Albaterra

The Republic of Albaterra, (Portuguese: República da Albaterra): Is a nation located on the continent of Avalonia. Formerly a colony of Jungastia, Albaterra has been independent since 1982. The country borders Adarscha to the north, SiWallqanqa to the south and Zahava to the south east. Though the country is officially considered a Republic, Leonardo H. Sapateiro has been the leader of the country since 1975 and is the only President that Albaterra has had. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are not guaranteed and human rights are regularly violated in the name of Law & Order. Religion plays a big role in Albaterra and The Catholic Church has large influence and sway over the population in the country and criticizing it can lead to fines and prison time. The Church has ruled Albaterra side by side with Leonardo since 1982. Making the entire country a form of semi-Theocracy. Because of this, The Church of Albaterra has a very large impact on what becomes law and what doesn't.

Discovery (1570)
Albaterra was first discovered when settlers from the north moved southward away from the northern coast. Following the river that goes through the land they were able to keep contact and trade with the main part of the colony by the northern coast. Jungastia expansion in the area was done slowly and with relative calm to begin with. Expansion was done more or less naturally as the population increased and more colonists arrived from the home country. With the thick rain forest the exploration southwards was done at a very slow speed. Because the expansion south was deemed too slow. The King of Jungastia issued a royal decree to increase the speed of the expansion southward and find land that was good enough to suffice for a permanent settlement. This settlement was going to become the local administrative center to support further expansion in the area. The King of Jungastia saw fit to task General Antonio Baptista to handle the exploration and expansion southward.

Colonization (1570-1701)
Colonization picked up speed after Antonio Baptista was appointed to lead the exploration into these new lands. Being tough and ruthless, he was the perfect man for the job. The details of his exploration into the unknown are very popular in modern Albaterra and are regularly praised for being "proof of the enduring spirit of the Albaterran people" and the hardship that the colonists faced when first settling the country.

After months of exploration and mapping out the surrounding area the military camp had evolved into a small town with colonists and even women and children moving to the new settlement. Antonio later named the new city Cidade Baptista which is the current Capital of Albaterra. The local native population were initially very welcoming to the colonists and trade between the two was flourishing. The first few years were very peaceful and trade was encouraged between the two people. That soon changed when a series of events caused tensions to rise so high that war broke out between the colonists and the natives. Nobody really knows what exact events caused tensions to rise between the two groups, though there are theories as to what caused it, these include aggressively trying to convert the natives to Catholicism, Antonio willingly increasing tensions to secure his own position, clashes between civilians that ended in blood and more.

In the year of 1599 the first group of missionaries arrived to the colonial settlement and were quickly sent out to the nearby native tribes, in an attempt to convert the local population to Catholicism and establish diplomatic relations with the natives. Antonio Baptista personally sent the request for missionaries since he himself was a devout catholic. Burning with devotion, Antonio was disgusted at the sight of heathens and it is said that he regularly cursed them whenever he saw them. Antonio would be the start of the rising tensions between the colonists and the natives in the area. Antonio is believed to be the main reason for the high tensions between the colonists and the native population, this would later lead to The Holy War of Albaterra. Antonio would continue to forcefully convert the natives in the region throughout his reign as the first Governor-General. Antonio's successors would continue his work until the wars end 100 years later.

Colonial Government
Since it's birth and up to the 19th century Albaterra was ruled as an Absolute Monarchy by the King of Jungastia. Since the King did not live in the colony himself and thus was unable to efficiently rule it. The King instead assigned a governor of his choice to rule the colony (most of the times if not all this meant for life). This system was used by Jungastia until reforms were passed changing the politics of colony in the beginning of the 19th century. This was done through the creation of the "Overseas Provincial Council" which was formed to make the colony more "democratic" and bring the colony closer to Jungastia both politically & culturally.

