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:''This is the article on the constituent country. For the article on the sovereign nation with the same name, see [[Kingdom of Sierra]].''
{{Infobox country
|conventional_long_name = 
|native_name = {{Collapsible list
|titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:center;font-size:85%;
|liststyle = text-align:center;white-space:nowrap;
|title = {{Resize|125%|Sierra}}
|{{Small|{{Nobold|''8 other official names''}}}}
|{{Small|Sierra}} {{Resize|68%|({{W|Spanish language|Spanish}})}}
|{{Small|Sierra}} {{Resize|68%|({{W|French language|French}})}}
|{{Small|{{Nobold|塞拉}}}} {{Resize|68%|([[Tondolese language|Tondolese]])}}
|{{Small|{{Nobold|塞拉}}}}{{references|a}} {{Resize|68%|({{W|Chinese language|Chinese}})}}
|{{Small|Dãy Núi}} {{Resize|68%|({{W|Vietnamese language|Vietnamese}})}}
|{{Small|시에라}} {{Resize|68%|({{W|Korean language|Korean}})}}
|{{Small|シエラ}} {{Resize|68%|({{W|Japanese language|Japanese}})}}
|{{Small|Sierra}} {{Resize|68%|({{W|German language|German}})}}
}}
|image_flag =         Flag of Sierra (civil).svg
|alt_flag =          
|image_flag2 =        
|alt_flag2 =         
|image_coat =  Lesser coat of arms of Sierra.svg
|alt_coat =           
|symbol_type = [[Coat of arms of Sierra|National arms]]
|national_motto =     {{native phrase|la|"[[Libertas sine sacrificio]]"|italics=off}}<br>{{Small|''Liberty without sacrifice''}}<br>{{collapsible list
|title=''{{nobold|Other traditional mottos &nbsp;}} ''
|titlestyle=background:transparent;text-align:center;line-height:1.15em;
|liststyle=text-align:center;white-space:nowrap;
|{{native phrase|la|"{{W|Nemo me impune lacessit}}"|italics=off}}<br>{{small|"No one cuts me with impunity"}}
|{{native phrase|la|"[[House of Columbia|Renatus et redemit]]"|italics=off}}<br>{{small|"Reborn and redeemed"}}
|{{native phrase|la|"Iustita et Libertas"|italics=off}}<br />{{small|"Justice and Liberty"}}
}}
|national_anthem =    ''[[For the Love of Our Union]]''<br>[[File:For the Love of Our Union.ogg|center]]
|royal_anthem =       ''[[God, Country, and Crown]]''<br>[[File:God, Country, and Crown.ogg|center]]
|other_symbol_type =  
|other_symbol =
|image_map = Map of Sierran provinces (colored).svg
|alt_map =            
|map_caption = Map of Sierra with its provincial boundaries     
|image_map2 = 
|alt_map2 = 
|map_caption2 =   
|capital = [[File:Seal of Porciuncula.svg|25px]] [[Porciúncula]]
|latd= 34 | latm= 03 | latNS= N |longd= 118 |longm= 15 |longEW= W <!--capital's latitude and longitude in degrees/minutes/direction-->
|largest_city = capital
|official_languages = {{Unbulleted list|{{W|English language|English}}, {{W|Spanish language|Spanish}}, {{W|French language|French}}, [[Han language|Han]],| {{W|Chinese language|Chinese}}, {{W|Vietnamese language|Vietnamese}}, {{W|Korean language|Korean}}, {{W|Japanese language|Japanese}}, {{W|German language|German}}
}}
|demonym =  [[Sierrans|Sierran]]
|regional_languages = {{Unbulleted list|{{W|Arabic language|Arabic}}, {{W|Armenian language|Armenian}}, {{W|Dutch language|Dutch}}, {{W|Gilbertese language|Gilbertese}}| {{W|Hawaiian language|Hawaiian}}, {{W|Navajo language|Navajo}}, {{W|Rapa Nui language|Pascuan}}, {{W|Samoan language|Samoan}}, [[Serran language|Serran]]
}}
|ethnic_groups = 46% White<br>27% Asian<br>5% Black<br>1% Amerindian<br>1% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander<br>20% Mixed or other (incl. [[Hapas]] and [[Sierran Creole people|Creoles]])
|ethnic_groups_year = 2010
|government_type =    {{W|Federalism|Federal}} {{W|Parliamentary system|parliamentary}} {{W|Constitutional monarchy|constitutional}} {{W|monarchy}} 
|leader_title1 =      [[Monarchy of Sierra|Queen]]
|leader_name1 = [[Elizabeth II of Sierra|Elizabeth II]] ({{W|Independent|I}})
|leader_title2 =      [[Prime Minister of Sierra|Prime Minister]]
|leader_name2 = [[Susan Kwon]] ([[Social Democrats of Sierra|SD]])
|legislature =       [[Parliament of Sierra|Parliament]]
|upper_house =        [[Senate of Sierra|Senate]]
|lower_house =        [[House of Commons of Sierra|House of Commons]]
|sovereignty_type = Independence 
|sovereignty_note = from {{W|Centralist Republic of Mexico|Mexico}}
|established_event1 = {{W|Declaration of independence|Declared}}
|established_date1 =  June 14, 1846
|established_event2 = {{W|Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo|Recognized}}
|established_date2 = February 2, 1848
|established_event3 = [[Constitution of the Kingdom of Sierra|Constitution]]
|established_date3 =  November 27, 1858
|established_event4 = [[Charter for the Kingdom of Sierra|Constituent country]]
|established_date4 = June 23, 1950
|membership = [[File:Flag of Sierra.svg|22x20px]] [[Kingdom of Sierra]]
|membership_type = Sovereign state
|area =              
|area_km2 = 1,225,601
|area_sq_mi =  473,207
|area_footnote =     
|percent_water = 8.99
|area_label = Total
|area_label2 =        <!--Label below area_label (optional)-->
|area_data2 =         <!--Text after area_label2 (optional)-->
|population_estimate = 
|population_estimate_rank = 
|population_estimate_year = 
|population_census = 87,287,291
|population_census_year = 2020
|population_density_km2 = 71.21
|population_density_sq_mi = 184.45
|population_density_rank = 52nd
|GDP_PPP =  $7.127 trillion
|GDP_PPP_rank = 4th
|GDP_PPP_year = 2020
|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $85,320
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 4th
|GDP_nominal = $7.127 trillion
|GDP_nominal_rank = 4th
|GDP_nominal_year = 2020
|GDP_nominal_per_capita = $85,320
|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 2nd
|Gini = 0.49
|Gini_ref =
|Gini_rank = 23rd
|Gini_year = 2014
|HDI = 0.939
|HDI_ref = 
|HDI_rank = 4th
|HDI_year = 2020
|currency = [[Sierran dollar]] ($)
|currency_code = KSD
|time_zone = [[Time in Sierra|PST]]
|utc_offset = −8
|time_zone_DST = [[Time in Sierra|MST/PDT]]
|utc_offset_DST = −7
|DST_note = 
|date_format =  [[Time in Sierra|dd-mm-yyyy]]
|drives_on = Right
|cctld =  [[.ks]]
|iso3166code =   KS
|official_website = www.sierra.gc.ks
|calling_code = +1
|patron_saint = {{W|Junípero Serra|St. Junípero Serra, OFM}}
|footnote_a = Literally "Golden Kingdom"
|footnote_b = Does not include any [[Territories of Sierra|territories]] and other unorganized lands
<!--......-->
|footnote_h =         <!--For any footnote <sup>h</sup> used above-->
|footnotes =          <!--For any generic non-numbered footnotes-->
}}
{{Contains Han text}}
{{Contains Chinese text}}
{{Contains Japanese text}}
{{Contains Korean text}}
'''Sierra''' ({{W|Spanish language|Spanish}}: ''Sierra'', {{W|French language|French}}: ''Sierra'', [[Tondolese language|Tondolese]]: 塞拉, {{W|Chinese language|Chinese}}: 塞拉, {{W|Vietnamese language|Vietnamese}}: ''Dãy Núi'', {{W|Korean language|Korean}}: 시에라, {{W|Japanese language|Japanese}}: シエラ王国, and {{W|German language|German}}: ''Sierra''), also referred to as '''Federal Sierra''' or the '''Sierran mainland''', is a country located mostly in the {{W|West Coast of the United States|North American West Coast}} with a population of eighty-seven million. Sierra is a {{W|constituent state|constituent country}} of the [[Kingdom of Sierra]], and shares this status with two other states (the [[Deseret]] and [[Hawaii]]). The term "Federal Sierra" is often used to distinguish the constituent part of Sierra from the Kingdom of Sierra. Federal Sierra consists of [[Administrative divisions of Sierra#Provinces|twenty-three provinces]], [[Administrative divisions of Sierra#Territories|ten territories]], and [[Administrative divisions of Sierra#Crown dependencies|two crown dependencies]]. It borders [[Astoria]] to the north, the [[Deseret]] and [[Brazoria]] to the east, [[Mexico]] to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Sierra's Yucatán territories shares land borders with {{W|Guatemala}} and {{W|Belize}}, and maritime borders with {{W|Cuba}}. It has a total area of 473,207 square miles (1,225,601 km{{Sup|2}}) and a population of an estimated 59.6 million (83.4 million as the Kingdom) inhabitants in 2020, making it the most populous member state in the [[Conference of American States]] and the 29th most populous country in the world when including the Kingdom as a whole. Sierra's capital and largest metropolis is [[Porciúncula]], while its largest conurbation is the [[Greater Porciúncula Area]]. The 
ten next largest cities in Sierra include, in descending order: [[San Diego]], [[Phoenix]], [[Riverside]], [[Tijuana]], [[San Jose]], [[San Francisco City]], [[Tucson]], [[Las Vegas]], [[Fresno]], and [[St. Anne, Orange|St. Anne]].

During the {{W|Pre-Columbian era}}, Sierra was inhabited by several Amerindian tribes including the {{W|Chumash people|Chumash}}, {{W|Navajo people|Navajo}}, {{W|Tongva people|Tongva}}, {{W|Mojave people|Mojave}}, and {{W|Maidu people|Maidu}}. The indigenous peoples of Sierra were highly diverse, who spoke over a dozen different language families (over 100 distinct languages), and lived in various climates ranging from forested mountain slopes to barren desert land. There was also diversity in sociopolitical organization, with many tribes living in {{W|hunter-gatherer}} societies, while a few living in complex, city-based societies such as the {{W|Hohokam}}. Conservative estimates placed around 400,000 inhabitants living in modern-day Sierra at the time the first Europeans made contact starting in the 16th and 17th centuries. Although the Spanish, French, Russian, and Dutch all established a colonial presence in Sierra by the end of the 18th century, Spain emerged as the paramount power through its claims and colonization efforts by the late 18th century. Sierra was an important link for the Spanish {{W|Manila galleon|galleon trade system}} between the Spanish New World and East Asia. Sierra was administered as {{W|Alta California}} during the Spanish colonial period revolved around the {{W|Spanish missions in California|mission}} and {{W|Ranchos of California|rancho systems}}, which encouraged the assimilation of the Amerindians through missionary work and settlement of European colonists through {{W|homesteading}} and {{W|ranch}}ing.

In 1821, [[Mexico]] {{W|Mexican War of Independence|gained its independence from Spain}} and obtained control over Alta California. Mexico abolished the Spanish mission system but preserved the Spanish practice of giving large land grants to private citizens. During the Mexican period, California witnessed significant emigration from [[Anglo-America]] and {{W|United Kingdom}} which caused tensions between the Mexican government and English-speaking settlers. In addition, the local Californios grew increasingly dissatisfied with the Mexican government over differences in policy and feelings towards administrative efficiency over the region. In 1846, the [[Mexican-American War]] broke out and the [[California Republic]] was declared. California gained its independence in 1848 following the end of the war and the ratification of the {{W|Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo}}, and doubled California's territory to include the {{W|Baja California Peninsula}} and {{W|Sonora}}. Its independence was secured through the backing of Brazoria, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The population of California grew to nearly half a million within the span of five years after independence due to the {{W|California Gold Rush}} which attracted settlers from the Americas, Europe, and East Asia. The Republic lasted for ten years, before it adopted a new [[Constitution of Sierra|constitution]] and instituted a [[Monarchy of Sierra|monarchy]], reorganizing as the Kingdom of Sierra, with [[Charles I of Sierra|Charles I]] as its first king.

During the late 19th century, the Kingdom underwent a period of fast economic development and political turmoil. The early government undertook a rigorous campaign of centralization that tackled on crime, lawlessness, war debt, and lack of a professional, standing army. As Sierra's economic and trading power grew through continued population growth and development of railroad and telegram networks, the country cemented its power as a nation-state through its pivotal involvement in the [[War of Contingency]]. Sierra joined forces with its neighbor [[Brazoria]] in preventing the [[United Commonwealth]] from retaking the Anglo-American breakaway states that formed in the aftermath of the {{W|American Civil War}}. Meanwhile, the debate between [[Monarchism in Sierra|monarchism]] and [[Republicanism in Sierra|republicanism]] eventually led to a full-scale {{W|civil war}} that divided the nation into the Republican North (led by Sen. [[Isaiah Landon]]'s self-declared [[Second California Republic]]) and the Monarchist South for nearly four years between 1874 and 1877. The monarchy prevailed against the Second California Republic and the devastation of the North in the war resulted in long-lasting effects known as Southernization, wherein the center of power and influence shifted from San Francisco City to Porciúncula. In the following decades, Sierra underwent rapid industrialization and expanded its military. It became an [[Sierran imperialism|imperialist]] power when it annexed [[Hawaii]] in 1896 and [[Tondo]] in 1901 through military conquest.

Under the reign of [[Louis I of Sierra|Louis I]], Sierra permanently transformed from a predominantly White Anglo-American state into a multiracial society through the [[Sierran Cultural Revolution]]. Advancements in civil and political rights expanded universal suffrage to Asian, black, Hispanic, and Creole citizens, and increased interest in syncretizing the cultures of the two largest racial groups: white and Asian, created the "New Culture", a pan-Eurasian-based movement that combined Protestant and Confucian–Taoist values into a single monoculture. The Revolution coincided with increased powers of the monarchy as well as the formation and maturation of a homogenized, cohesive national culture and identity. Towards the end of Louis I's reign, Sierra moved increasingly towards authoritarian rule as civil rights were restricted and the role of the military was elevated in national politics. The country became frequently involved as an intervener in Anglo-American and Latin American affairs. It played a prominent role in the [[Mexican Revolution]] and engaged in a number of {{W|proxy war}}s against its main rival, the United Commonwealth.

During [[Great War I]], Sierra sided with the [[Entente Impériale]] and led a coalition of Anglo-American states against [[Japan]] in the [[Pacific War]], as well as the United Commonwealth and its allies on the North American Front. Although the conflict ended in a stalemate, Sierra emerged as a great power. Sierra fought in [[Great War II]] as an [[Allies of Great War II|Allied power]], cementing its status as one of the world's leading powers. Following the war, it underwent liberalization and developed the world's fourth-largest economy.

Sierra is a {{W|federal monarchy|federal monarchy}} and a {{W|representative democracy}}. Although Sierra is a constituent country within the sovereign state of the Kingdom of Sierra, it accounts for over 90% of the country's population and dominates the national politics and power structure. It is a member of the [[League of Nations]] and is a permanent member on the [[League of Nations Security Council]]. It also houses the primary headquarters of the League of Nations at its capital in Porciúncula. In addition, Sierra is a member of various other international political organizations including the [[Conference of American States]], {{W|North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO}}, {{W|G8}}, {{W|Organisation of Co-Operation and Development|OCED}}, {{W|Organization of American States}}, [[Trans-Pacific Allied Community|TPAC]], {{W|World Trade Organization|WTO}}, {{W|World Bank}}, {{W|International Monetary Fund}}, and more. Its $7.1 trillion economy, based on nominal GDP, represents the fourth largest economy in the world. It is a highly {{W|developed country}} with the fourth-largest economy nominally and the fourth largest economy by purchasing power parity. In terms of aggregate household wealth, it ranks fifth in the world. It is the third largest importer and exporter in the world. It has the fourth highest nominal GDP per capita and ranks very high on the {{W|Human Development Index}}. Its industries in {{W|Hollywood}} and {{W|Silicon Valley}} has made Sierra a global influencer on the economy, politics, entertainment, culture, finance, technology, science, fashion, medicine, and sports. Its services-oriented economy is driven by Sierra's involvement in international finance. The [[Sierran dollar]] is one of the world's most widely used currencies, and is used as one of the main {{W|reserve currency|reserve currencies}}.

==Etymology==
{{Cquote
|quote= I was pleased knowing I took part in naming our beloved nation ''Sierra''. It is a refreshing stand against the external forces that are obsessed with taking what is ours. It pleases our Spanish-speaking brothers whom understand it to mean "a range of mountain" [''sic'']. At the same time, even to the English-speaking people, the name evokes a sense of passion and {{W|romanticism}}—some manner of pride and sentiments for a rising kingdom. Perhaps all the world soon will admire and marvel at Sierra in all her majesty...the very utterance of her name will shake even the mountains that christened her.
|source=[[Charles I]] (as Smith C. Miller), ''Papers to the Union'', December 8, 1858}}
[[File:Sierra_Nevada-terabass.jpg|thumb|View of {{W|Kearsarge Pass}}, a part of the {{W|Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada}}, the mountain range Sierra derives its name from]]
The name ''Sierra'' is derived from the country's longest and most prominent mountain range, the {{W|Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada}}, which runs in a northwest–southeast direction from Central Valley in eastern [[Plumas]] to the southwestern end of the {{W|Great Basin}} in northeastern [[Kings]]. The name ''Sierra Nevada'' means "snowy mountain range" in {{W|Spanish language|Spanish}}. The literal translation is "snowy mountains", from ''sierra''; "a range of hills" from the 16th century Spanish understanding of ''sierra''; and "jagged mountain range", lit. "saw", from Latin ''serra'' ("a saw"). The mountains' name is traditionally credited to {{W|Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo}}, a Spanish–Portuguese navigator, although Cabrillo used the term to refer to the {{W|Santa Cruz Mountains}}, a mountain range that is a part of the {{W|Pacific Coast Ranges}}, not the Sierra Nevada. The modern day Sierra Nevada received its name by Franciscan missionary {{W|Pedro Font}} in a map he produced in 1776, who applied the name to the range.

The original name of Sierra was ''California'', a name which is used anachronistically when referencing the geographic region of Sierra that lies to the west of the Sierra Nevada and the {{W|Colorado River}}. The name ''Sierra'' was formally selected and codified in the [[Constitution of Sierra|1858 Constitution]] which reorganized Sierra's predecessor, the [[California Republic]], from a presidential republic to a {{W|Westminster system|Westminster}}-styled constitutional monarchy. The decision to rename the country was raised during the 1858 California Constitutional Convention by Will Abramson, who objected to the continued use of a name linked to "Spanish colonialism". Supporters for a rename argued the term ''California'' was a name used by larger powers (Mexico, the United States, etc.) that sought to restrict the power or exert influence over the nation. Convention president Smith C. Miller, who would later be crowned King Charles I, reasoned changes in the constitution and government necessitated a name change to accompany the creation of a new country. Other names proposed included ''Columbia'' and ''Pacifica'', although the former was deemed too "American" while the latter remained a viable alternative to ''Sierra'' for two months at the convention. ''Sierra'' was voted on by 128–46 on November 11, 1857, during the final stages of the Constitutional Convention, and legitimized as the official name in the constitutional preamble.

Before the adoption of the [[Charter for the Kingdom of Sierra|1950 Charter]], the official name of Sierra was the ''Kingdom of Sierra''. Since then, the Kingdom officially refers to the sovereign country that includes Sierra, the [[Deseret]], and [[Hawaii]]. The terms ''Sierra'' and ''Kingdom of Sierra'' are often used to interchangeably in informal and colloquial situations. Other common names used to distinguish Sierra from the Kingdom of Sierra include ''Federal Sierra'' and the ''Sierran mainland''. The former term is a reference to the federalist system utilized by the Sierran government under the Constitution, while the latter is a reference to Sierra's greatest share in land area in the Kingdom as a constituent country and its insular location in comparison to its overseas territories.

==History==
{{Main|History of Sierra}}
{{Sierra history}}
===Prehistory===

[[File:Tikhanov_-_Balthazar_Inhabitant_of_Northern_California_(1818).png|thumb|left|250px|''Balthazar, Inhabitant of Northern California'', a painting by Mikhail T. Tikhanov]]

The indigenous peoples of Sierra include the {{W|Cahuilla people|Cahuilla}}, {{W|Chumash people|Chumash}}, {{W|Kumeyaay people|Kumeyaay}}, {{W|Maidu people|Maidu}}, {{W|Mojave people|Mojave}}, {{W|Miwok people|Miwok}}, {{W|Modoc people|Modoc}}, {{W|Navajo people|Navajo}}, {{W|Tongva people|Tongva}}, {{W|Washoe people|Washoe}}, and {{W|Yana people|Yana}}. Pre-Colombian Sierra had one of the America's most linguistically and culturally diverse populations. Over a hundred languages from several dozen language families were represented in Pre-Colombian Sierra. Most of the languages spoken during Sierra's prehistory have since gone extinct or are currently endangered. The term "Amerindian" is a {{W|Jargon|term of art}} used officially to refer to the indigenous peoples of Sierra and the Americas.

It is generally hypothesized by historians that the original inhabitants of Sierra originated from {{W|Siberia}} and other parts of {{W|Asia}} by way through the {{W|Bering land strait}} approximately 16,500 years ago. The bridge formed as a result of falling {{W|sea level}}s were the result of climatic changes during the {{W|Quaternary glaciation}}. The early {{W|Paleoamericans}} spread throughout the Americas, forming a diverse plethora of cultures, civilizations, and tribes, including the more than hundred represented in Sierra. The earliest archaeological evidence showing signs of human habitation in Sierra are the remains of the {{W|Arlington Springs Man}} on Santa Rosa Island in the [[Channel Islands]]. The remains date back to approximately 13,000 years ago during the {{W|last glacial period|most recent ice age}}, the {{W|Wisconsin glaciation}}.

Pre-contact population estimates range between 130,000 and 1.52 million inhabitants, although most conservative estimates posit that the population stood around 300,000 at the time Europeans first began exploration in Sierra. Prominent {{W|Paleo-Indian}} groups arose during the {{W|Archaic Southwest|Archaic Period}} including those of {{W|Picosa culture|Picosa tradition}}. The {{W|Ancient Puebloans}} (the ''Anasazi'') were one such ancient group that originated from the Picosa tradition, and covered a territory that included present-day [[Apache]], [[Flagstaff]], the southern [[Deseret]], and the [[Colorado|Coloradan region]]. Other major ancient Indian civilization that rose to prominence were the {{W|Hohokam}} and {{W|Mogollon culture|Mogollon}} of present-day [[Cornerstone]], [[Flagstaff]], [[Maricopa]], [[Sonora]], and [[Pacífico Norte]]. These groups were noted for their extensive irrigation systems which sustained large agricultural projects, elaborate pottery, and distinct architecture. Such ancient civilizations disappeared within the past two millennia due to various, hypothesized factors including long-term droughts and famines. 

With a number of exceptions, most Sierran natives generally lived as {{W|hunter-gatherer}}s who resided across a variety of different environments, climates, and geography. Those further in the north along the coast and mountainous areas practiced {{W|forest gardening}} and even started {{W|Native American use of fire|controlled fires}} (using {{W|fire-stick farming}} methods) in the woodlands to sustain their agricultural habits. Some tribal groups such as the Chumash had larger, more sophisticated political organization including chiefdoms that encompassed large stretches of land. Trade, diplomacy, intermarriages, and military alliances were common forms of intertribal interactions. The indigenous peoples demonstrated a variety of skills and knowledge that made use of the resources of the land. The deliberate burning of the land prevented larger, catastrophic fires from occurring and revitalized plant growth that attracted consumable animals. Natives along the coast utilized boats for transport and had diets centered around {{W|fishing}}.

===European exploration and settlement===
[[File:Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo.jpg|thumb|170px|left|{{W|Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo}}, the earliest known European to have explored Sierra]]
[[File:1590 or later Marcus Gheeraerts, Sir Francis Drake Buckland Abbey, Devon.jpg|thumb|170px|left|{{W|Francis Drake}} was the second known European to lead an expedition to Sierra]]
[[File:Vizcaino.jpg|thumb|170px|left|17th century engraving of {{W|Sebastian Vizcaíno}}, the first European to document Sierra's ecological features]]
European knowledge of Sierra prior to the region's exploration was heavily speculative, and interest was initially piqued by fantastical accounts depicted in the 16th-century Spanish romance novel ''{{W|Las Sergas de Esplandián}}'' (The Adventures of Esplandián) by {{W|Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo}}. The novel was a well-received commercial success in Spain and also achieved popularity throughout the rest of the Europe. The novel is set on the mythical island of ''California'' where black {{W|Amazons|Amazon}} warriors led by Queen {{W|Califia}} and {{W|griffin}}s inhabit the island. The Amazonians control a large cache of gold and pearls, and are heavily armed. Queen Califia fights alongside {{W|Muslims}} in the story and her name may have been chosen to sound like ''{{W|caliph}}'', suggesting California may have been conceptualized as a {{W|caliphate}}. Various editions were produced, with the earliest known version published in 1510. Such content fueled European imaginations of the uncharted areas of the Americas including those in search of gold deposits and the fabled {{W|fountain of youth}}. 

When the Spanish began exploring the Americas and reached the {{W|Baja California peninsula}}, which was rumored to be ruled by Amazonians, the Spanish named it California, erroneously believing the peninsula was an island, as the one described in ''Las Sergas de Esplandián''. Although the exploration of the west coast of Mexico by {{W|Francisco de Ulloa}} that conclusively proved that Baja California was a peninsula, the belief that the peninsula was an island persisted in Europe, as evidenced through contemporaneous maps until the late 18th century. Mapmakers used the name "California" to refer to all the unexplored lands of the western North American coast during the 16th and 17th centuries.

In 1542, Spanish–Portuguese navigator {{W|Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo}} ({{W|Portuguese language|Portuguese}}: João Rodrigues Cabrilho) became the first European known to explore the Sierran mainland, reaching as far north as the mouth of the {{W|Russian River (California)|Russian River}} near {{W|Point Reyes, California|Point Reyes}} on the coast of modern-day [[Central Valley]]. His expedition was commissioned and supported by {{W|New Spain}}'s viceroy, {{W|Antonio de Mendoza}}. Cabrillo was unable to complete his trip and died at [[Santa Catalina Island]] of the Channels after developing {{W|gangrene}} from an injury wound on his shin. Cabrillo's successor, {{W|Bartolemé Ferrer}}, was able to continue the expedition and traveled as far north as {{W|Cape Orford}} in southern Astoria, becoming the first European to explore the southwestern coast of Astoria. In 1553, Spanish {{W|conquistador}} {{W|Hernán Cortés}} explored El Norte's Sonora and discovered the Baja California Peninsula during his final major expedition in the region. The {{W|Gulf of California|Sea of Cortés}} was named in Cortés' honor by fellow Spaniard explorer {{W|Francisco de Ulloa}}. Cortés believed the peninsula was an island and named it "Santa Cruz Island".

