Republic of Orange and Purple

The Republic of Orange and Purple (Britannian/Dutch: De Republiek van Oranje en Paars or De Republiek van Oranje en Purpur) is a Constitutional Republic located in the Western Sea in the Thrennex region of The Shire. It's capital is Paarsdam, which was built upon massive stone foundations which rise hundreds of meters from the ocean floor. The Republic primarily speaks Dutch and English, with some Old Britannian still spoken in small communities.

Founded in 1681 CE from naval elements of the shattered Old Britannian tribes, after the Sammichian Razing of Britannia, the "floating city" of Paarsdam was the newly-established center of the sea-faring nation. Stone bricks, carved from beneath the snowy wastes of the frozen continent to the north, were used to expand the tiny island on which the Britannians first landed. From there, the city of Paarsdam expanded to become a thriving epicenter of commerce, industry, and culture in the Western Shire. Initially a Kingdom, the Republic itself was founded in 1698, and was joined by the surrounding provinces of Groenevelden, South Paarsdam (a separate province by governance and population), and Birkenbos, which operate as cooperative autonomous regions within the centralized government. The Republic also maintains seven forts and fortresses in and around the Western Sea, protecting its territories and people from invasion by land and sea.

The government of the Republic is a parliamentary system, which itself elects an executive Prime Minister who holds the power to veto, order, and introduce legislation (the powers of both houses) but is checked by overrides of the parliament. The currently elected Prime Minister is Wuggeh of Maine. The two houses of parliament are the Afvaardigenhuis (Delgates House) and the Volkshuis (People's House). Formed in 1681, the Constitution of the Republic of Oranje and Purpur is an historic document, one of the first constitutions ever written in the Shire.

History

The Beginning of the Republic (1680-1750 CE)

The Crisis of 1680

Following the Britannian War, the federation composed of Nooters from Groenevelden and the Zeeders of South Paarsdam was left intact to dissuade the enemies of the Britannian people from attacking. In the years directly following the war, plague and famine overtook the surviving Britannians, as years of total war caught up on the population, and the influx of refugees from the destroyed civilizations pushed society to its limits.

In order to prevent a total collapse of Britannian society, delegates of all walks of life were called to a series of congresses. Solutions were presented by prominent members of Britannian society to the anxious gathering, which were then debated and voted upon, one by one. Solutions to the population crisis included:

- Sending masses of colonists north to the frozen continent of Thrennex. This was rejected for its clear injustice, as most of the colonists would be Suuth and Rivermensen refugees, who already faced the worst of the wartime and postwar famines.

- Searching the vast Western Ocean for the rumored city of “Westen Aarde”, subject of fables and myths, detailing untold riches. This was dismissed by all parties except for the clergy and certain forces in the military.

- Resettling the conquered lands. While this was an attractive option for some, most refugees did not want to return to their desolate fields and destroyed towns. The Treaty of Activia also banned official settlement of the razed territories without express permission of Fulfwotz (and vice versa).

With the Congress getting nowhere, a Rivermensen delegate, Kristiaan van Tyne, presented a bizarre solution. Using advanced construction techniques learned from books of the Solurian Empire, massive solid stone brick formations could be built in the shallow shoals of the Westenzee, upon which a great city could be built.

This final idea halted the entire conference and caused much intrigue amongst the leaders of The Federation. Some scoffed, but the majority found the technology fascinating, and praised the schematics and potential benefits of planning an entirely new city on oceanic resources. The Congress of Grinvalde (1681) ratified the agreement, and with funding from the Merchants guilds, Kristiaan van Tyne was given permission to erect the city of Paarsdam.

Formation of The Republic

With the Britannian peoples eager to begin “collective creation” (a national consciousness in peacetime among Britannians today), another conference was called by the Merchant Guilds of Nooter and Zeeder. This time discussion was made of a centralized government between the two nations, forming the long-lived Federation into a Republic.

Debates were had and feelings oftentimes ran hot, but after months of cooperation and compromise, the assorted representatives had a seemingly operational plan for a government. The plans included three houses (later consolidated to two in 1830), a constitution detailing the duties and regulations of each house, and a bill of rights to outline the protection of freedom for all people. The three houses would be known as the Gildehuis (elected representatives of the many guilds of society, in charge of domestic legislation), the Volkshuis (direct representatives of the people, also ran the mediative justice system), and the Afvaardigenhuis (delegates elected by the Volkshuis and Gildehuis, in charge of foreign policy, trade policy, and the military).

