Farallon

Republic of Farallon Aupuni Manu
Flag
Motto: "Semper Ad Meliora" "Always Onward Toward Better Things"
Anthem: WIP
Map of Farallon on Terra Map of Farallon on Terra
Map of Farallonian Space Holdings Map of Farallonian Space Holdings
Capital	Noumea 22.2735° S, 166.4481° E
Official languages	English
Recognised national languages	French, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Japanese, Mandarin
Recognised regional languages	Hawaiian, Maori, Polynesian languages, Tahitian
Ethnic groups (2651)	25% Pacific Islander 16% French 13% Kinh Vietnamese 12% Malay 9% Han Chinese 4% Kiwi 4% Japanese 16% Other
Religion (2651)	50% Christianity –46% Catholicism –4% Other 16% Buddhism 15% Ethnic religion 8% Hinduism 11% Other
Demonym(s)	Farallonian
Government
• President	Luke Cross
• Prime Minister	Marius Vasseur
Establishment
• Pacific Islands Forum	August 7, 1971
• Westbounds	November 8, 2016
• Coral Group	March 14, 2621
• Coconut Conference and founding	July 7, 2647
Area
• Total area	89,393 km2 (34,515 sq mi)
Population
• 2651 census	17,395,189
• Density	195/km2 (505.0/sq mi)
Currency	aqua
Time zone	UTC+9 to -6 (UTC)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+5
Internet TLD	.fr

Farallon, officially the Republic of Farallon (French: République des îles Farallon) is an island country spanning the entirety of the Oceanic islands, from the Bismarck Archipelago in the west to Easter Island in the east. Moderately controversial expansions into the Spices Archipelago and Malay Peninsula were announced, and international recognition is underway.

Prior to the Great Dusk, a nuclear exchange that would ravage most of the Western world, Farallon functioned as many separate states and territories, which stayed contained to their own archipelagoes and islands. Following the Great Dusk, refugees from the mainlands of Australia and Asia made their ways to the islands in the following decades.

Farallon has over 17.5 million people. The population mostly consists of a mix of French and Southeast Asian, though minority populations of Japanese, North African, and other European descent also exist. The capital of Farallon is located in Noumea on the island of New Caledonia, but was temporarily moved to Tahiti due to the Farallonian Civil War.

Etymology

In the late 18th century, the crew of the British ship Birdwatcher became stranded, drifting at the mercy of the ocean's currents after the ship sank in a heavy cyclone. The survivors were rescued by inhabitants of the British colony of New Zealand, who lifted the men from their boat to seacliffs on the North Island. Among the survivors was English-Spanish explorer Vincent Catalan, who referred to the seacliffs they were rescued on as farallón. In the 1790s-1800s, Catalan made a settlement in Wallis and Futuna called Farallon to pay tribute to his rescuers. At the Coconut Conference, a Wallisian from the settlement proposed Farallon as the name of the nation.

History

Main article: History of Farallon

Early History

The Pacific islands were first inhabited by Austronesian migrations that occurred from 3000-1500 BC. These migrations would travel as far east as Easter Island, famous for its massive stone moai heads. Genetic evidence that emerged at the dawn of the 21st century also revealed that Polynesian explorers most likely made it to South America.

Pre-Dusk Era

In the 16th-18th centuries, Spanish, Portuguese, and British expeditions led by explorers such as Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook all navigated through, mapped, and documented these islands and their cultures. The first European settlement on the Pacific islands happened on the Pitcairns, where in 1789 the Mutiny on the Bounty established the first British presence in the Oceanic sphere. Australia, New Zealand and Fiji would soon follow under a Union Jack. French missionaries would make their ways to the island of Tahiti, where they faced some resistance and would eventually use force in the form of gunboats. In 1853, New Caledonia would fall under the French rule, where they remained until the Dusk. The Spanish, German, American, and Japanese would all make advances to establish colonies and territories across the oceans.

In World War I, the German colonies of German New Guinea and Samoa were occupied by Australian, Japanese, and New Zealander forces, ending in a German surrender, and the Treaty of Versailles made these islands mandates, granting them to each country. In World War II, the Pacific was the largest arena of battle, where Japanese and Allied forces destroyed, occupied, and battled on various islands throughout the ocean. The United States would engage in island-hopping, which allowed for the eventual surrender of the Japanese in August 1945 to the Allies, formally ending the Second World War.

In the 20th century, decolonization began as nations such as Fiji, Australia, Tonga, and New Zealand gained independence and self-governance. Prior to the Great Dusk, the Pacific Islands Forum, formerly the South Pacific Forum, was the main intergovernmental organization in the region. The Pacific Islands Forum allowed for regional peacekeeping operations, and a trade bloc. It would later prove instrumental to reconnecting islands in the decades of recovery following the Great Dusk.

