Albaterra

Albaterra (: Albaterra), officially the Federative Republic of Albaterra (: República Federativa 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 Baileneu Ma to the north west, Maracatibe to the north east, Santa Magdalena to the west SiWallqanqa to the south and Zahava to the east. The country a Federal Republic with a strong central federal government. Presidents serve 6 year terms with no term limits. Albaterra is often referred to as a flawed democracy, due to significant influence by the ruling parties on the mainstream media, and still developing democratic institutions. The Current President is Leonardo H. Sapateiro who has held office since 2009. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are guaranteed and human rights are enshrined in the constitution however the Police and security forces are often accused of questionable actions.

Discovery (1570)
Albaterra was first discovered when explorers from Jungastia, led by Antonio Baptista sailed west on a mission to explore and map the area since they knew that a continent existed westwards. They sailed a long the coast and arrived in northern Albaterra on the 10th of July 1570. They established a temporary settlement and send out conquistadors to explore the surrounding area. While mapping out the area around the settlement the colonists came in contact with a tribe of natives. Because they were not able to understand each other communication was very limited but the relations between the colonists are positive, and slowly mutual language skills developed. After spending a few weeks mapping out the area surrounding the newly established settlement The conquistador sailed back home to Jungastia to inform the King of the discovery. Upon arriving in Jungastia after a few months of sailing Baptista was hailed as a great explorer by the nobility and the entirety of the Royal court. He spoke of the nature, the beautiful scenery and the riches that the new continent had to offer, as well as the potential of co-operation with the peaceful natives encountered on the coast.

Colonization (1580-1701)
Colonization picked up speed after Antonio Baptista was appointed to lead further exploration into these new lands. Being firm, but with a penchant for negotiation, he was the perfect man for the job. The Adventures Of Antonio Baptista, a bound collection of diary entries and legends about Antonio, are very popular in modern day Albaterra and are regularly praised for being "proof of the enduring spirit of the Albaterran people" and the hardship that the colonists, and the building of the relationship with natives 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. The King later named the new settlement Cidade Baptista, in Baptista's honour 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. The native population gladly took in Jungastian visitors and relations were warm. That soon changed when a series of events over the course of several years would cause tensions to rise so high that war broke out between the colonists and the native tribes. 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 certain colonists aggressively trying to convert the natives to Catholicism, and a desire by the colonists to deliver financial gain for their backers.

Missionaries were commonplace across the growing colony, with bishops offering passage to their most devout parishioners paid for by the church. Fundamentally, with Jungastia being a multi-ethnic state itself, the desire to have one faith dominate was less intense than other colonial powers at this time. The overarching desire of colonists was to fulfil their, what was believed at this time, manifest destiny to expand Jungastia to all parts of the world, and bring riches home.

The First Colonial War occurred due to the opposition by members of the inland tribes of their conquering by both the coastal tribes and the colonists. The war - lasting only a few months - resulted in defeat by the combined Colonist-Placeholder forces and the plundering of temples and cities ruled over by the Placeholder tribes. This began the first flow of vast quantities of gold back to Jungastia, rapidly making the Royal Court immensely wealthy.

Over the following decades, the Second and Third colonial wars occurred, as successive native civilisations opposed the colonial armies. The Wars becoming increasingly one sided as more tribes joined the growing colonial administration either through submission or want. With each victory, more of Albaterra's wealth was plundered and shipped back to the motherland.

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 this meant for life). This system was used by Jungastia until political reforms were reformed which changed the governance system of the colony in the beginning of the 19th century. The main bulk of the reforms was the creation of the "Overseas Provincial Council" which was formed to bring the colony closer to Jungastia both politically & culturally.