The Republiek van Oranje en Paars was officially declared on July 27th, 1681, with it’s first capital at the Guildhall in Purpur. The Republic Constitution (De Landsvest van de Repuliek)—one of the first ever written in the Shire—is today housed in the Prime Minister’s office in Paarsdam.

Constructing Paarsdam

With the Merchants of Purpur and Grinvalde giving their support, Kristiaan van Tyne gathered workers and began construction of the great city. The base was chosen from a wide shoal surrounding the uninhabited Isle of Paars (a small strip of land in the center of the shoals). Atop the shallow depths, workers began sinking large chunks of slate harvested from Thrennex in the north, filling in spaces within with gravel. Following this, stonemasons constructed artificial islands from blue granite, forming the blocks of the city. The work required thousands of laborers and skilled craftsmen working around the clock, as well as a significant portion of the navy for ferrying materials.

Soon the merchants weren't the only ones pouring money in, but all of the Guilds, from stonemasons to smiths to farmers and shipbuilders. With all of society rallying around Paarsdam's creation, it was not long before the first buildings were built atop the stone foundations. Initial attempts to build with wood were battered by the cold storms from the Westenzee, and it was discovered that a bastardized form of Xamichine concrete could be formed with salt water, clay, and granite, instead of the required coarse sand and terracotta. The strength of these buildings still shows today, as many of the oldest buildings in the city still stand, around Eiland Park in the Merchant district.

Expanding Trade and Influence

As the first residents moved into Paarsdam, among them the first mayor Kristiaan van Tyne, the Republic began the process of establishing itself as a force to be reckoned with in the Shire. Recent voyages to the East had brought back magnificent goods from Laurelian, "Oud Oranje", and Venezia Nuova. With the desire growing for Venezian silk, Laurelii crops, and the Mainland's books and fine-tuned machinery, the Republic expanded its trade networks, developing a shrewd network of merchants, operating in "Headquarters" across the Shire. These would form the base of what would be known as the Paarsdam East Shire Company.

The Paarsdam East Shire Company was founded in 1730 as a mercantile solution to the over-extension of the Republic's trade routes to Laurelian. The Republic couldn't send its fleets past the isthmus of Arcadia without portaging, or sending its ships all the way around the Northern Sea, past rivals in Caffa and the newfound state of Riverwood. By allowing another authority to control shipping through the straits of the great Northern Sea and the Eastern Ocean, the Republic of Orange and Purple was able to consolidate its wealth in Paarsdam without losing sailors and trade power to piracy.

During the Solurian Civil War, The Republic saw an uptick in trade revenue, due to its trading with both sides in the conflict. Patrons from the Solurian military desired raw iron from Purpur due to its high purity, and coal from Grinvalde due to its slow-burning effects. The Avestissmens traded for naval supplies, and several times during the war attempted to attack Rigel from bases in th Republic, failing each time. The dues paid by these forces would fund the trade wars against Republic's rivals in the late 1700s, but greatly damaged relations with the Solurians, which up until the civil war, were regular trade partners in Republic ports.

Trade routes established during this time still exist today as routes between the east and west. This period of economic growth had unintended consequences for the city of Paarsdam's growth as well, as merchants establishing themselves in the city discovered the value of having a seabase from which to conduct trade, outside of the watchful eye of the guilds on the mainland. Word spread of this wealth, and the city expanded 15 times in the period between 1700 and 1750. With Paarsdam now home to just as many inhabitants as Grinvalde and Purpur, respectively, the Republic needed to force its control over the thriving, but independent, city. In 1743, the Parliament hall of Paarsdam was finished, and Paarsdam became the seat of the Republic of Orange and Purple, where it remains today.

The Great Industrialization (1750-1824 CE)

The period of industrialization in the Republic of Orange and Purple was marked by great technological advancements and great social splintering. Steam propulsion technology became commonplace in the factories of major powers like Sol and Fulfwotz, and was hastily adopted in the Republic industrial base by 1810. The Republic's first railway opened in Purpur in 1819, connecting the iron mines with the waterfront. The nation's first public hospital was opened in Paarsdam, and still stands today. A chemist in Groenevelden introduced the first widespread application of nitroglycerin as fertilizer. Massive technological advancements marked the beginning of the Republic's rise as a regional power in the West, but its culture could not keep up with the changes in industrial output, and with thus the great crises of the 1800s began.

