Satavia

Republic of Satavia Republiek van Satavia
Flag
Motto: Baie mense, Een land (Satavian) "Many People, one Country"
Anthem: Die Glorieryke lied van Vryheid (Satavian) "The Glorious song of Freedom"
Location of Satavia, in Green, in Asteria Inferior Location of Satavia, in Green, in Asteria Inferior
Capital and largest city	Hopetown (Hoopstad)
Official languages	Satavian, Estmerish
Recognised national languages	Ma'swa, Tuz'wahli'an among others
Ethnic groups (2015)	By race: 65% White/Euclean (or of Euclean descent) 14% Native/Indigenous 11% Black/Bahian (or of Bahian descent) 7% Mixed (paticularly of Coian descent) 3% Others
Demonym(s)	Satavian
Government	Parliamentary republic
• Governor	Arthur Livingstone-Scott
• President	Johan de Vilock
Legislature	Parlement Satavianen
• Upper house	Provinciale Rechtbank
• Lower house	Volksrechtbank
Establishment
• Colonisation by Hennehouwe	March 1677 (c.)
• Transferal to Estmere	17th August 1747
• Home Rule	1816
• Independence	31st December 1899, at 23:59
Population
• 2018 estimate	21,501,500
• 2015 census	21,499,000
GDP (nominal)	2015 estimate
• Total	$462.2 Billion
• Per capita	$21,500
Gini (2015)	54.3 high
HDI (2015)	0.661 medium
Currency	Satavian Guilders (SAT)
Time zone	UTC+ 11 (Satavian Standard Time (DST Not Observed))
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+47
Internet TLD	.sa

Satavia, officially the Republic of Satavia (Satavian: Republiek van Satavia) is an island nation located off the tip of Nuvania, located in Asteria Inferior. Satavia shares no land borders with any other recognised countries, but shares a Maritime Border with Nuvania. The Capital and Largest City is Hopetown, also called Hoopstad in Satavian. The Country has two official languages: Estmerish and Satavian, a creole largely consisting of Estmerish and Hennish. One of the country's two largest industry is Viticulture, commonly called 'Wine Growing'. Specifically, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec are the most common grapes grown, as the country's climate accomodates the grape's perfectly. The Sheep and Cattle rearing industry are also a prominent part of the Country's economy. Satavia is a member of the inter-governmental organisation ASTCOM.

Etymology

'Satavia', or in it's native form 'Sátiva', a given name from the Muisca Peoples, also refered to as the 'Muisca Tribe'. Post independence, the newly-elected government, lead by Sir Cecil Browning, wishing to distance itself from the colonial name of the 'Hope Colony', and later, the 'Dominion of Hope', chose to adopt a new name. The previous name, 'Hope' came from the Hennish 'Hoop', derivating from the 'River Hope', or in Satavian 'Rivier Hoop'.

History

Hennish Colonisation

At some time around March 1677, the Hennish explorer and poet, Jan van Breyetenbach, landed at the mouth of the River Hope. Van Breytenbach established the settlement of 'Hoopstad'. During September of that year, van Breytenbach was officially appointed 'Gouverneur van de Hoop Kolonie', or in Estmerish, 'Governor of the Hope Colony'. The colony was plagued by difficulty to begin with - a lack of sanitation in Hoopstad lead to an outbreak of Dysentery among the settlers. The colony also had trouble with the native population - up until 1679, when Chief Uk'anwa met with Jean de Flaissane, a colonist who arrived from Gaullica with the task of promoting Gaullica's interests in the colony, negotiated a treaty. The Treaty, often erinously refered to as the Treaty of Hoopstad, although actually called the ''Native-Flaissane Agreement'', ended hostilites with natives for the next 150 years.

A Slave Beating (1733), by Estmerish artist James Brown, depicts a slave beating in Naadsvaal Province. It's exact location is unknown.

During the Hennish Administration, several revolts occured, caused by high taxes and little to no representation. The most infamous revolts included the Farmer Rebellion (1708 and the Ink Revolt (Satavia).

The Hennish colonists imported thousands of slaves from Bahia, and by 1745 there were an estimated 30,000 colonists and a further 10,000 slaves, taken from the coast of Bahia. Compact housing and appauling conditions meant that outbreaks of diseases were commonplace, and would lead to the deaths of hundreds of slaves. The lack of adequate medication meant that many slaves contracted diseases that in practice were curable, but due to the lack of doctors willing to administer what little medication they had to unpaying slaves. This lead the Hoop Kolonie to be known as the 'Slave Abattoir'.

Hoop Kolonie (1711) by Adriaen de Wiart depicts the Hennish Settlement at Hoopstad. In reality, the painting is highly inaccurate, and de Wiart never visited the Hope Colony. Instead, he painted it off descriptions of the colony.

Hennish control over the Hoop Kolonie ended following the Estmerish-Hennish war of 1747, which saw the transfer of the colony over to Estmere.

Politics

Satavia has a Left-Right multi-party system. Since the 2016 General Election, the biggest parties in the Volksrechtbank are the center-right Unity Coalition, who itself did not achieve a majority of 100 seats, so formed a coalition with the Centraal (Satavia) party, the second largest party. Since 2017, the coalition has attempted on mulitple occasions to pass a law, known as the Electoral Reform Act (Satavia), which would allow for the creation of up to 150 more seats. This has been blocked by the remaining parties on mulitple occasions.

2016 Election Chart

An election results chart showing the two ruling parties pitted against the remaining parties in the Volksrechtbank

Governor

The 'Governor of Satavia' has been an official position since September 1677, when it was appointed to Jan van Breyetenbach. The current Governor is Lord Ashpoint, who is also the leader of the Groep voor de Troon, a royalist party. The Governor was ceremonially appointed by the King of Estmere, until 1936, with the abolishment of the monarchy. Lord Ashpoint and his 'GVDT' party believe in the restoration of an elective monarchy to Satavia.