The (SKM), frequently referred to as ''Manticore'' or ''the Star Kingdom'' is a
Fictional star-nation in the "
Honorverse "; the background setting for a series of books and stories written by
David Weber and others, and published by
Baen Books .
The Star Kingdom was founded in the Manticorian system, which consists of a binary star, three settled planets, and the
Manticorian Wormhole Junction . This unique combination of large amounts of habitable planetary real estate and instantaneous travel via the Junction has made the Star Kingdom an economic and diplomatic power house. Indeed, Manticore compares very favorably to most Solarian League systems which have generally been settled longer, and contain higher populations and larger infrastructures, than the Star Kingdom. These factors, and those required to properly exploit them, have resulted in an extensive Manticorian merchant marine and well funded research programs. Manticore has also birthed a very effective navy with a strong tradition of excellence and institutional history.
A popular nickname for a native of the Star Kingdom is "Manty" (plural "Manties").
Manticore began as a slow boat (sublight ship, also known as an
Interstellar Ark ) colony sent from
Earth . It was particularly well planned, however, and money was left on Earth to protect the colony from claim jumpers. During the 640 years that it took the colony ship ''Jason'' to travel to Manticore, developments in gravity technology had made hyper travel safe. Therefore, the arriving colonists found themselves greeted by employees already building infrastructure on
Manticore , the most temperate of the three habitable planets orbiting the two stars in the system. Not long thereafter, there was a
Plague (probably locally derived) which killed more than half of the population, setting the colony back substantially.
It was in reaction to that circumstance that the aristocratically dominated monarchical polity was begun; new colonists invited to make up for the losses of the plague were not intended to be part of the power structure. These colonists were divided into two sets, those who could pay for some or all of their passage (''Yeomen'') and those couldn't (''Zero-Balancers''). This aristocratic dominance scheme went awry when Elizabeth I, the second monarch, proved to be better at political maneuvering than the nobility; after her, the SKM had an effective monarchy, not merely a constitutional figurehead.
The SKM has long been a
Constitutional Monarchy . Its current ruler is Queen
Elizabeth III .
Parliament consists of an upper house (the ''Lords'') whose membership is hereditary, comprised of peers accepted to the House and Cadets, as well as peers' heirs. There is a lower house (the ''Commons'') whose members are elected and who cannot be members of the aristocracy.
The Crown is the Head of State, and appoints a government from leading political parties in Parliament. The Crown's executive power is exercised by the responsible Cabinet, led by a Prime Minister who must command a working majority in the House of Lords.
Policy making in the Star Kingdom is strongly affected by policy conflicts amongst the positions of the major parties. An example is the annexation of Medusa, the nearest planet to a recently discovered terminus of the Junction. It could not be made a part of the Star Kingdom, as that was opposed by the Liberal Party and the Conservative Association. Instead a ''
Protectorate '' was proclaimed over the planet which was barely acceptable to a Parliamentary majority. Another example was the declaration of war against the People’s Republic of Haven after their attack on the RM Navy and its base at Hancock. The Conservative Association refused to vote for the declaration in part because of the pending court-martial of Captain
Pavel Young , the eldest son of the Association's effective leader. He was not found guilty of cowardice desertion and failure to obey orders during the fight at Hancock (which would have led to execution), but was dismissed from the Service for cause. The Liberal Party was opposed to the declaration even after the attack on the grounds that ''violence never settled anything, and was, in any case, almost always illegitimate''.
Manticore's six major political parties are:
- The , which favors a tough anti-Havenite foreign policy, a conservative domestic policy of fiscal restraint, and a policy of moderation on most other issues. The Centrists have been behind Manticore's naval expansion and have been the driving force behind the foundation of the Manticorian Alliance (of star nations in the path of Havenite expansion).
- The , whose main concern, and litmus test for any measure, is the preservation of the Crown's power. They are strongest on Gryphon due to the historical conflict between landowners and the majority population there. The Crown Loyalists usually form coalitions with the Centrists.
- The , which seeks to implement some welfare state measures and fundamentally distrusts reliance on military action. Their paramount tenet in foreign policy is that ¨violence never solves anything¨.
