Vasqqa
The Free State of Vasqqa L'República Libreté Vasqqa | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Motto: "Sasspiaq Vat!" | |
| Anthem: "Vasqqa D'Veio" | |
 Vasqqa in Argis | |
| Capital and | Vilvau |
| Official languages | Iverican, Vasqqeunio (Vasqqan) |
| Recognised national languages | Common, Vasqqan, Iverican |
| Demonym(s) | Vasqquenio, Vasqqan |
| Government | Constitutional Republic |
• Consúlo | Lorensso Subiri |
• Prime Minister | Eilbe Ptero-Einko |
• Chief Justice | Oln Uidhiri |
| Area | |
• | 85,111 km2 (32,862 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2019 census | 12,129,800 |
• Density | 142.52/km2 (369.1/sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2019 estimate |
• Total | $209 Billion |
• Per capita | $17230 |
| Gini | 66.2 very high |
| HDI | .608 medium |
| Currency | Vasqqan Velle (Ꝟ) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +87 |
| Internet TLD | .vsq |
The Free State of Vasqqa, known officially in Iverican as L'República Libreté Vasqqa, and informally as Vasqqa, is a sovereign country in Western Argis. The Free State of Vasqqa is squarely situated at the centre of the Iverican Peninsula's isthmus. Vasqqa D'Oriens and Hamundor are the only provinces of the Vassqa that share land borders with other sovereign states, the Federal Republic of Narva in the north-east and the Republic of Iverica in the south-west. Apart from this land border, the Free State is surrounded by two bodies of water, with the Narvic Sea to the North, the Verde Sea to the south.
The Republic has a total land area of 85,100 square kilometres (32,857 sq mi) with more than 12 million inhabitants as of 2019. The state is a semi-presidential parliamentary republic which derives its legitimacy from the Vasqqan constitution. The current elected head of state, or "Consuló", is Lorensso Subiri, who has held the office since 2017. Vasqqa's capital is Vilvau, a cultural and commercial centre with an urban area population of 3 million. Vilvau is also the largest city in terms of metropolitan area, municipal area, and urban population. Other major urban areas include Hamundor, Raqqa, Porto Vermeo and Vagio.
The Free State of Vasqqa is a developing country dependent on agriculture, mining, textiles, and manpower service industries. It has a low-income economy and has a medium-low Human Development Index rating. Vasqqa is the second-largest exporter of base metals and minerals in Western Argis. Along with the Republic of Iverica, The Duchy of Verde, the Confederate Union of Narva, and the Republic of Greater Galicia, it is recognised as one of the five Iberic diaspora states in the Argic-Alharun region. It has been a permanent member of the Association of Iberic Nations since its founding in 1918.
Etymology
The name Vasqqa derives from the Ibericanisation of the Narvic original "Vaskn". The original term refers to the nominative singular form of the Vaskunin tribespeople--an offshoot of the greater Narvic ethnocultural group. Though the exact translation of the word Vaskn has yet to be ascertained, scholars speculate that the word is itself derived from a combination of "Vassi"--meaning "frontier", "rugged land", or "marches"--and the word "Kuinein"--a word for a "related tribe or house". Though the Tacalan-Iberic version--"Vasqqa" is used primarily in state documents, signage, currency, and other examples, rural areas like the Raqqan Autonomous Region still maintain a heavy usage of more original Narvic terminology.
History
Pre-Historic Settlement
The wide isthmus which Vasqqa comprises the majority of today, was initially settled by the short, lightly-built Sindragent or "Ash People", of whom little is known apart from their skill in coastal navigation and pottery making. The earliest archaeological evidence of Pre-Iveric and Pre-Narvic inhabitants suggests that these neolithic peoples had settled around the Southern coasts of the isthmus long before settling in Iverica proper. This is further supported by the discovery of Sindric settlements excavated in Vasqqa which predate sites excavated in Iverica by at least one century.
It is generally assumed that the Vasqqan isthmus provided the land bridge the Sindric peoples required to settle Iverica proper from their traced origin in continental Argis. Currently, this land-migration theory is the most widely accepted on the basis of the volume of archaeological evidence dating from 4000-4,500 B.C. Maritime-migrations are largely speculative as evidence of such activity in that period has yet to be discovered apart from.
A series of volcanic eruptions seem to have deterred the growth of the Neolithic tribes from periods between 2000-1000 B.C. After this period, evidence of human activity decreases dramatically. There is a general consensus among Archaeologists that this event signalled the downfall of the Sindragente.
A period of inactivity is known to have followed the downfall of Iverican Neolithic peoples. According to geological data, much of the surface of the land is known to have been covered in volcanic ash, resulting in the death of most of the crops left behind by the Sindragente.
Narvic Settlement
The Narva originated from Northwestern Argis and sailed south-west down the coast in wooden longships. The Narva were a group of maritime nomadic tribes from the northwestern coasts of the continent proper, likely seeking fertile new lands to settle in the south. The Narvic sites evidence a sophisticated knowledge of fortifications, the evidence of bronze, and later iron tools similar to those from the continent proper.
By around the mid 8th century B.C, the Narva had established a small number of frontier settlements in the Vasqqan isthmus, which prompted later expeditions, and eventual settlement in Iverica proper in the 9th century B.C. Over the course of the next 5 centuries, the Narva would settle the peninsula and its adjacent regions thoroughly. Many of today's population centres being built over or around the historic Narvic originals.
