Aucuria

Aucurian Republic Aukurijos Respublika Awkuriya Republika Ripublika Aukuriya
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Libertas omnia vincit Liberty conquers all
Anthem: Aucurian name here TBD
Political map of Aucuria
Capital and largest city	Kalnaspilis
Official languages	Ruttish
Recognised regional languages	Runanca Kirua
Demonym(s)	Aucurian
Government	Federal constitutional parliamentary republic
• President	Žygimantas Barauskas
• Chancellor	Petras Uspelevičius
• Speaker	Sulislova Petraitytė
Legislature	Saeimas
Independence from Cislania
• Declared	1785
• Recognized	1794
• Current constitution	1980
Area
• Total	1,098,581 km2 (424,164 sq mi)
• Water (%)	tbd
Population
• 2020 estimate	44,223,510
• Density	27.511/km2 (71.3/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2015 estimate
• Total	$695.149 billion
• Per capita	$15,719
GDP (nominal)	2015 estimate
• Total	$12.615 billion
• Per capita	$7,069
Gini (2015)	47.6 high
HDI (2015)	.760 high
Currency	svāras (₺) (AKS)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy (CE)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+53
Internet TLD	.ak

Aucuria (Ruttish: Aukurija), officially the Aucurian Republic (Ruttish: Aukurijos Respublika; Runanca: Awkuriya Republika; Kirua: Ripublika Aukuriya) is a sovereign state in Kylaris. Located on the Arucian coast of Asteria Inferior, Aucuria borders Nuvania to the west, Belmonte to the south, and Satucin to the east, and shares sea borders to its north with Imagua and the Sabanas. Its capital and largest city is Kalnaspilis.

The earliest evidence of human habitation in Aucuria dates back to 12,500 BCE. The Pativilkas civilization, which existed from 3,200 BCE to 1,500 BCE, was the first civilization in Asteria Inferior and one of the cradles of civilization in Kylaris. In the following 2,700 years, a litany of subsequent cultures developed, such as the Kiljakoljas, Piura, Tirakvas, and Kulkinčas cultures. The Runanca and Kirua appeared in the 1200s; a series of wars between the two resulted in the establishment of the League of Five Cities, or Cutinsua, by the Runanca in 1344; this polity ultimately came to control much of northern Aucuria. Ruttish explorers first arrived in 1538, and established control over the region in 1543. As the economy of colonial Aucuria shifted from the mining of precious metals towards cash crop agriculture, the area became increasingly populated by Euclean immigrants.

After the conquest of Ruttland in 1721, Aucuria was transferred to Cislanian control. Cislania attempted to impose upon the colony's mostly-Ruttophone population, which provoked widespread discontent; after several decades of rising tensions, Aucuria declared independence in 1785. The ensuing Aucurian Revolution ended in 1794 with the signing of a treaty confirming its existence as an independent republic. Initially a liberal presidential republic, the country slipped into dictatorship under President Fridrikas Dabrauskas until his assassination. A subsequent return to liberal republican governance lasted until the 1880s, when Aucuria's defeat in the War of the Arucian led to the Aucurian Civil War. The country was occupied by the Entente for much of the Great War, but an organized resistance force aligned with the Grand Alliance was able to liberate the country during the closing months of the war. After the war, a democratic government was briefly reestablished before being overthrown in a 1949 military coup. The ensuing military regime lasted until 1980, when it was overthrown in the Velvet Revolution and democratic governance was once again reestablished.

Aucuria encompasses a variety of biomes and terrain, including tropical rainforests along the Juoda River, large stretches of savanna known as pakraščiai, the highlands of the Vaskaranas Mountains, and the alpine tundra of the South Asterian Range. As much of the country's south is dominated by the western reaches of the Sythe Rainforest and the South Asterian Range, most of the country's population lives in the north. Aucuria is home to diverse wildlife, and for this reason is often listed as a megadiverse country.

Aucuria has a population of 44 million people as of 2020; this population is ethnically and racially diverse and includes populations of Euclean, creole, indigenous Asterian, Bahian, Rahelian, and Coian origin. Solarian Catholicism is the predominant religion in the country, though the country's history and ethnic makeup have resulted in a diverse array of syncretistic practices within the Solarian umbrella and the presence of a litany of minority faiths. The country's official and main spoken language is Ruttish, but a significant number of indigenous Aucurians continue to speak native languages such as Runanca and Kirua, which have some degree of official recognition.

