Topuland, Imagua and the Assimas

Topuland Ubou dübü
Village
Motto(s):  Aredera (Imaguan) We remain
Country	Imagua and the Assimas
County	Saint Fiacre's Saint Isidore's
Founded	1662
Government
• Mayor	Meredith Spencer
Population  (2011)
• Village	460
• Rank	nth in Imagua and the Assimas
• Urban	460
• Metro	460
Time zone	UTC+11 (Imaguan Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	not observed

Topuland (Imaguan: Ubou dübü, Western Imaguan Creole: Ubotopu, Eastern Imaguan Creole: Topulan) is a village in Imagua and the Assimas, straddling Saint Fiacre's County and Saint Isidore's County on the island of Imagua, bordered to the north and east by the Arucian Sea, to the south by Thorebourne Naval Base, to the west by Saint Isidore's County, and to the northwest by the village of Fort Gifford in Saint Isidore's.

Established as the Topuland Territory in 1662 by Governor (TBD) as a refuge for all free natives, with significant autonomy granted to the natives, with the colonial government defending the rights of its inhabitants, from the late eighteenth century, these rights were eroded, as policies shifted towards assimilation of the Native Imaguans into the "body politic." In 1949, it was incorporated as a village under the Native Integration Act.

Today, its economy is dependent on the government (either local or national), the Thorebourne Naval Base, or on remittances from major population centres like Nua Taois. It is also known for being the largest settlement in Imagua and the Assimas in terms of land area.

Etymology

Topuland derives from the Imaguan language word dübü, meaning stone, via the Old Imaguan word topu. This was filtered into Estmerish as Topuland, and into Eastern Imaguan Creole as Topulan.

The Imaguan name, Ubou dübü is a literal translation of the Estmerish name, with ubou meaning country in the Imaguan language. This also is the source of the name in Western Imaguan Creole, Ubotopu.

History

Pre-colonization

Prior to colonisation, the area in what is now Topuland was inhabited by Native Imaguans. Although records are scant, archaeological evidence suggests that like the rest of the island of Imagua, present-day Topuland was inhabited by the Native Imaguans since around the 700s CE, displacing the Nati who inhabited the island prior to this point, and before that being inhabited by other paleo-indigenous peoples.

However, due to the geography of Topuland, it was believed that prior to colonisation in the 1530s, no more than five hundred people inhabited the area that would become Topuland.

Early colonisation and establishment

Depiction of Chief Jehanin, c. 1775

In 1543, explorer (TBD) was the first Caldian explorer (and by extension, the first Euclean) to venture into what would become present-day Topuland. He noted the dense vegetation that existed within the area, and noted its sparse population, with "only three villages, each tightly clinging to the coast as though abandoning it would harm them."

However, due to the small Caldish population, Topuland was never settled by Caldia: after Geatland annexed Imagua and the neighbouring Assimas Islands and integrated them into their colony in Eldmark, an attempt was made by Vensel Henriksson to develop a plantation in northwestern Topuland in the 1580s. However, after this was abandoned, Topuland was only populated by Native Imaguans from that point forward.

After the island of Imagua was seized by Estmere in 1658, the first Estmerish Governor of Imagua, (TBD) ordered in 1662 that "all remaining free natives be moved towards a section of land in northern Saint Fiacre's and eastern Saint Isidore's" in order for them to "preserve their traditions and culture," while banning Euclean settlers from owning land in that reserve, and prohibited Eucleans from attempting to enslave them. By that point, only present-day Topuland and a few small areas still had a Native Imaguan population.

It was led by a chief (Imaguan: ábuti) was appointed by the colonial governor from among the native Imaguan population, while checkpoints were established to prohibit natives from exiting the territory, while Eucleans were only allowed to travel through the territory with an armed escort, and were prohibited from settling the territory, or otherwise "disturbing their native culture."

Despite these efforts, their traditional religion faded away, as Catholic and Gospelite missionaries spread to the territory. Under Gaullican rule, the territory maintained its separate status from the rest of the colony.

However, after the end of slavery in 1771 when Estmere retook the island from Gaullica, the former native slaves were relocated to Topuland, where the 1771 census reported that 6,017 people were former slaves, and 2,579 people were free natives, leading to tensions between the two groups that exploded in 1783 when after Osmund Freeman was appointed chief, Darila was elected chief by prominent native Imaguans. While the rebellion failed, the Estmerish authorities agreed to permit "the freed native slaves" to live outside of the territory, so long as they "follow civilised customs." This allowed most of the former slaves to leave the Topuland Territory, which helped reduce tensions between the two groups.