The Trade Wars of the late 1700s

In the mid-late 1700s, manufactories began popping up across Purpur and Paarsdam, where craftspeople mass-produced textiles, weapons, and other much-needed goods for the government and general population. The bolstered navy of the Republic, now one of the most powerful in the West, and encouraged them to take an aggressive stance against their neighbors. A war over trade licensing erupted with Caffa in 1765, but ended in a white peace after the Solurian Empire intervened to bring the conflict to close. Still angry over the Republic's supporting the Avestissmens in their own the civil war, Sol imposed major tariffs on all goods from the Republic. Since then the tariffs have been lifted, but for years, the Republic's reputation and trading power suffered in the global south.

Again in 1782, the Republic started another trade war, this time against Riverwood. The New Sammichian Empire interceded on behalf of their protectorate, and the conflict brought trade to a halt in the Northern Straits. A bloody stalemate at sea forced the Republic to defend its home territories from raiding Sammichian ships, and after defeat by Sammichian forces in the battle of Activia, the Republic of Orange and Purple was forced to disband naval operations in the waters around Caffa and Riverwood, severely stunting its economic growth, and setting a stage for the unrest of the 1800s.

"Welfare for the Masses"

The wealth of knowledge and culture that came from oceanic trade with the East changed the structure Britannian society throughout the 1700s. While the merchant classes grew richer and richer, the laborers and farmers grew poorer, as living costs rose and forced the mostly agrarian continental Britannians to seek work in the growing cities. An influx of new workers came with calls for public education, as well as adequate living conditions for the working class. As the manufactories of Paarsdam and Purpur bustled with hungry laborers, the need for trained leaders also gave rise to a new artisan class, who were much more conscious of the role they played in supplying society than the workers due to the skilled nature of their leadership. Merchants and bourgeois politicians alike found this artisan class threatening, and motions were enacted to prevent manufacturing guilds from forming a political party in the Gildehuis.

The exodus of workers did not stop, though, and when the calls for public welfare were not answered, the artisans took it upon themselves to lead the proletarian masses in revolution. On June 12th, 1803, massive protests filled the streets of Purpur, calling for the establishment of an anarcho-syndicalist government. The protests were violently put down, with 62 people killed and wounded, and over 567 others arrested, including several artisan politicians from the Gildehuis. The merchants used these arrests to consolidate absolute power, and banned extra-governmental political gatherings and "radicals" from the Gildehuis.

Protests continued throughout the period, waxing and waning, with several attempted anarchist and liberal revolutions and coups happening between 1805 and 1824. During this time the richer members of the Gildehuis also took closer control over the appointment of leadership within factories, and forced public- and syndicate-owned factories to sell their shares to rich members of society. This all culminated in the Gildehuis banning artisans and workers guilds from participating in government, which was shot down by the Volkshuis as denying the workers of their right to representation. In retaliation, private militias hired by corporate executives attempted to burn the Volkshuis to the ground amidst a winter storm, on the night of November 21st, 1824. The Afvaardigenhuis was forced to intervene militarily, and throughout the next 4 months, firefights, arson, and beatings were not uncommon in the streets of Paarsdam and Purpur. Little to no action was taken against Gildehuis members.

The Great Crises (1825-1899 CE)

This period of the Republic's history matches that of the Shire itself. While industrialization was still ongoing, the growing pains of the Shire's nations could not hold back the spirits of its peoples. National pride gave rise to reactionary revolts and social stratification begot revolutions, but in the Republic's case, both occurred multiple times in the same 70-year period.

The Plutocratic Coup of 1825

Following the burning of the Volkshuis, the Afvaardigenhuis's military command was questioned by both sides. Anarchists and socialists alike blamed the central government for not protecting their rights as citizens, and the Gildehuis saw the delegation system as nothing but a stepping stone to total control, and began to pass legislation limiting the delegate's powers. Meanwhile, one of the richest of the guildmasters, Mikael Minthavn, had bought his way into a ministerial position in the government of Prime Minister Robert Janssen. As Minister of Internal Affairs, Minthavn began a campaign of deceit against the left-wing. By hiring paramilitary forces in Purpur, he successfully retook control of the city.

