The Spice Coast

The Spice Coast, officially the Republic of the Spice Coast, is a federal constitutional republic located in western Korasha. The Spice Coast is bordered to the north by The Summer Sea, to the east by the Ghazan Strait, to the south by the Paravantene Sea, and to the west by NATION. The nation has a land area of LAND AREA, and a population of 14'132'774 people, according to the latest census data. The capital and largest city is Port Charlotte, though other major centres include Braverport, New Hamilton, and Port Charles.

The Spice Coast has been inhabited by modern humans since the 13,000s BCE, according to archeological research in the area which has found evidence of limited habitation of the earliest humans along rivers in the country such as the Iyln, Oje, and the Roro, likely using the sediment deposited by these rivers for farming and cultivation. To the east, a people called the Khudar were, according to their tradition, expelled from their native land and pushed through the Spice Coast, crossing the Ghazan Strait being led by the Prophet Nezim, though this story has never been proven as factual. The Spice Coast became apart of the Paravantir Empire in the 2000s BCE as their trade network expanded, then becoming apart of the Avanor Imperium with the rise of their civilization. With the fall of the imperium and the reconquest of the region by Kainist missionaries, the region became apart of the Kainist World between the 100s CE and the 800s CE until the collapse of their culture with the rise of the Second Paravantir Empire. The region became a major trading port for the exporting of various spices from the continental interior, and the region's mix of Khudari, Paravantene, and Ossamite peoples became a largely united people based on the spice trade, and lavishly wealthy. When the Avanorans arrived to establish trading posts in the area, several conflicts between the Caliantene, Augustine, and Gelenians broke out between 1441-1456 when finally the Treaty of Mortier established the Gelenian colony of the Spice Coast, the Caliantene colony of Hearthrune, and the Augustine colony of Ceprii in 1457. The Spice Coast became an important colony and trading post for the Gelenians, and served as the base from which the Gelenians launched their colonization of the rest of Korasha - with Port Charlotte becoming a cosmopolitan city inhabited by a mix of Gelenian and native Korashans by the 1600s. The Gelenian government enacted several laws aimed at suppressing local culture and instilling loyalty to the empire throughout the 1600s and 1700s through laws designed to suppress the civil rights of minorities. The colony gained self government in 1811, and was organized into its current system of government. The colony rapidly industrialized, and eventually became a vital centre for ship building, the export of fruits and nuts, and a vital port for Gelenia on the Summer Sea. During the Great War, the colony was the site of attacks by the Augustine navy, and served as a launch point for the invasion of Augustine and Nalore at the end of the war. The nation gained independence in 1880 and held its first independent elections in 1881. The nation was a large exporter of oil to the Avanoran world during the 1880s Energy Crisis, and remains a major exporter today.

The Spice Coast is a highly developed social market economy, which boasts high levels of economic prosperity, political and economic freedoms, and stability. The modern economy relies heavily on the presence of international conglomerates, financial services, retail, tourism, and international shipping, and provides citizens with one of the highest income levels on the continent. The nation is a parliamentary democracy with regularly scheduled elections which have been described as both free and fair by international observers, and is protected by the nation's membership in the Union of Nations, as well as by its own constitution.

Prehistory
The Spice Coast has been inhabited by modern humans since the 13,000s BCE, according to archeological research in the area which has found evidence of limited habitation of the earliest humans along rivers in the country such as the Iyln, Oje, and the Roro, likely using the sediment deposited by these rivers for farming and cultivation. Despite this, however, no actual civilization ever formed in the region, with various peoples According to Kainist tradition, it was in the Spice Coast and the lands to the west of it that the original Kainists came from, though following several wars with their neighbours spurned on by the anger of Ibizin, the spirit of worldly evils. According to their legends, Nizim travelled through the Spice Coast, with Kain giving his followers the ability to travel across the waters from the Spice Coast westwards. According to actual archeological evidence, it is possible that the Khudari, the original Kainist followers, did originate from the area, as several ancient sites have produced tools and artifacts that are similar to ancient Khudari ones, though this has still not been proven as scientific fact.

The Ossamites migrated into the Spice Coast region from the south beginning in 4800 BCE, displacing the original inhabitants of the region, who are largely unknown to us as they left no written records or cities. The Ossamites meshed in with local Khudari groups, who formed several cities and towns, especially along the coasts, though the two groups largely remained culturally separate. A unique cuisine and dialect of each language formed, though in reality the Ossamites kept their traditional Nisari faith while the Khudari kept their Kainist one, while they also both kept their existing cultural structures and traditions.

It is largely believed that the bonding element of the peoples in this region was not culture, language, or religion, but through trade and economics. The dry interior of the continent meant that the growing of food was difficult - especially on a scale which could provide for cities. Much of the region's agriculture, therefore, took place in river valleys, most notably the Roro River, and those of its tributaries. People were forced to live together in a smaller area, leading to a much more cosmopolitan society and culture. This became even more prominent when the region's farming and production of spices drew Paravantene traders to the region, with several new Paravantene settlements being established along the nation's southwestern coasts - giving rise to a new Paravantene ethnic minority.

Shortly thereafter, the trade contact between the Paravantene and the locals in the region began to increase, with demand for the spices of the region growing in the Paravantene cities, and the new trading networks bringing untold amounts of wealth to northern Korasha. By the 2000s BCE, the people of the Spice Coast had begun establishing treaties and contracts with the Paravantene, and by 2800 BCE, the Paravatene Empire had absorbed the Spice Coast into its growing trade empire, bringing the region into the classical era.

