Övlanda
Republic of Övlanda ᛦᚠᛚᛅᚳᚦᛅ ᛚᛅᚳᚦᛅᛋᛅᛘᛆᛚᛚ オーフランダ共和國 流國 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
|
Motto: Karun yvyr ära ᚴᛅᚱᚢᚳ ᛠᚠᛠᚱ ᛡᚱᛅ "Proud of honor" | |||||
|
Anthem: Wisa fer ųor landa ᚥᛁᛋᛅ ᚠᛆᚱ ᚢᚲᚮᚱ ᛚᛅᚳᚦᛅ "Ballad for our land" | |||||
 Location of Övlanda | |||||
| Capital | Wattnsluta | ||||
| Official languages |
Övska Fusenese | ||||
| Recognised regional languages |
Asaiskai Gottisch Utlun | ||||
| Religion (2016) | No state religion | ||||
| Demonym(s) | Övlandan, Övlandar, Yugukian | ||||
| Government |
Federal presidential republic (de jure) Military dictatorship (de facto) | ||||
• Honorary President | Kai-Eizou Geirsun | ||||
• President | Þrǫst Guoðsgoss | ||||
• Vice President | Daisuke Hanzen | ||||
| Legislature | Taikäkuo | ||||
| Yövtingg | |||||
| Niðtingg | |||||
| Establishment | |||||
• Imperial Colony of Northwest Yoju | 1876 | ||||
• Charter of Self-Government | 1943 | ||||
• Independence | sometime | ||||
• Democratic constitution | 2017 | ||||
| Area | |||||
• | 328,297 km2 (126,756 sq mi) | ||||
| Population | |||||
• 2020 estimate | 30,465,902 | ||||
• 2014 census | 28,020,192 | ||||
• Density | 90.06/km2 (233.3/sq mi) | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2020 estimate | ||||
• Total | $266.515 billion | ||||
• Per capita | $8,748 | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate | ||||
• Total | $136.030 billion | ||||
• Per capita | $4,465 | ||||
| Inequality (2016) |
40.5 medium | ||||
| HDI (2018) |
 0.628medium | ||||
| Currency | Övlandan gull | ||||
| Date format |
yyyy-mm-dd yyyy年mm月dd日 | ||||
| Internet TLD | |||||
Övlanda, officially the Republic of Övlanda (Övska: ᛦᚠᛚᛅᚳᚦᛅ ᛚᛅᚳᚦᛅᛋᛅᛘᛆᛚᛚ, Övlanda Landasamell, Fusenese: オーフランダ共和國, Ōfuranda Kyōwakoku), also called Yuguk is a sovereign state located in West Yoju. It borders Nonun to the east, Barthia and Kiri to the south, Theurginia to the west and faces Nukigurun across the Northern Ocean to its north. The capital and largest city is Wattnsluta.
The first evidence of human habitation in Övlanda comes from petroglyphs. The regions that comprise modern-day Övlanda have been inhabited by various cultures throughout the ages, with the attested history of Övlanda starting when speakers of Proto-Övska began to create inscriptions in the runic alphabetic script around 800 CE, a writing system ultimately descended from ancient Menneferian metownoote. The Övkall system or runes would spread to other peoples in the region, but the original means of dispersion is unknown. The Övkall peoples are believed to have emigrated from Roci in northwest Nukigurun, passing through areas with Asai and Utlunmi peoples and interacting with them culturally and linguistically. As the Övska-speakers pushed west to reach the boundaries of modern Övlanda around 1000 CE, speakers of Norikwhumic expanded north from Norikwhum, settling in the States of Gottchey and Tornbirn. Political power was concentrated in trading centers where chieftains ruling from simple castles collected income and fended off adversaries. The West Yoju bronze and iron ages reached Övlanda fairly late, and many items were imported from the south and east either through trade or pillaging. While no stable, long-lasting political unification of Övlanda existed prior to its independence in the 20th century, much of the country along with parts of neighboring Sora formed the Lag Confederacy, a loose alliance of local tribes. Formed in the Oath of Wise Men around 1100, its members promised to fend off foreign powers but remained independent otherwise.
The modern history of Övlanda began when military explorations from Sinju appeared in the 18th century. The expansionist powers of Nukigurun and Fusen would come to rival each other for economic and political superiority, mainly targeting the rich fur trade. The Lag Confederacy was unable to respond to Sinjuan military forces and collapsed in 1854, plunging the region into instability. Övlanda was established as a Fusenese colony, and the administration of Colonial Yuguk was placed in the city of Skerborg (Anshō-shiro). From their initial coastal forts, Fusenese dominance eventually covered all of the country by 1884.