A developing country, Aucuria nonetheless boasts a high score on the Human Development Index and a diversified economy. The country's economy has long been based heavily on the export of agricultural products (such as coffee, sugarcane, cacao, citrus, pineapples, bananas, soybeans, corn, potatoes, and tobacco), meat and fish, minerals (including copper, gold, silver, tin, zinc, and iron), and forestry; however, the country also has substantial light and heavy industrial sectors, which account for roughly a third of the country's GDP, and has seen substantial and rapid growth in the service and tourism sectors in recent decades.

Since the Velvet Revolution, Aucuria has been a federal parliamentary republic, and is widely regarded as having successfully constructed a thriving multiparty democracy after decades of political turbulence and dictatorship; however, the country continues to suffer from issues of economic and ethnic inequality. The President of Aucuria, currently Žygimantas Barauskas, acts as the country's head of state while the Chancellor, currently Petras Uspelevičius, acts as the country's head of government. Aucuria has a unicameral parliament, the Saeimas, and an independent judiciary headed by the Supreme and Constitutional courts. The country is a member of the Community of Nations, the Organization of Asterian Nations, and the Asteria Inferior Common Market.

Etymology

The etymology of "Aucuria" is disputed. Folk etymology relates the name to a supposed incident involving užkariautojas Jurgis Leikauskas during the Ruttish conquest of the region; following the conquest of a Cutinsuan town, Leikauskas supposedly rededicated the town's temple as "the altar of Jesus Soter", and proclaimed the surrounding land to be "the land of the altar of Jesus Soter" (Ruttish: Jėzaus Soterio aukuro žemė) to Ruttish explorers; this was subsequently reduced to "the land of the altar" (aukuro žemė) and, eventually, simply "Aucuria" (Aukurija). Historians agree that the story about Leikauskas is likely apocryphal, but "aukuro žemė" is attested to in maps from the late 1500s and early 1600s, lending credence to the hypothesis. If this hypothesis is true, Aucuria's name would ultimately derive from the proto-Eucleo-Satrian "h₂ewg-", literally "to grow" or "to increase", but more metaphorically "to honor" or "to exalt", via the old Ruttish auka (modern Ruttish augti).

Some scholars reject the aukuras hypothesis as too improbable, noting that aukuras is used far less in Ruttish than the more-common altorius, and argue that it is more likely that the country's name derived from a native term. Most scholars in this camp argue that "Aucuria" derived from the Runanca awqa, literally "hostile" or "enemy", possibly given to Ruttish užkariautojai by the indigenous population and then unknowingly adopted by the former group as an appellation for the country; some, however, propose a link to the Runanca and Kirua term awkisuyu, roughly translatable as "the principality" or "the territory". Critics point out, however, that these hypotheses struggle to explain how awqa or awki- became "Aucuria".

Proposals of an etymological link between Aucuria and the name of the Arucian Sea are heavily debated.

The term "Aucuria" was first applied officially to the region in 1621; before this point, Aucuria had been formally known as the Colony of New Ruttland from 1538 to 1543 and the Colony of New Ruttland and Cutinsua from 1543 to 1621.

History

Main article: History of Aucuria

The remnants of a Pativilkas step pyramid.

Prehistory and Pre-Asterian Aucuria

Human presence in Aucuria can be dated as far back as 12,500 BCE, with human remains and stone tools in the Čiklajus valley providing some of the earliest discovered evidence of human habitation in Asteria Inferior. The domestication of the potato occurred in Aucuria some time between 8,000 BCE and 5,000 BCE; the cultivation of corn and cotton spread to the region between 5,000 and 4,000 BCE, and the domestication of quinoa occurred in roughly 2,000 BCE. Indigenous Asterians also domesticated the llama, alpaca, and guinea pig in Aucuria in roughly 6,000 BCE.

