Utopia

Utopia is a sovereign island nation in the Atlantic Ocean. It is composed of the islands of the Azores, the Bahamas and Bermuda. Its capital, Utopia City, is the fastest growing capital in the world, with a population of 2 million while it only has existed since 2037. Utopia is a highly developed country, with an advanced economy and the world's highest GDP per capita.

Utopia first came into existence as the vision of current president Jayden Lester, as he wrote about in his book, written in 2036. In 2037 he collaborated with fellow billionaires, many of which are adherent to his ideology, and bought the Azores, Bermuda and the Bahamas. January 20, 2037 was the date which Jayden Lester proclaimed Utopia as an independent nation. Throughout 2037 and 2038, the islands were renovated and redone to fit the expectations of the book. Utopia has delved into many other areas of research, including space colonization, medical research and charity.

Now, Utopia is one of the most developed nations in the world, having an average life expectancy of 123 and 0% of the population below the poverty line. While 98% of citizens are unemployed, the automation and robot workers have rendered the concept of jobs obsolete, giving each citizen $50,000 a year instead.

History
A small number of alleged hypogea, earthen structures carved into rocks that were used for burials, have been identified on the islands of Corvo, Santa Maria and Terceira by Portuguese archaeologist Nuno Ribeiro, who speculated that they might date back 2000 years, alluding to a human presence on the island before the Portuguese. These kinds of structures have been used in the Azores to store cereals, however, and suggestions by Ribeiro that they might be burial sites are unconfirmed. Detailed examination and dating to authenticate the validity of these speculations is lacking. It is unclear whether these structures are natural or man-made and whether they predate the 15th-century Portuguese colonization of the Azores. Solid confirmation of a pre-Portuguese human presence in the archipelago has not yet been published.

European discovery
The islands were known in the fourteenth century and parts of them appear in the Atlas Catalan. In 1427, a captain sailing for Henry the Navigator, possibly Gonçalo Velho, rediscovered the Azores, but this is not certain. In Thomas Ashe's 1813 work, A History of the Azores, the author identified a Fleming, Joshua Vander Berg of Bruges, who made landfall in the archipelago during a storm on his way to Lisbon. He stated that the Portuguese explored the area and claimed it for Portugal. Other stories note the discovery of the first islands (São Miguel Island, Santa Maria Island and Terceira Island) by sailors in the service of Henry the Navigator, although there are few documents to support the claims.

Although it is commonly said that the archipelago received its name from the goshawk, a common bird at the time of discovery, it is unlikely that the bird nested or hunted in the islands.

Settlement
There were no large animals on Santa Maria, so after its discovery and before settlement began, sheep were let loose on the island to supply future settlers with food. Settlement did not take place right away, however. There was not much interest among the Portuguese people in an isolated archipelago so far from civilization. Gonçalo Velho Cabral patiently gathered resources and settlers for the next three years (1433–1436), however, and sailed to establish colonies first on Santa Maria and then on São Miguel.

Settlers cleared bush and rocks to plant crops—grain, grape vines, sugar cane, and other plants suitable for local use and of commercial value. They brought domesticated animals, such as chickens, rabbits, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs and built houses and established villages.

The archipelago was largely settled from mainland Portugal. Portuguese settlers came from the provinces of Algarve, Minho, Alentejo and Ribatejo as well as Madeira. São Miguel was first settled in 1444, the settlers – mainly from the Estremadura, Alto Alentejo and Algarve areas of mainland Portugal, under the command of Gonçalo Velho Cabral – landed at the site of modern-day Povoação. Many early settlers were Portuguese Sephardic Jews who fled the pressures of inquisition in mainland Portugal. In 1522 Vila Franca do Campo, then the capital of the island, was devastated by an earthquake and landslide that killed about 5,000 people, and the capital was moved to Ponta Delgada. The town of Vila Franca do Campo was rebuilt on the original site and today is a thriving fishing and yachting port. Ponta Delgada received its city status in 1546. From the first settlement, the pioneers applied themselves to agriculture and by the 15th century Graciosa exported wheat, barley, wine and brandy. The goods were sent to Terceira largely because of the proximity of the island.

During the 18th and 19th century, Graciosa was host to many prominent figures, including Chateaubriand, the French writer who passed through upon his escape to America during the French revolution; Almeida Garrett, the Portuguese poet who visited an uncle and wrote some poetry while there; and Prince Albert of Monaco, the 19th century oceanographer who led several expeditions in the waters of the Azores. He arrived on his yacht Hirondelle, and visited the furna da caldeira, the noted hot springs grotto. In 1869, the author Mark Twain published The Innocents Abroad, a travel book, where he described his time in the Azores.