By July 1825, Minthavn’s power (and by proxy the Gildehuis) far outstretched that of the central government. On August 1st, Minthavn announced an emergency National Referendum for Plutocracy, a move which managed to alienate every potential voter by planting paramilitary forces outside of all voting areas, banning all commoners from entering. Violent clashes and riots in the streets outside of newly completed Paarsdam library and Groenevelden Station could not change the outcome of Minthavn’s plan.

On August 3rd, Minthavn declared the vote a success, and thus disbanded the Afvaardigenhuis and Volkshuis permanently. Angry Delegates were immediately arrested, and all revolutionary and democratic protesters were imprisoned as well, many of whom were sentenced to hard labor in coal mines and below deck in the Navy. On August 16th, with his enemies imprisoned and the country firmly in corporate grasp, Minthavn decreed that Paarsdam would be the new capital of the Great Western Republic.

Minthavn first expanded the rights of each Guild, giving unlimited power for corporations to conduct foreign policy, espionage, labor laws, education practices, and even warfare. Pressgangs were employed by Republic Navy vessels to further recruit experienced fishermen and sailors. Said pressgangs used every method short of violence to intimidate foreign sailors into service. At home, political prisoners were put to work in coal and iron mines in Thrennex and Britannia, often for years before being eventually “released” to a prison. Rich critics of the Western Republic were more often afforded house arrest as long as a weekly fee could be paid.

A culture of fear spread through the bourgeois class in the cities of the Republic as neighbors turned in neighbors on a daily basis. Due to the close proximity of most buildings in Paarsdam and Purpur, oftentimes a misconstrued conversation between friends could get both participants arrested.

The “Western Great War”

While the population was kept divided and under control, Minthavn adopted an aggressive foreign stance. In 1829, Paarsdam purchased the colonies of Shadynasty and Pemmican from Oranjestad, followed by the island of Coda in 1831. The latter purchase was made in the far Northern Shire, in an area directly between the Republic’s enemies Caffa and Riverwood. After forming an alliance, both Caffa and Riverwood ran to the international community to assist in punitive war against the Republic. The Solurian Empire signed on, and the three nations declared war on the Republic on March 26th, 1832.

Mikael Minthavn and the Republic Army (LWR) and Navy (MWR) were prepared for this response, and immediately adopted an aggressive stance against Caffa and Riverwood, knowing that the Solurian army would take months to march over the mainland. The Republic called on their allies in Birkenbos to defeat the Riverwood fleet while the MWR was occupied against the larger navies of Rigel and Caffa.

Small skirmishes between patrolling fleets raged throughout the Northwest during April, and small detachments of Caffan and Republic marines engaged each other in raids as well. On May 10th, the Republic put their now more advanced firepower to use against the Caffan fleet and Sol in the Battle of the Simiris Straits, resulting in massive losses for the Alliance fleet. By drawing the enemy navies into the choke point of Simiris Isle, they managed to force the flagship of the Solurian Northern Fleet to ground itself in the resulting rout, along with dozens of other capital ships. The defeat was a major embarrassment for Sol, and ended their offensive capabilities over sea in the north and marking the first time the Solurian fleet had been defeated by a foreign power in over 100 years. The Republic blockaded Rigel, knowing they couldn’t take the city if they tried to invade, but could easily prevent its navy from returning to sea.

Meanwhile, Caffa went from a confident offense to scrambling to defend their home island. The LWR landed 20,000 elite marines north of Valenciennes, who seized the mainland bridges to Caffa and besieged its harbor. The Caffan stayed at sea and attempted again to battle the MWR, but after seeing the threat to their island, they returned to port and served a defensive role for the time being.

East of the main action, Riverwood attempted to seize Coda while the Republic was occupied. They landed on the island without contest on March 30th, but what they didn’t know was that the Birkenbos Fleet would arrive soon with superior numbers and quality. The naval battle off Coda was ended in 4 hours on April 10th, with the Birkenbos completely sinking Riverwood’s main flotilla. Due to poor shipbuilding regulations and a complete lack of naval tradition, many of Riverwood’s ships were flooded just by receiving hits below their gunports. With only 4 ships left in battle-ready condition, Riverwood was not prepared for an inevitable sea invasion by the Birkenbos marines. Though they managed to raise their defenses within the next month, Riverwood opted for a separate peace, paying the Republic for their trouble, and granting favorable trading deals to Republic merchants.

