Vilcasuamanas

Republic of Vilcasuamanas Vilkasuamanos Respublika (Ruttish)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Stiprybė, Teisingumas, Atkaklumas" (Ruttish) "Strength, Justice, Perseverance"
Anthem: "Kajapas Giesmė" "Hymn of the Kajapas"
Capital	Biržuventis
Largest city	Vandžiogalas
Official languages	Ruttish
Recognised national languages	Kuchu, Amaru
Demonym(s)	Vilcasuamanian
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic
• Chancellor	Vytautas Kaparauskas
• Speaker of the Senate	Gediminas Martinkus
Legislature	Seimas
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Chamber of Representatives
Independence  From Ruttland
• Declared	15 September 1762
• Consolidated	1 May 1767
• Recognized	1 June 1781
Area
• Total	1,098,581 km2 (424,164 sq mi)
Population
• 2018 estimate	20,220,000
• 2015 census	20,184,964
GDP (PPP)	2015 estimate
• Total	$204.8 billion
• Per capita	$14,437
Gini (2016)	48.1 high
HDI (2017)	0.752 high
Currency	Talonas (VIT)
• Summer (DST)	UTCNot observed
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+90
ISO 3166 code	VI
Internet TLD	.vi

Vilcasuamanas, officially the Republic of Vilcasuamanas (Ruttish: Vilkasuamanos Respublika) is a sovereign state located on the Arucian coast of Asteria Inferior. It is bordered by Satucin to the east, Nuvania to the west, and Montanica to the south. It is a federal, constitutional republic under a parliamentary system, made up of thirteen voivodeships and one special territory. Geographically it encompasses natural features such as tropical grassland, coastal lowlands, the Irca Mountains, and interior rainforests.

Prior to the Euclean discovery of the Asterias, the area known as modern day Vilcasuamanas was dominated by numerous Asterindian tribes and civilizations. These civilizations developed extensive agricultural societies, the largest of which grew into the Kuchu Empire. The Kuchus dominated the high plains of the interior in the 15^th and 16^th centuries, consolidating the disparate tribes into a single confederacy, advanced in infrastructure and government. Despite previous limited contact with Eucleans, the foundation of the country was set with the establishment of a Ruttish Asterian Company fort at the mouth of the Kajapas River in 1537. The Ruttish eventually organized a plantation system, worked by natives initially and later by imported Bahian serf labor. Mass Euclean settlement created a class of Iškeltos with only tenuous loyalty to their distant homeland. In the 1760s, the mass arrival of the Ruttish aristocracy (fleeing the Weranian Revolution) led the native planters overthrowing the colonial administration and declaring a republic. This led to a long and bloody independence war, which had finally succeeded by 1767.

Despite independence, the retention of colonial social structures and racial laws led to three bloody civil wars in the 19th century; liberals and conservatives fought over the principles of parliamentarianism, federalism, and serfdom. The instability was compounded by a defeat in the War of the Arucian that ended the country's status as a regional power, which itself led to a string of dictatorships and foreign interventions that would ultimately culminate in the Great War. The postwar return of constitutional rule was similarly precarious, causing the rise of Marshal Mauricijus Sprogys, who would dominate the country from 1959 to 1978. While Sprogys was credited with revitalizing a faltering economy, the human rights abuses committed by the regime led to a low-intensity insurgency known as the Bush War. However, after his death, Vilcasuamanas saw an era of rollback of military rule that culminated in full democratization in the 1980s.

The country is considered one of the few megadiverse countries in the world, boasting thousands of species of animal and plant life. In addition to this, after relaxation of strict protectionist economic regulations in the 1980s, Vilcasuamanas has emerged as one of Asteria Inferior's fastest-growing economies. Despite the economic growth, however, systemic inequality remains a serious issue, with consequent insurgency and drug-related violence remaining problematic. It holds active membership in the Community of Nations, the ICD, ITO, GIFA, as well as the Asterian Forum for Development and Cooperation.

Etymology

The name Vilcasuamanas is generally believed to be derived from the Kuchu language phrase Willka Waman meaning "sacred hawk"; this is in reference to the Ircan kontors that populate the Irca Mountains.

The first known reference to the name (appearing as "Vilcas Uamanas") is from maps detailed by the fourth expedition of Juozapas Leikauskas in 1602, the first Ruttish expedition penetrating the interior of the country. Urban legend posits that Leikauskas recorded the name based off of a misunderstanding with his Asterindian guide, who meant to describe the peaks of the Ircas, but whose gestures were understood to be referring to the interior of the country as a whole.

Regardless, the land past the grasslands of the Kajapas Coast quickly became known as Vilcasuamanas, and the official name of the New Ruttland Colony was changed to its present name in 1656.

