

Tolvan's population has the following religious breakdown:

*Christian (Protestant): 83.30%
*Christian (Catholic): 7.94%
*Buddhist: 3.51%
*Other: 5.25%

Section 2 - History:

Formation of the Commonwealth
Tolvan was originally settled around 500 AD by a collection of nomadic tribes known as the Te. In 1602 AD the first expedition from the Empire of Ocion discovered the current Tolvanic Mainland and a massive colonization effort was launched. Tolvan, like most other Ocic colonies, suffered greatly under Ocic rule dealing with high rates of taxation and limited political freedom.

After years of chafing under Ocic rule the Tolvanic islands declared independence in 1731. After six years of fighting the Tolvanic Army routed the Ocic Army at the Battle of Willis Creek. Two weeks later the Tolvanic North Channel Squadron under the command of the legendary Admial Silas Fitch met and routed the Ocic Second Colonial Fleet at the battle of North Gale. Ocion was forced to sue for peace and withdraw from the region entirely. Tolvan was granted full independence in 1737.

In 1818 Tolvan annexed the Culver Islands to serve as a staging ground for fishing the Northern Sea. Later the islands served as a base to service the massive Northern Sea Oilfields as well.

Section 3 - Economy:
Tolvan's economy is extremely strong. The nation's largest industries are fishing, livestock herding, information technology, financial services, manufacturing, and petroleum production. The country features very little government regulation of business and currently has no income tax. Government revenue is derived from a combination of sales, property, and excise taxes on certain goods.

The economic policy of the Commonwealth has been described by some as nationalistic capitalism. While the Commonwealth is a strong advocate of free trade and has some of the lowest tariffs in the world, there are certain protectionist government policies in place to allow certain industries deemed vital to national interests to remain more competitive.

Additionally, Tolvan has been criticized by some, particularly leftists, for policies that they feel are designed to advance Tolvanic economic interests at the expense of other, typically smaller and poorer, nations.

Tolvanic Economic Data (http://nstracker.org/index.php?nation=tolvan)

Section 4 - Military:
The Tolvanic military consists of Regular Forces Command (the five active duty branches) and Reserve Forces Command (the five reserve branches). Regular Forces Command includes the Tolvanic Army, the Tolvanic Navy, the Tolvanic Marine Corps, the Tolvanic Air Force, and the Tolvanic Coast Guard. Reserve Forces Command includes the National Guard, Navy Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Air Defence Command, and Coastal Defence Command. All branches are under civilian oversight through the Ministry of Defence.

The Tolvanic military is primarily a defensive force, but has increasingly adopted an expeditionary role as Tolvanic involvement in world affairs has increased. Tolvanic forces tend to be small by world standards, but due to the massive size of the Tolvanic economy the Commonwealth’s military has the advantage of considerable funding for state of the art equipment and some of the most extensive training in the world.

Tolvan operates a relatively small, but highly advanced, nuclear deterrent force.

Tolvanic Navy:
The Tolvanic Navy is the senior service of the Tolvanic Military, it was formed in 1735, a full year before the formation of the Army and two years before Tolvan gained full independence.

Given Tolvan’s history as a maritime nation the Navy has long been the largest and best funded of the three branches.

The Navy’s primary missions are: defence of Tolvanic Territorial Waters, enforcing the Tolvanic Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ), protecting Tolvan’s Seaborne Lines of Communications (SLOC), and projecting power abroad in support of National Policy.

The Tolvanic Navy consists of nearly 2,400 ships, of which about 1,200 are actual warships.

Total Personnel:
3,525,759


Tolvanic Army:
The Tolvanic Army was formed in 1736 to replace the loose bands of militias that served as the Commonwealth’s ground forces up to that point.

As Tolvan’s geography and foreign policy made invasion an unlikely event the standing army was kept rather small, though well equipped and impeccably trained. As the Commonwealth began to abandon its isolationist tendencies in the early 20th Century the Tolvanic Army was expanded and began to prepare for a more expeditionary role. As a result the Tolvanic Army was one of the first to adopt airmobile tactics (the first airborne regiment was raised in 1932 and the first air cavalry division was formed in 1962) and trained heavily for peacekeeping and COIN (COunterINsurgency) operations in 1960s and 1970s.

