Southland County

Southland County Namunatauat-assi (Chequan)
County
Country	Surrow
Founded	May 2, 1563
County seat	Holcot Inlet
Government
• Commissioner	Kendra Stirner
Area
• Total	1,511.90 km2 (583.75 sq mi)
Population  (2021)
• Total	122,628
• Rank	1st in Surrow
• Density	81.1/km2 (210/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-4 (Surrowese Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	not observed

Southland County (Chequan: Namunatauat-assi) is a county in Surrow, bordered to the north by Tuckamore County. Established in 1563 and originally covering all of Holcot Island, it is today the second smallest county in area, with only Kikik County being smaller than Southland County in area, but the most populous county in Surrow.

Etymology

Southland County is named in relation to Northland County, with Southland County referring to the "southern lands" of the Surrowese archipelago (i.e. Holcot Island).

The Chequan name for the county, Namunatauat-assi derives from the term on the south side of a hill or on the side of the hill sheltered from the wind, referring to its location on the southern portion of Holcot Island, and its hospitable location that is sheltered from the Breuvician winds.

History

Holcot Inlet, 1863

Southland County was among the first counties in Surrow to be established, with the 1563 colonial charter issued by King TBD of Rythene dividing the Surrowese archipelago into two counties: Northland County on Great Island and Kikik Island. The county seat of Southland County, Holcot Inlet, was the first permanent Auressian settlement on Surrow, as previous settlements were only inhabited during the summer months, with the Tyrnicans establishing Kleinerhafen (present-day Klinerhaven, Holcot Inlet) in 1568, just a few kilometres from Holcot Inlet.

Due to the geography of Surrow, present-day Southland County became the most populous part of Surrow: by 1650, Holcot Inlet had a population of 300 people during the winter and 3,000 during the summer, while Kleinerhafen had a population of 100 during the winter, and 2,500 during the summer, with most other settlements in present-day Southland County having a year-round population of less than fifty people.

The close proximity of Rythenean and Tyrnican settlements led to conflicts and skirmishes between fishermen and local authorities, but in the early phases of the Eleven Years' War, Tyrnica would control all the settlements in present-day Southland County until Tyrnica's decisive defeat at the Battle of Klinerhaven in 1758, and the transfer of all Tyrnican settlements to Rythenean rule, although Tyrnicans living on Surrow were allowed to continue living there under the condition that they accepted Rythenean authority.

In July 1759, the northern two-thirds of Southland County were carved out of Southland County to create Tuckamore County, with the borders roughly resemble the modern-day borders of Southland County. However, the borders were further altered in 1784 when all land between the Breuvician Sea and the Elser Hills became Westland County.

During the late eighteenth and throughout the nineteenth centuries, Holcot Inlet would solidify its position as the primate city of the Colony of Surrow, as it was the home of the colonial government, while its favourable climate and geography relative to the rest of the Surrowese archipelago enabled the population to grow and for the municipal economy to diversify. These economic pressures led to the decline of Tyrnican in historically Tyrnican communities in favour of Rythenean.

In 1848, Westland County was dissolved, and its southern third was returned to Southland County. During the late 19th century, the county government began developing, with the first county council being elected in 1855, and the county government becoming more and more powerful as the century went on, with the county government assuming control over land registration, emergency services, infrastructure maintenance, and day-to-day operation of schools.

In the late nineteenth century, the Surrowese language question would take hold in Southland County, as although the Tyrnophone population had been in decline since the end of the Eleven Years' War, Klinerhaven was still a predominantly Tyrnican-speaking area of Surrow, even after it was annexed into Holcot Inlet in 1894. The language question would only be settled with the outbreak of the First Great War, with Rythene and Tyrnica entering opposite sides of the war, and the colonial government and broader society seeing Tyrnican as the language of the enemy. This, combined with economic pressures led to the decline of Surrowese Tyrnican during the twentieth century.

Since the Second Great War and Surrowese independence, Holcot Inlet became a major centre for internal migration as economic opportunities in the outports declined, leading to the city's population rising significantly since the 1950s. Since the 1990s, as housing becomes more expensive in Holcot Inlet, some communities, such as Bagshaw Cove have begun to grow in population as it attracts people who seek cheaper housing but still wanting to work in Holcot Inlet.

Government

Colonial Building, Holcot Inlet, 2017

Southland County is governed by a seventeen-member county council (Chequan: nekaussei), elected every four years. Since the 2022 redistribution and the May 2022 election, 14 county councilors represent Holcot Inlet, 1 councilor represents Bagshaw Cove, 1 councilor represents Armin's Reed-Bowman Inlet-Carsten, and 1 councilor represents Daver's Harbour-Pimikashu-Port Carter.

The county council is headed by a commissioner (Chequan: utshimau), with the current commissioner since June 21, 2018 being Kendra Stirner, who succeeded TBA as commissioner, who served from 2010 until 2018.

Per the Surrowese constitution, Southland County, like all other counties in Surrow, has power over infrastructure maintenance, trial courts, emergency services, land registration, day-to-day operations of schools, and provision of medical services.

Demographics

As of the 2021 census, Southland County's population was measured to be at 122,628 people, comprising around 71.5% of the entire Surrowese population.

Racially, Southland County is relatively heterogenous compared to most of the rest of Surrow, with 116,203 people, or around 94.8% of the county population being of Auressian descent. 2,485 people, or around 2.1% of the county population are Native Surrowese, with estimates suggesting that around 81% of the Native Surrowese population are Chequan, with 19% being Itchalnu. Finally, 3,942 people, or around 3.2% of the county population belong to other racial groups.

Religiously, 110,175 people, or around 89.9% of the county population are Perendists. 11,707 people, or around 9.5% of the county population are irreligious, while 746 people, or around 0.6% of the county population follow other religions.

Linguistically, 120,281 people, or around 98.1% of the county population speak Rythenean as their first language. 640 people, or around 0.5% of the county population speak Chequan as their first language, and 139 people, or around 0.1% of the county population speak Itchalnu as their first language. 1,568 people, or around 1.3% of the county population speak other languages, with 703 people, or around 0.6% of the total population speaking Tyrnican as their first language.

Settlements

Southland County has one city (Chequan: mishautenau): Holcot Inlet, with a population of 110,550 people as of the 2021 census, with Holcot Inlet's population comprising around 90.2% of the total county population.

Southland County has three towns (Chequan: tenau): Bagshaw Cove, with a population of 6,419 people, Bowman Inlet, with a population of 1,733 people, and Carsten, with a population of 1,028 people.

Southland County has seven villages (Chequan: utenass), with the three largest villages being Davers Harbour with a population of 775 people as of the 2021 census, Pimikashu with a population of 697 people as of the 2021 census, and Port Carter with a population of 275 people as of the 2021 census. The other four villages are Armin's Reed, False Hope, Gonsons Reed, and Torben's Reed.