Dunhelm Island

Dunhelm Island

Disputed island Native name: Duneler (Imaguan Creole) Isola di Sant'Osorio (Vespasian)
Dunhelm Island from the east
Geography
File:IdR Map.png
Location	Arucian Sea
Area	192.91 km²
Highest point	Mt. Couto 625 m
Administered by
Imagua and the Assimas
County	Saint Isidore's
Claimed by
Bonaventure
State	San Giorgio
Demographics
Population	11,330 (as of 2021)

Dunhelm Island (Vespasian: Isola Dunelm, Western Imaguan Creole: Duneler), also known as Saint Osorius' Island (Vespasian: Isola di Sant'Osorio) is an island located in the Arucian Sea, situated 22.4 kilometers away from the island of Imagua, and just over 100 kilometers from the island of Bonaventure. Disputed between Bonaventure and Imagua and the Assimas, it has been under Imaguan control since 1946.

Etymology

The officially used name Dunhelm Island comes from the city of Duinhelm in Borland, which had been under personal union with Estmere at the time the island was discovered by Eucleans in 1549, although the island only ended up under Estmerish control in 1771.

The name used by Bonaventure, Saint Osorius' Island (Isola di Sant'Osorio), derives from Saint Osorius, as the island was discovered by TBD on the feast day of Saint Osorius.

Besides these two names, older names for the island include Caike, which originates from Nati caike, meaning "small island" (cai and (e)ke respectively), and Mabegiti pa'wu, meaning worthless island in Old Imaguan (compare Mabegiti ubouhu in Imaguan).

History

Pre-colonization

Dunhelm Island was originally inhabited by the Nati peoples, having taken over the island around TBD. At the time the island was first sighted, it was estimated that there were around three thousand Nati living on Dunhelm, with Native Imaguans beginning to establish a foothold on Dunhelm Island, with archaeological evidence documenting conflict on the site of present-day Guimarães and Tauaquera between the Nati and the Native Imaguans.

(TBC)

Early colonization

Depiction of the slave trade on Dunhelm Island, c. 1876

The island was first sighted by Caldish explorer TBD in 1549, but it was only in 1573 when under Geatish explorer TBD, he landed on the island and claimed what he called Caise (from Nati Caike) for Geatland, with the town of Lötvall (present-day Guimarães) being the primary settlement on the island. During this period, while the island was not as populated as Imagua, or the Assimas, the Nati on Dunhelm Island were enslaved, and were so mistreated that by 1650, there were "virtually no natives" left on Dunhelm Island.

While after the island of Imagua fell, it remained under Geatish control, in 1683, the island was conquered by (TBD), and was incorporated into their colony of Maracao, with Lötvall being renamed Porto Negro. It would remain the primary economic centre of Dunhelm Island, although political decisions were made in the colonial capital of Porto Leste. This state of affairs lasted until 1721, when after the Gilded Wars, it became part of the Gaullica's recently-annexed territory of Imagua, which it seized from Estmere. During that period, it was administered as part of the Saint Casimir's Islands, alongside Imagua and the eponymous islands in present-day Vilcasuamanas, with Porto Negro being renamed to be Port Noir.

It would remain under Gaullican control until 1771, when after the War of the Asterian Succession, Estmere took over the island of Imagua, including Dunhelm Island, and incorporated the island into the parish of Saint Isidore's, with the settlement being renamed to Henryton.

During the late eighteenth and through the early nineteenth century, Dunhelm Island was a quiet part of the Colony of Imagua, although due to its distance from the administrative centre of New Taois, there were demands in 1811 and again in 1838 for Dunhelm Island to become a parish in its own right, although the request was rejected by the colonial governor both times, as Dunhelm Island did not possess a "significant population" to be able to sustain its duties as a parish within the colony.

Transition to self-government

Depiction of Henryton, c. 1876

As the Colony of Imagua transitioned to self-government, Dunhelm Island's population continued advocating for separation from Saint Isidore's Parish, and the establishment of a separate parish just for the island. As well, with the industrialisation going on in Cuanstad and San Pietro, emigration became a significant issue, as many who were born on Dunhelm left for work in Cuanstad, as besides farming and fishing, there was not a significant economy on the island.

In 1862, the island once again requested parish status, citing distance from the parish seat of New Taois as a reason, and citing that having a parish would help create jobs on the island. This was rejected by the colonial governor, due to its small population.

By 1871, the population of Dunhelm Island was only 2,597 people, with 721 inhabiting the village of Henryton (present-day Guimarães), and the rest either living in the countryside, or in smaller villages or hamlets. Emigration increased over the next thirty years, with the population falling to around 1,204 people by 1901, as economic opportunities on Dunhelm Island remained very limited.

During the early twentieth century, Dunhelm Island remained an agrarian economy, with a constable from the Royal Imaguan Constabulary reporting in 1907 that "the island is very quiet," and that he only had to respond to a single incident in the three years he was stationed, "when a youth stole a horse, and was made to return the horse to its owner." However, the constable noted that "as the economy was wholly dependent on hunting or fishing, more and more young people leave for New Taois or for Cuanstad."

However, in the next decade, the Great Collapse greatly affected the economy of Dunhelm Island, as there was no longer any demand for goods produced on the island. This led to an exodus of the population: while in 1911, the population had risen to 1,329 people, by 1921, it had fallen to 977 people, with most looking for jobs in Nua Taois and Cuanstad.

