Aquaria
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Republic of Aquaria
Akuarioa
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| Motto | “Ejiave Odanibmoc" (Onwards Together) |
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| Common Name | Aquaria | ||||
| Anthem | “Zeoulia Free” | ||||
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| Demonym | Aquarian | ||||
| Official languages | Zeouli, Sarconian | ||||
| Currency | Aquarian Kerbit | ||||
| Politics | |||||
| Capital | Ajemla | ||||
| Government | Federal Parliamentary Republic | ||||
| Foundation | 2050 | ||||
| Preceded by | Zeoul, Sarconia | ||||
| Followed by | Sarconia | ||||
| Demography | |||||
| Ethnicities | Zeouli 62.7% Dorvic 24.4% Baskian 11.2% Feguan 0.2% Other 1.5% |
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| Population | 15,085,670 | ||||
| Area | 34,913 km² | ||||
Aquaria (Zeouli/Sarconian: Akuarioa [ækwɛəriæ]) was a nation located in Doren on the coast of Baskay-Caledon, to the west of Owlia. Aquaria was formed by a political union between Zeoul and several south Sarconian provinces in 2050, which continued until 2115. It covered an area of 36,646km2 and had a population of 10.23 million, making it one of the Kerbin's larger nations at the time of its dissolution.
Most of its population was concentrated in the Zeoulian Heartlands split from the rest of the nation by southern arm of Zeuldopine mountains which divide the country both culturally and linguistically. North of these mountains, the Great Lakes transitioning into the plains of Doren were more decentralised and sparsely inhabited, with a large Sarconian demographic.
Its capital was Port Ajemla, situated in Ajemla Bay at the juncture between Nomlas and Phaeg. Other major cities were Arrataxt, Choppe, Nidapse and Delge.
Aquaria was a founding member of the Joolian Federation. While not officially attached to any political bloc on Kerbin, it maintained two way defensive alliances with both local continental powers such as Owlia and Fegeland as well as several nations in Kafrica and elsewhere.
During the Greater Kerbin War it aligned itself with the United Front. Aquaria was a highly developed and spacefaring country, maintaining colonies on seven bodies, and was one of the primary pioneers behind the colonisation of the outer system. It was rated as Very High on the Kerman Development Index.
Etymology
The name Aquaria was adapted from the shared Zeouli and Sarconian word Akuarioa, loosely meaning "area between two seas". Its first usage in the context of a prospective united nation was by diplomat Lamphred Kerman during discussions between Zeoul and the city state of Arrataxt in 2048, in the prelude to the country's formation.
| “ | Your city's Khural is right. To unite this Aquaria would be unprecedented - but the Decline is behind us. The past is full of austerity and precedented things. Does the future need to be as well? | ” |
| —Lamphred Kerman, in discussion with the Khural of Arrataxt, 2048 | ||
The term spread rapidly in the following months, and in 2050 was officially adopted to describe the political union between the Zeoulian and Sarconian territories and the nation which emerged from it.
Geography
The Republic of Aquaria is located in southern Doren, on the coast of Greater Baskay Bay. The vast majority of its territory falls between latitudes -21° and -45°S. With an area of 36,646km^2 at the time of its dissolution, it was the 10th largest nation on Kerbin, ahead of New Grestin and behind the Reciprocity. It was bordered by Hermia to the east and had Owlia lying to the west, with various states of Central Doren on its northern borders throughout its history.
Within the Republic, the nation is divided by many natural landmarks. Nomlas, Phaeg, Rimor and Onifelge, collectively referred to as the Zeoulian Heartland, are separated from the rest of the nation almost entirely by the southern arm of the Zeuldopines, the world’s largest unbroken mountain range. This natural boundary, along with a series of fortifications known as Harmick's Wall, is often credited with the continued survival of the Zeouli people throughout history, deterring northern nomadic tribues from reaching the sea.
To the north, the Great Lakes lie almost entirely within the nation's borders, with its western shore occupied by the province of Dziak. Connected to the Sarconian Sea through a narrow pass, they combine to make up Kerbin's 3rd largest inland body of water by area, and largest by coastline. The lakes are split by Cape Laroc, with the island of Arrataxt by its tip, historically the capital and seat of power in Sarconia in feudal times. In the east, the drier plains of Central Doren extend down into Calyx and Amerb, transitioning into greener fields nearer the coast of Ahcurt and Anidem.
