Foreign and military relations of the Republic of California
Part 3 (of 6): The South
The Republic's chief neighbor to the south is, of course, the other California, the Free Zone, in which a theocratic President and a bewildering labyrinth of officials rule the Los Angeles basin from the capital city of Ellei. There are three main routes into the Free Zone. The wide Tehon Pass is the main route by land; it leaves the south end of California's central valley and descends through the hill country surrounding Los Angeles, entering the Free Zone from the northwest. Another route is the trecherous road that hugs the coast, where rockslides and bandits alike threaten travellers who are not well-armed. Finally and most importantly is the sea, the route that carries the greatest volume of trade between the two empires.
Beyond the Free Zone is harsh desert. Unlike the Nevadan desert region, the land of the Mohave and Death Valley has no major tribal confederations, and few people live in groups larger than an extended family. Distant from the capital, they are mostly ignored by the Republic's government which sees in them neither worthy allies nor worthy threats. The main route into this desolate country is the Teachapi Pass.
Further south are the states of coastal Mexico. The Republic's dealings with them are limited and usually conducted through the navy.
The Republic also considers two internal regions in its calculations of southward foreign relations. These are the inner barbarians of the Temblor and Diablo Mountains, and the partly autonomous Four Towns of the Arguello. The Guardian of the Southern Reaches is responsible for managing the Republic's relations with these special regions as well as defending the southern frontier and regulating trade with the Free Zone.
The Free Zone
Californians (of the Republic) are not sure how to feel about the Free Zoners. Most people know they were once part of the Republic, but they went off on their own so long ago that they seem more like a distant relative than a wayward son. The Free Zone shares with the Republic a scientologist religion and certain cultural institutions like the Sagas. But the two sides of any religious schism often have more hard feelings toward one another than toward complete outsiders. Peasants and townsmen in the Southern Reaches are taught to beware of the heresies that traveling merchants and entertainers might bring from the south. Whether a Free Zoner will be welcome among Republicans will vary from town to town, and from person to person.
The average Californian peasant or trader, even among those who have contact with people across the border, knows nothing about the reasons for the schism or how his religion differs from the other side's. Even those with some education tend only to know about a few broad differences; so a Republican might know that the Free Zoners pray to many "false clarises" that his state church has not approved. Most of the theological debate happens only at the highest level, and by now, after a couple of centuries of arguing, most Californian theologians from the two empires have stopped addressing the controversies and have moved on to other topics. In reality the differences are more cultural than anything else; the Republic's state church tends to be more orderly and regulated, while the Free Zone church has spawned innumerable religious orders and societies, all of which play some traditional role in government, to the point where few people could explain how it all fits together.
Trade
Despite various religious misunderstandings, the Free Zone remains the Republic's biggest outside trading partner in terms of volume of goods. The lively trade in food allows the south and the north to specialize in different crops. The Republic makes meat and other animal products not widely produced in the Free Zone, and the south makes up the balance with warm-weather fruit and certain specialty crafts, in particular glassmaking.
By sea, this trade is carried out largely by the Republic's merchant marine, a body closely associated with the Great Western Shore, the Republic's navy. By land, most of the carrying is done by merchant companies based in either empire; Bakersfield is known as the base for many such companies. The companies own the wagons and pack animals and hire teamsters to take them over the Tehon or other mountain passes. A few independent merchants exist as well, but it is hard to earn a profit making the long and risky journey through the mountains, and a trading company reduces the risk that one rockslide or bandit attack could destroy one's entire operation. The most powerful trading companies are very old institutions indeed; they may own a lot of land and compete with the landowning nobles for attention and favors from the Gubernatorial government.
Merchant teams often subcontract guides and bodyguards from among the "biker" clans of the mountains. The bikers are horse-riding nomads who do not keep large herds like the Cowboys of the plains, but instead earn most of their subsistence either as guides or as highwaymen - frequently as both, depending on how much a customer is willing to pay for services. Other biker groups migrate within the Republic where they similarly engage in trade or plunder depending on the group and the circumstance, but this is a topic for another time.
