Joralesia
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Morstaybishlian Overseas Territory of Joralesia | |
|---|---|
 Flag of Joralesia | |
 Location of Joralesia within southern Gondwana | |
| Location | Map |
| Capital and largest city | Ewising |
| Official languages | Staynish |
| Ethnic groups (2023) | 71.3% Human 23.9% Kaohlat elf 4.8% other |
| Demonym(s) | Joralish Tornalin |
| Government | |
• King | Lambertus VII |
| Aslovis Pevan | |
| Dillett Reaton | |
| Legislature | Samming of Joralesia |
| Folk's Hall | |
| Area | |
• Total | 33,247 km2 (12,837 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2023 census | 5,791,339 |
• Density | 174.19/km2 (451.2/sq mi) |
| Currency | Kirib (♅) |
| Date format | DD/MM/YYYY |
| Driving side | the left |
| ISO 3166 code | JOR |
| Internet TLD | .mbe |
Joralesia (/hoɹaliːʒia/, Ethalrian: Tornaland (/tɔʁnalant/), Hlenderian: Iltani-litātu (/iltani litaatu/)) is a Morstaybishlian Overseas Territory located on the north-west part of the island of Hayaneste, Gondwana, where it shares one land border with Hlenderia to the south. It has an area of 33,247.2 km² (12,836.8 sq mi) and a population of 5.8 million in 2023. Ewising, its capital city, sits on the Floosian Strait and is a primary hub for oceanic trade between the Cerenerian and South Concordian Ocean. As a Morstaybishlian Overseas Territory, Joralesia has internal self-governance, but Great Morstaybishlia is responsible for its foreign affairs and defence.
Waltraud Vogel was the first non-native to discover Hayaneste, when in 1499, on behalf of Ethalria, he landed in Tornales in modern-day Ewising. Though Ethalria was the first to explore the island, a native population of Vrotrim and Kwarim had lived on the island for at least 4,000 years. Auroran settlement began in the mid to late 16th century, bringing primarily Ethalrians, but later other ethnicities. Tornaland was founded as a trading outpost in 1540 and quickly became an integral piece of the Ethalrian trading network. At the conclusion of the Posolic Wars in 1826, Tornaland, now a considerable region, was one of several Ethalrian colonies ceded to the Morstaybishlian Empire where it was thenceforth known as Joralesia.
Controversy exists over Joralesia's discovery and colonization. Before the island's settlement by Ethalria, the area now known as Joralesia was populated by ethnic Hlenderians. At various times, these natives coexisted or fought with Ethalrian and later Morstaybishlian settlers. After the formation of the modern Commonwealth of Hlenderia in the late 17th century, treaties defining the borders of Joralesia and Hlenderia were signed. The last such agreement, the Third Treaty of Ewising, was signed in 1807 and repudiated Hlenderian claims to the territory. Despite this, revanchist movements in Hlenderia demand the return of Joralesia, which they term the "Northwest Provinces".
Joralesia's economy is based largely on tourism, shipping, agricultural machinery, textiles and hoisery. Decidious forests occupy the oceanic climate in the west, whilst taiga sprawls the larger subsempiternic climate in the east. Ethnicity is split predominantly between Ethalrian and Staynish, as well as the native Vrotrim and Kwarim peoples, reflecting the political landscape where, since the 1950s, there has been consistent movement for independence away from Morstaybishlia. Violence ceased in the 1970s but has seen a resurgence since 2021.
Etymology
The word "Joralesia" in Staynish, and the word "Tornaland" in Ethalrian are both bastardised forms of Tornales, an Impelanzan city that inhabited the northwestern coast. The Ethalrian ship Die Primel docked in 1499 and it is believed there was a misunderstanding which led to the city of Tornales being used by the Ethalrians in reference to the land. A similar story followed with Staynish.
