Adaleide

Adaleide, officially the Republic of Adaleide, is a federal constitutional republic located in western Astoria. The nation is bordered to the north and west by the waters of the Astorian Ocean, to the east by New Cartfordshire and Ustershire, to the south by the Groundway Strait. With a land area of LAND AREA and a population of around 8.5 million people, the nation is the least populated nation in on the continent of Astoria. The federal capital is the city of Quinnsport, though other cities include Kennsington, Haddington Cove, and Port Henry. Adaleide also holds Groundway Island to the south across the Groundway Strait.

Adaleide was originally home to an ethnic group known as the Qhutal people during its earliest history. Throughout the prehistoric period, the land was uninhabited until 124 CE, when, according to archeological evidence, the Astorian people migrated to the continent, likely crossing from both Korasha and Asania through island hoping through the Astorian Ocean. The Qhutal culture which flourished in the region lived in villages along the coasts and rivers, largely a subsistence culture, speaking one of the numerous Astorian Languages. The Gelenian explorer James Haddington was the first person to discover the Astorian continent and make contact with the natives on the continent in 1764, and by 1771 the city of Quinnsport was founded Henry Quinn, who became the first Premier of the colony. The colony soon became a growing center on the Astorian Sea as numerous people fled the Gelenian Revolution in 1774, and the colony was given its own government in 1818. The continent heavily industrialized throughout the 1820s and 1830s, and soon movements grew in the cities of Astoria demanding political freedoms and social protections from their governments. The calls for independence in Adaleide grew and soon the General Strike of 1847 gripped the country, which resulted in the Social Rights Act being passed by the Legislative Assembly. The nation fought for Gelenia in the Great War, though the nation itself was largely sheltered from the fighting as Astoria remained peaceful during the war. Full independence was granted in 1882, upon which the nation transitioned into a parliamentary democracy. The nation soon became a major export economy, with growth driven by agricultural exports; mineral and ore extraction, financial services, retail and consumption, and construction. Throughout the mid 1880s to 1902, the nation experienced the Astorian Economic Boom, which saw GDP and wealth grow exponentially. As growth became more moderate in the 1900s, the nation managed a stable economy throughout the early part of the century, though in 1811 the nation was ravaged by a large cyclone, which caused mass casualties, with nearly 2'560 people reported dead.

Adaleide is a highly developed social market economy with high levels of prosperity, and civil and political freedoms.

Prehistory
According to archeological evidence, humans first migrated to the Astorian continent in the 1000s CE on oversea routes, as humans moved into the region via ships, using the stars of the night sky to navigate over the Astorian Sea, island hopping before making landfall on the continent's mainland in around 1030 CE.

The Astorian people spread out over the continent's interior, using the extensive coastlines to carve out a unique civilization based on seafaring and communal living. There is no scholarly consensus amongst archeologists on the origins of the Astorian peoples, with some claiming that they migrated from southeastern Korasha, though the most commonly accepted theory, is that the Astorians migrated from southeastern Asania, and island hopped southwards until arriving on the continent.

Archeologists are still attempting to piece together the details of the native Astorian culture, though a lack of written records and the elimination of oral sources due to colonial policies have led to little information truly being known from primary sources. It is clear from archeological evidence that most native Astorians lived on the coasts, fishing and even whaling - solidifying the importance of the sea into their cultural heritage. Further, the worship of their deities, which were based on the ocean, tides, and storm, was similar throughout the entire continent, as were their languages, which are mutually intelligible. These similarities have led archeologists to believe that there was some form of communication and interconnectedness on the continent prior to Avanoran discovery, though this has never been proven.

Exploration & Colonization
James Haddington's expedition into the Astorian Sea in 1663 led to his ship, the Pelidan, landing on the western most point of Adaleide in Wintertide of 1664. His initial landing allowed him to make contact with the local Astorian peoples, and after his departure from the continent the following month, two further expeditions to the continent were planned for 1666 and 1667: one under Henry Quinn, who set forth with his wife, Adaleide Quinn, and one under Haddington, who would go on to land to the north in modern day Hagston.

Quinnsport became a major settlement upon the settlement of Henry Quinn and his wife, along with 1500 people in the region. The settlement was originally beset by numerous fights and wars, as local Astorian tribes moved to attack the new settlement, while settlers moved to protect their property. The colony continued to grow, and soon Henry was named the Governor General of the Astorian colony, ruling from the new established capital of Quinnsport. He attempted to expand settlement of the colony, though one of his attempts to establish a colony to the north failed when he was attacked and killed by an Astorian raiding party.