In 1579, some 37 years after Cabrillo's expedition, English {{W|privateer}} {{W|Francis Drake}} traveled up the Sierran coast and claimed an indeterminate region there in the name of {{W|England}} and named the area "Nova Albion" (New England). The location Drake landed on was deliberately kept a secret by he and his men as Drake. He wanted to establish an English colony in the area and wanted to avoid detection by the Spanish. Drake was infamous amongst the Spanish and was known as ''El Draque'' by them due to his exploits and raids throughout New Spain. His claims went unrecognized as the British government neither formally recognized Drake's claims nor pursued any serious territorial control over Sierra.

In 1602, {{W|Sebastián Vizcaíno}}, under the commission of Viceroy {{W|Gaspar de Zúñiga, 5th Count of Monterrey|Gaspar de Zúñiga}}, traveled along the coast of Sierra in search of {{W|pearl}}s and mapped out the Sierran coastline. Between Drake's and Vizcaíno's expedition, there were numerous occasions where Spanish galleons traveling to or from [[Manila]] ([[Tondo]]) inadvertently landed on Sierran coastline for refuge and rest, beginning in 1565. According to Vizcaíno's accounts, he traveled as far north as {{W|Monterey Bay}}. During his expedition, he gave {{W|San Diego Bay}}, the [[Channel Islands|King Louis Islands]], {{W|Point Conception}}, the {{W|Santa Lucia Mountains}}, {{W|Point Lobos}}, {{W|Carmel River}}, and Monterey Bay their namesakes. Vizcaíno was also the first person known to document the ecological features of Sierra's coasts. {{W|Martín de Aguilar}}, a commander of one of Vizcaíno's ships, the ''Tres Reyes'', got separated from the rest of the fleet and traveled further north, exploring the coastlines of [[Plumas]] and [[Shasta]], and reaching as far north as southern Astoria (Oregon) by {{W|Coos Bay}}.
[[File:Hendrik Brouwer.jpg|thumb|170px|{{W|Hendrik Brouwer}} successfully founded a Dutch colony in Sierra]]
In 1644, Dutch explorer {{W|Hendrik Brouwer}}, on his way from Chile and towards {{W|Japan}} on a diplomatic mission, made an expedition to Sierra that was organized by the {{W|Dutch East Indies Company}} (VOC) and {{W|Dutch West Indies Company}}. The Dutch desired a base along the North American Pacific Coast to trade gold and resupply ships returning from Asia, similar to the one attempted in {{W|Dutch exploration to Valdivia|Valdivia}}, {{W|Chile}}. Since the {{W|Dutch Republic}} and {{W|Spain}} were {{W|Eighty Years' War|at war}} at the time, Brouwer wanted to establish a colony in the northern reaches of Alta California with the plan to eventually displace or disrupt Spanish presence there should conditions turned favorable on the side of the Dutch. 

Evading detection by the Spanish, Brouwer established [[New Holland (Sierra)|New Holland]], a Dutch colony at the mouth of {{W|Noyo River}} (present-day {{W|Fort Bragg, California|Fort Brouwer}}, [[Plumas]]). Brouwer established friendly relations with the indigenous {{W|Yuki peoeople|Yuki}} and {{W|Pomo people|Pomo}}, and left behind 20 men who founded the town of Brouwershaven in Brouwer's honor. The colony survived through intermarriages between the Dutchmen and indigenous women, and a crucial wave of emigrants expelled from the former {{W|Dutch Brazil}} in 1656. Although its existence was eventually discovered by the Spanish in 1769, New Holland remained under ''de facto'' Dutch control for nearly 140 years before the Netherlands capitulated to the {{W|Batavian Republic}}, and the French elected to formally cede New Holland to Spain through the {{W| Treaty of The Hague (1795)|Treaty of The Hague}}. The Spanish left the New Holland settlers alone despite the change, and the colony would not face interference until 1821 when the newly independent Mexican government asserted its authority over the region when it inherited New Spain's territory in Western North America.
[[File:Louis_Antoine_de_Bougainville_-_Portrait_par_Jean-Pierre_Franquel.jpg|thumb|170px|{{W|Louise Antoine de Bougainville}} was responsible for leading a permanent French presence in Sierra]]
French admiral and explorer {{W|Louise Antoine de Bougainville}} toured the Spanish colonies of Alta California with his two ships (''{{W|French frigate Boudeuse (1766)|Boudeuse}}'' and ''{{W|French fluyt Étoile (1767)|Étoile}}'') during a circumnavigational trip across the Pacific by commission of King {{W|Louis XV of France|Louis XV}}. Bougainville and his crew arrived from a trip to {{W|Tahiti}} and were warmly received by Spanish authorities at San Diego Bay. The admiral was impressed with the natural geography and landscape of Sierra and received permission by the local Spanish officials to allow 30 of his men to settle on Santa Catalina Island (''Île Saint-Catherine'') as a colony. With France and Spain on good terms, the French settlement on the Channels would become the [[French-Spanish Condominium]], a joint colonial venture wherein the French were allowed to settle on Spanish territory. 

In 1768, {{W|Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse|Jean-François de Galaup}}, a naval officer who was a part of Bougainville's expedition, returned to the Channel Islands with over a hundred French colonists including ''{{W|King's Daughters|les filles du roi}}''. Today, the majority of the Channeliers of French descent trace their heritage back to the people from the settlers who arrived from either Bougainville or Galaup's ships. The colony survived despite facing initial difficulties in portable water, resources, and a fire when the widely reported {{W|Marian apparition|apparition}} of the [[Our Lady of Catalina|Blessed Virgin Mary]] occurred in the Santa Barbara Channel between the Channels and [[Grands Ballons]] in 1768. The event revitalized Spanish interest in developing Alta California and supporting the Frenchmen's endeavors in the Channels as the Spanish increased settlement, trade, and construction in the region soon thereafter.

===Spanish period===
{{Main|Alta California|French-Spanish Condominium|New Holland (Sierra)}}
[[File:Coat of arms of Californias.svg|thumb|180px|Coat of arms granted to {{W|The Californias}} by {{W|New Spain|New Spanish}} {{W|Viceroy of New Spain|Viceroy}} {{W|Antonio de Mendoza}}]]

Following Vizcaíno's exploration and the establishment of the French-Spanish Condominium, Spanish activity and development in Alta California was stalled as Spain was preoccupied with European affairs. The Baja California Peninsula received significant attention however, as missions were established by {{W|Jesuit}} missionaries. The Jesuits received financial support from Viceroy Duque de Linares, who also successfully lobbied to the Spanish Crown of increased trade between Asia, {{W|Acapulco}}, and {{W|Lima}}. The peninsula became an important link in the transoceanic trade and was a region of prime interest for the Spanish Crown.

The report of the {{W|Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary}} in the form of [[Our Lady of Catalina]] in the Santa Barbara Channel rekindled Spanish interest in Alta California. The incident was widely reported among Spaniard soldiers, priests, and Channelier colonists, and accounts of the apparition captured the imagination and intrigue of Europeans and New World colonists alike. The end of the {{W|Seven Years' War}} allowed Spain to rededicate its attention towards its colonies in the Americas. In addition, the advances of the English and the Russians in the region prompted action from the Spanish. The failure of the Spanish to detect or realize the presence of the Dutch in the northernmost fringes of Alta California however, prevented a more urgent and stronger campaign to colonizing Sierra. 

In 1767, following King {{W|Carlos III of Spain|Carlos III of Spain's}} decision to {{W|Suppression of the Society of Jesus|expel}} the Jesuits from the kingdom, New Spanish authorities were ordered to dispossess Jesuit power in the Californias. In 1769, newly appointed Governor of Alta California {{W|Gaspar de Portolá}} was sent to execute the order to remove the Jesuits and was tasked to explore Alta California. Portolà was accompanied by Franciscan monks {{W|Juan Crespí}} and {{W|Saint}} {{W|Junípero Serra|Junípero Serra y Ferrer}}, {{W|Order of Friars Minor|O.F.M.}}, who were tasked with replacing the Jesuits and to extend the mission system that was successful in Baja California to Alta California.

Serra's first mission, {{W|Mission San Diego de Alcalá}}, was founded in 1769, was the first mission built in northern New Spain outside of New Mexico and Tejas (Brazoria). The first {{W|Presidio of San Diego|presidio}} in Alta California was also established in San Diego, and would serve as a military garrison for Spanish soldiers in the area. Serra, Portolà, and their men continued their exploration of Alta California northward, exploring the {{W|Los Angeles Basin|Porciúncula Basin}} and the {{W|Santa Barbara Mountains}}. The group received support from an envoy of Channeliers who happened to fish off the coast of modern day [[Grands Ballons]]. The Channeliers' claims of the Marian apparition years before persuaded Serra to found a mission in the region, {{W|Mission San Gabriel Arcángel}}. As they continued their travels northward, Serra founded another mission, {{W|Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo}}, near {{W|Carmel-by-the-Sea, California|Carmel-by-the-Sea}}, [[Kings]]. A total of 21 missions, including Serra's, would be established by the Franciscans between 1769 and 1833, which extended from San Diego to {{W|Mission San Francisco Solano (California)|Sonoma}}. The {{W|El Camino Real}} (Spanish: ''The Royal Road'') became an important route that connected all 21 missions together.
[[File:Casta_painting_all.jpg|thumb|250px|''Las castas''. Anonymous, 18th century, oil on canvas]]
The purpose of the missions was to Christianize and assimilate the indigenous people into European society. The missions were also constructed to affirm Spanish presence over its claims in California. The Spaniards were fearful of British intrusion in the region, and planned to gradually populate the area with Spaniards and mestizos who would keep Anglophones out of the area. Amerindians were forced to live near the mission in settlements known as {{W|Indian Reductions|reductions}} (''reducciones''). Over 140 Spanish Friars Minor were employed by the Spanish state to man the missions between 1769 and 1845. Amerindians were brought to the mission either by military force or economic incentive, as the missions were often the centers of trade, agriculture, and crafts. Baptized Amerindians were referred to as ''{{D|neophyte}}s'' (new believers). Each settlement housed at least two friars together, and were allotted a corporal and his group of five or six soldiers who maintained order in the mission. Reinforcements and auxiliary support could be acquired from the several hundred soldiers distributed across Alta California's five presidios in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Francisco City, and Sonoma. The Amerindians were subjugated under a racial-based hierarchy where they were exploited as uncompensated laborers, while mixed-race mestizos and European Whites had access to higher positions in the local society. There was also a small community of emigrants from North America, including Anglo-Saxon Americans and African Americans, the latter of whom became the progenitors of the modern-day [[Sierran Creole people|Sierran French Creoles]]. 

The Spanish colonial society operated under a racial hierarchy known as the ''{{W|casta}}'' system which was predicated on the concept of ''{{W|limpieza de sangre}}'' (cleanliness of blood). The system dictated the relationships and interactions between racial categories, as well as the rights and opportunities members from each group could expect. European-born Spaniards, known as ''peninsulares'' were at the top of the hierarchy, followed by full-blooded Spaniards born in the New World. Mixed-race mestizos, primarily those of mixed European and Amerindian heritage, constituted a growing majority of people living in Alta California, and served as a racial wedge between the white elites and the people of color below. At the bottom of the hierarchy were Amerindians and Africans. This race-based system remained a central component of the region's culture well after the end of Spanish administration, influencing racial relations in early Sierran history.

In 1809, France betrayed its alliance with Spain during the {{W|Peninsular War}}, which compromised Spanish dominance over its territories in the Americas, including Alta California. For nearly a decade and a half, Alta California and the Channel Islands operated under tenuous supervision of the local colonial government, and received financial support from Anglo-America and other parts of New Spain. In 1819, the {{W|Adam–Onís Treaty}} established the northern boundary of Spain's claims over Alta California at the 42nd parallel, establishing the present-day borders between Sierra and Astoria. The claim reaffirmed Spain's claim over the entirety of Sierra despite the continued presence of the Dutch in New Holland and its diminished power over the region. Spanish control and administrative power over Alta California had waned significantly by then however and by 1821, [[Mexico]] gained its {{W|Mexican War of Independence|independence}} from Spain, thereby inheriting control over Alta California.

===Mexican period===
[[File:Vaqueros.jpg|thumb|250px|{{W|Vaquero}}s were herders who were prominent in Mexican Sierra's ranching-centric economy and way of life]]
Under Mexican control, Sierra's status remained as a geographically remote and minimally developed region. Californios and other inhabitants enjoyed a significant degree of autonomy due in part to the frequent government changes in Mexico. Alta California played a negligible role in the Mexican War of Independence and remained a territory as opposed to a state in the new regime. Initially, the Mexican government seldom intervened in local affairs although the authorities required that all citizens must be able to speak Spanish and practice the Catholic faith. Mexico did not effectively gain administrative control over Alta California until 1825, by which then, the region was affirmed as a territory under the {{W|1824 Constitution of Mexico|1824 Constitution}}. In order to solidify Alta California under Mexican law and order, the Mexican central government sent appointed governors to serve as the territorial executives. The first governor of Alta California was {{W|José Maria de Echeandía}} whose notable administrative actions included granting emancipation for the Amerindians living in mission lands and issuing land grants to private buyers. 

In 1827, the Mexican passed the General Law of Expulsion which declared all persons born in Spain to be illegal immigrants and required them to leave Mexico, including Alta California. The law in Alta California specifically targeted the Franciscan monks assigned to the obsolete Spanish mission system, who were viewed with suspicion by the Mexican state as allies to Mexico's former colonizer Spain, as well as the Catholic Church. Many Spanish-born clergy complied with the orders, most of whom were of advanced age.

Signs of dissatisfaction by wealthy Californios with the Mexican government emerged during the governorship of {{W|Manuel Victoria}}. Opposition to the unpopular governor led to a brief rebellion which resulted in José Maria de Echeandía, the previous governor, to reassume governorship briefly again until 1833 when {{W|José Figueroa}} was appointed governor.

Political tensions persisted throughout the rest of the 1830s as the Mexican central government itself suffered the weight of sustained political instability and regime changes. Between 1833 and 1846, there was a total of 8 turnovers in Alta California's governorship, ending with [[Pío Pico]]. Most of the governorships were ended due to civil strife and armed rebellions by outraged citizens. The lack of serious military and logistical support from Mexico enabled the calamitous situation in Alta California to unfold unhindered.

During the 1840s, Alta California experienced an uptick in Anglo-American immigration and settlement. Enticed by the promise of good weather, cheap land, and adventure, tens of thousands of American pioneers and their families moved westward along a number of trails including the {{W|Old Spanish Trail}} in Southern Sierra and the {{W|Siskiyou Trail}} in Northern Sierra. In the decades prior, the majority of emigrants were American or British trappers from present-day Astoria and Canada who traversed into Mexican territory in search of {{W|beaver}} and other fur-bearing animals. In addition, significant numbers of people living in New Holland and the Channel Islands began emigrating to Alta California proper, with the primary factor being economic opportunism.

===Mexican-American War===
{{Main|Mexican–American War}}

In 1846, hostilities between the [[Brazoria]]n–[[United States|American]] alliance and [[Mexico]] caused conflict to spillover into Alta California. The region was of significant interest for the American government, as well as the British and French governments, each of which had vested interest in acquiring control over the geographically expansive, resources-rich, and Pacific-bound territory. All three governments had offered previous proposals to buying Alta California partially or entirely from the the Mexican government. The Mexican government rejected all of the offers, despite suffering massive debt and insolvency.

Prior to the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, Alta California had a number of small-scale rebellions and revolts against the Mexican government. Californios were becoming increasingly concerned with what they saw an encroachment of their autonomy. The concurrent immigration of Anglo-American settlers in Alta California also further destabilized the political efficacy of the Mexican government over Alta California as the majority of English-speaking settlers lived outside of Mexican law. The Channel Islands and New Holland, both regions which enjoyed a significant degree of independence from Mexican interference, were also agitated with increased Mexican presence and efforts to rein in control over their livelihoods through taxation and other administrative actions.
[[File:Treaty of Cahuenga.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The [[Treaty of Cahuenga]] was signed in modern-day {{W|Studio City, Los Angeles|Laurelwood}}, Gold Coast]]
On June 8, 1846, a group of Anglo-American settlers led by {{W|William B. Ide}} launched a rebellion and seized control over Mexican barracks in the city of {{W|Sonoma, California|Sonoma}}. The rebels carried banners which bore the image of a bear and a red star, known as the Bear Flag. The event, which came to be known as the Bear Flag Revolt, signified the beginning of California's armed and organized fight for independence. Soon afterwards, {{W|Sutter's Fort}} was seized by [[John C. Frémont]]. The Mexican government responded by sending troops to suppress the rebel forces in California. News of the rebellion and the war between the North American nations prompted many Anglo-American settlers in California to take up arms. Californios who were sympathetic to the Anglo-Americans' cause also rose up and joined forces. The self-declared California Republic and its army engaged in a series of conflicts throughout Alta California and extended their campaign southward towards the Baja California Peninsula and Sonora. On January 13, 1847, Californian forces and the Californios who supported the Mexican government signed an informal military agreement to end hostilities. The [[Treaty of Cahuenga]] ended the conflict in California itself as the Mexican forces gave up provided prisoners of war from both side were released by their captors. By the summer of 1847, the combined forces of the United States, Brazoria, and California overwhelmed Mexican forces and forced the Mexican government to surrender after {{W|Battle for Mexico City|Mexico City was captured}}. The [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] formally concluded the war and included Mexico's recognition of California's independence and sovereignty.

===Post-independence===

====Early years====

Although California gained independence as a sovereign state, the newly founded Californian government relied heavily on the military and economic support of the United States government. After the war, the Californian government incurred large sums of debt after it borrowed extensively from both the United States and Brazoria. In addition, it owed Mexico over $10 million in the form of a "grievance tribute" as stipulated by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. While Californian officials insisted that it remain independent, the United States government actively offered admission into the country as a U.S. state. The Californian government worried about the possibility of the American military taking over the newborn state by force if the Californian government defaulted on its debt. A number of Anglo-American citizens also conspired to declare allegiance to the United States. The Californian government lacked a standing army. Its only source of domestic defense were the militiamen who had assembled together loosely during the war. With the war over, most militias either disbanded or maintained their own quasi-legal existence. Lawlessness and corruption was rampant as lawmakers in Monterey (the first capital of California) struggled to draft a full-fledged constitution. These concerns were the central issue of the California Republic's brief, decade-long existence.

The young nation's independence continued to attract the attention and interest of immigrants due to its fertile land and economic opportunities. A diaspora of Scots and Irish émigrés arrived to California in search of resettlement. They were initially evicted from the United Kingdom due to the {{W|Highland Clearances}} and had settled along the Atlantic coast of the United States. A large number of these immigrants were supporters of {{W|Jacobitism}} and rallied around [[Charles I|Charles Miller]], a direct descendant of the deposed British {{W|House of Stuart|Stuart}} king {{W|James II of England|James II}}. Miller's family had amassed a fortune in the tanning and shipbuilding industry in the U.S. state of {{W|New Jersey}} and garnered novel attention by Jacobite supporters and third-party observers due to their familial and historical connections with the exiled British royal house. Miller embarked on a journey westward to California and hundreds of Jacobite families followed suit due to their loyalty and devotion to the Stuart bloodline.

====Gold Rush of 1849====
[[File:1850_Woman_and_Men_in_California_Gold_Rush.jpg|thumb|250px|Prospectors searching for gold in 1850]]
On January 24, 1848, {{W|gold}} was discovered by {{W|James W. Marshall}} at {{W|Sutter's Mill}} in present-day {{W|Coloma, California|Coloma}}, [[Tahoe]]. News of the gold reached throughout California, Astoria (then known as Oregon Country), Mexico, Hawaii (then known as the Sandwich Islands), Peru, and Chile first. The California Gold Rush brought over 300,000 people to California from the rest of North America and beyond. The sudden influx of gold saved the Californian economy, allowing it to pay off its war debt, and provide much-needed funding for infrastructure, government services, and law enforcement. Over 300,000 people arrived within five years of the gold rush, overwhelming the country's limited resources and government. Lawlessness was rampant and prospectors or agronauts lacked protections from effectively non-existent property right laws. The majority of boomtowns and population growth occurred in Northern California, and San Francisco City became the most populous city in California.

The gold rush transformed California from a backwater country into a bustling nation. Over tens of billions of dollars worth of gold were recovered, although wealth was concentrated among a select few, most of whom would later become Sierra's first noble and aristocratic families. The majority of those who came in search of gold earned little if any increase in their fortunes.

====Constitution of 1858====

The population boom and unprecedented economic boom in California placed a significant strain on the government's resources, energy, and capabilities. The Californian government was unable to meet basic demands for law enforcement and funding public projects such as infrastructure. Elected officials at every level of government were accused of cronyism and corruption that were more invested in self-gain rather than public service. The Californian government had witnessed more than six presidencies over the course of ten years, with each president ending their terms out of resignation or electoral defeat. Among the international community, California was perceived as a lawless society which was unable to contain rampant vigilantism, corruption, and social unrest brought forth by the Gold Rush. Rumors that either the United States or Canada would invade California became a common topic of concern.

In 1852, amid race riots and labor shortages, a monarchist movement was organized in San Francisco City as Jacobites and sympathizers with anti-republican tendencies assembled to propose an alternative solution to California's "failed republican experiment". The Jacobites had recognized Charles Miller Stuart as their leader due to his royal blood and his open acquiescence to their fealty. Jacobite publications and newspapers began circulating the concept of a North American-based monarchy in California, which garnered support from Californians of various backgrounds including farmers, storeowners, factory workers, merchants, industrialists, and shipbuilders. The main arguments for monarchism promised stability and unity behind a monarchy which would moderate the populist demands of the public, preserve democracy under a manageable apparatus through a strong constitution, and control political opportunism by establishing a defined peerage system independent of the political system.

====Early Kingdom years====
[[File:East and West Shaking hands at the laying of last rail Union Pacific Railroad - Restoration.jpg|thumb|250px|A {{W|golden spike}} is driven down at the completion of the {{W|First Transcontinental Railroad}} between the [[Royal Pacific Railroad|Royal Pacific]] and {{W|Central Pacific Railroad|Central Pacific}} in 1869]]
The [[1858 Sierran federal election|1858 federal election]] was Sierra's first national election, held for nearly two weeks following the promulgation of the new constitution. Royalist party member [[Frederick Bachelor, Sr.]] became the first prime minister after his party secured 66% of the popular vote and 33 of the 50 seats in the House. Under Bachelor, Sr.'s first government, Sierra focused on expanding international trade and industrialism. The Sierran aristocratic class also developed as the monarchy rewarded titles to wealthy landowners, influential statesmen, entrepreneurs, and friends of the Crown. The Nobility Acts of 1859 formed the basis of Sierra's emergent peerage system, which was similar to the {{W|spoils system}} in other Anglo-American states at the time. The acts legitimized state recognition of lands awarded historically by the Spanish Crown and disproportionately favored Californios and their descendants, as well as Sierran citizens who had owned land under the California Republic or Alta California.

Although the Royalists maintained a comfortable numeric majority in Parliament and dominated San Francisco, Sierra's most populous province at the time, the Democratic-Republicans emerged as a capable, potent opposition party. Highly successful in the inland Styxie provinces, the Democratic-Republicans denounced Bachelor, Sr.'s ministry and expansion of the monarchy. While republicanism was one of the party's central issues, it also supported protectionism and the silver standard. During the [[1863 Sierran federal election|1863 elections]], the Royalists maintained a majority in the House but lost four of its seats to the Democratic-Republicans, who achieved a modest seat gain in the House while the [[Whig Party of Sierra|Whigs]] emerged as an early significant minor party with its first two seats.

As Sierra industrialized and the San Francisco Bay Area became more developed, tensions between the Royalist coast and the Democratic-Republican Styxie grew. Issues such as tariffs, immigration, the rise of the aristocratic class, and monarchism dominated the nation's partisan discourse. Under Bachelor, Sr., the Sierran government created numerous publicly owned corporations, including [[Federally incorporated enterprise (Sierra)|federally incorporated enterprises]] such as the [[Royal Postal Service]] and the [[Royal Pacific Railroad]]. A {{W|central bank}}, the [[Royal Monetary Authority of Sierra]] (ROMA) was also established in order to regulate Sierra's currency, public credit, and private banking institutions.

During Sierra's infancy, the country also experienced sporadic clashes with the local Amerindian tribes. The [[Sierran Genocide]] came to refer to all of the actions taken by the Spanish, Mexican, Californian, and then Sierran governments to decrease the population of the indigenous Amerindian peoples in Sierra. More than 10,000 Amerindians were believed to have been directly killed by Hispanic and Anglo-American settlers, and tens of thousands of more were killed indirectly from disease or poverty. The [[Sierran Indian Wars]] were a series of conflicts carried out by the Sierran federal government and provincial governments that occurred mostly in Northern Sierra between 1858 and 1880. The passage of the [[Compact Indian–Sierran Friendship Act]] represented the official end to this conflict and resulted in the creation of the modern Sierran Amerindian reservation system.

====War of Contingency====
{{Main|War of Contingency}}
[[File:Battle of Fort Pillow.png|thumb|250px|left|Sierran soldiers massacring surrendered Union soldiers during the Battle of Litchfield]]
In 1861, the United States broke out into a civil war between the anti-slavery Union North and the pro-slavery Confederate South. Although Sierra remained officially neutral throughout the conflict, it continued trade with both the United States and the Confederate States. It did not formally recognize the Confederate States as a sovereign country, but maintained informal contacts with Confederate officials. By 1865, the war was over with a Union victory. Peace was short-lived as several months later, American President {{W|Abraham Lincoln}} was {{W|Assassination of Abraham Lincoln|assassinated}}, triggering a political crisis that derailed into a second [[Confederate Uprising]]. The uprising was successfully put down as the South was too weak to resist under the Reconstruction Union-controlled military governments, but other insurrections soon broke out across the rest of the country, leading to [[Grant's coup]] and [[Page's insurrection]]. These developments resulted in the secession of Northeastern states as the [[Northeast Union]], Midwest states as [[Superior]], and [[Tournesol]]. The United States government, on the brink of collapse, was reorganized under the Union of American States, which centralized power and sought to restore control over the newly seceded states, thus beginning the [[War of Contingency]].

