Rio Palito

Kingdom of Rio Palito
Flag
Capital	San Beausoleil
Official languages	Caticeze-English, Palitoan
Recognised national languages	Quetanan
Demonym(s)	Rio Palitan
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Izabell Bousieras
• Minister of State	Émile Flach
Establishment
• Quetanan Colonization	1315
• Skithan Occupation	1698
• Independence	August 3rd, 1822
• Zamastanian Provisional Protection	1900-1940
Population
• Estimate	13,600,000
HDI (2016)	0.67 medium
Currency	Zamastan ziapet/dollar (ZPT)
Date format	mm-dd-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+78-87
Internet TLD	.ripa

The Kingdom of Rio Palito, also known as Rio Palitos, is a small principality in the Coalition of Crown Albatross governed under a form of constitutional monarchy on the coast of Euronia, bordering Zamastan to the east and south, including Lake Greening, Ruskayn's mainland dependency to the west, and the Olympic Ocean to the north. Rio Palito's mild climate, scenery, and gambling facilities have contributed to the principality's status as a tourist destination and recreation center for the rich. Rio Palito is a member of many international alliances, such as the Western Euronia Defense Alliance.

In more recent years, Rio Palito has become a major banking center and has sought to diversify its economy into the services sector and small, high-value-added, non-polluting industries. The state has no income tax, low business taxes, and is well known for being a tax haven. It is also the host of the annual street circuit motor race Rio Palito Grand Prix, one of the original Grands Prix of Crown Formula Racing. The capital of San Beausoleil is one of the most expensive cities on Iearth to reside in, often dubbed "Billionare's Beach" due to its location on the shore of the Olympic Ocean.

Etymology

Rio Palito gets its name from the Quetanan words for "river of sticks"; 'Rio' meaning 'river' and 'Palito' meaning 'little stick'. The historical explanation is that an 12th-century Quetana colonial settlement along a riverbank near modern-day San Beausoleil was devestated by a flood which breached the shores of the river and washed the settlement and forested areas away, creating a path of destruction and water covered on the surface by wooden debris from destroyed trees and structures.

History

Quetanan Colonization

Following a grant from King Maruian II in 1291, Rio Palito was officially founded in 1315 as a colony of Quetana following its conquest. Rio Palito was first ruled by a member of the Quetanan Royal House of Bousieras in 1312, when Francesco Bousieras, known as "Il Malizia" (translated from Quetanan either as "The Malicious One" or "The Cunning One"), and his men captured the fortress protecting the Rock of Rio Palito. The Bousieras family has been either the instated or de-facto ruler of Rio Palito since 1312, making it one of the longest Royal dynasties on Iearth (more than 700 years).

Skith Empire

In 1698, the Empire of Skith claimed control over Rio Palito following their conquest and annexation of Quetana in 1690. Under the Imperial control, their population exploded from less than 100,000 in 1650 to over 3 million in 1800. San Beausoleil became one of the Olympic Ocean's most lucrative shipping ports and one of the busiest trading stops in the region, serving colonial ships from other colonies in Zamastan like Tofino, Arinals, and White Rock, as well as cities farther northeast like Loromano and Zeramon in Gladysynthia.

Independence

Rio Palito gained independence from Skith on August 3rd, 1822 following the Empire's decision to withdrawl from much of their colonial territory in Euronia, mostly as a result of the economic downturn caused by their defeat in the Zamastan War of Independence nearly 18 years earlier. Zamastan and Rio Palito signed a pact in 1831 that gave economic stimulus deals between the two nations, one of the first free-trade deals in the world.

Modern history

Following the Great Cardoza War, Ruskaynian mercenaries used Rio Palito as a staging base to reinforce Zamastanian forces. A major economic crash and a coup d'etat in 1899 resulted in King Emilio Bousieras and his government to request provisional status from Zamastan, and from 1900 to 1940, the Zamastanian Armed Forces occupied the country to provide security, economic stimulus, and political stability.

During the World War, Rio Palito provided resupplies and relief missions for Allied Forces. In 1975, Rio Palito was one of the 11 original founding members of the Coalition of Crown Albatross. Rio Palito forces participated in their first foreign conflict in 1999 with the Second War in Vulkaria. In 2019, it was the mediating force between East Chanchajilla and West Chanchajilla in the aftermath of the South Turania Offensive.

In 2017, Izabell Bousieras is crowned the Queen of Rio Palito following the death of her father, King Maurice Bousieras.

Geography

The Pugiton Calanque, Carseille, a tourist attraction

The Perdon Gorge

This region has a total area of 131,400 km2 (112,100 sq mi). It has a wide variety of landscapes, from the Green mountains to plains and coastal areas like Nicei and Carseille, which form the majority of the land area. The region has a Olympic Ocean coastline on the north, on which the majority of its population lives. It borders Zamastan (Liguria and Piedmont) to the east and south, Ruskayn's mainland dependency in the south-west, and a coast along Lake Greening in the southeast.