Aquaria also held jurisdiction over Fish Island, an extremely small detached iceberg off the coast of the South Pole. It is entirely composed of compacted snow and ice, and is almost completely flat. Raised above the sea by sheer cliffs over 30m tall, the island is only accessible by air under normal circumstances.
Climate
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Biodiversity
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Urban Areas
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Politics
Government
### Historically each state was an individual, albeit small, country in itself, which would form loose alliances amongst themselves on occasion. In the current area, all have been unified since 2050, when each state came together and united into one nation, putting forth elected politicians to form the Aquarian Council. ###
Subdivisions
When founded in 2050, five administrative states of Aquaria were originally defined. As the nation's holdings and territories grew and diversified this figure had at times rose as high as eight. At the time of its collapse, there were six, being Nomlas, Onifelge, Phaeg, Corain, Ahcurt and Anidem. Each state is granted a set of devolved powers, with the extent of these varying - no two states have the same exact parameters within which to exercise autonomy, and the power for these to be revoked can also differ.
States typically had control over their own:
-Local government
-Health and social care
-Education
-Agriculture, fishing, forestry
-Transport and roads
Certain excepted powers are universally withheld, notably concerning defense, some forms of taxation, immigration and border control.
Only Corain and Phaeg were granted the right to organise and conduct statewide referendums of their own volition as part of the terms laid out in 2049 and 2052 respectively. The Aquarian - Joolian colonial administrative construct, loosely classed as a state, was also given this permission and exercised it to secede into the wider Joolian Federation in 2101.
As decisions such as exiting the Republic had to be affirmed by an outright democratic majority within a state, this arrangement effectively precluded all but two provinces from the right to determine their own independence and had become a serious point of political contention by the turn of the 22nd century.
Foreign Relations
Throughout its existence the Republic of Aquaria continued the isolationist approach to global relations of its predecessors. The nation would rarely exert any influence beyond Greater Baskay Bay, but forged close ties with local Owlia and later Fegeland on continental Doren.
"Friendship, wherever found" policy
Aquaria's security strategy largely defined by Lambchop Kerman. His policy, frequently summarised as “Friendship, wherever found”, eschewed Aquaria seeking out and attaching itself to a major regional power bloc and instead advocated for the formation individual defensive pacts with countries of similar dispositions anywhere across the globe.
| “ | Friendship through a middleman is not true friendship. Bloc member states are loyal to their Blocs - any allegiance given to us on that premise is secondhand. To be able to truly rely, in part, on others for our security and be relied upon in turn we must forge alliances with nations themselves. | ” |
| —Lambchop Kerman | ||
This strategy resulted in mutual defensive pacts with Elysium, Owlia, Bastia, Spearka, Solaria, briefly the Cursed Mechanicum, and Fegeland.
The success of this approach has been disputed. On one hand, the peace within Aquaria borders was never broken in 65 years prior to its invasion by North Sarconia and resulting end - but on multiple occasions the Republic was put in a position where it was unwilling, diplomatically unable, or practically not feasible to come to the defence of an ally, and each such incident caused significant harm to its credibility and status as a major power. It is debatable whether these repeated occurrences harmed Aquaria's future diplomatic prospects.
In addition, the tactic meshed poorly with other Aquarian attitudes towards dealings with its peers. The flaws in Aquaria’s leadership structure, which had no clear primary decision making role, were especially amplified in this area; often suffering from a lack of direction with its different facets becoming confused and contradictory. It was observed by many that the nation holding some strategic stake in almost every continent on Kerbin by virtue of its many global two-way defensive pacts was both clearly at odds with its otherwise isolationist approach to international relations and simply not possible with just the resources Aquaria had at its disposal.
Owlian-Aquarian special relationship
Aquaria maintained an extremely close economic and military partnership with the nearby Owlian Union. The Combined States fought as part of the Coalition in the Delras Civil War alongside Owlia, where every branch of the Aquarian military saw combat for first time. The two later collaborated on and were linked by the construction of the Owlia-Delras road passing through Aquaria, which involved the significant expansion of several regional highways through Corain, Laroc and Ahcurt. Within Greater Baskay Bay, The Republic and Union shared a mutual peacekeeping agreement. In 2062, Owlian Navy ships patrolled in close vicinity of Fish Island while Aquaria and Elysium conducted their attack to rid the island of Zokesian occupiers. During the Greater Kerbin War of 2082, both aligned themselves with the United Front, and were jointly responsible for the defense of smaller powers such as Hermia under its banner, but neither saw fighting before the wars conclusion.