The area of Övlanda experienced a tumultuous 20th century, with the Fusenese colonial rule ending as a consequence of Fusenese defeat in the Great Eulhae War. The country was placed under new administration, but a war of national liberation soon broke out, eventually concluding with the retreat of all foreign forces and independence. The new state modelled on Sinjuan governments struggled to gain control of its own territory as it descended into civil war against radical anti-Sinjuan factions of the national liberation movement. Following the end of the civil war, Övlanda was governed by an authoritarian military dictatorship until it collapsed to a massive wave of civil resistance in 2015, its downfall largely attributable to mounting international debts and internal military scheming.
Övlanda has been controlled by various military dictatorships since independence, but was governed as a unitary presidential republic between 2016 and 2020 until a coup led by Kai-Eizou Geirsun restored the junta. The country has been in a state of political, economic and societal transition since the Moonrise Revolution led to the deposition of former High President and military dictator Warg Stįefalk in Yuwol 2015. The armed forces governed the country under martial law until the Guwol 2016 elections, after which the new democratic government and the army entered a fractuous power-sharing agreement. The tenuous democratic government was largely considered to be at the mercy of the military leadership, particularly after the civil unrest seen during the 2020 riots resulted in the indefinite postponement of the slated 2020 elections, causing the abolition of civil governance soon after.
Etymology[edit]
The components of Övlanda's name come from Central Övska Öva for river, shortened to Öv, and landa for land, thereby meaning "river land" which alludes to its many streams and flowing bodies of water. The Sinjuan name for Övlanda (國流, Yuguk lit. flow/stream country), an exonym, is a calque of the native name and is the predominant name of the country outside Övlanda. Domestically, "Yuguk" may be seen as condescending and as a relic of Sinjuan cultural imperialism, though the "foreign" name sees great usage among non-Övska.
History[edit]
Prehistoric[edit]
Modern humans first arrived to modern Övlanda after the retreat of the last glacial ice sheets several thousand years ago. Evidence suggests the area was inhabited by both Finnics and Itihasic peoples for thousands of years. North Germanic speakers first migrated to Övlanda from Roci around 1500 years ago, and quickly assimilated the preexisting cultures in the core cultural region of Övlanda.
Medieval period[edit]
See also: Lag Confederacy
Starting from the northwest of the country, a period of southwards and eastwards expansion during the medieval Starktraik Period saw the assimilation of the various groups that inhabited the rest of modern-day Övlanda. In the centuries before the first encounter with the colonizers, a patchwork of small fiefs and kingdoms dotted the major trading routes, wooden and stone walls protecting the largest population centers. Mutual co-defense treaties largely inhibited any chieftain from obtaining too much power. As technology slowly progressed, merchants came to ever greater prominence, to the dismay of the landed nobility. This resulted in several decades of violent turmoil which would greatly weaken the Övlandan states against the coming Fusenese colonial threat.
Colonial period[edit]
By the arrival of Sinjuans in the 18th century, what is now Övlanda was a disparate region dominated by precarious power balances and intermittent warfare between tribes. Though there was some missionary activity in a few cities, little attention was paid to the local population beyond the acquirement of resources. Eventually, it was decided that deals forged with local elites would not be economically efficient enough for Sinjuan companies; the Fusenese military seized the opportunity to strike with a series of quick military conquests in the 1870s. Also around this time, the ancient polytheistic Åsatruo religious practice was affected by the rise of Wildertruo, a new religious movement which places much greater importance on ancestor worship, repentance, hierarchical structure, and the veneration of its founders, the Traiwaiser. Wildertruo's origins trace to Stark Medmann, a member of the small native elite who saw Buddhist philosophy as a solution to societal ills. Buddhism itself would also eventually gain a following.
Independence[edit]
Post-independence[edit]
After independence was achieved in 194X the various independence movements continued to oppose each other, with the Övlandan Civil War breaking out in 195X between Folkas Friietsryörels (ᚠᚠ), an Övkall supremacist and socialist guerilla against the military government lead by Lóki Byönnjäger. The war lasted for 5 years and 3 months and saw various foreign agents supporting the different sides in a proxy war.
Economic troubles[edit]
Moonrise Revolution[edit]
Politics[edit]
Government[edit]
Övlanda operates de jure as a Federal state with a presidential system where the president is the head of state and government. In Siwol 2020, this was deposed by a military coup d'état, led by Kai-Eizou Geirsun, ostensibly to save the nation from total collapse. The 2017 constitution drafted after the Moonrise Revolution remains in legal force but has no real power, civilian government being abolished and all elections cancelled. Central authority has been significantly reduced in its strength following the coup, with reports of open fighting in many provinces leading to fears of a new civil war in the country.
The traditional political system in Övlanda is based on a feudal hierarchy of local lords, jarls, kings and (at times) high kings known as Yövkunungga. This system remained relatively stable during the Lag Confederacy period but has shifted significantly since then, particularly during the colonial period. The post-independence governments of Övlanda have to varying degrees made accommodations to the indigenous form of governance, usually recognizing local rulers' titles but not rights to political influence.