Warfare
A few times in history, the Republic has invaded the Free Zone by land or sea. This has almost always been an extension of diplomacy through force, an attempt to coerce the southerners into modifying some trade or other practice when they could not be persuaded otherwise. Conquering the Free Zone outright is considered impractical.
When the Republic has been at the height of its power, its governor has at times coerced the FZ and its president into recognizing his suzerainty, making the FZ a vassal state. When this has happened, it has gone together with talks about religious unification that always ended up drowning in the details and provoking a backlash that damaged the Republic's influence over its neighbor.
FOr these reasons, the Republic keeps a sizeable force in the south to awe the Free Zoners and communicate its own power and wealth, but major wars are rare.
Nomads
The desert nomads to the southwest of California mostly fall beneath the notice of the Republic's government, both of the rulers in Sacramento and the Guardian stationed nearby. The Republic's subjects who live in mountain villages carry on some small-scale trade with them, and occasionally a party will climb to the pass and raid a trading convoy, but mostly the desert people are ignored. Since they have few permanent chiefs, the Guardian is not able to make clients of them as easily as the Master in the East can with the Nevadan tribes.
Inner barbarians
Also of importance are the "inner barbarians" who live in the mountains separating the Samwakeme (San Joachim) and Salinas valleys. In these ranges there is some irrigated agriculture, but the land is marginal compared to the rich land of the valleys. So most of the people who live there are disconnected from the system of farming and serfdom that is the fabric of Californian society. They live in isolated villages and farmsteads, or in semi-nomadic groups, in relative freedom. Their dialect is distinct enough from the rest of California to mark them as different.
Given that their lands are not valuable and their numbers are few, the Republic is rarely too concerned about these mountain peoples. They are expected to pay tribute in goods, though not in labor, to be collected by the small squads of soldiers that patrol the mountains. They also must contribute recruits to the army, and indeed recruits from this harsh region are highly desirable and often become officers along the frontiers. The more-or-less priveleged status they enjoy means that these groups cause few problems for the Republic, but problems do flare up occasionally. One persistent issue is serfs from the surrounding lowlands fleeing into the mountains.
The Arguello
The Arguello is the coastal region between the cities of San Luis and Santa Barbara, the Republic's last outpost before Free Zone territory. Very isolated from the rest of the Republic, the Arguello also enjoys considerable autonomy, though most of its people are unfree peasants as in the central valley. Its chief landowners and merchant princes, however, have more authority over local government than elsewhere. The region is traditionally divided into four towns, and each town has a Committee of civic leaders who have the power to raise taxes locally and summon a local militia, something not known in other parts of California.
The central government names a Lieutenant Governor, usually a member of the ruling family, to manage affairs here and keep the towns in line. His role is much more that of a constitutional than an absolute monarch; he must always consider the opinions of the four committees in his decisions.
Ultimately, though, the Arguello is defended by the southern army. It stations troops at the border in Santa Barbara and in San Luis. It has the power to draft soldiers in the towns of San Luis and Santa Maria, while the navy can impress sailors in Santa Barbara and Lompoc. The region's division into four parts is a useful check on the aristocracy's power, since joint action is more difficult.
The Guardian of the Southern Reaches
The Republic's delegate for dealing with the Free Zone, the southern overland trade, the desert nomads, the inner barbarians, and the Four Towns is the Guardian of the Southern Reaches. His main headquarters is the mountain fortress of Tehon, built overlooking the main pass, though not spanning its entire bredth like the Donnerfort in the east. A number of other fortifications and ditchworks guard Tehon and other passes to deter attacks by Free Zoners and barbarians alike. He also spends a certain amount of time in Santa Maria in the Arguello.
The nature of the Southern Reaches means that the Guardian must make frequent trips south to Ellei to act as the Governor's ambassador to the Free Zone. As he has a considerable amount of troops at his command, when he makes such a visit he can usually expect to get most of what he wants.
Very far from the capital and the centers of power, the Guardianship is seen as something of a dead-end position for a member of California's high nobility. It has important responsibilities and pays a generous pension, like the other great frontier commands, but it lacks the prestige and the opportunity to participate in court politics that the Northern and Eastern commands offer.