Los Cuarzos

The Cuarzan Confederacy Le Confederacío Cuarzano
Flag
Motto: ¡Al Libertad! (Verdean: To Liberty!)
Los Cuarzos in relation to southern Isla Verde
Capital	Matanzas
Largest city	Baja Cuarzo
Official languages	Vulgar Verdean
Ethnic groups	76% Verdean 11% Isarléan 9% Mixed Verdean-Capisarian 3% Mixed Verdean-Especian 1% Other Especian and Meridonian
Demonym(s)	Cuarzan, Cuarzans
Government	Parliamentary Republic
• Prime Minister	Aarón Lucila Marcela Santos
Legislature	National Council
Establishment
• First Human Settlement of Los Cuarzos	AdI 1290
• Independence from Second Verdean Republic	DI 1
• Independence from Divine Theocracy of Trelein	DI 105
• Independence from the Federal Republic of Capisaria	DI 189
Area
• Total	24,149 km2 (9,324 sq mi)
Population
• DI 218 estimate	1,276,485 (23)
• DI 214 census	1,273,276
• Density	53/km2 (137.3/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	DI 217 estimate
• Total	$5,255,288,745 NSD
• Per capita	$4,117 NSD
Currency	Meridonian Unit
Date format	dd-mm-yyy DI
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.lc

The Cuarzan Confederacy (Verdean: Le Confederacío Cuarzano) is a federal parliamentary republic located South of the Verdean Archipelago in Greater Meridon. Los Cuarzos are relatively diverse, with fairly large population of mixed and foreign born peoples living on the islands that make up the nation. Los Cuarzos has perhaps the most liberal government in the Verdean Archipelago, having received little in the way of harsh treatment other Verdean nations faced during the Capisaria occupation. Los Cuarzos has been attempting to build its economy rapidly in recent years, relying heavily upon foreign assistance to "catch up" to its larger neighbors.

The first settlement of homonids did happen in the ancient period, however, as a result of superstitious belief that the islands were inhabited by "monsters" modern humans would not arrive on the island until the end of the Imperial Period. This early settlement was largely in the form of a debtor's colony established to harvest resources after the extinction of the other hominids on the Cuarzan Islands. This debtor colony would become an independent nation when the Verdean Revolution replaced the First Empire with the First Republic.

Los Cuarzos would remain a relatively minor nation during the era of the first Republic, but would be the first victim of Emperor Carlos XII's attempted reconquest of the old Imperial colonies during the DI 50s, 60s, and 70s. After the conclusion of the Carlosian War, the Cuarzan Confederacy would become a satellite of the Divine Theocracy of Trelein. As the Divine Theocracy began to weaken in the later half of the 1st Century Post-Empire, the Cuarzan Confederacy established itself as an independent nation briefly.

The Cuarzan Confederacy was eventually recolonized by the Capisarians in the DI 150s. The Confederacy was largely left alone, given its relative lack of resources after over a century of extraction. It was, as a result, largely reused as a dumping ground for undesirables to keep them isolated from the rest of the Verdean Archipelago. When the Verdeans regained independence, so too did the denizens of Los Cuarzos who reestablished their old Confederacy.

Los Cuarzos is an underdeveloped nation, though efforts have been made by the government to improve the economy of the island chain. There is little difference between classes, as most everyone who lives on the island is descended from those who were criminals, the dispossessed, or debtors and there is not really any legacy money on the island. Los Cuarzos is an extremely weak nation, relying mostly on patron nations, most notable Verde, to build and develop the economy.

Etymology

The term Los Cuarzos was originally a religious reference, that being about an older tradition in Regio dela Verde, wherein each family would possess their own more personalized deities. These deities were oft referred to as "The Cuarz Ones", in keeping with the Verdean belief that the islands of the Verdean Archipelago are manifestations of their deities, Los Cuarzos was believed the abstract home of all familial deities. The demonym for someone or something originating in Los Cuarzos is Cuarzan.

History

Though early hominids in the form of Floresiensis came to populate the Cuarzan Archipelago as early as AI 6000, they were the only population of hominids to populate the island for a long time. The Cuarzan Islands would remain unoccupied by Homo sapiens well into recorded history even as the other hominids were driven to extinction throughout the archipelago and the wider world. The relative isolation of the floresiensis population, and myths of "beast men" inhabiting the Cuarzan Archipelago meant that modern humans would not fully explore the Cuarzan Archipelago until the AdI 1200s. Shortly after this exploration however, incoming Verdean colonizers quickly settled the islands, and by the end of the Imperial Period, floresiensis would be extinct.