Captaincies a la Albaterra
The colonial government of Albaterra during the early years was very simple in it's essence. The law 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 in the colony. The only person that could impeach the Governor-General from office was the King himself. The fact that only the Monarch 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 an unpopular governor. This was mostly done through bloody means. Throughout Albaterran history a total of seven Governors have been assassinated. Three of them being assassinated within the span of ten years during the most volatile periods. Jungastian policy required that every Governor appointed by the King be born in Jungastia. This policy was used by the Kingdom to ensure that loyalty to Jungastia was always a top priority. This restrictive policy caused great unrest among the established elite in the colony due to them being born in Albaterra which made them ineligible to become Governor and dictate government policy for their own benefit. The policy would prove very effective when political and economic reforms were brought to the colony. A big example being the ban on slavery and later serfdom.

No man rules alone and Albaterra was no different. While OPC was an official government body, it did not have much de jure power. Although unofficially it was still a powerful force in the colony due to the massive military and economic power its members possessed compared to that of the Governor who most likely did not have many landholdings in the colonies. The council's members were to be appointed by the Governor but for most of it's existence the council was completely occupied by the colony's most powerful Caudillos. These Caudillos were slave owning aristocrats and warlords who drew their immense political, economic and military power from the colony's rural areas. Their plantations were large, their titles were many, they commanded thousands of soldiers and had almost complete oversight and control of the Albaterran countryside. The council was formed in the middle of the 17th century and became a powerful force around the end of the 17th century when the holy war against the natives ended. It was at this era that the and the councils power would rapidly become much stronger than that of the Colonial Governor. This was because the Governor of Albaterra never owned large tracts of land to begin with. The only colonial governors that owned large amounts of land were the ones that ruled during the holy war and followed in Baptistas footsteps by conquering land from the natives and rewarding it to themselves.

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 party of 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. This would be the start of a very profitable and immoral business that would be the basis for Albaterras economy for almost 180 years.

The Politics of Colonization
Colonization enjoyed great support back home in Jungastia. It was popular with both commoners, the clergy and the nobles. The nobles bought captaincies that the Kingdom sold to any noblemen who offered to pay them. The nobility who bought a captaincy was given large tracts of land. These captaincies gave the aristocrats the ability to develop large amount of land which meant that they were in charge of building villages, plantations, the local manor and any other infrastructure that was needed to create a profitable fief. The nobles did however have laws that they had to enforce at the order of the King and failure to do so would result in their right to develop the fief was revoked and sold to someone else. This kept corruption in the colony from ever reaching high levels since corrupt nobles were under the threat of being removed from their high-ranking position.

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 to a massive crowd of people in the regional capital:

"We stand here today to witness a 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, as should you all, that God shows them the error of their ways with time. For God is a merciful Lord and I declare here before all that we shall follow his example and show mercy to the uncivilized people and their wrong ways for they must be given the chance to repent their wrong-doings. With the good Lord's guidance we shall overcome the troubles facing us today and bring a more prosperous tomorrow. I have received the highest honor of being appointed Governor in the name of His Majesty and if God wills it. I 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 (1701-52)
Peace was welcomed by peasants and nobles alike back home in Jungastia. For peasants peace meant their 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 them. 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 however not something the native population in Albaterra experienced though. For they were now all deemed as property to be sold as any other trade good. 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, the soldiers spread rumors that the natives had hidden some treasures. This later turned out not to be the case but the possibility of finding riches was of great use to the colonial administration to enslave the entire native population. The slaves were then split up and combined with a plot of land and given a title. The title was then sold to Jungastian aristocrats back home which generated enormous amounts of money for the Jungastian Kingdom as wealthy men flocked to spend their money buying slaves, titles and investing in colonial ventures.

Most of the time native villages were combined with noble titles and sold to aristocrats. As development and immigration continued natives were pushed to slave quarters and the native village was filled with Jungastian peasants. The peasants eventually started building houses in Jungastian fashion. This eventually led to almost all form of native architecture being demolished and/or merged with the Jungastian architecture. This created a form of Colonial Jungastian architecture that was adapted to the different weather and merged with native buildings.

