New Hellesin
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Second Communal Republic of New Hellesinia ākau ngahere | |
|---|---|
| Motto: verdeeld bedelen we, verenigd onderhandelen we (Divided we Beg, United we Bargain) | |
| Anthem: An Island United | |
| Status | Independent Nation |
| Capital and | Sriningsih |
| Official languages | English, Dutch, Tambuni |
| Recognised national languages | English, Dutch, Tambuni, Tautaen |
| Recognised regional languages | Southern Niao, Timur, Singrinh |
| Demonym(s) | Hellesinian |
| Government | Syndicalist Union |
| Legislature | Upper Chamber |
| Union Of Leaders | |
| House of Commons | |
| Sovereign State | |
Overview:
New Hellesin is a small island nation known for its tropical climate, mountains, and extremely liberal social policies. New Hellesin prides itself on being an accepting and ethnically diverse country, claiming true equality among people.
Geography:
Physical Geography: The Island of New Hellesin was created by the volcanoes just to the North-West of Ivan-Ra, and east of punggungan timur. Over thousands of years, the volcanic eruptions created many valleys and hills.
The Southern Province:
Our southern Province of aka hou consists of the mountains on it's northern border, which reach a peak elevation of 920m at the volcanic peak of Mt. Rangipango. Mt. Rangipango is the highest point on the island, and is sacred to many local tribes. To the east of Mt. Rangipango is a stretch of jungle known as Galdiane, which stretches across the entire east coast of the island, from Niewe Haven in the north, to tambunam in the west, and all the way south to johannesbourg. This jungle is known for its heavy yearly rains, and it's relative flat elevation compared to the rest of the island, caused by years of erosion from the rain. To the east of the mountains, the terrain takes the appearance of a blend of flooded and tropical grasslands, making for excellent farmland, for both grain and rice, both farmed extensively around the only settlement in the area, Bundok. South of the grasslands and west of Siriningsih, the land is mostly made of lowland rainforests, and is an extensively populated region of the island due to it's predicatable rainfalls and acceptable terrain.
The Northern Province
The northern half of the island is much less diverse than its southern counterpart, being almost entirely covered with tropical rainforests, which are home to many of our most recognizable fauna. Along the northern coast of the Island, however, mangrove swamps make Large-Scale naval activity impossible, and severely limit the amount of activities conducted. There is also a mountain range in the north east of the island, covered entirely with shrubs and low plants, and has extremely low fertility and is therefore scarcely populated.
History:
New Hellesin Pre Contact:
The Ancestors of the Hellesinian people arrived at around 2'000BCE by sea-faring boat. They recognized the natural beauty of the island, and settled on the southernmost section of our island, founded the City of Sriningsih, which remains to this day our most populated settlement. Before the arrival of the Dutch East India Company, our island was home to 10'000 islanders, 2/3s of which lived as workers foraging from our many different species of food-bearing plants, most important among which being the Durain, which remains sacred as the "food of life" in many of our small villages. The islanders participated in a strict Worker-Cooperative economy, with a consensus democracy being extended to every aspect of island living, which kept quality of life equal amongst the whole population.
(1607-1799) Colonial Rule:
In the year 1607 AD, The Citizens of our small island saw something ominous on the Horizon; Foreign Caravels in search of gold and spices. Upon their landing on our shores, they quickly took advantage of our island's potential, building the fortress of Sint Gerlach, overlooking the entirety of the island from its perch on one of our highest mountains. The dutch plundered our lands and people for food, money, and slaves. The Population of Nieuw Hellesin was left destroyed, and the subjugation of our people lasted until the turn of the 19th century
(1800-1821) The First Hellesinian Commune:
Inspired by the revolutions around the world in the early 1800s, A Hellesinian native, Yohanes Susila, was executed for throwing stones at a colonial guard in protest. The news spread through the Rainforest like wildfire, along with the outrage for such overstep. Many islanders rose up in solidarity against the crown, and declared independence on November 1st of 1817 under the banner of "The First Hellesinian Commune". The Commune drew upon the old tribal methods of consensus democracy and inter-village cooperation to bring many small villages to their cause, mustering a force of nearly 5'000 Fighters, armed with guns taken from colonial patrols. Being a hastily assembled revolutionary government, however, They had an extremely difficult time organizing battles against their overlords, culminating in a crushing defeat at the gates of Sint Gerlach in January 1819, where the Enemy Cannons, led by renowned tactician Johan van Amburg, ripped through the fighters, decimating the revolutionary army. It is estimated that between 3'900 and 4'200 of the 5'150 fighters died in the fighting, along with most of the regional representatives, thereby concluding the First Commune. In the aftermath of the conflict, the iron grip of the empire tightened further, reducing the colony to little more than an open-air prison, with curfews and forced labour being imposed on all citizens of the island.