The Pativilkas civilization, the first civilization in Asteria Inferior and one of the cradles of civilization in Kylaris, emerged in central-western Aucuria in 3,200 BCE. Pativilkas sites are marked by the presence of central pyramids and monoliths, irrigation systems, and terraced farms; these features suggest a relatively high degree of centralization and social complexity; they are also marked by an unusual absence of visual arts, which archaeologists have struggled to explain. Pativilkas sites also contain knotted strings that some archaeologists argue are early examples of khipus. The production of ceramic pottery, gold, and copper in Aucuria can be dated to roughly 2,000 BCE, within the Pativilkas period, and their civilization continued to thrive for centuries before steadily declining from 1,800 to 1,500 BCE.

The Pativilkas civilization was succeeded by the Kiljakoljas culture, which thrived from 1,300 to 300 BCE. The Kiljakoljas people developed more sophisticated systems of irrigation and social stratification, as well as more refined masonry, textiles, and metalworking, and the first widespread, recognizable artistic style from an Aucurian civilization; archaeologists also believe that this period saw an increased prominence for religious rituals and figures, which would sharply influence subsequent cultures. Following its decline and collapse, the Kiljakoljas culture was succeeded in western Aucuria by the Piura culture and in east-central Aucuria by the Tirakvas culture, both of which existed roughly from 100 BCE to 800 CE. The Tirakvas are famous for their unique monochromatic pottery, patterned textiles, and ornate metalworking, while the Piura are known for their construction of geoglyphs, monumental structures, and subterranean aqueducts. In the 800s both the Tirakvas and Piura cultures were subsumed into the Kulkinčas culture, which thrived from the 800s to the 1200s and oversaw a further flourishing of textiles, metalwork, and monumental construction, as well as the development of vibrant multicolor pottery and murals.

A pair of Kulkinčas ear ornaments made from gold and turquoise.

The disappearance of the Kulkinčas culture in the 1200s corresponds with the appearance of groups clearly identifiable as the Runanca and Kirua peoples. The links between the Runanca, Kirua, and preceding cultures are disputed among archaeologists and historians; many scholars have argued that the Runanca and Kirua migrated to Aucuria from a different part of Asteria Inferior, linking their arrival to the collapse of the Kulkinčas culture, but others have stated that certain cultural continuities make it more probable that the Runanca and Kirua evolved organically from and eventually superseded the Kulkinčas culture. The Kirua Kingdom of Oruras is known to have existed historically by 1252, and, in the subsequent decades, came to control a large area of western Aucuria. This rapid expansion worried several Runanca city-states near Oruras's borders, who were becoming the next targets for Oruran expansion. In 1344, five of these city-states - Andavaila, Čačapojas, Suljanas, Lambajekė, and Akarajas - formed a defensive alliance formally called the League of Five Cities, and commonly known as Sunquntinsuyu (literally "the middle territories" in Runanca) or Cutinsua, to resist Oruran expansion; in a series of subsequent conflicts, Cutinsua repelled and ultimately conquered Oruras.

Though nominally an equal alliance between the five cities, Cutinsua was largely dominated by Andavaila, as it was the richest and most populous of the five. Following the conquest of Oruras, Cutinsua embarked on its own campaign of expansion. Cutinsuan leadership sent envoys to cities and towns encouraging them to become members of the League of Five Cities in exchange for luxury goods and local elites being allowed to retain their titles; subsequent members of the League held a lesser status than its original five members, but nonetheless could count on benefitting from Cutinsuan infrastructure and protection from Cutinsuan armies. Cities which refused to join willingly were conquered and plundered, with local leadership deposed or executed and replaced by appointed "stewards", typically chosen by Andavaila. Through this method Cutinsua came to control the majority of northern Aucuria by the 1500s.

Conquest and colonial period

While Hennish explorer Johannes van Twiller had travelled along the Aucurian coastline in the 1510s as part of his efforts to determine if Asteria Superior and Asteria Inferior were separate continents, the region saw little further contact with Eucleans until 1538, when a party of užkariautojai sent by the Ruttish Asterian Company and led by Jurgis Leikauskas landed at the mouth of the Pautė River, establishing a fortified settlement they named Apvaizda. Finding the soil to be fertile, Leikauskas dubbed the area "New Ruttland" and ordered word sent back to Ruttland that the land was suitable for settlement; the first settlers arrived two years later, in 1540, alongside military reinforcements.

