South Hills

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The United Confederation of Concordian States
Flag National Seal
Motto: Stanocodexian: Diversity, Industry, Unity Impelanzan: Diversidad, Industria, Unidad" Norgsveltian: Mangfold, Industri, Enhet
Location	Map
Capital	Ronald, F.D.
Largest city	Matthews
Official languages	Codexian, Staynish, Impelanzan, Norgsveltian, Ulvrikian, Atlaesian, Vistari, Eyjarian, Vaaran, Ngodian
Demonym(s)	Concorder, Concordian, rarely Hilvolk (colloquial)
Government	Republic
• President	Minerva Todd
• Vice President	Eric Manton
• Foreign Minister	Kami Bekmarschaal
• Ambassador to the IF	Alexis del Santos
• Upper house	Ansengamot
• Lower house	Chamber of Constituents
Establishment
• Early Concord	~1000 BCE
• Pre-Elishan Concord	1000-100 BCE
• Rise of the Elishan Empire	900 CE - 1360 CE
• Riksheim and Kalatianburg	1200-1500
• First Codexian Settlements and Concordian Resistance	1500-1600
• Independence from Codex	1568
• States of NE Concord	1600-1700
• Treaty of New FaramountExpansion Southwards	1760
• Expansion Southwards and Great Concordian War	1760-1780
• Treaty of Valleyfort	1769
Area
• Total	7,233,216.6 km2 (2,792,760.5 sq mi)
Population
• 2021 estimate	261,893,325
• 2020 census	256,758,162
• Density	36.2/km2 (93.8/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2021 est. estimate
• Total	$13,259,999,506,072.5
• Per capita	$50,631.3
Gini (2020)	26.4 low
SDI (2020)	.793 high
Currency	Standard Hawking Dollar ($/SHD)
Date format	DD/MM/YYYY
Driving side	the right
Calling code	+
ISO 3166 code	UCS
Internet TLD	.ucs

South Hills, officially the United Confederation of Concordian States, is a transcontinental federated constitutional republic primarily located on the continent of Concord, with the state of Tano, formerly the Tanoese Protectorate, in Itur. The nation spans the entirety of the eastern coast, much of the southern and western coasts, and approximately one third of the northern coast. The territory consists of a vibrant and diverse geography and biology, hosting one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. Its western border, is partially defined by the Ulvrikian Mountains. Tano, the youngest state in the confederation, is located on Itur, where it borders Volkia to the west. The nation's lone territory, District 58, is located west of the nation within the northern Concordian Ocean, and is administered in condominium with Norgsveldet as a result of the District 58 conflict. The nation is the largest nation on Urth by total land area, the second largest by GDP, and third largest by population.

Terminology and Etymology

The term "South Hills" stems from "sørlige åser," literally meaning "southern hills," the name used in the Jarldom of Eyjaria to refer to the regions of the nation that existed on mainland Concord. The term came to represent the three Ulvrikian Kingdoms that later formed out of the Jarldom by the rest of the ulvrikian-speaking people. The term spread into the Vistari-speaking and Staynish-speaking populations, and is now the colloquial term to refer to the UCCS as a whole.

History

Early History

Main article: Pre-Codexian Concord

Elishan Golden Age

See Also: Elishan Empire

Post-Colonial Era

The now-independent South Hills started off as incredibly small. Originally consisting of only the codexian-speaking areas of Concord, South Hills was a weak nation relative to its neighbors. In an effort to expand their own influence a conference was proposed by the three Ulvrikian-speaking nations of Oakenheim, Rødhøyde, and Vesptredia to form a federal nation as a protection of sorts against the influence of the Elishan Empire to the south and as a buffer against adversaries in the area, most notably Atlae and Vistaraland. A federal parliamentary republic was formed with the drafting and ratification of a constitution by 1760.

The War of Wojali (1768-1779)

The people of southwestern Concord (referred to as the Ladoese) reformed into a major political adversary to Elishan after Wojali the Unifier conquered the three Ladoese nations of Gideuella, Canuweya, and Arsquella to form the despotic Kingdom of Wojauella in 1762. This new empire began encroaching upon the Chincuatlan and Elishan empires, proving to be an existential threat to the two. In the 1790's, War of Wojali was significant and devastating enough that the Elishan empire met with South Hills to negotiate the Elishan Compromise of 1772. This treaty re-incorporated South Hills into a much larger but weaker political entity, now including the Elishan as a region of the nation. This new South Hills, reconfigured into the official name of the United Confederation of Concordian States, had doubled in size, stretching from the Eyjarian Sea down to the Mantlitoyatl, a major river that served as the boundary with the Chincuatlan Empire. By reincorporating, both the semi-independent Elishan region and South Hills provided a significant enough resistance against Wojauella to prevent their expansion. In 1779, Wojali the Unifier died of injuries sustained in the Battle of Cozochtli, ending the war and the expansionist efforts of Wojauella.

