Bahio-Imaguan people

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Bahio-Imaguans
Bahiano-imaguani
Bahis-imakusa

A Bahio-Imaguan grandmother with her daughters and granddaughters
Total population
~2,000,000
Regions with significant populations
Imagua and the Assimas	1,072,905
Eldmark	168,506
Template:Country data Estmere	131,146
Rizealand	104,852
Nuvania	54,977
Etruria	1,997
Languages
Estmerish, Vespasian, Western Imaguan Creole, and Eastern Imaguan Creole
Religion
Sotirianity
Related ethnic groups
Bahio-Maracans Freemen

Bahio-Imaguans (Vespasian: Bahiano-imaguani, Western Imaguan Creole: Bahis-imakusa, Eastern Imaguan Creole: Baho-Imagwatsu or Baho-Imagwawe) are people in Imagua and the Assimas who are of Bahian descent. Like other Bahio-Arucians, such as the Bahio-Maracans, they originally came from Bahia as slaves brought over during the trans-Vehemen slave trade.

As of the 2011 census, the Bahio-Imaguan population comprise 60% of the country's population, with the Bahio-Imaguans generally living in large urban centres such as Cuanstad, San Pietro, Altaithe, Nua Taois, Lundholm, and Knowleston.

Etymology

The term Bahio-Imaguan was first used by anthropologist Lou Walsham in 1886 in a paper describing the "lifestyle of those Bahians who have migrated to Imagua from their homes in Bahia." At the time, it was initially used to only refer to those who were from Bahia, with their descendants being considered simply blacks (Vespasian: nere or neri, Western Imaguan Creole: swatna, Eastern Imaguan Creole: blak).

However, in the early twentieth century, the Labour Party (precursor to the Democratic Labour Party) used the term to refer to all persons of Bahian descent, with co-founder and party leader Clayton Keating saying in 1908 that:

"The term Bahio-Imaguan gives dignity to a people who for generations have been considered inferior to the white population, for it connects them to the achievements of their Bahian homeland, while acknowledging that they have developed their own identity separate from our cousins in Bahia."

Over the next few decades, this term gained widespread use among the left-wing, while the right-wing continued to maintain the usage of "black" or "black Imaguan," with Suthmeerite Prime Minister Peter Hansson saying in 1918 that the term "black Imaguan" was "accurate, as only a handful of them are from Bahia."

However, by the 1940s, Bahio-Imaguan became accepted as a formal term for referring to those of Bahian descent in Imagua, but black continued to be used in informal circumstances until the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the term became seen as offensive. By the late 1980s, the term black had become a racial slur in Imagua.

History

Slave trade

Sugar plantation in Lundholm, 1723

The ancestors of what would become the Bahio-Imaguan population on what would become the present-day state of Imagua and the Assimas first arrived in 1647 when a slave ship arrived in Cuanstad. While the slave population under the Geatish colonizers were minuscule, in part due to the high numbers of native Arucians residing on the island of Imagua and the Assimas Islands in the first century of rule over the islands.

It was only after Geatland lost control of Imagua to Estmere in 1658 that the slave trade really kicked into high gear, with Estmerish settlers establishing plantations for the production of sugarcane on the island. As much of the native Arucian population have been decimated by disease or by overwork or abuse, it became necessary for slaves to be imported from Bahia in order to develop the plantations.

As Estmere had control over trading posts in Bahia, most of the Bahian population can trace their origins to present-day Asase Lewa, Rwizikuru, and Tiwura. Conditions were harsh for the slaves under Estmerish rule, especially on the sugar plantations, with life expectancy on sugar plantations in particular being measured in 1663 to be around five years after arrival on Imagua. While conditions were gradually improved over the next few decades, mostly to ensure their survival as the cost of importing slaves was expensive, conditions remained harsh, leading to many escaped slaves fleeing into the Central Highlands and forming Maroon communities.

Thus, in 1795, slavery was abolished, including the slave trade, which ended the importation of slaves to Imagua. While slaves were now freed, and were no longer bound to the land, many remained employed by their former owners, although conditions improved dramatically.