An Economy Based On Slavery
Aristocrats and Merchants alike flocked to the new colony with their monetary capital, management skills and their eagerness to increase their own personal wealth. The Old World needed tobacco, sugar, coffee, cotton, gold, silver and any other kind of consumer product that were in high demand. Albaterras vast territory and tropical/temperate climate was perfect for growing all sorts of cash crop products.

The immigration of Jungastian people to Albaterra almost tripled during this 50-year period compared to prior war times. This increase of immigration was financed by Nobles and Merchants through the system of and by The Church through a system of missionary missions and the establishment of churches in the newly discovered land. 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, guardsman/watchman, slave driver/overseer, blacksmith, carriage driver and a lot of other jobs that required something more than just manual labor or were just considered to be of higher importance or status. As all other forms of jobs besides manual labor needed to be filled by Catholic Portuguese men, there needed to be a surplus of these men and Jungastia was the perfect country for just that reason. The great immigration boom that Albaterra experienced was made possible by the fact that Jungastia had been spared from the deadly plague that had ravaged the continent of Artemia just 100 years prior. This created a lot of peasants back home that could be sent to the colonies to fill a much more important job than farming in Jungastia. The farming of cash crops generated much more money than food crops did and because of this there was a high market demand for Jungastia to establish as many plantations as their colony could muster.

After serving their same as an indentured servant the average commoners most likely kept working the same job and in some cases they even continued working for the same noble, if the noble had managed to earn their loyalty. The only difference was that now he worked for actual pay. Since their experience was highly valued the noblemen was happy to keep them as long as there was no personal problem between the two. Most commoners enjoyed cordial relations with their Aristocratic overlords during the Golden Era of Albaterra. These good relations between landowner and worker combined with slavery as an institution made class conflict almost non existent in the colonies because even a poor, common peasant would still not be at the bottom of the social hierarchy in colonial society, this caused the common man to be happy with his place in society. This created a lot of trust between the landowner and his employees. High trust was valued since the landowner needed people he could trust to keep the slaves in check, to keep away bandits and other needs.

If a peasant decided he did not enjoy the plantation life or working for pay, another option was settling down with his family on their own farm. Since land was cheap and abundant, especially land where only grain and other regular food crops could be grown, this was not such a costly investment as one might think and even the poorest of families needed only a few years of paid work to be able to buy a cheap farming plot. If a family was unable to find land to farm on there was also the option of becoming a by hiring land from a landowner to farm on, only having to pay him with a share of your harvest.

Since most larger plantations were self-sufficient it meant that the things needed to run an effective plantation were produced on the plantation unless it was close to a large urban center where they could buy tools and other things cheaper than producing it themselves. Large plantations in areas were urban centers were scares became the major center of production. Smaller plantation owners could not afford to produce tools themselves and such had to buy them from people that could. This solidified the largest plantation owners political power in the colonies since they were in control of who could make money producing crops since they otherwise had to buy the tools at bulk price and keep them in storage for longer, risking them being stolen and paying a much higher upfront price which most small plantation owners could not afford. With this system smaller plantation owners did good in not questioning the actions of the governor of their state since they could easily put them out of business. This solidified the authoritarian political structure in Albaterran society during this time period. The political, economical and cultural system that was the Albaterran plantation is often called a combination of the and the system of

While the majority of slaves were native to Albaterra there was still an import of slaves from other countries. The main country that provided for the high demand of slaves from was Zahava which in turn created opportunities for better relations and even more commerce between the two nations. This lead to the first official diplomatic mission from Albaterra to a sovereign country. It was a diplomatic envoy sent to the King of Zahava in order to make sure the demand for slaves was met and that cordial relations between Zahava and the Jungastian colony remained. Buying slaves was more beneficial for both sides rather than invading territory and capturing slaves. Zahava was ruled by pagans which caused there to be religious and cultural differences but these were mostly overlooked when it came to trade and diplomacy. Money trumps politics and Zahavan nobles were not looked down upon in Albaterra, as long as one could tell that they were in fact nobles. Zahavan nobles were free to travel to Albaterra and buy/sell slaves as were Albaterrianos free to travel to Zahava to buy/sell slaves. The slaves bought from Zahava were both criminals and rival ethnic groups that did not want to assimilate into Zahavan culture

