Adrinian

The Republic of Adrinian La Republica de Adrinían
Flag
Motto: With the pen and the sword, we are mighty
Capital	Adrinian City
Ethnic groups	80% Adrinian 20% Tianssoulesse
Demonym(s)	Adrinian
Government	Parliamentary Republic
• President	Zephyros Enseñador
• Prime Minister	Ana Solamon
Population
• Estimate	19,900,100
• Density	26.2/km2 (67.9/sq mi)
Currency	Marks
Driving side	right

Adrinian, also referred to as the Republic of Adrinian, is a small, tropical nation in the southern Aestes Sea region of Anteria. The republic's 19.9 million inhabitants reside within eight distinct provinces and one federal district. The nation is dominated by lush rainforests and stunning beaches, and is governed by the relatively small capital Adrinian City.

History

The First Confederation, 1699-1750

Founded in 1699, the First confederation of Adrinian was composed only of the northernmost three provinces, Puerto de Arcos, Nueva Imperia, and Vendria. These three states unified primarily due to monetary reasons, with each province wishing to gain more influence in the Aestes Sea trade network. The nature of the confederation was an interesting one, with each province sending ten delegates to a yearly council in Plantania to discuss trade and monetary policy, but with each province governing itself completely separately from the others. The most notable action taken by the First Confederation was the conquest of Las Islas Pacificas in 1725, in an attempt to gain control of the then booming sugar trade centered on them. This effort was incredibly costly, and exposed deep divisions within the Confederation as infighting broke out over how the spoils of war were to be divided. In 1750, Nueva Imperia and Vendria. Simultaneously announced their departure from the confederation, leaving Puerto de Arcos alone to govern Las Islas Pacificas. This break-up was largely due to the members seeing no more benefit in continued cooperation and competing interests, with Nueva Imperia in particular seeking to expand further south and west into the interior of the continent.

Southern Expansion Period, 1750-1823

This period saw great competition between Nueva Imperia and Vendrian, with both seeking to exploit the resources rumored to lie in the interior. The two states would establish rival colonies, with that of Vendrian eventually becoming Platalta and that of Nueva Imperia becoming Tierra Worden. While the militaries of Nueva Imperia and Vendria frequently skirmished with one another in frontier territory, the settlers of each colony got along fairly well despite different backgrounds. Despite trade being officially prohibited between the two colonies by their respective governments, this decree was largely ignored by the populace simply due to the fact that trade was necessary for each to survive the frontier environment. Plataltan beef was traded for Wordenese coffee and cocoa on a thriving black market that only grew when colonial authorities attempted to stomp it out. This interference would end up being a large contributor to the First Adrinian Civil War.

Notable figures of the Southern expansion period include Pedro Worden, who is credited with being the first person to explore through the interior to the Fresian Gulf. He would go on to extensively map the gulf as well as the land between it and Nueva Imperia, and is also thought to be the first leader to meet the Tianssoulesse in an official capacity. These numerous feats would earn him a permanent spot in history as the land he explored would eventually be name after him.

The First Adrinian Civil War, 1823-1830

Though technically not a civil war as the provinces were not unified at the start, this is universally referred to by historians as Adrinian's first Civil War. The war began after a body of respected citizens from Tierra de Worden and Platalta, the Congress of Platalta, declared independence from their colonial overlords on September 21st and elected to join together in The Republic of Worden.

Though unified, the colonials were significantly outnumbered and underequipped, lacking any meaningful military training or modern weaponry. However, the colonials initially saw much success. Their knowledge of the terrain and use of guerilla tactics saw them turn away many Vendrian and Imperian armies. The colonials were also very unified in the field, being led by Pedro Worden II. For their part, the colonizers at first refused to work together, but soon realized that their efforts would be more fruitful if they set aside their differences. In 1827, their combined army swept through Platalta, brushing aside guerilla attacks and capturing the congress, laying waste to the capital of Ausable. Peace negotiations began immediately afterwards, but were not concluded until the summer of 1830. Sporadic fighting continued in Tierra Worden, but lack of leadership caused most actions to fizzle out. The war ended with each colonial power resuming control of their respective territory, but citizens of each region had found a new sense of unity.

The Congress of Ciudad de Worden and the Second Confederation, 1870-1918

In the year 1870, representatives from the each part of the nation, including Tianssoul and Angelesca, which had previously only been in on the fringes of regional dialogue, joined together in Congress in Ciudad de Worden to discuss their collective future. The congress was the culmination of continued efforts by colonial subjects in Platalta and Tierra Worden as well as intellectuals in Puerto de Arcos to establish a new confederation stretching from the Aestes Sea to the Fresian Gulf. The congress believed the united overland route would allow the confederation to dominate regional trade as well as provide more equitable treatment to the different regions. The congress began on February 15th, 1870 and lasted through December.