Initial human settlement of Los Cuarzos took the form of debtor colonies. In an effort to reduce the impoverished populations of the Verdean Archipelago proper, and to profit from the newly accessed Cuarzan Archipelago, debt holders frequently indentured those in debt to them, and shipped them off to the Cuarzan Archipelago. The colony proved somewhat successful for those debt-holders generating a moderate amount of profits for them. As the Empire began to face crisis however, the use of the Cuarzan Islands as a dumping ground for the destitute, came to an end, as the Verdean islands began to tear themselves apart. Los Cuarzos formally seceded from the newly founded Verdean First Republic, and given the Republic facing continued crisis their independence went uncontested.

The newly formed Cuarzan Confederacy managed to sustain itself for half a century as the larger Verdean Republic stabilized, rebuilt itself, and then collapsed under the weight of another crisis and the eventual formation of the Second Verdean Empire. However, the Cuarzan Confederacy would eventually be absorbed back into the Second Empire in DI 59. The Confederacy would remain under Verdean occupation until the last phases of the Carlosian War, wherein the island chain was liberated by triple alliance, after the Confederacy had formally converted its official religion to diternalism. The Cuarzan Confederacy would come under the control of the Divine Theocracy of Trelein first as an annexed territory of the wider Divine Imperium, but increasingly as a semi-autonomous satellite state, before the dissolution of the Divine Theocracy and the formal creation of the Federation of Capisaria.

Cuarzan soldiers defend Matanzas in DI 59

The Cuarzan Confederacy would reassert its independence when the Imperium fell apart, attempt to improve the economy that had long been neglected by occupying powers. Several crises surrounding the Valden War would result in a near total collapse of the Cuarzan economy. This weakened state would leave the islands ripe for occupation during the Capisarian occupation of the Verdean Archipelago. As the islands had little left to exploit, and as a desire to shuffle undesirables off of the larger islands in the Verdean Archipelago, the Capisarian occupational authorities would use the Cuarzan islands as a dumping ground for the seditious elements of the other islands. When the Verdean islands fought for their independence against the Capisarians, the Cuarzans managed to fight for their own islands, doing so with a minimum of bloodshed. After regaining their independence the Cuarzan government asserted its intentions to regain its status as a sovereign nation-state, and the new government worked to rapidly build the economy since the revolution.

Geography

Caverna More on Isla More

The Cuarzan Confederacy is comprised of the southernmost islands of the Verdean Archipelago, there are twelve islands in the Archipelago: Gran Cuarzo, Baja Cuarzo, Isla Culebra, Isla Morca, Isla Pedro, Isla Blanco, Isla Luisa, Isla Guanaca, Isla Real, Isla Alta, Isla Salamaga, and Isla More (which is uninhabited). All of the islands are relatively low in altitude though with relatively steep hills towards the center of each. The climate of the Cuarzan Conferacy is largelytemperate in nature with the chain possessing a relatively humid and mild oceanic climate. Due to environmental impact of human settlement, the Cuarzan islands have lost much of the biodiversity they had had before human occupation, though roughly 1,400 species of animal and vascular plant do still call the Cuarzan islands home.

Demographics

The Cuarzan Confederacy has a population of 1,276,485, and is relative stable with a minimal upward growth trend. The population is primarily Verdean, though there is a sizable ethnic Isarléan population (a little over ten percent). Roughly half of the population lives in cities with a population greater than one hundred thousand. The entire population however lives in the twenty largest population centers. The official language of the Confederacy is Vulgar Verdean, though most speakers on the island speak Classical Verdean instead, which is a recognized language in the Confederacy. It lacks an official religion, though practice of Diternalism is quite common, though practice of Regio dela Verde is also quite common.

Largest cities or towns in Los Cuarzos 2013 Census
	Rank		Island	Pop.	Rank		Island	Pop.
Baja Cuarzo Matanzas	1	Baja Cuarzo	Baja Cuarzo	256,123	11	San Luis	Isla Luisa	25,757	La Falta Puerto Pobre
	2	Matanzas	Gran Cuarzo	252,765	12	Norte Alta	Isla Guanaca	24,650
	3	La Falta	Gran Cuarzo	112,114	13	Guanaca	Isla Guanaca	24,589
	4	Puerto Pobre	Gran Cuarzo	101,601	14	La Hacienda Real	Isla Real	24,586
	5	Puerto Libertad	Isla Culebra	75,412	15	Puerto Real	Isla Real	23,892
	6	Montaña Real	Gran Cuarzo	72,124	16	Las Esclusas	Isla Alta	23,782
	7	Malaga	Isla Culebra	62,123	17	Mercia	Isla Guanaca	23,562
	8	Granada	Isla Morca	50,895	18	Hospitalidad	Isla Culebra	22,157
	9	San Pedro	Isla Pedro	30,112	19	Especia Sur	Isla Pedro	21,115
	10	Castillo	Isla Blanco	26,112	20	Salamaga	Isla Salamaga	19,805