The name Tornales meant something to the extent of "villages" in Impelanzan, referencing specifically a plural scattering of villages without a defined town centre. By the end of the 15th century, the meaning behind the word had lost its value due to Tornales being considered a city.
History
The first Auroran sighting of Hayaneste is attributed to Ethalrian explorer Waltraud Vogel, who sighted land in the northwest of the island in 1499 and eventually landed in what is now Ewising, Joralesia later that year. Early encounters between the Auroran colonists and the Vrotrim and Kwarim living in northwest Hayaneste were often violent, with both groups often putting aside their ancient differences to coordinate on raids of Ethalrian settlements. These conflicts, driven by the scarcity of arable land in the island's cold environment, led to resentment on both sides and acts of revenge undertaken by Ethalrian settlers.
Early Ethalrian settlements were eventually combined into a colony hugging the northwestern coast of Hayaneste called Tornaland. This colony, integral to the Ethalrian trading network in southern Gondwana, had fluid borders in its early years, but by the mid 17th century these were fixed aside from occasional cross-border raids by Vrotri and Kwari parties. Tornaland remained an Ethalrian possession until the end of the 19th-century Posolic Wars, when sovereignty of the colony was transferred to Great Morstaybishlia.
In 1917, Joralesia was granted self-rule and a local Samming to govern the territory was established in Ewising. This decision coincided with the end of absolutism in Morstaybishlia. The Joralesian Liberal Party, inspired by the Liberals of the motherland, have long been dominant in Joralesian politics, commanding a majority or heading a coalition in 65% of Sammings since the local legislature was established.
By the turn of the 20th century, Joralesia's increasing economic independence, combined with the new concept of home rule in 1917, led to the birth of an independence movement, which became especially prominent beginning in 1954. That year, the Joralesian Republican Party was established with a platform calling for independence and the transformation of the local Samming into the legislative branch of a new republic.
An economic recession, beginning in 1971 and lasting nearly four years, exacerbated tensions in the territory between nationalists and unionists, as well as between indigenous Joralesians and those of Morst ancestry. By the late 1970s, these tensions and the rise of local organized crime cartels erupted into violence.
The Joralesian Republican Party, which previously avoided violence, embarked on attacks and reprisals against the Joralesian government throughout the 1980s, a period that local authorities would begin to call the "Decade of Blood". The Republicans, a government inquiry would later reveal, obtained weapons from local organized crime and Hlenderian sources.
By 1992, overt violence began to decrease following increased government surveillance, border patrols, and aid from Morstaybishlia for local law enforcement.
In the 2000s, organized crime such as the Ravenspaw and Greypike cartels were at their nadir, suffering greatly from arrests and informants. With decreasing violence came increased economic fortunes for Joralesia, but by the late 2010s this prosperity drove a resurgence in trafficking and crime.
The 2020s have seen the question of independence, which was never truly resolved, lead to a resurgence of crime. The 2021 attacks in Ewising, which consisted of the worst violence since the "Decade of Blood", have led to increased calls in the modern era for a true resolution to nationalist question in the territory.
Geography
Government and politics
Economy
Culture
Before contact, indigenous Joralesians practiced culture resembling that which is present in what is now Hlenderia. Family structures based on extended relationships amongst clans and tribes predominated, and local musical and visual art traditions were similar to those on the northern and western shores of Hayaneste generally.
After colonization, both Ethalrian and Staynish influences were introduced to the local environment. Thaerism, the dominant religion in Morstaybishlia, was imported by early immigrants. Today, Thaerism is the dominant religion in Joralesia, even among Indigenous Joralesians. Syncretic elements mixing Thaerist beliefs with native ancestor worship are also prominent.
The largely rural nature of Joralesia, in conjunction with Hayaneste's cold and harsh climate, led to Joralesians gaining a reputation of being rugged and clever, with a knack for innovative problem solving. Following the 2021 Joralesian attacks, these traits would come to be promoted in news and media as the territory sought to rebuild.