Aiyaca

Lacasine Republic of Aiyaca República Lacasina de Aillaca (Palian)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Dios concede la victoria" (Palian) "God grants victory"
Anthem: Grandiosa Marcha ("Grandiose March")
Aiyaca (green) in Marceaunia Minor
Capital	La Sagrada
Largest	San Luis
Official languages	Palian
Ethnic groups	57.4% Mestizo 28.8% Indigenous —19.7% !Andean ——16.0% Runakuna ——2.1% Ortea ——1.1% Kaña ——0.4% Ilyaca ——0.1% Other —8.5% Moreian ——7.6% Sachwa —0.8% Columbian ——0.7% Yacha ——0.1% Other —0.6% Other 6.1% White 4.7% Black 1.2% Majulan 1.8% Other
Religion	83.5% Puritan 11.2% Orthodox 3.9% Irreligious 1.4% Other
Demonym(s)	Aiyacan
Government	Presidential constitutional republic
• President	Guillermo Velázquez
• Vice President	Markel Castañeda
Legislature	Lacasine Congress
Independence from the Kingdom of Palia
• Declared	January 18, 1797
• Recognised	August 26, 1812
• Dissolution of the Union of Aillaca-Rocia	March 2, 1906
• Current constitution	January 4, 2001
Population
• 2020 estimate	21,334,272
• 2018 census	20,817,882
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	$488.1 billion
• Per capita	$22,877
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	$347.2 billion
• Per capita	$16,272
Gini (2019)	32.5 medium
HDI (2019)	0.802 very high
Currency	Aiyacan Florin (AFL)

Aiyaca (/'aɪ:jaka/, Palian: Aillaca; [ai'ʎaka]), officially the Lacasine Republic of Aiyaca (Palian: República Lacasina de Aillaca; [laka'sina repub'lika di ai'ʎaka]) is a sovereign state located in northern Rennekka. It has a population of over 21 million as of 2020 and a GDP of over $250 billion. It shares borders with Rocia to the east, X to the south and X to the west. Its capital is La Sagrada, where most of the country's administration is located, and its largest city is San Luis. Aiyaca has one of the largest native populations in Rennekka, with around 6.3 million living within the country – 30% of its population.

Aiyaca has been home to advanced human civilisation for as much as 5000 years. Early human civilisations that spread across eastern Rennekka around 3000 BC, most notably the Pioquinto civilisation, originated within modern-day Aiyaca. The Pioquinto people established agriculture and substantial architecture within the region, building many monuments, shrines and temples, some of which continue to exist. Historically a centre of native cultures, the area was eventually subjugated by Amaru Empire around the late 13th century, who established an advanced network of navigation and roads within its empire, connecting Aiyaca to nearby Rocia. The region was later conquered by the Kingdom of Palia in a series of conquests that saw most of the continent subjugated by the Eucleans. The Viceroyalty of Rocia was established in 1553, and encompassed both Aiyaca and Rennekka, however had its capital in Verbo Divino, which stunted development within Aiyaca due to its distance from the capital. Palian settlers and colonialists eventually pushed the native Runakuna peoples more inland as they settled both La Sagrada and San Luis in the 1600s. Its high mestizo population saw it become one of the fiercest pro-independence audiencias within the Marceaunian viceroyalties during the Lacasine Rebellion, most notably being the birthplace of Manuel Lacasa, who secured much of the continent's independence from Palia. He established the Aillacan-Rocian Union, a confederation of the two states, and became one of Rennekka's more powerful states. Internal strife and external influence saw the Union break apart during the War of the Four Nations in 1906.

The modern Aiyacan state was established in 1906, with its constitution drafted and ratified two years later. In 1908, J.A. Curbelo was elected as the country's first president, enacting a series of reforms that included universal healthcare, free high school education and a limited work week, paving the way for an early left-wing Aiyacan state. His politics eventually came to be known as Curbellism and was later adopted by the Estadistas as one of its official ideologies. Following a series of presidencies following Curbelo's death in 1919, president Francisco Ruiz y Rivera was forced to resign by the military, who established a junta before appointing Pablo Pardo to the position. The military, under Pardo, ruled the country from 1927 to 1948, before eventually being ousted from power by mass defections and the Illescas Revolution in 1948. Pardo was imprisoned and killed and free elections were re-established in 1949. Since then, the country has been ruled near-exclusively by the left-wing Estadistas, and the country has been described as a dominant-party state. In modern history, it has a political rivalry with its neighbour Rocia, which has intensified following the impeachment of Fernándo Ortolano in 2012.

Aiyaca is a member of the Assembly of Marceaunian States and the Marceaunia Minor Common Market, of which it was a founding member. It is also known for its extensive amount of co-official native languages, around 35, which are spoken throughout the country. With an extensive welfare state and considerable left-wing economic bases, Aiyaca rates highly in economic development, with a medium-low Gini coefficient and very high human development.

Etymology

Aiyaca's direct etymology is unknown, however it more than likely originates from one Rennekka's native languages. Palian linguist and etymologist Joel Xirau proposed that the Palian name Aillaca originated from the Runakuna word allillachu - meaning "hello". Xirau theorised that Palian settlers attempted to initially communicate with the natives in Palian, but were met with a greeting when their language was not understood. The first mentions of the name Aillaca were in 1538, when the coast of the continent was first chartered, however the name did not enter any official usage until 1701, until which it was known as Upper Rocia, or Roca Superior in Palian.

Historically, the nation has been spelt with its Palian spelling Aillaca, pronounced [ai'ʎaka], which has seen the country gain an archaic pronunciation of eye-LACA abroad. The country officially renamed itself to Aiyaca in Newreyan in 1908, when its constitution was ratified, but renamed the Palian spelling of Aillaca, with both being pronounced virtually identically.