Akwisia

People's Republic of Akwisia Folcsrepublic Acwisland (Akwisian) Laiki Demokrateia tes Akbiseias (Laimiaic)
Flag
Capital	Brandhaefen
Official languages	Akwisian, Laimiaic
Demonym(s)	Akwisian (Acwiser)
Government	Parliamentary Republic
• Fursittar (President)	Folcwin Icling
• Ricrefe (Prime Minister)	Serena Cyningtun
Legislature	Gurtthing
Protectorate of Tagmatium
• First Euman Settlement	10,000BC
• Laimiaic Colonisation	600BC
• Foundation of Anasto-Laimiaic Kingdom	500BC
• Aroman Province	100BC
• Buranian Invasion	AD270
• Proto-Akwisian Invasion	AD490
• First Gurtthing	AD906
• Discovery of the Hermitage Islands	AD1593
• Treaty of Aroman Protectorship	2006
Area
•	13,790 km2 (5,320 sq mi)
Population
• 2023 census	206,483
• Density	14.9/km2 (38.6/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$3.9 billion
• Per capita	$19,300
Currency	Scillinga
Time zone	UTC+6
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	left
Internet TLD	.ak
Preceded by Aroman Empire

Akwisia, officially the People's Republic of Akwisia (Akwisian: Folcsrepublic Acwisland, Laimiaic: Laiki Demokrateia tes Akbiseias), is an island nation in northern Europa on Eurth. It is surrounded by the Sea of Storms to the north, Ranke Sea in the south-east, the Anostan Strait in the south and the Strait of Meropios to the north-west. The nearest neighbours are Haruspex and Tagmatium. The island is approximately 13,790 km² in size and home to more than 206 thousand people. The population is mainly concentrated on the southern seaboard of the island and is moderately urbanised. The official languages of Akwisia are Akwisian, the native language, and Laimiaic. The official religion of Akwisia is the Enlightened Aroman Church.

The People's Republic is a parliamentary democracy, with its head of state referred to as "President" (Akwisian: Fursittar) and head of government called a Prime Minister (Akwisian: Ricrefe). The current President is Folcwin Icling, who was elected in 2018. It is the oldest parliamentary democracy in Europa and one of the of oldest on Eurth, with the parliament (Akwisian: Gurtthing) first sitting in the 900s. Universal suffrage was not granted until 1903, as until then, only property-owning men could vote. The capital city, Brandhaefen, is also the country's largest city, with a population of 70,000. Other the other large urban centres are Sneccacot on the south-eastern coast and Hurstburh on the southern coast.

Akwisia has been inhabited since 10,000BC. Its location as one of the Barrier Islands, the chain of islands that separate the Central Europan Seas from the Sea of Storms, has meant that Akwisia has long been considered a strategic location. Known as "Anostos" by the ancient geographers, the island was home to a patchwork of local states and, later, Laimiaic colonies (Laimiaic: apoikia), the first of which was settled in 600BC. These coalesced into what is known as the Anosto-Laimiaic Kingdom by 500BC. The strategic location of the Anosto-Laimiaic Kingdom meant that it became a tributary state of the Aroman Empire by 100BC and a province by 50BC. However, the chaos of the Octarchy meant that tribes from Burania wrestled the island away from the Aroman Empire in the late 3rd Century AD. Raiders and explorers from Argis eventually settled on the island and seized it from the Buranians that lived there.

The proto-Akwisians gained a reputation as pirates and raiders across northern Europa, as well as daring sailors and adventurers. From the 800s, the island became a centre of the whaling industry, although this industry has since been abandoned. The wealth from this industry saw the merchant class gain pre-eminence and the modern state formed around the meetings that they undertook to govern the island. This makes Akwisia one of the oldest democratic states in northern Europa. The People's Republic has maintained close links to Tagmatium, even becoming involved in the Long War. However, war-weariness caused the island to leave the conflict. The rest of the 20th Century saw the island look to its own affairs and build trade links with Argis than involve itself in Europan affairs.

The People's Republic is considered to be a developed country although it is one of the smallest economies on Eurth, with a GDP of $3.9 billion. It has a GDP per capita of $19,300. It is a developed mixed economy, with agriculture and petroleum being the main industries, with some light manufacturing as well. Heavy industry has seen significant growth in recent years, since the establishment of the Tagmatine navy base of Gythafos. This has injected significant money into the Akwisian economy. Akwisia has historically been within the orbit of Tagmatium but after a series of economic and political crises in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the island nation became a protectorate of the Greater Holy Empire in 2006.

