Ambemarivo/Travel Guide

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Ambemarivo (암베마리쁘, literally "the Shallow Waters") is an island nation in the Western Ocean, with Namju to the southeast, and Matobo and Tsongtiko only a short ferry ride to the west. Although the island is geographically in Miju, it is culturally and politically a Haegyean country, and is a member of the Jangjip Council.

Understand

 * "Joyful and sad is the one who expects to form a legacy." —King Andriamanalina II

History
Despite its proximity to Miju, Ambemarivo was one of the last landmasses to be settled by humans. Archaeological evidence of a forager pygmy culture on the island begins in 10,000 BCE, although its customs are largely unknown. Known as the Vazimba, the original inhabitants were assimilated entirely by waves of Ma'anyan migrations from Nagara Dipa starting in 350 BCE. By the 14th century CE, Vazimba, Jangjip, and Vanhu cultures had been decisively fused into an "Ambemarivese culture", which characterized the Mpanakena Kingdom (1228—1712), the historically longest-ruling authority over the island.

The royal period of Ambemarivo saw innovations in governance, jurisprudence, military and sciences due to a commercial network spanning southern Miju, southern Yoju, western aboriginal Namju, and Haegye. The indigenous monotheistic religion, known as Jacheonism, flourished after borrowing ideas from Vanhu philosophy across the sea. The Mpanakena Kingdom was typically amicable to Matobwe equivalents, and often hired mercenaries from abroad to settle internal disputes. In the late 15th century, Van Xuan carved out expeditions to Ambemarivo and the vicinity, greatly diminishing the Mpanakena's trade force. Eventually, explorers from Van Xuan settled down in Ambemarivo and assumed roles of leadership. In Antalaha, the Sangha of Ambemarivo was erected in 1506, as a Buddhist spiritual center and legation of Van Xuan. Monks devised a (Cheonjean) writing system and dictionary for Ambemarivese, and a literacy campaign was promoted by the Mpanakena. Unconditionally open borders to Sinju attracted emigrants from the Yedal island and mainland Jungju; Ambemarivo was ever since widely considered a "veiled protectorate".

Beginning in the 18th century, the settlement of Ambemarivo was aspired by Fusen, then an imperial country humiliated by losses in the Bonghwang Wars and lacking in colonial footholds. A war broke out between Fusenese on one side, and Vanxuanese with Ambemarivese on the other. Emerging victorious, Fusen sought to punish Vanxuanese collaborators and abolished the indigenous hasina system that granted them administrative roles. Fusenese control over the island lasted eighty-two (82) years, ending in the Boshin War initiated by Jeongmi. Although the Ambemarivese welcomed the Jeongmians as liberators from the Fusenese yoke, in the following years Jeongmi and Namju (to which the island was ceded in 1811) used forced labor in undertakings of drastic exploitative projects, such as gold mining in Antrematsingy, engineering the Volamendrenirano, and deporting various Ambemarivese to Namju. Namjuan rule over the island lasted a hundred-and-fifty (150) years, formally ending in its mid-Eulhae withdrawal and the proclamation of a provisional republic in its stead. These long-lasting and sequential periods of colonialism have left behind syncreticized cultural landmarks and ideas that further accentuate the uniqueness of Ambemarivo.



Politics
Ambemarivo is a dominant-party socialist state ruled by the Workers' Party Ambemarivo (WPA) since the Dead Road Uprising (1961) that overthrew the post-colonial, provisional republic for having "too pro-Sinjuan" values. It instated a planned economy, and through the aid of the Organization for Socialist Development and Mutual Assistance (OSDMA) and Hokan in particular, it pursued warmongering policies against its free-market neighbors, Matobo and Namju. From 1980 to 2010, attitudes changed; Supreme Consul Tsaravelona Holinjaka lowered tariffs drastically in 1985, Supreme Consul Rakotoseheno Andrianiaina committed to demilitarization in 1988, and privatizations (although obscured by their typology) ensued in the 2000s. Thus, Ambemarivo has become a free-market economy now trusted by the international community. Although the political landscape is still dominated by the WPA and six other affiliate parties, elections are free, and outside observers as well as Ambemarivese citizens are confident that these continued liberalizations will usher in a "new era of democracy," thus bringing Ambemarivo on par with the Central world. Nowadays, relations with Matobo, Namju, and Sinju are smooth, and the island nation is actively participating in Haegyean affairs.

Do

 * Visit the Archaeological Museum of Ibaiko, home to a large collection of testament to the biodiversity of Ambemarivo, including many  as permanent exhibits. The remains and reproductions of the  are a must-see due to their status as, when they were formerly part of the Yangseong Metropolitan Museum (Namju) collection.