Sierra remained neutral on the onset of the conflict and signed the [[Grant-Trist Agreement]] with the Unionist government in order to declare nonaggression between the two states. Within a year, Sierran opinion of the war shifted due to concerns that the Unionist government was planning to conquer the entirety of the North American continent, including Sierra, and the presence of Unionist troops along the Brazorian–Sierran borders. Growing calls for interventionism and support for the seceding states were especially strong among Democratic-Republicans. Domestically, mounting unpopularity and resentment of pro-business and pro-industry policies resulted in the Democratic-Republicans under the leadership of [[Ulysses Perry]] gaining control over the House during the [[1867 Sierran federal election|1867 elections]]. Perry and his party's ascent to national leadership was met with fierce backlash by a Royalist-controlled Senate and House opposition, which forced three additional elections within the span of three years, two of which occurred in the same year in 1869 (one in [[February 1869 Sierran federal election|February]] and the other in [[August 1869 Sierran federal election|August]]). Parliament, under the premiership of Perry, declared war against the Union of American States, thus bringing Sierra directly into the conflict. This move was supported by populists but strongly opposed by industrialists and Royalists whose business interests were to maintain friendly relations and international commerce with the Union.

The main priorities of Sierra were to protect Sierran interests along its international borders, to maintain control over the Deseret, to prevent Unionist expansionism, and to assume political and military superiority in a post-United States North America. Sierran forces were quickly mobilized to transverse the Sierran East and through Brazoria to support the anti-Union forces. The Atlantic Squadron of the [[Sierran Royal Navy]] were also deployed to face off the Union Navy in the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic. Meanwhile, troops were sent north into the former Oregon Country where the Free State of [[Astoria]] was declared but was annexed by [[Canada]]. The resultant conflict, the [[Eugene War]], was an early, but brief sub-conflict in the war which was a decisive victory for Sierra. Sierra signed a peace agreement with Canada in order to secure and guarantee independence for Astoria, and the assurance Canada would intervene in the War of Contingency on behalf of Sierra and the anti-Union states.

By mid-1868, Sierra and the anti-Union states had reversed much of the Union of American States' initial territorial gains and were making significant headway into Illinois, Kentucky, and Arkansas. Although the Second Confederate States surrendered to the Union, the entry of Canada all and Superior's capture of Michigan dampened the Union's prospects to retake these lands. Worn-out by years of intense warfare and mounting popular discontent, the Union of American States moved towards unconditional surrender. The [[Christmas Accords]] were signed on Christmas Day, 1868, which declared cessation of hostilities between the belligerent states, including Sierra. Months later, the war was officially concluded with the signage of the [[Treaty of Salinas]]. In the treaty, the Union promised to relinquish its claims over the breakaway states which now composed the Northeast Union, Superior, and Tournesol respectively, unless such states consented to reunification.

====First Interwar period====
[[File:Fitch Family.jpg|thumb|180px|The family of {{W|Henry D. Fitch}} were one of many aristocratic families which emerged in early Sierra and were targeted by Perry's reforms]]
With the war's end, Perry's popularity as the country's first wartime leader was major. National pride and morale ran high but Perry and his party continued to draw ire by the Royalist opposition. During and after the war as prime minister, Perry attempted to restrain the powers and influence of the monarchy, and to rollback aristocratic powers by implementing an {{W|estate tax}}, increasing property tax against property held by nobles and gentry, and banning the creation of new titles of nobility through the Pressings Act. He and his party referred to their reforms as the "Honest Deal" to voters. He helped pass the Royal Edict Limitation Acts, which restricted the use and effectiveness of the king's royal edicts to only enforcing existing statutory or constitutional law, rather than legislating new laws. Perry also transferred the King's {{W|power of the purse}} to the [[Privy Purse of Sierra]], which would fall under the oversight of Parliament. 

His attempts of government reform were strongly challenged by the Royalists. The Pressings Act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the 1871 ''Wiesenfield v. Sierra'' case. He also sought to reduce the powers of the ROMA and lowered tariffs to provide injunctive relief for farmers. He made an unsuccessful bid to adopt the {{W|silver standard}} but unveiled a series of government subsidies and programs to support agricultural business. 

Perry's commitment into the war in the East had also harmed business interests. While the war efforts incentivized industry to produce military armaments and supplies for short-term profit, few businesses were directly reached out by Perry's government and many saw the long-term consequences of a fractured, disunited East. There were fears that the war could damage the economy as labor would be drawn away to be conscripted as soldiers. Despite these fears failing to materialize and the success of the war, Sierra's involvement in the War was decried by critics as a "fool's brawl". Conservative resentment and opposition grew, and Perry's animosity towards the monarchy led to strained relations between the Crown and Parliament. 

On February 14, 1874, Perry was [[Assassination of Ulysses Perry|assassinated]] by an unknown assailant and his body went missing. Federal investigators initially declared the cause of his death to be suicide, but conspiracy theories proliferated among Sierran republicans that Perry's death was the result of a politically-motivated murder by Royalist sympathizers. More radical republicans believed King Charles I himself ordered Perry's assassination, which sharply worsened the partisan climate of the country.

====Sierran Civil War====
{{Main|Sierran Civil War}}
[[File:Capitulation of Isaiah Landon.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Contemporary lithograph depicting the [[Capitulation of Isaiah Landon]] near Ridgecrest, [[Kings]]]]
[[File:Isaiah Landon.jpg|thumb|160px|[[Isaiah Landon]]]]
The death of Ulysses Perry triggered great political and social unrest in the Styxie where the deceased prime minister was regarded as a martyr. Perry's deputy, [[Issac Johnson]], became prime minister and tried to mediate peace between his party and the Royalist opposition. Calls for the abolition of the monarchy and the reinstatement of the Republic grew. The Democratic-Republican Party experienced factionalism between the Moderates who dominated the Senate and House Democratic-Republicans, and the Radicals who consisted of junior House members and populist local officials throughout the Styxie. Among the general populace, the Radicals quickly gained traction among disillusioned Democratic-Republicans in [[San Joaquin]] and [[Santa Clara]], where republicanism were the strongest in. San Joaquin Senator [[Isaiah Landon]] rose as the most prominent advocate for radical republicanism. A personal friend and confidant of Ulysses Perry, Landon had gained notoriety for his writings on republicanism, as well as introducing {{W|Marxism}} to Anglo-American audiences. As the Johnson government continued to ignore the Radicals' demands for change, Landon led a rebellion in [[Bernheim, San Joaquin|Bernheim]], the capital of San Joaquin, thus starting the beginning of the Sierran Civil War.

Landon's insurrection resulted in the creation of the self-declared [[Second California Republic]], with [[Reno]], San Joaquin, Santa Clara, and [[Tahoe]] seceding from the Kingdom. The Republicans made swift gains on the rest of Northern Sierra, forcing the Sierran government to move its base of operations from [[San Francisco City]] to [[Porciúncula]] in the [[Southwest Corridor]] when [[San Francisco]] fell to the Republicans in December 1874. San Francisco, [[Plumas]], [[Shasta]], and parts of [[Central Valley]] came under Republican occupation by 1875, effectively dividing the country between the rebelling North and Kingdom South.

In 1875, Republican advances were eventually halted in [[Kings]] during the [[Folly at Tejon Pass]], a battle which became the decisive turning point in the war. The Republican forces suffered major losses and pushback by the defending Monarchists. In the following months, the Monarchist forces recovered land lost in Central Sierra and began two campaigns to restore sovereign control over the rebelling Styxie. By 1877, Landon and the Republicans had resorted to {{W|scorched earth}} and other controversial tactics to hinder the Monarchists' attempts to regain control. Landon eventually surrendered and capitulated in mid-November of 1877. With the war effectively ended following Landon's surrender, Landon and other Republican leaders were arrested and tried for treason, sedition, and war crimes. Although Landon was initially sentenced to death by hanging, his sentence was commuted by King Charles I and was given a life sentence of {{W|house arrest}} instead. Major changes and reforms were implemented following the war, mainly to reintegrate the Styxie back into the Kingdom, and to control the influence of radical republicanism. The Democratic-Republican Party expelled officeholders who held radical republican tendencies and changed its platform from "hard republicanism" to "principled republicanism" that connoted cooperation and dialogue with the monarchy and its supporters.

====Gilded Age and Sierran imperialism====
[[File:LA-aerialphoto-baloon-06-27-1887.jpg|thumb|250px|An aerial view showing Porciúncula in 1887]]
[[File:USS_Boston,_port_stern_view_during_speed_trials_(25757287950).jpg|thumb|250px|HRMS ''Oakland'' and her crew played a critical role in Hawaii's annexation]]
[[File:Collis P. Huntington as an octopus - San Francisco Examiner.png|thumb|250px|Political cartoon by the ''San Francisco Examiner'' depicting {{W|Collis P. Huntington}} as an octopus]]
[[File:Johnchinaman.jpg|thumb|250px|Political cartoon satirizing the Nativists' attempts to exclude Chinese nationals from emigrating to Sierra]]
Following the war, Sierra experienced rapid economic recovery and revitalization in the Styxie. With the capital moved to Porciúncula, the city and the surrounding [[Southwest Corridor]] became the new political, economic, and social center. Various boomtowns and communities were developed as vast amounts of former rancho lands were resold back to the government or bought by private investors, developers, and companies. Improvements to transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture fueled the growth of industrializing cities.

By the 1890s, hundreds of miles of railroads were laid down to connect all of the major cities of Sierra with each other, as well as international destinations in [[Astoria]], [[Brazoria]], [[Superior]], and elsewhere. The most significant lines were the {{W|Southern Pacific Railroad}}, {{W|Union Pacific Railroad|Royal Pacific Railroad}}, {{W|Santa Fe Railroad}}, and {{W|Western Pacific Railroad}}. These lines carried both freight and passengers, which were vital to the country's economic growth and continued transcontinental migration. Electric railroads began to emerge during the last decade of the 19th century, with the largest system being developed and maintained by the {{W|Pacific Electric}}.

The discovery of oil across Sierra between the 1880s and the early 1900s further increased economic and commercial development. While agriculture remained the dominant industry in provinces such as [[Central Valley]], the [[Inland Empire]], and [[Orange]], more and more farmland was converted into oil fields, factories, industrial depots, and housing to accommodate the nationwide explosive growth.

Coinciding with Sierra's industrial revolution was the enlargement of the Sierran military and the refinement of Sierra's foreign and military policies. The [[Sierran Royal Navy]] underwent a massive modernization plan which saw its fleet size grow more than quadruple its size during the Sierran Civil War. It experienced significant improvements to seafaring and naval warfare technology, as evidenced by its upgrade to steel-hull warships. {{W|Pre-dreadnought battleship}}s were added to the navy's fleets by 1880s and reflected Sierra's Pacific-oriented foreign policy strategy of trade and regional dominance in the Pacific Ocean. During the mid-1880s, Sierra engaged in a series of military conquests and acquisitions of Pacific islands including the [[Gilbert and Ellice Islands]], [[Rapa Nui]], the [[Galápagos Islands]]. In 1893, Sierra annexed the [[Hawaii|Hawaiian Islands]], which was the largest territorial gain by Sierra at the time since the country's inception. These acquisitions were emblematic of Sierra's goal to becoming an imperialist power, modeled after the imperial great powers of Europe such as Great Britain and France.

The period between the Sierran Civil War and the Sierran Cultural Revolution is commonly referred to as the Gilded Age by historians, so named due to rapid economic growth despite emergent social issues and economic inequality. Although real wages, wealth, and national GDP grew precipitously, political corruption, economic cronyism, and economic stratification plagued the country. "{{W|Robber baron}}s" such as {{W|Collis P. Huntington}} and [[Leland Stanford]] were wealthy entrepreneurs who accumulated large amounts of wealth from their profitable enterprises and business ventures, often at the expense of Sierran workers. There were few worker's protection laws and labor unions lacked recognition by many provincial and local governments. Child labor was also widespread, especially within factories and mines. Although philanthropy and charitable giving was practiced by the wealthy and middle class to promote public works and social services, the overlooked issues among the working class remained largely neglected throughout this period by the federal government by the Royalists and Democratic-Republicans alike. Populist politicians and parties frequently contested in elections in order to capture the political dissatisfaction of the working class but only witnessed limited success in results. Immigration was another hot-button issue that persisted during the Gilded Age, as the citizenry were divided on immigration, particularly with immigrants from East Asian countries such as China and Japan, increasing the incidence of race-related conflict and growing antipathy among poor whites.

The worsening conditions were further complicated when Sierra had its first major banking panic in 1892 due to many financiers withdrawing their money from Sierran banks in response to the failing economies in Argentina and Brazil. Unemployment rates skyrocketed and prices were hiked, leading to social unrest and political mobilization among lower-class workers and farmers. 

Nativist organizations were formed in response to Sierra's uncurbed immigration and financial woes, and were often linked with labor movements and syndicates. Supporters and pro-nativist lawmakers often pushed for anti-immigration laws, but did so to no avail. Prominent nativists, including Irish-Sierran [[Denis Kearney]], threatened violence against business owners who hired Chinese. While anti-immigration measures failed due to resistance by the Royalists (who wanted cheap labor and strong relations with Asia), individual provinces such as those in the Styxie created discriminatory policies that restricted the civil rights of non-whites and passed literacy tests that made voting or even applying for a job much more difficult.

In 1893, King Charles I passed away following a year of severe health complications, making his eldest son, Crown Prince Lewis, the new king as [[Louis I of Sierra|Louis I]]. Similar to his father, he continued maintaining neutrality in domestic affairs while commanding a more active role in foreign policy. The new king rejected nativism but opted to reconcile with Democratic-Republican workers and cooperate with political reformists. Horrified by the social injustices and economic stagnancy that plagued the nation, he oversaw the introduction of the new labor policies such as the minimum wage and the eight-hour workday, regulated child labor under extreme standards, and the establishment of the imposing an income tax through the Royalist ministry of Prime Minister [[Joseph Sterling]], a "progressive businessman" from Santa Clara. These reforms helped cultivate the rise of the Progressive Era as widespread social activism helped bring radical political reform to the country.

In 1898, Sierra along with several other Anglo-American states, mainly the Northeast Union, Union of American States and Brazoria, had participated in the [[Spanish–American War]] against [[Spain]] officially to oppose European imperialism in the Americas and to protect the sovereignty of states in the America, though the Sierran government used the war as a pretext to annex Spain's overseas territories and expand its empire even further. During the war, the Sierran Royal Navy made up a significant portion of the [[Combined American Fleet]] and fought in the Pacific Campaign where the Sierran Royal Marines and Army fought successfully against the Spanish and by the war's end had captured all of Spain's overseas colonies, including [[Republic of Tondo|Tondo]]. During the war, Sierran forces were aided by Tondolese revolutionaries, but a renewed war between the former allies broke out in the form of the [[Han–Sierran War]] ending in 1901 with the establishment of the [[Sierran East Indies]] and a military occupation of the island to ensure Sierra's holdings in the region.

===20th century===

====Progressive Era====
[[File:Women Voters Frisco - Registering shop girls & clerks LCCN2014691302.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Women's suffragists organizing a demonstration in [[San Francisco City]]]]
The excesses and social issues of the Gilded Age resulted in the emergence of Progressivism, a socio-political movement that was based on reform and change. Unrest and civil disobedience became a standard form of resistance and opposition to Gilded Age policies and society. {{W|Yellow journalism}} and the election of reform-minded, populist-oriented officials spurned interest in challenging the elitist culture which had developed in Porciúncula. The Progressive Era reflected a shift in Sierran society where there was an increasing sense of political efficacy that voting and active participation in government and politics could lead to practical, impactful change. Protests, organized strikes, marches, rallies, campaign drives, and petitions became more commonplace during this time. Continued advances in technology, medicine, science, engineering, agriculture, transportation, and electricity also hastened Sierra's trajectory towards a more modern, mobilized society.

In the [[1901 Sierran federal election|1901 federal election]], the Democratic-Republicans under [[Robert Landon]], the grandson of Isaiah Landon, became the governing party in the House. The party ran on a platform of Progressivism and civil rights, which included reversing economic inequality, protecting the working class, improving public health and sanitation, breaking up monopolies, extending full suffrage to women and people of color, introducing a federal initiative and referenda system, and regulating business more toughly. The party's policy changes reflected one that sought to bridge an alliance between the working class and the middle class. In 1903, it officially dropped political republicanism from its platform and supported the status quo of maintaining Sierra's constitutional monarchial system.

The Progressive movement also heavily influenced the Royalists as it attempted to moderate its own policies by supporting various reformatory policies which the Democratic-Republicans supported. The Progressive wing promoted a form of one-nation conservatism that believed the government could be used to improve the problems and issues of modern society. Unlike the Democratic-Republicans, the Royalists backed a platform which went further on racial equality and supported more socially conservative issues such as alcohol prohibitionism. 

====Sierran Cultural Revolution====
{{Main|Sierran Cultural Revolution}}
[[File:Sierran Cultural Revolution protest.jpg|thumb|300px|Tondolese Catholics marching in 1924]]
The Sierran Cultural Revolution was a major period of social, cultural, and political upheaval which fundamentally altered and changed Sierran society. It originated out of the Progressive Era and coalesced into a wide-reaching, expansive movement that witnessed radically shifted views on race, culture, philosophy, politics, religion, and economics. The revolution began in 1901 initially as a grassroots-driven movement which consisted of a pan-racial coalition of mostly white European Sierrans, East Asian Sierrans, Hispanic and Latino Sierrans, black and Creole Sierrans, and mixed race Sierrans who promoted {{W|racial equality}}, {{W|civic nationalism}}, and {{W|Multiculturalism|multiculturalist harmony}}. The emergence of the [[Pacific School]] and its associated [[New Culture]] movement, best exemplified by [[Mark Culler]]'s ''[[Comparison of Western and Oriental Thought]]'', sparked a nationwide movement. The book pioneered modern Western methods of Chinese historiography and cultural studies. The book called for harmonization between Western European Protestant culture with East Asian {{W|Confucianism|Confucian}} culture, and spawned an entire intellectual trend of {{W|New Confucianism|New Confucianists}} in Sierra. Rigorous and active campaigning for civil rights to Asians, Hispanics, and blacks led to increased social integration and coexistence. Growing acceptance and open adoption of new cultures between all ethnic groups evolved into a national, cohesive culture of similar customs and beliefs that consolidated elements from both Western and Eastern culture. The government, especially under the direction of King Louis I, began actively working and promoting the New Culture and engineered the Revolution to fit its aims and goals. The movement morphed into a top-down revolution that cracked down on [[Landonism]], socialism, and other leftist ideologies in favor of a paternalistic, moralist democracy buttressed by capitalism and one-nation conservatism. 

The Revolution was marked with widespread legal reforms, shift in attitudes and customs, increased immigration, and violent conflict with {{W|reactionary|reactionaries}}. By its end, it saw the abolition of the [[Sierran casta]] system and radically altered the landscape of Sierran politics and social views. The Revolution also coincided with the rise of increased militarization, increased involvement of the monarchy, and authoritarianism due to widespread fear of Landonism, trade unionism, nativism, and {{W|anarchism}}. By the mid-1920s, during a time known as the ''Approbatio'', the government resorted to military use and speech laws to control and suppress the activities of the opposition and dissidents. Contemporary historians have claimed that this later period in King [[Louis I]]'s reign coincided with elements of [[derzhavism]] within the Sierran government. Although labor conditions worked, unions suffered greatly during the Revolution, and were subject to intense scrutiny. The change transformed Sierra into a {{W|cosmopolitanism|cosmopolitan}} society and shaped the modern Sierran nation-state and democracy. The late Revolution coincided with unprecedented economic growth and militarization, propelling it towards the global power status it has reached in the present-day.
{{Multiple image
|align=right
|image1 = Comparison of Western and Oriental Thought.png
|width1 = 175
|caption1 = 1919 cover of the 5{{Sup|th}} edition of ''[[Comparison of Western and Oriental Thought]]'', the most highly influential book from the Sierran Cultural Revolution era
|image2 = Herbert Giles.jpg
|caption2 = Mark Culler, pictured here in 1910, several years after the publication of his work
|width2 = 210
}}
Although the Revolution was by no means uniform, and was not seen or referred to as a proper revolution until much later, it has been traditionally held that the Revolution began in the year 1901, from which its Sino-Sierran namesake owes its name to. Social change began in response to the effects of the {{W|Second Industrial Revolution|Industrial Revolution}} and continued immigration of people from {{W|Asia}} and {{W|Latin America}} into Sierra, as well as Sierra's imperialist endeavors in the Pacific. Its colonization of Tondo was instrumental in bridging cultural exchange between the two powers and providing momentum for the Revolution. The rapid modernization and technological advancement of Sierra came at the cost of poor living conditions for the lower and middle classes and widespread corruption among Sierra's corporate elites. Immigration on the other hand, fueled racial tensions between the predominant Sierran whites and non-white immigrants who posed a threat to economic and labor interests. Miscegenation and the liberal exchange of different cultures had also produced a new class of multiracial Sierrans (such as the [[Sierran Creole people|Sierran Creoles]] and the [[Hapas]]) and a more multiracial culture in the cities respectively.  Social progressives and reformists sought to consolidate better conditions and rights to the disaffected commoners and to extend cordiality to new ethnic groups.

In 1909, King Louis I was crowned [[Emperor of Tondo]], officially becoming a {{W|King-Emperor|king-emperor}}. The phrase, "Kowtow to the King-Emperor" became a popular saying to refer to Louis I's full embracement as an emperor and an avid supporter of the Revolution. He positioned himself as a reform-minded monarch whose {{W|Orientalism|Orientalist}} sympathies made him a ready ally for prominent Revolution figures including [[Walter B. Feng]] and [[Richard Xiong]]. Although Louis I's traditional Jacobite supporters were mixed towards the King's acceptance of the New Culture, the Royalist Party sought to align its policies and agenda with the King. As a result, both the Democratic-Republican and Royalist parties officially supported the Revolution by 1911, and both attempted to court and curry favor from Sierra's rising Asian community.

Despite official backing from both major parties and the monarchy, there was widespread reactionary opposition to the changes ushered forth by the Revolution. The early opposition mainly consisted of traditionalists and {{W|nativism|nativists}} who sought to preserve ideals of {{W|white supremacy}} and rejected the New Culture's progressive thinking. Frequently, resistance turned violent, with numerous race-related riots, {{W|lynching}}s, pogroms in small communities, murders, and organized crime against minorities spearheaded by racist and nationalist organizations such as the [[Imperial Knights of Sierra]] (IKS) and the Workingmen's Party. The [[Reformed Republican Party of Sierra|Reformed Republicans]], an organized political party which upheld nativism, controlled the [[House of Commons of Sierra|House of Commons]] briefly on two non-consecutive occasions during the 1920s, before being permanently displaced by the Democratic-Republican–Royalist system during the ''Approbatio'' period. Similarly, retaliation by pro-revolutionary forces also occurred, wreaking havoc to homes and businesses of counter-revolutionaries. These conflicts of resistance became known as the [[Little Civil War]].

====''Approbatio''====

The ''Approbatio'' was a period of political turbulence and social unrest during the Revolution which was marked by numerous turnovers in the House and a progression towards increasingly authoritarian measures under the direction of King Louis I and his supporters. During the late 1910s, as the Revolution gained traction, opposition from both the left and right developed in reaction to it. The Democratic-Republicans were divided into three main camps: the Moderates, the Revolutionaries, and the Counter-Revolutionaries. While the former two supported the Revolution, the latter represented a coalition of mostly white working-class Styxers and political republicans who were alarmed at the rapid advances of the Revolution and believed that the Democratic-Republican Party had been subverted by Royalist infiltrators. Nativist and anti-Revolution leader [[Hiram Johnson]] became the leading figure of the Counter-Revolutionary Democratic-Republicans and vowed to restore the party to its pre-1903 platform.
[[File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_137-040975,_Osterfahrt_der_SA_und_HJ_Shanghai_nach_Wusih.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Organized squadron of [[Purpleshirts]] paramilitary personnel in 1935]]
The resurgence of Landonism in the Styxie, as well as the outbreak of a [[Continental Revolutionary War|Landonist revolution]] in the United Commonwealth was a significant security concern for Sierra. The First Crimson Scare referred to the widespread fear of far-left extremism in Sierra and increasing suspicion towards labor unions, trade unions, unionized workers, and leftist advocates. The workers' strikes in Bernheim in 1918 became cited as one of the key events which pushed the Revolution towards a reactionary turn. In addition, the emergence of Sierran-born [[Zhou Xinyue]], who received training at [[The Presidio, The Military College of San Francisco]], as a prominent military figure in the Continental Revolutionary War was seen as a national embarrassment and concern. Worried that the Styxie was a breeding ground for Landonists, calls were made to "pacify" the region. As progress was made underway towards racial equality and embracement for the New Culture, various Revolution supporters and leaders began to work alongside corporations, industrialists, and business-oriented voters who supported the pro-capitalist ideology of the New Culture. Socialism, particularly the variety that was most prominent with the Styxie, became identified as insurrectionist, anti-monarchist, and racist, as the Sierran left harbored a prominent underbelly of nativists and anti-Asian supporters. 

The Revolution and the resultant culture wars produced a climate of division. Louis I, who feared about the possibility of another republican rebellion and civil war, turned towards the military for help. [[Edmond Xu]], a Chinese Sierran Royal Army field marshal, was a strong proponent of the Preparedness Movement, which advocated the development of a strong military-industrial complex supported by big business and industry to defend the country from dissident leftism and foreign invasion. Xu's proposals were especially popular among the nation's bankers, industrialists, academics, lawyers, gentry, and other upper-class members, as well as Royalist politicians and a few Democratic-Republicans. They advocated strengthening Sierra's military capabilities, and emphasized the weak vulnerability of Sierran defense. In addition, supporters hoped the efforts towards increased militarization would quicken the process of racial integration between whites and Asians, as well as other races, and serve as the litmus test for a new form of civic nationalism. They wanted to assemble a well-trained, organized military that drew in recruits from all across the Kingdom's realms, including Tondo, regardless of class or race, which would bolster Sierra's image as a modern, multiethnic empire. Many proponents proposed a mandatory two-year service for all able-bodied male citizens between the ages of 17 and 45, a proposal which the King himself voiced support.
[[File:US_infantry_on_the_march_in_NM,_1916_army.mil-2008-03-28-083637.jpg|thumb|250px|Sierran soldiers marching from New Mexico into Mexico]]
The movement was met with significant resistance from the Democratic-Republicans, as well as nativists, antimilitarists, pacifists, and some Royalists, who felt the proposals would bring Sierra into foreign entanglement. Some even expressed concern of the militarization as a gateway to authoritarianism, a fear that was already peddled by nativists who were critical of the Cultural Revolution policies. The Preparedness campaign elicited such a strong, polarizing response that it represented the first major controversial issue not tied to the race issue in the early 20th century. The [[Purpleshirts]], originally known as the Order of the White Rose, originated during this time of militarization and emerged as a prominent, emblematic paramilitary force which exercised informal law enforcement authority. Under the leadership of the charismatic [[John Higashikata]], the Purpleshirts' numbers quickly grew in the passing years, reaching 100,000 members by 1924. Its organization and acceptance by the government as a "cultural police" which inspected and punished individuals suspected of treason, sedition, or subversion was strongly criticized. Its legacy has been the subject of controversy as the Purpleshirts had an extensively documented record of extrajudicial killings and kidnappings of republicans, Landonists, and other Sierran citizens. 

