Hiraeth

The Communities of Hiraeth
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: In The Name Of All Things Precious
Capital and largest city	Athema
Official languages	English
Ethnic groups	42% Athemians 34% Betanians 14% Zamareese 6% Zords 3% Monsorian <1% Others
Demonym(s)	Hiraethian
Government	Communal Confederation
Legislature	The Communal Assembly
Union
• Settlement	2 February 1731
• Establishment	10 December 1802
Area
• Total	101,786 km2 (39,300 sq mi)
• Water (%)	1.9
Population
• August 1825 estimate	1,554,432
GDP (PPP)	1825 estimate
• Total	₲1.003 billion
• Per capita	₲645.251
Currency	Betancourtian Gizi (₲)

Hiraeth, officially the Communities of Hiraeth is a communal confederation of six communities in Western Varisia that borders the Federal Republic of Betancourt to the north, the Kingdom of Zama to the south, the State of Apricus to the west, and the great Shomerisian sea to the east.

At the end of the 1600s and through the early 1700s, the Grand Queendom of Betancourt controlled the majority of what is today's Hiraeth, on which resided a number of ethnicities under the Betancourtian crown, in a system commonly known as 'God's Land, Betanian Crown', by which the land was owned by a number of local communities yet under the authority of the Betancourtian crown. Due to the rapid expansion of the Queendom across South Western Varisia, it began to crumble as a result of resource shortages and local rebellions, which brought its eventual end and gave birth to the Federal Republic of Betancourt. However, the newly formed republic was viewed as a disgrace by a minority of Betanians because of its smaller size and democratic approach that granted ethnic minorities the same rights as Betanians, thus, a large number of Betanian settlements refused to return to the Betanian motherland and remained in Hiraeth and Apricus where they have replicated smaller versions of the Queendom.

Around 1730, small communities began growing economically in Hiraeth and Apricus, resulting in unprecedented population growth, which also marked the beginning of mass immigration from the nearby fragile Zamareise Kingdom, through which tens of thousands of Zamareises constructed settlements in Southern Hiraeth or settled in majority-Athenian settlements. Betanian communities felt threatened by the expanding Zamareise population, so a series of violent attacks against Zamareise settlements across Hiraeth were carried out by their self-defence militia 'The Supreme Royal Guard'. Approximately half of the Zamareises in Hiraeth died as a result of the campaign, and large numbers of Zamareises left their settlements and sought refuge in Athenians towns, where they were protected from Betanian aggression.