The Age of Caudillos
At the heart of Albaterran society was the Manor/Big house and the landowner. These landowning Aristocrats are often referred to as due to their control of the local military/police force in the areas where they owned property. This in turn lead to the Caudillos wielding all form of power and force in the lands which they ruled. They were the leaders of the local peasantry, slaves/serfs, clergy and merchants, only being held accountable to their respective provincial ruler also known by the term Greater Caudillo. These men were in control of the entire states of the colony and controlled the provinces which today make up the Governação of Albaterra.

Another driving force which formed Albaterran society was the institution of Slavery. While mainly being an economic benefit to the colonial economy it also became a cultural icon. With the history the great 100 year war against the natives of the area, slavery was a testament to the Catholic victory over the heathens. It became a christian institution to the Portuguese people living in Albaterra and to some extent it even became an institution of subjection to the natives in Albaterra, specifically the raramuri tribes in the north, which had been slaves for far longer than the natives in the south.

Question of Slavery (1753-80)
The greatest issue that would ever face the colonies was the issue of slavery. No other issue in all of Jungastia would ever cause as much unrest as the time when slavery was the hottest topic to debate. It would eventually lead to the abolition of slavery in all of Jungastia but the road there was extremely bumpy and full of risks.

Prelude
The topic of slavery had never interested the Jungastian court much. The sugar, cotton, tobacco and coffee came in at a cheap price so there was no reason for either the King and the nobles of Jungastia to complain about it. The issue was far away from them and they were reaping the benefits. The slave owners were very wealthy and possessed great influence but this influence did not stretch as far back as Jungastia. One would think that there would not be any great opposition to slavery in Jungastia. The peasants weren't effected by slavery and had other problems to think about rather than an enslaved group of people very different from them in a land far away.

The event that would send the whole Jungastian court into uproar was The Letter From Santiago. This letter would become the start of all opposition to slavery in Jungastia. The letter contained detailed descriptions of what slave owners did to their slaves during a slave auction in Santiago. This included a handbook on how to discipline your slaves, how to beat them in the most effective way so that they could still work afterwards and much more. The letter talked about the beatings, torture, rape, and every other inhuman act that was committed against the slaves by their owners. The letter also spoke of the hostility the writer had received for speaking out against slavery and supporting its abolition. The letter was written by the Santiago Cardinal who wrote it to plea for help by the leader of the Catholic Church in Jungastia in order to convince him to start an opposition against slavery in Jungastia and to convince the King to abolish the institution as a whole.

The support for slavery was extremely high among the colonial-born white population in Albaterra which in turn meant that abolition sentiment were met with anger and hostility. The letter quickly gained attention as rumors spread about what was really going on in the colony and it was quickly the talk of the Kings court in Jungastia. Upon hearing the story the King sent diplomats to the colony to investigate whether the rumors were in fact true since he did not want to act upon assumption.

The Jungastian noblemen and members of the Clergy brought the question of slavery to the parliament which at this time consisted of the nobles of the country. They brought up the harshness and immorality of owning slaves and argued that God could never support such a system and that it was their duty to end this immoral practice. The arguments against slavery became popular among nobles in Jungastia due to nobles there not owning slaves and there was a slight jealousy of the slave owners because of their high wealth and prestige. There was also the fact that the Jungastian nobles did not want the slave owners to grow more wealthy than they were. If slavery was allowed to continue for a much longer period of time then the slavers would continue to grow in wealth and power and before long they could even rival the Jungastian rivals. This would cause anti-slavery sentiment to spread to all parts of Jungastia and it would eventually gather the King's support as well.