Assimilation

In 1811, after the death of Osmund Freeman, Gurasu Brown was appointed chief, but Noble Thurman was appointed as the first superintendent (Imaguan: ligeleina) of the Topuland Territory, with Thurman's role being to to "civilise the natives" and to "prepare them for life in civilised society."

The appointment of a superintendent in addition to the chief weakened the role of the chief, as many of the superintendent's duties overlapped with those of the chief. While Brown attempted to defend his administrative responsibilities, Thurman argued that "natives lack the capacity to properly govern themselves," and thus needed a "civilised man" to govern the reserve.

Thus, over the next few decades, the powers of the chief diminished to purely a cultural role, while the superintendent's position grew, until by 1851, the superintendent received the prerogatives to "appoint chiefs," effectively making the superintendent the primary leader of the Topuland Territory

In 1864, superintendent James McMillan issued a policy requiring that all "native children be educated in Euclean culture and Euclean customs, so that they may be able to function in a Euclean society." To this end, a school was established in Bellmare specifically "for the education of native children." When the chief criticised the distance of the school from the Topuland Territory, McMillan said that the distance was critical to ensure that "they be integrated into the mainstream society."

As well, under James McMillian's tenure as superintendent for the Topuland Territory, he urged that a census be done on the natives, and to only count those "whose fathers are natives," in order to ensure that "no man may fraudulently claim that they are native." The suggestion of a census under those lines were criticised by many natives, but the colonial government supported it, and approved a native census to be taken under McMillian's lines.

Thus, the 1871 census revealed there were only 2,521 natives on the island, of which 2,344 lived in the Topuland Territory. With the figure in hand, McMillian argued that "alienated sections of the Territory ought to be opened up for development by civilised men," especially those deemed "fertile lands." The following year, the governor instituted the Land Alienation Ordinance, which empowered the colonial authorities to take "alienated lands" away from the Topuland Territory, and to sell them to settlers on Imagua. This ordinance was used to seize the lands of what is now Thorebourne Naval Base from the natives, as well as for distribution to settlers from Euclea, and to a lesser extent, Coius.

When the Colony of Imagua was granted limited self-government by the Estmerish in 1892, native Imaguans did not have a say in government, as they were deemed "not ready" for the responsibilities of citizenship. However, as the assimilationist policies took hold, the Topuland Territory was granted a territorial council (Imaguan: damuriguaü) in 1904, comprising of three elected officials, and six officials appointed by the superintendent. However, the chief still remained a figurehead, with the superintendent being seen as the equivalent to a mayor.

However, real power still lay within the hands of the superintendent, although as the natives were "trusted" with more and more powers, the superintendent's powers were reduced, while the number of elected representatives grew: in 1921, the composition was altered so that natives had four elected officials to the five appointed officials, in 1937, altered to five elected officials and four appointed officials, and by 1943, to eight elected officials and one appointed official.

By 1948, the last superintendent, Gilbert Charrier said that "the natives in the territory have developed to such a point that there is no longer any need for any special rights or privileges," and argued that the continued existence of the Topuland Territory was "inherently discriminatory."

Integration

In 1949, the Native Integration Act was passed, which transformed Topuland Territory into an ordinary village, granted all native Imaguans citizenship, and "terminated" all special rights and arrangements, with immediate effect. As well, all property in Topuland was to no longer be owned communally, but instead to be owned by "residents residing on the former territory," in a "fair and proportionate" way.

Despite opposition from the Native Imaguan population, including chief Malcolm Shelvey, the government pushed ahead with the plan, and later that year, Shelvey became Mayor of the village of Topuland. By 1951, there were 1,696 inhabitants of Topuland, of which 1,681 were Native.

However, with the act giving Native Imaguans citizenship of Imagua, and ended the ban on freedom of movement, many Native Imaguans began to leave Topuland for better opportunities in the rest of the country, especially in Nua Taois. Thus, only 1,161 people lived in Topuland in 1961.

In 1967, Malcolm Shelvey died in office, and a snap election saw Harvey O'Concannon take office. Despite O'Concannon's efforts to promote native culture, and to try and make Topuland viable, the continued lack of economic opportunities led to the population continuing to fall, with only 847 people residing in Topuland in 1971, 695 in 1981, and 634 in 1991.

