Leatheriver
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Republic of Leatheriver Republik Lederfluss República Rio-Courense República Rio-Cuereña | |
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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Motto: "Mögen unsere Taten ein Beispiel für die Menschheit sein" "Sirvam Nossas Façanhas de Modelo à Humanidade" "Que Nuestras Obras Sean Modelo para la Humanidad" "May our Deeds be a model for Humanity" | |
Anthem: "Ode to the New World" | |
 Leatheriver, in the Southern Cone of South America | |
| Location | South America |
| Capital | Frölich Hafen |
| Largest city | Montevideo |
| Official languages | Leatheriverian German, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Ethnic groups (2020) | 40.71% Kleindeutsch 23.54% Gaucho 12.53% Pampeano 7.62% Afro-Leatheriverian 6.57% Criollo 2.35% Amerindian 2.1% Asian 4.58% Other |
| Religion (2020) | 41.26% Protestantism 20.31% Roman Catholicism 20.18% Catharism 7.44% Irreligion 3.84% Judaism 3.37% Afro-Diaspora Religions 3.65% Other |
| Demonym(s) | Leatheriverian |
| Government | Federal parliamentary republic |
| Legislature | Parliament of the Nation |
| National Senate | |
| Federal Assembly | |
| Independence from the Holy Roman Empire | |
• Declared | 10 July 1798 |
• Recognized | 23 August 1808 |
| Area | |
• Total | 553,309 km2 (213,634 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 30,821,744 |
• Density | 55.7/km2 (144.3/sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2021 estimate |
• Total | $689.32 billion |
• Per capita | $22,365 |
| HDI (2021) |  0.840very high |
| Currency | Ledermark (LM$) (LDM) |
| Time zone | UTC-3 |
| Date format | dd-mm-yyyy (CE) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +51 |
| Internet TLD | .ld |
Leatheriver (German: Lederfluss; Portuguese: Rio do Couro; Spanish: Rio del Cuero), officially the Republic of Leatheriver (German: Republik Lederfluss; Portuguese: República Rio-Courense; Spanish: Republica Rio-Cuereña), is the a country in the continents of Latin America and South America. Albeit not one of the largest countries by area in the continent, it is the richest country in Latin America, with a GDP of nearly 700 billion with a population estimated at approximately 31 million. Its capital is the German-speaking Frölich Hafen (literally "Joyful Harbor"), although the largest city is the former Spanish colony of Montevideo. The country is composed of a union of 3 states, or "federal republics": Santa Catarina, Kuhland, and Uruguay. Extremely diverse, the country has the biggest Jewish population in the Americas proportional to the nation's population. The country is one of the three territories in the Americas where German is an official language, the other two being Columbia and Parana.
Etymology
The name Leatheriver was adopted by the first German settlers of the region, the Thousand Pioneers, who were sent to the region by the Holy Roman Empire to establish a port in South America. The port would serve as a point of resupply for the German fleets sailing to Africa and Asia. The name Leatheriver came from the fact that, in the vicinity of the Ducks' Lagoon (previously thought to be a river), cows and bulls could be found in large flocks. South American herdsmen known as the Gauchos would often launch expeditions towards the region, seeking to capture cattle and extract their leather. The Ducks' Lagoon became known as the "River of Leather" to the Germans. Eventually, when the German, Portuguese, and Spanish colonies of the Southern Cone were united, the name Leatheriver was passed to designate the entire country and not just the vicinity of the Ducks' Lagoon.
History
Leatheriver is the name of the region of the Platine Basin that encompasses the former colonies of the Banda Oriental (Spain), Kuhland (Holy Roman Empire), and the captaincy of Santa Catarina (Portugal). Prior to European colonization, the area of Leatheriver was occupied by Amerindians of the Guarani and Charrua ethnicities. The first contact of Europeans with these Amerindians occurred in the 16th Century. Due to its remote location and lack of mineral resources, the region did not attract attention from Spain or Portugal. By the 17th Century, the modern-day republic of Uruguay was colonized by Spain and the captaincy of Santa Catarina was settled by Portugal. What would become the colony of Kuhland ("Cowland" in German) was briefly occupied by Jesuits. The Company of Jesus introduced cattle to the region, which served as the main source of food for both the Jesuits and the Amerindians catechized by the Europeans.
However, in the early 17th century fortune-hunters and slavers known as the Bandeirantes (literally "Flag-bearers" in Portuguese) attacked the Jesuit reductions, enslaving much of the Amerindian population and expelling the Jesuits. What remained, apart from some scattered Amerindian villages, was the cattle introduced by the Catholics. The terrain and the climate of the region proved to be decent, and the cattle population began to grow exponentially. It is estimated by historians that, at the arrival of the Thousand Pioneers, the population of cattle was four times that of humans in the region.
The large presence of cattle in the unclaimed territory attracted attention from both the Portuguese and the Spanish. Both countries began to organize expeditions to capture the cattle: the Spanish were more preoccupied with it as a source of food, while the Portuguese occupied themselves with the extraction of leather and other products. The coastal region of what would become Kuhland was named "Vacaria del Mar" by the Spanish due to the high concentration of unherded cattle.
When the Thousand Pioneers from the Holy Roman Empire disembarked in 1630, the Vacaria del Mar was a disputed territory between Spain and Portugal. Initially, the German colony was a private enterprise, financed and sponsored by the Imperial government, this one which was more occupied with exploiting the riches of Africa and Asia. The Empire saw the region as an opportunity to get rid of dissidents, religious minorities, orphans, criminals, and others considered to be a burden for the state and the Imperial society. It also had a strategic value, since it served as a bridge between Europe and the German colonial enterprises in Africa and Asia. Furthermore, it also was important due to commercial opportunities in the proximities of the La Plata Basin.
In the beginning, German colonization was restricted to the vicinity of rivers and the Atlantic coast. The colony of Kuhland, or Cowland, became known for the hunts after leather and other cattle-related products, such as tallow and jerky. These goods were sold to the Portuguese colonies; at the time, Portugal was a close ally of the Holy Roman Empire, seeking protection from Spain. On the other hand, the Spanish colonies boycotted German goods.
Despite the friendly relations between Portugal and the Holy Roman Empire, there was the issue of the Bandeirantes. In 1650 the Bandeirantes crossed the Cowlandian border, attacking villages and small colonies. Despite being contained, the damage had already been done. The Bandeirante attack led to a response from the Imperial government, which reorganized and centralized the colony of Kuhland. Prior to the reorganization, the colony was highly decentralized, where each village and each family survived independently. After the centralization process, now every single settlement was united under the administration of the State of Cowland. This made possible a better capacity to respond against foreign menaces.