Satavia

Satavia, officially the Satavian Federation, is an Island Nation in Western Asteria Inferior, and shares a Maritime Border with Nuvania. The capital, largest city and biggest financial center is Port Hope. Satavia is made up of 8 semi-autonomous Provinces and Territories, namely the Central Territory, Diereplek Provinsie, Groenvelde Vrystaat, Hope Province, the National Capital District, New Borland, Orange Province and the Westerse Vrystaat. With a population of an estimated 21.5 Million, Satavia is the second or third least populous nation in Asteria Inferior, and despite this plays a relatively important role in the region, due to it's comparative economic prosperity.

Human inhabitation of Satavia began around 36,000 years ago, after migration from present-day Nuvania. Permanent settlements were not constructed until around 20,000 years ago when the first permanent settlements were created in the modern-day Hope Province. There is little evidence of tribal warfare before the arrival of Eucleans, leading some historians to conclude that after Satavia was cut off from continental Asteria Inferior after the Ice Age, a state of absolute peace existed on the island.

Satavia is believed to have first been discovered in 1512 by Johannes van Twiller; van Twiller did not however make a note of the discovery, possibly presuming it to be of little importance as just a peninsula or an offshoot of mainland Asteria Inferior. The first recorded discovery of Satavia was in 1533, by Álvaro de Mascarenhas who noted the island as an extension to mainland Asteria Inferior. In 1541, Jan van Breybach correctly identified Satavia as an island, and landed in modern-day Port Hope, at Sandy Cove on August 22, and established the settlement of Hoopstad.

Colonisation was initially begun by the Catholic Duchy of Flamia, but in 1556 the island's primary settlement of Hoopstad was taken over by the Kasperist Hennish Republic. Colonisation efforts accelerated under the Republic, and later the Soritirian Commonwealth. By 1740, vast portions of the eastern side of the island, in addition to the coastal areas, had been developed. Much of the interior and its harsh conditions remained unsettled and unexplored, whilst the island's population had been growing rapidly, mainly due to immigration of Kasperists from Catholic states in Euclea fleeing persecution, most notably a large number of Hugenots from Gaullica.

In 1747, the Satavian Colonies and Nuvania were transferred to Estmere after the defeat of Hennehowe in the Hennish-Estmerish War of 1747. The new change in administration caused discontent among the Kasperist settlers, mainly over key issues such as slavery, which had been banned by Estmere. To avoid Estmerish magistrates, many farmers moved onto the frontiers of the colonies, which upset both Estmere and the native tribes, who began to launch raids on the settlers, who became known as Pioneers. Tensions came to a head in 1771, when a large group of farmers from the Hondeberg area launched a doomed revolt against Estmerish rule when Estmerish magistrates attempted to enforce Estmerish law on the Pioneers.

In 1800, Estmere granted limited self-governing status to the colonies. In 1816, the four Satavian colonies federated to form the Dominion of Satavia, and became an autonomous nation within the Estmerish Empire. The Satavian government began to explore and settle the interiors of the country, destroying the relative peace that had existed between the natives and the settlers. In 1881, Nuvania declared independence from Estmere which caused a minor economic depression in Satavia as it lost a major trading partner. Relations would be restored in 1883, and trading between the two nations began again.

During the Great Depression, Satavia struggled significantly as it had relied upon Estmere for many years economically, and suddenly Estmere were no longer able to provide the economic support that Satavia required. Satavia had largely recovered from the Great Depression by 1922. Nevertheless, the depression had a profound political impact on Satavia as it saw itself no longer requiring Estmerish assistance and serious calls for independence began. By the start of the Great War, Satavia was still a dominion and was relatively undefended. Satavian forces were quickly overwhelmed by a Nuvanian invasion in early 1928 and fell. Satavia was liberated during Operation Blind Summit in 1934.

Satavia's Prime Minister, Edward Limes, returned with members of the Exiled Government in February 1935. Much of Satavia lay in ruins, and in March 1935 Limes unveiled the "Five Year Rejuvination", designed as an economic stimulus package that would, in five years, rebuild Satavia. Following the conclusion of the Great War, Satavia declared independence from Estmere in September 1936, just months before the abolition of the Estmerish monarchy. Limes went on to win the 1936 General Election in a landslide victory and served until 1939 when he was removed in a military coup.

