Laguaira
Maritime and Salazarian Republic of Laguaira República Marítima y Salazariana de Laguaira | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Motto: "En el mar se encuentra la tumba de los tiranos" "The tomb of tyrants is found in the sea" | |
| Anthem: La Novembrina | |
 Orthographic view of Laguaira in the Parthenean Coast | |
| Capital and largest city | Puerto Paraíso |
| Official languages | Spanish |
| Ethnic groups (2020)[1] | 34.1% Gavrilian
29.8% Hoteralian 24.6% Mezclao (Mixed Gavrilian, Hoteralian, Riamese and Indigenous) 7.7% Riamese 2% Indigenous 1.8% Other |
| Religion (2020)[2] | 46.5% Catholicism
28.9% Gaoism 24.6% Irreligious |
| Demonym(s) | Laguairan, Guairan
laguaireño(a) guaireño(a) |
| Government | Federal presidential republic |
• President | Rómulo Villegas |
• Vice President | Salomón Carranza |
| Legislature | National Assembly |
| Senate | |
| Chamber of Representatives | |
| Establishment | |
• Independence declared from Canter Republic | 12 November 1814 |
• Hoterallian Occupation | 8 January 1815 |
• Riamese Occupation | 1 September 1913 |
• Second Hoterallian Occupation | 7 August 1919 |
• Independence declared from Hoterallia | 13 November 1939 |
• Current constitution | 6 July 2004 |
| Area | |
• Total | 63,360 km2 (24,460 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2020 census | 12,117,204 |
• Density | 191/km2 (494.7/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | $374.05 billion[3] |
• Per capita | $30.869[4] |
| GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | $132.04 billion[5] |
• Per capita | $10.896 |
| Gini (2020) | 43.4[6] medium |
| HDI (2021) | 0.738[7] high |
| Currency | Salazar (Sz.) |
| Calling code | +17 |
| Internet TLD | .lg |
Laguaira, officially the Maritime and Salazarian Republic of Laguaira[8] (Spanish: República Marítima y Salazariana de la Guaira) is a transcontinental[9] country located in the Sunadic Ocean, and between the continents of Astariax and Olivacia. Being an archipelago, the five main islands of Kaiganoshima, Savozuela, Sálazar, Nueva Gavrilia and Roca Helada, alongside several more minor islands and islets comprise in total a territory of 63,360 square kilometers[10], making Laguaira the third largest island nation in the Sunadic Ocean after San Calia and Litoral.
The country counts with a population of 12[11] million, of whom 2.9 million live in the capital of Puerto Paraíso[12], also Laguaira's most populous city. The country's ethnic makeup reflects its colonial past: While it is, in its majority, composed by ethnic Gavrilians, it also counts with sizeable minorities from Hoterallia and Riamo which have, along the Gavrilians, shaped the country's cities and culture. Its only official language is Spanish, though languages like Hoterallian[13] and Common[14] are also widely spoken, especially among the ethnic Hoterallians and Riamese.
The islands that now make up Laguaira were previously composed by numerous indigenous states, most notably the successful Guairans, of which the country's name is derived. The first mainland settlers to colonize Laguaira were the Hoterallians, though contact was disrupted after Hoterallia's isolationist era. Later on, the chain would be colonized by the Canter Republic, from which the country declared independence 1814. Less than two months after, the Hoterallians invaded and conquered the islands, which were still in a state of war against the Canterians, establishing the Protectorate of Laguaira (Hoterallian: ぐあいらの保護領, Raguaira no hogo-ryō), kickstarting the beginning of Hoterallian immigration into the chain and setting the base for the country's modern ethnic split. The chain would be subject of occupation by the Iron Pact-aligned Riamese in 1913.
Some years later, in 1919, control would be given back to Hoterallia: This control, however, would not last long; Laguaira's colonial overlord became embroiled in a civil war. Seizing the opportunity, Laguaira would finally and definitively declare its independence from Hoterallia, almost exactly 125 years after it did so from Canteria. With the Second Laguairan War of Independence causing relatively little bloodshed, the country entered an unparalleled period of peace, in an era where the world was in turmoil. The discovery of oil near the southeast of the country only aided this stability and prosperity further. However, the country suffered a debilitating but short civil war in 2002, which resulted in the country's modern 2004 constitution.
The modern state of Laguaira carries traditions of navigation[15], calmness[16] and adventure[17], giving the island the nickname[18] of 'Ten Thousand Experiences'. Its crystalline waters and variety of landscapes make it a major tourism hotspot[19], industry which became even more notorious after government efforts[20] and the country's recovery from the civil war. Another major industry is oil extraction: It, together with tourism, make up 59% of the nation's revenue[21]. Emerging sectors include services and technology, making Laguaira a newly industrialized country.[22]
Etymology
The name of "Laguaira" was originally the combination of Guaira with the article 'la' (or the). The term 'Guaira' comes from one of the ancient pre-Contact countries that existed in the country, simply called Guaira. Though the few feudal Hoterallians that arrived to the island chain didn't recognize the existence of these states, opting instead to just generically referring to them as 'island people'[23] (Hoterallian: 島の人々, Shima no hitobito), the Canterians would refer to it as the Guairan Nation (Spanish: La nación Guaira) and, eventually, the 'nación' would be skipped, with the Canterians instead opting to name the territory the Province of La Guaira. Through decades of use the term and mistyping in some key national documents[24], the 'La' would become fused with 'Guaira'.