Duchy of Verde

The Duchy of Verde L'Ducado dei Verde
Flag
Motto: "Non Plus Ultra"
Anthem: "Verde L'Verde"
Verde in Alharu
Capital	Porto Verde
Largest	Nou Madrí
Official languages	Stillian Iverican, Iverican
Recognised national languages	Stillian Iverican, Iverican, Indiense, Common
Demonym(s)	Verdense
Government	Constitutional Monarchy
• Duque	Gian Iago Vivar de Borbon ét Carlos IV
• Prime Minister	Apolinario Ma. Viné
• Chief Justice	Ionas Deiléon
Legislature	Dietary Houses
Divine Right
• Iberic-Soluk War	June 17, 1707
• Secession of Soluk Dominions to the House of Borbon	March 28, 1708
Area
•	23,262 km2 (8,982 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 census	10,009,200
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$480,000,000,000
• Per capita	$47,955.88
Gini	34.7 medium
HDI	.890 very high
Currency	Verdense Real (ꭆ)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+88
Internet TLD	.ver

The Duchy of Verde, known officially in Iverican as L'Ducado dei Verde, and informally as Verde, is a sovereign country situated largely in Northwestern Alharu. The Duchy is divided into three landmasses separated by bodies of water. In descending order of land area these masses are: Indica, L'Isla Verde, and Custo D'Oeste. Indica is the only part of the Duchy that shares land borders with another sovereign state, Lusotropia. Porto Verde shares a maritime border with the island of Altaria, Iverica while Custo D'Oeste is isolated by the Iberic Sea.

The Duchy has a total land area of 23,262 square kilometres (8,982 sq mi) with more than 10 million inhabitants as of 2019. The state is a constitutional monarchy wherein the Ducal House maintains a strong presence in executive affairs. The Ducal House maintains its right to sovereignty through the powers of Imperial Iberic Claimancy. These powers were enacted by Petro Paulus Froilán Borbon ét Carlos, the de facto sole surviving Hidalgo of latitude in 1646. The current Duke is Gian Borbon IV (abrev.), who has held the office since the death of his father Gian Borbon III. The current elected head of government is Apolinario Ma. Viné, who serves as Prime Minister from his election by the Ducal Diet in 2012. Verde's capital is Porto Verde, a cultural and commercial centre with an urban area population of 2.5 million. While Porto Verde is both capital and commercial centre, the largest city in terms of metropolitan area, municipal area, and urban population is Nou Madrí, with over 2.7 million people. Other major urban areas include Vacolos and Dúmagueto.

The Duchy of Verde is a developed country dependent on tourism, mining, cash crop production, and agriculture. It has a high-income economy and has a very high Human Development Index rating. Verde is one of the largest exporters of Saffron and Emerald gemstones in Alharu and their export fuels much of Verdense international commerce. Verde also boasts several prime historical tourism and resort tourism spots around its coasts, attracting millions of tourists each year. Along with Iverica, Vasqqa, Narva, and Galicia Major, it is recognised as one of the five Iberic diaspora states in the Argic-Alharun region. It has been a permanent member of the Association of Iberic Nations since its founding in 1918.

Etymology

The name Verde derives from the Iberic word for the colour green. The name was originally given to the sea around the vicinity because of its calm green coastal waters. When the island south of Altaria was discovered, Iberic sailors who viewed it from a distance applied the name of the sea to its equally green island—thus, the Island, originally called "Kislat" by the native Soluk of Alharu, became known to the Iberics as "Isla Verde". When the Soluk were defeated in the Iberic conquests, the native name gradually faded from common parlance.

History

Pre-Historic Settlement

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Archaeological findings and sources from documented oral history suggest that the Island of Verde and the coasts of Indica were originally settled by lithe, tan natives from Thalassa. These people, known still today by their many regional divisions were comprised mainly of the Sevuan, Aklani, and Ilon peoples. Broadly, they are descended from a Thalassan subgroup of nomadic islanders who arrived in the coasts of north-western Alharu in gradual waves. Archaeological evidence suggests that ancestors of these groups may have been populating coastal north-western Alharu since 3,000 B.C.

The Indes make up roughly 15% of the Duchy's contemporary population. The term "Indes" is Iberic in origin, a misnomer coined during the first encounters with the group, when Iberic explorer Alberto Marquess mistook an Ilon folk legend to mean that the three groups had descended from the mythical "Indos" valley speculated to be somewhere in central Alharu. Despite the name being a misnomer, the Sevuan, Aklani, and Ilon people have adopted the term into their respective languages and often use noun forms of "Indio" to refer to their collective ethnicity.

These Indic peoples lived simple, coastal lifestyles. Fishing, pearl-diving, and primitive farming were their main sources of livelihood. For governance, the Indios organised themselves into "Baran" roughly translating to a type of large catamaran type vessel the people used to emigrate on. The Baran system was one a tribal style of governance focused around a small unit of people anywhere between 20-150 in population. The population was composed of households that had shared a boat together during their long voyages and whose respective patriarchs elected three officials; a military leader, a learned leader, and an economic leader, though in many cases, a singular individual was also elected to fulfill the stations of all three. This system can be characterised as open and highly social—transactions and appeals were almost always conducted in the common clearing, a forum of sorts, and grievances were never allowed to be secreted. Though inter-Baran warfare was common, large scale armed conflicts were rare and warfare most frequently skirmish-like over land or slaves. Regarding the latter, the Indios used as status symbols and manpower to slowly integrate into their family systems by polygamic systems.

