Fourland
Fourland, officially The Republic of the Fourlandian Isles is a nation made up of four islands in the South Pacific Ocean.
It was first discovered in 1710 by the wrecked crew of two ships, one Spanish and one British. It was re-discovered in 1871, and claimed by Britain as part of their empire. 1,598 people lived on the islands when it was re-discovered. These people wanted to be a protectorate of the British Empire, but also desired autonomy. In 1879, they were granted their wish, with most decisions about the island having to pass through a parliament of 48 randomly chosen male citizens, who would rotate and generally act as representatives. In 1879, desiring to increase the population, they decided to allow 50 people from Great Britian to immigrate to the isles (essentially just North-East Isle, where all of the Fourers lived). Five years later they decided to expand this to Portuguese, Spanish, German and Swedish citizens, with potential new residents now being chosen, for their skills mostly. In 1910, this was expanded to 100 people and then in 1920 to 200 people, before in 1931, it was dropped to 20. In 1946, after the ending of the war which 5% of Fourers had participated in, it was increased to 200 people again, who mostly came from France, Bulgaria and Austria. Currently, the number is 150, with China and Peru now being the largest sources of immigrants. The country does not have an official policy of multiculturalism, rather, it strongly favours cultural assimilation, and to a lesser extent blending. The island became officially independent from the United Kingdom in 1965. It remains part of the Commonwealth, and has King Charles the Third as its head of state.
All four of the islands are naturally covered with unique temperate rainforest, coming under a Cfc climate classification entirely except for the highest parts of the country. 80% the country is national park and 90% is forested. It is one of the only four certified carbon-negative countries in the world. The country has the third highest Human Development Index score in the world.
Demographics (as of official government census 2020, unless otherwise stated):
Population:
14,018
Historical Population:
1,631 1880
1,848 1885
2,349 1895
2,845 1905
3,421 1910
4,419 1920
7,071 1930
8,121 1940
8,971 1950
9,194 1960
10,037 1970
11,631 1980
12,023 1990
13,982 2000
14,831 2010
15,018 2020
Religion:
Religion presented a challenge to some of the first settlers, who were devout Catholics-they could not communicate with the Pope. As such, a new church was formed, the Church of Fourland. It followed most of the Catholic conventions in terms of practice, but over the years came to have somewhat different theology. A Reformed Church was also formed. It came to be that about 80% followed the Church of Fourland, while 20% followed the Reformed Church.
Nowadays, however, this is the religious data:
62.3% Church of Fourland
9.3% Catholicism
5.4% Reformed Church
2.1% Eastern Orthodoxy
1.9% Buddhism
19.1% No Religion
There are also 4 Muslims, 3 from Turkey and 1 from Xinjiang, and 1 Jew.
The legend of the country's founding is that a ship's captain, William Sutherland, had a dream about the island. He saw an angel which told him that he was going to be shipwrecked on it with his crew and that of a Spanish ship, and that he shouldn't try to come back home-contact with the outside world would come in time-rather, he should establish a society there. It has won one Nobel Prize: in literature. The winner, Susaina Brograve (1935-2009), was born in Fourland, spent most of her life there and considered the archipelago to be her home, but also, went to boarding school in the US. The language which is spoken on it is Cancaumma. It is the descendent of a mix of Spanish and English mostly with some Gaelic influences. It is generally classified as a Romance language overall. It is the language all schools instruction and teaching is in.
An important, unique part of Fourlandish culture is the Puzulia. They are for smoking the drug, native to Fourland, of Toseiten, often while reading and discussing various topics with companions. It was traditionally a circular, one-room building, but now, they usually contain three rooms, which can vary in size. There are four Puzulias in Fourland, as well as one overseas. They will contain a number of chairs, equipment and bookcases with books usually, as well as a toilet in some versions.
The country has a tourist cap of 200 visitors per month. There is one very small international airport in the country, but around 80% of visitors come by boat. There are only two roads in the country's major settlement, Puert Bleu. Most people walks to most places there. However, there is a highway going through other parts of the North-East Island, and a number of smaller roads from that highway leading into a number of scattered farms, hamlets and villages.
The country recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia, saying that "it is a matter of self-determination, and the West opposing it hypocrisy." Wanting to get "aid money" from Russia was part of the reason too.