Sudenia

Sudenian Egalitarian Republic República Igualitária Sudense
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Para a Sudénia Brilhar "For Sudenia to Shine"
Anthem: Para a Sudénia Brilhar
Location of  Sudenia  (dark green) in the Confederation of the South  (light green)
Capital	Queirós
Largest	Vitória
Official languages	Portuguese Māori
Ethnic groups	84.2% Sudenian 10.5% Resident foreigners 5.3% Māori
Government	Unitary Egalitarian Republic
• Representative	Tiago Ramos
• Vice-President	Bianca Martins
• Speaker of the Assembly	Luísa Yang
Legislature	National Assembly
Independence from Portugal
• Declared	1909
• Establishment of the Egalitarian Republic	1954
• Current Constitution	1955
Area
• Total	268.021 km2 (103.483 sq mi)
• Water (%)	1.6
Population
• Estimate	13 047 300
• Density	48.7/km2 (126.1/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	701.405$ billion
• Per capita	53.758$
Currency	Cruzeiro () (SDC)
Date format	dd -mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.sd

Sudenia, officially known as the Sudenian Egalitarian Republic is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific, consisting of 2 main landmasses, Taícaro Island and Crimson Island, 2 smaller archipelagos, False Island and Savage Islands, and 700 other islands. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Peaks, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. It lies southeast of Aurea, across the Torres Sea. It has an estimated population of 13 million people. Its capital city is Queirós and its most populated city is Vitória.

Sudenia was the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. In the 13th and 14th centuries it was populated by Polynesians, who developed a distinct Māori culture. In 1591, Luís Vaz de Torres would be the first European to sight the archipelago. In 1606, Pedro Fernandes de Queirós officially discovered the islands, setting the beginning of European colonization of Sudenia. The relationship between the Portuguese and the Māori was tenuous, and the Maori population dwindled due to conflict and diseases. In 1821, after the Portuguese transfer of power to Aurea, the Māori were recognized as Portuguese citizens and subsequently integrated into Portuguese society. The Sudenian Revolution led the country to independence in 1909 and established the Sudenian People’s Republic, an unitary socialist state. The 1954 Revolution overthrew the authoritarian regime and established an egalitarian system. During the Great Divide, Sudenia de facto broke the diarchy despite being a member of the Eastern Bloc. In the ongoing Tripartite War, Sudenia occupied much of the Indian Ocean and invaded Aurea in 2058.

Sudenia is a developed country and is one of the most developed regions in the Eastern Bloc. It is one of the global leaders in science and technology, credited for numerous inventions in the 20th and 21st centuries. It ranks very highly in international measures of quality of life, human rights and environmental friendliness. It has the highest measured equality in the world. Numerous political scientists credit this performance to its unique political and economical system. Sudenia is a member of the International Council, the Eastern Bloc, the Confederation of the South, and has observer status in the African Development Initiative

Etymology

The first name for the island was Terra de Queirós ('Land of Queirós'), after its discoverer, while the name Teíca (from Te Ika-a-Māui, the Māori name for Taicaro Island) was also used, albeit less regularly. By the end of the 17th century, the portuguese name Sudénia became the most used, coinciding with an increase in migration to the colony. Its etymology is unknown, and all existing theories are widely disputed. The folk etymology in both Sudenia and Aurea holds that an unknown Luso-German exclaimed "Das ist der Südenland" ("That is the Southern Land", refering to Terra Australis) when they sighted the islands, and the suffix -land was later replaced by the latin suffix -ia, of the same meaning. This theory is widely believed to be false

History

Colonial period

Erection of a Padrão by the Portuguese in False Island

After the discovery of Aurea in 1525, the Portuguese showed little interest in exploring south of Aurea, believing they had already found Terra Australis. Luis Vaz de Torres was the first European to sight the archipelago, probably the São Miguel Islands, which led him to believe it was an atoll. Portuguese maritime exploration in the region recommenced following the English invasion of Brazil. In 1606, an expedition by Pedro Fernandes de Queirós was blown off course by the Antarctic currents, leading to the landing on False Island. The discovery of Sudenia, along with any discoveries in Australia, was kept secret due to Portugal's policy of secrecy, and the continent remained unknown to the rest of the world until 1909.

The island's early population consisted of a mix of native Portuguese and Eastern and Southeastern Asians, primarily from the ports of Macau and Malacca, some of whom were brought as slaves. The indigenous population dwindled throughout the 17th and 18th centuries due to conflicts with the Portuguese, famine, and European diseases. Portuguese exploration and colonization of Sudenia were mostly limited to Crimson Island due to resistance from the Māori, although missionary work converted most of the native population to Catholicism over the two centuries.

Sudenian colonization took on a new profile after the transfer of the Portuguese court to Aurea in 1801, following the Portuguese Crisis during the Liberal Wars. In 1805, Portugal established the Colony of Sudenia and began investing in the island, incentivizing Asian migration. In 1821, the Portuguese and numerous Māori tribes signed the Treaty of Taieritanga, which ended conflicts and ensured protection and integration of the native population into Portuguese society after near extinction. This treaty allowed Portuguese colonization to expand to the more fertile Taicaro Island, marked by the founding of Vitória in 1836. The Sudenian Gold Rush in the 1830s and 1840s further incentivized migration to the island and developed its infrastructure. Consequently, the island's population reached approximately one million by 1900, more than doubling during the 19th century. However, Portuguese industrialization in the latter half of the century favored Aurea, leaving Sudenia largely impoverished and agrarian, with Vitória and Magalhães being notable exceptions.

Popular Republic of Sudenia

Violent crackdown of protests during António de Oliveira's regime

In the second half of the 19th century, as inequality within the Kingdom of Portugal continued to worsen, leftist ideas from the nearby Eastern Revolutions entered the country, and revolutionary movements began to take shape. On February 10th, 1909, the Frente Revolutionária Popular led a successful socialist revolution in Sudenia, marking the last of the Eastern Revolutions. Its leadership immediately sought support from the Eastern Bloc, thereby revealing the existence of the continent to the outside world. The new republic nationalized all assets within Sudenia, implemented an agrarian reform, and centralized power, resulting in the persecution of any political opposition. Over three hundred thousand Portuguese sought refuge in Sudenia during the Luso-Commonwealth War, many of whom joined the government, leading to a moderation of the revolution.

In 1925, Aurean refugee António de Oliveira staged a coup d'état, initiating a new phase of the Popular Republic. His regime was significantly more repressive than its predecessor. During his 24-year reign, thousands were tortured or executed, civil liberties were repressed, and the population remained largely agrarian, uneducated, and impoverished. By 1940, Sudenia was one of the poorest regions in the Eastern Bloc. Despite the socialist regime, the dictator regularly pursued right-wing and nationalistic measures. Education, literature, architecture, and propaganda frequently focused on Portugal's achievements during the Age of Discovery and emphasized the survival of Portuguese culture, ideas that continue to define Sudenian national identity. Economically, he established a mix of capitalist and socialist ideologies, now widely recognized as an early form of state capitalism. He also invested heavily in the military and military industry. During the Great War, Sudenia played a minor but commendable role, most notably stopping a Commonwealth attack in the Battle of the Torres Sea.