///From the author: much as with earlier posts about Mars, Titan, and other worlds, this post will detail the history and background of the Confederation of the Main Belt and the Vesta Commune, the two main powers in the Asteroid Belt. While Mars is the ICA's main military and industrial base, the Confederation is its major merchant power, with Vesta standing in stark contrast as a military-run autocracy which relies on the strength of the Alliance Armada to enforce order in its space. Together these two federal states make up nearly 85 percent of the Belt's population, and the rivalry between them is almost as contentious as that between Mars and Titan. This is their story...
The Confederation of the Main Belt
First reached by humans: July 1972 (uncrewed); September 2053 (crewed)
2389 Population: approximately 2.18 billion
Capital: de facto is Nereida, Republic of Ceres (population: 1.7 million)
Affiliation: Interplanetary Cooperative Administration (ICA)
Current government:
Established: 23 September 2197
Current constitution adopted: 4 October 2257
Government details: constitutional federation; seat of government - the Palace of Tranquility, Nereida; primary organ of government authority - the Belter's Parliament; Prime Minister - Augustus Delmont (since 2382)
Primary industries: shipping (Ceres and its cohorts are the mercantile superpower of the solar system, with Ceres itself often referred to as the gateway to deep space)
Gross Domestic Product: approximately $95.7 trillion
Average GDP per capita: approximately $43.9 thousand
The Vesta Commune
First reached by humans: July 1972 (uncrewed); September 2053 (crewed)
2389 Population: approximately 792 million
Capital: Port Divalia, Union of Vesta (population: 470 thousand)
Affiliation: Alliance of Free Worlds
Current government:
Established: 11 March 2343
Current constitution adopted: 27 April 2348
Government details: single party autocratic federation; seat of government - the Gray Hall, Port Divalia; primary organ of government authority - the Free People's Assembly; Premiere - Valentin Burgao (since 2378)
Primary industries: shipping (Vesta fills much the same role for the Alliance that Ceres does for the ICA); mining and manufacturing
Gross Domestic Product: approximately $27.2 trillion
Average GDP per capita: approximately $34.3 thousand
More to come, when it's ready...