The Great Dusk

The Great Dusk was an international nuclear exchange that occurred in 2014. It culminated as a result of rising tensions between various nations in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In the nuclear conflicts, most islands in Oceania, with exception to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji were not directly struck, and as such not did not experience the same scale of mass destruction seen on other continents. The Great Dusk initiated mass migration movements from the irradiated mainlands to the Pacific Islands for survival, and repercussions such as nuclear winters, fallout, and famine impacted the populations in the Pacific in the years after. The Pacific Islands Forum ceased for 25 years until regional unions re-established contact, completely connecting the entire Pacific for the first time since the Dusk.

Immediately following the Dusk, governments consolidated into larger regional unions. These unions were situated in Melanesia (Westbounds), Micronesia (Macaronesia), and Polynesia (Polynesian Federation/Porinetia). By 2050, these regional unions had established contact, though disputes over territory and policy continued well until the 23rd century.

Post-Dusk History

The year 2364 was arguably the most destructive year in post-dusk Oceania, as it marked the start of the Wallisian War. Tensions in the long-standing Wallis Divide between Fiji and Samoa came to a boil. Samoa struck first by bombing the Fijian-held portion of the Island. While the Westbounds and Polynesian Federation took up peacekeeping strategies and stayed neutral, only focusing on defensive roles, some smaller island communities would be dragged into the conflict as a result of incredibly localized alliances. Peacekeeping forces were massacred by a Fijian revolutionary group called the Paddlers, which called for the expulsion of non-ethnic Pacific Islanders. In Fiji and Samoa, military skirmishes and full-out conflicts would kill tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers. The Wallisian War lasted a grueling 30 years, ending in a stalemate and eventual peace agreement in the city of Funafuti. The Treaty of Funafuti, signed in 2394, called for a referendum in the islands of Wallis and Futuna. The islands voted not to join any country, and rather would function as an independent nation until the establishment of Farallon. The population levels in some islands did not fully recover to pre-Wallisian War levels until as late as the dawn of the 27th century. The most immediate effect of the Wallisian War was the alienation of Samoa and the island of Vanua Levu in Fiji.

From the 25th-27th centuries, the Pacific islands would fall into a "Dark Age." In the mid-25th century, re-integration into the international sphere, or rather the encroachment of the mainland nations into Oceania, caused many conflicts for the peoples. At around this time, nations from the mainland would discover and claim some of the islands in the Pacific for use. Among the largest were the Northern Pacific Empire and Suburbia-Purlieu. Both nations would use the islands for military infrastructure construction. Kiwis would use the islands as outposts for transportation to and from the Americas, as well as some atolls as nuclear testing grounds. Military conflicts between mainland nations would take place in the Pacific Ocean, one of the most famous being the Battle of the Coral Sea in 2515, in which the entirety of the Ashian fleet was sunk by Suburbian ships and planes in the Coral Sea.

Strains of influenza, introduced by Suburbians traveling throughout the islands killed a significant amount of the ethnic Polynesian population. Historians are unsure as to why this did not target the non-natives, as groups in the past such as the Paddlers advocated for their expulsion and death. Academia has come to the consensus that the medical procedures different islands enforced to prevent and eliminate the disease were the main decisive factor in the rate of mortality. Small-scale conflicts and skirmishes between the remaining regional blocs and Suburbian soldiers would throw the region into a state of isolationism. In the year 2455, regional unions would exchange contact for the last time to standardize medical protocol. The regional blocs would either become purely ceremonial or completely collapse due to internal tensions, inadequate leadership, and epidemics.

The Pacific Rebirth

In the early 27th century, contacts began to form again and soon the interconnected networks seen prior to the Dark Ages had been rekindled. Surviving blocs included the Polynesian Federation and the Westbound Isles. In the 2620s, Fiji, Tonga, and New Caledonia would establish particularly strong relations, and the presence of New Caledonia in this triple-isle group would incorporate the Westbound Isles of Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. This early alliance was called the Coral Group. The Coral Group would make north and eastern expansions into Samoa, Tuvalu, and Micronesia.

On 7 July 2637, the members of the Coral Group all congregated at the Coconut Conference, hosted by the Fijians on the major city of Rifbrak. Most delegates advocated for the revival of a Pacific Islands Forum, an IGO that had existed from the 1970s to the 2450s. This idea would result in the nation of Farallon, where the city of Rifbrak would be designated as the capital city. Farallon did not make contact with the greater world until the late 2640s. Farallon acquired the Polynesian Federation at around the same time.