The first reference to the island of São Jorge was made in 1439 but the actual date of discovery is unknown. In 1443 the island was already inhabited but active settlement only began with the arrival of the noble Flemish native Wilhelm Van der Haegen. Arriving at Topo, where he lived and died, he became known as Guilherme da Silveira to the islanders. João Vaz Corte-Real received the captaincy of the island in 1483. Velas became a town before the end of the 15th century. By 1490, there were 2,000 Flemings living in the islands of Terceira, Pico, Faial, São Jorge and Flores. Because there was such a large Flemish settlement, the Azores became known as the Flemish Islands or the Isles of Flanders. Prince Henry the Navigator was responsible for this settlement. His sister, Isabel, was married to Duke Philip of Burgundy of which Flanders was a part. There was a revolt against Philip's rule and disease and hunger became rampant. Isabel appealed to Henry to allow some of the unruly Flemings to settle in the Azores. He granted this and supplied them with the necessary transportation and goods.

The settlement of the then-unoccupied islands started in 1439 with people mainly from the continental provinces of Algarve and Alentejo. In 1583, Philip II of Spain, as king of Portugal, sent his fleet to clear the Azores of a combined multinational force of adventurers, mercenaries, volunteers and soldiers who were attempting to establish the Azores as a staging post for a rival pretender to the Portuguese throne. Following the success of his fleet at the Battle of Ponta Delgada captured enemies were hanged from yardarms, as they were considered pirates by Philip II. Opponents receiving the news variously portrayed Philip II as a despot or "Black Legend"; the sort of insult widely made against contemporary monarchs engaged in aggressive empire building and the European Wars of Religion. An English raid of the Azores in 1589 successfully plundered some harbouring ships and islands; a repeat eight years later, the Islands Voyage, failed. Spain held the Azores under the "Babylonian captivity" of 1580–1642. In the late 16th century, the Azores and Madeira began to face problems of overpopulation. Spawning from that particular economic problem, some of the people began to emigrate to Brazil.

Iberian Union
Following the death of Henry, the Cardinal-King of Portugal the nation fell into a dynastic crisis with various pretenders to the Crown of Portugal. Following his proclamation in Santarém, António, Prior of Crato was acclaimed in the Azores in 1580 (through his envoy António da Costa), but was expelled from the continent following the Battle of Alcântara. Yet, through the administration of Cipriano de Figueiredo, governor of Terceira (who continued to govern Terceira in the name of ill-fated, former-king Sebastian of Portugal), the Azoreans resisted attempts to conquer the islands (including specifically at the Battle of Salga). It was Figueiredo and Violante do Canto who helped organize a resistance on Terceira that influenced some of the response of the other islands, even as internal politics and support for Philip's faction increased on the other islands (including specifically on São Miguel, where the Gonçalvez da Câmara family supported the Spanish pretender).

The Azores were the last part of the Portuguese Empire to resist Philip's reign over Portugal (Macau resisted any official recognition) and were returned to Portuguese control with the end of the Iberian Union in 1640, not by the professional military, who were used in the Restoration War in the mainland, but by local people attacking a fortified Castilian garrison.

Liberal Wars
The Portuguese Civil War (1828–1834) had strong repercussions in the Azores. In 1829, in Praia da Vitória, the Liberals won over the absolutists, making Terceira Island the main headquarters of the new Portuguese regime and also where the Council of Regency of Maria II of Portugal was established.

From 1836 to 1976, the archipelago was divided into three districts, equivalent (except in area) to those in the Portuguese mainland. The division was arbitrary, and did not follow the natural island groups, rather reflecting the location of each district capital on the three main cities (none of which were on the western group).


 * Angra do Heroísmo consisted of Terceira, São Jorge, and Graciosa, with the capital at Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira.
 * Horta consisted of Pico, Faial, Flores, and Corvo, with the capital at Horta on Faial.
 * Ponta Delgada consisted of São Miguel and Santa Maria, with the capital at Ponta Delgada on São Miguel.

20th century
In 1931 the Azores (together with Madeira and Portuguese Guinea) revolted against the Ditadura Nacional and were held briefly by military rebels.

In 1943, during World War II, the Portuguese ruler António de Oliveira Salazar leased air and naval bases in the Azores to Great Britain. The occupation of these facilities in October 1943 was codenamed Operation Alacrity by the British.

This was a key turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic, enabling the Royal Air Force, the U.S. Army Air Forces, and the U.S. Navy to provide aerial coverage in the Mid-Atlantic gap. This helped them to protect convoys and to hunt hostile German U-boats.

