Konalani
Kingdom of Konalani
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|---|---|
| Motto: Lanakila ʻana (“To victory”) | |
| Anthem: Mele o Konalani Song of Konalani  | |
 Map of Konalani | |
| Capital and largest city | Halawai |
| Official languages | |
| Recognised regional languages |
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| Ethnic groups (2020) |
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| Religion (2020) | WIP |
| Demonym(s) | Konalanese |
| Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch | Lokelani |
| Kale Alika | |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| House of Nobles | |
| Assembly | |
| Establishment | |
| 10 March 1822 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 824 km2 (318 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | 5.5 |
| Population | |
• 2020 census | 121,480 |
• Density | 147/km2 (380.7/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $10.85 billion |
• Per capita | $89,315 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $7.50 billion |
• Per capita | $61,775 |
| Gini (2023) |  59.4high |
| Currency | Kālā (Ꝃ) (KKL) |
| Time zone | UTC−12 (Burkini–Konalani Time Zone) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +612 |
| ISO 3166 code | KO |
| Internet TLD | .ko |
Konalani, officially the Kingdom of Konalani (Konalanese: Aupuni o Konalani), is an island country in the Southern Oriental Ocean of Thalassa. The country is made up of five islands in an archipelago, and has a total size of 824 km2 (318 sq mi). With a population of 121,480 as of 2020, it is the 119th smallest country by population in the wurld, with over 72% of the population residing on the largest island, Mokunui. Konalani's closest neighbours are Burkini to the north, the Sunset Sea Islands to the northeast, and Tarua to the southeast. Made up of a mountainous archipelago, Konalani's geography is defined as a tropical savanna climate, and sees regular volcanic activity from two active volcanos, Mauna Pele and Wahiokeana.
Konalani is attested to have been inhabited between the 6th and 11th centuries by Azano-Marenesian peoples originating from Burkini, Tarua, Apuni, and other islands in the South Oriental, with these groups later forming the unified cultural traditions, language, and identity of the modern-day indigenous Konalanese. Organized into small proto-statelets for most of its history, the islands remained in relative isolation until the 18th century, when contact was made with Orinese and Gallambrian explorers, who quickly saw Konalani as a valuable trade port and refueling station for ships between Thalassa and Marenesia. In response to increased contact with Thalassan and Marenesian navies, chief ʻIolani I of the island of Nahoe began to consolidate power on the archipelago, and formed a proto-state centred around the fishing village of Kaala by the early 19th century. In 1822, after violent incursions between Orinese and Gallambrian expeditions, the Treaty of the Paddles solidified ʻIolani I's legal claim to the entire archipelago as monarch, and confirmed Konalani's status as a sovereign recognized state. With the treaty also granting extensive rights to freedom of movement and trade to Gallambrian and Orinese citizens, a wave of immigration from the two states occurred. This immigration defined the early Konalanese plantation economy through the extensive sale of land to Gallambrian and Orinese investors to produce a number of cash crops, including sugar, coffee, pineapples, and other fruits.
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Konalani emerged as a major exporter of agricultural goods, and the largest port for commercial ships and navies travelling between the Thalassa and Marenesia. The Konalanese upper class in this period was dominated by a small group of ethnically Gallambrian and Orinese planters, concurrent with the rapid decline of the Native Konalanese population due to disease, land enclosures, and rampant poverty. In 1898, after threats of Orinese annexation, the Konalanese government granted further rights to multinational corporations and businesses on the islands, including the designation of Halawai Bay as an international base for naval forces. In 1941, Konalani entered the Thalassan War on the side of the Allied Powers, but was occupied by Mat Troi Lan in May of 1942. The brutal occupation of the islands saw the mass expulsion of many within the Orinese population, and the deliberate depossesion of Orinese, Gallambrian, and Native Konalanese property and assets towards the Mattroilan war effort. Following the liberation of the island by joint Orinese-Iverican forces in February 1947, the Konalanese Civil War broke out between monarchist and republican paramilitaries over the return of the House of Maikaʻikeakua and the contested January 1948 election. Negotiations in August 1948 confirmed the return of the Konalanese monarchy to the island, but under a liberal constitutional framework with universal suffrage. Despite the negative result of the Thalassan and civil wars on economic development and the agricultural industry, Konalani emerged in the 1970s and onwards as one of the Thalassan Tigers, developing a large service industry bolstered by tourism, the manufacturing of naval supplies, and the finance sector.
Today, Konalani is one of the wealthiest countries in the world by gross domestic product per capita, and is defined by an economy based on tourism, finance, the production of profitable cash crops, fishing, and the manufacturing of naval supplies. The country is also noted for a high rate of economic inequality, with socio-economic divisions often based on ethnic identity and proximity to the capital of Halawai. Konalani is an active member of numerous international organizations, including the Assembled Nations, the Group of Island Nations, and the Entente of Oriental States. Due to the archipelago's history of extensive foreign influence, Konalani's foreign policy is often described as balancing between Gallambrian, Orinese, and Islander interests and doctrines, and primarily focused on economic matters. Due to the increasing development of climate change, Konalani faces challenges around flooding, an increase in wildfires, and soil degradation affecting the country's agricultural and fishing sectors.
Etymology
The etymology of Konalani is heavily disputed by academics. One interpretation states that the country's name stems from the Konalanese term ʻo kona lani ("it is his sky"), a possible phrase used by Native Konalanese to describe the areas under the domain of ʻIolani I on the isalnd of Nahoe during contact with Gallambrian and Orinese explorers. However, this origin has been seem as a folk etymology by linguists and historians. Another theory states that the name may stem from the traditional Konalanese term for leeward winds, kona, and may reference currents that brought the first Azano-Marenesian people to the islands.