- The , a reactionary political faction which actively resists any measure that might threaten the privileges of the aristocracy generally and the House of Lords in particular. Their foreign policy is isolationist (as expansion threatens to dilute their influence). The Conservative Association is unique among the major parties in that it commands virtually no public support, and is notable solely because of its member Lords.
- The , which opposes deficit spending like the Centrists, but wishes to reduce military spending and has little interest in foreign policy. The Progressives also believe that there is little hope of surviving a war against Haven, and Haven should therefore be placated.
- The , a faction which opposes the concentration of power in the hands of the aristocracy and "the powers that be". They are a wild card in Manticorian politics, siding with whichever faction they believe will favor their interests in Parliament.
SKM is allied with:
- Grayson from 1903 Post Diaspora to present.
- Erewhon from 1910 P.D. (?) to 1919 P.D.
- Andermani Empire from 1920 P.D. to present.
- minor powers (including Zanzibar, Alizon, Marsh, Sidemore, and many others in the Manticorian Alliance)
Note: Because of the policies of Baron High Ridge's government, Erewhon has left the Alliance and has signed a mutual defence treaty with the Republic of Haven. With the end of the resumption of active warfare between the Alliance, Erewhon no longer participates in the war, as it is not obliged to join with RoH if it resumes hostilities. However, it has made available a good portion of the technological advances achieved by the Alliance during the first phase of the War.
SKM has been in conflict with:
Because of its domination by Manpower Inc (the genetic slavery organization), the SKM has long been, more or less, involved in a cold war with:
SKM is neutral towards:
SKM has recently decided along with the
Andermani Empire to annex and divide up the
Silesian Confederacy .
Its
Home System is
Manticore System – a
Binary Star System .
Its major systems and planets:
- Home System :
- --- Manticore A 2: ''Phoenix'' - a red-coloured world
- --- - a temperate planet with an exceptionally mild climate; gravitation is 1G
- --- Manticore A 4: Sphinx - a cool planet with a very long year and very harsh winters; native species include the sentient Treecat s; surface gravitation is 1.35G
- --- - a cool planet with more than Terran axial tilt which causes extreme seasonal climate variation; slightly higher than 1G gravity
- Basilisk System : the system closest to one of the Manticore Nexus terminals
- --- Medusa - a protectorate of the Star Kingdom of Manticore. It is inhabited by the native sentient species (Medusans, sometimes called Stilties ), who were in their Bronze Age (or equivalent) when discovered.
In the course of the events recounted in the books, the SKM also annexes:
- A large portion of the chaotic Silesian Confederacy between the Andermani Empire and the SKM.
- The Basilisk System , but not the planet Medusa (this actually predates the events recounted in the books)
- The Trevor's Star System (one of the termini of the Manticore Wormhole Junction) within the current boundaries of the Republic of Haven.
- --- San Martin the heaviest gravity world inhabited by humans, formerly independent, then conquered and occupied by the Republic of Haven. It requested, and was granted, membership in the Star Kingdom after the Havenites were evicted by the Alliance. It is the inhabited planet of the Trevor's Star System.
- The Lynx Terminus system (an M8 dwarf with the Lynx Terminus of the Manticore Wormhole Junction), which lies near the Talbott Cluster . (most recently discovered terminus of the Manticore Wormhole Junction)
- The Lynx System , closest inhabited system to the Lynx Terminus, 16 hours by Zeta band, 32 by Delta, which lies near the Talbott Cluster .
- The Talbott Cluster :
- --- a group of stars with several inhabited planets just beyond the current borders of the systems controlled by the Solarian League, but some hundreds of light years away from the Manticore system. The planets of the Cluster, like San Martin, also requested annexation by the Star Kingdom. They viewed this as a much more acceptable alternative to incorporation into the Solarian League as 'frontier worlds' controlled by the Office of Frontier Security, but without full membership in the Solarian League.
- The Hancock System - a Manty naval base near Alizon , Zanzibar , and Seaforth Nine .