Absolute Monarchy
The Absolute Monarchy government of Albaterra during it's early colonial years was very simple in it's essence. The laws stated that the colony was under complete control of the King of Jungastia. The King could however not rule the colony effectively from a continent away and thus he would appoint a Governor-General to rule in his place, effectively as a Dictator. The Governor-General was a King in all but name and decided what was law and what was not. The only person that could remove him from office was the King himself. If a Governor did not follow the policy that the King had set for them then they could very easily be removed from office through a simple decree. The fact that only the King could legally remove a Governor did not stop local aristocrats, slave owners and nobles from taking the law into their own hands and arranging the removal of a governor. Mostly through blood. A total of seven Governors have been assassinated through Albaterras entire history, three of these being assassinated within the span of ten years.

War With the Natives (1600-1701)
The tensions between the colonists and the native population would grow so high that it would eventually cause the The Holy War of Avalonia. The war was an unofficial "crusade" against the pagan natives in the area after peaceful conversion was deemed ineffective. The crusade is considered unofficial because it was not sanctioned by any high-ranking religious leader in the Catholic Church. The crusade was only sanctioned by local religious leaders, largely influenced by Antonio Baptista who himself was one of the first to call for a Crusade to either fully convert or subjugate the native population. While the war is refereed to as one single long war. The war was more of a collection of several small, shorter wars & battles between the settlers and the natives. Unlike one large war in which both warring parties were at constant war with each other. There were times of total war and times of relative peace as shown by the fact that there were several periods during the 40 years were no battles were fought at all between the two warring parties.

Historians agree that the war could have been ended several times with a sizable victory for the colonists. Had only the colonial government accepted anything else but a complete surrender and later the enslavement of the entirety of the native population under Jungastian rule the war would not have lasted as long as it did. But because of the fact that total victory was the only goal that would satisfy the Noble class the war was dragged out for several more years filled with uprisings and great resistance from the civilian native population which caused tensions to rise even higher. This resistance would lead to several devastating and brutal Pogroms against the Native People of Albaterra.

Early War Period
The 100 year war between the colonists and the native population first began when a 9 missionaries were executed by a local chief. The missionaries had arrived at their village at dawn and things were looking well for the two peoples but when the subject of religion came up one of the missionaries accidentally offended the chief and his Gods which quickly led to the entire party's execution. When the news of this reached Antonio Baptista he decided to retaliate the killing of his missionaries. He ordered his soldier to lay siege to the village at dawn. The village quickly surrendered to the much more powerful force and soon all religious leaders in the entire village was rounded up and hung before noon. The rest of the village became the first slaves in all of Albaterra and they wouldn't be the last ones to be captured and forcefully made into slaves. This would be the start of a very profitable and immoral business that would be the basis for Albaterras economy for almost 200 years.

The Politics of Colonization
The war enjoyed great popularity with both nobles, merchants, the clergy, and commoners alike back home in Jungastia. The nobles saw many benefits with the war, these benefits were things such as the ability to buy cheap land and acquire prestigious titles from the state, the possibility to procure slaves and a much more unstable government which made corruption much more widespread and allowed the nobles to do whatever they pleased as long as their wealth & power was big enough. The merchants saw great opportunity in the commercial navy that would be needed to keep a colony running. Goods had to transported between the two places. This is of course followed by many things such as the need for more ships, the need for more seamen, etc. All great things for the urban merchant class.

The clergy, while not the most sizable group of people saw the possibility to spread Catholicism to new corners of the world. Being far away from any sort of established government the local clergy in Albaterra was under the control of the local noble, this made the priests nothing more than a propaganda machine for the noble they were living under. The commoners saw several "benefits" with the colonization and the war in Albaterra, mostly due to propaganda. These benefits included things such as, a chance for them to start a new life with their families, the chance to prove themselves in the crusade against the heathens and receive their reward in wealth and honor, opportunity to advance farther up the social ladder than what was possible in Jungastia and much more. Whether these things actually happened was a different story. There was the occasional peasant that rose to the rank of mayor for a town and so on, but the vast majority of commoners who traveled to Albaterra seeking a better life was only met with war and a more corrupt noble elite than what was seen in Jungastia.

The Everlasting Peace
The Everlasting Peace was a document signed by the remaining native leaders and the Governor of Albaterra at the time. The document officially ended the 100 year war between the natives and the colonists, though fighting never fully stopped until a few years after the signing of the document. The document declared numerous things, some of these including, Christianity as the main reason for the war and the biggest winner, the borders of the colony of Albaterra, the permanent enslavement of all indigenous people living inside of those borders, and much more.

