Nine Cousins

Nine Cousins of Scipia Danuwan Nuv Qipie
Sovereign state	Sante Reze
Federation	1468
Second Cession	1750
Government	Corporate Oligarchy
Legislature	Scipian Board
Population
• 2018 estimate	30,000,000
• 2016 census	30,232,485
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	1.14 trillion
• Per capita	38,000
Currency	Rezese Lir (SRL)
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.dn

The Nine Cousins (Rezese: Danuwan Nuv) are an organized, incorporated territory of Sante Reze in Scipia. They are a federation of seven cities which are recognized as a singular province, and constitute the easternmost point and territory of Sante Reze. Originally formed as resupply and small trade outposts on the far side of the Oorupaqi, their dominance of the local economy brought them great wealth and prestige, and combined they constitute almost a third of Sante Reze's population and annual GDP.

They are named after the nine cities that used to make up the federation but there have been two cessions in their history. The second was to Yisrael, as Sante Reze sold its island port of Ypau Yisaz to fund the expansion of its navy in preparation for campaigns against Latium.

History

Establishment of ports

In western Scipia, Yacuyare seafarers found various coastal islands or generally uninhabited areas and began constructing resupply outposts as they came into contact with the Jama'a and Qwahi peoplein and around what are now the Nine Cousins, as well as the people in modern Yisrael, thereby bringing them into contact with the Latin Empire by 675. These outposts were built up into trade-dominating ports over centuries, eventually commanding large populations and vast wealth. The interaction between former-Yacuyare people and the indgenous people led to a creole culture between them which became the dominant identity in the Cousins.

Second Cession

In 1750, Ypau Yisaz was sold to Yisrael by vote of the Nongova tei Dez after months of negotiation with the Yisraeli king. The purpose of the sale was to fund a naval campaign against Latium by committing to a doubling of the Noble Republic's available combat shipping. The transfer of power and ownership happened over five months as Sante Reze pulled out assets which did not transfer with sale. Additionally, half the population of the island emigrated to other cities in the Nine Cousins and many to Oxidentale.

Geography

The Cousins are largely coastal tropical islands, mostly rocky with rolling hills and cliffs. They are almost completely urbanized with the exception of planned catchment areas, natural reserves, and some farms.

Climate

The climate of the Nine Cousins is on average drier than Oxidentali Sante Reze. Each city's climate is mitigated by its proximity to the ocean, and daily temperatures are more varied.

Demographics

Ethnic Groups

The largest non-Rezese ethnic groups in the Nine Cousins are the Qwahi and Jamede people who are indigeneous to the area. The western cities have large Jama'a populations, while those in east have many Qwahi people. Spread across them is a sizeable Latin minority made up of descendents of the Jewish diaspora, as well as the slave trade between the 13th and 17th Centuries. This trade also brought in peoples from Malaio in similar numbers. The majority, however, are mixed and most of these identify as Rezese.

Language

The official language of the Nine Cousins is Rezese, which has largely supplanted the local indigenous languages as a result of Rezese being formed in large part as a creole composed of each other, Latin, and Yacuyare. Most Nine Cousins residents also speak at least one of the indigenous West Scipian languages fluently, as well as Latin for international business purposes.

Religion

The largest religion in the Nine Cousins is Kirizyuntupao, the Rezese syncretic faith which has borrowed heavily from Fabrianism and West Scipian Whyzun, as well as many Oxidentali religious traditions. Rezese consider Kirizyuntupao to be a denomination of Fabrianism, though there are many differences in both practice and in the religious canon. Whyzun is the second most prevalent faith, though lagging behind Kirizyuntupao by a wide margin. There is also a large Jewish population, as many as 1.8 million, as a result of their proximity to Yisrael and the centuries-long history of interaction between the cities and the Yisraeli people. Many of these Jewish communities developed from 1750 to 1775 as Jewish-Rezese peoples in Ypau Yisaz (by then renamed to Tel Eilat) emigrated to one of the remaining federated Cousins due to the dramatic cultural shift brought by Yisraeli sovereignty.

Economy

The Nine Cousins have a highly developed economy and were based historically on being transshipment ports. Each port has varied in importance throughout history. It is also known to be more open to foreign businesses, including having lower taxes than Oxidentali Sante Reze and at times having individual constituent members operating as tax havens. The province contains a high number of millionaires, though maintains the same income cap restrictions as the rest of Sante Reze. It is, however, a popular place for foreign wealthy to retire to.

Unlike Oxidentali Sante Reze, it does not enforce minimum wage laws with much zeal, having created a number of exemptions to get around the requirements. It does, however, provide numerous assistance programs including the standard Rezese public housing, financial assistance, tuition payments, and bonuses for newborn or adopted children. These benefits vary from city to city, and do not exist on the provincial level, however; they can also vary between fiscal years, sometimes quite widely.

The cities of the Nine Cousins often have some of the lowest unemployment rates in Sante Reze and the world as a whole, to the point where foreign workers have become crucial to many of the province's industries, including construction and service.

The Nine Cousins functions, varying between cities, as one of the largest foreign exchange centers in the world, as well as having outsized financial and casino markets. Its tourism industry rivals Oxidentali Sante Reze's, attracting nearly sixty million international and transooropaqi tourists in 2020, twice the Nine Cousins' population and contributing nearly 10% of its GDP.

Government and politics

Corporate leadership

Each city is incorporated as a registered nonprofit corporation known as an ile-ise, and as such has a typical corporate structure. Their boards of directors typically have members of most, if not all, of the Paramount Houses of Sante Reze, but they are required to make up the majority of their C-suite out of titled members of local provincial houses. As a result, the wealthiest and most politically active minor houses in Sante Reze are from the Nine Cousins.

Scipian Board

The provincial government is known as the Scipian Board, and consists of representatives from each of the urban corporations. Each corporate entity represented gets one vote per resident of their metro area, and can split their votes however they please. While most of the time, any individual entity will agree on an election prior to the vote being called, if they cannot determine a unanimous opinion internally, they may spread their votes according to whatever internal system they have adopted to allow them to move forward.

Cities

Rank	Metro Area	Population	Notes
				1	Eporte Kiriz	5,089,485
2	Ypau Qipie	4,771,341	Provincial capital
3	Eporte Kayal	4,539,914
4	Eporte Gizal	4,375,478
5	Tuv Qwahi	4,057,642
6	Tuvtsarki Morotutse	3,856,294
7	Eporte Qwarepotiju	3,542,331
-		2,019,350
-	Tel Eilat	X,XXX,XXX	Formerly Ypau Yisaz. Ceded to Yisrael in 1750.