Cassier

Republic of Cassier République de Cassier
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: "A Mari Usque Ad Mare" (Solarian) "From Sea to Sea"
Anthem: Ô Cassier
File:Cassier orthographic projection.png Cassier (dark green).
Capital	Nouvelle-Rayenne
Largest city	Andade
Official languages	Gaullican
Ethnic groups	Euclean group (76.9%) Coiusian group (15.9%) Aboriginal group (4.9%) Badawiyan group (1.5%) Other (0.8%)
Demonym(s)	Cassien
Government	Federal parliamentary constitutional republic
• President	Jean Tremblay
Legislature	Parlemant
• Upper house	Sénat
• Lower house	Chambre des communes
Establishment
• Formation	July 1, 1757
• Declaration of Independence	October 14, 1920
Area
•	7,196,305 km2 (2,778,509 sq mi)
Population
• 2018 estimate	39,689,032
• Density	5.52/km2 (14.3/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	$1.627 trillion
• Per capita	$41,000
HDI (2018)	0.926 very high
Currency	Cassien Franc (F) (CAF)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+1
Internet TLD	.ca

Cassier, officially the Republic of Cassier (Gaullican: République de Cassier) is a country in the northern part of Asteria Superior. Its provinces and three territories extend from the Vehemens Ocean to the Lumine Ocean and northward into the Florian Ocean, covering 7.19 million square kilometres, making it the world's largest country in total area. Cassier shares its southern borders with Lorcania, Nuxica, and Chervolesia. Cassier's capital is Nouevelle-Rayenne, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Andade, Saint-Marie, and Barnier.

As a whole, Cassier is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Cassier's population is primarily centered around urban centers in the south, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities. Cassier's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Various indigenous peoples have inhabited what is now Cassier for thousands of years before Euclean colonization. Beginning in the 16th century, Estmerian and Gaullican expeditions explored and later settled along the west coast. Gaullica would come to colonize and control much of what is today western Cassier, and by 1757 the nation would be officially consolidated as a colony of Gaullica. Cassier embarked on a vigorous expansion across Asteria Superior throughout the 19th century, acquiring new territories, displacing native Asterian tribes, and gradually admitting new provinces until it spanned the continent by 1849. By the end of the century, Cassier had extended across much of Asteria Superior, and its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar. Cassier would not become a fully independent nation until the Declaration of Independence (Gaullican: Déclaration d'indépendance) was officially ratified by the Cassien National Assembly on October 14, 1920 which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Gaullica.

Cassier is a federal republic and a representative democracy within a parliamentary system. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, and education. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Cassier's long and complex relationship with neighbouring Asterian states has had a significant impact on its economy and culture.

A developed country, Cassier has among the highest nominal per capita income globally as well as one of the highest rankings in the Human Development Index. Its advanced economy is one of largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Cassier is part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the International Council for Democracy and Asterian Forum for Cooperation and Development.

Etymology

While a variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origins of Cassier, the name is now accepted as coming from the Saint Marcus !Iroquoian word kaska, a borrowing from the !Kaska language meaning "black bird". In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Saint-Marie region used the word to direct Gaullican explorer Rogerin Dummont northwards and up the Saint-Marie river to the regions were the Kaska peoples lived. Though Dummont never reached the tribe due to poor conditions and geography he later used the word Cassier to refer not only to the lands of the Kaska tribe but to the entire northern reaches of Asteria Superior. By 1545, Euclean books and maps had begun referring to the whole of the region along the Saint Marcus River as Cassier.

From the 16th to the early 18th century "Cassier" referred to the part of Nouvelle-Gaullica that lay along the Saint Marcus River. In 1740, the area became two Gaullican colonies called Upper Cassier and Lower Cassier collectively named the Cassiers. Upon formation on July 1, 1757, Cassier was adopted as the legal name for the whole of Gaullica's northernmost possessions in Asteria Superior at the Verlois Conference, and the word Domain was conferred as the country's title. By 1920s, the term Dominion of Cassier was no longer used following the Declaration of Independence, which severed all official ties with Gaullica. The newly established government of Wilfrid Édouard ended the practice of using 'Domain' in the Statutes of Cassier in October of 1920.

History

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples in present-day Cassier include the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, the last being a mixed-blood people who originated in the mid-17th century when First Nations and Inuit people married Euclean settlers. The term "Aboriginal" as a collective noun is a specific term of art used in some legal documents, including within the Cassien constitution.

The indigenous population at the time of the first Euclean settlements is estimated to have been between 200,000 and two million, with a figure of 500,000 accepted by Cassier's Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. As a consequence of Euclean colonization, the population of Cassier's indigenous peoples declined by forty to eighty percent, and several First Nations, such as the !Beothuk, disappeared entirely. The decline is attributed to several causes, including the transfer of European diseases, such as influenza, measles, and smallpox to which they had no natural immunity, conflicts over the fur trade, conflicts with the colonial authorities and settlers, and the loss of indigenous lands to settlers and the subsequent collapse of several nations' self-sufficiency.

Although not without conflict, European Cassien's early interactions with !First Nations and !Inuit populations were relatively peaceful. First Nations and Métis peoples played a critical part in the development of Euclean colonies in Cassier, particularly for their role in assisting Euclean coureur des bois and voyageurs in the exploration of the continent during the Asterian Superior fur trade. Gaullica and indigenous peoples began interactions during the Euclean colonization period, though the !Inuit, in general, had more limited interaction with Euclean settlers. However, from the late 18th century, Euclean Cassiens encouraged indigenous peoples to assimilate into their own culture. These attempts reached a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with forced integration and relocations. A period of redress is underway, which started with the appointment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission by the Government of Cassier in 2008.