Government

  Cuarzan Liberal Party: 15 seats

  Labour Party: 12 seats

  National Front: 10 seats

  Pan-Verdean Party: 4 seats

The Cuarzan Confederacy is a federal parliamentary republic, wherein the individual islands hold a significant amount of legislative power. The Federal government has some say in legislation, but is largely existent only as an administrative state; it is therefore generally up to individual islands to govern themselves. The national legislative body is the unicameral National Council, which is largely responsible for the expediture of national monies, and the head of government is the Prime Minister, who is largely subservient to the interests of the Council. Posts are elected in a proportional system with the party (or coalition) in power determining who holds the officer of Prime Minister. There are currently four parties in government the Liberal Party, the Labour Party, the National Front, and the Pan-Verdean Party. Government has largely been concentrated in the hands of the Liberals or Labour, though the National Front has recently been gaining popularity, and the Pan-Verdean movement has been actively agitating for greater cooperation with the wider Verdean Archipelago, particularly for assistance with development.

Economy

Economic Indicators

Monetary Unit: Meridonian Unit (μ) Conversion Rate: μ1 = $1.7733 NSD Fiscal Year: 52 de Mestor-1 de Mesisa Nominal GDP: $5,255,288,745 NSD GDP per Capita: $4,117 NSD Labor Force: 829,715 Unemployment: 74,674 (9%)

The economy of The Cuarzan Confederacy operates under a decentralized capitalist means of production, though it does maintain a relatively strict regulatory practice and as generous a welfare state as can be afforded. The Cuarzan Confederacy is net importer of goods, though the trade deficit has, in recent years, shrunk significantly.The Cuarzan Confederacy is is largely an agricultural nation with most of the labor force working in agriculture, though there has been development of some light industry since gaining independence from Capisaria. The labor force is 829,715 or roughly 72% of the general population. While conditions of the people on the island have improved significantly since the revolution, poverty is still quite common on the island, especially among those who are unemployed, and nearly 25% of the population is considered to be living under the national poverty line. Infrastructure is largely limited, especially as most power is produced locally, and most people use small watercraft as a means of transport between the islands. The government controls 40% of the economy, with the bulk of government expenditure going towards economic development and social welfare.

Law Enforcement

Part of Baja Cuarzo militia during combat training.

The national law enforcement agency of the Cuarzan Confederacy is the Cuarzan Security Force which also operates as an emergency defense force. Though nominally organized nationally, the federal government has little control over individual militias in the Cuarzan Security Force, and as a result training, equipment, and tactics can vary quite significantly from island to island. However, the basic functions of the CSF remains the same, they provide day to day law enforcement, investigation, and riot control duties. Most often train to defend the nation as well, however, a handful of the smaller militias avoid this additional training as an unproductive use of time. There are currently 8,935 people serving in the Cuarzan Security Force, which operates with a total budget of $63,063,464 NSD or 1.2% of GDP.

Human Development

In spite of efforts to develop the Confederacy, it remains a relatively underdeveloped nation. Lack of resources has largely been the primary cause of this lack of development, as the government budget of Los Cuarzos is limited. As a result, the Confederacy has relied heavily on foreign volunteers, mostly from the Republic of Isla Verde to assist in human development. Simultaneously, the Cuarzan government has been funding substantial infrastructure projects, primarily focusing on transport, but also human infrastructure. Standards of living are somewhat low in comparison to other Verdean nations, though efforts are made to ensure the entire population is capable of meeting at least its most basic needs.

Culture

While distinct from its northern neighbors, Los Cuarzos does import a significant amount of cultural products from the Republic of Verde. Unlike the larger Republic however, religious influences are remarkably weak. There isn't much a distinctive architectural style as buildings are either erected either by the people to suit needs, or were constructed by various entities throughout time, as a result one can see hastily constructed buildings standing next to neoclassical buildings built by the Verdean government, and Treleini and Capisarian constructions. Food culture on Los Cuarzos is orientated around the local resources, and as a result, seaweed and seafood feature prominently, as does rice which is capable of growing in most places in the Confederacy. Most of the entertainment in Los Cuarzos is imported, though there are some football and bullfighting venues in Los Cuarzos.