Clashes between the extremist, militant factions of the Revolution and the Counter-Revolutionaries were frequent in the Styxie and would come to be known as the [[Little Civil War]], which became a low-intensity, decade-long conflict centered in the region. Security forces and secret police were deployed by the government to patrol and monitor the region which had been seen as the hotbed of resistance to the Revolution.
[[File:Brooke_Hart_lynch_mob_battering_ram.jpg|thumb|250px|Lynch mob using a battering ram to breach a Bernheim-based business in 1933]]
During the ''Approbatio'', Sierra moved away from its semi-isolationist foreign policy towards a more interventionist one. In [[Mexico]], the escalation of the [[Mexican Revolution]] became an issue of prime interest for Sierra from both a geopolitical and domestic standpoint. Sierra feared that Mexico would fall under a Landonist regime supported by the United Commonwealth and wanted to protect its borders from possible infiltration or invasion. Sierra's navy also grew significantly as it strengthened its holdings in the Pacific and Tondo. While it had not fully become a great power, it became an important player in the international sphere, primarily through its power projection over the Pacific and in the Americas.

The electoral victory of the nativist-based [[Reformed Republican Party of Sierra|Reformed Republicans]] under [[Hiram Johnson]] in [[1919 Sierran federal election|1919]] reflected a divide between the Democratic-Republican establishment and its electorate. The offshoot party formed in reaction to the Democratic-Republicans' departure from political republicanism and Styxie-based values, and essentially split the vote. The Reformed Republicans entered into a coalition with the right-wing populist [[Know Nothing Party of Sierra|Know Nothings]] who championed nativism and anti-Catholicism, and were prevalent in Southern Sierra. The [[National Unionist Party of Sierra|National Unionist]] was another party which had represented Royalist dissidents who had disagreed with the shift the Royalist Party underwent and joined the Reformed Republicans' coalition. Although the Reformed Republicans, Know Nothings, and National Unionist gained control over the House, their actual ability to legislate was hindered by the Royalists and Democratic-Republican opposition. The House members from both of the historic rivals entered an inter-party agreement, the [[Burbank Declaration]], agreeing to resort to {{W|Obstructionism|obstructionist}} tactics in order to thwart any meaningful legislation on the floor. The Reformed Republicans decried the declaration as anti-democratic and accused the King and the Senate for colluding with the House opposition. Two elections were held in 1920, one in [[March 1920 Sierran federal election|March]] and one in [[September 1920 Sierran federal election|September]], each time held after Johnson sought to improve the number of seats in the House to overcome the opposition. While the Reformed Republicans were able to win in both elections, both yielded little net change to make an impact. Concerned with electoral fatigue and political maneuvering, King Louis I issued an edict to deny a third election which Johnson had planned in December. During the tumultuous electoral cycle, Sierra intervened in the United Commonwealth's Continental Revolutionary War alongside [[Brazoria]] and the [[Northeast Union]]. However, within three weeks, Sierra aborted its mission to support the [[Federalist Party of the United Commonwealth|Federalists]] and signed the [[Treaty of Bernheim]], which ended Sierra's counterrevolutionary involvement and had Sierra formally recognize the Landonist regime as the successor state to the United Commonwealth. 

In 1921, Democratic-Republican [[Phillip Judd]] led a coalition of both Democratic-Republicans and Royalists (retroactively referred to as the [[National Government (1921)|First National Government]]), to win a plurality over the Reformed Republicans and their coalition. Building upon the Burbank Declaration, the Democratic-Republicans and Royalists agreed to a temporary political alliance for the purpose of denying the Reformed Republicans the ability to continue "disrupting the Revolution". Setting aside economic differences and focusing on their mutual support for the cultural values and political gains of the Revolution, the First National Government sought to revise the House rules, notably by re-introducing the {{W|filibuster}}, which had been removed in 1902, and increasing the number of votes required to invoke {{W|cloture}}.

Conflict in the Styxie intensified as the National Government granted more authority to the Purpleshirts and introduced the controversial [[Sedition Act of 1922]], a ''{{W|lèse-majesté}}'' law, which protected the King and members of the Royal Family from defamation, libel, and slander. The act criminalized any form of public criticism or insult against Louis I and his family. While the act was legally challenged and taken up to the Supreme Court, the Court ruled that speech or print critical against the King had "no constitutional value". The law was viewed as a direct threat to republicanism, as it made it a crime to criticize the King, although the law itself did not criminalize criticism against the institution of monarchy.

The Purpleshirts and local police cracked down on alleged seditious activity throughout the Styxie, especially in San Joaquin and Santa Clara. With ''{{W|habeas corpus}}'' effectively suspended in the region, accused and alleged "traitors" were often extrajudicially apprehended and prosecuted in provincial kangaroo courts. Hundreds of republican activists and other people deemed subversive to the state were killed by Purpleshirts agents or members of the public. The most infamous method of execution was lynching, although death by gun wound was just as prevalent. Numerous riots, civil disturbances, and racially-motivated pogroms also erupted during the 1920s and early 1930s.
[[File:Hiram Johnson and A.J. Wallace of California.png|thumb|250px|left|Reformed Republican [[Hiram Johnson]] and Know Nothing [[Finn S. Pike]] successfully gained control over the House twice (1919 and 1923)]]
In 1923, the First National Government experienced a breakdown as Judd and other coalition leaders including Royalist [[Earle Coburn]] encountered disagreements and infighting over the progress of the Revolution. Judd and the Democratic-Republicans favored adopting economic measures which would strengthen workers' rights, believing it was crucial to the nation's economy and infrastructure while Coburn and the Royalists disagreed. Judd was himself accused by party members for compromising the party's economic values in favor of conciliatory relations with the rival Royalists. There was also disagreement over Sierra's involvement in Mexico and other Latin American countries. The Royalists were mostly composed of interventionists while non-interventionists and isolationists dominated the Democratic-Republicans. A group of 18 Democratic-Republicans, known as the Green Hounds, defected in February to the Reformed Republican coalition, and were able to pass a successful motion of no confidence. Hiram Johnson and the Reformed Republicans were able to regain control over the House, and vowed to overturn the Sedition Act, as well as rein in the powers of the Senate. It called for progressive economic policies, an isolationist foreign policy, and the abolition of birthright citizenship. More controversially, Johnson and the Reformed Republicans introduced {{W|eugenics}} into its party platform, calling for racial purity and the reintroduction of racial segregation and anti-miscegenation laws.

Johnson and the Reformed Republicans' grasp over the House lasted a little more than a year after months of legislative obstruction and official investigations into the activities of some Reformed Republican and Know Nothing politicians. In January 1924, the [[Royal Bureau of Investigation]] charged 11 members of Parliament and 3 senators including Reformed Republican Deputy Prime Minister [[John McNiall]] of corruption and conspiracy to commit treason. The Reformed Republican coalition itself faced internal disagreement and personality clashes between Hiram Johnson and Know Nothing leader [[Daniel J. O'Brien]]. Frustrated with legislative inaction, Johnson once again called for new elections but was defeated by the Royalists and Earle Coburn, who had been a major leader of the First National Government.

Coburn and the Royalists took advantage of the divide in the economic left to implement some welfare state policies. Hoping to draw and lure working class voters away from the Democratic-Republicans and Reformed Republicans, Coburn promised a national policy he called the Golden Ticket, which would introduce a national public pension fund, promise higher working wages, increase funding for public schools and universities, and bring economic relief for farmers and rural workers. He also adopted a friendlier approach towards labor unions, passing the [[National Labor Reform Act]] of 1925, which guaranteed workers the right to collective bargaining with any legally registered union. The shift in economic policy from laissez-faire economics to a more state-involved one among the Royalists reflected a larger nationwide trend towards a more "compassionate, softer" version of capitalism. As Landonism and other leftist ideologies persisted as popular alternatives throughout the Revolution, as exemplified by the economic success of the Landonist United Commonwealth, a labor-friendlier approach was perceived as the "antidote" by Coburn and other leaders to the "Green Menace".

Coburn's efforts and policies to appease the working class alienated the traditional classical liberal wing of his party. During the [[1926 Sierran federal election|1926 election]], Coburn and his party narrowly avoided losing their majority in the House when a number of former Royalist MPs defected and ran as the [[Nationalist Party of Sierra|Nationalists]]. Meanwhile, the Democratic-Republicans and leftist opposition remained suspicious of Coburn's leaderships and rejected the Royalist overtures of cooperation and common ground on economic issues. With Hiram Johnson stepping down from his position as party leader for the Reformed Republicans, his successor, [[James Gladstone]], was more receptive towards reconciliation with the Democratic-Republicans, and formed a coalition with them in the summer of 1926.

On June 23, 1927, Louis I, who had been suffering various health complications in his final years of life, died. Crown Prince Stephen, the King's eldest son, ascended the throne as [[Louis II of Sierra|Louis II]]. Unlike his father, Louis II was deemed "meeker and less ambitious" than his father, and was eager to rein in the excess of the Sierran Cultural Revolution. In his first address as king, Louis II vowed to usher in a new period of peace and partisan cooperation. He ceased issuing out noble titles to opportunists seeking favor and patronage by the Royal Family and ended the practice of numerous extravagant regal ceremonies his father enjoyed. Although he did not push for the controversial Sedition Act to be overturned, he issued a royal edict which would lift up restrictions on certain forms of speech and criticism of himself and members of the Royal Family, and reduced the abilities and powers of the Purpleshirts. Louis II's actions and steps as the new monarch marked the end of the ''Approbatio'' as hyper-revolutionary fervor died down in alignment with the shifting position in Occidental Palace.

A month after Louis I's death, Coburn and the Royalists were voted out as the Democratic-Republicans formed a coalition with the Reformed Republicans under the leadership of [[Poncio Salinas]]. Mounting dissatisfaction with the governance of the Royalists and the prolonged military involvement in Mexico greatly damaged the Royalists' prospects during the [[1927 Sierran federal election|1927 election]].

====Antebellum====
[[File:Poncio Salinas 2.jpg|thumb|175px|[[Poncio Salinas]], the 21st and 23rd Prime Minister of Sierra]]
The death of Louis I and the ascension of Louis II generated a ripple effect in Sierra. The new mild-mannered, moderate-minded monarch showed less enthusiasm for the revolutionary activity his father and his supporters tolerated. In addition, Coburn and the Royalists lost control over the House to [[Poncio Salinas]], who led a new coalition between the Democratic-Republicans and the Reformed Republicans, which had reconciled with one another due to the latter largely abandoning its nativist platform following the ouster of party leader Hiram Johnson. Salinas promoted himself as a man of moderation and pragmatism, and even proclaimed that the Revolution and its effects had accomplished a "New Cultural Supremacy". Salinas, as a Mexican Sierran, declared that racial equality and cultural harmony were achieved in Sierra and that it was time for the nation to move forward under this newly established normalcy. The Sierran military was placed under civilian control again, the scope of the Purpleshirts was curtailed, and restrictions on speech and press were relaxed in a series of legislation collectively known as the [[Thermidorian Acts]], although the lèse-majesté laws remained in place.

While much of the country had embraced the ideals and results of the Revolution, the Styxie remained a holdout region as the Little Civil War continued with fighting between the mostly Jacobite monarchists and the dissident republicans. The persistence of republican-motivated violence was blamed on looming uncertainty with the United Commonwealth. Sierran intelligence suspected that the United Commonwealth was providing covert political and economic aid to republican insurgents, and accused the Landonist state of sponsoring terrorist activities. To further complicate matters, Sierra experienced an influx of migrant workers and families from [[Brazoria]], as well as political refugees from the [[United Commonwealth]] who were displaced by the {{W|Dust Bowl}}. These people, who became pejoratively known as "{{W|Okie}}s" found employment in Sierra's Central Valley as agricultural laborers. Their arrival and place in the post-''Approbatio'' Sierran society was contentious as they were viewed as culturally backwards, uneducated, and ignorant. Conservative Royalists and some Democratic-Republicans feared that the Okies would lead to a resurgence in republicanism across the country, especially in the volatile Styxie, while most Democratic-Republicans and nativists viewed the Okies as foreign competition that further depressed the labor market and housing availability.
[[File:8b33132r.jpg|thumb|250px|left|A homeless family of seven from [[Phoenix]], [[Maricopa]] walks alongside K.S. 99, bound for [[San Diego]], [[Laguna]].]]
In February 1931, the {{W|London Stock Exchange}} crashed, which greatly dampened Sierran investors' confidence in overseas markets. Market volatility increased as various European economies fell in a free fall, leading to panic selling in the [[Porciúncula]]. On April 9, 1931, the Sierran stock markets crashed, with the [[Porciúncula Stock Exchange]] losing more than 10 percent of its market value in one day. The market crashes devastated both the Sierran and global economies, and marked the start of the [[Depression of 1931–1934]]. The economic downturn led to increased confidence and public trust in government involvement in the economy. Salinas unveiled the [[New Pacific Plan]], which introduced a comprehensive series of monetary and fiscal reforms, as well as government agencies, welfare programs, and bureaucracy. The Plan transformed Sierra into a welfare state which saw improvements to public health, housing, education, agriculture, infrastructure, pensions, business regulations, and organized labor. The [[National Family Registry]] and the [[National Identification Card (Sierra)|National Identification Card]] were also introduced, which centralized vital records into a national database and integrated the growing national bureaucracy. Salinas, who was a deep admirer of the New Culture, also implemented nationwide, mandatory [[Sierran Hanzi]] instruction, designed to bridge the predominantly English-speaking population with the {{W|CJK characters|CJKV}} linguistic world.

{{multiple image
 | width = 150
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 | image2 = Kralj_aleksandar1.jpg
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 | footer = [[Kaholo Palakiko]]'s (left) attempted assassination of King [[Louis II of Sierra|Louis II]] (right) hastened a fallout between Sierra and the United Commonwealth.
}}In 1929, tensions between Sierra and the United Commonwealth flared when a Landonist Hawaiian revolutionary [[Kaholo Palakiko]] [[Attempted assassination of Louis II|attempted to assassinate]] King [[Louis II of Sierra|Louis II]] on November 27, during a [[Sierra Day]] parade. Hawaii was an organized territory of Sierra at the time and there was a significant movement of Hawaiian nationalists who advocated separatism and independence from the Kingdom. The movement included the [[All-Hawaiian People's Congress]] (AHPC), which was a far-left political organization that was labeled as a terrorist organization by the Sierran government. The Sierran government had been suspicious of Continental influence and support of the AHPC, which would be in circumvention of the 1926 Shenandoah Conference Agreement. The assassination attempt prompted the Sierran government to convict and execute Palakiko, to impose restrictions on Hawaiian home rule, and to make Hawaiian independence advocacy a punishable act of sedition. The moves were protested by the United Commonwealth, which urged Sierra to rescind its decisions. Despite diplomatic pressure, Sierra refused, which soured relations with Chicago.

On September 2, 1931, Sierra and the United Commonwealth were on the verge of war. Although the two countries were on the opposing sides of the Mexican Revolution, neither side's troops directly interacted or attacked each other. An informal gentlemen's agreement had been brokered between the two sides' diplomats to remain outside each other's designated "line of control" in Mexico. Miscommunication at the lower chain of command on the Sierran side resulted in Sierran Royal Army forces entering the United Commonwealth's line of control area in Veracruz, resulting in 32 dead on Sierra's side and 19 on the United Commonwealth's side, as well 88 Mexicans from both North and South Mexico. The [[Veracruz incident]], as it came to be known, triggered alarm on both sides and the two powers accused each other of responsibility for the conflict. Sierra issued a communique demanding the United Commonwealth apologize for the loss of Sierran and allied Mexican soldiers, and removal of Continental forces in the area, while the United Commonwealth issued its own counter-demand. The ensuing diplomatic crisis was known as the [[September Crisis]] and generated fear amongst the Sierran public on the possibility of a direct war with the United Commonwealth and a subsequent ground invasion by the Continentals.

Fears of an imminent confrontation further heightened when fighting began in neighboring [[Brazoria]], which was a key Sierran ally. The country experienced political unrest with the rise of Continentalist-affiliated movements and organizations, and had erupted into the full-blown, intensified [[Brazorian Civil War]]. The Sierran government accused the United Commonwealth of orchestrating the civil war by supporting leftist militant groups, while the United Commonwealth claimed that Sierra was interfering with Brazorian elections and influencing its government to adopt an anti-Continental stance. The civil war raised concerns that the Continentalists in Brazoria would succeed and that Brazoria would then be annexed by the United Commonwealth as a [[Republics of the United Commonwealth|continental republic]]. Salinas publicly refused to officially intervene in Brazoria, stating that the conflict was an "internal" matter, leading to accusations by critics that he was a Continental sympathizer. Sierra's allies, Astoria and Superior, both urged the Salinas government to take action in Brazoria and Mexico, and made their own preparations in anticipation of war with the United Commonwealth. Internally, the Salinas Government expressed concern that the United Commonwealth was preparing to renege on its agreement with Sierra over Mexico by undermining Brazoria's own government. Several high-level meetings between diplomats from both sides attempted to mediate the solution. Salinas wanted Callahan to withdraw financial and military support completely from Brazoria, while Callahan wanted Salinas to guarantee that the Brazorian government would not prevent Continentalist party members from contesting elections and holding office. In the months between the September Crisis and the offset of the First Great War, the Sierran military was instructed to quietly rearm itself to wartime capacity and to prepare for a potential defensive war. 

In September 1931, a Landonist revolt broke out in [[North Mexico]], whose government was friendly to Sierra and had received support since the end of the [[Mexican Revolution]] which saw the Mexican nation divided into three states, with [[South Mexico]] being backed by the United Commonwealth, and the [[Republic of the Yucatán]], which was a Sierran protectorate. Alarmed by the string of Landonist revolutions in the North American continent, Sierra accused the United Commonwealth on reneging its promises in the Shenandoah Conference and Sierran military officials began preparing plans for a possible invasion against the United Commonwealth as [[Operation Downed Sequoia]].

In the United Commonwealth, the government had anticipated a Sierran invasion in the years following the Shenandoah Conference. Although the United Commonwealth had been successful in supporting Landonist revolutions in [[Quebec]], the [[Northeast Union]] (now known as the [[Congregationalist States]]), and the [[Maritime Republic]] in the years prior to the Conference, it remained vulnerable and exposed in its western region, where it neighbored the pro-Sierran states of [[Brazoria]], [[Tournesol]], and [[Superior]]. Securing a buffer zone between the United Commonwealth and Sierra, and isolating Sierra in the North American continent was deemed a strategic necessity which would tip the geopolitical dynamism of the region completely in the favor of the United Commonwealth. In addition, the Continental Revolutionary Navy was much weaker than the more developed [[Sierran Royal Navy]]. Although Sierra's navy was mainly Pacific-based, Sierran had completed construction of the [[Nicaragua Canal]] back in 1919, which made the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and Atlantic Ocean much more accessible. As a result, Sierra established naval stations in [[Cancún]], where the fleet there had been deployed on several occasions to initiate blockades during the Mexican Revolution and other conflicts in Central America. The United Commonwealth believed it was imperative for it to attack and seize control over the Nicaragua Canal to cut Sierra's Atlantic fleet off from swift reinforcements in the Pacific.

By November 1931, the Landonist insurgency in North Mexico had evolved into a full-scale, protracted civil war. Sierra began sending military officers from the Sierran Royal Army to advise and train the North Mexican military to deal with the guerrilla warfare tactics of the insurgents, most of whom were hiding in the {{W|Sierra Madre Oriental}}. The Sierran government also provided indirect military and economic aid to the country through its foreign direct investment shell companies and private entities to circumvent the prohibition against military aid under the Shenandoah Conference Agreement. The United Commonwealth, in turn, sent a diplomatic team to South Mexico to discuss the possibilities of reunifying Mexico under a Landonist regime, with the expectation that North Mexico would fall to the insurgency. In the meetings, the United Commonwealth revealed its military plans to invade and occupy Brazoria, while South Mexico would invade North Mexico.

====Great War I====
{{Main|Sierra during Great War I}}
[[File:The USS Arizona (BB-39) burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor - NARA 195617 - Edit.jpg|thumb|left|The Sierran battleship HRMS ''Culloden'' burning after the Japanese attack on Manila Bay.]]
On April 11, 1932, the United Commonwealth [[Continental invasion of Brazoria|invaded Brazoria]], beginning [[Great War I]]. A day after the invasion, Sierra, Superior, and Tournesol made a joint declaration of war against the United Commonwealth in retaliation of the United Commonwealth's invasion. The Senate unanimously voted to declare war and Salinas convened over an emergency session in both houses declaring "The Crimson Scourge will surely not prevail west of the Mississippi". Sierran troops were mobilized and the Sierran public was galvanized as the United Commonwealth confirmed Sierran fears that it was planning a complete Landonist takeover of the North American continent. There were concerns that the United Commonwealth held the numerical advantages in war, both in warpower and economic production due to its larger population and greater access to important resources such as steel and oil to outperform Sierra and its allies. During the first year of the war, the United Commonwealth made swift gains over Superior and Eastern Brazoria, overwhelming the Entente powers. Sierran military strategists noted that despite these advantages, Sierra's military technology was believed to be more advanced and modern than the United Commonwealth's, Sierra had a more developed and capable navy, and Sierra had natural defenses including the {{W|Great Basin}} and {{W|Rocky Mountains}}.

The early, rapid Continental wins in the Maritimes Campaign, as well as the total collapse of the Brazorian government to Continentalist forces by the end of 1933 resulted in fear and panic of an imminent Continental invasion or a civil war. The war, which had initially been seen as a winnable, defensible war, soon became an existential war of survival as the Continentalists made significant gains over Sierra's allies, Superior and Manitoba. Salinas was blamed for his hesitancy towards curbing Continental aggression prior to the war, including his failure to intervene early during the Brazorian Civil War. Within two weeks of Sierra's entry into the war, Japan [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|surprised attacked]] the Sierran naval base in {{W|Pearl Harbor}} in Hawaii, and began invading Sierra's Pacific territories, including Tondo. Relations between Sierra and Japan had been deteriorating since the {{W|Second Sino-Japanese War}} began, which the Sierran government had opposed. Japan, seeking to neutralize Sierra as a threat, took advantage of Sierra's military preoccupations on the home front in North America. Sierran intelligence had been aware of the potential threat of Japanese aggression against Sierra. Sierran military leaders and planners had long considered the possibility of a {{W|two-front war}}, one in the Pacific and one in Continental North America. The Sierran and Japanese navies were both roughly equal in terms of technological parity but Sierra lacked the resources or manpower to confront Japan while the United Commonwealth would attack. When the two-front war became a reality, Sierra adopted a defensive war strategy in the Pacific, abandoning its defenses in the outlying Pacific territories of Guam and Northern Mariana, as well as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, while protecting Hawaii from possible Japanese invasion. With Tondo occupied by Japan, the opportunity for a Sierran comeback was not immediately achievable, with Sierra hoping that Russia would eventually lead its own invasion in Manchuria and the Korean peninsula to improve Sierra's chances. In the home front, Sierra sought to halt Continentalist advances into Western Brazoria and North Mexico.

Following the Japanese attacks on Sierran territory, Sierra formally joined as a belligerent of the [[Entente Impériale]]. Sierra had signed a military alliance with [[China]], [[France]], and [[Russia]] in the [[Quadripartite Pact]], which were the leading powers of the Entente. Sierra invaded the German-controlled [[Caroline Islands]] shortly after, seeking to secure a base to defend Tondo in case of Japanese advance. 

The possibility of Continental invasion of the Sierran mainland prompted the Sierran military leadership to ramp up its defenses along the {{W|Rocky Mountains}}, a natural geographic barrier between Sierra and the eastern half of North America, as well as the {{W|Chihuahuan Desert}}. The prospect of a Sierran-led counter-invasion into Continental soil was abandoned as the Entente focused on regaining control over the Continental-occupied territories of Superior and Brazoria. Homefront war production increased manifoldly as Sierra sought to fight for its own survival in the two-front global conflict. Sierra initially mobilized over a half a million men (representing about two percent of the national population) to fight in the war through {{W|conscription}}. However, by 1933, Sierra had increased the number of actively deployed servicemen to 1.2 million or roughly 6% of the population, which was a 140% increase. Although Sierra lacked the manpower to fight the United Commonwealth on the ground, it made up for it through naval superiority and a slight edge over the United Commonwealth in terms of airpower. Its neighbor, Brazoria, which had become renowned for its first-class air force, helped improve the Sierran Royal Air Force's capabilities and operations considerably during the war. In addition, Sierra made liberal use of {{W|chemical weapon}}s, which had been developed prior to the war. {{W|Chlorine gas}} and {{W|hydrogen cyanide}} were commonly deployed by Sierran foot soldiers and planes against Continental troops, and this was cited as a major factor in Sierra's success to limiting Continental advance despite numerical disadvantages.

Between late 1933 and much of 1934, the North American Front had turned into a long war of attrition fought along the Rocky Mountains. In the Pacific, Sierra had effectively lost control over [[Guam]], the [[Northern Mariana Islands]], [[Tondo]], [[Bénieîle]], the [[Gilbert and Ellice Islands]], and the [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]] including [[Midway Island]]. The Sierran economy had transformed into a fully operational wartime machine as manufacturing increased. The government raised national taxes and issued hundreds of thousands of war bonds to citizens, and awarded contracts and multi-million dollar deals with companies which agreed to switch their production to military-related products and services during the war.

In [[1934 Sierran federal election|1934]], Salinas and the Democratic-Republicans lost control over the House to the Royalists under [[Richard Rioux]], a former Sierran general, who secured a plurality in the House. Mounting losses in the Pacific, as well as fighting on the edges of the Sierran border worried voters. In addition to wavering faith in Salinas' ability to lead the nation during the war, the Democratic-Republicans had once again suffered division within its own rank and file membership, and voter base, as anti-monarchists and political republicans felt that the party had continue to betray its ideological roots. Rioux and the Royalists were elected as a reactionary backlash against Salinas' New Pacific Plan. Critics feared that Salinas' economic reforms and government expansion would "infantilize" the Sierran public during a time of dire emergency and criticized Salinas' government-planned economic model as a reminiscent imitation of the United Commonwealth's economic policies. Once elected, Rioux was unable to overturn much of Salinas' policies however, as his own {{W|hung parliament}} and the the Democratic-Republican majority Senate stonewalled his attempts to reimplement classical liberal policies. Rioux also campaigned himself as someone who would be completely devoted towards leading the war effort in Sierra. Despite national unity in war production, a worker's strike and civil unrest in Bernheim in 1935, underpinned Rioux's gestures towards relaxing labor laws during wartime. Rioux was thus forced to completely abandon his plans to tampering with the New Pacific Plan. He began working closer with the progressive wing of the Royalists and conservative Democratic-Republicans towards achieving a {{W|liberal corporatism|liberal corporatist}} policy which would balance one-nation conservatism with more labor-friendly corporatism. The Royalists had long suffered weakness in the Styxie and the Pacific Northwest provinces, which had a number of battleground districts that were critical for House elections.