Meanwhile, on the Assimas Islands, the importation of Bahians was relatively few and far between, with most of them in Eldmark being imported to serve as household servants, due to both their expense, and the fact that it gave their owners prestige. By the 1750s, it was estimated that there were less than a few hundred black slaves on the Assimas. Slavery would be abolished in Eldmark in 1771.

Colonial era

Sugar-cane cutters in Imagua, 1880

With the end of the slave trade to the island of Imagua, and the implementation of immigration restrictions from Bahia to Imagua, ostensibly to prevent "human trafficking" to the island for slavery, the Bahio-Imaguan community's identity was now firmly cut off from Bahia.

Thus, the coming century would witness the ethnogenesis of the Bahio-Imaguan community, as while the precursor to both Western Imaguan Creole and Eastern Imaguan Creole had been adopted during slavery, during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the Bahio-Imaguan community embraced it, with children learning the Imaguan Creoles, as fewer and fewer people were able to speak their native Bahian languages.

As well, the ethnogenesis of the Bahio-Imaguan community occurred in other areas, with Bahio-Imaguan religion becoming more in line with "standard Sotirianity," and the Bahio-Imaguan culture became more influenced by the cultures of both the indigenous Imaguans and the white population that were living alongside them.

Despite the abolition of slavery, and the ethnogenesis of the Bahio-Imaguan population, they were still regarded as being inferior to the Euclean population, who formed much of the upper echelons of society on the island. Thus, when the industrial revolution took off on Imagua, the Bahian population were almost predominantly over-represented in "low wage" work.

While in theory, they were equal before the law, the reality meant that in 1835, an official noted that:

"The black population within the Colony of Imagua has, despite its numerical superiority over the white population, been vastly over-represented in undesirable statistics, such as poverty and crime, and under-represented in desirable statistics, such as high-ranking positions at firms, and participation in the civil service. This suggests that despite the notion that blacks and whites are equal, the reality shows it not to be the case."

As improved labour laws were passed and enforced, the lot of the Bahio-Imaguan population improved, with an official in 1885 reporting that "while in 1835, for every shilling a white man earned, a black man only earned three pence, today, for every shilling a white man earns, a black man earns fourty-two pence."

Meanwhile, following the purchase of the Assimas Islands by Etruria, many of the indigenous people who were previously slaves were reclassified as black, due to their complexion. (TBC)

Self-governance in Imagua

Finton Conray, 1901

After the Colony of Imagua was granted self-government in 1892, Bahio-Imaguans initially did not play a substantial political role, with only one Member of the Lesser House being of Bahio-Imaguan descent, Bertram Strachan of the Suthmeerite faction, with the remainder of Parliamentarians being of Euclean descent.

However, the granting of self-government to Imagua led to the formation of political associations to advocate for the interests of the Bahio-Imaguan community, such as the Bahio-Imaguan Party in 1895. As well, Pan-Bahianism started to take root in Imagua, as Bahio-Imaguan intellectuals such as Finton Conray advocated for pan-Bahianism, as they felt that the struggles of their ancestral continent were relevant to the struggles that they faced in Imagua.

As Pan-Bahianism took hold, the establishment of the Labour Party in 1903 helped increase the representation of Bahio-Imaguans in government, while the Imaguan civil service was expanded to include the Bahian community, especially as meritocracy became more prevalent in the Imaguan civil service.

These developments led to two major ideological camps: the Pan-Bahianists, which wanted Bahio-Imaguans to increase ties with Bahia and to fight for their liberation from the "white-dominated order," with many Bahio-Imaguan intellectuals endorsing the Pan-Bahian campaign, and the Cooperationists, which sought to cooperate with the Euclean establishment to ensure a better life for all, which was supported by the Labour Party, and the Liberal Party.

With the outbreak of the Great War, the Bahio-Imaguan community played an important role in ensuring that Imagua and the Assimas Islands did not fall to the Entente nations. Following the war's conclusion, Bahio-Imaguans on Imagua started advocating for greater autonomy from Estmere, and when it was given "equal partner" status in 1937, Bahio-Imaguans celebrated this autonomy.

