Libertine Kingdom

Founded by the self proclaimed King Daniel of Liberty, the Libertine Kingdom is a sizable government controlling an area roughly the size of Belgium in the old state of Missouri. Though founded originally through the then warlord Daniel Philmont, the nature of the Libertine Kingdom at present is that of a loose feudal society, with local governments retaining a decent amount of authority in their respective lordships and counties These local governments are required to financially and militarily support their royal lord, however. The royal lords are also legally allowed to evict local lords from their lordships, though this would be considered an extreme action. Becoming a vassal of the Kingdom was often seen as the most attractive option for nearby lords, who's only other option could very well be war with the powerful neighboring Kingdom. After the deat of Daniel Philmont who renamed himself Daniel Libertine, his children split the Kingdom into three Duchies in order to avoid a conflict over succession.

The Collapse
As civilization collapsed, people in the Midwest often fled the cities for the country, both because of the perceived (though later untrue) safety of smaller communities, and because food was much more widely available in a world where the global agriculture and shipping businesses no longer upheld the massive populations of cities. As time wore on, these small communities formed local governments, which upheld their laws through force. These local governments, often headed by a few important families, found themselves rich and powerful, and began to fight each other for the resources that made them rich and powerful. {C}Warlords posed on the edge of the dilapidated cities found them a rich source of resources from the industrial generations, and they took to fighting both each other and the inter-city gangs and bandits for control of these cities. Kansas City was similar, with warlords controlling communities on the edges of the city and fighting with each other for control.

Warlords
One of these warlords was Daniel Philmont, who controlled the Kansas City suburb of Liberty. Five years old when civilization began to collapse in 2017, Daniel Philmont served first as a soldier in a local gang before moving up the ranks and taking control of his gang, and then his home town, founding the city state of Liberty in 2036 when he was just 24.

Kingdom
In a political marriage to the daughter of the aging Lord Phipps of the neighboring Independence city state, Philmont gained control of both regions and became the dominate power in the area. A series of wars throughout his twenties gave him and his state dominance over the city and it's region by 2041, and in that same year he declared his territory the Kingdom of Liberty, making himself King and changing his name to reflect his background; Daniel Libertine, or Daniel the Great.

Through a serious of wars and political drama's, Daniels kingdom expanded to include neighboring towns and large swaths of the countryside, the borders of his Kingdom marked in the south by Harrisonville, in the north by Bethany, in the west by Atchison, and in the east by Bonnville.

Division
King Daniel died in 2069 at age 57 of a heart attack, splitting his Kingdom into three Duchies commanded by his three sons. The eldest, Daniel II born in 2039, gained the larger chunk of the Kingdom in the south. The middle child, Thomas born in 2045, gained the valuable river lands around Saint Joseph. The youngest, Robert born in 2053, gained the less populated farmland around Chillicothe.

Despite the first few years of this split being relatively peaceful, tensions have continued to rise among the three Libertine dukes, with each one wishing to reconstruct his fathers Kingdom through the defeat of his brothers

Feudal Organization
Unlike medieval feudal societies, there is no religious underpinning to the feudalism of the Libertine Kingdom. Rather, the underpinning is a mixture of defense and land management. The birth of this system came from the appearance of gangs very early on in the collapse of civilization. These gangs took control of small areas in order to cement their power. These gangs were most prominent and militant in the areas surrounding the cities, where numbers were hire and competition much more fierce, as survival and power was effected through the control of the growing trade routes where rural societies traded extra food for the things that were easiest found in cities, most notably the metal scraps that were used in the creation of tools and weaponry. In the country, those who were able to enforce their property and power through hired thugs became prominent citizens, and eventually evolved into lords.

As the urban and suburban gangs began to combine and solidify their power, they began to strike out against the agricultural communities in the countryside. This was a common phenomena across the world, though many of these gangs simply became raiders and did little to create structured governments. Liberty was an exception to this common behavior, and when Daniel Philmont solidifed his power through the combination of the Liberty warlordship and the Independence warlordship, he struck out against the countryside with plans to establish more permanent governments. Most rural lords were allowed to retain their power if they simply acknowledged Daniel as their King.



