Disappointment County
Disappointment County
Animashkamikau-assi (Chequan) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country |  Surrow |
| Founded | March 3, 1784 |
| County seat | Apitumiss |
| Government | |
| • Commissioner | Rhys Bondar |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,022.73 km2 (780.98 sq mi) |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Total | 1,314 |
| • Rank | 4th in Surrow |
| • Density | 0.65/km2 (1.7/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (Surrowese Standard Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | not observed |
Disappointment County (Chequan: Animashkamikau-assi) is a county in Surrow, bordered to the south by Tuckamore County. Established in 1784, Disappointment County is the third largest county in area, behind Stoney County and Tuckamore County, but is the second least populous county in Surrow, with only Kikik County being smaller in population than Disappointment County, although it is still larger than the two districts.
Etymology
Disappointment County was named by Josiah Yates, who from 1769 to 1772 attempted to establish a farm near Port Yate. The farm failed due to the permafrost and poor terrain making it impossible for crops to grow, leading to Yates writing in his journal in August 1772 that:
"For four seasons in a row, I have experienced endless disappointment at the complete inability of the land to grow anything at all: if I may make a suggestion to His Majesty, I would suggest that any attempts to settle the northern reaches of Tuckamore County — barring the immediate shoreline — be abandoned, as any efforts to settle the interior of this part of Tuckamore County, let alone all but the southern tip of this island will only result in disappointment eternal."
When the county was established in 1784, Josiah Yates persuaded the colonial government to name it Disappointment County, in the hopes that it would discourage "would-be settlers" from trying to settle the interior of the county.
The Chequan name for the county, Animashkamikau means a very uneven land or a very difficult land, due to the geography of Disappointment County and the lack of trees compared to southern Holcot Island.
History
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The first permanent Auressian settlement to be established in present-day Disappointment County was Port Bodmer, which was established by Rythenean fishermen in 1599. With the sole exception of Sharf's Reed and Wellin's Cove, which were established in 1643 and 1662 respectively by Tyrnican fishermen, all of the settlements in present-day Disappointment County were established by Rytheneans, with the county being part of Southland County.
The close proximity of Rythenean and Tyrnican settlements led to conflicts and skirmishes between fishermen and local authorities, but in the early phases of the Eleven Years' War, Tyrnica would control all the settlements in present-day Disappointment County until Tyrnica's decisive defeat at the Battle of Klinerhaven in 1758, and the transfer of all Tyrnican settlements to Rythenean rule, although Tyrnicans living on Surrow were allowed to continue living there under the condition that they accepted Rythenean authority.
In 1759, Tuckamore County was carved out of Southland County, which at the time included Disappointment County. However, in 1784, Disappointment County became its own county, although the bits of present-day Disappointment County west of the Elser Hills became part of Westland County, which was also carved out of Tuckamore and Southland Counties at the same time.
Throughout the nineteenth century, Disappointment County was a relative backwater in comparison to Tuckamore and Southland Counties, with its population being relatively stagnant due to the harsh terrain and environment. In 1848, the northern third of Westland County was attached to Disappointment County, giving Disappointment County its modern day borders.
Beginning in the late 1850s, the county government began to develop, with the first county council being elected in 1864, and the county government becoming more and more powerful during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with the county government assuming control over land registration, emergency services, infrastructure maintenance, and day-to-day operation of schools.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Disappointment County became a flashpoint of the Surrowese language question, with the county council passing a resolution in 1898 declaring Rythenean to be the only official language in the county, which was met with opposition from the villages of Sharf's Reed and Wellin's Cove, which were relatively Tyrnophone compared to the rest of the county. However, with less than 5% of the county population speaking Tyrnican, Disappointment County was a relatively marginal area when it came to the language question.
After the First Great War, the construction of basic roads connecting the settlements of Disappointment County with the rest of Holcot Island initially led to population growth, with the population peaking in the 1940s at roughly 5,000 people. However, the outbreak of the Second Great War, the construction of a military base in Gateway, and later, the discovery of palladium following Surrow's independence led to Disappointment Couinty's population experiencing a sustained decline since the 1950s onward.
Government
Disappointment County is governed by a six-member county council (Chequan: nekaussei), elected every four years. Since the 2022 redistribution and the May 2022 election, Apitumiss is represented by two constituencies (Apitumiss Central and Apitumiss-Port Yate), New Grafton and Port Bodmer are each represented by one constituency, one constituency for Audrache Harbour-Nitawat Inlet, and one constituency for Cuthbert Inlet-Kakuset Inlet.
The county council is headed by a commissioner (Chequan: utshimau), with the current commissioner since June 24, 2006 being Rhys Bondar, who succeeded TBA as commissioner, who served from 2010 until 2018.
Per the Surrowese constitution, Disappointment County, like all other counties in Surrow, has power over infrastructure maintenance, trial courts, emergency services, land registration, day-to-day operations of schools, and provision of medical services.
Demographics
As of the 2021 census, Disappointment County's population was measured to be at 1,314 people.
Racially, Disappointment County is overwhelmingly Auressian, with 1,305 people, or around 99.3% of the county population being of Auressian descent. 6 people, or around 0.5% of the county population are Native Surrowese, with estimates suggesting that 100% of the Native Surrowese population are Chequan. Finally, 3 people, or around 0.2% of the county population belong to other races.
Religiously, 1,295 people, or around 98.6% of the county population are Perendist, while 19 people, or around 1.4% of the county population are irreligious.
Linguistically, 1,255 people, or around 95.5% of the county population speak Rythenean as their first language, 1 person, or around 0.1% of the county population speaks Chequan as their first language, and 58 people, or around 4.4% of the county population speak other languages as their first language, with 52 people reporting that they spoke Tyrnican as their first language.
Settlements
Disappointment County has six villages (Chequan: utenass), with the three largest villages being Apitumiss with a population of 381 as of the 2021 census, Port Bodmer, with a population of 308 as of the 2021, and New Grafton, with a population of 292 as of the 2021 census. The other three villages in Disappointment County include Audrache Harbour, Kakuset Inlet, and Nitawat Inlet.