Republic of Columbia

The Republic of Columbia, often shortened to the Columbian Republic, is a state in the Capital Wasteland and the only semblance of law and order in the region. The republic controls the D.C. Ruins, as well as the lands east of Warrington, southeast of Paradise Falls and south of Canterbury Commons.
==History==
===Prelude===
In 2278, the Brotherhood of Steel escorted the Lone Wanderer to the Jefferson Memorial and reclaimed Project Purity within. By activating the project, the Capital Wasteland was forever changed. Although the Lone Wanderer could have rid the region of all of its mutated inhabitants, he saw the value in preserving all forms of adapted life, especially the humans who had merely spent their days outside of a vault. In doing so, they ensured that the anarchy and disorder of the Capital Wasteland would come to an end, merely the dark chapter before the founding of the Republic of Columbia. 
In the aftermath of the seizure of Project Purity, a contingent of Brotherhood of Steel paladins led Liberty Prime to Raven Rock. In order to bar the Brotherhood from claiming the Enclave's headquarters for themselves, President John Henry Eden remote uplinked to a terminal within a bunker several miles beneath the radioactive ruins of the White House and initiated a self destruct sequence of Raven Rock. Still, the Enclave persisted their presence to the southeast at Adams Air Force Base. Through espionage and a well coordinated assault by the Brotherhood, the base was destroyed and the Enclave scattered to the north. With these aggressors gone, the Capital Wasteland could begin rebuilding itself.
===Securing Transportation===
From 2283 into the mid 2290s, the Brotherhood of Steel and Rivet City worked on establishing trade networks with the other settlements of the Capital Wasteland. Their first course of action was to retake the National Mall, which could serve as a staging area for further operations, as well as a hub for many Metro stations into the surrounding neighborhoods of the D.C. Ruins. More importantly, capturing the metro stations of The Mall would allow for expeditions into Metro Central, arguably the most significant location in terms of transportation networks. Operation Canvas Bag began in February 2285 when three platoons of Brotherhood Knights and Paladins (totaling 74 men and women) spilled out of the Georgetown Metro and secured the Lincoln Memorial. Three days later, reconnaissance had gathered information on the trenches to the west and a fourth platoon entered the operation from Smithsonian Station. The trenches were captured from the super mutants with light casualties over the next ten days. From here, platoons were sent into the Museum of Technology and the National Archives to clear them both of super mutants so Brotherhood scribes could safely operate within them. All of the super mutants that remained on The Mall were now cooped up in the Capitol, and all 67 Knights and Paladins of the four platoons spearheaded the fortification and seized it, capturing the entire Mall.
Once the National Mall was seized, the Brotherhood and Rivet City entered into a trade agreement with Underworld, offering defense in exchange for scavenged goods and manual labor. Bit by bit, the metro tunnels connecting to the surrounding neighborhoods of Georgetown, Pennsylvania Avenue and Seward Square were cleared. By 2287, the recently grown Rivet City security force and the Brotherhood could reclaim the neighborhoods from the super mutant tribes through sheer force. In the same year, Metro Central was rid of the ghouls and raiders within, enabling Rivet City to send emissaries who sought to strike a trade agreement to Megaton and Canterbury Commons. Metro Central even began growing into a settlement of its own, become the trading hub for the D.C. Ruins. 
===Forging a State===
Following successful negotiations, Rivet City engineers began repairing neglected radio towers and power lines in 2288, making their way toward Megaton and Canterbury Commons. After perfecting their hydroponics technology in 2290, Rivet City also transported the technology to the two towns. Vault 101, which opened itself to the wasteland in 2280, was instrumental to the development of Megaton and Springvale by providing Megaton with engineers and scientists to aid in technological upkeep. In 2294, twelve representatives from the Brotherhood of Steel, Rivet City, Megaton, Vault 101, Canterbury Commons and Underworld came together in the Citadel to formalize their alliances and become a single nation under the authorization of the First Columbian Congress.
===The State Expands===
In the coming years, other settlements would petition to be inducted into the Republic of Columbia. Such cases included Grayditch in 2299 after it had grown to a considerable size by being a resting point between Megaton and the Citadel, and Arefu in 2312 after having cultivated an economy based on fishing after erosion reworked the curvature of the Potomac River and allowed it to flow inland once more. 