Incursion of <Insert General name from Southern Coast> (1782-1789)

Napoleon-not-Napoleon invades northern South Hills to get at Norgsveldet militarily. South Hills be like "yo wtf"

The Elishan Integration of 1797

Under President Carl Baldwin, the Elishan region was split into much smaller entities and integrated into the republican form of government, at the chagrin of the elishan elite.

Modern South Hills

The Great War Period

See also: Great War

At the outbreak of the Great War, South Hills had maintained a staunch policy of neutrality. There were numerous movements and events that nearly led to President Lovecraft declaring intentions to join a side, however no such efforts were given much energy by Lovecraft during his tenure. Its role in the Great War had remained economic in nature, capitalizing on both the Imperial Powers' and the Pacific Coalition's need for wartime machinery, textiles, and most notably, rubber. Because of the nature of its location within the tropical region, the southern half of the nation became a bastion of rubber production, selling to both sides in the conflict.

Often portrayed by foreign partisans as "La Dee Dah Lovecraft," the President became a scapegoat of sorts for the Imperial and Pacific Powers, pointing at the lack of participation by South Hills as the primary reason for the war's continuation. It was often argued that if the UCCS were to have joined a side, the war would have been decided either way rather than falling into a stalemate after well over a decade of global war.

Period of Calamities

The conclusion of the Great War in 1917 positioned South Hills as the only major power not to have been economically ravaged by the total war policies enacted elsewhere across the globe. As such its economic insulation provided it an opportunity to expand its soft power influence around the world, and as such many public and private South Hills companies offered an array of bilateral loans dedicated towards rebuilding the infrastructures of the world economy. Borrower nations were varied, ranging from its neighbors in northwestern Concord to nations like Durdanini and Alksearia. These loans for a short time had done as planned; rebuilding efforts had gone into effect. However, due to a series of various events, most notably a dual-pandemic (Hasoni Plague and _____), the supervolcano eruption of 1917 resulting in the Black Winter, and a fungal blight destroying staple crops across the globe, the loans proved insufficient to recover the post-war economy. As such the world, including South Hills, fell into a decade of severe depression and famine.

The Dverian War and The Tano Protectorate

See also: 2014 Dverian War

Rikevaarland

The role of Rikevaarland in the Dverian War was crucial to the success of the Kerilo Accords, as it provided South Hills with an easy means of access to reach the continent of Itur, where both Tano and Volkia had participated in the resolution of the conflict. The military base itself, called Joint Base Lovecraft, is the second largest overseas base by personnel and largest by total land area.

Hadena Incident

2017 haha suitcase nuke

Tanoese Annexation

Often considered among the most blatant acts of neo-colonialism seen in the past decade, the annexation of Tano was first discussed in secret by the heads of the UCCS military 2014, which occurred simultaneously as the UCCS posted its military in the territory. It had been well-known to the international community that the Sultan of Tano, Jbeneri, was a volatile and often times unpredictable individual. As such, the government of South Hills had conducted in secret Operation Re:Stability, which approved the existence of covert agents within Tano, designed to acquire information about the Iturese nation, things like culture, political atmosphere, and most importantly, public opinion to determine the viability of annexing the territory. The operation, in effect during the majority of 2014, determined the Tanoese Sultanate was vulnerable enough to be politically challenged. As such, plans were enacted to overthrow the government. However, as the Dverian War came to a close, the Sultan Jbeneri unexpectedly declared the dissolution of the Tanoese Government, and announcing the annexation of Tano into South Hills. Although not initially endorsed by the South Hills government publicly, the annexation became formalized with the signing of the Kerilo Accords, wherein it states the conditions of the annexation.. The Transfer became official on New Year's Day of 2017, as confirmed by the interim head of state Alice Jbenamin and UCCS President Robert Hunter.

Tanoese Nationalist Movement

Due to the ambiguity of the legality surrounding the annexation, a large and prominent nationalist movement has defined the state's politics, garnering as much as 40% of the state's seats in both the Ansengamot and the Chamber of Constituents. The official political party, known simply as the Tanoese Nationalist Party, claims it is the legitimate governing entity of what it calls the Democratic Republic of Tano. Although not recognized as a governing body by the South Hills federal government, the body nonetheless holds heavy sway in the local politics of the rural portions of the state.