Rioux's wartime leadership and his domestic policy's pivot towards a labor-friendlier center proved successful as the Royalists won in [[1936 Sierran federal election|1936]]. He passed the Fair Pacific Plan, which was a modified version of Salinas' New Pacific Plan that would downsize some of the Salinas-era agencies without dissolving them and would implement greater protections for small business owners, the introduction of {{W|right-to-work law}}s and {{W|agency shop}} requirements, and give payroll tax cuts to working class employees. The Plan was praised as a moderate version that was more palpable to businesses and industrialists, and some working-class Sierran voters expressed their support likewise. Labor unions remained mainly opposed to the deal and continued to campaign for the Democratic-Republican opposition.

During the late 1935, the Continentalist forces broke through Entente resistance in New Mexico and made advances towards the Sierran heartland. During the early months of 1936, the Continental forces made preparations to invade the Sierran mainland and used detonation crews to widen the mountain passes along the Rocky Mountains. By April 1936, the Continental 4th Army reached {{W|Hoosier Pass}}, which was a major entryway connecting Sierra's [[West Colorado]] and Brazoria's [[Ute Province]]. This breach led the Sierran military leaders to believe that if left unchallenged, the Continental Army would be able to reach and capture Porciúncula by August of that year. Sierran troops were rallied to prevent Continental advance through Hoosier Pass and the multi-day [[Battle of Hoosier Pass]] ensued, resulting in over 9,000 Sierrans killed, but ultimately halting Continental movement. The battle was deemed a pivotal moment for the North American Front as the United Commonwealth soon abandoned its plans to invade the Sierran mainland, and recalled its troops from the Rockies and Coloradan region.
[[File:San_Gabriel_school_children_pledge.jpg|thumb|250px|Schoolchildren of [[San Raphael's Connectional Church]] pledging allegiance to the [[Flag of Sierra]] prior to singing the "[[Song of the Rocky Defenders]]".]]
The defense of the Rockies bolstered Sierran civilian patriotism and crushed Continental internal support for the war. Sierra was able to push back Continental lines in Western Superior and Central Brazoria by the winter of 1936. Throughout much of 1937, Entente forces fought intensely against Continental resistance across the Great Plains, slowly inching towards the United Commonwealth. Technological advancements in tank warfare, aircraft, explosives, and chemical weapons helped maintain Entente late-war edge over the demoralized Continental troops. In early 1938, after Sierra helped Superior retake southern Wisconsin, the United Commonwealth's [[Seamus Callahan]] offered a ceasefire agreement, which was accepted by the Entente governments. The [[Armistice of Houston]] was signed between the United Commonwealth and the Entente on April 22, 1938, effectively making peace in the North American Front aside from limited, continued fighting in Mexico and the Caribbean. The parties agreed to a cessation of hostilities and to restore territory to the {{W|status quo ante bellum}}, with the United Commonwealth repatriating Nicaragua and the Yucatán Peninsula to Sierra.

Burnt out by war, Sierra decided to sue for peace with Japan in the Pacific rather than attempt to retake its lost territories. The two nations agreed to a ceasefire and negotiated terms, known as the [[Midway Island Agreement]], where Sierra would recognize Japan's claims in the Pacific in exchange for the return of Tondo, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and a number of other islands. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands would remain under Japanese control however provided Japan guaranteed Sierran citizens the right to have continued abode there or to repatriate them to Sierra safely after the war ended.

The war formally ended after fighting persisted mainly in Europe and Northern Africa into the spring months of 1938. Sierra was a key signatory of the [[Treaty of Verdun]], which officially ended the war and finalized peace agreement first affirmed in the Armistice of Houston and Midway Island Agreement. The Rioux Government favored reconciliation rather than retribution with the United Commonwealth and did not demand reparations. However, it did demand reparations from the Japanese government as compensation for the seizure of Sierra's territorial possessions in the Pacific. Furthermore, it urged the signatory powers to join the [[League of Nations]], an international organization intended to prevent future conflicts, and to pursue policies of free trade to facilitate international cooperation and goodwill.

====Second Interwar period====
[[File:Sessue_Hayakawa_and_Anna_May_Wong.jpg|thumb|150px|Hollywood stars [[Sessue Hayakawa]] and [[Anna May Wong]] were hugely popular during the Fierce Fifties]]
After the Treaty of Verdun was ratified, Sierra focused on postwar economic recovery. Although Sierran infrastructure was largely spared from the devastation seen in continental Europe, Brazoria, and Superior, it dealt with the loss of over 539,000 Sierran soldiers who were killed in the war. The conflict had drastically altered the landscape of national culture and politics. 

Although Rioux was highly popular during the war as a wartime leader, voters were less confident in his ability to govern the postwar government, preferring the policies and agenda of his predecessor, Poncio Salinas. In [[1938 Sierran federal election|1938]], the Royalists maintained their control over the House, seemingly vindicating Rioux's Fair Pacific Plan as the party was able to turn over or hold some Democratic-Republican-leaning districts to their favor. However, a decades-long dispute between the Gold Coast and the Inland Empire over water rights intensified just a month after the election when the City of Porciúncula sought to divert more water away from the depleting {{W|Owens Valley}} in the [[Central Valley]]. Due to the city's continued expansion, there was an upward demand for water. The federal government had approved the city's purchase of water lines on federal land in the Inland Empire during the 1920s, which devastated the local agricultural business. The city and province made plans to divert more money from {{W|Mono Lake}}, which was located in southeastern [[San Joaquin]]. Rioux, in an attempt to mediate, was concerned that the city, long perceived as a Royalist stronghold and bastion of [[Southwest Corridor]] society would further alienate the separatist-minded Styxie [[San Joaquin]]. He and some Royalist House members decided to side with San Joaquin and the Central Valley by passing the [[Eaton–Gaines Act]] (also known as the Water Preservation Act), which would prohibit the sale of federal lands over major waterways and bodies of water between provinces without electoral mandate. The law was challenged in court in ''[[Gold Coast v. Sierra]]'', which ruled in favor of the federal government, which proved highly unpopular among voters in the Gold Coast. The water wars and the case was seen as a national issue pitting the South against the North, and many Southwest Corridor voters who supported the Royalists felt betrayed by the act.
[[File:Second Los Angeles Aqueduct Cascades, Sylmar.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Terminus of the Second Porciúncula Aqueducts, near {{W|Sylmar, Los Angeles|Sylmar}}]]
Growing skepticism over Rioux's capabilities as a peacetime leader and the water rights war led to calls for a new election. After Rioux lost key support from his own party from the Southwest Corridor, the House voted a motion of no confidence, triggering a new federal election. Salinas, who had consistently campaigned himself as the more effectual politician and his party as the party of opportunity throughout the war and postwar, won in a landslide election in [[1939 Sierran federal election|1939]]. He had portrayed Rioux as a mediocre imitator who attempted to benefit from Salinas' political legacy. Salinas also capitalized on Rioux's controversial handling of Sierra's water wars as the sign of a timid, conflicted leader. Although Salinas had personally supported the Eaton–Gaines Act, he channeled national anger over the issue as an infrastructure issue that was crucial for Sierra's postwar economic recovery. He proposed drastically improving Sierra's waterways and irrigation system which would allocate water fairly and proportionally. The [[National Water Management Agency]] was created in 1940 to oversee Sierra's federal water pipelines, dams, and levees, and several major reservoirs were created.

After Salinas was reelected as prime minister, he revived his prewar New Pacific Plan. His first major legislation was the National Highway Act of 1942, which became one of the largest public works project in Sierran history at the time as it authorized construction of nearly 400,000 miles (64,370 kilometers) of highway roads and improvements. However, only a fourth of Salinas' original plans were realized and they would be superseded by the Interprovincial Highway System in the subsequent government. Salinas also strengthened labor rights, which overturned the Rioux ministry's bans against {{W|secondary boycott}}s and {{W|closed shop}}s in the Federal Labor Relations Act of 1943. His legacy remained entrenched in Sierran politics however as New Pacific Plan was deemed a success and his successor, [[Charles Lyon]], sought to extend it further. In addition, King Louis II died just months after the war's end in an automobile accident, leaving his eldest son, the Crown Prince Christopher to accede the throne as [[Louis III of Sierra|Louis III]]. Unlike his father, Louis III was similar to his grandfather in temperament and style, and had ambitious plans to strengthen the prestige and influence of the monarchy.

The Democratic-Republican Party became the party of welfare capitalism, progressivism, and social liberalism, while the Royalist Party became the party of one-nation conservatism and liberal corporatism. Both parties became the dominant powerhouses in the postwar party system, while political support for the Reformed Republicans, Know Nothings, National Unionists, and other third parties withered substantially. Sierran geopolitics witnessed a realignment as the cities became more Democratic-Republican, while rural Sierra and the suburbs became more Royalist. Common to both parties was the rising acceptance of modern-day Sierran liberalism and a rejection of the [[quasi-derzhavism]] and [[derzhavism]] which was prevalent during the ''Approbatio''.
[[File:Arroyo_Seco_Parkway_through_Elysian_Park.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The {{W|Arroyo Seco Parkway}} (shown on the picture as the right lanes) became the first freeway built in Sierra under the [[Interprovincial Highway System]]]]
In [[1947 Sierran federal election|1947]], Sierra had its first Asian Sierran prime minister, [[Franklin Tan]] of the Royalists, who defeated the Lyon Government. Tan was a charismatic national figure who championed himself as a man of traditional, conservative values and a modernist approach towards economic innovation and progress, as a middle ground between conservative Democratic-Republicans and liberal Royalists. Under his first government, Parliament authorized the creation of the [[Interprovincial Highway System]], which would supersede the previous Salinas-era National Highway System. Although the interprovincial highways would take decades to complete, it laid down the foundations of Sierra's modern-day {{W|car culture}} and intricate freeway system. This system also led to the development of Anglo-American suburbia throughout Sierra, especially in the Southwest Corridor and the San Francisco Bay Area. Under Tan, he also expanded Sierra's Social Security program and created the [[Ministry of Health and Human Services]]. Medicare and Medicaid were introduced, and a system of single-payer universal health care that was run and financed by the individual provinces was implemented. The Townsend Plan and Egg and Ham Program were also introduced, which granted all retirees 60 and older a taxable basic monthly income of $200 and $30 weekly to those over 50. On foreign policy, Tan focused his attention on fostering closer military and economic ties with Anglo-America, as well as Western Europe. His government grew concern with the erratic leadership of the United Commonwealth's [[Amelia Fowler Crawford]], whose personal views and involvement with the [[First Interstellaire]] caused fears of another war between Sierra and the United Commonwealth. Under Tan, the counterintelligence and espionage activities of Sierra were completely modernized, resulting in an [[Royal Intelligence Agency|RIA]] that became far more capable in conducting foreign operations than before. Sierran intelligence was responsible for influencing Continental push to replace Fowler with the more moderate [[Rupert Gardner]] as the UC General Secretary, as well as the establishment and development of the [[Manhattan|Manhattan Island Exclusive Economic Zone]]. Elsewhere, Sierran foreign intelligence funded and backed anti-leftist governments including the [[Antilles]], [[Chile]], and [[Ethiopia]].

Like much of the Western world, Sierra experienced the "Fierce Fifties" as the economy was booming by 1952, and Sierra experienced a golden age in television, radio, cinema, and music. Hollywood became internationally renowned for its cinematic productions and high-budget television shows. Grands Ballons jazz, {{W|West Coast blues}}, and {{W|Western swing}} were popular musical genres which flourished during this decade and was the zeitgeist that defined the postwar optimism Sierran society felt.

Diplomatic relations between Sierra and the United Commonwealth remained terse but cautiously calculated. Both states resumed diplomatic relations after the war and reopened trade as well. The Sierran government fostered closer ties with Astoria, Brazoria, and Superior, and formed the [[North American Defense Organization]], which was a mutual defense pact and security organization designed to discourage future wars of aggression in North America. The nation's {{W|collective operations|collective aerospace}} would also be protected under the organization through shared aerospace warning and control. In Latin America, Sierra continued its heavy-handed involvement in individual countries such as South Mexico, [[Nicaragua]], and the [[United People's Committees|Andes]]. Sierran policymakers wanted to maintain a Sierran sphere of influence consisting of dependable allies in the region without provoking Continental retaliation with its own sphere of influence. Deeply concerned of a total Landonization in Latin America, the Sierran government forged close ties with anti-Landonist military regimes and conservative governments in Latin America and the Caribbean.

[[File:Brown_Berets.png|thumb|250px|[[Brown Berets]] organizing a march in the name of {{W|Chicanismo}}]]
Although race relations and politics were fundamentally changed by the Sierran Cultural Revolution, the New Culture synthesis which fused Anglo-American and East Asian cultures were challenged by Hispanic and Latino Sierrans, as well as Black Sierrans who continued to feel marginalized and ostracized in Sierran society. Women and the LGBT also joined the countercultural movement in opposition to the traditional values of the Sierran Cultural Revolution. The {{W|Chicano Movement}} and {{W|Black Power movement}}, as well as the {{W|Red Power movement}} emerged, casting light on the persistent racialized disparities that were present in Sierran life. Protests, boycotts, and civil unrest were common, especially in the Central Valley and Southwest Corridor. The {{W|Black-Brown unity}} was presented as a response to the New Culture, which aroused suspicion and concern by the Sierran government and intelligence. Activists demanded greater civil rights and economic equality. By the late 1950s, hundreds of activists were monitored, arrested, or even killed by government agents, and various organizations were infiltrated and disrupted by informants and agent provocateurs. In the Sierran Central Valley, mostly Hispanic farm workers  participated in labor strike led under [[Eduardo Chavez]], inspiring national boycotts against Sierran agricultural crops, including grapes and avocados. The Tan ministry responded to these movements with renewed militarization of the police previously seen during the ''Approbatio'' and sought to cast protestors and dissidents as "social disruptors". The 1956 [[1956 Porciúncula riots|Porciúncula]] and [[1956 Bernheim riots|Bernheim riots]] were two major episodes of racial riots that saw mass looting, property damage, and police brutality. Far-left terrorism also flared up throughout Sierra, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Styxie. 

Calls for increased autonomy in the Sierran territories of [[Hawaii]], the [[Deseret]], and [[Alaska]] prompted Sierra to upgrade the former two as constituent countries in the Kingdom of Sierra under the [[Charter for the Kingdom of Sierra]] while the latter was granted independence as a [[Columbia realm|Columbian commonwealth realm]]. Hawaii and the Deseret would remain a part of the Kingdom but have their own devolved government, legislatures, courts, and laws, and be able to conduct their own limited external relations with foreign powers. Hawaii was organized into eight states while the Deseret was organized into six areas. While Hawaii adopted a federal representative democracy similar to mainland Sierra's structure, the Deseret created a {{W|theodemocracy|theodemocratic}} system devised by the religious leaders of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], which became entrenched with the Deseret state.
[[File:IvyMike2.jpg|thumb|250px|The {{W|mushroom cloud}} of the [[Blue Jean]] nuclear test in 1952]]
During the interwar period, Sierra also saw major advances in military technology. Sierra collaborated with French scientists and engineers in refining missile technology and nuclear technology. It made a breakthrough in 1956 when it successfully tested and detonated the world's first {{W|atom bomb}}, [[Blue Jean]], near [[Area 51]], [[Clark]]. Despite meticulous planning and strict confidentiality, sensitive documents and plans came under the hands of foreign informants and spies, including those from the United Commonwealth, which also began its own development of missile and thermonuclear technology. Within a month of Blue Jean's testing, the United Commonwealth conducted its own nuclear testings, triggering an intense arms race began. The parity between Sierran and Continental nuclear technology caused great concern for Sierran intelligence and policymakers who were aware of the top secret military programs.

In 1957, Sierra and its Anglo-American allies engaged in a space race with the United Commonwealth, with a joint Astorian–Sierran–Superian mission launching the world's first successful satellite, the ''[[Odyssey 1]]''. Soon after, the United Commonwealth launched its own satellite, triggering a competition to achieve superior aerospace and rocket technology. Sierra achieved a number of firsts, including launching the first human in space in 1960 and the first crewed spaceflight in 1961. The Space War came to a halt after the breakout of the Second Great War, as Sierra and the United Commonwealth became co-belligerents who began to collaborate together on aerospace technology during the war.

====Great War II====
{{Main|Sierra during Great War II}}

International politics remained uneasy throughout the Fierce Fifties as Great War I had left various issues unsettled. In Sierra, policymakers and members of the public were uninterested in the prospect of another world war. Under the prime ministry of [[Henry Faulkner]], the government's defense policy was one based on {{W|deterrence theory|deterrence}} and a preference to diplomatic {{W|conflict resolution}}. Sierra and the United Commonwealth enjoyed a renewed state of detente and the two even held reciprocal state visits for the first time since the Continental Revolutionary War. Two major international agreements: the [[North American Amity Treaty]] and the [[New Orleans Accords]], were signed between Sierra, the United Commonwealth, and other North American states to cultivating peace, dialogue, and mutual aid with one another. As the Sierran government liberalized, it grew concerned with the rise of derzhavism in its allies, France and Russia. Seeking to distance itself from the derzhavist policies of these states, Sierra forged closer relations with its historic rivals, [[Germany]] and the [[United Kingdom]]. In the Pacific, Sierra maintained close relations with China, while its relationship with Japan remained frayed. Japan, which had effectively achieved its goals in Great War I, sought to consolidate and expand its influence across the Asia–Pacific, and had begun supporting the various independent movements in Southeast Asia and Oceania, including the colonies of allied nations. The [[First Indochina War]] broke out between mostly Vietnamese nationalists and the French, with Japan sponsoring the former and Russia assisting the latter. Although Sierra was not obligated to participate, the French government expected some form of Sierran assistance. Instead, Sierra maintained a policy of neutrality, which strained relations between the two states. Sierra and Japan switched sides in the international diplomatic web in what came to be known as the [[Second Diplomatic Revolution]] as they realigned themselves with former enemies. Nonetheless, Sierra remained neutral over the wars of independence in British Malaysia and the Dutch East Indies, and did not object to Japanese interference, reflecting Sierra's desire to remain uninvolved in overseas conflicts. 
[[File:SH-3A_Sea_King_hovers_over_the_damaged_USS_Liberty_(AGTR-5)_on_8_June_1967_(USN_1123118).jpg|thumb|250px|HRMS ''Glasgow'' pictured in April 1962, prior to being sunk]]
Sierra remained neutral, offering trade to nations and dependencies on both sides of the conflict in the Pacific until April 1962. During that month, a Sierran Royal Navy frigate, HRMS ''Glasgow'' traveling through international waters in the {{W|South China Sea}} was allegedly rammed and sunk by a hostile Japanese Imperial Navy destroyer. Over 150 onboard crew members died, while the rest were captured and detained by the Japanese. The naval confrontation, which became known as the [[Glasgow incident]], sparked national outrage. Sierran policymakers and military leadership, hoping to recoup the territories lost in Great War I and to restore Sierran prestige in the Pacific, rallied to declare war on Japan. Without the worry of a two-front war that Sierra had in the previous global conflict, Sierra was able to concentrate the majority of its military projection and war effort in the Pacific. On April 21, 1962, Parliament declared war on Japan, bringing the country officially into the global conflict.

Sierra launched a naval sortie into the South China Sea, raiding Japanese positions in Taiwan and Vietnam, as well as the former Sierran territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Retaking control over the latter two islands was deemed a matter of both strategic and symbolic importance, as  the islands provided command over the North Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, Sierran forces were given access into the independent Republic of Tondo which anticipated a potential Japanese invasion. The Sierran moves took Japan by surprise, which had not anticipated a full-scale Sierran offense. Sierra also conducted an air raid on Tokyo, which inflicted minimal physical damage but produced significant psychological damage to the Japanese public psyche. Concerned by the serious threat Sierra posed and its resolve to fight a potentially protracted war, Japan sought to bolster its defenses. The Japanese naval commanders entertained the idea of attacking Pearl Harbor in Hawaii but reasoned that Sierra's land-based airpower there had increased considerably since Great War I. 

The Japanese sought to lure all of the Sierran fleet to Midway Island, a small atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands that the Japanese could exploit and felt the Sierrans deemed was a vital outpost. Sierran intelligence and cryptographers were able to obtain critical information on Japanese positions and plans prior to the confrontation at the island, and were able to launch a surprise ambush on Japanese forces. The battle was a decisive victory for the Sierrans and dealt additional moral shock to the Japanese. Concurrent advancements in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands reflected shifting tides of favorability in the war from Japan to Sierra. Sierra embraced the military strategy of {{W|leapfrogging (strategy)|leapfrogging}}, seeking to reverse Japanese territorial gains incrementally, with the goal to potentially encircle the Japanese homeland. Further Japanese losses in Manchuria and Southeast Asia drastically reduced their capabilities to replenish their losses in manpower and resources, while Sierra's industrial production and economic power was rapidly expanding, especially with direct access to the United Commonwealth's vast supply of steel and coal. Assistance from Astoria, Brazoria, Canada, and Superior greatly enhanced Sierra's fight against Japanese forces, and by 1964, Sierra had reversed much of Japan's territorial gains, retaking Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, and occupying [[Ryukyu]].

As Sierra and the Allies' positions became increasingly favorable, and similar progress was made in the European theater of the war, the Japanese government began looking into a viable exit strategy. Although there were talks of a Sierran invasion of the Japanese mainland, both sides did not desire a full-scale conflict on the homeland, as millions of lives were expected to be lost in doing so. Sierran policymakers and military leadership alike were open to offering Japan peace terms with a conditional surrender, namely for Japan to renounce its claims in Manchuria, the South Pacific, and former Sierran possessions. Japan eventually surrendered by signing the [[Treaty of Manila]], which ended the conflict between Japan and the Allies. Japan was allowed to keep control over the Korean peninsula, and secret provisions were arranged to allow Japan to gain territorial concessions in the Russian Far East, as the Allies made significant gains against Derzhavist Russia. In addition, Sierra and the Allied forces agreed to recognize the independence of various Southeast Asian countries which Japan had supported before and during the war, including [[Cambodia]], [[Champa]], [[Laos]], [[North Vietnam]], and [[South Vietnam]].

Following Japan's surrender, Sierra shifted its attention mainly towards Russia and France. The forces in the Pacific began the Allied invasion of Siberia and the Russian Far East, while Sierra committed additional troops to the European continent, landing in Iberia, the Italian peninsula, and French Brittany. Following the falls of Paris and Moscow, the war officially ended with the signage of the [[Treaty of Porciúncula]], with Sierra emerging as one of the postwar Great Powers, alongside China, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The Allies, including Sierra, oversaw the [[Partition of Russia|partitioning]] of the former Russian state. Through its participation, Sierra acquired [[Buryatia]], [[Dauria]], and [[Ussuria]], administering them initially as the Sierran Siberian Occupied Zone before granting each eventual independence. It played a leading role in the prosecution of Russian and French war criminals, the reconstruction efforts in Europe, and the establishment of the [[Simi Valley system]], which was the basis of the world's international financial institutions and modern globalism.

====Cold War====
{{Main|Cold War}}
[[File:Earl_Warren_with_young_miner.jpg|thumb|250px|Prime Minister [[Earl Warren]] meeting a "young miner" from Astoria in the [[Getty House]] in 1965]]
Following the Great War II, Sierra emerged as one of the dominant superpowers, with the [[United Commonwealth]] and [[Germany]] being the others. Sierra led the Anglo-American alliance that included [[Astoria]], [[Superior]], and the [[United Kingdom]], which faced off the [[Landonist International]] led by the United Commonwealth and [[People's Republic of China|China]], as well as the continental European bloc led by Germany. The Sierran government pursued the [[Warren Doctrine]], named after Sierran prime minister [[Earl Warren]], whose primary goal was {{W|containment (politics)|containing}} the influence of the United Commonwealth, as well as Germany on the international scale. It refined the Warren Doctrine through the development of the [[String of Pearls]] strategy, which saw Sierra forging close alliances with right-wing, anti-Landonist governments and actors in Latin America and Africa, and establishing military bases worldwide.

In 1966, Sierra joined the [[Conference of American States]], motivated by a push towards [[American unionism]]. It also founded the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] and the [[Trans-Pacific Allied Community]], strengthening its ties with strategic partners in both Europe and Asia. K.S. foreign policy was focused on rebuilding Europe and Asia, which both suffered massive destruction and economic devastation. It also continued its resistance against the spread and proliferation of [[Landonism]] and other communist movements throughout the world. The Sierran government joined the wars in the [[Vietnam War|Indochinese peninsula]] and [[Colombia War|Gran Colombia]] and interfered with the elections and government processes of left-wing governments worldwide, including those in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa. Warren also normalized relations with the People's Republic of China and [[1966 Warren visit to China|visited]] Chairman [[Mao Zedong]] in China during the same year. The visit led to rapprochement for Sino-Sierran relations and contributed directly to emerging [[Sino-Continentalist split|doctrinal differences and diplomatic tensions]] between China and the United Commonwealth. The Space Race, which halted during the Second Great War, resumed after Sierra and the United Commonwealth ceased collaboration with one another on spaceflight technology. The United Commonwealth sent the first man to the Moon in 1969, which was seen as a major victory on the side of the Continentals. Sierra sent the first man to the {{W|far side of the Moon|far side}} of the Moon in 1971. Federal funding towards space-related endeavors began to reduce after the Sierran government experienced budget deficits in the mid-1970s, and plans for a manned mission to Mars were scrapped.