The present day Tolvanic Army is still relatively small given the Commonwealth’s size and is an almost entirely expeditionary force with both heavy armoured forces and rapid deployment units.

The Army is built around thirty-six divisions and nearly 100 seperate brigades of multiple types.

Total Personnel Strength: 3,475,595

Tolvanic Marine Corps
Unlike other nations whose marines are either seperate branches of the military or part of the navy, the Tolvanic Marines are units of Tolvanic Army specially trained and equipped for amphibous warfare. There are currently six Marine Divisions and six Marine Air Wings (total personnel: 602,308) included as part of the Army's force structure.


Tolvanic Air Force:
The Tolvanic Air Force was formed in 1948 by separating the Army Air Corps from the Tolvanic Army.

The Air Forces primary missions are to provide air support (combat or noncombat) for Tolvanic or allied forces deployed abroad and to defend Tolvanic airspace.

The Tolvanic Air Force currently consists of 120 wings (nearly 50,000 aircraft) of various types and operates some of the most advanced aircraft in the world.

Current Personnel Strength: 1,975,275

Tolvanic Coast Guard:
The Tolvanic Coast Guard was formed in 1817 to relieve the Navy of the burden of performing at sea rescues, performing customs searches, and combating smuggling.

The Coast Guard’s primary missions are: combat smuggling, perform SAR (Search and Rescue) missions, maintain navigational aides (bouys, lighthouses, etc.), protect the environmental quality of Tolvanic waters, preventing illegal immigration by sea, and assisting the Navy in protecting Tolvanic waters and EEZ.

The Coast Guard operates both large cutters, small craft, and fixed and rotary winged aircraft.

Current Personnel Strength: 375,201

Reserve Forces Command:
All able-bodied Tolvanic males are required to serve in the Reserve Forces upon graduating from high school (the only exception is for those who enter the Regular Forces or receive approval for alternate National Service). Reserve duty consists of Initial Entry Training (IET), not counted in the two year term of service and a two year term of service. Reservists serve three days a month and a two week training exercise during the year. At the end of their two year term Reservists can either muster out or stay in to continue receiving the salary and benefits.

National Guard:
The National Guard is the largest of the Reserve Forces. It provides reserve ground forces to deal with invasions of Tolvanic soil and natural disasters. National Guard units can only be deployed overseas by a two-third vote in Parliament and approval of the Provincial Governor that the particular unit is based in.

It currently consists of twenty combat combat brigades and forty support brigades of various types.

Naval Reserve:
The Naval Reserve is tasked with maintaining and providing additional ships to support the regular Navy.

The Naval Reserve currently maintains 500 ships including 300 warships.


Air Force Reserve:
The Air Force Reserve provides additional aircraft and crews for reserve use and to support Regular Force missions.

Due to expertise required for its missions a large percentage of the Air Force Reserve’s manpower is made up of former regular Air Force personnel.

The Air Force Reserve operates 45 wings of various types.

Air Defence Command:
Air Defence Command (ADC) is tasked with defending Tolvanic airspace from violation be foreign military forces or other unaurthorised craft. In this role it works closely with the Air Force and Air Force Reserve. It maintains a network of 427 air defence sites throughout the Commonwealth. Key sites are manned at all times by a combination of full time ADC staff and on call Reservists.

Coastal Defence Command:
Coastal Defence Command (CDC) is tasked with defending Tolvanic waters from violation be foreign military forces or other unaurthorised craft. In this role it works closely with the Navy and Coast Guard. It maintains a network of 181 coastal defence sites throughout the Commonwealth. Key sites are manned at all times by a combination of full time CDC staff and on call Reservists.

Section 5 - Politics:
The Tolvanic government is a parlimentary democracy.

The legislative branch consists of unicameral Parliament with 1,000 members, one for each district in Tolvan. The Prime Minister (who wields executive power) is the elected head of the majority party in Parliament (or if necessary the head of the largest party in a coalition government). Unlike other parliamentary systems the Tolvanic PM is not required to be a sitting MP. Each MP serves a six year term and the terms are staggered so one third of Parliament is up for reelection every two years. The judicial system is fully independent; the seven judges of the Supreme Court are nominated by the PM and voted on by Parliament to serve a fifteen year term. They may not be reappointed.