This abolitionist sentiment was not taken kindly by aristocrats in Albaterra. They were completely united and decided to fight the abolitionist at every point, putting any petty squabbles behind them. Representatives for the slave owners were sent to convince the court in Jungastia to see the benefits of slavery and how it in fact was a system supported by God. Christianity and the economy were two of the biggest arguments made in favor of slavery during this time period but it all came down to conserving the societal structure and the institutional racism against the natives. The Feudalistic system was under threat because it needed the slaves to sustain itself.

Slavery Is Banned
The resistance to abolition was futile and in 1753 the King of Jungastia, together with the parliament, decreed that the Kings subjects, no matter their religion or race, shall be bought and sold as property. The King sent a letter to Victor Garcia, the Governor-General of Albaterra at the time, commanding him to stamp out the institution of slavery the colony or face the consequences. Victor was nothing short of outraged at both the King and Jungastia for issuing such a immoral order and he joined with the other Aristocrats in supporting slavery. Victor knew that he would get assassinated the next day if he tried enforcing it so for him there was nothing else to do other than enforcing the ban as lightly as possible. This worked well for the first few years as the news that slavery was still in force just not as much did not reach Jungastia and the King until 1756. This disloyalty enraged the King who issued an order calling for the arrest and execution of Victor for not following orders given to him by his sovereign.

Victor would never be seen or heard from again after the news arrived to Albaterra that the King wanted his head. It is believed that the Council of Albaterra repaid his faithful service as Governor to their interest by hiding him from the reach of the King. Victors resignation did not change the political landscape in Albaterra however. The landscape remained the same as the King sent other men over to make sure that slavery was stamped out. The process of ending slavery would take decades and only in 1780 would the last slave be property no more, though all former slaves became serfs instead until the practice of Serfdom was banned by the King in the mid 19th century.

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 before the country gained it's independence in 1982. With the help from The Church of Albaterra and The People's Democratic Party, Leonardo has been in firm control of the country for decades.

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 opposition is believed to barely have changed at all since Leonardo first became the leader of Albaterra in the 70's. Showing no signs of willingness to reform the oppression of dissenting opinions, It is highly likely to remain as government policy for as long as Leonardo remains The Honorable President of Albaterra. Leonardo and his regime has also faced intense criticism for allowing the continuous political and social oppression of the native population in the country from human rights organizations and other native majority countries in Avalonia.

Honorable President
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 1982. The latest of these elections were the 2017 Albaterran Election. While freedom of speech is protected under the law, it does not apply to other political parties and different political opinions. These opinions are illegal under the "Disrupting Speech" laws which are laws set to make dissenting opinions illegal in public for the sake of stability. 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 directly owned by The People's Democratic Party. This makes the entire media nothing more than a propaganda machine for the government. The only media not controlled by the government is social media which has made it easier to expose corruption on local levels of government. This has caused several politicians to be removed from the ruling party and of their public positions. The government has not reacted to the increased use of social media as of yet.

The Honorable President Leonardo wields immense power when it comes to every part of government. The Honorable President can fire any member employed by the government, even the High Pontiff himself. This power is among one of the very important ones because without it Albaterra would be nothing but a complete Theocracy. Leonardo has made sure that the catholic church does not overstep it's boundaries when it comes to politics. The Church is there to support the population through education and welfare, not to spend money in politics and power struggles. The 1983 Constitution of Albaterra gives the Honorable President great power over all parts of government. These powers include things such as dismissing and appointing cabinet members at will, issuing laws without a vote, immunity from prosecution, ability to dissolve the parliament, the ability to instate martial law at any moment and much more. These extensive powers effectively makes the country a legal dictatorship.