The renewed rivalry between Sierra and the United Commonwealth led to the concept of the "[[Rocky Road]]", a clear divide in goals and worldviews between the Sierra-led bloc and the United Commonwealth-bloc on the trajectory of global affairs and development. The constant threat of nuclear warfare and the concept of {{W|mutually assured destruction}} resulted in a geopolitical environment buoyed between restraint and {{W|brinkmanship}}. The term "cold war" began to emerge to describe the tensions between the two states, which did not militarily confront each other directly, but waged a number of {{W|proxy war}}s in mainly Third World countries. Sierra also overshadowed its ally, the United Kingdom, in Europe, where it contended against Germany, which pursued a policy of European Continentalism (unrelated to the United Commonwealth's [[Continentalism]]) that rejected both Anglo-American liberal capitalism and Sino-Continental communism in favor of Old Order conservatism and traditional monarchism.
[[File:SLA_bombing,_1966.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The damaged [[Bank of Sierra]] building in Downtown Porciúncula after its bombing during the [[August Atrocities]] in 1966 by the [[Sierran Liberation Army]]]]
Beginning in 1966, political and social turmoil began in the [[Styxie]] with [[The Disturbances]]. Sectarian violence and politically motivated terrorism was perpetuated primarily between two groups: the [[Sierran Jacobites]] and other pro-monarchist groups, and the [[Republicanism in Sierra|Sierran republicans]]. The Styxie, which lagged behind the rest of the Kingdom in terms of socioeconomic development, became a region of intense civil unrest and infighting. The [[August Atrocities]] of 1966 represented a violent episode in Sierran history that would define more than two decades of strife in the region. The attacks were blamed on the United Commonwealth, which denied any responsibility, as well as any connection to the attacks' perpetrators, the [[Sierran Liberation Army]]. Increased policing in the Styxie and the Greater Porciúncula contributed to republican animosity, leading to the [[1966 Bernheim riots]]. In the years that followed, Jacobite paramilitary organizations arose, including the [[White Rose Brigade]], which escalated violence between the sides. By the 1970s, the [[Sierran Crown Armed Forces]], as well as the National Guard was authorized to monitor and enforce marital law in the most violent sections of the country, especially in the Bernheim metropolitan area. Periodic fighting associated with The Disturbances continued through the 1970s and early 1980s, before resurging in intensity, and ending in 1989 through a lengthy peace process that culminated with the signing of the [[Concord Accords]] between the major belligerents. 

During the late 1960s, Sierra also experienced a renewed wave of the civil rights movement unrelated to republicanism, particularly for African Sierrans, Hispanic Sierrans, and LGBT Sierrans. Student protests and countercultural activism became prevalent in opposition to Sierra's military involvements in the Third World, as well as social and economic inequalities at home. These social movements persisted into the 1970s. Student organizations from the [[University of Sierra]] system became one of the leading forces in the Sierran counterculture movement which demanded greater rights for Sierra's marginalized groups. Federal and provincial governments responded with crackdowns and mass arrests, but by the 1980s, swaying public opinion resulted in major concessions under the more sympathetic government of Kirk Siskind. 
[[File:Beirutembassy.jpg|thumb|250px|Aftermath of the [[Bogotá embassy incident]] in the [[Andes]]]]
In 1970, Sierra formally entered the war in Gran Colombia (which became known during the war as the Andes) after the [[Royal Intelligence Agency|RIA]] orchestrated the [[Bogotá embassy incident]] as a pretext to militarily intervene in Gran Colombia to prevent the rise of the [[Communist Party of the Andes|Sendero Luminoso]]. For years, the RIA covertly supported the {{W|National Front (Colombia)|National Front}} and other anti-communists through training and aid. As the Gran Colombian government began losing ground to Sendero Luminoso, Sierra decided to prevent its collapse. Although Sierra secured its objectives in Indochina by brokering an armistice between North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and Champa, Sierra's involvement in the Colombia War became immensely unpopular at home at it became increasingly seen as unwinnable. In 1969, [[Kovrov Stoyanovich]] became prime minister and promoted the application of {{W|Vietnamization}}, a strategy he had pursued as defense minister, in the Andes. He also facilitated the independence of the Sierran territories of [[Guam]] and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]], which remained in personal union with the Kingdom of Sierra through the [[Columbia realm]]s. Stoyanovich's premiership was marred by the [[Blue Bridges scandal]], which resulted in Stoyanovich becoming the first prime minister to be [[Impeachment of Kovrov Stoyanovich|impeached]] and removed from office. 

Prime Minister [[Walter Zhou]] replaced Stoyanovich and Zhou sought to implement Stoyanovich's strategy in the Andes, while he strengthened government action against The Disturbances. Zhou also started a "war on drugs" and began an ambitious federal campaign intent on eradicating the sale and distribution of hard drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine. During Zhou's government, the country witnessed economic woes as {{W|hyperinflation}}, rising interest rates, and high unemployment resulted in economic slowdown. In an attempt to revitalize the Sierran economy, Zhou pursued sweeping deregulatory measures and took the Sierran dollar off of the {{W|gold standard}} completely and made it into a {{W|fiat currency}}. In addition, Zhou ended a number of Pacific Plan programs and also abolished mandatory Sierran Hanzi education. The rise of modern [[Conservatism in Sierra|Sierran conservatism]] and growing acceptance of {{W|neoliberalism}} led to a {{W|political realignment}} for both the Royalists and the Democratic-Republicans, as the former moved away from one-nation conservatism in favor of neoconservatism and the latter moved away from {{W|Keynesian economics|Keynesian}} social liberalism towards {{W|Third Way}} neoliberalism. The bargaining power of Sierra's labor unions diminished and union membership began to decline, while real wages began to plateau as economic productivity and GDP continued to rise under Zhou's deregulatory policies.
[[File:P-2H_Neptune_over_Soviet_ship_Oct_1962.jpg|thumb|250px|left|A [[Sierran Royal Navy|SRN]] aircraft shadowing a Continental freighter during the [[Greenlandic Missile Crisis]] in 1979]]
Following the highly publicized [[Medellín massacre]] and mounting toll of Sierran casualties, Prime Minister [[Kirk Siskind]] withdrew all Sierran troops from the Andes, resulting in the communist victory there under the [[United People's Committees]]. Siskind campaigned himself as a peacemaker focused on economic growth and prosperity. Under his premiership, he continued deregulating the economy as his predecessor had done, but restored a number of popular workers' protections and social programs. On foreign policy, Siskind reaffirmed Sierra's commitment towards its allies and sought a detente with the United Commonwealth. Conflict in [[Internal conflict in Ethiopia|Ethiopia]] and [[Second Mesoamerican War|Mesoamerica]] challenged the Siskind ministry's promise to avoid military intervention. Fighting in Europe, including in the British Isles with the [[Second Anglo–Irish War]], placed Sierra in a precarious position as it balanced between domestic unpopularity for nation-building and foreign allied demand for military assistance and support. Meanwhile, the United Commonwealth pursued its own policy of military interventionism, as exemplified in its direct involvement and support for numerous revolutions and civil wars in the [[Caribbean Crisis]], the [[Central American crisis]], and the [[1973 West African War]], threatening Siskind's vision for an era of peace. Tensions rose after Rupert Gardner was [[Assassination of Rupert Gardner|assassinated]], leading to a political crisis as Sierra was accused of planning the operation. In 1979, the [[Greenlandic Missile Crisis]] represented the nadir of Continental–Sierran relations since the beginning of the Cold War. The incident encouraged renewed cooperation and diplomatic engagement between Sierra and the United Commonwealth, which signaled a new period of detente.

During the 1980s detente, Sierra and the United Commonwealth engaged in nuclear disarmament and arms reduction talks. However, the United Commonwealth became embroiled with its own domestic issues during the [[Forgotten Decade]], resulting in its temporary withdrawal and downscale of interventionism on the world stage. Sierra also scaled back its international military operations, and shifted its foreign policy focus more towards economic aid and foreign direct investment. Under the premiership of [[Mitchell Ford]], he sought to balance the country's budget by reducing deficits. He passed a number of tax cuts for both the middle class and the wealthy, and continued the trend of deregulation, particularly in telecommunications and banking. His economic policies won his success as a bipartisan leader who was able to appeal to moderates from both of the two major parties. Ford became one of the few prime ministers to preside over a budgetary surplus. On social issues, he supported recognition of civil unions between same-sex couples, decriminalizing medical marijuana use, and supporting abortion rights. He oversaw tougher criminal justice legislation by supporting the [[Capital punishment in Sierra|death penalty]] and the {{W|three-strikes law|three-strikes rule}}. Ford's popularity plummeted after he backed the [[National Electricty Deregulation Act of 1984]] as it was responsible for the [[1985–86 Sierra electricity crisis|1985–86 electricity crisis]], which left millions of customers and businesses without electricity. His budgetary cuts to education and healthcare also proved unpopular, and he began to face resistance from within own party, including the [[Styxiecrat]]s.
[[File:Jerry Brown (255836849).jpg|thumb|250px|[[Ted Brundy]] meeting with representatives of the National Prayer Conference in 1988]]
In 1986, [[Ted Brundy]] and the Royalists were [[1986 Sierran federal election|elected]], ending an 11-year dry spell of Royalist governance. Brundy was able to defeat the Democratic-Republicans in part by exploiting the resurgence of factionalism in the Democratic-Republican Party and aligning the Royalists with the [[Deseret]]'s [[People's Party (Deseret)|People's Party]] through the [[Great Salt Lake Declaration]]. Brundy gained popularity among Sierran evangelicals, a voter bloc which had historically been Democratic-Republican or politically independent. The coupling of Sierran evangelicalism and Sierran political conservatism gave rise to the notion of a "Moral Majority". Brundy rejected bipartisanship, although he forged a working alliance with the [[Libertarian Party of Sierra|Libertarians]], a minor political party which emerged during the 1970s in rejection of the Royalists' social policies. The Royalists and Libertarians formed the [[Conservative coalition (Sierra)|Conservative coalition]], which soon contended with the Sierran liberal and left's own coalition, the [[Progressive coalition (Sierra)|Progressive coalition]]. The emergence of third parties such as the [[Green Party of Sierra|Green Party]] and the [[Social Democrats of Sierra|Social Democrats]] weakened the historical dominance enjoyed by the Royalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Partisan diversity also reflected growing discontentment with the neoliberal center-right politics that had come to dominate the country's two oldest parties.

Under Brundy, he opposed constitutional amendments which would recognize same-sex marriage and gender equality. He also challenged provincial governments from passing gun control restrictions and unsuccessfully attempted to legislate a national school-led prayer and flag defamation laws. Economically, Brundy vowed to "strip the bloated government to its bone" and sought to deregulate numerous federal regulations and close down government agencies in favor of provincial rights. Brundy also came into conflict with the CAS, and his [[Ameroskepticism|Ameroskeptic]] views soon became a mainstream trend for the Royalist Party. He claimed that Sierra's membership in the CAS had become unbeneficial and that the institution itself had become undemocratic. Despite opposing the CAS, he rejected calls for a nationwide referendum as he believed the CAS still served an important role in maintaining a "unified front" against the United Commonwealth.
[[File:Marcy Kaptur 105th Congress 1997.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Melinda Peters]] became Sierra's first female prime minister in 1992]]
By the 1990s, the country endured another economic downturn as widening income inequality, reduced economic mobility, and austerity measures became pressing issues. In 1991, Queen [[Elizabeth I of Sierra|Elizabeth I]] became the first female sovereign of Sierra. After winning the [[1992 Sierran federal election]], Democratic-Republican [[Melinda Peters]] under the Progressive coalition came into power as the first female prime minister, promising for a "reboot" in domestic policy. Peters vowed to balance sustainable economic growth with economic fairness. The party establishment shifted towards progressivism, while maintaining a commitment towards moderate economic policies. Due to the inclusion of the Green Party in the coalition government, environmentalism and conservationism became major policy goals on the coalition agenda. Economically, she made a number of improvements to the national healthcare system and re-strengthened the power of labor unions. She supported maintaining a preference for {{W|privatization}} rather than state ownership, although she resisted attempts to privatize [[RBS]] and the [[Royal Postal Service]]. She continued to deregulate the finance industry and lowered trade barriers with other countries outside of the American Common Market. Peters also championed the expansion of women's rights by passing legislation targeting domestic violence and rape, as well as expanding reproductive rights and access to contraceptives. During Peters' premiership, the issue of {{W|affirmative action}} became a hot-button issue as parents, students, and educators rallied in favor or opposition to affirmative action-based legislation. In 1994,  affirmative action was set to be implemented by Sierra's public university systems: the [[University of Sierra]] and the [[Sierra National University]]. This announcement led to mass protests by the [[Movement for a Meritocratic-Based Education and Civil Service]], while the [[Sierran Civil Liberties Association]] counter-protested in support of the university systems' actions. Legal battles over both provincial and federal legislation eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, which struck down affirmative action as unconstitutional in ''Perkins v. San Francisco''. Gun rights and gun control entered into the forefront of Sierran politics after a number of mass shootings, including those occurring at school made national headlines. In 1996, Parliament passed the Federal Public Safety and Firearms Regulation Act, which banned the manufacturing for civilian use of {{W|semi-automatic firearm}}s identified as {{W|assault weapon}}s. On criminal justice, she upheld the three-strikes rule and increased funding for policing and prisons in light of increased violence, especially in the cities. The [[1992 Porciúncula riots]], fueled by ongoing racial tensions and opposition to police brutality, was highly televised and became one of the most iconic events in the nation's history.

On the international stage, Peters integrated Sierra further into the CAS by joining the [[Lincoln Area]], which removed border control and visa entry requirements with other participating CAS members. Sierra also supported the pro-liberalization movements in a number of Landonist countries that culminated into the [[Revolutions of 2000]]. She also began Sierra's controversial increased military involvement into the Middle East and Central Asia. Peters criticized the Ba'athist regime of [[Syria]] and the socialist regimes in [[Egypt]], [[Libya]], and the [[Equatorial States]], accusing all of them for sponsoring state terrorism and authoritarianism. She backed the [[Beijing Spring]] in China and the [[Orchid Revolution]] in [[Manchuria]], which represented the most prominent collapses of Landonist regimes during the Revolutions of 2000. In Europe, [[Spain]] and [[Italy]] also liberalized, and Peters helped facilitate the enlargement of the newly formed [[European Community]]. Despite the Revolutions, the Landonist International's largest and principal member, the United Commonwealth, remained Continentalist–Landonist. In light of the Revolution, Sierran foreign policy shifted towards cautious rapprochement with the United Commonwealth. In her farewell address in 2000, she declared that the Cold War was finally over and expressed hope that the 21st century would result in a new paradigm shift towards lasting peace and international cooperation. In the [[2000 Sierran federal election|2000 election]], Royalist [[Matthew Braggs]] became prime minister, narrowly defeating the Progressive coalition Peters had built up.

===21st century===

====Post-Cold War====

At the start of the century, Sierra led the international stage on the development of the Internet. First created in the 1980s, Sierran companies and the government continued to expand the use of the Internet. The rapid rise and prevalence of the Internet and mobile phones created a frenzied market. The Sierran economy experienced a stock market crash in mid-2001 after the {{W|dot-com bubble}} burst due to excessive speculation of Internet-related and e-commerce businesses. The stock market crash was followed by the 2001–02 recession. Although dozens of companies declared bankruptcy and were shut down, a number of firms survived as the technology industry stabilized.
[[File:U.S._Marines_with_Iraqi_POWs_-_March_21,_2003.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Sierran Royal Marines|K.S. Royal Marines]] escorting Syrian {{W|prisoner of war|prisoners of war}}]]
On September 11, 2003, Sierra and other Anglo-American countries, including Astoria, Superior, and the United Commonwealth, were [[September 11 attacks|targeted with coordinated terrorist attacks]] by [[al-Tulaab]], a [[Syria]]n-based {{W|Jihdaism|jihadist}} group. In Sierra, 4 al-Tulaab hijackers intentionally flew and crashed a [[Westjet Sierra]] commercial airliner into the {{W|U.S. Bank Tower (Los Angeles)|K.S. Bank Tower}}. Within an hour of the crash, the K.S. Bank Tower completely collapsed and partially damaged surrounding buildings. A car bombing also occurred in the international terminal at the [[Porciúncula International Airport]] (LAX). In total, 448 victims were killed, while an additional 238 Sierran nationals were killed in the other attacks that occurred elsewhere in Anglo-America. In response, Prime Minister Braggs announced a "War on Terror" a week later. Braggs outlined his plan to combat terrorism globally and domestically, and declared that there was an "empire of evil", naming [[Libya]], [[North Vietnam]], and [[Syria]] explicitly as governments which allegedly sponsored terrorism and developed weapons of mass destruction in contravention of the [[Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons|Non-Proliferation Treaty]]. On March 20, 2004, Sierra, [[Conference of American States|CAS]], and [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]] [[2004 invasion of Syria|invaded Syria]] to oust the Ba'athist government, which provided refuge and sanctuary for al-Tulaab fighters, including the main perpetrator, [[Awad al-Suri]].

Braggs and the Royalist government passed sweeping legislation that increased government surveillance and information sharing between government agencies. A number of other agencies and programs were also established with the purpose of increasing domestic security and preventing terrorism. Civil rights advocates challenged the government's proposals but the Supreme Court upheld the legislation as a matter of public safety and security interest. Beginning in 2004, the Sierran government also began indefinitely detaining suspected terrorists at the K.S. naval base in the Galápagos Islands, United People's Committees, leading to allegations of human rights abuses and violations of international law.

Braggs enjoyed high popularity soon after the September 11 attacks and maintained it during the initial invasion of Syria. Public confidence and support within Parliament plummeted after Braggs faced an ethics scandal. Braggs was accused of using his position to get his son accepted into [[Mulholland University]] by offering a quid pro quo deal with the university admissions officials. In order to avoid the possibility of impeachment, Braggs resigned and he was replaced by [[Diana Jeong]]. In 2005, Queen [[Elizabeth I of Sierra|Elizabeth I]] died and was succeeded by her son, [[Charles, Duke of Cabo|Charles II]].

Jeong continued the War on Terror and her government increased spending towards the military. The NATO-led [[International Security Assistance Force]] (ISAF) in Syria saw an alliance of nations from NATO, IPTO, and their key partner in the Middle East, the [[Central Treaty Organization|CTO]]. After the Ba'athist regime fell and collapsed, Sierra and other ISAF forces remained in Syria because a [[Syrian Civil War|prolonged civil war]] emerged. In 2006, Sierra co-founded [[Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization|IPTO]], as part of its strategy to strengthen Sierra's military projection in the Indo-Pacific region. As the war progressed, public sentiment towards the conflict began to shift negatively, harming Jeong's approval ratings. On domestic issues, Jeong backed broad tax cuts and deregulation. She unsuccessfully attempted to push for the privatization of the [[Royal Postal Service]], a move which saw significant pushback from the Democratic-Republican opposition. [[Styxie conflict|Violence reemerged]] in the Styxie as the rise of [[dissident republicanism]] threatened the relative regional peace and stability brought forth by the Concord Accords at the end of The Disturbances. Jeong sought to increase government spending and investment in the region, and more funding for local law enforcement and the provincial National Guards.

On social issues, public opinion increasingly became favorable towards progressive stances on issues such as [[LGBT rights in Sierra|LGBT rights]] (including same-sex marriage), recreational marijuana use, and the [[Capital punishment in Sierra|abolition of capital punishment]]. The Democratic-Republican Party officially changed its platform in 2008 to include many of these social issues, alienating its traditional base in the Styxie, but broadening its appeal towards urban voters. San Francisco became the first province to recognize same-sex marriage, a trend which soon followed in a number of other provinces.

====Contemporary history====

In 2006, the Sierran real estate market bubble burst after years of excessive, unsustainable growth and appreciation in market value. By 2007, many Sierran homeowners defaulted on their mortgages and faced foreclosure. {{W|Subprime lending|Sub-prime loan losses}} and the collapse of value in K.S. mortgage-backed securities led to a major panic that resulted in the collapse and bankruptcies of several investment and commercial banks. In 2008, a [[Great Recession|global recession]] emerged amidst the crisis, leading to a strong bear market, significant reduction in international trade, rising unemployment, and depressed commodity prices.

Facing criticism for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the deteriorating situation on the economy, Jeong and the Royalists lost the election to [[Steven Hong]] and the Democratic-Republicans during the [[2008 Sierran federal election|2008 election]]. Hong promoted himself as a progressive-minded politician whose goal was to regain control over the economy and expand the civil rights of Sierra's minorities. Hong reluctantly continued the war in Syria, but significantly reduced the number of troops stationed there. Hong backed a multi-billion stimulus plan in the Sierran manufacturing industry, bailed out Sierra's major banking and financial institutions, and passed major reforms on healthcare, education, and housing. During his premiership, he saw the crisis in the Styxie worsen, and he toughened public safety measures in the region. After a string of mass shootings that occurred at various places including schools, he proposed gun control reform, but faced opposition from the Royalists, as well as moderates within his own party. He strengthened ties with the CAS as a committed unionist and imposed sanctions against Mexico as [[El Norte dispute|tensions grew]] between the two countries over the status of [[El Norte]].

Hong and the Democratic-Republicans maintained power after the [[2013 Sierran federal election|2013 election]]. The situation in El Norte, particularly over the Baja California peninsula, worsened as Sierran and Mexican forces faced off each other within the {{W|Gulf of California|Sea of Cortez}} and the Pacific Ocean. On March 2014, a [[La Paz incident|Mexican frigate rammed into a Sierran cruiser]] several miles off the coast of La Paz, [[Pacífico Norte]]. Both sides claimed the other was the aggressor, video evidence indicated the Mexican vessel intentionally struck the Sierran vessel in waters Sierra considered to be {{W|internal waters|internal}}. Relations frayed further after Mexico declared the Sierran embassy in Mexico City, including the ambassador, ''{{W|persona non grata}}''. Sierra retaliated by declaring the Mexican embassy staff ''persona non grata'', effectively suspending relations between the countries. Hong added Mexico to Braggs' "empire of evil" and accused of Mexico of sponsoring terrorism and promoting authoritarianism.

Broader geopolitical changes and tensions led to talks of a "[[Second Cold War]]" confrontation between the Sierra-led CAS-IPTO-NATO alliance and China, the United Commonwealth, Mexico, and their allies. Rifts between Sierra and China began during the [[2008 Sino-Burmese War]] and relations steadily worsened as China became posed as a rising superpower. The Sierran government also continued to view the United Commonwealth with wary suspicion, despite their mutual cooperation on counterterrorism. Sierra reinforced its alliance with the [[Antilles]], a nation whose government are the [[Federalist Party of the United Commonwealth|Federalists]] who were ousted during the Continental Revolutionary War.

In 2015, Charles II [[Abdication of Charles II|abdicated]] for personal reasons and was succeeded by his daughter, [[Elizabeth II of Sierra|Elizabeth II]]. At the time of Elizabeth II's ascension, she was still a student, and she designated her great-uncle and Charles II's uncle, [[Prince George the Elder of Sonora]], as her regent.

====Recent events====

==Geography, climate, and environment==
{{Main|Geography of Sierra}}

===Location and borders===
{{Main|Borders of Sierra}}
Geographically, Sierra includes nearly half of the Kingdom of Sierra's incorporated territory. It is bordered by two of the other three constituent countries of the Kingdom of Sierra: [[Bajaría]] to the south and the [[Deseret]] to the east. It shares borders with two Sierran unincorporated territories: [[West New Mexico]] and [[West Colorado]] to the east. Federal Sierra shares its only international border with [[Astoria]] in the north. It also shares its entire coastline with the {{W|Pacific Ocean|North Pacific Ocean}} and is separated from the Kingdom's other constituent country, [[Hawaii]], by nearly 2,500 miles (4,000 km{{Sup|2}}). Sierra is located on the western coast of {{W|North America}}. It has a total area of approximately 473,200 square miles (1,225,582 km{{sup|2}}), of which 8.99 percent is water or 42,540 square miles (110,180 km{{sup|2}}).

===Geology, topography, and hydrography===
[[File:ISS-59_California,_Nevada_and_northern_Mexico.jpg|thumb|300px|left|View of Sierra from space]]
The {{W|California Coast Ranges|Sierra Coast Ranges}} are multiple mountain ranges which defines more than two-thirds of Sierra's coastline and includes the {{W|Klamath Mountains}}; the {{W|California Coast Ranges#Northern Coast Ranges|Northern Coast Ranges}} in the Pacific Northwest; and the {{W|California Coast Ranges#Southern Coast Range|Southern Coast Range}} in Central Sierra and the northernmost part of the Southwest Corridor. These mountains run roughly along the coast in a north-south parallel fashion. The {{W|San Francisco Bay}} is a major body of water which separates the Northern and Southern Coast Ranges. The {{W|Transverse Ranges}} begin at the southern end of the Southern Coast Ranges and runs along a northwest-southeast orientation, extending into parts of the {{W|Mojave Desert}} and the {{W|Sonoran Desert}}. The {{W|Peninsular Ranges}} starts off at a fork from the Transverse Ranges, starting at the {{W|Santa Ana Mountains}} which runs north-south towards the southern tip of the {{W|Baja California peninsula}}. 

The {{W|Central Valley (California)|Sierra Central Valley}}, also known as the Golden Valley, is the main defining feature directly to the east of the Sierra Coast Ranges in northern and Central Sierra. Bound between the Coast Ranges to the west, the {{W|Cascade Range}} to the north, the {{W|Sierra Nevada (California)|Sierra Nevada}} to the east, and the Transverse Ranges to the south, the large valley is divided into two main sections of the {{W|Sacramento–San Joaquin Valley Delta}}: the {{W|Sacramento Valley}} to the north with the {{W|Sacramento River}} as its main watershed and the {{W|San Joaquin Valley}} to the south with the {{W|San Joaquin River}}. In the Southwest Corridor, the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert dominate the inland region directly east of the coastal ranges, while the {{W|Los Angeles Basin|Porciúncula Basin}} is the main physiogeographic landform between the coast and the mountains. Sierra's largest lake by area, the {{W|Salton Sea}}, lies in a {{W|Salton Sink|sink}} within the {{W|Colorado Desert}}, a subsection of the Sonoran Desert.

The {{W|Sierra Nevada}} is a major, important mountain range which runs along a roughly north-south orientation separates Central Valley from the eastern {{W|Basin and Range Province}}. The Sierra Nevada includes Sierra's highest point, {{W|Mount Whitney}}, which rises to 14,505 ft (4,421 m). This point is only 84.6 miles west-northwest of the lowest point in Sierra and North America, the {{W|Badwater Basin}} of {{W|Death Valley}}, which goes down to 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. In the northern portion of the Sierra Nevada lies Sierra's deepest and largest lake by volume, {{W|Lake Tahoe}}.

The Basin and Range Province covers much of the Sierra Interior and Eastern Sierra. Named for its {{W|basin and range topography}}, it is punctuated with alternating narrow mountain ranges and flat valleys that run approximately parallel to one another in a north-south direction. The Basin and Range Province includes the {{W|Great Basin}}, Sierra's and North America's largest {{W|endorheic basin|endorheic watershed}}. Running through the lower half of the Basin and Range Province is the {{W|Colorado River}}, which flows from the central {{W|Rocky Mountains}} in Sierra's [[West Colorado]] territory, and drains into the {{W|Gulf of California|Sea of Cortés}} in Sierra's [[Pacífico Norte]] territory. The river's largest bodies of war are {{W|Lake Mead}} and {{W|Lake Havasu}}, both of which are manmade reservoirs. A notable geographic formation which the Colorado River runs through is the {{W|Grand Canyon}}, one of the {{W|Seven Natural Wonders of the World}}, which runs for 277 miles (446 km) long and reaches more than a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters) in depth. Within Southeastern Interior Sierra, the {{W|Colorado Plateau}} dominates the northern half of the region while the {{W|Arizona transition zone|Transition Zone}} {{W|escarpment}} and {{W|Mogollon Rim}} separates the Plateau from the Basin and Range Province to the south.