Foreign relations[edit]
While Övlanda has diplomatic missions to most countries in West Yoju as well as most major economies, the country's history of repressive military regimes has caused tensions with democratic nations of the Center. Relations with neighboring Nonun are severely impaired by the aftermath of the 1995-1999 Nonun-Övlanda War; the two countries continue to maintain a heavily militarized border, as a peace treaty has never been formally agreed upon after the 1999 ceasefire.
Military[edit]
Main article: Armed forces of Övlanda
The Övlandan military (Övska: Övlandar Fuoksarmi) has continuously held a preeminent role in internal politics since the country gained independence from Fusen, though problems of aging equipment, lack of cohesion and ammunition shortages have restricted it from foreign intervention for decades.
Human rights[edit]
See also: 2020 Övlanda riots
The state of human rights has been on an upward trend since the fall of Warg Stįefalk's dictatorship, which was notorious for its gruesome repression, but Övlanda still ranks low on most surveys. Particularly, the issues of rule of law, fair trial and the right to protest continue to face major obstacles to this day. International concerns have increased during and after the 2020 riots as the military uses all possible means to keep power.
Administrative divisions[edit]
Since 2005, Övlanda has been constitutionally divided into nine States beneath its federal structure. States are made up of Districts, Counties, and finally Local Areas. The States of Övlanda are ethnolinguistically based with an asymmetric level of devolution; some regions enjoy almost complete autonomy in internal matters, while others are heavily overseen by the central government from Wattnsluta.
Geography[edit]
Övlanda is a largely flat country with four distinct highland areas. In the south on the border with Norikwhum lies the Suthward Mountains, rising to 2,879 meters above sea level at its peak which is the highest point in the country. The Suthward experienced significant glaciation during the last ice age, and is site to many glacial valleys. The north-eastern quarter of the nation is largely covered by the Gaişaraið Mountains, which is lower than the Suthward but also experienced considerable glaciation. Small parts of the East Sora Highlands and the Austtorn Range are located along the edges of Övlanda's southwest and southeast, respectively.
The remainder of Övlanda is dominated by the Northwest Yoju Plain west and north of Ausby, and the Giliosupees Plain east and south of it.
Climate[edit]
Most of Övlanda's landscape can be placed in either the subarctic or continental climates, with high-altitude regions being cold enough for the tundra biome and occasional glacier.
Biodiversity[edit]
Economy[edit]
Övlanda is classified as a developing economy with a heavy dependence on primary industries, with a large part of the population engaged in agriculture. While the nation has a respectable gross domestic product, most of this wealth is concentrated in cities and in the hands of the elite.
Economic history[edit]
Industry[edit]
The largest economic sectors in Övlanda are mining, agriculture, pasture, timber, and other traditional/resource-based industries.
Services[edit]
Tourism[edit]
Tourism remains small-scale in the country despite efforts. Obstacles to its growth include lack of adequate connections to areas outside West Yoju, low investment, general unruliness and lack of accommodation.
Energy and infrastructure[edit]
Most of the country's limited electricity generation comes from fossil sources such as coal plants, with natural gas and hydropower contributing a minor role. Renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and nuclear power produce less than one percent of Övlanda's kWh. There are currently no plans for phasing out the coal plants
Demographics[edit]
Övlanda has an estimated population of 30,465,902 people as of 2020. In the 2014 census, the largest city was Wattnsluta with 3,602,534 inhabitants. 72.4% of the population lived in urban areas, up from 68.9% from the 2003 census. 98.8% of the population were Övlandan citizens, but the actual amount of immigrants is thought to be vastly underrepresented in government data; unofficial estimates put the number at around 1 million. Most of these live in border regions of Wattnsluta slums and come from neighboring West Yoju nations such as Sora.
Languages[edit]
Övlanda has linguistically diverse, with the predominant language families being Itihasic in most of the country and Utlun in the north-east. There are two official languages at the national level: Övska, based largely on the speech of Wattnsluta and other major cities, and Fusenese, which is the mother language of less than half a percent of the country's population, but was the primary language used for official communication during Fusenese subjugation. All of Övlanda's states also have their own regionally protected official language, bringing the total number of recognized public languages to ten. Most of Övlanda's languages are not mutually intelligible with each other, and a lack of a working common language in some areas is cited as a major obstacle to national cohesion.
