The Luchian colonial administration was the polity that ruled the Luchian colonial empire until 2'111, and afterward governed San Morin. It also formed the government of the Independent Colonies.

Structure

The "colonial administration" was the group of people who ruled Luche's colonial territories; as the administration's colonial policy changed, its constituency changed accordingly. Most often, the administration consisted of several layers of councils of military officers and guildsmen.

The administration was based in San Digo, northern San Morin, and the palatial headquarters it built there. It was completely autonomous from the parent City-State of Luche in the archipelago.

During the Follower's Way expansion, the administration council consisted virtually only of merchant guildsmen; after the Ogre War and the rise in importance of the navy, officers joined the group. After the Iron War and the collapse of Luche's first colonial empire, military men and Morinian politicians and industrials gained considerably in influence. The admiralty's dominance of the administration was unquestioned when the eastern colonization began; both San Digo and Deepwater stood under naval authority. After the Subjugation, local Morinians once more took matters in hand, and merchants were prominent during the Second and Third Wave resettling of Colupan.

History

Western Empire

The Luchian colonial administration began as a small group of officers and constructivists who governed San Digo and led the Luchian army in the Esploratori War. Victorious, the administration found itself ruling half of San Morin, and indirectly governing the Dynnegall Esploratori Colony as well. Very quickly, merchants - the cornerstone of early Morinian economic development - took over from the military officers. They organized most of the shipping between the archipelago and San Morin, and already had more power than any other sovereign human state - including Luche itself.

The administration annexed some territory of its own, building a naval base and small settlements on Threeisle. After the Ogre War in 2'869 b. OW, the importance of a navy became obvious: bases and arsenals were built in the colonies and on San Morin, the island of Dragonview was expanded into a vast military complex and headquarters, and the admiralty became an important power within the administration.

After the Iron War in 2'111, a trade conflict between Luchian merchants and the Litchian people, the thalassocratic economic network of Litchy, Bamea and Greentree collapsed; Luche lost control over both these islands.

After this, the colonial administration found itself ruling over San Morin and smaller outlying islands such as Loneisle and Midway.

Eastern Empire

2'010, the colonial administration began what it saw as empire-building in the east. It colonised Colupan, establishing a colony with capital in Deepwater. Colupan served as a good naval base, while Luchian ships sailed all the way to the Mruggenrykz in the north, where Luche established a wharf in Chelid which built high-quality dark oak ships.

Drubark invaded the Mruggenrykz in 1'084, and Luche ensured it could keep its access to Chelid's wharf. Though it had no intention of doing so, the administration's navy would have been able to cause serious damage to Drubark if it had not complied.

Luche lost Colupan to internal revolt - the Human Acceptance movement - and the rising Trensandor clan in 935 b. OW. This marked the end of Luche's second colonial empire.

Independent Colonies

After a political crisis in 2'010, the colonial administration decided to finally officially sever its relations with its parent state and form the Independent Colonies. This was a mostly diplomatic issue, as the workings of Morinian government and the colonial navy hardly changed. And, while archipelago Luche suffered a great blow to its power, the administration was hardly harmed by the secession: it retained control over the vast economic strength of San Morin, and still had its bases on Dragonview and Midway, along with its huge navy.

The Independent Colonies believed they were about to recreate an empire rivaling the one they had lost a century earlier, but this time in the east. Accordingly, administration officials made sure that the Colupan colony was part of the Independent Colonies state, though this purported unity was hard to realize over such vast distances.

After the loss of its eastern empire, the Independent Colonies reverted to a less imperialist small-state policy, engaging in trade with the archipelago and seeking a rapprochement with Luche - after all, the two states were still vaguely "the same people".

Weluche. When Weluche was founded in 881 b. OW, the Independent Colonies joined out of economic interest; its people gained citizen status, but the state remained sovereign. With time, their economies would grow more interdependent, and a trade system emerged where Morinian traders played the key role of bringing Bamean metals into Weluche.

Though the colonial administration was officially disbanded when the Independent Colonies joined Weluche, its structures and officials remained virtually unchanged. Though slowly declining, the colonial administration would continue to have a significant political and cultural impact on San Morin throughout the Weluchian era, until the brightlords revolution and the establishment of the State of San Morin.

Heraldry

Until 2'010 b. OW, the colonial administration saw itself as a sovereign authority within Luche. Accordingly, the administration's flag was used only to mark its officials, but ships, soldiers, and public buildings still flew the Luchian banner. Accordingly, colonial heraldry, including city flags and the like, featured Luche's star-and-moon much more prominently and often than the administration's palm tree. For example, colonial troops only wore Luchian colors, and colonial flags such as that of Loneisle featured the star-and-moon.

The Independent Colonies still saw themselves inherently as Luchian, and accordingly kept the star-and-moon motif. In fact, the Independent Colonies flew more Luchian flags than Luche itself. The eastern colonies' flags often featured the Luchian crest: Rolandland province, the cities of Porto Namo and Namburg, and the flag of the Independent Colonies itself only displayed the star-and-moon, and no palm. After the eastern empire's fall and the rise of Weluche, the popularity of Luchian symbols, and in fact of colonial symbols as a whole, faded. Many people began flying local flags, and Morinian ships now flew their home port's banner rather than the Luchian streamer.

Morinian nationalist movements rejected everything reminiscent of Luche, and accordingly, none of the colonial administration's heraldry could be found in brightlord and State of San Morin symbolism.

Composition and Symbolism

Colonial administration heraldry often featured bluish-purple backgrounds, standing for a colonial empire, and either golden (for opulence) or white (for holy duty and success) stars and sickle moons (the star standing for the Star, both its patronage and the holy duty it dictated, and the moon for the Luchian people).

Official administration crests and emblems also used a palm tree to distinguish themselves; it was drawn from the city of San Digo's symbol.

In the administration's flag, the capital letters "R" and "LN" were featured as well; they stood for regnete lenni nuovi (colonial administration in Standard Common).