The Astorian War between 1678-1682 was fought between the settlers and the native Astorians, and though many colonists died from native attacks, it was the colonists who were eventually successful at establishing dominance of the region, largely thanks to the leadership of Adaleide Quinn, who had taken over many of her husband's former duties after his death, becoming the de facto Governor General of the colony until a new one could be appointed. It was after her that the new colony of Adaleide was created when Gelenia ordered the splitting of the Astorian continent into three colonies in 1701 in order to streamline administration and defense in the region, while also serving to prevent uprisings or rebellions.

Colonial Period
The colony of Adaleide continued to grow throughout the early 1700s as settlers from the Gelenian homeland began to leave as the monarchy's behaviour drove dissidents out of the kingdom. Astoria was a common destination for them, and specifically Quinnsport and Port Henry were common places to lay down roots on the continent.

As the colony grew in population, the discovery of gold and silver in the Adaleidian interior in 1731 led to a population boom and the Adaleidian Gold Rush. During this time, the population of the colony nearly doubled, and numerous small towns popped up as pioneers attempted to gain riches for themselves and their families, as well as to escape political, religious, and ideological persecution in their homelands. By 1740, Quinnsport had begun attracting enough settlers to be considered a city and major port on the Astorian mainland, with nearly 200,000 people living within its borders.

Government
Adaleide is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, governed under the Constitution of Adaleide. The constitution divides the government into three separate branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial.

The executive branch is composed of two distinct institutions: the President of the Republic, who serves as the head of state, though is largely ceremonial, and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government and chairs and forms the federal cabinet. The president serves a term of six years, while the Prime Minister and cabinet, being members of the Legislative Assembly, serve three year terms. In that vein, the Legislative Assembly is the unicameral body of 225 members who are elected through proportional representation every three years. The judicial branch is led by the Superior Court of Adaleide, and is the final judicial authority in the country. The Constitution divides responsibilities between the federal government and the state governments: with powers over education, health, public safety, and resource distribution allocated to the states, while the federal government retains all powers "unless otherwise devolved to the states through statute". This has been done on several occasions, with the federal government devolving several economic matters to the states, as well as several matters on justice and law: allowing state governments to administer their own state guards in 1910. Despite the federal government holding large amounts of power, the federal government has on numerous occasions extended powers to the state governments.

Politics
As a result of its proportional representation system, Adaleide is a multiparty democracy with a strong sense of political participation and the rule of law. Historically, two parties are normally elected to the Prime Minister's office, and form a coalition with smaller parties: these being the centre-left Labour Party and the centre-right Liberal Party. The incumbent Prime Minister of Adaleide is Oliver Pembroke, who leads the left leaning coalition with his Labour Party. He has served as Prime Minister of Adaleide since his election to the position in 1921.

Military and Foreign Affairs
Adaleide's armed forces, officially known as the Adaleidian Armed Forces, comprise the Adaleidian Army, the Adaleidian Navy, the Adaleidian Air Force, and the Adaleidian Special Forces, which together have a total active serving force of NUMBER, and a reserve force of NUMBER. The titular role of Commander-in-Chief is vested in the Prime Minister, who appoints an Commander of the Armed Forces from one of the armed services on the advice of the government. These two offices are apart of the Secretariat of National Security, which serves as a collegiate body to oversee the nation's security and direct the military in its deployments and missions abroad.

In the 1915-1916 federal budget, Adaleide's defense spending comprised 2.09% of GDP, representing the world's NUMBER largest defense budget, and the NUMBER largest as a percentage of GDP. Adaleide partakes regularly in Union of Nations peacekeeping forces abroad, with its military being deployed as apart of missions in nations such as Kraaka, Tjuuti, and Aqunia. The nation's military also partakes in disaster relief missions as apart of its foreign policy, responding to emergencies such as the Tuluu Volcano Eruption in 1910 and the Korashan Refugee Crisis, which saw the military work with the UoN to secure common pathways refugees took to reach safe destinations to decrease the number of civilian deaths from the constant fighting of the Korashan interior.

In addition to these commitments and actions, as a member of the Astorian Cooperation Initiative, or ACI, Adaleide has a legal commitment to lend forces to the ACI's military initiative, partaking in continent-wide defensive measures and exercises on a regular basis. The ACI remains one of Adaleide's front lines of defense, and the organization receives great support from both the Adaleidian public and government.

Economy
Adaleide has a social market capitalist economy with a GDP of ¢704,224,207,472 according to the most recent estimates.