Migration and Transhumance[edit]
Övlanda is a country where large-scale transhumance is still practiced by much of the rural population and as such is witness to one of the world's most persistent human migrations. Livestock are brought from the lowlands to high-altitude regions during spring, whence they graze before being brought back down before winter. This is done to preserve the meadows in valleys for producing hay needed to feed the livestock during the cold winter months. The common mountain or forest pasture used for transhumance in summer is called säter or buðer in Övska, but the practice is common among all of Övlanda's indigenous groups. The people reside in summer cabins that share the same name, with most farms having their own säter. The transport remains mostly non-motorized to this day, encouraging the development of transient lodges and trading towns across the many bufyörswegs two times a year. Some peoples in northern Övlanda practice transhumance with reindeer, that being primarily the Utlunmi.
Education[edit]
A large proportion of the population are officially registered as "illiterate" - but this is a biased interpretation, as government agents often only measures literacy in Fusenese script and hangul. Most of the population is able to both read and write, but the vast majority of people only have functional knowledge in Övkall runes. The 'official' literacy rate is 19.3%, while the estimated real literacy rate is 95.6%. This statistical peculiarity is because Övlandans have a long and intricate literary tradition in their own indigenous runic alphabet, but have only recently began using the introduced Sinjuan writing systems. Övlanda has twenty government-recognized universities, with the most well-known being the Great University of Wattnsluta which enrolls over 20,000 students. Persons who have taken higher education are the only educational group with a solid grasp at Sinjuan writing systems.
Health[edit]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1950 | 5,384,292 | — |
| 1960 | 5,897,380 | +0.91% |
| 1970 | 8,676,937 | +3.94% |
| 1980 | 12,541,630 | +3.75% |
| 1990 | 18,064,934 | +3.72% |
| 2000 | 20,710,722 | +1.38% |
| 2010 | 24,682,353 | +1.77% |
| 2020 | 30,465,902 | +2.13% |
The life expectancy at birth is around 70.2 years for females and 64.3 for males. Fertility is at 3.51 children per woman. In Övlanda there are about 22 doctors per 100,000 persons.
The 2014 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Övlanda is 350. This compares to 523.4 in 2006 and 923.7 in 1995. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1000 births is 87 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality are 29. In Övlanda the number of midwives per 1000 live births is 7 and the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women 1 in 102.
Malnutrition and infectious diseases remain a serious problem in most rural areas. The first modern healthcare facility was opened in 1899 by the Fusenese Northwest Yoju Railroad Company and mainly served Fusenese workers and soldiers. Hospitals can now be found in most major cities, often established with the help of foreign capital. A lack of healthcare infrastructure outside of cities means that rural residents have worse access to healthcare. Traditional medicine continues to be widespread in large parts of Övlanda; some people do not interact with modern scientific facilities because of distrust.
Religion[edit]
Religion in Övlanda as of 2020.
Övlanda's religious landscape is complex, with no group encompassing more than 40% of the population. The largest is the Wildertruo at 37.1%, an indigenous belief system founded in the 1800s which has largely replaced the older Åsatruo in central Övlanda. The second largest is Jaatunism at 28.5%, which first arrived during the Menneferian Takhuit dynasty; it is the most popular religion among the country's Baltai peoples who also live in Nonun and Esia. Jaatunism was relatively minor until a 14th-century ruler from Waiðumfyllşa named Barð adopted it, spreading it where he ruled. The Åsatruo follow at 14.9% of the population and represent a direct philosophical descent from the ancient beliefs of Proto-Itihasic mythology. At 11.4%, Buddhism has been in the country for several hundreds of years but only started spreading in the colonial era. White Cap Sabbatarianism is the smallest of the major religions at 4.8% of the population, and is related to the spread of Sabbatarianism in Barthia.
Most practitioners make little distinction between separate religions, using the rites and practices of whatever is most convenient and appropriate in their daily lives. However, there are exceptions, notably the Wildertruo-Åsatruo divide and the Jaatunist-White Cap divide. These groups rarely interact with one another due to long histories of intrareligious conflict and distrust.
Culture[edit]
Cuisine[edit]
Övlandan cuisines reflect the sustenance methods of the Indigenous peoples they descended from: farming, hunting and fishing. Grain and wheat-derived products, berries, red meat and fishes like cod and salmon form the basis of the traditional diet. Foodstuffs from around the world have only seen widespread popularity in recent decades, typically in the most central city districts, due to the difficulties of importing fresh products.
Literature[edit]
Media[edit]
Sport[edit]
Music and dance[edit]
Mythology[edit]
Ritual sacrifice (Blot)[edit]
When the early Övkall migrated from modern-day Roci, they brought with them a ritual of animal sacrifice known as blot. These blots may be dedicated to native gods, worldly spirits or their ancestors, in some cases even foreign deities and personalities. Numerous traditions exist, but it most commonly involves aspects of a sacramental meal or feast, typically from domesticated animals. There is also a long-standing tradition of human sacrifice, mostly in the form of sacrificing enslaved women after a major chieftain has died, to act as their servant in the underworld.