When Farallon made contact with the greater world, it was in a state of disaster. A massive earthquake originating from the Tonga Trench triggered massive tsunamis which would cause the decimation of the capital city of Rifbrak, the island of Tonga, and moderate damages in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and the North Island in Suburbia. Suburbia-Purlieu, the Northern Pacific Empire, and Teutionia were the main nations that sent humanitarian aid to rebuild Farallon, and were the first outside contact since the Great Dusk. The tsunamis were also the perfect opportunity for insurrectionists identifying from Sandalwood Island/Vanua Levu to seize the weakened capital city. This rebellion would devour the largest island of Viti Levu, until Farallon and Suburbian forces extinguished the outburst three months later. Due to the destruction of the former capital of Rifbrak, the capital city was moved to the city of Noumea on the island of New Caledonia.

On May 20, 2649, the Farallon Civil War began with attacks by members of the terrorist organization Cyclone, the orchestrator of the Sandalwood Rebellions, and the self-proclaimed successor of the Paddlers. The attacks were on various embassies in the city of Noumea, as well as on the Farallonian Embassy in Tokyo. At its height, the Cyclone state unaptly named The Union Islands possessed the entirety of the Nord-Sud and Micronesia regions, and had significant chokeholds in the Unity and Westbound regions. Terrorist rebels ravaged hundreds of islands, towns, and communities alike, and with the help of the Kiwi and Imperial forces from Suburbia-Purlieu and the Northern Pacific Empire respectively, Cyclone forces were driven out until their eventual surrender on December 25, 2650 in Funafuti, Tuvalu.

Geography

Farallon lies between latitudes 27.9° S to 14.7° N, and longitudes 135.6° E to 109.3° W. Farallon consists of over 4,500 islands and atolls on both sides of the equator and International Date Line, of which 965 are inhabited. The largest of these islands include New Caledonia, Viti Levu, and Bougainville Island. While Farallon shares no land borders with any nation, it does share maritime borders with Sihn and the Northern Pacific Empire.

Climate

The climate of Farallon ranges from tropical and oceanic to Mediterranean. The summers prior to the Dusk were extremely hot, where average temperatures measured from 24-35 degrees Celsius, and winters were wet, characterized by heavy rains and humidity. Since the Dusk, the climate has gotten considerably colder. The summers still reach pre-Dusk levels on hotter days, but average temperatures during the season now measure from 19-30 Celsius. Winters are less humid, and rains come less often, with about 24 inches of annual precipitation overall, however some islands continue to reach much higher levels.

Flat seas are seldom seen, but for most of the year, the ocean remains relatively calm. Swells can cause waves to grow to as high as 40-50 feet. The water temperatures in the seas and ocean surrounding islands is extremely warm in comparison to other coastal areas such as the Pacific West Coast and Mediterranean, ranging from 18 to 30 degrees Celsius.

Biodiversity and conservation

Farallon is exceptional on Terra for its biodiversity, often due to its isolation. Over ten thousand unique flora and fauna are found in Farallon, including expansive coral reefs, ancient rainforests, and a plethora of native birds. Resultantly, conservation and wildlife protection policies are quite strict. Nature reserves and careful scientific research preserve and document the thousands of species on the islands, and the reserves cover over 90% of the existing coral reefs and most biodiverse islands.

Hundreds of species were killed in the 18th-20th centuries as a result of colonization, where invasive and foreign species introduced from the West completely eradicated populations. The Pacific Islands' ecosystems were further threatened by climate change and sea level rise in the 20th-21st centuries until the Great Dusk occurred, completely halting almost all industrial processes and drastically reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Despite the positives of having immediately stopped the climate change process, the long-term effects of climate change, including temperature rise, sea level rise, and more severe natural disaster were not stopped until years later, and the effects of large-scale nuclear exchange did not stop until a decade later.

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Farallon

Economy

Main article: Economy of Farallon

Demographics

Ethnic groups and languages

Farallon is an ethnically diverse country, holding thousands of distinct native languages and cultural groups. Most native Farallonians are descended from Austronesian peoples, whose languages had origins in Proto-Austronesian, which most likely originated and diversified in Formosa. Most native languages descend from the Oceania subfamily of the Austronesian languages.

Pacific Islanders are the largest ethnic group in Farallon, constituting 25.3% of the population. They are placed throughout the islands, with the largest portions in the Polynesian sphere. The French are the next largest group, followed by Vietnamese, Malay, Chinese, Kiwi, and Japanese people. A sense of strong Farallonian nationhood exists alongside the regional and ancestral identities.