Parties with seats in the current Parliament include the Conservative Party, Nationalist Party, Libertarian Party, Progressive Party, and Green-Labour Party.

Currently the Conservative Party holds a plurality of seats in Parliament.

Current Distribution of Seats in Parliament:
*Conservative Party - 521 seats
* Progressive Party - 334 seats
*Libertarian Party - 79 seats
*Green-Labour Party - 17 seats


Current Cabinet:
*Prime Minister - Tyler Hutchins
*Deputy Prime Minister – Timothy Bullock
*Minister of Foreign Affairs - Robert Donovan
*Minster of Defence - Blake Townsend
*Minister of Finance - Carter Boles
*Minister of Justice - Thomas Seymour
*Minister of Commerce - Roger Burke
*Minister of Education - Hoshi Takasi
*Minister of Health - Dr. Chris Wu
*Minister of the Interior - Sullivan Lassiter
*Minister of Energy - Robert Felder
*Minister of Transportation - Amanda Quan
*Director of National Intelligence - Scott Moore

Section 6 - Tolvanic Society:
Legal System
Tolvanic law is considered harsh by many, but is widely supported by Tolvanic citizens.

The use of "hard drugs" is illegal, though distributing drugs carries far harsher penalties than possession. Marijuana use is legal, provided it is purchased though a licensed distributor and the proper taxes are paid; the production or sale of unregulated marijuana is a serious felony.

However, aggressive education programs and the large numbers of Tolvans who regularly attend religious services leads to a rather low incidence of drug use, with only 19% of those surveyed admitting to using marijuana. No more than 5% of Tolvans admitted to using a "hard drug".

Tolvan allows the death penalty and utilizes it extensively for many crimes. Treason, piracy, and the murder of a police officer carry mandatory death sentences (exceptions may be made in cases of treason if it is felt the convicted can be of more use alive). In addition premeditated murder, rape, child molestation, and murder committed in the commissioning of a felony can all be punishable by the death penalty.
Various methods of execution exist in every province but the following are all methods of execution currently approved for execution: gas chamber, lethal injection, hanging, and firing squad.
The Tolvanic commonwealth government offers a choice of lethal injection or the gas chamber for all crimes except treason and piracy. Those convicted of these offences suffer the mandatory penalty of hanging.
The Tolvanic military currently only utilizes the firing squad.

Culture
Tolvanic society is very stable, due largely to the government's libertarian social policies. People are allowed to do just about anything, as long it no one else is harmed by their actions. However, there are strict punishments for those who do break the law.

Cuisine
As Tolvan is maritime nation, seafood plays a major part in Tolvanic cooking with fish, shellfish, and kelp dishes all being extremely popular. Tolvan also has a massive livestock industry and as a beef and mutton are also common ingredients in Tolvanic dishes. The de facto national dish of Tolvan is fish and chips or the derivative “fish on a stick” (chunks of fish, potatoes, pickles, and sometimes cheese arranged on a skewer and then breaded and deep fried). Tolvans also consume large amounts of tea, usually served iced and sweetened.

Music
The most popular form of music in Tolvan is rock music. The most popular musicians in modern day Tolvan are Fight or Flight, Killswitch, and the Kyle Tucker Band.

Movies
Tolvan has a small but successful film industry. The most popular movies are typically action and science fiction movies. However, comedy, romance, and horror movies all have devoted fan bases.

Television
Tolvanic citizens have a wide variety of services to choose from including both cable and satellite providers. The current most watched networks are: TBC (Tolvanic Broadcasting Channel), TBC Headline News, TSN (Tolvanic Sports Network), and PwnageTV (geared towards males 18-34 and focusing on video games, movies, music, and gadgets).

Internet Use
Tolvan features one of the world's premier IT industries and has one of the highest high speed Internet access rates (per capita) in the world. An estimated 81.73% of Tolvanic citizens, even those in the Commonwealth's most remote corners, have easy access to 3.5 Gbps Internet access.

Sports
Tolvan's most popular spectator sports are football (of the American variety), baseball, and rugby. It's estimated that the average Tolvan attends 2.37 professional sporting events a year. Curiously, soccer has consistently failed to catch on in Tolvan and is rarely played above the high school level.