Etymology

The name of the island, "Akwisia", comes from a Proto-Dolch term for the weapons weilded by the peoples who seized the island from the Buranian settlers, who had seized the island from the Aroman Empire. This term is akwisī and it came to mean both the weapon - a long-handled axe - and the people themselves, before being applied to the island itself. This is shown in both the Anglish terms for the island and its people ("Akwisia", singular "Akwisian", plural "Akwisians") and the Laimiaic terms (Akbiseia, singular Akbiseios, plural Akbiseioi). This was eventualy applied by the islanders to themselves and their country, in the form of "Acwiser" and "Acwisland".

The name for the island given to it by the ancient geographers was "Anostos". It is still used to refer to Akwisia in a geographic sense, rather than the state itself. It is a word in Laimiaic that comes from a term meaning "Place of No Return" as to the ancient geographers, it was one of the last islands before the icy waters of the Sea of Storms. This name has been applied to the historic Anosto-Laimiaic Kingdom which was absorbed by the Aroman Empire. It also gives its name to the channel that separates the island and Tagmatium, the Anostan Strait.

History

Akwisia gained its first independence in the 3rd century CE, when the Aroman Empire transitioned to its system of Octarchy. The chaos of the 3rd Century meant that Buranian tribes were able to wrestle the control of the island away from the Aroman Empire as the garrison of the island was withdrawn to the south. This allowed a fierce tribe, known for wielding axes, to take over and secede from the empire.

Politics

Akwisia is a representative democracy and parliamentary republic, and one of the oldest democracies in Europa. The parliament, called the Gurtthing, was formed from the assemblies held between the warrior-merchants who ruled the island. These were referred to as things and the Gurtthing was an assembly that was formed in the 900s to decide the overall decisions of the island, in order to make sure the warrior-merchants did not clash with each other. The Gurtthing has 59 members, corresponding to each of the original warrior-merchants of the first Gurtthing, and are elected for a term of five years.

The Prime Minister (Akwisian: Ricrefe) is the head of government. The Prime Minister selects a cabinet from amongst the the members of the Gurtthing and these potential members are presented to the President, who then accepts or rejects them. Although there are several different political parties in Akwisia, their small number means that cabinets often include members of more than one party, and a consensus is often met between the various parties to fill the cabinet. If a cabinet is not filled within a reasonable amount of time, then the President will select it. The current Prime Minister is Serena Cyningtun, who was elected in 2019.

The head of state is the President or, in Akwisian, Fursittar. This word roughly means "the one sat in front", a refence to the traditional seat of the President at the head of the government. The role of the Fursittar is largely ceremonial, although they are able to veto laws passed by the Gurtthing and also put them to a national referendum. There also no legal consensus on the extent of the powers of the President - some parts of the constitution give the office wide, sweeping powers whilst other parts limit those powers significantly. The full extent - or limit - has yet to be tested by any sitting President. Tradition dictates that current incumbant does not push the bounds of power laid out by the previous incumbants. The Fursittar is elected by the popular vote and there is no term limit to the role. The current Fursittar is Folcwin Icling, who was elected in 2018.

Protectorate Status

Since 2006, Akwisia has been a protectorate of Tagmatium. The Treaty of Brandhafen stipulates that Tagmatium assumes control of Akwisia's foreign policy and its relations with foreign states. The Akwisian cabinet acts as an advisory council to the Tagmatine Ministry of Foreign Affairs on any decisions might affect the island state. The Treaty also meant that Akwisia joined the Aroman Customs Union. Beyond that, Akwisia has full control of its internal and economic affairs, although it is not free to agree economic or commercial treaties with other states. Port facilities were also given over to Tagmatium, which formed the basis of the naval base at Swanawic. Part of this treaty also stipulated that Tagmatium paid for infrastructure upgrades for the island and invested in its economy.

