The Empire of Galileo

 

The four main moons of Jupiter are, from ancient times, known as Galilean System or Galilean moons. When the colonists from Earth and Mars settled here 50 years After Nemesis, no one could immagine the success of this colony.
It stared as a frontier mining settlement, and developed in a Solar System spanning empire. Much of this success is to be assigned by richness of the moons and political and cultural situation of Jupiter colony. While very distant from Sun and Earth, water was abundant and, under the crust of Europa Moon, a thriving, blooming ecosystem was found. Moreover political freedom was ensured and, under the vigil eye of the Far Future Foundation, technology not only was saved, but was improved.

During the first century of its existence, however, a war started against the main Mars states decided to recover Jupiter colonies and curb their freedom of speech, very dangerous for those Martian states.
Jupiter won the war, also thanks to Far Future's block of any technologies to their enemies, but the republic was shattered and broken. Isaac I Zendrell, the victory admiral of Jovian Military took power with a (relatively) blood coup (Known as the Leda Pronouncement) and with the help of the army proclaimed himself Emperor of Galileo and of all Jupiter.

Capital: Zeus City (often simply Zeus) on Europa

Population: 632 millions

Ruler: Isaac II Zendrell

Currency: Jovian Vudec

Culture: It is unclear what is the place of origin of the inhabitants of Galileo. Ethnic evidence seems to point to Europe, Southern United States, Iran and India. Massive minorities are present, as the surely arabic population of Io and slavic minorities on Ganymede.
However these racial distinctions are very little useful. Galileo forged a culture of its own: parent cultures are nearly unrecognizable.
Save for the rulers names, given names leave earth traditions and were forged in their own ways; in the last century, surnames too, were subject to this trend.
Architecture recalls only vaguely an european style, minarets and domes are used too in a fashionable way.
Indubitably europeans and americans shaped the culture of Galileo, but they didn't completely obscure others additions.

Society: Galileo is an empire, albeit a constitutional one, but army and military life is everywhere. Every citizen of empire is expect to serve in the army, if not in the fighting corps, at least in logistic and/or communications. Military service is voluntary for the fighting corps(Army, fleet and marines) but is mandatory(at least six month) for support branches.
Being an empire, forced Galileo to an aristocratic way of life. Dances, parties and glamour are necessary to keep people happy. Galileo, however, has not a birth aristocracy. Save for the imperial family, and for Ceres ally princes, no one hold a permanent noble title. The Emperor, if find someone worthy, can bestow a title, but is gained only for the life of the recipient. Usually the title, but not the money gained from it, can be pass to son or daughter, if the emperor wishes so.
Very influential is the capitalist elite running some of the most lucrative industries of the jovian moons.
In the end, the society of Galileo, remember the IInd french empire. A bourgeois empire, ruled, de facto by the army.

Religion: Religion is hardly an issue in the modern solar system. Majority of the population is atheist or follow the so called Jupiter Christianity. On Io something like a sufi version of islam, called Isaism, is practiced. Hinduism is the only religion from Earth to survive on Galileo, and is followed by large numbers on Callisto and Ganymede.