- The Grendelsbane system - a Manty naval yard. Destroyed in Operation Thunderbolt
In the course of events recounted in the books, the SKM also occupies:
In the words of Honor Harrington, the Star Kingdom of Manticore is now arguably the Star Empire of Manticore. This title seems very accurate, as projecting fifty years forward; the newly added Trevor's Star and Talbot Cluster holdings should be fully up to Manticorian infrastructure standards in all appreciable aspects. The amount of resources, both fiscal and via manpower, the Star Kingdom could bring to bear at that point would be significantly beyond the already considerable amounts that can be focused from the Manticorian system itself.
Though originally settled as a single system star-nation, the Star Kingdom enjoys several advantages most star-nations do not enjoy. Specifically, the
Manticore System contains three planets (Manticore, Sphinx, Gryphon). Most star-nations limited to a single star system have considerably less habitable real estate. This grants obvious advantages in terms of what the Star Kingdom can accomplish even before orbital infrastructure and its impacts on system GNP and population capacity are considered.
Additionally, the Manticore system also contains the
Manticore Wormhole Junction . Discovered approximately 100 years after the Star Kingdom was founded, it is the largest wormhole junction ever discovered. Initially, there were only five destinations reachable via the Junction (But within the last 40 years 2 more has been located). Sigma Draconis (located within the Solarian League, and offering the quickest access to Sol and humanity's home planet); Gregor-B (The Andermani owns the Gregor-A component of the binary system near the Silesian Confederacy), Trevor's Star (initially controlled by the People's Republic of Haven, and was captured by the Star Kingdom during the First Haven-Manticore war), Hennessy (within the Phoenix "Wormhole Junction" - Separate Star Systems), Matapan (Southwest of the Andermani Empire), and Basilisk (which was annexed by Manticore). Recently in the Honorverse, a seventh Junction terminus has been discovered leading to an unclaimed lifeless M8 Dwarf near the Lynx System in the Talbot Cluster. This area, formerly a back-water on the edge of human controlled space, is set for explosive growth now that it has access to the previously known Junction destinations.
In large part due to tolls and usage fees charged to ships making transit via the Junction, the Star Kingdom enjoys the largest single-system GNP outside the Solarian League itself. It is only this enormous economic advantage which has enabled Manticore to maintain its highly productive research and development programs, and to fuel the budget of the Royal Manticorian Navy. This same economic advantage also lends itself to diplomatic and foreign relations leverage, as threat of closure of the Junction to a star-nation's shipping would often result in that barred nation falling significantly behind its competitors for the bottom-line business of moving interstellar cargo. Finally, there are obvious military advantages in moving fleets strategically via the Junction; and vulnerabilities from hostile forces using the Junction to move attacking forces into the Manticore system.
The primary branch of the Star Kingdom's military is the
Royal Manticoran Navy . Saganami Island is its
naval academy. The RMN is the senior service in terms of sheer budget and necessity; control of systems and planetary orbitals all but precludes other military action in many circumstances. With a five hundred year tradition of service, the RMN has amassed considerable institutional experience and knowledge, and has evolved from its beginnings as a system defense force, past its lengthy formative years focusing primarily on commerce protection for the Manticoran merchant marine, and now is regarded as one of the premier navies in the galaxy.
Backed by the significant resources Manticore commands, the RMN is further powered by strongly pursued and implemented research and development programs. Particularly since the start of the war with Haven, the RMN has seen its capabilities grow explosively compared to what had been the technological cutting edge prior to the onset of hostilities.
In terms of combat capability, there is literally no contest between the pre-war RMN and the current-war RMN. A RMN pre-war superdreadnought could engage with a missile broadside of a few dozen tubes at a from-rest range of six million kilometers. A current war RMN superdreadnought can engage with a missile pod attack containing as many missiles as it has fire control channels for (upwards of several hundreds) from a range of one hundred and fifty million km.
Other branches of the Manticoran military are the
Royal Manticoran Marine Corps and the
Royal Manticoran Army . These are professional ground forces which act in concert with the RMN in actions to secure enemy worlds, space stations, and ships. The Marines are charged with maintaining security, providing reaction forces onboard RMN ships and with spearheading planetary assaults, whereas the Army is tasked with defending the surface of the Star Kingdom's worlds, reinforcing initial attacks by the Navy and Marines and providing garrison troops for occupied planets.