Religion & Government
The government of Albaterra is supported by the Catholic Church and the Church is in turn supported by the government. While the government and the church has had a rocky relationship historically they have become very good friends since the 1920's. The Traditionalist colonial government supported the Church and the current government has increased the cooperation with the church since independence. The Church is exempt from paying taxes and is able to lobby the government to change laws. The church also handles the welfare and education parts of government spending which means that The Church decides who gets welfare and where education funding is spent. Because the church receives all these privileges it gives it's official support to the ruling party and Leonardo which is one of the biggest reasons why Leonardo enjoys a high approval rating among the white population. This is because a great majority (75%+) say that religion is an important or very important part of their daily life with a majority of the rest only saying it's mildly important.

The office of High Pontiff is given to one of the cardinals from one of the states of Albaterra. The High Pontiff reigns for life and it is his objective to keep order in the parliament and to approve every session, law and decision that passes through it. If a law is not approved by the High Pontiff it can be legally ignored by the population.

Social Policy
One cannot travel to Albaterra without noticing a certain 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 70's, but has been practiced for hundreds of years. These segregation laws are called the Santiago Laws, as the name suggests this is because they were written in the town of Santiago, the center of the Albaterran slave trade in the 18th century. The divide between whites and natives in Albaterra has been weary and sometimes even outright hostile ever since the colonists arrived to the country. The colonial government were not allowed to enforce the segregation between the two groups but since independence the government has enforced this system of segregation to keep the country stable. While the system has caused stability and is supported by a great number of people among the white population, it has only increased unrest and instability among the native population due to the laws making them second class citizens and complete strangers in their own land. Even in designated Native Areas the whites still hold most if not all political power.

Tied to the system of segregation there is the problem of poverty. While it is more widespread in native communities it still effects white communities in Albaterra. Poverty has steadily declined since the 80's mostly due to the economics policies enacted by the government lessening the regulations on natives when it comes to business and jobs. The increased export of resources, agricultural subsidies and a great increase in agricultural export has also led to the decrease in poverty mainly among Portuguese communities.

Albaterran Apartheid
The political repression of pagan religions and the native peoples in the Republic of Albaterra has largely remained the same throughout Leonardos reign through continued support of the Apartheid system. 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 subjected to. The laws historically enforced a system of serfdom for the native population which limited them to the area that they were born, banned them from owning property, made it illegal for them to hold any form of power both nationally and locally and much more. While Apartheid was first revoked by the Jungastian colonial government during the 19th century it still de facto remained in the rural parts of Albaterra. The Knights of Christ played an extremely important role in keeping segregation alive in Albaterra which eventually lead to Apartheid being re-instated in Albaterra after being gone officially for almost 200 years.

As Apartheid was reinstated once more it was still different from the Apartheid of old. The natives were not serfs bound to a certain area of land and they were also allowed to open small businesses & own property (Provided it was not too large). They were still banned from employing more than 5 people which limited them to owning only small business'. Education received its share of Apartheid laws as well. In Albaterra schools are either a or privately owned but school segregation is a top priority for the government. Examples of laws dictating school policies include the School Quality Act which made it illegal for Natives and Portuguese children/students to go to the same school and the Christian Supremacy Bill which disallows any non-christian University/Collage from being established in Albaterra. 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.

Marriage between natives and Portuguese are banned but sexual intercourse is permitted as long as it is not encouraged in public. Breaking this law can result in prison time or heavy fines. If a person has one native or two mixed grandparents then he/she is not considered Portuguese by government standards and is instead considered mixed. Mixed-race people have a higher level of citizenship in Albaterra and can even freely immigrate from the country but they are still second-class citizens and are not allowed in certain areas. One fundamental part of Apartheid in the 20th century was Wage-Discrimination. The practice disappeared due to natives being hired for lower-tier jobs rather than Portuguese citizens and this meant that hiring natives meant more profit for the business owner. The government quickly concluded that enforcing lower-wages hurt the overall economy of the country. It also hurt unemployed Portuguese workers more than pagans. This lead to the removal of the practice entirely which gave equal pay to both Native and Portuguese workers. This has both improved the economy and native communities around the country even though it led to a higher unemployment rate among natives. Since equal pay became law it has increased both consumption and investment in housing & business' in both native and Portuguese communities. This is however not near enough to make up for the horrible conditions that the natives have been and are still subjected to under Apartheid but i has been described as a "tiny step in the right direction"

