Capital
A Capital is the center of governance and political activity within a polity.
- The appropriately named Capital (world) is the capital of the largest and likely the most powerful Supra-polity within Charted Space, the Third Imperium.
- Capitals are not only of interest to merchants and travellers, but they are also used to calculate the IISS metric, the Importance Extension, which is a gross measure of a world's overall interstellar importance in generalized terms.
Description (Specifications)
There are three Trade Classifications involving capitals within the interstellar trade system.
Trade Classification Political Factors
| Trade Classification Codes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Code | Type | Remarks | ||
| Subsector Capital | (Cp) | Political | The capital of the local region, usually a subsector in size. | ||
| Sector Capital | (Cs) | Political | The capital of a group of hundreds of star systems, typically a sector in size. | ||
| Imperial Capital | (Cx) | Political | The overall capital of an interstellar government, an interstellar polity. | ||
A world designated as a capital often experiences extra trade and increased prestige.
Interstellar Capitals of the Major Races
These are the six major races near universally recognized throughout Charted Space. Of these, Humaniti has three recognized major race branches. Both groups form the Big Nine.
| Interstellar Capitals of the Major Races (Big Nine) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Demonym /
Socionym |
Capital | Homeworld | Polity | Remarks |
| 1. | Aslan (Fteirle) | Kuzyu | Kuzyu | Aslan Hierate: 4,345 worlds | Kuzyu is the spiritual heart of the expanding Aslan territories. It is a meeting-place for the many clans that form the Hierate. |
| 2. | Droyne | Droynia | Droynia | Droyne Oytrip Yatroy: 50+ worlds | No one has ever found the actual location of this world. It is also known as Eskayloyt, which translates from the Oynprith language as "Lost World". |
| 3. | Hiver | Glea | Guaran | Hive Federation: 4,434 worlds | Glea was chosen as the capital of the Federation over the homeworld due to cosmopolitan influences and a desire to have a non-Hiver world as the seat of government. |
| 4. | Humaniti: Imperial Man | Capital | Terra | Third Imperium: 11,000+ worlds | Capital was originally known as Sylea. It is the homeworld of the Syleans, a minor human race, who form the majority of the world's population. |
| 5. | Humaniti: Solomani | Home | Terra | Solomani Confederation: 2,000+ worlds | Home became the Solomani capital following the Imperial conquest of Terra during the Solomani Rim War. |
| 6. | Humaniti: Vilani | Vland | Terra | Ziru Sirka: 10,000+ worlds | Ancestral Vilani were transplanted to Vland from Terra by the Ancients, between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago. It is traditionalist, conservative and bureaucratic. |
| 7. | Humaniti: Zhodani | Zhdant | Terra | Zhodani Consulate: 5,000+ worlds | Ancestral Zhodani were transplanted to Zhdant from Terra by the Ancients, between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago. Psionics are common on the world and within the Consulate. |
| 8. | K'kree | Kirur | Kirur | Two Thousand Worlds: 2,000+ worlds | Despite its status as a major population center and the capital of a vast interstellar state, Kirur retains a bucolic, unspoiled feel. |
| 9. | Vargr | None | Lair | Vargr Extents: 2,000+ worlds | The fragmented Vargr recognize no single world as their overall capital, though most hold Lair in high esteem. Even within a single state there may be rival claimants to the title of Capital world. |
Interstellar Capitals of the Minor Human Races
Interstellar Capitals of the Minor Non-Human Races
| Interstellar Capitals of the Minor Non-Human Races | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demonym /
Socionym |
Capital | Homeworld | Polity | Remarks | |
| Bwap | Marhaban | Marhaban | Bwap Space: 66 worlds | TBD | |
| Graytch | Liigash | Liigash | Graytch Space: 16 worlds | TBD | |
| Jaibok | Vech | Vech | Korsumug Empire: 121 worlds | A militaristic, expansionistic state dominated by aggressive Reptillianoid sophonts located on the distant coreward fringes of the Great Rift. | |
| Mavuzo | Mavuzo | Mavuzo | Principality of Mavuzo: 16 worlds | A state dominated by hierarchical symbiotic non-human sophonts lying at the very edge of Charted Space, involved in a tense cold war against the Korsumug Empire. | |
| Vegans | Muan Gwi | Muan Gwi | Vegan Autonomous District: 32 worlds | A region created by the Imperium following the Solomani Rim War to act as counterweight to the remnants of the Solomani Confederation. | |
| TBD Sophont | TBD (world) | TBD (world) | TBD Polity: ## worlds | TBD | |
| TBD Sophont | TBD (world) | TBD (world) | TBD Polity: ## worlds | TBD | |
| TBD Sophont | TBD (world) | TBD (world) | TBD Polity: ## worlds | TBD | |
History & Background (Dossier)
Capitals exist at nearly all levels of societal development. A soon as societies become large enough to separate into distinctive sub-polities, dominance among competing factions on a regional or locational level become important and the most dominant becomes designated the capital.
Charted Space has grown to be an interstellar system with an interlinking systems of competing polities whose economies affect one another. Any capital at the subsector level, Pocket Empire level, or above acquires a Capital Trade Classification. The smaller capitals at the World-State, balkanized Nation-State, or lower levels simply lack the authority under the majority of conditions to effectively compete on the interstellar market. Such worlds may matter individually, but the vast majority of them will lack the authority of bigger fish to influence the interstellar economic system significantly.
Standard Polity Growth Sequence
MACRO LEVEL:
MICRO LEVEL:
- Proto-Society → Band Society → Tribal Society or Chiefdom → City-State → Nation-State → World-State → Pocket Empire → Interstellar State → Intergalactic State → Final State → Singularity
References & Contributors (Sources)
- T5 Core Rules
- Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science