Racinia

The Republic of Racinia Lu Ripùbbrica di Racinia
Flag
Anthem: Canzùna di lu Racinues (Song of the Racinians)
Capital	Sicuri
Official languages	Racinu (Racinian)
Demonym(s)	Racinu (Racinian)
Government	Unitary Parliamentary Republic
Area
• Total	375,808 km2 (145,100 sq mi)
Population
• 2022 estimate	53,364,736
• 2020 census	52,615,540
• Density	142/km2 (367.8/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2022 estimate
• Total	1.861 Trillion ACU
• Per capita	34,847 ACU
GDP (nominal)	2022 estimate
• Total	2.021 Trillion ACU
• Per capita	37,842 ACU
Gini	41.2 medium
HDI	.835 very high
Currency	Racinian Lira
Time zone	UTC-7

Lu Ripùbbrica di Racinia or simply Racinia is a nation on the east coast of Olivaica, centered on Sicuri Bay. The country contains 52.6 million people based on the 2020 census, with the majority of the population living in cities near the coast. The capital Sicuri, named for the bay, is also the largest city, containing 7.31 million people.

The country is a unitary state, although a significant amount of devolution has occurred since the fall of the Capuilli. The capital of Sicuri has always been the center of the country, holding extreme economic and political weight, and other cities rising and failing in importance relative to it. As such, the state has gone through periods of centralization and devolution as Sicuri and all the other cities wrestle over influence of the nation’s parliament.

Racinia was colonized by the Canterian Empire in the 1600s, producing numerous cash-crops for the empire. Gaining independence in 1787, Racinia would be coming increasingly mercantile and urban. Slavery, however, would remain prominent until the 1850s, after which a series of unsuccessful but devastating slave revolts saw all slaves emancipated. Economic stagnation plagued the country for the next several decades until the 1880s, when the western regions were discovered to contain vast amounts of metals. This lead to a general economic boom, and is considered a golden age. Things would come crashing down in the 1940s and 50s, and the military imposing the Capuilli system in 1962. The military junta would lead Racinia for the next two decades against a backdrop of political repression and extremist groups engaging in low-level warfare and terrorist activities. The Hundred Days would see the military finally be forced to step down, and civilian control be finally restored in 1987. The 1990s and early 2000s would see Racinia enter a new era of prosperity as the new government enacted a series of liberalizing reforms. Notably, the support of a nascent tech industry though the use of rare earth minerals mined in the west. This allowed the nation to recover much of it's lost wealth after the stagnation of the mid-20th century and the following dictatorship.

Ethnically, the country is divided into two main groups. The Racinians, the descendants of the old Canterian colonies and the people that have been assimilated into them. And indigenous peoples who were lived in the country before the Canterian colonization. Over the centuries, Racinians have slowly pushed indigenous ethnicities to the fringes, with them making up a disproportionate part of the nation’s poor and rural population. Racinians meanwhile have benefited immensely from sea trade in the Aestas Sea, industrialization, and the economic boom of the late 20th century and early 21st century.

History

Racinia was settled by the Canterian Empire in the mid-1600s in a much more direct and involved fashion than the Soltenish colonies were. The colony was extremely profitable, exporting large quantities of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, with all these crops being grown on large slave plantations. The wealth this created drew many settlers from Prybroune, and the direct trade link meant that when Soltenia left the Empire, Racinia refused to follow. With only Irassia joining Soltenia, something that would be a sore point for Soltensian-Racinian relations into the present-day. However, the Canterian Empire eventually began to disintegrate in the east, with Racinia leaving the Empire in 1787. The Empire in its last few years had tried to squeeze wealth from the colony, souring the once good feelings between the two. With Racinia using the transition to the Canter Republic to become independent. Violence against Canterian forces was relatively brief due to the lack of reinforcements to support the Canterian garrison. With the Canter Republic being forced to recognize Racinia's independence in 1789.

In the post-colonial period, Racinia would have struggle economically as its exports shrunk drastically in the aftermath of independence. Increasing unrest in the slave population would also see many slaveholders enforce harsher measures to keep the slaves inline, even while some began to call for abolition. The 1840s would see half a dozen slaver reovlts occur, while easily dealt with they were a concerning sign has there had only been 4 similar incidents in the previous century. The 1850s would see increasingly large and devastating slave revolts, culminating in the Virdi Coast War, as over the course of 6 months thousands of slaves were freed and fought a guerilla conflict along the southeastern coast. Recognizing the situation was untenable and as the calls for abolition increased from an increasingly powerful urban class, the Senatu would pass the Emancipation Act, freeing all slaves by the end of 1859.