History

Ancient Vilcasuamanas

Main articles: Indigenous peoples of Vilcasuamanas and Kuchu Empire

Kuchu terraces were constructed for large-scale high altitude Ircan agriculture

According to archeological evidence, modern-day Vilcasuamanas has been inhabited for at least 12,000 years. The first groups of indigenous groups, journeying from Asteria Superior and south by land through modern-day Nimear, settled the northern Kajapas coastline, largely remaining bound by the formidable Irca Mountains. It was only several thousand years later (around 10,000 AD) that the interior of the country was populated via the tributaries of the vast Sythe River. Although both the indigenous peoples of the Kajapas coast and of the Sythian interior had little contact with each other, with largely different languages and religious practices, they developed similar hunter-gatherer cultures primarily subsisting on hunting, fishing and (in the case of the interior peoples) semi-nomadic migrant agriculture.

Inter-tribal cooperation would eventually lead to the formation of tribal confederations, of varying sizes, in the course of the period leading up to Euclean contact. Eventually, the arrival of the Kuchu in the 1300s would lead to the formation of one of the largest confederations in Asteria Inferior: the Kuchu Empire. The Kuchu, who had previously been forced to migrate east along the Irca Mountains, brought with them a wealth unseen before in the region. With both the coastal peoples and those of the interior, the Kuchu formed—first through skilled negotiation and later through warfare—a vast trade network between the different regions, eventually forging the Kuchu Empire in 1370. Despite their nominal domination, many of the Sythian peoples would effectively maintain their own language and culture whilst paying tribute to the Kuchu capital in Džapipaltas (Chawpi P'allta, or "central plain"). While the indigenous tribes under their rule largely preserved their own cultures, the Kuchu developed an extensive sedentary high-altitude agriculture system, as well as building large centrally-planned cities in the mountains that served as administrative centers for the confederation.

Despite their status as the economic center of the region, the Kuchu began to feel threatened by the growing Amaru Empire to the north, which had already incorporated many of the tribes on the Kajapas coast and threatened incursions into the Irca mountains, the Kuchu heartland. Furthermore, unrest had increased in the Scythian tribes following a poor harvest and a consequent increase in tribute rates, with some even breaking out into open resistance. This made for a fragile situation ripe to be exploited by Euclean colonizers.

Conquest and colonial period

Ruttish užkariautojai exploring the Vilcasuamanian interior, 1605

It is suggested that the first Euclean to land on the shores of modern-day Vilcasuamanas was Sijbrand Kroese in 1511; however, while much of the northwest and coastal regions were claimed by the Hennish crown, no significant attempts at trade or contact with the natives would occur for several decades. In 1562, however, Kęstutis III Algirdas, Archduke of Ruttland, sought to take advantage of this seemingly-unexploited area and commissioned the Ruttish Asterian Company with an exclusive patent for trade between the 11th and the 14th parallels south. Limited trading expeditions would commence from 1564, although there was no large-scale attempts at habitation until the Company sent Juozapas Leikauskas, a soldier of the Crown, to lead a settlement at the mouth of the Kajapas River. In 1587, Leikauskas constructed Fort Tauragė, named after his hometown in Ruttland, from which they were able to pursue trade with the Mantanias coastal civilization.

The Mantanias, who chafed under the tributary rule of the Kuchu, joined a mass revolt of tribes against their Kuchu rulers in 1591 that greatly destabilized the region. Enticed by reports of an empire rich in gold and silver, Leikauskas took 200 soldiers (or užkariautojai) and embarked on an expedition into the interior, seeking to make direct contact with the Kuchu. The expedition was harried by both Kuchu warriors and their enemies, who both believed the Eucleans to support the other side, and Leikauskas was forced to return to Tauragė after losing nearly half of his force. Undeterred, however, he requested additional support from Ruttland, and by 1593, had amassed a combined force of 400 ''užkariautojai and thousands of indigenous warriors, set to march to Džapipaltas and capture the Kuchu Emperor, Atėvalipas. The expedition was successful and Leikauskas executed Atėvalipas, usurping the position of King of Džapipaltas (and thus, the Kuchu Emperor). Almost immediately, Leikauskas reformed the social structure of the empire, executing many nobles and forcibly converting the rest to Sotirianity. While retaining the allegiance of many of the coastal tribes that the Ruttish had first made contact with, there were prolonged revolts of both rebel Kuchu (loyal to the deposed dynasty) and the interior tribes, which feared abuses by the colonizers. From his new power base in Džapipaltas, Leikauskas would embark on three more expeditions into the interior, subjugating dozens of tribes; the indigenous peoples were additionally ravaged by epidemic diseases such as smallpox, to which they had no immunity. The last remnants of the Kuchu rebellion would fall in 1612.

