Aqunia

Aqunia, officially The Aqunian Republic (Oleleo: Ke Aupuni Lepupalika ʻo ʻAqunia), is a sovereign state governed as a presidential republic, located in the Summer Sea. It is an island chain in the greater Aqunian Isles. The nation has a land area of LAND AREA and a population of nearly 850'112 people. The nation's main economic hub and federal capital is Amaipo'e, though the nation lacks any other major metropolitan areas, as the islands are mostly rural, composed of smaller fishing villages which are vital to the national culture and identity, as well as the local economy.

Aqunia was first inhabited by the Oleleo people in the 5000's BCE, as migrations of Khudari and Paravantine pushed their tribe into the chain of islands that spanned between Ryumar and Ashanor. The islands of Aqunia would become one of the most populous of the Oleleo islands, especially as they were continuously pushed out by the Renape and the Au'tu, who also inhabited the chain of islands. None of these groups had the written word, so we must rely on archeological evidence, which shows that communication between the islands was common place, and warfare for control over islands with fertile ground was common - though on Aqunia in particular there is evidence of a largescale battle that took place in around 2100 BCE according to archeologists.

The islands would become popular port stops during the early 1000's BCE and into the early parts of the Common Era. The location between the two major continents of the southern world meant that numerous trade ports opened up during this time, though these ports were more often than not operated as military outposts by the larger states of the region like the Miyadakans, Yinh, Suionese, and the Xin. This period of history leaves us with foreign depictions of the Oleleo people and their culture, which describe them as simple people, though their art of sea navigation were some of the best in the world. Their consumption of tropical fruits and lack of meat shocked the Khudar'i and Paravantir, as well as their reliance on the ocean as a source of cultural unification. Aqunia was governed by several tribal chiefs, who all gathered for cultural events and religious ceremonies, as the foreign records remark that warfare was markedly absent from the islands by this time.

By the 1600's, Aqunia was under the rule of the monarchy. King Kakahi II was the monarch when Davintharian explorers began to expand into the islands in the 1650's. The Aqunians would show the Davintharians how to navigate the Sea of Green Men, and it would be Aqunia that would become the first colonial possesion of Davintharia in the region. The King was allowed to remain in place, though afrer Kakahi II the true power rested in plantation owners on the islands who moved in from Davintharia to profit from the growth of Tabaco, sugar, pineapples, other fruits, and cotton. The islands also after the 1780's would see the establishment of a large naval yard to house the Davintharian fleet for the Southern Ocean. The Aqunians would attempt to revolt in 1788 under the rule of King Ahuahu III, but it would be put down, and the monarchs would be ended - with Ahuahu III himself being hanged for treason against the Davintharian Republic. Colonial governors would rule the islands, stealing its wealth for the good of the Davintharians, and many Aqunians would move to Davintharia itself for work in the early 1800's leading to a population decline.

Factories were opened on the islands in the 1820's, as the people worked to build parts for airships, cars, and ships. The Aqunian religion was abandoned, with the faith today being relegated to outlying islands and rural areas, while the majority of people living in cities follow the Divine Sanctum. Aqunians were given full citizenship in Davintharia in 1836 to make them eligible for mandatory military service, but the islands were still given the status "Overseas Possession", which gave them no representation in the House of Commons. In the Great War, many Aqunians died fighting for the Davintharians, and as a result their quest for independence came to frutition after the war in 1886, when the first President Makalohi Ola of the Oleleo National Party was elected.

Aqunia was considered a "banana republic" throughout the late 1800's. A land raked by poverty which was forced to rely on alliances with Davintharia to protect it. The Oleleo National Party was accused of rigging the elections on the island, as they maintained supermajorities in the legislature throughout most of the island's post-colonial history. Regardless, life did somewhat improve as more people lived in the city, and began working in factories, though poverty still stood at 27% by the year 1910. In 1918, the federal government entered Aqunia into the Association of Southern Island Nations (ASIN), which helped Aqunia with its trade and international reputation.

Aqunia is a developing nation that is governed as a presidential democracy. In 1922, federal elections resulted in ONP Presidential Candidate Kamamalu Hamakua winning, despite public outrage against his corruption. This resulted in mass protests, with opposition parties refusing to even sit in the new parliament with the ONP. This crisis continued from 10 Veiltide to the 3 of Highsummer, when, finally, President Hamakua allowed for new elections to take place under international observers. These new elections, held on 5 Embertide, 1922, resulted in the first truly multi-party elections in Aqunia's history, and the election of Aouli Kaila of the Democratic Bloc as President. The ASIN nations applauded the election results, and international observers claimed that this step forward in human rights is promising, though it is unclear what the country's future is as this new democratic government takes office in Aqunia.