(1829-1848) The Kingdom of Hellesin
As time wore on after the crushing defeat in the first Hellesinian revolt, revolutionary action intensified. The bombing of ports and rail lines became popular, and the more rural regions of the island became ungovernable. they were free in all but name. The independent villages, having been under colonial rule for over 200 years, formed petty fiefdoms and warred with each other for the scraps of land deemed untenable by the crown. Amongst these city-states, the most powerful was the northern capital of Tambunam, a city founded in 1810 by runaway rebel leaders, which quickly grew to nearly 15'000 people, and was known as a free city that grew to counterbalance the colonial presence. In this city, in 1831, the future king of the island, Naphtali Benjerang was elected to lead the village, and started to conquer the remaining free villages, splitting the island between the rule of Naphtali, and the rule of the colonial administration. In order to challenge the colonial authority, Naphtali Benjerang declared the Kingdom of Hellesin and modeled himself as Raja Bohai the 1st. Due to the lack of infrastructure connecting the two regions, the Kingdom of Hellesin enjoyed a brief period of peace, and Raja Bohai conducted many civil works projects, connecting the disparate tribes and villages with roads and rails, and started building defensive projects, such as a series of ditches and forts along the more vulnerable sections of the border, namely along the plains and beaches, nicknamed Naphta's Trench. Using his newly constructed roads, he imposed a draft in 1848, conscripting nearly 8'000 able-bodied men and women, and set to work plundering ships for guns and materials, setting his plans for a united island in motion.
(1831-1855) The Dominion of Hellesin
Thanks to the colonial half of the island being separated from its less productive northern counterpart, Sriningsih experienced massive growth and stability under foreign rule, as most of the insurgents left to the Kingdom of Hellesin. This allowed the city to focus on its own public works projects and become increasingly autonomous in the empire, eventually becoming a self-governing democracy under the supervision of the Dutch crown. The Dominion of Hellesin took advantage of its colonial ties to import a variety of goods, resources, and immigrants, becoming an ethnically and culturally diverse area, world-renown for its liberal social policies. They focused on a doctrine of peace, but still maintained an acceptable military, garrisoning the old fort Sint Gerlach, and receiving regular shipments of state-of-the-art cannons and cutting edge British Pattern 1853 Enfield rifles. The island's first university was also founded in this period, with a focus on the humanities and the social sciences, opening its doors in 1837. many reports around the world praised the Dominion of Hellesin as "The Paris of the Indies", with staggeringly high literacy rates.
(1860-1872) Island Reunification
On March 15th, 1860, a guerilla band of 15 Tambunamian warriors snuck into the southern territory and took 5 local leaders captive, demanding several million Guilders, which Historians now recognize was an intentionally unobtainable ransom, in an attempt to start a war. The South responded with open conflict, making massive gains in the early months of the war, pushing deep into The Tambunamian territory, using their advanced tactical skills and weaponry to their advantage. But as time wore on, Tambunam employed increasingly violent guerilla attacks, wearing down southern resolve and resources. The longer the war went on, Northern raids pushed back harder and harder, eventually capturing the capital of Sriningsih after a 3-week siege, and forcing colonial leaders to the fort of Sint Gerlach. There they fought valiantly against their northern counterparts, using the strategic placement of the fort to hold for nearly 4 years, using many old traditional methods of fruit gathering to sustain such a long occupation. The Tambunamian military, using stolen cannons, threatened to destroy the fortress unless they received an unconditional surrender. The south was forced to surrender, and many Sriningsihi leaders were executed in a public display.
(1872-1886) The United Kingdom of Hellesin
Finally united under an independent ruler, the Kingdom of Hellesin set to work uniting both halves of the country, using especially brutal methods of construction, making use of forced labor, and using the defeated southern citizens for forced labor. The prestige of the south declined over time, but many people still remembered the democratic and scholarly ways of the Dominion, preferring colonial rule to tyrannical subjugation under a northern king. The north, however, was slowly industrializing, discovering coal in the region. the divide between the socially liberal, scholarly south, and the industrious, capitalistic north intensified, creating an even further divide between the two distinct peoples. On July 30th 1886, a southern farmer named Joel Situmorang called once again on their communal origins, and once again, the flag of rebellion unfurled, and the Second Commune was declared.
(1886-1890) The Civil War
At the outbreak of the War of the Second Commune, it was obvious that the anarchists were going to win. they simply had more volunteers and stronger resolve. The kingdom was still recovering from the previous war and was unequipped to handle a new popular uprising. they were quickly mopped up and dispatched, and the 2nd commune set into forming a new constitution that represented all people equally. The constitution mandated full voting rights to all residents over 14 years of age and worked to rebuild the social network and world-renown education system of previous. They also worked to revitalize infrastructure, to reconnect all the regions of the island that had been separated since the first wars of the early 19th century. United at last, the Island of New Hellesin was on course to become a modern state.
(1891-Present) Modernization
Due to the split between the two halves of the island only having been repaired in 1890, there was a large cultural divide between the two halves. The north had taken well to industrialization, and built its first factory in 1892, making corrugated aluminum for roofs. The new industrial way of life was quickly reaching the island. The south, however, was insistent on keeping their culture and prestige and chose to continue focusing on the many civil works and education systems on the island. While the Nation was industrializing, there were many new Social problems the island found itself addressing. The island gave full voting rights to all residents in 1917, and finally reopened the university of Sriningsih in 1919, offering a free education in the top 4 required sectors every year. This boosted the nation accross the board, but nearly bankrupted our island commune, a problem which persists to this day.
Ever since the 1890s, our nation has practiced a certain degree of economic and political isolationism, prefering to remain as self sufficient as possible, and maintaining very few allies, save from a delegate in the world Assembly. The people's congress of New Hellesin released a statement through the representative of the Union of foreign Ambassadors, Ka'ohu Ulani, in January of 2022, stating: "Once our Economic situation begins to rise, New Hellesin plans to increase our global significance, but as a continually developping island, we must focus on our people before we attempt to focus on those abroad."