California (Joan of What?)

Commonwealth of California
Commonwealth of California
	Coat of arms
	Motto: ; E pluribus unum (Latin); "Out of many, one"
	Anthem: ; The Star-Spangled Banner;
	Location of California within North America
Capital	Sonoma
Languages	English (official); Spanish; French
Demonym	Californian
Government	Federal parliamentary constitutional republic
Legislature	Parliament
Establishment
Population
Currency	Californian Dollar ($) (CAD)
Time zone	Californian Standard Time (CAST) (UTC–8)
Date formats	dd.mm.yyyy
Drives on the	left
Internet TLD	.ca
Calling code	+1

California, officially the Commonwealth of California, is a federal republic composed of 12 states and one Federal District located in the western half of North America. California's capital is Sonoma, and the largest city by population is Los Angeles. Other major urban areas include San Francisco, Phoenix, Seattle, San Diego, Denver, Dallas and Houston. California is bordered by Alaska to the north, Louisiana to the east, and Mexico to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of California.

California had been occupied by Native Americans for around 15,000 years before European colonisation began in the 16th century when Spain lay claim to the area. When the French denizens of eastern North America overthrew their British governors and established French rule, British settlers fled westward in the Great American Exodus, settling in California. Tensions between the British colonies and the Mexican government escalated in the mid-19th century, leading to the Californian Revolution. The Revolution resulted in a victory for the British, who created the Commonwealth of California and claimed the western half of North America for Queen Victoria of Cygnia. The Government of Cygnia accepted the Proclamation of Loyalty in 1851 when representatives of the Californian government reached Northam, TS.

Upon the acceptance of the Proclamation, California became the first self-governing colony of the Empire of Cygnia, with its own independent executive, legislative and judicial authorities. In 1859, the Republic of Texas joined the Commonwealth. Through the latter half of the 19th century, Californians settled the eastern territories, and the country adopted a federal system of governance, with the national government at Sonoma delegating authority to several States.

The Dominion Act, passed by the Cygnian Congress in 1931, made California the first Dominion of the Cygnian Empire, and removed Congress' right to legislate for the Dominions. It is at this point that California became a de jure sovereign state within the Empire, although it had been de facto independent for far longer. In 1982, the California Act severed the Cygnian government's remaining links with California, and ended the Supreme Court of Cygnia's status as a court of final appeal in California's federal court system. Queen Elizabeth remained the monarch of California until 1999, when a referendum made the country a republic.

California is a highly developed country. It is a regional power and has the world's 13th-highest military expenditure. California ranks highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights. California is a member of the United Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Trade Organisation, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

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