In 1944, the U.S. constructed a small and short-lived air base on the island of Santa Maria. In 1945, a new base was constructed on the island of Terceira, and it is named Lajes Field. This air base is in an area called Lajes, a broad, flat sea terrace that had been a large farm. Lajes Field is a plateau rising out of the sea on the northeast corner of the island. This air base is a joint American and Portuguese venture. Lajes Field continues to support the American and Portuguese Armed Forces. During the Cold War, U.S. Navy P-3 Orion antisubmarine warfare squadrons patrolled the North Atlantic Ocean for Soviet Navy submarines and surface warships. Since its opening, Lajes Field has been used for refuelling American cargo planes bound for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The U.S. Navy keeps a small squadron of its ships at the harbor of Pria de Vittoria, southeast of Lajes Field.

The airfield also has a small commercial terminal handling scheduled and chartered passenger flights from the other islands in the Azores, Europe, Africa, and North America.

In 1976, the Azores became the Autonomous Region of the Azores, one of the autonomous regions of Portugal, and the subdistricts of the Azores were eliminated.

Utopia
The book "Utopia: The Goal of Humanity" was written on the 12th of July 2036 by Jayden Lester. This book outlined a society which Lester calls "perfect". The ideology started to gain a following immediately and one month later a society of Utopianists called the Utopian League offered Portugal 5 billion dollars to buy the Azores. Portugal accepted. In November that year, the Bahamas were bought for 8 billion dollars and Bermuda was bought for 2 billion. This expanded the nation of Utopia throughout the Atlantic. On the 20th of January 2037, Utopia officially declared independence and was swiftly recognized by all nations and invited into the UN.

A temporary government run by the Utopian League ran the country from 2037 to 2042, this was during the Building Era of Utopia. Many progressive laws were introduces, including harsher punishment for corruption, a UBI and being militarily neutral. While there was opposition of forced military training, the backlash led to the removal of the law.

Many space conglomerates and companies merged in 2037 to create the Utopian Extra-Terrestrial Agency, which is a subsidiary of the Utopian government. In 2038 UETA sent a satellite to space, in 2039 3 Mars bases and 1 Moon base was opened to the public and in 2040 a worldwide connection of satellites launched.

In late 2040 the Lester Space Station (LSS) opened, which would become the largest spaceport in existence. It would service 85% of all goods and people coming to space. It also would house many, as it is also a space hotel. In 2041 The Utopian League started mining asteroids, as it was technically a company. This led to Utopia's wealth increasing even more.

On March 1, 2042, the Caribbean nations of the Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Barbados, St. Kitts & Nevis, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago each had a referendum on whether to join Utopia. All but Trinidad and Tobago voted yes. This led to the Caribbean Act which led to the building of infrastructure and economy to bring the islands to the same level as the rest of Utopia.

In April, Utopia passed the Government Act, which ended the Building Period and fully created Utopia's government as a Parliamentary Presidentary Republic which allowed parties.

The Azores
The archipelago of the Azores is located in the middle of the northern hemisphere of the Atlantic Ocean and extends along a west-northwest to east-southeast orientation (between 36.5°–40° North latitudes and 24.5°–31.5° West longitudes) in an area approximately 600 kilometres (373 miles) wide. The islands of the Azores emerged from what is called the Azores Platform, a 5.8 million km region that is morphologically accented by a depth of 2,000 metres (6,600 feet).

From a geostructural perspective the Azores is located above an active triple junction between three of the world's large tectonic plates (the North American Plate, the Eurasian Plate and the African Plate), a condition that has translated into the existence of many faults and fractures in this region of the Atlantic. The westernmost islands of the archipelago (Corvo and Flores) are located in the North American Plate, while the remaining islands are located within the boundary that divides the Eurasian and African Plates.

The nine islands that compose the archipelago occupy a surface area of 2,346 km2 (906 sq mi), that includes both the main islands and many islets located in their vicinities. Each of the islands have their own distinct geomorphological characteristics that make them unique: Corvo (the smallest island) is a crater of a major Plinian eruption; Flores (its neighbor on the North American Plate) is a rugged island carved by many valleys and escarpments; Faial characterized for its shield volcano and caldera (Cabeço Gordo); Pico, is the highest point, at 2,351 meters (7,713 ft), in the Azores and continental Portugal; Machina is known for its active Furnas do Enxofre and mixture of volcanic cones and plains; São Jorge is a long slender island, formed from fissural eruptions over thousands of years; Terceira, almost circular, is the location of one of the largest craters in the region; São Miguel is the largest island, and is pitted with many large craters and fields of spatter cones; and Santa Maria, the oldest island, is heavily eroded, being one of the few places to encounter brown sandy beaches in the archipelago. They range in surface area from the largest, São Miguel, at 759 km2 (293 sq mi) to the smallest, Corvo, at approximately 17 km2 (7 sq mi).