King
King is the title of a lord who acts as the sole ruler of the Libertine Kingdom. This means that all of the Libertine Lords and Counts swear fealty to the King. Unlike medieval Kings, the Libertine Kingship isn't based on a religious "Right of Kings" concept, but rather is upheld through a mixture of political neccessity and force. The King therefore has to be an individual who can hold his Kingdom together. This requires keeping enough of a leash on his lords in order to insure they don't effect any rebellions. It is also required that the King be able to defend those lordships within his Kingdom against outside invaders, as this is one of the major selling points of vassalage.

Dukes
Duchies are Royal partitions of the Kingdom ruled by members of the Royal family. They act in the same capacity as the King, but do not control the entirety of the land that is considered the "Libertine Kingdom". King Daniel divided his Kingdom into three Duchies to avoid any conflicts between his sons.

Lords
Lords are large scale land owners who have the right to partioning land within their dominion. Lordships are mostly pre-Kingdom governments which were incorporated into the Kingdom as it spread. These lordships often date back very far, sometimes going to the end of civilization itself. Lords act as semi-independent governments in their own right, with their only requirement being support for the King and his laws, though monarchs don't push very many laws at all, and most of them are in regards to trade and political interaction.

Counts
Count is a title similar to lord, though this title is given to those who's land was attained as a gift from the King. Their lands were often either subject to several lords, or owned by unorganized gangs or tribes. Aside from the method in which they gained their land, Counts act in the same capacity as Lords.

Nobles
Nobles are those who hold important positions in a society, but do not own their own land in a direct method. Often, they are people who act as stewards of land owned by Lords. These include government officials, mayors, landlords, and the heads of plantantions and farms. Nobles typically operate as managers and therefore do very little work, which allows their children to go off to war as proffesional soldiers or seek more educated careers.

Freemen
Freemen are private landowners. They are often people who worked with lords in the foundation of lordships and were therefore allowed to keep their property. Freemen operate in the same capacity as Nobles, but usually are more well off financially due to their direct access to capital.

Proffesional Soldiers
Proffesional Soldiers are soldiers and officers who spend most of their time training for military duty. When there is no war for these soldiers to participate in, these men often serve in policing and guard roles. Though their numbers are typically small, Proffesional soldiers often hold a military campaign together.

Commoners
Commoners are those who do not own or steward property. These are the majority of people in Libertine society.

Farmers
Farmers are those who work property, though they do not own it. They are given a small wage and a small percentage of the land they work in order to grow vegetables. Though comparable to peasants in Medieval europe, farmers are allowed to leave property and seek a life elsewhere, though this road is usually dangerous.

Laborers
Laborers are those who do non-agricultural work. This includes both industrial jobs such as metal working, gathering jobs such as mining, and other similar positions.

Bourgouise
The Bourgouise are those who perform middle class jobs. These include educated positions, such as Lawyers, people who do merchant work, such as traders and salesmen, and those who operate small businesses such as innkeepers.

Levy Soldiers
In times of war or trouble, a lord can call up a levy of his commoners. These levy's are usually made of the able bodied men who are can leave their work for a short period of time. Most of the time, levy's are just called for small disturbances such as outlaw problems and raids, but if a war takes place lords often will levy an amount of troops for campaigns that last months at a time.

Slaves
Slaves are those who have no rights. Prisoners are often sentences to slavery, and slaves are often captured in war. The rest of those who are made slaves are typically those who were abducted by slavers and sold far from their homes. Due to a need for labor, very few questions are usually asked.

Elite Proffesional Soldiers
Some proffesional soldiers are more notable than others, and take up more specicialized roles in both the military and the Kingdom at large. These are often connected to special titles given by lords and monarchs.

Cavalry
==== Gunmen====

==== Professional Footmen====