Betancourt

The Federal Republic of Betancourt
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: The Eternal Echo of the Trumpet
Capital and largest city	Novoz
Official languages	English
Ethnic groups	42% Athemians 34% Betanians 14% Zamareise 6% Zords 3% Monsorians <1% Others
Demonym(s)	Betancourtian
Government	Communal Confederation
Legislature	The Communal Assembly
Union
• Document of Organization Signing	8 March 1769
• Treaty of Mutual Defense Signing	10 December 1802
• Establishment	7 January 1803
Area
• Total	101,786 km2 (39,300 sq mi)
• Water (%)	1.9
Population
• August 1825 estimate	1,554,432
GDP (PPP)	1825 estimate
• Total	₲1.003 billion
• Per capita	₲645.251
Currency	Betancourtian Gizi (₲)

Hiraeth, officially the Communities of Hiraeth is a communal confederation of four communities in Western Varisia that borders Betancourt to the north, Zama to the south, Apricus to the west, and the great Shomerisian sea to the east.

History

Royal Era

At the end of the 1600s and through the early 1700s, the Grand Queendom of Betancourt controlled the majority of what is today's Hiraeth, on which resided a number of ethnicities under the Betancourtian crown predominantly the native Athemians in central Hiraeth and the Zords in Eastern Hiraeth, in a system commonly known as 'God's Land, Betanian Crown', by which the land was owned by a number of local communities yet under the authority of the Betancourtian crown. Due to the rapid expansion of the Queendom across South Western Varisia, it began to crumble as a result of resource shortages and local rebellions, which brought its eventual end and gave birth to the Federal Republic of Betancourt. However, the newly formed republic was viewed as a disgrace by a minority of Betanians because of its smaller size and democratic approach that granted ethnic minorities the same rights as Betanians, thus, a large number of Betanian settlements refused to return to the Betanian motherland and remained in Hiraeth and Apricus where they replicated smaller versions of the Queendom.

The Mass Migration

Around 1730, small communities began growing economically in Hiraeth and Apricus, resulting in unprecedented population growth, which also marked the beginning of mass immigration from the nearby fragile Zamareise Kingdom, through which tens of thousands of Zamareises constructed settlements in Southern Hiraeth or settled in majority-Athemian settlements. Betanian communities felt threatened by the expanding Zamareise population, so a series of violent attacks against Zamareise settlements across Hiraeth were carried out by their self-defence militia 'The Supreme Royal Guard'. Approximately half of the Zamareises in Hiraeth died as a result of the campaign, and large numbers of Zamareises left their settlements and sought refuge in Athemians towns, where they were protected from Betanian aggression.

Settlement

By 1753, the majority of settlements in Hiraeth were thriving towns that exchanged goods and information regularly. Most of these towns, however, were ethnically based and had hostile relations with each other. The largest town, Athema, was named after the native Athemians and had a mixture of Athemians, Zomaereises, and Monsorians. Second in size was Novoz, a Betenian town with a small enslaved Zomaereise and Monsorian population.

God's Land War

A prominent Zamareise journalist known for his calls for retaliation against the Betanians was stabbed to death in 1756 just outside his house in Athema, the event known as 'Silence of the Zamareise', which led to a large-scale war between Athema and nearby Betenian settlements, the largest of which was Novoz, that lasted 13 years and claimed the lives of an estimated 60,000 Athemians and Zomaereises and 43,000 Betanians. In the end, the 'Document of Organization' was signed, which was intended to reintroduce an amended version of the 'God's Land, Betenian Crown' by creating communal governance over Hiraeth settlements while creating a confederal government, however, due to high instability and lack of trust within the communities, that system was not able to be effectively reintroduced.

Treaty of Mutual Defence

Due to the threat of an invasion from Zama, the communities of Hiraeth met in Northfield in Eastern Hiraeth in 1801, where a treaty of mutual defence was forged. Additionally, the Betanians ended and outlawed slavery as a gesture of good will, and sent a formal letter of apology to the Zamareise Representatives Council in Athema, which was received but no official response was made.

The Communal Assembly

A year later, in 1802, communal representatives of Athema, Novoz, Northfield, and Hadar and Easred negotiated the terms of the treaty of mutual defence and laid the foundation for The Communal Assembly, which serves as a congress of Hiraethian communal representatives.

Regions and Cities

The Communities of Hiraeth is made up of four different autonomous regions: Greater Athema, Zabelia, Zordia, and Hadar and Easred.

Flag Region Capital Total area Population Greater Athema Athema 27,482 575,141 Zabelia Novoz 29,517 404,152 Zordia Northfield 6,107 326,430 Hadar and Easred 38,678 248,709