Meanwhile, on the Assimas Islands... (TBD)

Independence

Eric Fleming, 1962

After the Solarian War, the Bahio-Imaguan population advocated for the complete independence of Imagua and the Assimas from Estmere, as they felt that they have sacrificed a lot in the war. At the same time, the newly-conquered Assimas Islands also advocated for independence from Estmere, as despite its annexation into Imagua, they felt that continued Estmerish rule over the islands would lead to the end of their culture.

In light of this, combined with Estmere's lack of ability to interfere in Imagua's affairs, the island nation became independent in 1948, with Walter Redmond Keswick becoming the first President of Imagua and the Assimas. That year, a splinter from the Democratic Party and the Labour Party merged into the Democratic Labour Party of Imagua, which consolidated the support of many Bahio-Imaguans behind a single party.

During this period, the stature of the Bahian population continued to rise, albeit there was still a significant income gap between the Bahio- and Eucleo-Imaguans. As well, many issues remained, such as the continued political dominance of Imagua by the Euclean community, despite the Bahian population on Imagua forming a majority of the Imaguan population, and the fact that very few bosses of large Imaguan companies were of Bahian descent. A report from 1956 saying that only 13.5% of Imaguans who had more than 250,000 shillings were of Bahio-Imaguan descent, with 76.2% being of Euclean descent, while poverty rates were twice as high among Bahio-Imaguans as among Eucleo-Imaguans.

However, this started to change when in 1960, Eric Fleming became the first Bahio-Imaguan President. During Fleming's tenure as President, he helped increase the participation of Bahio-Imaguans in government. By 1968, after reaching his maximum term limit under the Imaguan constitution, he was elected as the first Bahio-Imaguan Prime Minister, serving until 1976 when he was succeeded by Pietro Muro.

Despite this loss, the Bahio-Imaguans became more prominent in politics, which meant that throughout the 1970s, many cabinet ministers and MPs were of Bahian descent, and they also began to rise to the upper classes. In addition, the split of the National Labour Party in 1978 meant that many Bahio-Imaguans who previously supported the Euclean-dominated Sotirian Democratic Party no longer had to support it.

Contemporary era

The Bahio-Imaguan community were hard hit by the Panic of 1980, which saw many Bahio-Imaguans lose their jobs, with manufacturing effectively becoming extinct in the country. At the same time, policies designed to attract wealthy people from outside Imagua to move into the country led to many being forced to leave Cuanstad as house prices and rents rose beyond what they could afford.

By the 1990s, although Eucleo-Imaguans still remained dominant in many economic sectors, particularly the finance sector, Bahio-Imaguans were now influential in politics, with Gerald Larsson becoming only the second Bahio-Imaguan to become Prime Minister. In 2000, he was succeeded by Agnes Ingram, who was the first Bahio-Imaguan woman to become Prime Minister, and the first Bahio-Imaguan Prime Minister to come from a party other than the DLP (the successor to the SDP and NLP, the Sotirian Labour Party).

In the 2000s and 2010s, Bahio-Imaguans continued to see standards of living rise, with the poverty rate falling from 10.2% in 1996 to 9.1% in 2006, with most of the reduction of poverty taking place among Bahio-Imaguan households, making 2006 the first year that more Eucleo-Imaguans were in poverty than Bahio-Imaguans. However, these gains were reversed, especially as Imagua deepened its economic policies under both Ingram and Merante, leading to the poverty rate rising to 12.5% in 2016, with most of the increase being among Bahio-Imaguans residing in Cuanstad.

Culture

Arts

A prominent instrument associated with the Bahio-Imaguan community is the steelpan.

(TBC)

Cuisine

Bahio-Imaguan cuisine is largely influenced off the cuisine of their veRwizi ancestors, as well as mainstream Imaguan cuisine that was introduced over the centuries of colonial rule by various Euclean powers such as Estmere, Etruria, and Geatland.

Popular Bahio-Imaguan breakfast dishes are fried bake and bake and shark, while popular lunch and dinner dishes include callaloo, fish and chips, macaroni pie, pelau, rice, and spaghetti.

Sports

Like the rest of Imagua and the Assimas, the most popular sports are association football and horse racing (in particular thoroughbred racing).

However, a popular sport among the Bahio-Imaguan community is field hockey, despite its relative unpopularity among the rest of the country.