Nuovatoscana

Republic of Nuovatoscana Repubblica della Nuovatoscana
Flag Coat of arms
Capital	Caiena
Calling code	+592
Internet TLD	.nt

Nuovatoscana, officially called the Republic of Nuovatoscana, is a country in northern South America, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the north, Brazil in the south, and Venezuela in the west. It's capital and largest city is Caiena. It is the only Italian-speaking country in the Western Hemisphere.

Nuovatoscana was first settled in 1609 under the aegis of Ferdinand, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Despite repeated attacks by the Dutch, English, and French navies, Spain and Portugal recognized Tuscany's right to the colony. Heavy settlement by Tuscan and other Italian people followed despite the difficulties in settling the country. In 1801, it passed under the rule of the Napoleonic Italian Republic, but in 1805, France declared the annexation of Nuovatoscana along with the now captured Dutch colonies in the west, triggering a war of independence that lasted until 1815, when the Congress of Vienna recognized the loss of the country and the annexation of Dutch Guiana to the Nuovatuscan independence movement and despite border clashes with Venezuela and Brazil it was recognized as independent ever since. Like the other Latin American countries, it has experienced military coups, the most recent in 1989.

The country is a founding member of the United Nations and MERCOSUR.

History

Before European colonization, Nuovatoscana was inhabited by indigenous peoples such as the Arawak. It was hinted that the tribes of the northern Amazon were related to the indigenous groups in the Carribean. It was theorized that the Arawaks and later the Caribs emigrated from the Orinoco and Essequibo basins in Venezuela and Nuovatoscana to the northern Carribean islands.

Over centuries, the mingling of the ethnic groups, some through trade, others through war, created a hybrid culture in Nuovatoscana.

European colonization

Christopher Columbus first sighted Guiana, as Nuovatoscana was then called, in 1498, but active interest in exploring the then "Wild Coast" did not begin until the end of the 16th century. English explorer Walter Raleigh began searching for El Dorado, also called "Manoa". He described the city of El Dorado as a city near Lake Parime in the Orinoco River. After the publication of his exploits in 1606, other European explorers followed. The Dutch under Jacob Cornelisz already surveyed the area in Guiana in 1597, and later established coastal settlements in the meantime.

The French later established colonies in the Sinamary River. Due to hardships in settling the country, the French were unable to properly establish its colony, though it persisted until its conquest by Nuova Toscana.

Nuova Toscana colony

In 1608, Duke Fernandino II of Tuscany authorized an expedition into what is now called Nuova Toscana. The expedition, led by English captain Robert Thornton, and returned to Livorno without a single loss of men. Though Thornton found Duke Fernandino almost dying, the latter approved of Thornton's vivid descriptions of the country in question and later though with great reluctance, Fernandino's son Cosimo authorized settlement. Despite numerous setbacks and diseases among the settlers, the settlement, called Nuova Toscana, persisted and not only the Spanish and the Portuguese tolerated the colony, they also helped it defend it from French, Dutch, and English incursions. The French attempted to captured Caiena in 1659 but were repulsed.

Tuscany also recruited settlers among the other Italian states as well as Spain and Portugal in which many accepted. By 1800, the Tuscan colony in Guiana is the most populated in the Guianas, with the estimated population of 80,000. Many were brought as penal colonists from Tuscany, the Italian states, Spain, and Portugal.

Politics and government

The country is a unitary presidential republic.

Culture

Sports

Football (Soccer) is considered a national sport in Nuovatoscana. It participated in several Football World Cups and won one in 1994, in what was called "The Miracle of Pasadena".