The port of Tauragė in 1690

While Leikauskas was consolidating his control over the Kuchu in the interior, the coastal settlements continued to grow. Of note, coastal trading forts were constructed in 1598 and 1613 that would respectively grow into the modern cities of Vandžiogalas and Biržuventis. The Ruttish Seimas in Lipliškės consolidated the holdings of the Ruttish Asterian Company into New Ruttland in 1615, encouraged by Leikauskas' success and hoping that a strong colonial presence would allow them disproportionate power among its neighbors in Euclea. To encourage immigration into the interior, they issued the Charter of Grants, which provided dvaras, or manorial grants, to new settlers. These dvaras were largely ruled through the patikėtinis system, which allowed the settlers to use their indigenous tenants (provided through cooperation from local vassal rulers) as feudal hard laborers, while "educating" them in the Sotirian religion. Although these dvaras became notorious for their abuses against workers, they were successful in spreading the Ruttish language and culture to the natives. Historian Jonas Bubnys argues that, by as early as 1650, the pre-Euclean native social structures had faded away completely. With this, the need for an Kuchu puppet state had disappeared, and in 1656, the Kuchu Empire of the interior (now a Ruttish colony in all but name) and the coastal settlements of New Ruttland were consolidated into the Viceduchy of Vilcasuamanas; Juozapas Leikauskas' grandson, Motiejus Leikauskas, was appointed Viceduke despite having been born in Džapipaltas.

Throughout the late 1600s, the economy of the Viceduchy thrived. The coastal towns of Tauragė, Biržuventis, and Vandžiogalas became some of the preeminent ports on the southwestern coast of Asteria Inferior, with their riverine access making it easy to ship sugar, banana, and tobacco crops produced in the interior. Due to desires to expand the lucative patikėtinis system that produced these crops, the Viceduchy began importing Bahian slave labor in the 1660s, while freeing some of the natives employed on the dvaras. In an effort to prevent the resurgence of a potentially-hostile native identity, the Viceduchy tacitly encouraged intermarriage between the white settlers and the indigenous women, which led to the Mišrus, a mixed-race ethnic group that had grown exponentially by the early 1700s. The rapid population growth in the Viceduchy led to growing tensions between the dvaras landowners and the central government in Tauragė, which was seafaring mercantile economy rather than an agricultural one. The Viceduchy itself began to struggle to maintain its control over the belligerent landowners, as support from Ruttland decreased, largely due to the Pereramonic Wars that were engulfed Euclea. The unstable situation in Euclea led to Viceduke Silvestras Žukauskas to offer concessions to the landowners, namely allowing them representation in local government of the colony with the creation of the Vilcasuamanas Seimas in 1702; although this placated the landowners for the time being, it would prove to be a major factor in the coming unrest in the colony over the next few decades.

Independence

The Pereramonic Wars, in which Ruttland and the Ahnemunde Confederation sided with the Floren Empire brought conflict to the Viceduchy, and several coastal cities were attacked by foreign fleets; Gaullican ships bombarded Tauragė in 1721 and an expeditionary force burned Vandžiogalas and Uosto Karališkoji in 1722. They besieged and captured Biržuventis, although were force to vacate it after the Treaty of Demora temporarily ended hostilities. The recommencement of the war in 1724 saw Tauragė, Biržuventis, and Uosto Ruttųija targeted, this time primarily by Estmerish forces seeking to gain territory in Asteria Inferior. The fall of the coastal cities was prevented by the raising of widespread colonial militias, primarily made up of Iškeltos, or Ruttish citizens born in Asteria. The fact that much of the success in maintaining the colony's integrity was creditable not to regular Ruttish troops, but to colonists, served to encourage a burgeoning sense of pride and national identity in the Iškeltos that was separate from that of Ruttland.

The Storming of Kajapas Castle, during the early stages of the War of Vilcasuamanian Independence