In modern times the native population has lost most of it's will to fight the government and Apartheid. They have been fighting the colonists for over 400 years and have no gain to show for it. For many natives the fighting has only brought suffering to their communities and because of this many of them try to find peace and stick to themselves in the oppressive system. Most natives have most likely either lost a parent or a grandparent during the civil war in the 60's, in 1st and 2nd Albaterra-SiWi wars or to the purge operations during the aftermath. Not wanting to risk their families they are forced to either accept the circumstances and continue life under apartheid or attempt to flee to neighboring countries such as Zahava or SiWi. There is however a different kind of opposition growing among the youth of the native population. Instead of using violence and weapons they are instead using social media to further their goals against their oppressors. Their use of social media consists mainly of exposing corruption and uploading films of beatings and other violent acts committed by the Portuguese majority against the natives in an effort to change peoples minds. This opposition has not yet been countered and has not been acknowledged by the Albaterran government and as such no steps have been taken to limit them. The opposition also seek to find help and funding from other countries. One of their biggest supporters is the country of Tilenno

Geography
Albaterra is largely covered by Savannah and rain forest and a desert area to the south west of the country.

Economy and Infrastructure
Being extremely rich in natural resources and with a warm/tropical climate, the economy of Albaterra is heavily based on agriculture, mining and resource extraction. The primary sector make up a third of all economic activity of the economy with mining, logging and other forms of resource extraction makes up another third. Manufacturing has continued to expand since the 80's and is believed to become the largest part in the country's overall economy in a few years. This is due to the government spending a lot of time and focus to establish overseas trade treaties with several eastern countries. This is to expand it's own industry and it's economic growth. The government is also looking to improve relations with nations outside of Avalonia through the use of international trade. Out of the many eastern nations Albaterra trades with it is mainly Modrovia who, very early, saw true potential in the Albaterran economy and chose to invest and establish trade. This lead to the expansion of new arms factories that produces artillery, guns and armored vehicles. Modrovian owned companies now own and produce a large part of the military equipment that the Albaterran Armed Forces uses.

Albaterra is a largely economy with big parts of the economy being owned by corporations and private individuals. Welfare and Education spending is not directly owned by the state and instead is headed by the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church collects a Church Tax which it then uses to spend the money as they see fit. Large chunks of the taxes the Church collects is spent on welfare and education, though it is also spent improving Churches around the country and to pay for the wages of all church workers. Meanwhile the State spends most of it's taxes on healthcare subsidies, military spending and infrastructure.

The most recent country-wide census shows that Albaterra has an Urbanization rate of 35% according to the governments own standards as to what defines an. This large rural population has shaped the country, it's society and economy. This high level of ruralisation can be attributed to several factors both historically and by current modern day government policy. While Albaterra was a colony of Jungastia a very large part of the investments the colony received were made in agriculture, mining, logging or other forms of resource extractions and rural industries. This meant that rural development was largely prioritized over urban development and the opening of large-scale factories. The development of agriculture and cash crops were also a much more profitable investment rather than investing in regular manufacturing due to it being a better use of labor, land and climate.

Agriculture
Agriculture both is and has historically been the biggest part of the Albaterran economy. It received large investments during the 20th and 19th century which was spent clearing land and making them farm-able. Investments were also made with the building of canals and improving access to water to improve farming efficiency and quality of life for the peasants in the countryside. This was all done over the course of decades in an effort to improve and increase agricultural output but the efforts started first in the 19th century. The land clearing projects were done by natives through the use of forced labor and paying a small wage. This system often resulted in great casualties but was not something the colonial government paid much attention to and opinion was that native communities benefited from this since they were being paid for their labor.