Sierra lies on the {{W|Ring of Fire}}, specifically on the boundary where the {{W|Pacific Plate}} meets and {{W|subduction|subducts}} underneath the {{W|North American Plate}}. Several major {{W|fault (geology)|fault}} such as the {{W|San Andreas Fault}} run through much of Western Sierra. {{W|Earthquake}}s are frequently common and every few years, a moderately strong earthquake hits which can cause damage. Every few decades, a large, more devastating earthquake may occur. The {{W|San Andreas Fault#The next "Big One"|Big One}} refers to the anticipated future megathrust earthquake of a magnitude greater than 7.0 on the {{W|moment magnitude scale}}. Such earthquakes periodically hit Sierra every 100–300 years at various sections of the fault lines or their associated branches. In addition to earthquakes, Sierra has several {{W|volcano}}es, of which eight have been identified as {{W|Volcano#Active|active}} including {{W|Mount Shasta}}.
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
Redwood_National_Park,_fog_in_the_forest.jpg|{{W|Redwood National and State Parks|Royal Redwood National Park in [[Shasta]]
Mt._Tallac,_Lake_Tahoe,_California.jpg|{{W|Mount Talac}} above {{W|Lake Tahoe}}
Aulon_arch_Sugarloaf.JPG|Aulon Island of the {{W|Farallon Islands}}
Californiacentralvalley.jpg|Farmland in {{W|Central Valley (California)|Central Valley}}
1_yosemite_valley_tunnel_view_2010.JPG|{{W|Yosemite Valley}} in {{W|Yosemite National Park}}
Big_Sur_June_2008.jpg|{{W|Big Sur}} overlooking the Pacific Ocean
View_of_San_Gorgonio.jpg|View of the {{W|San Bernardino Mountains}} from {{W|Sugarloaf Mountain}}
Calico_basin_red_rock_cumulus_mediocris.jpg|{{W|Calico Basin}} in the {{W|Mojave Desert}}
Grand_Canyon_view_from_Pima_Point_2010.jpg|The {{W|Colorado River}} flowing through the {{W|Grand Canyon}}
Sonora_desert_of_altar.jpg|Sand dunes in the {{W|Sonoran Desert}}
</gallery>

===Climate===
[[File:GGB_in_fog_2007_edit.jpg|thumb|180px|{{W|Golden Gate Bridge}} covered in {{W|fog}}]]
[[File:Snow_on_the_mountains_of_Southern_California.jpg|thumb|180px|Snow in the mountains of the Southwest Corridor]]
[[File:EmeraldBay_LakeTahoe.jpg|thumb|180px|Sunny weather during the summer in Lake Tahoe]]
Although Sierra is generally {{W|semi-arid climate|semi-arid}} ({{W|Köppen climate classification|Köppen}}: ''BSk'') throughout the country, its large size accommodates a wide range of climates. Various factors including topography, latitude, and proximity to the coast influence the climate. Along the coasts, the climate is distinctly warm-summer {{W|Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean}} (Köppen: ''Csa''), with the influence of the cool {{W|California Current|Sierra Current}}. The current moderates the temperature range in the coastal part of the country. In the Mediterranean climate regions of Sierra, the regions generally experience mild, wet winners and warm, dry summers. Much of the annual precipitation falls between late October and early April, with the heaviest rainfall (or snowfall in higher elevations) occurring in the months of January and February. The climate becomes drier and more {{W|continental climate|continental}} the further inland from the coastline. In low-lying valleys within roughly 100 miles of the coast, the climate is usually hot-summer Mediterranean (Köppen: ''CSb'') or semi-arid. Further inland, in the desert and Great Basin regions, the climate is a hot arid climate (Köppen: ''BWh''). Due to the Sierra Nevada, a major {{W|rain shadow}} has resulted in the Great Basin provinces being the driest in the entire country. Some of the highest recorded temperatures have been recorded in Mojave Desert in Death Valley. The highest recorded temperature in the world was recorded as 134 °F (56.7 °C) on July 10, 1913 in Death Valley, [[Inland Empire]]. In Eastern Sierra, the region usually experiences two wet seasons, one during the winter similar to those in the Mediterranean climates, and another during the summer due to the {{W|North American Monsoon}}, which brings torrential, but brief rainfall, thunderstorms, and lightning. {{W|Flash flood}}s are common in the drier parts of the country, especially during the monsoon.

Westerly winds and moisture from the Pacific are responsible for bringing precipitation to Sierra. Northwestern Sierra often experiences the wettest rainfall. The rainfall averages between 15 inches (380 mm) to 50 inches (1,300 mm), although some places may receive over 100 inches (2,500 mm) annually. In the high mountains, as well as elevations greater than 3,000 feet in Western Sierra, snowfall is common during the winter and feature a {{W|mountain climate}}. Locations such as {{W|Lake Tahoe}}, {{W|Mammoth Lakes}}, {{W|Mount Shasta}}, and {{W|Big Bear Lake}} commonly receive over 10 feet (3.0 m) of snow during the wet season. The frequency, intensity, and amount of precipitation Sierra receives annually fluctuates and is greatly influenced by the {{W|El Niño–Southern Oscillation}}. During {{W|El Niño}}, the jet stream off the coast travels southward through Sierra, which brings warmer temperatures and more rainfall. During {{W|La Niña}}, the jet stream moves further northward and brings heavier rainfall in northern Sierra but less rain in the rest of Sierra. Periodically, Sierra may experience bouts of {{W|drought}}, which increases the risk of natural {{W|wildfire}}s, especially during the drier months of the summer and fall.

Notable local weather phenomena which occur in Sierra include: the {{W|Tule fog}} in the Central Valley, where extremely low-visibility, heavy fogs develop in the early mornings during the wet season; the {{W|May Gray}} and {{W|June Gloom}} morning overcast and fog in the Southwest Corridor during the early summer months; the Pacific Northwest {{W|marine layer}} which develops over the northern and central coast of Sierra between late spring and early fall; and the {{W|Santa Ana winds}}, hot, dry winds which blow from the High Desert into the lower-lying valleys of the Southwest Corridor, usually during the spring or fall, and can increase the chance of wildfires or worsen existing ones.

===Environment===
[[File:Grizzly_Giant_Mariposa_Grove.jpg|thumb|180px|The "Grizzly Giant", a {{W|Sequoiadendron giganteum|giant redwood}} tree in {{W|Mariposa Grove}}, {{W|Yosemite National Park}}]]
Despite Sierra being mostly semi-arid desert, it is classified as a {{W|megadiverse countries|megadiverse}} country. It is divided into several {{W|ecoregion}}s which contain their own distinct ecological communities of plants, animals, and fungi within a contiguous area. As part of the {{W|Nearctic ecozone}}, the broadest categories of Sierra's ecoregions are the deserts, Mediterranean, forested mountains, and coastal forests. Each of these categories are further divided into {{W|World Wildlife Fund|WWF}}-defined ecoregions  based on species endemism. Sierra includes a large number of endemic species, including a significant amount of endangered species of plants and animals that have been threatened by human activity and those whose populations have become {{W|relict (biology)|relicts}}. 

Sierra has a total of 24 national parks, 17 national monuments, 14 national forests, and 354 provincial parks, as well as dozens of natural reserves and wilderness areas. These parks are protected lands owned by either the federal or provincial governments. The national parks and monuments are managed by the [[Royal Park Service]]. The federal government owns more than two-thirds of all Sierran public land, of which the majority is protected although some areas are leased for a variety of purposes including commercial logging, mining, ranching, or oil drilling.

===Flora, fauna, and fungi===

There are more than 200 species of mammals, 500 species of birds, 200 species of reptiles and amphibians, 500 species of fish, 600 species of insects and other invertebrate such as crustaceans, arthropods, and mollusks. 6,500 species of vascular plants including flowering plants, and tens of thousands of species of mosses, lichens, algae, and fungi which live in Sierra. Possessing one of the world's most diverse biota, there are hundreds of species which are unique and endemic only to Sierra. There have been six identified life zones, based on climate and elevation: the lower Sonoran (desert), the upper Sonoran (foothills and some coastal plains), the transition (coastal areas), the Canadian, the Hudsonian, and the Arctic Zones (the latter three zones occupying the highest elevations).

The native flora species of Sierra are part of the {{W|Madrean Region}}. Sierra features three main {{W|phytochorion}} or floristic provinces: the {{W|Great Basin Floristic Province|Great Basin}}, the {{W|California Floristic Province|Sierra Floristic Province}}, and the Sonoran. Within Sierra's floral community, it boasts some of the world's superlatives: the {{W|giant sequoia|largest trees}}, the {{W|coast redwood|tallest trees}}, and the {{W|pinus longaeva|oldest trees}}.

In the lower Sonoran region, various species of cacti, mesquite, paloverde, and shrub exist. The endemic ''{{W|Yucca brevifolia}}'' (Joshua tree) is a unique species of tree which grows only in the Mojave Desert. Other notable species include the ''{{W|Larrea tridentata}}'' (Creosote bush), ''{{W|Encelia farinosa}}'' (Brittle bush), ''{{W|Atriplex polycarpa}}'' (allscale saltbush), ''{{W|Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa}}'' (Buckhorn cholla), and ''{{W|Ambrosia deltoidea}}'' (triangle bursage). Desert wildflowers and shrubs which bloom briefly following heavy rain include the ''{{W|Xylorhiza tortifolia}}'' (Mojave aster), ''{{W|Coleogyne|Coleogyne ramosissima}}'' (blackbrush), ''{{W|Hesperocallis|Hesperocallis undulata}}'' (desert lily), ''{{W|Rafinesquia neomexicana}}'' (desert chicory), ''{{W|Abronia villosa}}'' (desert-sand verbana), ''{{W|Delphinium parishii}}'' (desert larkspur), ''{{W|Dichelostemma capitatum}}'' (blue dick), and ''{{W|Amsinckia tessellata}}'' (bristly fiddleneck). Mammals which live in this life zone include ''{{W|Stephens' kangaroo rat|Dipodomys stephensi}}'' (Stephens' kangaroo rat), ''{{W|Vulpes macrotis}}'' (kit fox), ''{{W|Coyote|Canis latrans}}'' (coyote), ''{{W|Black-tailed jackrabbit|Lepus serra}}'' (black-tailed jackrabbit), ''{{W|California leaf-nosed bat|Macrotus serra}}'' (Sierra leaf-nosed bat), and ''{{W|California mouse|Peromyscus serra}}'' (Sierra mouse). Various species of squirrels and other burrowing rodents are also common here. Common birds include ''{{W|Calypte anna}}'' (Anna's hummingbird), ''{{W|Geococcyx californianus|Geococcyx serra}}'' (Greater roadrunner), ''{{W|Callipepla gambelii}}'' (Gambel's quail), ''{{W|Western scrub jay|Aphelocoma serra}}'' (Western scrub jay), and ''{{W|Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus}}'' (cactus wren).

In the upper Sonoran region, the {{W|chaparral}} is typified by the presence of shrubs, varied trees, and herbaceous plants. Mountain conifers can be found in the mountainous parts of this region. Tree species include ''{{W|Pinus sabiniana}}'' (Gray pine), ''{{W|Quercus dumosa}}'' (Scrub oak), ''{{W|Quercus agrifolia}}'' (Coast live oak), ''{{W|Aesculus californica|Aesculus serra}}'' (Sierra buckeye), ''{{W|Cupressus goveniana}}'' (Gowen cypress), ''{{W|Juglans californica|Juglans serra}}'' (Sierra walnut) and ''{{W|Cupressus macrocarpa}}'' (Monterey cypress). Common flowering plants and shrubs include ''{{W|Hesperoyucca whipplei}}'' (Chaparral yucca), ''{{W|Dudlea densiflora}}'' (Mountain liveforever), ''{{W|Cercocarpus traskiae}}'' (Catalina mahogany), {{W|Streptanthus albidus|''Streptanthus albidus'' ssp. ''Peramoenus''}} (most beautiful jewel-flower), ''{{W|Artemisia californica|Artemisia serra}}'' (Sierra sagebrush), ''{{W|Encelia californica|Encelia serra}}'' (brittlebush), ''{{W|Eriogonum fasciculatum}}'' (Sierra buckwheat), ''{{W|Salvia munzii}}'' (Munz's sage), ''{{W|Agave shawii}}'' (Shaw's agave), ''{{W|Dudleya caespitosa}}'' (coastal dudleya), ''{{W|Cylindropuntia prolifera}}'' (coastal cholla cactus), and ''{{W|Bergerocactus|Bergerocactus emoryi}}'' (golden cereus cactus). Common native species of wildlife which live in this region include ''{{W|Pronghorn|Antilocapra americana}}'' (pronghorn), ''{{W|Dusty-footed woodrat|Neotoma fuscipes}}'' (dusty-footed woodrat), ''{{W|Ring-tailed cat|Bassariscus astutus}}'' (ring-tailed cat), ''{{W|California thrasher|Toxostoma redivivum}}'' (Sierra thrasher), ''{{W|American bushtit|Psaltriparus minimus}}'' (American bushtit), and ''{{W|California condor|Gymnogyps serra}}'' (Sierra condor).

In the transition zone, where the majority of Sierra's forests are located in, trees which grow and thrive include ''{{W|Sequoia sempervirens}}'' (redwood), ''{{W|Sequoiadendron giganteum}}'' (giant sequoia), ''{{W|Notholithocarpus|Notholithocarpus densiflorus}}'' (tan-bark oak), ''{{W|Umbellularia|Umbellularia serra}}'' (Sierra laurel), ''{{W|Pinus lambertiana}}'' (sugar pine), {{W|Arbutus|madrona}}, ''{{W|Acer macrophyllum}}'' (Astoria maple), and ''{{W|Douglas fir|Pseudotsuga menziesii}}'' (Douglas fir). Common plants which grow on the transition zone forest floors are various species of ''{{W|Polystichum}}'' (swordfern), ''{{W|Epimedium}}'' (barrenwort), ''{{W|Trillium}}'' (birthwort), {{W|huckleberry}}, and {{W|azalea}}, as well as ''{{W|Lilium columbianum}}'' (tiger lily), ''{{W|Lilium pardalinum}}'' (leopard lily), and various species of ''{{W|Calochortus}}'' (mariposa lillies).

==Demographics==
{{Main|Sierrans|Demographics of Sierra|Immigration to Sierra}}

===Population===

In 2020, the [[Royal Bureau of Census|K.S. Royal Bureau of Census]] officially reported a national population of 59,603,611 in Federal Sierra. This figure, excludes the populations of the Kingdom of Sierra's three other constituent countries, as well as the unincorporated territories of the Kingdom. It also excludes the population of the [[Channel Islands]], a former territory which became Federal Sierra's 24th province in the following year. It is the largest of the four constituent countries in the Kingdom, making up 71% of the total population of the Kingdom of Sierra. If Federal Sierra was taken as an independent country and measured against international states, it would rank as the 20th most populous country in the world. It would be more populous than [[Tanzania]] and [[Italy]], and less populous than [[Thailand]]. It had a density of 125.96 people per square mile (48.63 people per square kilometer), the highest in the Kingdom and on par with [[Fiji]] and [[Afghanistan]] when compared to international states in 2020.

===Race and ancestry===
{{Main|Race and ethnicity in Sierra}}

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of Sierra}}

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in Sierra}}

===Family structure and law===

==Government and politics==
{{Main|Government of Sierra}}
{{multiple image
| align    = right
| total_width = 300
| image1   = Elizabeth II 2018.jpg
| caption1 = Queen [[Elizabeth II of Sierra|Elizabeth II]], Monarch since 2015
| image2   = Susan Kwon 2020.jpg
| caption2 = [[Susan Kwon]], Prime Minister since 2020
}}

Sierra is an {{W|asymmetrical federalism|asymmetrical}} {{W|federalism|federal}} {{W|constitutional monarchy}} with a {{W|parliamentary system|parliamentary democracy}}. It utilizes a ubiquitous blend of Westminster-style parliamentarianism and Anglo-American federalism as its form of government. The government is regulated by {{W|checks and balances}} and a limited form of {{W|separation of powers}} among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. There is a {{W|fusion of powers}} between the executive and legislative branches. Within the country of Sierra, it operates a federalist system where citizens are subject to three levels of government: local, provincial, and federal. The local level is commonly split between municipal and county governments. At the provincial level, all governments function based off of the Kingdom's parliamentary system (combined executive and legislature) or the Anglo-American system (separate executive and legislature). 

In addition to being a federation, it is a constituent country of the Kingdom of Sierra. The sovereign and {{W|head of state}} of Sierra is [[Elizabeth II of Sierra|Elizabeth II]] (legally known as the Crown) of whom the entire government derives its legitimacy from. She is also the head of state of three other sovereign states. The monarchy serves as the foundation for Sierra's executive, legislative, and judicial institutions. The [[Constitution of Sierra]] is codified and forms one of the supreme laws in Sierra, alongside the [[Charter for the Kingdom of Sierra]]. 

Although Sierra is a constituent country within the Kingdom of Sierra, its government, constitution, and laws are the ''de facto'' national order for the entire Kingdom. While the two other constituent countries (Hawaii and the Deseret) have an extensive degree of devolved powers, local powers, and exemption from Sierra's constitution, Sierra itself lacks its own devolved policymaking decisions, legislature, and powers. The federal government of Sierra has commonly and legally been interchangeable with the national government of the Kingdom of Sierra and the Sierran constitution has been selectively applied and incorporated into aspects of Hawaiian and Deseretian law.

===Government===

====Executive====

The Crown is the foundation of the Sierran government as the ''de jure'' head of state. The {{W|head of government}} is the [[Prime Minister of Sierra|Prime Minister]] who is elected by the [[House of Commons of Sierra|House of Commons]], the {{W|lower house}} of [[Parliament of Sierra|Parliament]]. By convention, the Queen chooses a prime minister based on whomever is the likeliest to command the {{W|confidence and supply|confidence}} of the House. In practice, the prime minister is the leader of the largest party or coalition in the House. The prime minister is the chief executive and may exercise the {{W|royal prerogative}}s associated with the Crown on the sovereign's behalf. They are empowered and responsible to undertake a wide range of duties which include but are not limited to: executing and enforcing federal law; appointing members of the [[Cabinet of Sierra|Cabinet]] and at-large [[commissioned senator]]s in the [[Senate of Sierra|Senate]]; chairing the meetings of the [[Privy Council of Sierra|Privy]] and [[Executive Council of Sierra|Executive Councils]], consulting and advising the Crown on the exercise of the royal prerogative; nominating officials and judges for appointment by the Crown; negotiating treaties and international agreements with foreign powers; conduct state visits; bestow national honors, grant pardons, commutes, or clemencies; oversee and command the [[Sierran Crown Armed Forces]] as the [[Supreme Field Marshal of Sierra|Supreme Field Marshal]]; proposing and introducing bills in the House; presiding over meetings in the Senate; drafting and planning the national agenda; and overseeing the national bureaucracy.

The Cabinet traditionally consists of members of the prime minister's party or coalition. Although the Cabinet is not constitutionally mentioned, the Cabinet ministries and the position of Cabinet ministers are statutorily established by Parliament. The Cabinet ministers each oversee a Cabinet ministry and are responsible to Parliament. Each ministry is responsible for a particular field of law or interest of the state (e.g. foreign relations, defense, finance, and education), and are further subdivided into departments, agencies, or bureaus. The Cabinet and its ministries are empowered to enact laws known as regulations or standards, which both have the same legal binding effect and enforceability of legislative statutes, but are ultimately subordinate to statutes and constitutional law.

====Legislative====
[[File:San_Francisco_City_Hall_2.JPG|thumb|250px|[[Parliament Building (Sierra)|Parliament Building]] is the meetinghouse for Parliament and houses both the Senate and the House of Commons chambers.]]
The [[Parliament of Sierra|Parliament]] of Sierra meets at the [[Parliament Building (Sierra)|Parliament Building]] on [[Bunker Hill, Porciúncula|Bunker Hill]] in [[Porciúncula]]. It is composed of two houses: the [[Senate of Sierra|Senate]] and the [[House of Commons of Sierra|House of Commons]]. All bills passed by Parliament must receive {{W|royal assent}} by the Queen. Parliament is structured after a hybridized version of legislature which combines the British {{W|Westminster system}} and the Anglo-American federalist system. Both houses are relatively equal in power and importance. Parliament has the authority to, but not limited to: initiate and draft federally binding legislation; control {{W|power of the purse}}; declare war and make peace; approve treaties and international agreements; levy federal taxes and tariffs; regulate commerce between [[PSAs]] and with foreign nations, to raise and maintain military forces; establish courts and post offices; coin money; fix standards, weights, and measurements; investigate and audit the federal and judicial branches; impeach executive and judicial officials; and borrow money on the credit of the Kingdom of Sierra.

The Senate is the {{W|upper house}} of Parliament and is composed of 125 members, which are separated into two types: regular senators and [[commissioned senator]]s. There are 74 regular senators who are popularly elected by the constituents of their respective PSAs. Regular senators are elected on six-year terms and the elections of regular senators are staggered based on the three [[Classes of Sierran senators|classes]]. There are 50 commissioned senators, 37 of whom each represent one of Sierra's PSAs and 13 of whom are appointed by the Prime Minister to represent the Kingdom at-large. With the exception of the commissioned senators from [[San Joaquin]] and [[Santa Clara]], as well as the 13 at-large commissioned senators, commissioned senators are appointed by their respective provincial government (either by the governor or the legislature) and their term of office is set by provincial statute, rather than federal statutes. The at-large commissioned senators function as leverage by the Prime Minister, who normally sits in the House, but is also considered a member of the Senate. Unlike the other senators, at-large commissioned senators' terms are entirely dependent on the Prime Minister's ability to maintain supply and confidence in the House. They are immediately dismissed of their duty and office upon the defeat or removal from office of their appointing prime minister, unless the successor (almost always from the same party or coalition) allows to sustain their position in the Senate. During caretaker governments, the seats for the at-large commissioned senator are vacant.

====Judicial====
[[File:Stanleymosklibraryandcourtsbldg.jpg|thumb|175px|The Supreme Court Building in Porciúncula, south of Bunker Hill]]
The Sierran federal judiciary system is a system consisting of the highest-leveled courts in the country. The [[Supreme Court of Sierra]] is the highest court in Sierra and is the {{W|last court of resort}} for the majority of cases arising in Sierra. It has ultimate but discretionary appellate jurisdiction over all federal, provincial, and territorial law that involves an issue in federal law, as well as limited {{W|original jurisdiction}} in a constitutionally limited range of issues. It also has discretionary appellate jurisdiction over cases arising in the Deseret or Hawaii, although it has by convention, declined to hear appeal cases from the Deseret due to significant difference in legal system and procedures. The Supreme Court exercises {{W|judicial review}}, allowing it to affirm or invalidate statutory law or executive regulation based on constitutionality. The Supreme Court consists of 8 associate justices and 1 [[Chief Justice of Sierra|chief justice]] who are appointed for life by the Queen, with the advice and recommendation for nomination by the Prime Minister and the consent of the Senate. 

The Constitution mandates the establishment of a supreme court and designates Parliament the power to create and dissolve all other inferior federal courts, including the scope of their jurisdiction. The contemporary Sierran federal judiciary system consists of the following in descending order of ranking: the Supreme Court, the courts of appeal, and the district courts. The courts of appeal are intermediate appellate jurisdiction courts which are subject to mandatory review for all appeals of right from the lower courts. There are currently 12 courts of appeal. The district courts function as federal general trial courts and have original jurisdiction over most cases involving federal law. There are currently 46 district courts.

===Law===
{{Main|Law of Sierra}}

Sierran law comprises several sources of law including the Constitution, federal law (which consists of legislative statutes, federal regulations and standards, international treaties and agreements ratified by Parliament, case law established by the federal judiciary, and royal edicts issued by the Crown), CAS law (which consists of CAS constitutional law, Council executive directives, American Parliament legislation, and court decisions issued by the American Court of Justice), provincial, local, tribal, and territorial laws. Sierran law is based primarily on Anglo-American {{W|common law}}, which includes legal traditions, standards, procedures, and concepts derived ultimately from the English legal system. Under common law, the law is developed by judges in courts, who interpret and apply legislative statutes, {{W|precedent}}, and common sense to the facts of a case presented before them prior to rendering judgments which will become binding in future similar cases (''{{W|stare decisis}}''). However, Sierra has evolved into a complex system of law which has diverged substantially from Anglo-American law, incorporating elements and concepts from {{W|civil law (legal system)|civil law systems}}, especially from {{W|Law of Spain|Spanish}} and {{W|Law of France|French law}} in certain areas of law, such as {{W|water resources law|water law}}.

{{W|Criminal law}} is shared between the federal and provincial governments. Each of the 23 provinces maintain their own penal codes and the majority of jurisdictions are based on common law. The federal government maintains its own penal code, known as the Sierra Penal Code, which includes all federal statutes on felonies, misdemeanors, infractions, and criminal justice. However, due to the Constitution, the Sierran federal government may only pass criminal statutes and prosecute federal crimes which are related to the powers of Parliament. The majority of criminal cases are thus prosecuted and tried at the local and provincial level, rather than the federal level. A number of crimes fall under federal jurisdiction including, but not limited to drug trafficking, human trafficking, child abduction across provincial borders, hate crimes, mail fraud, credit card fraud, child pornography, bank robbery, carjacking, espionage, treason, and computer crimes.

===Foreign relations===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Sierra}}
[[File:MichiganAveFromMilleniumPark_ChicagoIL.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The [[Embassy of Sierra, Chicago|Embassy of Sierra]] in [[Chicago]], [[United Commonwealth]]]]
Sierra is a founding member of the [[League of Nations]] and is one of the permanent members of the [[League of Nations Security Council]] with veto rights. It is also a founding member of [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]], [[Trans-Pacific Allied Community|TPAC]], the [[Columbian Community]], the [[Group of Eight|G8]], the {{W|Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development|OECD}}, the {{W|World Trade Organization|WTO}}, and the {{W|Organization of American States|OAS}}. It is also a member of the [[Conference of American States|CAS]], which has largely influenced and shaped its foreign policy since the end of the [[Great War II|Second Great War]]. It is also a member of the [[Lincoln Area]], having open borders with its neighbors [[Astoria]] and [[Superior]], and no visa requirements for other Lincoln Area members. 