Technologically, the Indios had developed gold and silversmithing, primitive astronomy, primitive irrigation, and primitive mechanics at their highest levels, but having never consolidated until their eventual conquest by the Soluk in the 14th century A.D. Archaeological digs show that the early Indic peoples had towns of mud brick, straw, and wood construction—the third of which used a peg and slot system to function. As the Indios had little knowledge of mining, they had mostly panned for their metals in rivers and so were never able to master ironworking. The relatively easy climate also meant that the Indios build little in the way of grand monuments, palaces, or temple complexes. Instead, they preferred more functional use of cheap organic materials to build their more important structures.

Soluk Settlement

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The Soluk people were descended from Thalassan seafarers that first settled in western Alharu, where they adopted Azanian words and customs into their system of language and culture. Though related to the Indiense nations, the Soluk had substantially more interbreeding and cultural exchange with Alharun groups. As a result, many are taller in stature and some have prominent nasal bridges.

The origin of the name "Soluk" is not known with certainty. Some theories link the name as a Saharabisation of the word "Sulu", which is Fojian (a Thalassan islander language) word for a cloth garment worn about the waist. The Saharabisation of the name likely occurred far later in the timeline, when the Soluk ancestors were already well established in the northern coast of Alharu. From Alharun traders, the Soluk ancestors adopted Saharabic phonemes and linguistic trends into their language.

By 1500 BC, the Soluk had settled in the islands in what is now the Straits of Altaria. The Soluk adopted social hierarchies, including formalised slavery, likely from their contact with cultures in western Altaria. Later, by the 11th century AD, the Soluk would replace their system of petty lords with a more formal system of aristocracy and elected monarchy. An Amer, functioning as a high-lord would be elected among the pool of nobles. This system was formalised when their walled settlement of Jabol Taruk, now known as Altaria City rose to hegemony and formalised the system.

Over the centuries, the Soluk would adopt metallurgy, advanced sailing technology, Saharabic script, and other ideas from Alharun traders that frequented their coast. The Soluk quickly became wealthy from trade and by 1200 BC had all but subjugated the Indiense in their vicinity as a second class of slave labourers.

Iveric Colonisation

Throughout the conflicts with the Narvics, the Iberics had encountered the Soluk, whose capital was the many-fortressed island of Altaria (Old Soluk: Djabol Taruk | Low Soluk: Djaltarya) and who had in their servitude, the Indiense races of the coast known to the Iberics as Costa Indica or the Indic Coast. While initially, the Iberics and the Soluk established a trade relationship out of the Iberic necessity for gunpowder, ship tar, and sail canvas, the Soluk-Iberic relations post Blood Compact began to sour after Iberic explorer Alberto Marquess visited the Indic coast and learned of the Indiense dissatisfaction and slavery to the Soluk. While the historical record mainly notes the Iberic response as indignant at the chattel abuse of the Indiense, many partially-substantiated theories assert the Iberic opportunism to secure their dominance over the Altaria Straits.

The events that followed would result in the Iberic-Soluk War which saw large-scale naval combat and the storming of Altaria city. The war would mark the end of the Soluk dominance in the region and would result in their dispersal as a diaspora and assimilation by the freed Indiense and Iverican people.

Occupying the city in 1708, the Ivericans promptly instated a colonial government and made efforts to repopulate the city with mestisso immigrants from the Iverican peninsula. Of the Altarian Soluk population of 110,000, 5,000 were killed in the fighting, coastal raiding, and 6-month siege. In the next decade, 60,000 Soluk were deported to the north Alharun coasts, mostly adult men. As a policy, Women and children were allowed to remain and integrate with Iberic society.

Economy

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The economy of the Duchy of Verde is a developed mixed economy with a reliance on cash crop exports, gemstone exports, tourism, and commercial banking. It is one of the highest economies in terms of nominal GDP per capita on Eurth. Verde has a diverse export economy which relies on a combination of luxury materials, luxury finished goods, rare earth metals, retail, and cash crops. Its service sector mainly relies on hospitality and banking, having great access to important commercial and leisure ship routes which provide a steady rotating population of investors and clients. While the Verdense maintain the Real as their primary currency, the Iverican Velle is similarly circulated because of its value and exchangeability within the diaspora communities.

The nation's economy depends on its unique geography to provide it with tourism and cash crop produce. The coasts sport a number of enticing resort locations frequented by Argic tourists. Likewise, the interior of Indica provides the ideal climate for Saffron farming, common in the area since classical eras. Deep veins easily accessible in the surrounding gorges have also made the mining of gemstones, mainly emeralds and some rare earth metals, the focus of the mining industry. Verde is also a top food exporter in the region. It mainly exports rice, rice-based consumables, and refined sugar from its ricefields and sugar plantations respectively.

Verdense enjoy an average to very high household and employee income among Alharun nations owing to the Duchy's access to international ports and high-traffic maritime areas. Verde's strategic position allows businesses to have access to a wide selection of foreign markets. Because of accessibility to foreign markets and equitable export legislation, even small-medium enterprises are able to access niche markets, remain resistant to foreign market trends, and maintain a high sales record throughout the year. Most Verdense citizens belong in the A and B class of income earners, having considerable disposable incomes and high purchasing power per capita. A percentage of Verdense, relegated mostly to the rural isolated areas, are low-income earners, though the Duchy's social incentives ensure that average amenities are easily accessible by even this demographic.