Sol’s main army finally reached Britannia on July 2nd, 1832 with 60,000 trained soldiers. Crossing the Phobon valley, they were met across the Tyne river by 50,000 Republic regulars. Several days of battle passed, and Sol’s army was repulsed. The victory did not last long, however, as word reached Paarsdam of another 40,000-strong Solurian force crossing the Tyne south of Groenevelden. Fort Grinvalde was laid to siege on July 20th, and while the fort never fell, Minthavn knew that the war could not be won without sacrificing Groenevelden. On August 3rd, 1832, the seventh anniversary of the formation of the Great Western Republic, Minthavn’s government signed a white peace treaty with Sol and a favorable treaty with Caffa, ending the war and marking the beginning of the latter’s decline on the world stage.

Historians would later refer to this conflict as the “Western Great War”, due to the scale of the regional conflict in terms of manpower and material. All four nations involved had poured massive resources into the conflict, testing new technology in rifled cannons and naval warfare. Tens of thousands of sailors and soldiers were killed and wounded in the war, and though the Great Western Republic emerged from the war victorious and a global power, Minthavn’s foundations were collapsing at home.

The Reformation of the Republic

At the end of the war, the Republic Navy was widely considered the best-trained and disciplined in the Shire, having defeated the Solurian Northern Fleet and the Caffan Grand Fleet in one major battle. This led to the Grand Admiral, Marianne Van Tyne, being celebrated across the country as savior of Britannia. Mikael Minthavn invited her to Paarsdam for receiving the Medaille van Moed, but in a powerful move against the Plutocratic government, Van Tyne refused to accept any award from an “illegitimate tyrant who enslaves the people of my country”.

Furious at this response, Marianne Van Tyne was hastily sacked by the Military Council of the Gildehuis, but this only legitimized her criticism in the eyes of the military and commonfolk. Mutinies suddenly became rampant, with most captains joining their own crews in mutiny. Marianne Van Tyne sailed the Republic flagship, Grinvalde, directly into Birkenbos harbor and immediately surrendered it to them.

Further enraged at this action, Minthavn’s government demanded Birkenbos return the ship and Van Tyne to the Republic or face consequences. The King of Birkenbos, Matteus II, held a private audience with Van Tyne to hear her out for her actions, leading to a great friendship between the two, and an understanding that something needed to be done about Minthavn and his cronies.

On February 7th 1833, Marianne Van Tyne, Matteus II, and Queen Malia of Birkenbos sailed across the Bay of Paars on the Republic’s very own flagship, decked out in the banned purple and orange flag of the Republiek van Oranje & Paars. Civilians and military alike cheered them on as they walked from the financial district to the Town Hall, where they declared the return of the Republic of Orange and Purple, and an official union with the Kingdom of Birkenbos. It was during this procession that Makani Poortjan wrote the song “I Will Return to Thee, My Home” that would become the new national anthem of the new Republic.

Minthavn attempted to mount a resistance, but he and all members of the Gildehuis were accosted by the citizens of Paarsdam, and many members of his paramilitary police were thrown in the canals to drown, if not executed outright. Minthavn would be exiled to Coda, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He died there in 1837 at age 57, malnourished by his deliberately neglectful guards.

With the return of the Republic of Orange and Purple, all political prisoners were released, and all forms of prison labor, slavery, and indentured servitude were permanently re-banned. Anarchists and Socialists were encouraged to create their own political parties, to prevent further danger of rebellion. The Volkshuis and Afvaardigenhuis were reopened, and the Gildehuis was disbanded permanently. No longer would corporate interests be represented by the state, as lobbying and “electoral meddling” were also made illegal. These changes were drafted into the now-amended Constitution of the Republic, and thus became permanent fixtures of the government.

The first election of the reinstated Republic of Orange and Purple Was held on March 1st, and ended in a landslide victory for Marianne Van Tyne as Prime Minister. In a surprising show of confidence in the direction of the new Republic, King Matteus II returned to Birkenbos, where he would die 4 years later, childless at the end of his line. Queen Malia later wrote that “Matteus was cursed early in his life to have no children, so he knew that his Kingdom would either be ended by him or burn in succession chaos.”

