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'''Esteira''', officially the '''Republic of Esteira''' ({{wp|Portuguese|Esteiran}}: ''República da Esteira''), is a country in northwest [[Gondwana]], bordered by [[Vaklori]] to the north, the [[Federation of Bana]] to the south, the [[The Danvreas|Danvreas]] to the east, and a maritime border with [[Tavaris]] to the west. A highly centralized state, the country is divided into 10 [[Departments of Esteira|departments]] (''departamentos'') and the Capital District of [[Porto Verde]], the country's largest city. It covers an area of 409,781 square kilometers (158,217 sq mi) and has a population of nearly 30 million. {{Wp|Portuguese|Esteiran}} is the national language, and the indigenous Selvan and Povosi languages are regionally recognized in the departments with significant populations.
First existing as a small confederation of the people living near the western edge of the Danvreas Plateau, the confederation was pushed towards the coast due to orcish raids from the east. The confederation ultimately brought other indigenous groups into the fold, eventually beginning to reconquer lost lands starting in 1253. Conflict with orcs occurred until about 1274, when the Danvreas closed itself off to all foreigners and allowed Esteira to expand. Naval raids from neighboring [[Ni-Rao]] led to the centralization of power in the Confederation, with King Reinaldo I forming the Kingdom of Esteira in 1398.
==Etymology==▼
The name "Esteira" is purported to mean "those on the western edge" in the early Esteiran language, referring to the people who lived on the western edge of the Danvreas Plateau. As the indigenous population was pushed west away from their homeland by orc raids, the Esteirans began referring to the territory they lived on as Esteira. After taking back their territory, the Esteirans began calling the entire area "Esteira."▼
==History==▼
First existing as a small confederation of the people living near the western edge of the Danvreas Plateau, the confederation was pushed towards the coast due to orcish raids from the east. The confederation ultimately brought other indigenous groups into the fold, eventually beginning to reconquer lost lands starting in 1253. Conflict with orcs occurred until about 1274, when the Danvreas closed itself off to all foreigners. With little competition from orc warriors in the east, the Esteiran Confederation was able to re-secure the lowlands leading up to the Danvreas Plateau.
Naval raids from neighboring [[Ni-Rao]] pushed the Confederation to unify into the Kingdom of Esteira in 1398, allowed the country to form a navy strong enough to counter the raiders. Military pressure began dropping drastically after centralization, though the country faced political and religious influence from all sides. Even with this influence, the country attempted to maintain neutrality in the region to avoid open conflict with its stronger neighbors.
This neutrality extended into the 19th and 20th Centuries, though the country found itself attempting to align closer to [[Asendavia]] through its colony in Vaklori and neighboring Tavaris. With the outbreak of the [[Great War]], the Kingdom of Esteira maintained its neutrality but fell victim to the ensuing depression that followed. King Paulo IV was forced to flee to Vaklori following a popular uprising in mid-1918. Internal conflict broke out soon after and continued until late 1919, resulting in a stalemate between the country’s warring factions. To bring an end to the war the country’s various factions signed the Treaty of the Republic, establishing the Republic of Esteira on February 2, 1921.
Leonardo Menezes, head of the National Liberal Party of Esteira, was elected to be the country’s first president on March 31, 1921 and took power on May 1, 1921. While the peace was shaky, many within Esteira had hope the republic would last and bring stability to the territory. Menezes would go on to win a second term as president in 1926; he ran for a third term in 1931 election and lost to Isac Bastos. Bastos was inaugurated on May 1, 1931 and became Esteira’s second president. Esteira’s republic continued successfully for decades, evolving into a two-party system where elections were contested by the right-wing Esteiran People's Party (PPE) and left-wing National Liberal Party (PLN) with peaceful transfers of power occurring between the two.
▲==Etymology==
▲The name "Esteira" is purported to mean "those on the western edge" in the early Esteiran language, referring to the people who lived on the western edge of the Danvreas Plateau. As the indigenous population was pushed west away from their homeland by orc raids, the Esteirans began referring to the territory they lived on as Esteira. After taking back their territory, the Esteirans began calling the entire area "Esteira."
The country began experiencing democratic backsliding in the early 1990s with the election of populist strongman Luis Souza, leader of the PPE. His reelection in 1996 was marred with claims of voter fraud, intimidation, and a marked increase in political violence. Souza’s time in office saw the weakening of the Constitutional Court, attacks on journalists and media Souza perceived as “anti-Esteira,” and weakening of civil liberties nationwide. Terrorist attacks by “internal enemies of the state” became relatively common in the 1990s, which prompted several states of emergency and the creation of special powers by the National People’s Assembly to give Souza nearly unchecked power during these states of emergency. Souza won a third term in 2001 with 82% of the vote in an election many international observers described as "totally fraudulent."
▲==History==
On April 3, 2002, a blast occurred at the Esteiran People's Party headquarters in Porto Verde which killed 12. Over the next hour, PPE representatives were targeted across the country for assassination. In total, eight were killed and 13 were wounded in coordinated attacks. Souza and the PPE claimed the attacks were committed by left-wing terrorists sympathetic to the National Liberal Party though these claims went unsubstantiated. The morning of April 4, the Esteiran National Police arrested PLN leadership and locked the country’s opposition parties out of an emergency session of the National People’s Assembly.
The emergency session was made up of PPE representatives and was headed by Souza, who gave a fiery speech claiming that the opposition parties were plotting a coup to seize control of the government. Souza received a standing ovation from his party in the legislature, who subsequently passed the National Security and Stable Leadership Act of 1992. The act outlawed opposition parties and established the PPE as the country’s only legal political party. Souza was granted sweeping powers that he used to further strengthen his and the PPE’s grip on Esteira.
Souza has since ruled Esteira as an authoritarian one-party state and continues to enjoy the support of the Esteiran People's Party, securing another term as President on March 31, 2021. The country has been engaged in a low-intensity conflict with left-wing guerillas since early 2003, with most of the fighting centered on Amarpa Department.
==Geography==
==Government and politics==
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