The Second Confederation was far more centralized than the first, with a permanent capital being placed in Nueva Imperia and a Confederate Council that was bale to collect and impose certain tariffs, using them to invest in different areas of the economy. Another aspect of centralization was a much smaller ruling council; each of the seven provinces sent two representatives, one appointed by the governor, the other by popular vote. Ideally, this smaller body would have been able to coordinate much better than its predecessor, but ultimately proved no more effective. Additionally, the advantage of controlling the land corridor between the Aestes Sea and Fresian Gulf never proved to be substantial, and trade continued to be focused on the north. This lead to some northern provinces, primarily Vendria and Nueva Imperia to form separate trade agreements and directly ignore the decisions of the Confederate Council. Amassing private supplies of trade goods and even weapons. This lead the Outer provinces to cooperate with each other more in an attemot to hold the inners to the same standard. These differences would eventually boil over into a Second Civil War, causing untold destruction and the nation to splinter once more.

The Second Adrinian Civil War, 1911-1915

After years of infighting and disagreement, it became clear to both the Inner and Outer provinces that internal conflict was on the horizon. Carlos Feliz, governor of Nueva Imperia, understood that in direct conflict, the Outer Provinces could overwhelm his own forces by sheer numbers alone. He also understood that any qualitative advantage the Inner Provinces held would not last forever, and that a preemptive strike may be the best course of action. And so with little opposition from his own government on April 1st of 1911, Governor Feliz ordered that the heart of the Outer Provinces, Tierra Worden, would be invaded and conquered by any means necessary.

The initial Imperian offensive took the Outer Provinces off guard. While war had been on the minds of some, with most towns and cities having recently recruited some sort of militia force, most of the provincial leadership had ignored any signs of the coming storm and continued to pressure Nueva Imperia and Vendria through diplomatic channels. Within the first month of fighting, Imperian and Vendrian forces had captured much of Tierra Worden as well as Puerto Norte in Platalta, and had reached the provincial capital. The attacking forces, not wishing to become bogged down in street fighting, chose instead to bombard the city with mustard gas, resulting in heavy civilian casualties and the city’s surrender on May 23rd.

As a result of these actions, Tierra de Worden, Platalta, and Angelesca declared the Coalition of Outer Provinces, with the stated goal of destroying Imperian and Vendrian power and reforming the confederation. Wishing to spare its people from violence, the province of Tianssoul seceded from the confederation entirely. However many Tianssoulesse volunteers would fight on the side of the Coalition, and Tianssoul would be the top contributor of humanitarian aid during the war. Meanwhile to the north, Puerto de Arcos, though considered an inner province, refused to take any part in Nueva Imperia’s offensive, opting instead to remain neutral. Fearing a stab in the back, Feliz ordered that Puerto de Arcos must be conquered and subdued. The northern front would see brutal urban warfare in the city of Puerto de Arcos, as well as the only naval engagements of the war, with Imperian and Arcosian frigates facing off in numerous small engagements. Additionally, Vendrian forces supplied the Islas Pacificas independence movement with arms and ammunition, forcing Puerto de Arcos to divide its attention between fighting an invasion and a rebellion.

In the south, Coalition forces struggled to regain lost ground. Fighting had devolved into trench warfare which, combined with jungle conditions, made everyday life hell for soldiers on both sides. After some minor successes around Ciudad de Worden, Coalition commander Pedro Worden IV enacted “Operation Wildfire”, which saw coalition forces mass on either side of the city, then breaking through enemy lines and completely surrounding it in a pincer movement. This operation effectively ended the back and forth between Inner Province and Coalition forces, with all momentum now being behind the Coalition. The Imperian and Vendrian forces that remained in the city surrendered unconditionally on September 3rd, 1913, just two weeks after being cut off. The remainder of that year and nearly the entirety of 1914 was spent pushing the invaders out of Coalition territory in a somewhat more mobile version of trench warfare. It was not until they reached the Nueva Imperia border that Coalition forces came to a complete halt. The river valleys and narrow passages that dotted the region proved to be natural defensive positions, causing the slog of trench warfare to resume. In one such valley, the Adrinian City, the place that would become the nation’s capital, was heavily contested and left largely in ruins. It was not until March of 1915 that the city was liberated entirely by the Coalition, providing it with the breakthrough it needed to advance into the heart of Nueva Imperia.