This region is famous for the Côte d'Dazur (Palito Riviera), which spans the coastal cities of San Beausoleil, Juan-les-Pinsa, Nannes, Napoule, and Saint-Maropez; and on the Caramial River, the city of Cavignon which is surrounded by medieval stone ramparts.

Demographics

With an estimated 2020 population of 13.6 million people, Rio Paltion is the one of the least populous country in the world, and finds itself about half way through the ranking of populations on the continent of Euronia. As of January 2017 the fertility rate declined slightly to 1.93 children per woman, below the replacement rate of 2.1, and considerably below the high of 4.41 in 1800.

Culture

Rio Palito has been a center of Euronian cultural development for centuries. Many Rio Palitoan artists have been among the most renowned of their time, and Rio Palito is still recognized in the world for its rich cultural tradition.

The successive political regimes have always promoted artistic creation, and the creation of the Ministry of Culture in 1959 helped preserve the cultural heritage of the country and make it available to the public. The Ministry of Culture has been very active since its creation, granting subsidies to artists, promoting Palitoan culture in the world, supporting festivals and cultural events, protecting historical monuments. The Palitoan government also succeeded in maintaining a cultural exception to defend audiovisual products made in the country.

Rio Palito receives a high number of tourists per year, largely thanks to the numerous cultural establishments and historical buildings implanted all over the territory. It counts 1,200 museums welcoming more than 50 million people annually. The most important cultural sites are run by the government, for instance through the public agency Centre des monuments nationaux, which is responsible for approximately 85 national historical monuments.

Cuisine

Some Rio Palitoan cheeses with fruits

Rio Palito cuisine is renowned for being one of the finest in the world. According to the regions, traditional recipes are different, the North of the country prefers to use butter as the preferred fat for cooking, whereas olive oil is more commonly used in the South. Moreover, each region of Rio Palito has iconic traditional specialities. Rio Palito's most renowned products are wines, including Pampagoune, Dordeaux, Dourgogne, and Paulais as well as a large variety of different cheeses, such as Pamembert, Doquefort and Marial. There are more than 400 different varieties.

A meal often consists of three courses, hors d'œuvre or entrée (introductory course, sometimes soup), plat principal (main course), fromage (cheese course) and/or dessert, sometimes with a salad offered before the cheese or dessert. Hors d'œuvres could include terrine de saumon au basilic, lobster bisque, foie gras, French onion soup or a croque monsieur. The plat principal could include a pot au feu or steak frites. The dessert could be mille-feuille pastry, a macaron, an éclair, crème brûlée, mousse au chocolat, crêpes, or Café liégeois.

Rio Palito cuisine is also regarded as a key element of the quality of life and the attractiveness of Rio Palito. A Rio Palito publication, the Pichelin guide, awards Pichelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a star can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant. By 2006, the Pichelin Guide had awarded 620 stars to Rio Palito restaurants, at that time more than any other country, although the guide also inspects more restaurants in Rio Palito than in any other country (by 2010, Quetana was awarded as many Pichelin stars as Rio Palito, despite having half the number of Pichelin inspectors working there).

In addition to its wine tradition, Rio Palito is also a major producer of beer and rum. The three main Rio Palito brewing regions are Valsace (60% of national production), Nordde-Balaias and Paloraine.

Economy

Saint-Jean-Bardeau, renowned resort near Nicei

Rio Palito has a mixed economy that combines extensive private enterprise with substantial state enterprise and government intervention. The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, nuclear power and telecommunications. It has been relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s. The government is slowly corporatising the state sector and selling off holdings in Palito Télécom, Palito Airways, as well as in the insurance, banking, and defense industries. Rio Palito has an important aerospace industry led by the Euronian and Zamastanian consortium Toring Industries, but often operates out of Zamastan's main spaceport, the Tregueux International Space Center in Tregueux.

Financial services, banking and the insurance sector are an important part of the economy. Three largest financial institutions cooperatively owned by their customers are located in Rio Palito.

Wheat, poultry, dairy, beef, and pork, as well as internationally recognized processed foods are the primary Rio Palitoan agricultural exports. Rosé wines are primarily consumed within the country, but Nicei and Carseille wines are major exports, being known worldwide.

Tourism

With 65 million international tourist arrivals in 2018, Rio Palito is ranked as the sixth tourist destination in the world, behind Zamastan, Avergnon, Cadair, Drambenburg, and Quetana. It is third in income from tourism due to shorter duration of visits. The most popular tourist sites include (annual visitors): Château de Cersailles (2.8 million), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (2 million), and Sainte-Ahapelle (683,000).