Geography

Biodiversity

Sentient Biodiversity

Concord is notable as a major crossroads for a number of different sentient species for thousands of years, including humans, elves, and tieflings, among others. As a consequence, South Hills is in turn notably diverse in its hosting of sentient life, considered among the most diverse on Urth.

Politics and Government

The Confederal Legislature Building, Ronald F.D.

Executive Office of South Hills, New Faramount

National Court Building of South Hills, Aiyanopolis

Administrative divisions

The UCCS consists of 20 states and 1 territory, with one state being located in Itur and the territory, District 58, being jointly administered with the neighboring Norgsveldet. The Constitution states that sovereignty shall be shared between the state governments and the confederal government. The autonomy of the states are given by the Constitution, especially regarding internal affairs not explicitly conferred upon and reserved to the confederal government. Any territory is directly administered by the confederal government with powers devolved to them by statute, but may vie for independence through the Improved Autonomy Act of 1783. In practice, no such territory has gained independence through this act due to the nature of the governance of territories falling onto the confederal government itself.

The Constitution does not grant the states the right to unilaterally secede from the Confederation. The admittance of new states and territories into the Confederation requires the nomination by three state Governors, and approval by a vote in the Confederal Legislature. The Confederal Legislature also has the power, with the direction of the President, to create new states from pre-existing states or territories through the Acts of Unity of 1795. A state may be devolved into a territory with a state-wide referendum that must first be approved by a vote in the Confederal Legislature.

The Constitution requires that each state be governed under a republican government, the definition of republic in the Constitution differing from the standard Staynish definition in the sense that it simply refers to the requirement to be constituent and subordinate to the larger Confederation. This gave rise to a new term, referring to the states as concordian republics. The governance of each state is influenced significantly by its history and circumstances. Because South Hills was initially formed from a unification between three kingdoms in the Ulvrikian civilization and the codexian-speaking Kingdom of Thesland, they are governed differently than the rest of the country, whose systems of government reflect the political systems under which they were governed before their annexation into the nation.

The northernmost states (namely Oakenheim, Rødhøyde, and Meldan) inherited many aspects of the Ulvrikian forms of governance, having in their past been regions of the medieval Jarldom of Eyjaria, and earlier been part of the Ulvrikian Empire. In the modern day this manifests in a Governor-Jarl who is directly elected by the residents of the state. The Governor-Jarl has the power to appoint members of the executive branch, promulgate state legislation, represent state interests abroad and to the Union government, to grant pardons, and to dissolve the state legislature. The daily administration of the state is vested in the Avgjørelsehus (the State Cabinet) which consists of the state Premier who is required to command the confidence of the Avgjørelsehus and who in turn appoints the State who helm executive departments.

The tendency of the Ulvriks to summon large gatherings of their common people to deliberate on issues of import to the community persists in the form of the lower legislature, known as the Moothus, in which the legislative body consists of citizens selected by a voluntary lottery once a year to deliberate issues of import, and approve the report of the executive branch on the governance of the State. With regular governance having been vested in a body of nobles, the Ulvrikian states retain an upper legislative chamber of full-time legislators elected by proportional representation, known as the Edelhus.

Small groups of citizens had once judged their peers in medieval Ulvrikian societies when formal tribunals of full-time literate judges were uncommon. Thus, the judicial systems of the northernmost states still incorporate small groups of citizens, who are selected by lottery to judge their peers in court. The judicial system has adopted a hierarchical system that divides the courts into appellate and trial courts. To dilute the power of one individual, such systems have limited jurisdiction of a court to defined geographical boundaries, vesting the highest and final judicial authority in a State Supreme Court, which may still be overridden by the National Supreme Court.

The nation's interior had once consisted of the Elishan Empire, which persisted up until its unification with South Hills through the Treaty of Preservation in 1781, the treaty officially incorporating the two nations into the UCCS. The nature of this treaty allowed for a confederation between the democratic South Hills and the autocratic Elishan Empire, creating a unified national legislature, but maintaining separate executive positions in the form of the Emperor of the Elishan and the President of South Hills. The autocratic nature of the Elishan government produced a top-down system, wherein decisions by the Emperor were carried out by subordinates in a disseminating, hierarchical method of responsibility, the lowest-level subordinates, known as Csvin's, being directly elected to by the people. This top-down system of government has continued through to the present in the states of Farena, Strasern, and Franken, wherein the Governor of the state is elected by the state legislatures, who is then tasked with running the state and representing state interests in the Union and abroad.