Great War and Solarian War

With the start of the Great War, Dunhelm Island, like the rest of Imagua, was swiftly occupied by Gaullica, as the island was poorly defended: despite fierce resistance from the three constables and two militiamen, they were quickly forced to surrender. During Gaullican occupation, the seat of Henryton (present-day Guimarães) was once again renamed to Port Noir, and the other villages and hamlets were made to adopt Gaullican names. However, as they were otherwise occupied, Dunhelm Island was generally left alone.

After the liberation of Imagua in 1934, Dunhelm Island had their names reverted to their original Estmerish names. However, it was still a rural backwater: while the population rose to 1,257 people by 1941, of which 419 were living in Henryton. In 1942, Henryton was granted town status, on account of it being the main commercial centre on the island.

Following the start of the Solarian War, the colonial militia was once again raised, with ten soldiers tasked to defend Dunhelm Island from a potential attack from the Greater Solarian Republic, which at the time controlled the Assimas Islands. However, as Imagua was extensively invested in the war, Dunhelm Island was seen as "unlikely be invaded" by foreign powers. The war was a quiet period for Dunhelm Island, with no attacks on the island by Etruria, although the economy was still primarily dependent on agriculture.

Post-Solarian War and invasion by Maracao

Henryton in 1952

After the end of the Solarian War, the militia was disbanded, and life returned to relative normalcy. However, as Nua Taois started to grow in the aftermath of the Solarian War, younger people left the island for the mainland: thus, by 1951, the population of Dunhelm Island had modestly risen to 1,309 people, of which 1,045 were Bahio-Imaguans, 258 were Eucleo-Imaguan, and the remainder were Coian-Imaguans.

During the early 1950s, the island did not see much tourism, due to its isolation from the rest of the country: although there was a connection to the mainland by the fledgling Imaguan Maritime Service to the town of Henryton, there was no other way to get to and from the island, which hampered development of a tourism industry on the island. Despite the emigration of the younger population of the island to Imagua, and despite the lack of economic opportunities, the town of Henryton flourished, much to the detriment of smaller communities across Dunhelm Island.

In 1955, Maracao launched an invasion of Dunhelm Island to "liberate the island from the white-ruled regime." Due to its poor defences, as only five constables from the Royal Imaguan Constabulary were present on the island, Maracao swiftly overrun the island, and conquered it. Of the estimated 1,289 inhabitants residing on the island, only 430 chose to leave the island for Nua Taois. Thus, while Imagua lodged a formal diplomatic protest against Maracao, and cut relations with the Maracan government, it was unable to try and retake control of the island, as it had already disbanded the colonial militia at the end of the Solarian War.

Contemporary era

TBD

Geography

Mount Couto, 2006

Dunhelm Island, like the neighbouring island of Imagua and the Assimas Islands, is of volcanic origin, with the highest peak being the 625 metre high Mount Couto (known in Imagua as King's Peak), an extinct volcano that last erupted 100,000 years ago. Two streams flow from the summit of Mount Couto to the coast. The only other mountain is the 207 metre high Mount Maida (known as Lotwall Hill in Imagua) has one stream flow towards Formigosa.

While the coast is relatively flat, the further inland one goes, the more rugged the terrain is, and the less arable the land becomes, until it becomes too rocky to farm. Historically, the island was covered in rainforest, but with colonisation and the establishment of sugar plantations on the island, the ecosystem has been radically altered since its first settlement by humans.

Climate

The climate of Dunhelm Island is a tropical savanna climate, due to its location near the equator, with the yearly average highs on Dunhelm Island being 26.6 °C (79.9 °F), and the yearly average lows being 23.9 °C (75 °F). The wet season is generally from May to October, while the dry season typically lasts from November to April, although the months of April and November receive more rain than any other month in the dry season.

Administration

According to Imagua and the Assimas, Dunhelm Island is part of Saint Isidore's County, and is governed as Dunhelm Parish (Vespasian: Parrocchia di Dunelm). It is governed as a six-member council, elected every 4 years, and is headed by a Chairman (Vespasian: Presidente), elected from among the council.

Until 1988, Dunhelm Island was divided into two, with TBD covering the main town of the island, and Dunhelm Parish governing the remainder of the island, but after the Local Governance Act of 1987 was passed by the Imaguan parliament, TBD became part of Dunhelm Parish.

According to Bonaventure, Dunhelm Island is part of San Giorgio. (TBC)

Demographics

As of the 2021 Imaguan census, 11,330 people live on Dunhelm Island.

According to the census, 92% of the population of Dunhelm Island, or 10,424 people, are Bahio-Imaguans, 5% of the population of Dunhelm Island, or 567 people are Eucleo-Imaguan, and the remaining 3% of the population, or 339 people belong to other ethnicities. However, it is generally recognized that most of the census-identified Bahio-Imaguans on Dunhelm Island are misto, with around 60%-80% of the Bahio-Imaguan population on Dunhelm Island being misto, with the remainder being solely of Bahian descent.

Linguistically, Dunhelm Island is predominantly Etrurophone, with 82% of the island's population, or 9,291 people speaking Vespasian on a regular basis, while 18% of the island's population, or 2,032 people speaking Estmerish on a regular basis. Only seven people do not speak either language on a regular basis. The most commonly spoken language on Dunhelm Island is (TBD). This stands in marked contrast to the rest of Saint Isidore's Parish, where Estmerish is the primary day-to-day language, leading to issues concerning government services by the parochial government, which usually only provides them in Estmerish.

Religiously, Dunhelm Island is predominantly Solarian Catholic, with 86% of the island's population, or 9,744 people being adherents to the Solarian Catholic Church. Of the remainder of the population, around 13% of the population follow Amendist sects, split roughly evenly between the Embrian Communion and Gospelism, with 85 people following other religions. Only two people are registered by the census as irreligious.