A depiction of Ruttish užkariautojai preparing to embark for Aucuria.

In 1541, Leikauskas met with envoys sent by Cutinsua, who invited him to Andavaila; Leikauskas made the trip, accompanied 350 užkariautojai. In addition to meeting the qhapaq of Andavaila, Leikauskas met envoys from Čačapojas, Suljanas, and Akarajas and learned that the leaders of these cities resented Andavailan dominance. He arranged a subsequent meeting with their leadership in Suljanas; here Leikauskas formed alliances with the three city-states and agreed to aid them in a rebellion against Andavaila. After defeating Andavailan forces at Laurikočas, the allied forces seized and brutally sacked Andavaila in October of that year. Some surviving Andavailan forces fled south to Oruras and attempted to continue the fight, but were defeated at Kulkapirvas shortly thereafter. In March of 1542, after their victory at Kulkapirvas, the forces of Leikauskas and his allies moved to return to Andavaila. On the way there, near the town of Kailjomas, a dispute emerged between Ruttish and native forces over the alleged disrespect of each others' religious symbols; the dispute escalated into a battle which saw the bulk of the native armies destroyed and the qhapaqs of Čačapojas and Suljanas murdered. Following this, the Ruttish conquered and plundered their former allies, seeking to ensure their control over the region; by 1543, the Ruttish conquest of Cutinsua was complete and the entirety of northern Aucuria was under Ruttish control.

The colony was officially renamed as the Colony of New Ruttland and Cutinsua in 1543. News that the colony was rich in gold and silver triggered a flood of fortune-seekers and explorers known as vėliavininkai, who increased the colony's Euclean population and expanded its colonial frontiers. To further encourage settlement, the Ruttish government provided manorial grants called dvarai; dvarai were ruled through the patikėtinis system, in which the settlers, known as pradininkai, were granted indigenous people to use as forced laborers and to educate in the Ruttish language and Sotirian religion. This system proved immensely lucrative and the colony quickly became a major producer of cash crops such as sugarcane, coffee, and chocolate; it also proved effective in Sotirianizing the area's population. The severe abuses associated with the patikėtinis system, and the introduction of epidemic diseases from Euclea, devastated indigenous populations; in spite of this, there were several native rebellions against Ruttish rule, the largest and last of these rebellions being the Great Cutinsuan Revolt of 1608-1612.

Prosperity attracted further immigration, and coastal or near-coastal settlements such as Apvaizda, Naujoji Šilokrautė, Biržuventis, Kalnaspilis, Velykopolė, and Katniava quickly grew in size. The colony was officially renamed the Colony of Aucuria in 1621. Seeking to further expand Aucuria's population and the wealth it brought to Ruttland, the colonial government tacitly permitted intermarriage between white settlers and indigenous women and began to import Bahians as slave labor. A caste system developed in the colony, with perjūrai (Eucleans born in Euclea) at the top, iškeltai (Eucleans born in the Asterias) below them, maišytiai (individuals of mixed race or ethnicity) below them, and indigenous Asterians and Bahians at the bottom. The colony was granted its own saeimas, albeit a largely symbolic one, in 1699 by governor Silvestras Žukauskas.

A painting depicting Juozapas Kairys accepting the surrender of cislanian general after the Battle of Čavajtiris.

In 1721, following the conquest of Ruttland, Aucuria was placed under Cislanian control. Many Ruttish nobles fleeing the mainland's fall headed to Aucuria, bringing their wealth with them. During this period, Cislania undertook a variety of policies unpopular with the Aucurian population, dissolving the Aucurian saeimas, increasing taxes on several goods, encouraging Cislanian settlement and providing favorable treatment to Cislanian settlers, and trying to suppress the Ruttish language in favor of Weranian. In addition, the colony's increasingly large iškeltai and maišytiai populations felt less and less connection to Euclea and began to develop a uniquely Aucurian identity... [outbreak of Aucurian Revolution in 1785, course of the war; fighting is largely over by 1792 but peace is not concluded until the 1794 proclamation of the weranian republic means there's shit much closer to home for cislania]

Geography

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Politics

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Demographics

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