Classical Period
Throughout the Classical Era, the Spice Coast retained its importance in the spice trade: with many of its cities exporting goods from the Paravantene Empire to Avanor and vice versa. The Paravantene minority in the region grew as the region's mercantile importance grew, with their people replacing the Khudari as the largest linguistic minority in the region by the mid 2000s BCE according to historical elements.

The region became the site of a war between the growing Avanoran Imperium and the Paravantene Empire as the two attempted to secure dominance over the vital Summer Sea.

Paravantene Golden Age
With the fall of the imperium and the reconquest of the region by Kainist missionaries, the region became apart of the Kainist World between the 100s CE and the 800s CE until the collapse of their culture with the rise of the Second Paravantir Empire.

Geography
The Spice Coast is a coastal nation with a Mediterranean climate which produces hot and humid summers, along with mild or rainy winters. The nation's geography is defined largely by its coastal nature, having borders with the Summer Sea to the north, the Ghazan Strait to the east, the Paravantene Sea to the south, and then the Caliantene Northern Korashan territories to the west.

Unlike other countries, the Spice Coast's territory does not stretch far inland, and is rather hilly, similar to the landscape of the rest of northern Korasha. This hilly landscape keeps the moist air of the oceans which blow into the region in the Spice Coast, providing for a relatively mild temperature most of the year, and allows for vegetation to grow densely compared to countries to the west of it. The federal government has worked to protect the nation's natural beauty through several acts of legislation, and in the western most regions the Ahza Hills National Preservation Region has been designated for national protection from mining or commercial exploitation, and is a major source of tourism revenue for the federal government. The population of nearly 14 million people lives in several cities which dot the northern and eastern coasts of the country. The largest city and capital is Port Charlotte, which is home to nearly 2.9 million people within its metropolitan area, and sits on the southeastern corner of the Spice Coast. Other cities include Braverport in the northeast, which is less urbanized, but home to larger homes and more tourist spots, Additionally, New Hamilton on the northern coast is a busy port, while Port Charles on the eastern coast is considered the most affordable city in the country.

The rocky coastal areas of the east largely give way to rolling hills in the interior, where rivers such as the Roro River flowing through hilly landscape before turning south. The Ahza Hills are home to numerous species of wildlife, including North Korashan Geckos, and the Ahza Viper, who's venom is considered one of the most dangerous in the world, though the natives once cooked it down through a special process to produce a smoky and savory flavour to meat.

Government
The Spice Coast is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, and is governed by the provisions found in the Constitution of the Spice Coast, which divides the government into the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

The legislative branch is composed of the unicameral Legislative Assembly, which is elected every three years through proportional representation by all citizens who are 17 and above. The executive branch is composed of the Federal President, who is elected to six year terms, but is largely ceremonial and has no real power. The Legislative Assembly elects the other half of the executive branch: the cabinet and Prime Minister, who all serve three year terms along with the Assembly. The Prime Minister appoints and the Assembly elects members of the Federal Superior Court for terms of five years, who then appoint members of the lower courts of the nation.

The nation also has several local administrative divisions, known as Administrative Counties, which hold powers over local matters, such as the distribution of utilities, zoning laws, administration of education systems, and public safety and healthcare: with the three levels of government in the Spice Coast being the municipality, the Administrative County, and the federal government. According to the federal constitution, the provisions of the constitution and federal law are supreme and take precedence over any municipal or county law. According to the constitution, elections must be held every three years for the Legislative Assembly, and by extension the Prime Minister and cabinet. The last election in the Spice Coast was the 1923 Spice Coast General Election, which saw a parliamentary majority for the Social Liberals and Centre Union, who preceded to form a governing coalition under Prime Minister Royce Windsor, marking his first term as Prime Minister of the Spice Coast.

Politics
The Windsor I Cabinet, the incumbent government of the Spice Coast, has been marked as a centre left one, marked by curtailing the nation's growing expenditure on military and defense, prompting a stronger transition to green energy and alternative power sources, increasing the education and health budget, and decreasing taxes on the lower and middle class. Despite these centre left approaches to governance, the Windsor government has attempted to combat the rise of illegal immigration into the country by migrants from the continental interior, fleeing gang violence and war. The Centre Union has put pressure on the Windsor government to curtail the amount of refugee application acceptance rates, as more and more people flee the conflicts of the continent.

In Emberrule 1923, three gunmen launched a terrorist attack in Port Charlotte which killed nearly 112 people, including 20 school age children, in what was dubbed the Autumn Massacre. As a result, the Windsor government has begun taking a stronger line on gun laws, and has proposed expanding the country's military deployments beyond Vaashi into Kraaka and neighboring Vaashari.

Foreign Affairs
The Spice Coast is a nation with active foreign affairs, and a strong presence on the international stage.

Military and Defense
The Spice Coast constitution directs the federal government to create "a national armed forces to provide for and maintain national security and domestic peace". To this end, the Spice Coast government has created the Spice Coast Armed Forces (SCAF) which have an active duty personnel of 52'900 people, and a defense budget worth 2.1% of the total Spice Coast GDP.

Economy
The Spice Coast has a highly developed social market economy, which propagates high levels of income and prosperity for its government and citizens. The nation has a nominal GDP of GDP and a per capita of CA 41'283