Demographics
Languages
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Education
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Religion
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Age
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Military
The Aquarian armed forces were split into three branches. Mainly being deployed as peacekeeping forces, they participated in six major military actions, liberating Fish Island from Zokesian occupation, fighting alongside Owlia during the Delras Civil War, the First Sarconian Counterinsurgency, peacekeeping operations in Fegeland during the TIGER uprisings, the Second Sarconian Counterinsurgency, and the Fall of Aquaria. At the time of its dissolution, It was made up of just under 490,000 personnel.
In addition to its three main services, the government agency C140 also operated a small and diverse armed special forces group under the Republic. Rarely seen, these ranged from helicopters and small infantry units to orbital reconnaissance frigates.
Air Force
- Main Article: Aquarian Air Force
The Aquarian Air Force, or AQAF, was the air service branch of the Aquarian Armed Forces, and charged with protecting sovereign airspace and if necessary conducting offensive operations in foreign regions. The AQAF was historically the best funded of Aquaria's uniformed services.
The Aquarian Navy was the second best funded branch of the armed forces, in early 2115 numbering 50 warships as well as dozens of support vessels.
Army
The Aquarian Army was the land service branch of the Aquarian Armed Forces. As typical of the time, it was mechanised to a very high degree.
Vehicles Currently In Operation: M51 Corsair APC-94 Mako
Economy
Each state‘s economy has different focuses to take advantage of the geography of the land, with the southern states of Nomlas, Onifelge and Zheoul specialising mainly in fishing, agriculture, and ship construction, while more northernly states like Amerb, Corain and Artso being more industrialised, using the areas higher in resources to set up automated mines and quarries providing materials for large multipurpose factories.
Taxation
To help prevent poverty, products necessary to healthy life, such as high carb foods and foods containing vital minerals, have a lower VAT. To prevent exploitation and potential re-defining of what is eligible for this, all products are reviewed by an independent board.
Transport
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Energy and Infrastructure
The National Power Grid is a partially state owned ### nuclear reactors something ### embedded deep within the Zeuldopines mountains to minimise the effects of fallout if one should fail. Each reactor is networked together with all others and the nation as a whole operates on a single electrical grid. There are other, private power stations using many methods of generation. ### methods that could potentially expel polluting materials within a certain radius of the sea or the Sarconian Lakes. ### are banned
Trade
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Science
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History
- Main Article: History of Aquaria
In 2062, the Republic of Aquaria, acting alongside long time ally Elysium, intervened in and successfully overturned the Zokesian occupation [1] of Fish Island, at the time territory of Spearka. While only a minor conflict, the war would prove notable for a handful of events and landmarks. Firstly, the conflict marked the first military deployment of Aquarian forces since it’s formation and is pinpointed by some as a turning point in Baskay’s history, after which the turbulent region would enjoy a period of relative peace for several decades. Secondly, the war would be the only military defeat suffered by Zokesia over its 50 year history. Thirdly, some days after the conclusion of the initial and only engagement of the conflict, the island would be the site of the first ever significant use of orbital bombardment in Kerbin’s history, when the NMC launched over 2000 impactors at the iceberg, ostensibly to prevent further escalation.
Notable Events
- Formation
- Launching of Arc Station
- Joining the Joolian Coalition
- Colonisation of Vall
- Fish Island
- First and second Sarconian counterinsurgencys
- Withdrawal from Zaror
- Fall
About The Flag
The national flag, representing the union of the five founding states and two major cultures, orange for Sarconia and blue for Zeoul. Eventually, the central star would be enlarged to represent Port Ajemla’s increasing position of importance at the behest of the Zeouli-centric ruling group within the nation. Later as the divide between the northern and southern states widened the orange would be replaced entirely with Zeoulian red, in a move that for many signified the end of the union under its original principles of equality.
Colour Scheme
| Format | Red | Akuarioa Blue | White | Black |
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| RGB | [206,17,38] | [112,195,255] | [255,255,255] | [0,0,0] |
| HEX | #CE1126 | #70C3FF | #FFFFFF | #000000 |