Contemporary era

In 1993, Harvey O'Concannon died in office, and was succeeded in a snap election by Meredith Spencer, making her the first female leader of Topuland. Under her administration, despite her efforts to promote indigenous culture and to make the village more attractive to "indigenous-run businesses," the 2001 census shown 575 people living in Topuland, of which 509 were native Imaguan.

In 2007, Topuland grew for the first time in its history, when abandoned farmland that was seized under the Land Alienation Ordinance was transferred by the government of Saint Isidore's back to Topuland. During the 2000s, the growth of Thorebourne Naval Base led to many native Imaguans being employed by the base, with the result that by 2011, of those employed, most were working for the naval base, followed by the government (whether local or national, including education).

Despite this, in 2011, the population of Topuland fell to 460 people, of which only 366 people were of native Imaguan origin. During the decade, with the Democratic Labour Party paying more attention to indigenous affairs, more jobs were created in Topuland, and poverty rates there fell dramatically.

Geography

Mount Apita, 2006

Much of Topuland is situated on the northern plains on the island of Imagua, although the soil is not as fertile as in the valleys such as the Glen Valley. To the south, it is dominated by the slopes of the 1,467 metre high Mount Apita, the highest point in the country of Imagua and the Assimas. It is bordered to the north and east by the Arucian Sea.

Due to the traditional land practices of the Native Imaguan people, combined with the geography of Topuland, it is still home to extensive rainforests, although along the coast, much of the primeval rainforest has disappeared as a result of colonial development and policies to "civilise the Native Imaguans," as farms and Euclean-style settlements were constructed on the reserve.

Climate-wise, it is similar to the rest of Imagua, with it observing a tropical monsoon climate, with the yearly average high temperatures being at 32 °C (89.6 °F), and the yearly average low temperatures being 20.5 °C (68.9 °F).

Government

Like other municipalities in Imagua and the Assimas, Topuland has a civic government, with a mayor (Vespasian: sindaco, Imaguan: gálidi), elected at large by the citizenry every four years, and a five-member village council (Vespasian: consiglio del villaggio, Imaguan: damuriguaü), which is elected at the same time as the mayor, although residents of each of the five wards elect their own councillor to represent them.

Meredith Spencer is the current mayor, serving since 1993 when she succeeded the late Harvey O'Concannon. Unlike most municipalities, Topuland's mayoral elections are a formality, with the current mayor frequently running unopposed.

On the county level, the area of Topuland within Saint Fiacre's is represented by one seat in the county council, currently represented by Julia Lawlor, who was first elected in 2004, while the areas of Topuland within Saint Isidore's is represented by one seat in the county council, represented by Harmen Wilkerson, who was first elected in 2016.

On the national level, the areas of Topuland part of Saint Fiacre's is represented in the Chamber of Commons by the constituency of Saint Fiacre, currently held by Irvin Howard of the Movement for a New Imagua, whereas the area part of Saint Isidore's is represented by Saint Isidore East, currently held by Brett Lawrence of the Movement for a New Imagua.

Demographics

Main street in Aüdü

As of the 2011 census, Topuland has a population of 460 inhabitants. Of this, 366 people, or 79.6% of the village's population are Native Imaguan, making it the municipality with the highest number of Native Imaguans in all of Imagua and the Assimas. Of the remaining 94 inhabitants, 73 are Bahio-Imaguan, 18 are Eucleo-Imaguan, and the remainder belonged to other groups.

Due to the large size of Topuland, four localities are listed in the census: Aüdü, which serves as the de-facto capital of the area, has 412 inhabitants, followed by Tunaru, with 23 inhabitants, Arukuma with 19 inhabitants, and Agareinha with six inhabitants. With the exception of Aüdü, all the localities in the village of Topuland have a 100% indigenous population.

Religiously, virtually all people in Topuland are Sotirians, with the two main sects being Gospelism, with 412 people, or 89.6% adhering to it, and Solarian Catholicism, followed by 45 people, or 9.7% of the population. Two people follow other sects, and only one person as of 2011 was irreligious.

Linguistically, virtually all people speak Western Imaguan Creole as a first language, though some of the older people speak Estmerish and Eastern Imaguan Creole as a first language, and Estmerish is a lingua franca in the area. Imaguan is still spoken as a second language in Topuland by 271 people as of the 2011 census, and was spoken as a first language by three people, although all of them were dead by 2019.