Despite their dominance of the region, the Narva were evidently too fractured and clannish to develop long-term alliances and establish complex political unions. They remained fractured into a collection of some 40 different kingdoms and clan-doms, only 8 of which were of comparable size and population to Western Europan kingdoms of the time. The rest of the number can be generalised as petty dominions, holding a land area roughly equivalent to an Iberic barony or sometimes even a minor Hidalgo's estate. The Narvic period was characterised by frequent land feuds and clan wars but had stabilised somewhat by the 14th-15th centuries B.C. Some theories suggest this fragile peace was owed to a sequence of long summers mentioned in tablet records, which yielded enough crop and game that distracted the clans from formal wars.
Narvic Plague
An epidemic of what can be described by a few written accounts as a highly contagious, and aggressive influenza struck the Narvic kingdoms repeatedly over the years of 1380, 1478, and 1591 A.D, resulting in a total death toll of over two-hundred thousand Narva.
Historians point out that worst outbreaks coincided with the large population growth in Narvic cities during this age. It is likely that the cramped conditions and poor infrastructure of cities at the time had aided in the spread of the virus.
As a result of this, the Narva had largely abandoned many of their largest cities by the start of the 17th century.
Iveric Colonisation
Though the Iberic fleets of Almirante Deiargon arrived in Western Iverica proper first, their rapid expansion and settlement of former Narvic lands gradually put the Iberic peoples--formalised in 1650 as the "First Republic"--into close contact with the dominant Narvic kingdoms in Vasqqa. These two kingdoms were the Vaskunin of the southern coast and the Raga of the mountainous northern coast. Both kingdoms held tense often hostile relations with each other and neither could respond to the initial Iberic invasion of the peninsula proper, for fear that any committed forces would weaken their core security.
In 1645, the Narvic kingdoms in Iverica proper capitulated and formed blood compacts with the Iberics, providing no further resistance to an eastward expansion to the marches between the isthmus and the peninsula. As they had done in Iverica proper, the Iberic Republic followed its tried and tested doctrine for pacification. Trade missions and diplomatic missions were sent to the Vaskunin in the year 1652--offering many favourable resource exchanges. As a result, the Iberics were given more access to Vask ports and had even been allowed to establish a formal embassy in the Vask capital of Vilvau (then known as "Veilva" by the Vask) by 1653. In the following years, the Republic volunteered to oversee projects which it fulfilled with minimal payment from the Vaskunin king. Sewage systems were dug and ports deepened for larger trade ships, which increased the number of Iberic merchants and dignitaries in the city. Increased Iberic presence lead to churches being established and much of the Vask population being baptised within the decade. By 1659, the two parties had established a blood compact which allowed intermarriage between the Vask peoples and the Iberics. Owing to their low numbers from the desolation left by the plagues, intermarriage was not met with much reserve as church records show. This would lay the groundwork for the dominance of the creole Vasqqans--who came to be the mixed-race majority by
In the north, the Iberics had begun similar missions, but had been met with suspicion. In many instances, friars and missionaries attempted to convert the Raga, who met their coastal settlements with warnings and occasional violence. Evidently, the church persisted and in 1652, several mission houses and churches were burned. Attempted gift-giving by the Republic was rejected by the Ragan lords, who held a distinct suspicion of all non-Ragans and shunned even the most persistent diplomatic overtures. The only progress the Iberics had made in the area was in a solitary non-Ragan clan of Arma, located in the more western part of the kingdom. The Armani were deeply inclined towards spirituality and superstition as missionary accounts tell. They believed that the animal sacrifice, external rites, and animist beliefs forced upon them by Ragan influence had brought on the plague and were thus inclined to hear of the absolution and non-animism practised by the Tacolics. Conversion was swift, and a religious alliance was established by 1658.
Geography
The entirety of Vasqqa is located on the isthmus which connects continental Argis with the Iberic Peninsula. It is located in the temperate zone of Argis, with the subtropical Verde Sea to its south, the artic-temperate Narvic Sea to its north and adjacent to the continental mainland of Argis in the east. The main landmass is made up of hills, gorges, mountains, and fertile river valleys with underlayers of volcanic ash, likely formed by eruptions and carved out by shifting magma flows millions of years ago. The central regions of the peninsula are mountainous, with a few regions still notable for volcanic activity. The southern parts of the isthmus consist of hilly and wetland regions. Central Vasqqa is mostly composed of high, steep mountains and surrounding foothills. While Vasqqa's Northern coast consists of rocky coast and river land.
Economy
The economy of Vasqqa is a developing agricultural, manufacturing, and service economy with a reliance on textile, smelting, mining, and service manpower industries. Primary exports include iron and other raw or finished base metal goods, clothing goods, and staple food goods. While primary services are led primarily by outsourcable telemarketers.
The nation's economy is fueled by an abundance of mined resources, farmed resources, and low labour costs which it provides to importers in the Republic of Iverica, the Duchy of Verde and the United States of Prymont. Mass exporting of basic goods such as the above and income from outsourced services mean that the Vasqqan economy is highly dependent on foreign demand. Several recessions have troubled the country in the modern era and have lead to a relatively low foreign investment value, low domestic infrastructure development, and low export prices.
Vasqqans have a low to average household and employee income among Argic nations owing to the common occupations of manual labour in farming, textile production, and industrial manufacturing. Most Vasqqan citizens belong in the C and D class of income earners, having minimal disposable incomes and relatively low purchasing power per capita. A percentage of Vasqqans, relegated mostly to the metropolitan areas of Vilvau, Arma, and Vermeo enjoy a greater average income and a higher quality of amenities--due mostly to foreign employment by businesses in Free Economic Zones.