Other settlements on the frontiers of the Republic had to earn the opportunity to have their cases heard. In the case of Warrington, the settlement had to remove the presence of feral ghouls from the Warrington Tunnels leading into Washington, D.C. and remove the presence of raiders from the neighboring regions, particularly Evergreen Mills, before the Columbian Congress would even entertain the notion of membership to the government, which they achieved in 2304. 
Still, other districts were integrated out of necessity for the Republic. In the 2310s, the northern half of the Capital Wasteland changed monumentally as it experienced unprecedented growth of vegetation, and agriculture became a viable endeavor. Paradise Falls, still a slaving compound on the outskirts of civilization, was centered within the Green Belt and its conquest became the main objective of the Republic. In a two month long siege, the Army of the Republic of Columbia (A.R.C.) killed or captured every slaver within the compound. Shortly after, the abolitionists who had settled in the Temple of the Union relocated to Paradise Falls to gain the protection of the Columbia Republic. The Republic annexed Paradise Falls and Bigtown, adding them to the Columbian Congress in 2317.
To ensure the safety of the Republic, the Columbian Congress approved Operation Sweeping Steel in 2320, authorizing the A.R.C. and the Lyons' Pride to assault Vault 87 and displace the super mutants. The operation had been conceptualized since 2281, shortly after the Brotherhood of Steel learned of the involvement of Vault 87 in the super mutant threat from the Lone Wanderer. Although for over 40 years, it had remained too risky to take action against it. The month long siege began in March 2320 with the invasion of Little Lamplight into Murder Pass. Casualties remained low within Murder Pass, but once the A.R.C. entered Vault 87 proper, one in every four soldiers succumbed to the super mutant hordes. In April, the super mutants realized their forces could not hold up to the seemingly endless supply of Columbian soldiers and fled west. The remaining A.R.C. forces were commanded to continue leading the charge against the super mutants, pushing them northwest into Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
==Government==
The Republic of Columbia is a federal republic, meaning its power is derived from popular election of delegates. On June 7, 2294, the First Columbia Congress ratified its constitution which set up its government structure and established national laws, based in part on a copy of the Bill of Rights from the Capitol Preservation Society. Such laws included freedom of expression, security of citizen effects from their government, the upholding of due process and refraining from cruel and unusual punishment, bans on discrimination based on a citizen's sex, race, sexuality and extent of mutation, and bans on the manufacture, solicitation and unregulated sale of chems not of a medical nature. 
The constitution stipulates that delegates are elected from every district every three years; the number of delegates is determined by population: every district has at least two, and one more for every 200 people the district has over 200. With a population of approximately 12,000 people, the Republic is represented by 80 delegates. Currently, there are eleven districts: Megaton-Springvale, Rivet City, Citadel, South D.C., East D.C., North D.C., Grayditch, Warrington, Big Town, Paradise Falls and Canterbury Commons. 
On the first and fifteenth day of every month, the delegates meet in the Republic's capital, the Citadel, to discuss problems facing their districts and propose solutions. The Republic also has a judicial branch composed of a single representative of each district chosen by the delegates of that district. This court oversees the sentencing of lawbreakers who have appealed to district law enforcers to be sentenced by the court. Usually convicts are sentenced to manual labor, like digging to lengthen the Potomac River or working in the fields up north; in the case of prison sentences, most convicts serve time in Germantown but hardened repeat offenders find themselves in Vault 92 or Vault 87 (after 2320). 
===Military===
The Columbian Congress exercises control over the Army of the Republic of Columbia (A.R.C.). The Army is a sizable force, composed of nearly 700 servicemen and women spread across the Republic in multiple bases, of which each district has at least one. The largest military bases include Fort Bannister, Fort Independence, Fort Constantine and Wheaton Armory. Most if not all equipment for the Army was either taken from the National Guard Depot in Washington, D.C. or seized from annexed locales. The standard firearm is the R91 5.56mm assault rifle and standard uniform is first generation combat armor. 
As with most militaries, the ARC also has elite forces: the Brotherhood of Steel still maintains a sizable military force outfitted with T-45d power armor and laser weaponry; the Lyons' Pride is still operational, but is only called when absolutely needed, such as when the Brotherhood purged the super mutants from Vault 87. With current communications equipment and transportation facilities, a platoon of troops can be called to any region within a few days. Forces stationed in Warrington can be mobilized to Canterbury Commons in only four days.
==Gallery==
Republic of Columbia.png
Category:Faction
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