Upon the signing of the document the Governor at the time stated in a speech in the regional capital:

"We stand here today to witness an historic moment. For on this day we celebrate the victory of Christ our Lord over the heathens that once controlled this land that we now stand on. Pagans across the land shall know that their ways shan't be allowed anymore and i pray, just like i hope you all do, that God shows them the error of their ways with time. For God is a merciful Lord and we shall follow his example by showing mercy to the newly civilized people. God willing I have and shall continue to lead His Majesty's colony until the day comes when i take my last breath. God bless His Majesty, God bless Jungastia!" - Governor insert name

Post-War Period (1701-1752)
Peace was welcomed by peasants and nobles alike back home in Jungastia. For peasants peace meant your chances of being killed in the colonies were greatly reduced, for nobles it meant that investments could be made without the fear of natives raiding or destroying their plans. This was true for both the government, private actors (often aristocrats & merchants) and the clergy. When the news that peace had been signed investment in Albaterra increased to levels never seen before.

Peace was not something the native population in Albaterra experienced though. For they were now all forcefully enslaved by a foreign power. The task of forcefully enslaving the rest of the native population that were still free was put in full force. Using the Jungastian army that was still stationed in Albaterra the enslavement of the natives was done with great efficiency and all forms of resistance was immediately dealt with in the most brutal fashion. Allowing the soldiers to take whatever they wanted from the natives was an incentive the colonial administration used to boost morale in the army during the forceful enslavement of the natives. Because gold, silver and diamonds had been discovered in the colony earlier, most of the soldiers assumed that the natives must have some treasures hidden away. This turned out later not to be the case but the possibility of finding riches was of great use to the colonial administration that wanted to boost the colony's economy by enslaving the entire native population. This was because the slaves were later sold to aristocrats that invested back home in Jungastia which in turn generated large amounts of money for the Jungastian Kingdom.

Aristocrats and Merchants alike flocked to the new colony with their monetary capital, management skills and their eagerness to increase their wealth. The Old World needed tobacco, sugar, coffee, cotton, gold, silver and much more. Albaterras vast territory was perfect for growing all sorts of consumer products. The immigration of Portuguese people to Albaterra from Jungastia almost tripled during this period compared to the war times. This immigration was financed by Nobles, The church and Merchants through the system of indentured servitude. Even though most of the toughest manual labor was to be done by slaves there were still a lot of others jobs that only a Portuguese man could be trusted with such as, soldier, slave driver, blacksmith, carriage driver, etc.

Politics & Government
Albaterra is a and a  where the Honorable President is the Head of State. The first and current President of Albaterra is Leonardo H. Sapateiro, who has been President since the country gained it's independence in 1979. With the help from The Church of Albaterra and The People's Democratic Party, Leonardo has been in firm control of the country ever since. The 1981 Constitution of Albaterra gives the Honorable President great power over the government. These powers include things such as dismissing and appointing cabinet members at will, issuing laws without a vote, immunity from prosecution, dissolving the parliament, the ability to instate martial law at any moment and much more. These extensive powers effectively makes the country a legal dictatorship.

During the 40 years of his rule, Leonardo has shown little toleration for opposition and none of the elections since independence has been considered fair or democratic by international standards. Government toleration of different opinions is believed to barely have changed at all since Leonardo first became the leader of Albaterra in the 70's. This attitude is very likely to remain as government policy against opposition for as long as Leonardo remains Honorable President of Albaterra. Leonardo and his regime has also faced criticism from other countries for allowing (and even sanctioning) the continuous oppression of the native population in the country by both public officials and private individuals.

In Albaterra the Honorable President is elected by the people in a general election every 7 years. Current Honorable President Leonardo is serving his 7th 7-year term and has won every general election with a landslide since the first one was held in 1979. The latest of these elections were the 2014 Albaterran General Election. While freedom of speech is protected under the law, it is not enforced when it comes to other political parties and different political opinions. Freedom of the press is also protected under the law, however almost all of the media is either state owned, owned by a member of Leonardo's family or by The People's Democratic Party. This makes the entire media nothing more than a propaganda machine for the state. With the increased usage of social media, corruption has been exposed on local levels of government, causing several politicians to be removed from the ruling party and of their position.

