Marbon Island
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Marbon Island
| |
|---|---|
| Special District of Marbon Island | |
 Flag | |
| Motto: Unconquered | |
| Country |  Audonia |
| Status | Federal district within a federal republic |
| Purchase from Blayk | TBD |
| Consulship replaced with elected Council | 1993 |
| Capital | Port Matilda |
| Government | |
| • Type | Special District Council in a federal republic |
| • Body | Executive Council |
| • Chairman | Rupert Down |
| Demonym | Marbonian |
| GDP (PPP) | |
| GDP (nominal) | |
| Official languages | Rythenean Tyrnican Principean |
The Special District of Marbon Island (Principean: District spécial de Marbonne l'île; Tyrnican: Sonderbezirk der Marbon Insel) is an island and special district of Audonia. Located on the border between the Adrienne Sea and the Hesperian Ocean, Marbon is home to over a million Audonians, making it the most populus island of Audonia and its most easterly point. Its capital and largest city is Port Matilda, located on the westerly portion of the island. Uniquely, the island is the only place in Audonia where Principean is recognised as an official language, likewise it is the only part of Audonia that does not belong to one of its three federal entities. Instead, the island is directly controlled from the capital disctrict of Morriston, though recent years have seen the island trend towards devolved government instead of the heavy handed policies of previous years.
Initially settled by Blaykish explorers in the early days of Marceaunia Minor exploration, the island grew to be an important hub for transporting cargo between the new world and Auressia, though its status as being part of Blayk fell into jepordy with the rebellions of the early 19th century that saw many of its holdings in Marceaunia declare and assert their independence. Likewise, the following Blaykish Civil War left a serious sense of uncertainty of the islands future, especially as calls for the island to join the Confederation of Southern Marceaunia began to rise. Though it formally joined the Confederacy in the late 1820s, the fragile political structure and ensuing First Continental War prevented the Confederation from fully excersing control of the island, cemented when it was captured by Audonia during the opening stages of the FCW. Utilised as a military base from which to launch raids and intercept Confederation vessels along its eastern half, much of its original population was relocated to the Rum Gulf and supplanted by Audonian settlers in an attempt to firmly establish the island as Audonian.
In the years following the First Continental War, Marbon quickly expanded beyond a vital trading post into one of Audonia's largest military ports as it sought to flex its new found position of Marceaunian hegemon, while permitting some of the relocated populace to return set the stage for the island to become a contentious point of Audonian-Amandine relations. The outbreak of the War of the Adrienne Sea saw the island quickly fall into the crosshairs of the Albrennian-Amandine axis, its isolation from the mainland leading to its bloackade. Though attempts to physically seize the island were attempted, they were unsuccessful against the Audonian defenders, which in turn allowed for the island to remain in the hands of Audonia during the following peace negotiations, though at the expense of military vessels and personnel being banned from the island. The island began to flourish again as a lucrative trading post, acting as a valuable stopping point for vessels preparing for the long voyage from Marcaeunia Minor to Auressia and beyond, though ethnic and racial tensions began to bubble to the surface. Previously, efforts had been made to suppress the islanders that had not been relocated, including reducing them to second-class citizens in comparison to the newer Audonian settlers, though discontent quickly fermented when it became clear the inequality between Audonian and Principean was more representative of white Audonian and Aussers than of white citizens. Riots and escalating violence led to a crackdown by a heavily armed police force.
The Adrienne War treaty was temporarily suspended to allow the island to utilised by the Coalition during the Second Great War in the event that Amandine would allying with the Alliance and cause another great Marceaunia war, though this eventually proved to be an unfounded fear but did not prevent the island's ports being used to refurbish and repair vessels far from the front lines. The growth of its tourism industry saw increasing numbers of ethnic Rythenean Audonians to emmigrate to the island, placing further pressure on the disenfranchised Principeans. Anger at their unofficial discrimination led to an armed struggle that lasted until the late 1980s, which culiminated in the attempted assassination of the incumebent Consul and the first deployment of Audonian military on the island in over a century. The consulship was revoked and replaced by an elected council. Today, Marbon Island remains an incredibly popular holiday destination and important figure in the shipping industry.
Nowadays, the island boasts cultural links between both Audonia and Amandine, while the physical distance between it and the mainland have led to the development of its own cultural identity, despite the many conflicts that have existed over the small island. Individuals from Marbon, particularly those that are of Principean descent, are presented the rare option of posessing both Audonian and Amandine passports and participating in whichever national team their family is descended from.