This was a controversial decision at the time, as although there was significant political and economic disruption that fed into that choice being made, it was felt by some commentators that it was a sacrifice of freedom for security. However, repeated opinion polls over the last decade and a half have shown that the population of Akwisia supports it. Support for the protectorate was at an all-time high after the invasion and annexation of Beautancus by Haruspex in 2019 and the subsequent explusion of the Gerenians, as it was widely hypothesised that this would have been the fate of Akwisia, had it not been a protectorate of Tagmatium. At this point, some 71% of the island's population were in favour of the protectorate.

Support for the protectorate during the Anglian Crisis has been much more mixed. At the start, public opinion polls were in favour closer relations with Great Anglia, as they felt something of a cultural affinity with the Anglians. As the conflict has spread, the Akwisian public has preferred a hard stance against the Occidental-Azanian Pact, which it sees as being signified by support of Tagmatium.

Military

Main article: Armed Forces of Akwisia

The Armed Forces of Akwisia (Akwisian: Fyrd) is the military of Akwisia. It is tasked with defence of the island state and its citizens, as well as the interests of Akwisia. It is also tasked with waging warfare, if this is deemed necessary. It consists of three services branches: the Here, Scipfyrd and Lyftfyrd, the Army, Ship Force and Air Force respectively. They are managed by the Ministry of Defence and controlled by the Defence Council. The President is commander-in-chief of the military, and members of the military swear an oath to their president and people and before God.

Members of the Here on a training exercise.

The Akwisian Armed Forces are allocated 1.5% of the national GDP and Tagmatium, as protector of the island, subsidises the defence expenditure of Akwisia. The Akwisian military has an active strength of 5,000, although this can be expanded upon in times of conflict, through emergency legislation enacted by the Gurtting. The numbers are broadly split evenly across the three branches of the military. The Akwisian military works closely with their Tagmatine equivalents in order to maintain the integrity of the island and its seas and airspace. This is emphasised since the Tagmatine military base on the island is key to the defence policies of the Greater Holy Empire. The treaty of protectorship means that the military of the island will not be required by Tagmatium to serve abroad, although the two countries have training and exchange programmes to allow Akwisian military personnel to gain experience beyond that provided by their own armed forces.

The Akwisian military has not participated in any armed conflict since the end of the Long War, although it often undertakes anti-piracy and anti-smuggling operations within the island's waters. Often, these are in cooperation with the Tagmatine navy, air force and coastguard. The island is also reportedly covered by the Shield of Saints integrated air defence system operated by the Greater Holy Empire.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Akwisia

Overview

The economy of Akwisia is a developed mixed economy, although it has become more reliant on its protector, Tagmatium, over the course of the last two decades. Akwisia has a GDP per capita of $19,300 and a GDP of $3,985,121,900 as of 2023. The main industries are the oil and gas sector, as well as agriculture, fishing and related services. After port facilities were leased to the Tagmatine navy in 2006, construction, shipping, and heavy industry have also boomed.

Historically, the main industries on Akwisia have been agriculture, fishing and whaling. Until the late 1900s, whaling was the source of significant wealth on the island. It was first recorded as an organised industry in the 800s, and had become the island's main economic activity by the 1500s. Although the Akwisian whaling fleets faced local rivals in the form of those from Deltannia, Gaellicia, Tagmatium and Volsci, Akwisian whaling captains were long known for their adventurous nature. Whaling fleets and individual ships based on the island roamed as far as the southern Adisi and Oriental Oceans whilst searching for their prey, with whaling stations set up as far south as the Antargic Ocean. Whalers from Akwisia were also the first to set up whaling stations on the Hermitage Islands, deep within the Argic Circle. The industry continued to grow until the mid 20th Century, when it was heavily disrupted by the Long War. By the early 1980s, concern over the depletion of whale populations, and the fact that the numbers of the species exploited were dropping, led to the industry collapsing. The mid 1980s saw economic hardship on the island, but exploration of oil and gas reserves within the exclusive economic zone of Akwisia significantly improved the situation of the island. By the mid 1990s, this had become something of an economic boom.

Tagmatine ships in the naval base of XXX.

The economy of the north side of the island is dominated by naval facilities of the Tagmatine navy, which was allowed to set up a naval base on the island in 2006. This has led to a massive growth in employment in Akwisia, with as much as XXX of the island's workforce either directly employed by the naval base or in ancillary or service industries. This has significantly spurred the growth of heavy industries on the island.

The south-eastern side of the island, which has an Oceanic climate, is primarily employed in agriculture.