Sierra's network of diplomatic relations is extensive. Nearly every country in the world maintains embassies in Porciúncula and many have consulates throughout the country. The [[Sierran passport]] is one of the most powerful travel documents in the world. Its complicated relations with the [[United Commonwealth]] have [[Sierra–United Commonwealth relations|been the most influential force]] in the Americas as geopolitical and ideological rivals. Sierra has strong relations with [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Korea]], [[Japan]], [[South Vietnam]], [[Tondo]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Ussuria]], and several CAS members including [[Alaska]], Astoria, Superior, and the [[West Indies]]. In addition to the CAS common market, it maintains several {{W|free trade agreement}}s with other countries. Historically, it had [[China–Sierra relations|extensive, cordial ties]] with [[China]]. Since the rise of Chinese power in the 21st century, relations have strained, although the two remain each others' largest trading partners. Its relations with [[Mexico]] and the [[United People's Committees]] are also complex and strained in contemporary times. 

Sierra is fully responsible for the military defense for [[Cozumel]], [[Guam]], and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] through the [[Agana Agreement]], as well as [[Federated States of Micronesia|Micronesia]], the [[Marshall Islands]], and [[Palau]] through the [[Pacific Free Association Compact]].

===Parties and elections===
{{Main|List of political parties in Sierra|Elections in Sierra}}

===Military===
{{Main|Sierran Crown Armed Forces}}

===Law enforcement and crime===

===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Sierra|Provinces of Sierra}}
[[File:Map of Sierran provinces (colored).svg|thumb|250px|left|The 24 provinces of Sierra]]
Sierra is one of the four [[Countries of the Kingdom of Sierra|constituent countries]] of the [[Kingdom of Sierra]]. Sierra is a {{W|federation|federal}} {{W|monarchy}} consisting of 24 provinces, 9 unincorporated organized territories, 2 unincorporated unorganized territories, and several uninhabited island possessions. These provinces and territories are further subdivided into counties, municipalities, parishes, and independent cities. Each province is considered a [[PSA]], entitling them to representation in the [[House of Commons of Sierra|House of Commons]] that is directly proportional to their population and three senators in the [[Senate of Sierra|Senate]] (two regular senators and one [[commissioned senator]]).

Each province and territory maintains its own subnational government, constitutions, government officials, agencies, laws, courts, and taxation systems. They exercise a significant degree of autonomy over various matters of governance and fields of law based on protections from the Federal Constitution. Every province has a [[Lord Superintendent|Lord or Lady Superintendent]] who serves as the head of state and the viceregal representative of the Queen-in-right of the province. The organized territories have their own equivalent and are headed by a [[Lord Proprietor|Lord or Lady Proprietor]]. In addition, the provinces and organized territories have a governor who serves as the head of government. In the context of Sierran provinces, there are two main types of provincial-style governance: Anglo-American and Westminster. In provinces incorporated as an Anglo-American-styled province, the governor is an executive elected directly by the people and operates independently from the legislature. In the Westminster system, the governor is a member of the legislature and is elected by the legislature's members to serve as the executive.

Sierra also recognizes tribal sovereignty of Amerindian nations, establishing a limited form of autonomy for such entities. Tribal governments exercise home rule authority within their jurisdictions and deal directly with the federal government. Similar to provinces, federally recognized tribes may enact their own laws, elect their own officials, establish their own courts, and perform other functions. However, unlike provinces, the tribal sovereignty of Amerindian tribes are not guaranteed by the Constitution and instead, is ultimately derived from Parliament alone. Parliament has a responsibility and duty to protect the rights and provide the needs of tribal governments through enacting relevant laws and providing appropriate funding. 

All territories and possessions of the Kingdom of Sierra are treated as territories under Federal Sierra. Both organized and unorganized unincorporated territories fall under the ultimate jurisdiction and authority of Parliament, while crown dependencies fall under the direct authority of the Crown, or more specifically, the Monarch. In all of these territories, the Charter is in full effect but the Constitution itself is not in full force. Citizens of these territories are not fully enfranchised. Its citizens may not participate in federal elections, pay federal income tax, or have access to certain services.
{{Center|'''Provinces'''}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
*[[File:Flag of Apache.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Great Seal of Apache.svg|30px]] [[Apache]]
*[[File:Flag of Central Valley.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Seal of Central Valley.svg|30px]] [[Central Valley]]
*[[File:Flag of the Channel Islands.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of the Channel Islands.svg|30px]] [[Channel Islands]]
*[[File:Flag of Clark.svg|30px]] [[File:Coat of arms of Clark.svg|30px]] [[Clark]]
*[[File:Flag of Cornerstone.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Cornerstone.svg|20px]] [[Cornerstone]]
*[[File:Flag of Eureka.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Eureka.svg|30px]] [[Eureka]]
*[[File:Flag of Flagstaff.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Seal of Flagstaff.svg|30px]] [[Flagstaff]]
*[[File:Flag of Gold Coast.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Seal of Gold Coast.svg|30px]] [[Gold Coast]]
{{col-break}}
*[[File:Flag of Imperial.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Seal of Imperial.svg|30px]] [[Imperial]]
*[[File:Flag of Inland Empire.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Great Seal of the Inland Empire.svg|30px]] [[Inland Empire]]
*[[File:Flag of Kings.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Great Seal of Kings.svg|30px]] [[Kings]]
*[[File:Flag of Laguna.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Seal of Laguna.svg|30px]] [[Laguna]]
*[[File:Flag of Maricopa.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Seal of Maricopa.svg|30px]] [[Maricopa]]
*[[File:Flag of Mohave.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Mohave.svg|30px]] [[Mohave]]
*[[File:Flag of Orange.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Seal of Orange.svg|30px]] [[Orange]]
*[[File:Flag of Plumas.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Plumas.svg|30px]] [[Plumas]]
*[[File:Flag of Reno.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Reno.svg|30px]] [[Reno]]
{{col-break}}
*[[File:Flag of San Francisco.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of San Francisco.svg|30px]] [[San Francisco]]
*[[File:Flag of San Joaquin.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of San Joaquin.svg|30px]] [[San Joaquin]]
*[[File:Flag of Santa Clara.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Santa Clara.svg|30px]] [[Santa Clara]]
*[[File:Flag of Shasta.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Shasta.svg|30px]] [[Shasta]]
*[[File:Flag of Sonora.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Sonora.svg|25px]] [[Sonora]]
*[[File:Flag of Tahoe.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Tahoe.svg|30px]] [[Tahoe]]
*[[File:Flag of Washumko.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Washumko.svg|30px]] [[Washumko]]
{{col-break}}
{{col-end}}
{{Center|'''Territories'''}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
*[[File:Flag of Bénieîle.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Bénieîle.png|30px]] [[Bénieîle]]
*[[File:Flag of Sierra (military).svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Palawan and Cuyo.svg|30px]] [[Camp Maiden]]
*[[File:Flag of Kiribati.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Kiribati.svg|30px]] [[Gilbert and Ellice Islands]]
*[[File:Flag of Isles of Pines.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Flag of Isles of Pines.svg|30px]] [[Isles of Pines]]
{{col-break}}
*[[File:Flag of Pacific Crown Islands.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Sierra.svg|30px]] [[Pacific Crown Islands]]
*[[File:Flag of Rapa Nui.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Rapa Nui.png|30px]] [[Rapa Nui]]
*[[File:Flag of Saint Andrews, Providence, and the Corn Islands.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Saint Andrews, Providence, and the Corn Islands.svg|30px]] [[Saint Andrews, Providence, and the Corn Islands]]
*[[File:Flag of Sierran Antarctic Territory.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of the Sierran Antarctic Territory.svg|30px|border]] [[Sierran Antarctic Territory]]
{{col-break}}
*[[File:Flag of Sierran Samoa.svg|30px|border]] [[File:Coat of arms of Samoa.svg|30px]] [[Sierran Samoa]]
*[[File:Flag of New Mexico.svg|30px|border]] [[West New Mexico]]
{{col-break}}
{{col-end}}

==Economy of Sierra==
{{Main|Economy of Sierra}}

{| class="infobox" style="font-size: 90%; border: 1px solid #999; width: 325px;"
|- style="background:#f5f5f5"
! colspan="3" | Economic indicators
|-
| Nominal {{W|gross domestic product|GDP}} || $7.128 trillion <small>(Q3 2020)</small>
|-
| Real GDP growth || –4.8% <small>(Q3 2020)</small>
|-
| ||2.2% <small>(2019)</small>
|-
| {{W|Consumer price index|CPI}} inflation || 1.9% <small>(September 2020)</small>
|-
| {{W|Employment-to-population ratio}} || 69.9% <small>(September 2020)</small>
|-
| [[Unemployment in Sierra|Unemployment]] || 9.3% <small>(September 2020)</small>
|-
| {{W|Labor force}} participation rate || 65.4% <small>(September 2020)</small>
|-
| [[National debt of Sierra|Total public debt]] || $5.59 trillion (78.4% of GDP) <small>(September 2020)</small>
|-
| [[Wealth in Sierra|Household net worth]] || $48.724 trillion <small>(Q3 2020)</small>
|}[[File:Wilshire_Grand.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The {{W|Wilshire Grand Center}} in [[Porciúncula]] is one of the symbols of Sierran economic power]]Sierra has the fourth largest economy in the world in both terms of nominal GDP and GDP by purchasing power parity. It is a {{W|mixed economy}} which operates under the {{W|Anglo-Saxon model}} with relatively low levels of regulation, although Sierra's {{W|welfare state}} and public sector services have been steadily expanding since the late 1900s. The government controls and influences key segments of sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, nuclear power, and health care. It is the world's third largest importer and exporter, and currently operates at a {{W|trade deficit}} of $155.4 billion. Its largest trading partners are [[China]], the [[United Commonwealth]], [[Japan]], [[Brazoria]], and [[Germany]]. It is a member of the Anglo-American single market and it accounted for 40% of the Amerozone. 

Its largest exports are computers, electronic products, chemicals, electrical equipment and machinery, aircraft, automobiles, petroleum, agricultural products such as tree nuts and leafy vegetables, diamonds, and medical equipment. Its largest imports are crude oil, fossil fuels, automobiles, cell phones, computers and electronic products, integrated circuits, textiles, manufactured goods, and agricultural products. Sierra was historically an agrarian-based economy, but has since diversified and achieved postindustrial status. Its contemporary dominant sectors are finance, banking, and services, such as media, communications, information, and hospitality, as well as science and technology, pharmaceuticals, health care, and entertainment. Despite the decline in manufacturing in Sierra, it remains an important sector, with important industries in steel, aircraft manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, computers and electronic goods, biochemicals, pharmaceutical products, and printing equipment.

Its {{W|monetary policy}} is determined by the [[Royal Monetary Authority of Sierra]], which also functions as Sierra's {{W|central bank}}. In 2019, Sierra was the third largest recipient of {{W|foreign direct investment}} among OECD countries at $134 billion, and in the same year, Sierran companies invested $278 billion, making Sierra the largest outward direct investor in the OCED. As a {{W|developed country}} with a {{W|high-income economy}}, it is one of the most industrialized nations in the {{W|Organisation of Economic Co-operation|OECD}}.

Sierra ranks the second highest in nominal GDP per capita and the fourth highest in GDP per capita at PPP. It has the second highest household net worth in the world, valuing over $48 trillion. The [[Sierran dollar|K.S. dollar]] is one of the world's primary {{W|reserve currency|reserve currencies}}. The Sierran dollar is also the official currency of Sierra's territories, as well as the independent countries of {{W|El Salvador}}, {{W|Palau}}, the {{W|Marshall Islands}}, and the {{W|Federated States of Micronesia}}. It holds the second largest reserves and holdings of gold, holding over 5,550 metric tons of gold, most of which are stored in the Sacramento Bullion Depository in [[Tahoe]]. 

Inflation has generally been between 2–3%, which has contributed to steady, gradual decline in value for the Sierran dollar. Inflation is controlled by the Royal Monetary Authority, which has historically targeted an inflation rate at approximately 3%. The inflation rate is 1.9% as of September 2020. The {{W|debt-to-GDP ratio}} in Sierra has gradually risen, which currently stands at 78.4%, reflecting Sierra's increased government spending on social programs such as health care, education, and infrastructure.

Of the world's 500 largest stock-market-listed companies measured by revenue, 125 are headquartered in Sierra. 60 major Sierra-based companies are included in the [[Porciúncula Stock Exchange#STAR 60|STAR 60]], one of the stock market indices operated by the [[Porciúncula Stock Exchange]], which is based in [[Porciúncula]], the financial capital and center of Sierra. Prominent companies include {{W|Apple Inc.|Apple}}, {{W|Alphabet Inc.|Alphabet}} ({{W|Google}}), {{W|The Walt Disney Company|Disney}}, {{W|Chevron}}, {{W|Hewlett-Packard}}, [[Media Corporation]], [[Cabrillo Technologies|Cabrillo]], {{W|Wells Fargo}}, {{W|Intel}}, {{W|Facebook}}, {{W|Cisco Systems|Cisco}}, and {{W|Tesla, Inc.|Tesla}}.

===Components===

{{W|Agriculture}} was historically the most important and dominant industry to the Sierran economy. Despite Sierra achieving postindustrial status, agriculture remains a highly profitable, multi-billion dollar industry with its main exports being {{W|almond}}s, {{W|avocado}}s, {{W|date (fruit)|dates}}, {{W|fig}}s, {{W|grape}}s, {{W|orange}}s, {{W|rice}}, {{W|strawberry|strawberries}}, {{W|tomato}}es, {{W|wheat}}, and {{W|cannabis}}. The {{W|Central Valley}} is primary center for all Sierran agricultural products with its fertile flatland and favorable weather conditions. The other major agricultural "valley" in Sierra is the {{W|Imperial Valley}}, a dry and sandy region that was converted into irrigated farmlands during the mid-20th century. The Imperial Valley is responsible for over half of the agricultural exports of certain vegetables and fruits during the winter months in North America. {{W|Salinas Valley}} is another major productive region for agriculture. {{W|Napa Valley}} is world renowned for its wine industry and [[Viticulture of Sierra|viticulture]], and is the top producer in grape products in the Western Hemisphere. {{W|Beef}}, {{W|chicken}}, and {{W|turkey}} are among the livestock and game products that Sierra exports. The fishing industry is also particularly profitable with the majority of Sierra's exports heading to [[China]], [[Japan]], and [[Tondo]]. {{W|Milk}} is Sierra's top dairy product followed by {{W|cheese}}, {{W|butter}}, {{W|yogurt}}, and {{W|whey}}. Sierra's agriculture is heavily dependent on the nation's vast irrigation system and groundwater supply.

===Tourism===

===Income, poverty, and wealth===

The Sierran labor force is highly skilled and consisted of 57 million people in 2019. The leading field of employment is the government, which employs 6.93 million people. The largest private sector is health care and human services, with 6.3 million people. More than a third of Sierran workers are [[Labor unions in Sierra|unionized]]. Before 2020, Sierra was one of the few remaining OECD countries which did not legally guarantee {{W|paternal leave}}, paid vacation, or {{W|sick leave}} at the federal level. Since the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], federal legislation has mandated public and private employers to provide these forms of employment benefits to their workers. All Sierran citizens are also enrolled in either a public or private health insurance plan. Prior to 2020, health insurance and socialized medicine was handled predominantly by the PSAs. Following nationalization of Sierra's health care system, Sierra has adopted a {{W|universal health care}} under one unified {{W|single-payer healthcare|single-payer system}}.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25, which is the lowest wage which can be set by any employer in Sierra. Provincial and local minimum wages range between the federally mandated wage to as high as $20, although the average is $12. Overtime is paid at {{W|time-and-a-half}} for non-exempt workers and employees for all hours work in excess of 40 hours in a workweek or 8 hours in a workday. Time-and-a-half must also be paid for workers who work on [[Public holidays in Sierra|federal holidays]]. Doubled pay is paid to non-exempt workers who work in excess of 12 hours in a workday, as well as seven or more consecutive workdays. The federal government also mandates a minimum shift differential pay of $1 on top of base pay for non-exempt workers who work during the weekends, or during {{W|graveyard shift}} (defined as any shift where more than 3 scheduled hours are between 9 PM and 6 AM). 

The unemployment rate as of September 2020 is 9.3%. Prior to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the national unemployment rate was 1.7%. It has the fifth highest median gross household income in the world, at $44,371 in 2013. The federal government offers unemployment benefits and services to eligible K.S. citizens and authorized foreign workers, which is further supplemented by provincial, state, or areal unemployment insurance programs. 

Approximately 17% of Sierrans live below the relative poverty line, which the [[Ministry of Finance (Sierra)|Ministry of Finance]] defines as $21,000 for household incomes.

==Infrastructure==

===Transportation===

===Energy===

===Water===

==Science and technology==

==Education==
{{Main|Education in Sierra}}
[[File:Berkeley glade afternoon.jpg|thumb|250px|{{W|Sathel Tower}} of the [[University of Sierra]], {{W|University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley}}]]
Responsibility for {{W|public education}} falls primarily on the provincial and local governments. The federal government oversees matters pertaining to education through the [[Ministry of Education (Sierra)|Ministry of Education]], which enforces laws and regulations surrounding education in Sierra. The Ministry financially supports the educational systems across Sierra through grants. In most PSAs, children are required to attends school between the ages of 5 or 6 and 17 or 18. Students have the option to choose between public schools, private schools, homeschooling, or other approved arrangements.

Public education is divided into three levels: elementary school, middle school, and high school, which are further divided into educational stages known as {{W|educational stage|grades}}. Generally, students start elementary school in {{W|kindergarten}} and complete it by the {{W|sixth grade}} (under the 6–3–4 or 6–4–3 systems, students complete it by the {{W|fifth grade}}). Students progress from elementary school to middle school, which usually includes two grades ({{W|Seventh grade|seventh}} and {{W|eighth grade|eighth}}). High school is the final stage of compulsory public education, and typically consists of four grades, with the {{W|twelfth grade}} as the final year. Upon completing high school, students receive their {{W|diploma}} and may optionally continue their academic pursuits by entering into a {{W|community college}}, a {{W|public university|four-year university}}, or {{W|vocational education|vocational training}}. After undergraduate education has been completed, students may finish their education by attending a {{W|graduate school|graduate}} or {{W|professional school}}.

For Sierrans over the age of 25, 87.5% graduated from high school, 78.2% attended some college, 54.8% earned a {{W|bachelor's degree}}, and 23% earned graduate degrees. Free tuition in higher education is not guaranteed nor provided by the Sierran federal government and for that reason, the application, selection, and attendance of college has been considered a crucial hallmark in Sierran culture. The Sierran government provides {{W|student loan|student loans}}, grants, and waivers since the Affordable Education Act of 1916. Some provinces pay for students of lower-income backgrounds to attend colleges and {{W|scholarship|scholarships}} are a popular means by the general public to cover some if not all of the costs of college.  The {{W|literacy rate|literacy rate}} of Sierra is 99.7% and another 73% of Sierrans have proficient literacy in (an) additional language(s). There are three national public secondary education systems: the [[University of Sierra]], the [[Sierra National University]], and [[Sierra Community Colleges]], which collectively form the world's largest system of universities and colleges, and includes some of the most prestigious and competitive campuses in the world.
[[File:Sierran Hanzi in a book.png|thumb|300px|left|[[Sierran Hanzi]] in a Sierran high school anthology book]]
In 2017, the Ministry of Education reported that over 21.3 million students were enrolled in schools from {{W|kindergarten}} through {{W|graduate school}}s. It also included individuals who were enrolled in vocational training, apprenticeship, independent study, or homeschool. Of those enrolled in elementary and secondary schools, 4.4 million were enrolled in private schools (both secular and parochial). Of those enrolled in colleges, universities, and graduate schools, 4.1 million were enrolled in private schools. During the 2017–18 academic year, about 87% of high school seniors graduated and received their high school diploma. The {{W|Dropping out|high school dropout rate}} nationwide currently stands at 8.8%, with the remaining percentage unaccounted for including fifth year seniors {{W|Grade retention|held back}} ({{W|super senior}}s) and students enrolled in special education.

According to a report by the OCED, Sierra spent $16,789 per student in primary and secondary education ($258.56 billion), nearly double the average for all OCED nations (at roughly $8,500), and the third highest amount spent per student in the world, trailing behind {{W|Switzerland}}, [[Kalmar Union]], and {{W|Luxembourg}}. For postsecondary students, Sierra spent more than $15,000 per student, which was roughly $3,000 higher than the OCED average, and was only surpassed by the [[Northeast Union]], {{W|Switzerland}}, and the [[United Commonwealth]] by that metric. Despite these figures, Sierra ranks 80th place in the world in the percentage of nominal GDP spent on education, which was about 5.1% in 2017, placing it on par with the {{W|United Kingdom}} and [[Great Korean Empire|Korea]]. In addition, the amount it spends per student for postsecondary education is lower than students in primary and secondary education. Increased spending for higher education has been an important issue in Sierran politics due to rising costs in tuition and student loan debt.

PAPE test scores among Sierran students average significantly higher than other developed nations, scoring on par with Scandinavia and East Asia in mathematics, science, and writing. Sierra regularly places in the Top 10 for mathematics, natural science, advanced physics, and reading. Similar rankings have been observed for other internationally standardized tests. {{W|English as a second or foreign language|ESL learners}} studying in Sierra have also scored higher than the average for international English examinations, including the International Assessment for Learners of the English Language (IALEL). Despite the high national averages, there is a level of discrepancy between provinces such as [[Imperial]] and [[San Joaquin]], which consistently ranks below Sierra's average and the world's average for scores on PAPE and similar tests.
{{Main|Higher education in Sierra}}
<gallery packed heights=150px caption= "Public university systems" class="center">
Seal of Sierra Community Colleges.svg|[[Sierra Community Colleges]]
Seal of Sierra National University.svg|[[Sierra National University]]
Logo of the Sierra National University.svg|Sierra National University logo
The University of Sierra 1868.svg|[[University of Sierra]]
University of Sierra Logo.svg|University of Sierra logo
</gallery>

==Health==
{{Main|Health in Sierra|Health care in Sierra}}

The Sierran health care system operates under a hybrid system combining {{W|universal health care|universal government-funded public health care}} with private providers. It is a matter dealt primarily by the [[PSA|provinces, states, and areas]] of Sierra, where each PSA maintains its own health care systems and standards, although the federal government's involvement has expanded since the [[Constitution of Sierra]] declared health care to be a fundamental right in 1994 and several landmark [[Supreme Court of Sierra|Supreme Court]] decisions affirmed health care as one of the federal government's priorities and domain. According to the {{W|World Health Organization}}, Sierra spent $6,974 on health care per capita, and 11.3% on health care as a percentage of its GDP in 2017. Of the 11.1%, government health expenditure accounted for 9.3%, while out-of-pocket expenditure as a proportion of the 2017 health expenditure was 16%.

Sierra's health care system is world renowned in terms of quality of care and affordability, especially for palliative and end-of-life care, but has been criticized for its relatively long wait times. In 2018, Sierra had one of the world's longest life expectancies, with an average of 81.31 years at birth for both men and women. It is home to one of the world's largest communities of {{W|centenarian}}s and one of the identified global {{W|blue zone}}s ({{W|Loma Linda, California|Loma Linda}}, [[Inland Empire]]). In 2017, Sierra had high prevalence or near-high prevalence in motor vehicle accidents, {{W|obesity}}, heart and lung disease, sexually transmitted infections, injuries, adolescent pregnancies, and homicides, especially in the [[Styxie]] and Eastern Sierra. Rates of preventable hospitalizations and diseases are often cited as major sources of financial costs in nation's health care system.

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Sierra}}
{{Sierra culture}}
Sierra is a {{W|multiculturalism|multicultural}} society which has placed emphasis on equality, justice, unity, and racial harmony. Mainstream Sierran culture is based on the [[New Culture]], which derives from the principles and values of the [[Sierran Cultural Revolution]], a socio-political movement and period which radically transformed Sierran society during the first half of the 20th century from a predominantly Western-based Anglo-American society to a hybridized Anglo-American and East Asian culture. Modern Sierran identity is strongly associated with the New Culture, which stresses {{W|communitarianism}}, {{W|filial piety}}, individual responsibility, strong work ethic, competition, religiosity, and social order based on a synthesis between {{W|Protestant culture}} and {{W|Confucianism|Confucian culture}}, along with a unified belief in democracy, rule of law, liberty, equality, and pluralism. Sierran culture has also been significantly influenced by Hispanic and Latino culture, particularly Mexican culture, which has occasionally been cited as a third major element in modern Sierran culture. African and Amerindian culture has also influenced modern Sierran culture to an extent, especially due to the historic presence of the [[Sierran Creole people|Sierran Creoles]]. 

===Customs===

===Marriage, funeral, and other traditions===

===Mass media===
{{Main|Mass media in Sierra}}
====Television and radio====
{{Main|Television in Sierra|Radio in Sierra}}

====Print====
{{Main|Newspapers in Sierra}}

====Internet websites====
{{Main|Internet in Sierra}}

===Cinema===
{{Main|Cinema of Sierra}}

===Music===
{{Main|Music of Sierra}}

===Literature===
{{Main|Sierran literature}}

===Philosophy===
{{Main|Sierran philosophy}}

===Art===
{{Main|Sierran art}}

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Sierran cuisine}}

====Dining etiquette and experience====

===Sports===
{{Main|Sports in Sierra}}

===Public holidays and celebrations===
{{Main|Public holidays in Sierra}}

==Symbols==

===Flag===
{{Main|Flag of Sierra}}

===Coat of arms===
{{Main|Coat of arms of Sierra}}

===National symbols===
{{Main|Symbols of Sierra}}

===Anthems===

==See also==

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = {{Flag|Sierra|civil}}
|North     = {{Flag|Astoria}}
|Northeast = {{Flag|Deseret}} ([[Countries of the Kingdom of Sierra|K.S.]])
|East      = {{Flag|Brazoria}}
|Southeast = {{Flag|Bajaría}} ([[Countries of the Kingdom of Sierra|K.S.]])
|South     = ''{{W|Pacific Ocean}}'' • {{Flag|Bajaría}} ([[Countries of the Kingdom of Sierra|K.S.]])
|Southwest = ''{{W|Pacific Ocean}}''
|West      = ''{{W|Pacific Ocean}}''
|Northwest = ''{{W|Pacific Ocean}}''
}}
{{Sierra}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Articles related to Sierra
|list = 
{{Sierra PD}}
{{Sierra KS}}
{{Altverse II}}
}}
[[Category:Kingdom of Sierra]]
[[Category:Countries in North America]]
[[Category:English-speaking countries and territories]]
[[Category:Federal monarchies]]
[[Category:Member states of the League of Nations]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1858]]
[[Category:Former Spanish colonies]]
[[Category:Countries of the Kingdom of Sierra]]