Apostola
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| Native name: Апостола | |
|---|---|
| File:Apostola aerial view 2010.png Aerial view of Apostola, June 2010 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | East Arucian Sea |
| Area | 15.4 km2 (5.9 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 586 m (1,923 ft) |
| Highest point | Novo Ostrug |
| Administration | |
| Province | South Bin |
| Largest settlement | Osnova Vitru (pop. 2,761) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 2,761 (2012) |
Apostola (Narodyn: Апостола; Apostola) is a small volcanic island in the East Arucian Sea. Administered by the United Republic of Vinalia, the island lies around 175 kilometres (108 miles) from the Vinalian coast, its nearest point of landfall. The island is dominated by the Novo Ostrug peak and caldera, a dormant volcano thought to have last erupted during the Holocene epoch. The only settlement on the island, Osnova Vitru, lies at the south-west of the island, and houses the island's entire population.
Apostola was discovered by Sviatoslav Mishin in 1577, who named it the Isle of the Holy Apostole (Narodyn: Острів Святого Aпостола; Ostriv Svytoho Apostola). The island was mainly used for navigational purposes before a brief period of naturalist observation in the 17th century. The island is most well-known for its prison, built in 1707, which is among one of the most-famed for its harsh and brutal conditions. Its isolation eliminated any chance of escape and the prison mainly housed pirates and privateers caught in the Gulf. The prison closed in 1903, and is now a museum. The island was a disputed territory between North and South Vinalia, although it remaining in South Vinalia, the decision to establish an exclusion zone and later construction of a military airstrip in 1976, culminated in the 1979 East Arucian Sea Incident, which saw brief combat between both Vinalia's seeing southern claims to the island reaffirmed. Since Vinalian unification, it has been administered under the province of South Bin.
History
Colonial history
Apostola was discovered in 1577 during Sviatoslav Mishin's voyage of the East Arucian in the 1570s. The name Apostola first appears in a map of the Arucian dated to 1598, thought to be attributed to cartographer Ambros Wargo. The map, named Terris Documenta Exarata Arucia ("Documented Lands of the Arucian"), is thought to have been owned by Vinalian plantation owner Ulas Popovich by the 17th century, before being donated to the Samistopol Museum in 1707. The island was a popular destination for poets and authors due to its romanticised nature, but became especially popular among scientists and naturalists due to its unique geography, landscape and wildlife.
In 1707, the same year the island's map was donated back to Soravia, the Apostola Prison was built. Garrisoned by around 60–70 colonial soldiers of the Vinalian Regiment, the prison was known for its brutality, harsh conditions and isolated nature. It became infamous as a correctional facility for pirates found in the East Arucian, attempting to sink and loot Soravia ships travelling to the Arucian and across the Lumine. Andryi Velichko, Anton Savchyn, Milena Bondarenko, and Illia Vanchyshyn are among many of the famous pirates who served time in Apostola Prison. Throughout the 19th century, the island became famous for its luxurious manors that adorned the base of Novo Ostrug, the dormant volcano that the island's largest settlement, Osnova Vitru. The island was designated as its own governorate upon Chistovodian independence in 1861, with Yosyp Ivaniv serving as its first governor from 1861 to 1880. Apostola Prison was closed in 1903, and opened as a museum to the public in 1920. The island was occupied by Gaullica from 1926 to 1934 but saw little conflict during the war and its occupation was fairly peaceful. In 1935, president Vladislav Pudovkin returned the island to South Vinalia as a goodwill gesture between the two states.
Independent Vinalia
Apostola was upon independence of Vinalia under the control of Southern forces, which maintained a 20 man garrison to defend the locality. Following the Second Vinalian Civil War in 1942, and an earlier agreement in 1938 defining naval boundaries between both states. An exclusion zone of 30 kms was established in the island after the island began to be developed as a weather station. The move seen as a violation of the 1938 saw Northern forces conduct Freedom of Navigation Operations(FON), on the exclusion zone which only increased in 1962 after the Northern victory in the Third Vinalian Civil War. During this time the island grew in population to some 5,000 people as Southern personnel flocked into the island after the construction of a radar station in 1967 and other military installations, at the time Northern planes and ships made their presence in the island most prominently in a Christmas, 1966 sighting of a Northern submarine off the island which prompted the construction of additional defenses in the island. In 1972 construction on a airstrip and hangars, caused tension in the island as threats of bombing in the island prompted many residents to leave.
The airstrip was finished in 1976, and with a declining civilian population in the island the Southern government provided generous benefits for those who wished to live in the island for at least 2 years. Such benefits made the island rely entirely upon the military presence to sustain itself economically, as the population stabilized at 6,000 people. The island came to prominence when in 1979, a 2 day engagement known as the 1979 East Arucian Sea Incident saw both Vinalia's on the verge of conflict after 4 Northern aircraft were shot down enforcing the exclusion zone, which had been expanded to 50 kms after 1976. In 1984 a fire in a military warehouse resulted in the deaths of 5 people, and the destruction or damage to some 15 buildings including the only bank in the island at the time which had existed since 1901. The island was part of South Vinalia when it unified with the North in 1993, the airstrip was turned over for joint military-civilian use the following year, and the last combat aircraft left the island in 1995 with only minor military presence in the island, as a result of this the economy of Apostola collapsed and many left the island for the mainland. Following a 1999 study revealing harmful levels of chemicals and pollution from the previous military presence in the island, the government was forced to clean up the area, and provide a settlement to affected inhabitants in 2003.
Today Aspostola is a small community, based around tourism, flights between Casimirsk and the island depart every 2 days, bringing in tourists. The island has become a popular spot for diving and bird watching. A large boom in construction in the early 2010's saw large scale investment into the island, but local opposition and environmental fears resulted in numerous plans such as a large resort, to be cancelled or moved to the mainland. Today tourism is the livelihood of the island, and tourists primarily from Soravia arrive to the island on the summer season.