Over the remainder of 1915, Coalition forces engaged the Inner Provinces on every possible front, and continually pushed towards the provincial capital of Nueva Imperia. Though his nightmare of being overwhelmed by the Outer Provinces was now a reality, Governor Feliz vowed to fight on to the bitter end. On November 10th, Plataltan Rangers successfully infiltrated the Vendrian capital and assassinated the governor, throwing the government into disarray and effectively ending that province’s participation in the war. This action was quickly followed by the arrival of Coalition forces on the outskirts of the Imperian capital. Isolated and surrounded, Feliz vowed still to fight on, however he was killed by a member of his staff and Coalition forces entered the city soon after. The official end of the war was on December 6th, 1915. It had claimed nearly 700,000 lives, roughly 4.6% of the national population at the time. And although peace had been achieved, the nation’s troubles were far from over.

The Third Confederation and Reunification, 1918-2018

On January 1st, 1917, the Third Confederation of Adrinian was officially proclaimed in Adrinian City. However, this body was a confederation in name only. Although the individual provinces retained the right to enact their own social policies, trade, military, and economic policy was now handled solely by the federal government. One consequence of this centralization was the secession of Puerto de Arcos from the confederation, taking Las Islas Pacificas with it. The other was the severe misuse of this power. The federal government was composed of only two bodies, a parliament and a Chief Executive, with the latter being appointed by the former. The first man appointed to this position was Peter Worden IV, however, feeling a younger leader was needed, Worden resigned in 1920 after just three years in office. His replacement, Inigo Guterres, a war veteran from Angelesca, would go on to enact a “Policy of Vengeance” against Nueva Imperia and Vendria. Guterres denied the two provinces the right to parliamentary representation and assumed personal control of the federal forces occupying the provinces. Guterres also banned political parties, claiming they would be too divisive, forcing all those running for parliament to do so of their own means. Guterres also cemented the idea that the Chief Executive was appointed for life, something that no one attempted to challenge amidst the chaos of the new government. Guterres would continue to rule unopposed until a public heart attack in 1950 called his health into question. He resigned, and died just two years later at his home in Angelesca.

The man who succeeded Guterres was the uncontroversial Pedro Worden V. Worden opened the parliament up to representatives from Nueva Imperia and Vendria, as well as ending the military occupation of the provinces in 1960. Worden’s administration focused primarily on building up infrastructure and the standard of living in Adrinian. Though often viewed as far less extreme as Guterres, Worden was nonetheless firm in upholding the power of the Chief Executive. He maintained the ban on political parties, and increased military spending and policing throughout the country. He would resign in 1971, feeling that his service to the country had been fulfilling enough.

Worden would be succeeded by the only female leader Adrinian has ever had. Gia Dominica was initially quite popular, hailing from Adrinian City, she represented a middle ground and seemed ready to repeal many of the harsher policies enacted by her predecessors. However an economic crash just two years into her rule, thought now to be caused primarily by the excessive spending of the Worden administration, caused her popularity to tank. She retained her position for three more years, trying and failing to fix the economy, but ultimately resigned after immense public pressure.

Next in line was perhaps the most aggressive of Adrinian’s leaders. Emiliano Martinez assumed power in 1976 and immediately began asserting that the Chief Executive needed even more authority in order to fix the crisis at hand. Rather than reversing the spending policies that led to the crisis, Martinez increased military spending and began threatening Tianssoul and Puerto de Arcos with invasion. This was largely seen by the public as an attempt to distract the nation from the economic problems at hand, and widespread street demonstrations were seen across the country. Martinez immediately cracked down on the movement, but did refrain from further aggressive comments. Martinez’s rain ended abruptly in 2000, when a sudden heart attack while paddleboarding off the coast of Angelesca caused him to drown. Even in death though, his power and influence persisted. He had made it clear that he wished his brother Geraldo to succeed him, and parliament, some fearing that this was a test of some sort and that Emiliano was still secretly alive, obliged the deceased dictator and Geraldo Martinez replaced his brother.

Unlike his older brother, Geraldo approached his role with much hesitance. He had no true ambition to amass power or rule with an iron fist, and was incredibly lenient by most standards. Within a year of assuming power, the second Martinez had legalized political parties and slashed military spending in favor of welfare and education. In an address to parliament in 2002, he promised that he would be the last Chief Executive, and that after his rule ended the country would become a full democracy. With this promise made, Geraldo began efforts to fully unify Adrinian by reaching out to the leaders of Tianssoul and Puerto de Arcos. Though hesitant at first, both nations agreed to a gradual unification process beginning on December 6th, 2003. Geraldo would spend the rest of his rule facilitating this unification, as well as growing Adrinian’s supply of green energy sources such as solar and wind. Geraldo would pass away peacefully at his home in Platalta on February 17th, 2018. Upon his death, parliament began the process of full democratization, officially ending the Third Confederation and beginning the First Republic.