Reforms and Railways

Following the return of the Republic and its first free election, great reforms were created to the existing system. The Afvaardigenhuis was given control over affairs deemed “external” and Volkshuis given control of “internal” affairs. Delegates in the Afvaardigenhuis could only be elected after serving five terms in the Volkshuis. Any member of society could be elected to the Volkshuis, provided they could prove that constituents would vote for them.

With central government in good hands, focus was specifically made to repair the stratification of the social classes from decades of willful neglect. Worker’s councils and artisan guilds were given special consultations with the Volkshuis, who worked with them to decree the Industrial Safety Act of 1835 and the Income Tax Act of 1836. Paarsdam General Hospital was completed in 1838, and with it The Wellness Act passed the Volkshuis, declaring healthcare free for all state employees, including state-owned factories and the military.

With railways catching on across the Shire, the Republic began hiring engineers from Venezia Nuova to assist in the creation of a rail network for the Republic. In 1845, the Groenevelden-Purpur line was finished, and Republic Railways was formed as a government agency. Another longer line was built across the Britannian continent from Groenvelden to Little Wangleton and Phobon with the help of the Kingdom of Fulfwotz. These two lines handled mostly freight service in and out of the continental Republic. Passenger service wasn’t adopted until the completion of the Bridge of Paars between Paarsdam and Purpur in 1860 (and cross-strait travel increased tenfold). The Paarsdam Underground section of Republic Railways opened long afterwards in 1891, and the undersea tunnel between Birkenbos and Paarsdam was not completed until 1935.

“The Commune of the West”

At a time when diplomacy was the only thing holding the Shire back from war, the Republic began to find itself challenged on the world stage. Centuries of isolation from the Eastern Shire did not make the Republic relevant in foreign diplomacy, and rivalry with two of the largest Empires in the Shire, Sol and Fulfwotz, did not make things easier. The Republic had many trading partners, and an official friendship with Oranjestad, but they needed a way to attract interest on a global scale for the sake of survival. Thus the “Shire Internationale” was thought up by Tomas Vanderbeek.

On May 1st, 1852, Paarsdam was host to the very first Shire Internationale, a controversial convention of communists, socialists, anarchists, syndicalists, mutualists, and leftists alike. Tomas Vanderbeek—a Volkshuis syndicalist—was the organizer for the event, and spoke on behalf of the Republic’s government at the function. His criticisms and celebrations of the new Republic’s actions for the working class rang wholeheartedly with the crowds, and many began to wonder if similar experiments could work in their own home countries.

Unintentionally, Paarsdam became the Shire’s leading exporter of leftism and revolution. They became the ire of bloated monarchies like Fulfwotz and Sol, and the bane of smaller nations like Tomoya, Phobean Isles,Valashu, and Firenze Nuovo, who all had socialist revolutions attempt to overthrow or force reforms on their governments. The Republic attempted to wash their hands of responsibility for the waves of revolution across the world, but many nations began closing the Republic’s embassies altogether.

The only major nations to maintain friendly relations with Paarsdam at this time were Knavobuki, Oranjestad (who were still greatly benefitting from colonial payments), and Venezia Nuova. While only Knavobuki maintained any sort of formal alliance with the Republic (even then only a defensive alliance), it was clear that Paarsdam occupied an important sector of the world, and that its ideological opposition to the reactionist sympathies in Fulfwotz could potentially affect every nation in the Shire. Thus, for the first time in history, The Republic would be considered an integral part of the Shire’s International Community.

The New Century (1900-1940)

The early years of the 1900s marked a high point in The Republic’s influence among the nations of the Shire. With a global empire, vast wealth from global trade, and a widely respected navy and army. The only drawback of reaching a peak in power is the overall greatest consequence of prestige: conflict. In the Republic’s case, conflict would challenge more than simply their standing in the world.

"Canals for Friendship"

The Republic’s standing at the beginning of the 1900s was one of global prominence, with a wide-spanning empire and a strong trade presence in every major port of the Shire. Several more colonies were procured as well at this time: a Republic sympathizer was elected Doge of Nuovo Firenze and agreed to become a viceroyalty under Republic governance; the first colony settled overseas by Britannians

Visiting The Republic

There are several ways to get to the Republic of Orange and Purple. The easiest way is to /warp to either of the following warp locations:

/warp paarsdam or /warp Groenevelden

However, should you desire to visit the other locations within the Republic, use this map of the local transportation: