Colonized in 2093, Sparta was the furthest Human inhabitied system, known at the time. It was colonized by a diverse group. Military men & women; Farmers from the Midwest of the US, The Deep South of the US, the American Southwest, Asia, Europe, South America, Africa; Scientists & Engineers from all over; Writers; Poets; Actors; etc. What they wanted to create was a truly free society, but one that also had laws & rules. The first & most important was, "Work or Starve". As this was a new colony, it made sense, if you were not willing to work for your daily bread, then why should those who were working do so? The second was, "An Armed Society is a Polite Society", in that every adult member of the Colony was given an assualt rifle, a SMG, a pistol & the training in how to use it. The third one was, "A Organized Militia will Keep You Free.", so in order to keep control of heavy weapons at that time, the LMGs, the HMGs, the Anti-Tank, & Anti-Air Weapons they were bringing along, as well as the Minotaur Fighters they were bringing along, they created the Phraetrie System.

Each Phraetrie was equal to a Standard Battalion, but each one had a different responsiblity & skill set. The "Sons of Neptune" was a Phraetrie dedicated to water, & sea going ships. While the "New Aberdeen Rangers" were an all light infantry unit. "The Followers of Surak" are an all Vulcan unit, the "Warriors of Andor" are an all Andorian unit, "The Argument of Peace" is an all Tellarite unit, and, "The Sons of Kathless" is an all Klingon Unit. As for the Minotaur Fighters, they were taken over by the "Solar Winds", a space borne Phraetrie. In essence each Phraetrie were an independent unit, reliant upon its own members for its support in peacetime, but the goverment in time of war. (OOC: There is a historical precident for this. Before the US Civil War, much of the US's military power lay in privately organized militias that sometimes had more firepower than the local troops, if there were any. For example in New Orleans, the Washington Light Artillery Battery was a 6 gun Napolean Battery made up of the elite of New Orleans Society) And, in the 192 years that this system has been in place the Phraetries have only been needed to be called up twice, durring the 8 Years War, when it looked like the Klingons would invade their planet, & in the Cardassian War, when they did.

The average age of joining a Phraetrie is 14 years old & while these are still children they are taught to use weapons & to fight, but along with this training comes training on when not to fight. Also, no Phraetrie will fight another, for any reason, but they will engage in wargames.

Now, while the Phraetries hold most of the weapons, the goverment (which is rather small to be honest with you) is actually made up of the people. In the important issues, all voters have the right to decide, but in times of emergency, the Senate & House of Represenatives along with the House of Nobles & the King can take command to make sure that the Spartans survive the crisis, whatever it may be.

Now, the Senate is made up of the 50 men & women who serve 5 year terms. The House of Represenatives are made up of 90 men & women who serve 2 years terms. The House of Nobles is made up of all of the Nobles of Sparta & serve a lifetime term.

Though Sparta City was invaded the Cardassians found that it was quite hard holding onto an empty city with only the New Avalon Royal Family in residence, when the entire population had melted into the outback & were willing to do anything to keep the Cardassians off balance & to tie up troops there rather than on the front lines. The Cardassians responded by buldozing the cities. When they took the step to far by executing King Leo the First of Sparta for the resistance his people were giving the Cardassians, Queen Esmeraldas cried out, "Spartans the Cardassians have killed your King. The Cardassians have killed your King." The Spartans rose up as one & cried out in one voice, "NO!". And, then the killing began. Men, women, the old, & the young grabbed what weapons were at hand & moved onto Sparta City. They killed the Cardassians with anything they could. Phasers, Disruptors, Knives, Swords, Rocks, Pointed Sticks. Anything & everything became a weapon in the hands of the Spartans, & when the few Cardassians that were left alive attempted to surrender to few Starfleet Officers serving on Sparta, the Starfleet Officers, caught up in the bloodlust as much as the Spartans, killed them out of hand.

Today, Sparta is fighting a civil war against the Hellots, a group of terrorists. No one knows who is a member. No one knows who is suppling them. No one knows who leads them. No one knows who funds them. The Hellot's stated goal is to give everyone on Sparta the same matteral advantages that the Coreworlds enjoy. Free replicators, free holosuite time, free transportation, free shelter. But, the standard on Sparta is "Work or Starve", & one can work only one day a week & can earn enough money to keep him or herself well fed for a week, entertained for a week, transported for a week, & sheltered for a week. In fact because of this aditude among most (55 to 75%) of the population, Sparta is enjoying an economic boom. Mostly due to Ares Corp & New Eden/JV. And, due to this boom, there are no personal income taxes at all, unlike the Federation Core Worlds, instead the Corperations pay the taxes.
The Corperations

Ares Corp is a major contrator to Starfleet for the Ark Royal, Akira, Proteus, Steamrunner, Norway, Saber, Intrepid Classes. Bonzai Fighters. Type 9 Shuttles & Type 11 Shuttles. As well as Phaser weapons of all sorts. They also hold a Contract with the Klingon Empire to produce Vor'Cha & B'Rel Class ships, the first Federation Company to do so.

New Eden/JV on the other hand is a Entertainment Company producing everything from Holodecks & Holosuites to TriD Programs & Holonovels. As well as suppling Starfleet with many of it training simulations. Citizenship.

The only advantage to being a Citizen is to Vote & to hold Elected Office, which is non-paying. Other than that all are treated equally under the Law.

The way to gain Citizenship is simple. Pass a few simple tests; serve some time either in a Phraetrie for 8 years, as a Member of the Royal Spartan Mounted Police for 6 years, Starfleet for 4 years, or the Federation Merchant Marine for 6 years; & swear loyalty to the Federation, the Grand Alliance, & to Sparta. Poof you are a Citizen. It doesn't matter how much money you have, who your parents were, where you were born, what species you are, or anything else. All that matters is that you are willing to serve your people to the best of your ability.
Local Defense Forces
Phraetries:
3,930 Battalions of Infantry.
5,898 Peregrine Class Fighters
Royal Spartan Mounted Police
54 Battalions of Infantry

Local Defense Force - Army:
45 Battalions of Infantry
3 Battalions of Cavalry
3 Battalions of Artillery
3 Battalions of Air Defense.

Local Defense Force - Marine Corps
45 Battalions of Infantry
3 Battalions of Cavalry
3 Battalions of Artillery
3 Battalions of Air Defense.

Royal Spartan Navy

13th Fleet Ships
1 Ark Royal (Battle Cruiser)
1 D'Deredix (War Bird)
1 Vor'Cha (Attack Cruiser)
1 B'rel (Scout)
1 Akira (Heavy Cruiser)
1 Proteus (Heavy Cruiser)
2 Prometheus (Heavy Cruiser)
1 Knight (Cruiser)
2 Intrepid (Cruiser)
1 Saber (Light Cruiser)
I Wild Cat (Light Cruiser)
2 Steamrunner (Frigates)
1 Nova (Science)
1 Starbase

Federation Designed Ships:
1 Ambassador (Explorer)*
3 Excelsiors (Cruiser)*
4 Constellations (Cruiser)*
8 Mirandas (Light Cruiser)*
2 Babcock (Frigate)*
2 Baker (Frigate)*
4 Chandley (Frigate)*
4 Northampton (Frigate)*
12 Ranger (Scout)*
12 Rigels (Scout)*
12 Akula (Escort)*
12 Genser (Escort)*
12 Remora (Escort)*
12 Makin (Assault Ship)
36 Liberty (Freighter)*
2 Oberth (Science Ship)*
1 Olympic (Hospital Ship)*
1 M'Benga (Hospital Ship)
Enterprise under Captain Pike, IIRC)*
1 Cledan (Repair Tender)*
2 Cochrane (Colony Ships)*
Many Bearclaw (Cutter)*
Many Solar (Cutter)*
Many Danube (Runabout)
Many Peregrine (Fighter)
Many Bonzai (Fighter)
Many Hammerhead (Fighter)
Plans Only Gabriel (Carrier)
Plans Only Alamo (Station)

Klingon Based Designs.
1 L-24 Kl'xenova (Battleship)
3 D-7 K'tinga (Cruiser)*
6 K-14 Tas'esta (Frigate)*
4 D-4 D'amas (Light Cruiser)
4 D-2 V'Kar Zandans (Destroyer)
4 D-14 D'estaker (Destroyer)*
4 D-16 Ke'sarza (Destroyer)*
6 K-22 B'rel (Scout)*
12 K-24 Komka'Des (Escort)
12 G-3 Bakaree' (Frieghter)
6 T-12 Nara'den (Assault Ship)
6 T-3 Daka (Assault Ship)
Many K-3 Kalath (Fighter)
Many K-4 Kl'xenova (Runabout)
Plans Only Z-4 Zhamortas (Station)

Andorian Based Designs
2 Andor (Cruiser)*
2 Loknar (Frigate)*
2 Lenthal (Frigate)*
2 Thufir (Frigate)*
6 Atlira (Escort)*
2 Thris (Science Ship)*
Many Hristish (Fighter)

Captured Cardassian Ships.
1 Kagor (Battleship)
1 Keldon (Heavy Cruiser)
2 Galor Class (Cruiser)
4 Aberax (Destroyer)
4 Guran (Destroyer)
8 Mithras (Escort)
Many Hideki (Fighter)

Captured Dominon Ships
1 Jem'Hadar Battle Cruiser (Battle Cruiser)
12 Jem'Hadar Fighters (Fighters)

Local Merchant Marine
108 Marco-Polos
216 Denevas
216 Liberty

Homesteading

Anyone, Citizen or Non-Citizen alike, has the right to claim as much land as he or she wants upto a limit of 500 acres per adult under the Homesteading Act of 2100. The Government equipts the Homesteader with a Phaser III, a Phaser II, & a Phaser I, along with a Phaser Recharging Rack, a small portable generator, a Tricorder, communications gear, & anything else needed to work the claim.

This act has proven quite popular with many people that have settled on Sparta & is one of the main reasons for the stability of the Government, as if you don't like who you are working for, you can always claim some land & work for yourself, instead of someone else..