The country's official languages are English and French. French has seen a steady decline in formal government use, but vocabulary and terms still remain visible in most functions, from public announcements to subdivision names. It was first introduced by colonial authorities from both the British and French Empires, and has been frequently used since the 19th century. Nearly every Farallonian can speak at least one of the official languages, due to its widespread use in academics, communication, politics, media, and infrastructure. Most Farallonians are polylingual, with their first or second language being their native tongue, and their third language often being one of the hundreds of local languages that dot the country. Most belong to the Austronesian (Oceanic) language family, though the presence of Papuan languages in the far western islands is strong. Of these local languages, Tahitian, Maori, and Hawaiian are the most widely spoken, having a somewhat official status in all regions.

Religion

Religious freedom is an inalienable right in the constitution, and the government does not officially recognize any religion as a national religion. Christianity, particularly Catholicism, is the largest religion, making up half of the population. Buddhists and ethnic Polynesian religions have roughly the same amount of members, each constituting about 15% of the population. The rest of the population is made up of Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims. Irreligiousness makes up a small, but growing portion of the country as younger generations convert from Hinduism and Islam.

The natives of the Pacific Islands practiced several related religions, of which all were polytheistic and traditionally narrated orally. Orality allows for special flexibility of stories, meaning that no telling of an account was ever the same. Traditionally, religious stories and accounts were often changed with respect to the setting, narrator, and audience. Polynesian historical narratives can be seen as a somewhat opposite to the Western historical concept in the sense that the Polynesian narratives attempt to justify the present situation, rather than drawing on past knowledge to understand the present.

Polynesian mythologies are often distinct for each island group, though similar to others. There are often stories about a union between Sky and Earth which serves as an explanation for the creation of the world. Islands are often known to be pulled up from the bottom of the ocean with a magic fishhook, or thrown down from the heavens. As most other religions do, Polynesian mythology is full of adventures, battles, migrations, and seductions. Some of the most common "characters" in Polynesian mythology include a trickster, Maui, whose escapades are widely known in stories, and a beautiful goddess by the name of Hina/Sina.

Their beliefs are centrally tied with animism, meaning that all things, animate or inanimate, were believed to hold supernatural power and sacredness. Holding great reverence for nature, the Polynesians often tied stories and beliefs to certain geographic features and the ocean. These all vary depending on the island or group. This power was known as mana, which was believed to be affected by certain actions, setting a precedent for social norms in everyday life. Tapu describes the regulations that seek to limit or prohibit certain actions that can "disrupt" mana. The universe was also believer to be populated with spiritual beings, many of which was malevolent. The Polynesians' polytheistic beliefs had various levels of gods, from the great pantheon, with gods like Tangaroa, Lono, and Tu, to local gods that who were renowned priests and chiefs.

Christianity was introduced to the Pacific islands by colonizers from Western Europe. In the Northern Pacific, Roman Catholic priests from the Spanish colony of the Philippines made numerous missions to islands in the North Pacific starting from the 17th century. The first permanent mission in the South Pacific was established by the London Missionary Society established by the British. The first of these British missions came to eastern Polynesia. In the 19th century, missionary presences peaked, where other sects of Western Christianity were introduced to the South Pacific. Roman Catholicism was mostly introduced by the French, while Protestantism was carried by the British and Americans. Buddhisn and Islam were all spread by merchants visiting the islands, often coming from Maritime Southeast Asia and Australia. Islam was further introduced when civilians from colonies in the British Empire were relocated around the various holdings, many from India, introducing Islam, and Hinduism in a much smaller amount.

Mana

Chiefs were believed to hold great mana, so great that in some of the strictest societies, individuals who did so much as to walk over a chief's shadow would be sentenced to death, as their death would be the only thing that compensates for the tarnishing of the chief's mana. In much of Farallon, even in the Western-dominated areas, these actions are considered taboo and offensive, though on a much less intense scale.

Women also held great mana due to their ability to reproduce and give birth. As such, they were respected and protected by their societies through many tapu. One instance of this can be seen in the Marquesas Islands, where women were prohibited to enter canoes under normal conditions due to feat that the woman's mana would compete with the canoe's mana. Men had lesser mana, but still required the same carefulness of protection. In many societies, preparation for war or other dangerous and demanding undertakings included a period of purification, eating only certain foods or going into seclusion in order to protect their mana from being disrupted or impaired. Some chants and songs are considered so sacred that every single syllable must be pronounced correctly. Major violations of these tapu often meant death for the violator.

Mana was also held by inanimate objects and places as well. Some sacred tracts of land, tress, temples, and areas were prohibited from entry by ordinary people because of a high-ranking person or god's mana would pervade the space. If anyone accidentally stepped over a tool, it was consider no longer suitable for use and profane, often being discarded. Violations of this less significant mana were believed to result in some sort of supernatural punishment, which often included bad luck or some form of injury or illness.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Farallon