The political repression of pagan religions and the native peoples in the Republic of Albaterra has largely remained the same throughout Leonardos reign. The Santiago Laws, who are infamous for enforcing race-based segregation between the "Portuguese Catholic and the Pagan Native" as it is stated in the law, still remain in effect to some extent. These laws were first written as a compromise between the Colonial Government elite and the Jungastian Government to avoid a war over the issue of slavery which the indigenous population was subject to. The laws enforced a kind of serf system for the native population, banned them from starting businesses, made it illegal for them to hold any form of power both nationally and locally and much more.

Social Policy
One cannot travel to Albaterra without noticing the biggest social policy of the country,. The legally enforced race-based segregation between the natives and the Portuguese has been a policy of the Albaterran government since the 18th century, only ending in 1907 to be brought back to some extent in 1921. These segregation laws are called the Santiago Laws, as the name suggests this is because they were written in the town of Santiago. The divide between whites and natives in Albaterra has always been weary and sometimes even outright hostile. Both the colonial government and the current independent government enforced this system of segregation to keep the country stable. While the system might cause stability among the white population, it only increased instability among the native population, who saw themselves as second class citizens in their own country that had been invaded and is still being occupied to this day.

Since the beginning of the 20th century the laws are much more lenient than when they were first written. The natives are no longer serfs bound to a certain area of land and they are allowed to open small businesses but are banned from employing more than 5 people. While all education in Albaterra is either privately owned or is a there are still laws enforcing school segregation between the Portuguese population and the native population. Because a great majority of the natives live in poverty, the private schools designated for them are of much lower quality than the private schools designated for the Portuguese. This is because the funding that these schools recieve is extremely low compared to the Portuguese schools. Marriage between natives and whites are banned and heavily frowned upon by the public. Enforced Wage-Discrimination is one of the few segregation laws that has been abolished since the 80's. Seeing enforced lower-wages as hurting the overall economy of the country the government decided to remove these laws which have both improved the economy as a whole and native communities. This is however not near enough to make up for the horrible conditions that the natives have been and are subjected to.

Geography
Albaterra is largely covered by Savannah and rain forest, there is also some mountains at the very south and a desert area to the south west of the country.

Economy and Infrastructure
Being extremely rich in natural resources, the economy of Albaterra is heavily based on agriculture, mining and resource extraction. The primary sector make up the majority of the economy with manufacturing only recently becoming a greater part of the overall economy in the country. Since the country is a former colony of Jungastia the export of these resources are mainly done to them with other partners only becoming interested in Albaterra within the last few years. This recent development of the country also means that the high-end service sector of the economy is almost non-existent inside the country and most of these jobs still exist in their former overlord of Jungastia. Because of either corruption, loyalty to their former master or just the country's pro-market stance, the government has put little effort into moving these jobs to Albaterra. Seeing no need for them to be inside the country since the status quo is working just fine.

Religion
Religion is of great importance in Albaterra and both the indigenous and the Portuguese population see religion as a big part of their daily lives.

Christianity
Every child officially join the church when they get baptized and leaving the Church is impossible since there exists no process of leaving. Around 87% of the country is a member of the Catholic Church including all it's heresies.

Pagan Religions
(Insert Relgion names here) still exists as a minority in Albaterra that the majority of the indigenous people of the country follow. While the state allows them to worship their religion they are under great supervision. This is to make sure that no rebellious sentiment springs up again like it has for the past two centuries. Religion is one of the few things that comforts the oppressed indigenous population and if it ever were to be banned outright a war would ensue between the two peoples. Enforced by the Santiago Laws, segregation of the two religions have been active for more than a century. In religious matters the laws forbid Pagan places of worship to show any form of religious symbols that can be seen from the outside, playing any form of religious music so it can be heard outside of the designated building and much more. Failing to comply with these laws is met with fines, imprisonment and even revoked license of worship for the place of worship.