The justice system of the Elishan was very decentralized, with each city (and in some larger cities, each borough) maintaining an arbiter elected by the local population and approved by the overseeing Csvin. The arbiter serves the role of judge and jury. The system is often criticized for its lack of checks and balances within South Hills and the larger world.

The history of the states of Rostraver and Ronald were primarily as the vassal of a larger empire, the people of the region being largely made up of the nomadic Vangdren people and the semi-nomadic herder Sauven people. As such, upon becoming states through the Breakup of Elishan by President Baldwin in 1798, the two states adopted a similar system to the national government, including a state legislature directly elected by the people, a Governor also elected by the people, and a judiciary appointed by the Governor and approved by the legislature. The primary distinction of the Rostraver and Ronald systems of government are their method of representation. Due to the people's nomadic and semi-nomadic lifestyle, it was encoded into the state constitutions that representatives should not be elected based on geography, but instead by community. Such a system was very unique in the early days of the UCCS, but has since become an arbitrary difference with the advent of the industrialization and urbanization. Some nomadic communities (who make up a notable minority) are still represented by their shared community, but the majority of Rostraver's and Ronald's population now live in stationary settlements, with their "community" now being synonymous with the city in which they live or the ranch that they own, with some constituencies being entirely made up of singular ranches resulting in a case of hyper-representation for some individuals.

Hanksing (wip)

Utlenturra (wip)

New Tilden, the sole inheritor to the Chincuatlan civilization, adopted a similar system as the larger national government, due to the nature of the Chincuatlan system, it centered around the existence of a multitude of city states. This can be seen in how the constituencies are drawn; every city that traces its history back to a walled city state pre-annexation has its own unique constituency. Every other part of New Tilden remains as part of a large constituency, which results in places that were established post-annexation to be underrepresented in the state legislature.

The states of the south inherited their political identity from the Ladoese kingdoms of old. Their governments were highly decentralized with small tribal and clan groups resolving disputes, managing resources, enforcing justice and distributing work by the consensus of the community with deferrence paid to the advice and leadership of the elders. Although these states adopted the modern systems of a Governor as chief executive who presides over and rules with the State Cabinet, as well as a state legislature elected by the people via proportional representation, they veer in that constitutional amendments require a referendum and laws can be referred to a referendum and proposed by the public when sufficient signatures on a valid petition are presented.

Usage of Confederation

Though its official name, The United Confederation of Concordian States, refers to the nation as a confederation, it has not been organized under a confederal system since 1781. The reference to the nation as a confederation has been a point of debate, with suggestions the nation should rename to the United Federation of Concordian States. Proponents against changing the official name have argued that changing the name would be a loss of national heritage.

Economy

Agriculture

Vangji

Three Vangji fruits, a major staple crop of South Hills.

The Vangji, a fruit known for its strong sweetness, is endemic to South Hills, and has become a major cash crop for the country, constituting SHD $2.1 billion of the agricultural industry in the country. vangji sugar is considered as a healthier alternative to standard sugar, containing anti-inflammatory properties as well as antioxidants and vitamin C. The popularity of vangji sugar sweetener as an alternative has produced an increased demand on the vangji fruit growing industry, with a projected industry growth hovering around 4-5% in 2025.

Tipalta

A tipalta plant found on the outskirts of Embalse Norte.

The Tipalta plant is endemic to the desert and savannah regions of Concord. The Canuellan and Arsquellan regions use this plant for a wide variety of uses, ranging from tea, salves, living fences, walking sticks, and foodstuffs like salads and soups.

Demographics

Population

We got Humans, Tieflings, and Elves, small but significant populations of Gnomes, Symphs, Lupines, Vulpines, and Felines (will make a cool chart here one day)

Language

Codexian is the primary lingua franca of South Hills, being the language of business and universities among its various states. The official languages of South Hills are Codexian, Stayno-Codexian, Impelanzan, Norgsveltian, Ulvrikian, Vistari, Ngodian, and Modish

Education

"Ronald is promoting homeschooling as a method to save taxes payers money" -Luna, worldbuilder of Ronald

Culture

South Hills, being a continent-sized nation, is host to a diverse array of varied sentient cultures, including but not limited to the Ulvirikian, Codexian, Elishan, Vangdrish, Modish, Chincuatlan, Wojauellan, and the cultures of the Gnome, Elf, non-Elish Tiefling, and Symph populations.