In the immediate aftermath of the Pereramonic Wars, the Viceduchy was allowed considerable autonomy from metropolitan Ruttland. This would not last, however, as domestic instability in Euclea toppled the Algirdas dynasty in 1752, instituting a revolutionary republic in Ruttland. The Ruttish monarchy and nobility fled to their Asterian colony, setting up the royal court in Tauragė. King Kristupas IV Algirdas continued to claim the Ruttish throne, but de facto controlled only Vilcasuamanas; he dismissed the Viceduke and immediately began centralizing power over the colony, much to the consternation of Iškeltos merchants and landowners, who resented the rollback of their autonomy. The court, in an attempt to finance a return to Euclea, increased taxes exponentially and began to enforce strict mercantilist policies, severely punishing trade with foreign adversaries; Iškeltos protests led to the disbanding of the Seimas in 1756. The annexation of Ruttland into Vredlandia in 1760 fueled the tensions between Eucleans and Iškeltos, as the former feared that Eucleans would never leave. In the early 1760s, several riots broke out in the cities; the harsh response from the Ruttish regulars only worsened the situation. In February 1762, mountain landowners in the Juodopė Voivodeship organized a militia to resist the encroachment of Royalist troops. News of successful engagements of these militias reached the urban centers and caused a popular fervor; the ensuing riots caused King Kristupas and the nobility to flee Tauragė for Biržuventis. Soon after, the revolutionaries formed the Directory of Tauragė, followed by revolutionary governments in several other cities of the country.

The revolutionaries met in Tauragė, and the Assembly of the Year LXII, despite being fractured between centralists and federalists, declared the colony's independence from the Ruttish monarchy as the Republic of Vilcasuamanas. Antanas Kupliauskas, a non-partisan retired soldier, was named Grand Marshal of the Revolutionary Armies (made up of all of the militias as well as new formations); in 1763 he assumed the position of Director of the Republic, which he later renamed to the modern office of President. Though they were generally outmatched by the Royalist Army, the revolutionaries had a material advantage after the riots in Vandžiogalas forced the abandonment of the Royal Arsenal there. Furthermore, they were able to use their native knowledge of the terrain with primitive guerilla tactics. This, combined with the support indigenous peoples, rapidly forced the royalists to withdraw to the coastal grasslands, where asymmetric warfare was less effective. Although a string of military defeats was compounded by infighting in the Provisional Seimas that threatened to tear the Republic apart, Kupliauskas decisively defeated the Royalist Army at the Battle of Boulingas Žalia, and moved to march Biržuventis in 1766. King Kristupas, fearing a repeat of the Weranic Revolution where half his family was killed, reluctantly set sail for Euclea, implicitly abandoning the royalist cause. By 1767, the last royalist formations had either defected or surrendered.

Unitarism vs. Confederalism

Marshal Teodoras Valančius, who is credited with holding the nation together, during the Vilcasuamine Civil War

Early 20th century and Great War

The Vilcasuamanian Army retreated into the Sythian rainforest, conducting guerilla warfare for much of the Great War

Dictatorship and Democratization

Mauricijus Sprogys was dictator of Vilcasuamanas for nearly twenty years until his death in 1982

Government and politics

Chancellor Vytautas Kaparauskas

Senate Speaker Gediminas Martinkus

The Vilcasuamanian government is under the framework of a parliamentary republic, which has existed in the country since the parliamentarian victory in the First Vilcasuamanian Civil War, being codified with Teodoras Valančius' Constitution of 1816. Although the country was formerly governed under a unitary system, this was replaced by the current federal system following the Second Vilcasuamanian Civil War. The current constitution, passed in 1979 after the end of the country's last period of military rule, outlined the fusion of powers that continues to this day:

Executive power is rooted in the office of Chancellor, which, unlike most parliamentary democracies in Kylaris, combines the roles of head of state and head of government. The Chancellor, expected to command the confidence of the legislature, is selected by the government party or coalition after a general election (which occur every four years), and is confirmed by popular direct election. It is through the cabinet that the Chancellor directs government policy, and the Chancellor holds the power to sign legislation into law (or to withhold assent, effectively constituting an amendatory veto). Additionally, the Chancellor holds the title of commander-in-chief, can appoint certain civil servants, and can nominate justices to the Supreme Court. In certain circumstances, the Chancellor may also dissolve the lower house of the legislature, the Chamber of Deputies, causing a snap election before the next scheduled general election. The current Chancellor is Vytautas Kaparauskas, of the Liberal Party.

The base of the country's legislative branch is the Seimas, a bicameral body. The upper house, the Senate, is made up of two senators from each voivodeship, which each make up two at-large constituencies; senators have fixed four-year terms and thus senatorial elections do not necessarily coincide with every general election. The lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, is composed of 450 members, which, since 1980, have been apportioned through mixed-member proportional representation. By modern convention, the Chancellor is typically selected from and sits in the Chamber of Deputies, although they remain accountable to both houses of the Seimas. The Seimas has the authority to pass unamended legislation over a Chancellor's refusal of assent with a combined simple majority in the Senate and a two thirds majority in the Chamber of Deputies; both houses may vote to remove a Chancellor through a joint vote of no confidence, causing a snap election.

The Supreme Court of Vilcasuamanas is the highest court in the country, subjecting laws and executive orders to judicial review. Its membership of 23 justices is nominated by the Chancellor and confirmed by the Senate to a lifetime tenure.