These islands can be divided into three recognizable groups located on the Azores Platform: In addition, several sub-surface reefs (particularly the Dollabarat on the fringe of the Formigas), banks (specifically the Princess Alice Bank and D. João de Castro Bank, as well as many hydrothermal vents and sea-mounts are monitored by the regional authorities, owing to the complex geotectonic and socioeconomic significance within the economic exclusion zone of the archipelago.
 * The Eastern Group of Utopia Island, Santa Maria and Formigas Islets
 * The Central Group of Terceira, Machina, São Jorge, Pico and Faial
 * The Western Group of Flores and Corvo.

The Bahamas
The country lies between latitudes 20° and 28°N, and longitudes 72° and 80°W.

In 1864, the Governor of the Bahamas reported that there were 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 rocks in the colony.[46]

The closest island to the United States is Bimini, which is also known as the gateway to the Bahamas. The island of Abaco is to the east of Grand Bahama. The southeasternmost island is Inagua. The largest island is Andros Island. Other inhabited islands include Eleuthera, Cat Island, Rum Cay, Long Island, San Salvador Island, Ragged Island, Acklins, Crooked Island, Exuma, Berry Islands and Mayaguana. Nassau, capital city of the Bahamas, lies on the island of New Providence.

All the islands are low and flat, with ridges that usually rise no more than 15 to 20 m (49 to 66 ft). The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia (formerly Como Hill) on Cat Island. It has an elevation of 63 metres (207 ft).

Damaged homes in the Bahamas in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma in 2005

To the southeast, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and three more extensive submarine features called Mouchoir Bank, Silver Bank and Navidad Bank, are geographically a continuation of the Bahamas.

Bermuda
Bermuda is a group of low-forming volcanoes in the Atlantic Ocean, near the western edge of the Sargasso Sea, roughly 578 nautical miles(1,070 km (665 mi)) east-southeast of Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and about 594 nautical miles (1,100 km (684 mi)) southeast of Martha's Vineyard of Massachusetts. It is 898 nautical miles (1,664 km (1,034 mi)) northeast of Miami, Florida, and 667 nautical miles (1,236 km (768 mi)) from Cape Sable Island, in Nova Scotia, Canada. The islands lie due east of Fripp Island, South Carolina, west-northwest of Cape Verde, southeast of New York City, New York, north-northwest of Brazil and 1,759 km (1,093 mi) north of Cuba.

It has 103 km (64 mi) of coastline. The two incorporated municipalities in Bermuda are the City of Hamilton and the Town of St George. Bermuda is divided into nine parishes, which have some localities called villages, such as Flatts Village and Somerset Village.

Although usually referred to in the singular, the territory consists of 181 islands, with a total area of 53.3 square kilometres (20.6 square miles). The largest island is Main Island, sometimes called Bermuda. Eight of the larger islands are connected by bridges, and are the populated islands. Compiling a list of the islands is often complicated, as many have more than one name (as does the entire archipelago, which has also been known historically as La Garza, Virgineola, and the Isle of Devils. Somers Isles is often rendered "Somers Islands", or mistaken for "Summer Isles").

Despite the small land mass, place names are repeated: two islands named Long Island, three bays named Long Bay (on Somerset, Main, and Cooper's islands), two Horseshoe Bays (one in Southampton, on the Main Island, the other at Morgan's Point, formerly Tucker's Island), two roads through cuttings called Khyber Pass, one in Warwick, the other in St. George's Parish, and two St George's Towns on St George's Island in St George's Parish, each known as St George's. There is a Hamilton Parish in addition to the City of Hamilton in Pembroke Parish.

Bermuda is the northernmost point of the Bermuda Triangle, a region of sea in which, according to legend, a number of aircraft and surface vessels have disappeared under supposedly unexplained or mysterious circumstances.

Politics
Utopia is a parliamentary republic in which the most powerful executive position is that of president. The political system has three branches-- legislative, executive and judicial, with universal suffrage for citizens at least 14 years old. Elections are supervised by an independent Election Commission that includes members from all major political parties. Parties must register with the commission prior to participating in a national election. The president is elected by plurality vote, which means that not always the party of the president is the party in charge.

Utopia is divided into states, and then into councils. Each council has 10,000 people. Each council elects a representative to represent them in the National Parliament, which has 1663 seats as of 2042. The party with the most seats is the party in power. The president does not have as much power as most countries' president, as the party in charge holds the most power. The National Parliament has the power to enact laws, approve the budget, schedule presidential elections, select and dismiss the President and other ministers, declare war, deploy troops abroad, and ratify international treaties and agreements. The president serves as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and has the authority to return a bill for further debate, although the parliament can override the presidential veto by a simple majority vote of all members of parliament.

Government
The next and first presidential/parliamentary elections are scheduled to occur 1 November, 2044. Right now the Utopianist party is in charge, led by Jayden Lester, who is also the president. Jayden Lester is retiring in 2044, and the party is deciding a new candidate. Many other minor parties have formed in the last year, but none have reached the size of the Utopianist Party yet.

Administrative Divisions
Utopia is a unitary state.