Satavia was under the control of the National Government for another 38 years until its ousting by members of the Hope Province's Provincial Guard in 1976. Violence would not end until 1983, however, when right-wing militias who had taken up arms against the new government were finally defeated. The Recession of 2005 significantly impacted Satavia and caused huge government debt that still exists today.

Satavia is a developed nation, that ranks highly on democracy indexes globally, and particularly well in the Asterias. Satavia is a member of the Community of Nations, International Council for Democracy, the Organization of Asterian Nations, the Estmerish Council and the Asteria Inferior Common Market, in addition to being an associate member of the North Vehemens Organization.

History

Main article: History of Satavia

Prehistory

Human habitation of the area that now makes up Satavia is estimated to have begun around 36,000 years ago, while Satavia was still an extension to mainland Asteria Inferior. It is unknown where the first habitation by humans began, and many sites were destroyed during the mid to late 19th century during the Great Shame.

Following the end of the ice age, and separation from the Asterian mainland, warfare between tries is believed to have been virtually non-existent. This may be because of the lack of fundamental differences between native cultures, and the distance between settlements making it unlikely they competed for hunting grounds.

Euclean Settlement

The first recorded sighting of Satavia by Eucleans was by the Luzelese explorer Álvaro de Mascarenhas, who presumed the island to be an extension of continental Asteria Inferior, in 1533. However, it is believed that the first sighting may have occurred in 1512 by Johannes van Twiller. Satavia was first correctly identified not as an extension to continental Asteria Inferior but an island by Jan van Breybach in 1541, and settled a colony on the island at Sandy Cove, becoming the first Euclean to set foot on the island on August 22.

Colonisation efforts begun by Breybach were in the name of the catholic Duchy of Flamia, and, in 1556, a coup was staged which saw the First Hennish Republic take control of the settlement. Under the Republic's rule, colonisation efforts were sped up, and in 1599 a second settlement - Dolfynbaai - was founded. Natives and the Euclean settlers may have been completely unaware of each other's presence on the island until the first recorded meeting in 1601, near the new settlement at Dolfynbaai.

During the 1600s, the population of the colony began to grow immensely due to immigration from Euclea, most notably Hugenots from Gaullica who were escaping persecution in their home country. In 1642, the First Hennish Republic was replaced by the Sotirian Commonwealth, who immediately launched and backed extensive colonisation efforts of Satavia. By 1700, the population had grown to an estimated 450,000 people.

In 1711, in accordance with the rapid population growth, separate colonies began to be split off from the Hoopkolonie: Groenveldekolonie in 1711, Oranjekolonie in 1716 and the Westersekolonie in 1719 (the Westersekolonie being a collection of settlements on Satavia's western coast). 1719 also saw the end of the Sotirian Commonwealth and the re-unification of Hennehouwe, under a Catholic regime.

In 1747, both Satavia and Nuvania were lost to Estmere. The new Estmerish regime also continued the expansion of the colonies, whilst also continuing the Hennish policy of splitting colonies. Many colonists were angry that the liberal Estmerish government were attempting to change their way of life, notably including the banning of slavery, which had been a thriving business in the Hope Colony. In 1771, some disgruntled colonists on the fringes of the Hope Colony launched a revolt against Estmerish rule, commonly known as Pienaar's Revolt. The revolt was crushed by an Estmerish army raised from across the colonies but left a profound impact on the colonists.

During the late 1700s, expansion into the interior began, and the first major conflicts with natives also began. Conflicts with natives had existed on a low level since the 1600s, but tensions came to ahead in 1785, near the town of Hoopfontein. The conflict ultimately saw the native tribes of that area move further into the interior of the country, and lead to a huge native depopulation, primarily through starvation and war.

In 1816, federation of the colonies was achieved and the new, unified Satavia was granted dominion status. During the late 19th century, provincial governments were given more power and various borders were re-drawn, including huge swathes of the interior of the country being surrendered by their respective provincial governments and formed to become the [[C