When the land was cleared it was then often sold to the highest bidder. Land fit for growing cotton, sugar, tobacco and coffee were most likely sold to Aristocrats and established landowners who were seeking to increase their own revenue and political power. Land designated for growing grain, rice, potatoes, vegetables and other foodstuff including beef, pork and the like were also prioritized and were mostly sold to individual families though aristocrats buying food crops and livestock land were not unheard of. The practice of was later made increasingly effective which meant that growing both cash crops and food crops would become normal for both landowners and peasants on their own small farms.

Due to the vast amount of land that was available the land remained cheap which lead to many wealthy individuals effectively becoming aristocrats even without noble heritage. There were simply not enough noblemen to buy the land that was available. This slow but massive increase in farmland, the growing of high-calorie food such as potatoes & rice, and the process of crop rotation lead to a cheap supply of food and high variation in food diet. This cheaper food supply coupled with immigration from Jungastia lead to a boom in population growth that would continue up until the 20th century.

In modern day subsistence farming remains a central part of the culture and social fabric in Albaterra. The crops grown the most by subsistence farmers include rice, wheat, bananas and coffee. Subsistence ranchers also exist though are not as common as farmers. Ranches mostly raise either cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens. Many households in the Albaterran countryside has members that do not work exclusively with farming and agriculture and instead work primarily at a day job with monthly pay. Subsistence farming has received much focus and investment from the Albaterran government in order to improve the quality of life for subsistence farmers and the overall income of poorer citizens in rural areas. Investments made include things such as roads, internet infrastructure, improvements made to the energy grid of the country, reduced petrol tax in rural areas, increased availability of modern farming equipment and much more. These measures were taken in the late 90's and since then the quality of life and the wealth of rural areas around the country has shown great improvement and in some states rural incomes have grown by as much as 80% over the span of 25 years. Though it is worth noting that some states have been more successful than others and states with a native majority population has seen a much lower increase in wealth and quality of life compared to that of Portuguese majority areas.

Excluding cash crops, foodstuff and animal ranching. There is a large production of wine in Albaterra through the use of vineyards. The market share of the wine industry in Albaterra was very small compared to that of beer and spirits for most of it's existence in Albaterra. The common people preferred moonshine to that of wine and it was known as a luxury that only the rich could afford to drink. When Veltic refugees arrived in the 20th century this all changed. With these refugees came knowledge on how to grow and manage a successful vineyard as it were a long-tradition in Velo. With great vigilance and hard work the Veltics managed to create a thriving wine industry in Albaterra that exports wine all over the world. Veltic made wine is considered to be the highest quality wine that is produced in Albaterra. The Veltics success in their endeavor can be attributed to their willingness to negotiate. This meant that they tried to avoid angering the natives while simultaneously staying on good terms with the Portuguese population. The results of this was that Veltic settlements faced much less unrest compared to that of Portuguese settlements even if their settlements did have native minorities. The Veltics effectively became a neutral party for both sides during times of great unrest which allowed them to develop their cities and towns compared to that of other areas in southern/central Avalonia.

The Albaterran wine industry specializes in fruit wine, fruit brandy and banana wine. Banana wine is more common among Portuguese family farms rather than being made by an agro-corporation though there exists smaller wine corporations who produce banana wine in medium to large quantities. When it comes to fruit wine there are many different kinds of fruit that are grown with the intent of creating wine. The fruit wine market in Albaterra consists of wine made from oranges, apples, pineapple and different kinds of cherries. Cherry moonshine is usually made in small quantities using wild cherries while industrially grown cherries grown on cherry plantations are used by the Agro-corporations to produce cherry wine in large quantities to later sell/export.

Natural Resources
Albaterra is a land rich in natural resources. The country was first colonized to explore and extract gold, silver and other resources that increased the wealth of Jungastia or resources that could be of any other strategic use. This attitude was carried on through centuries and still remain in the now independent country of Albaterra. Investment in resources extraction is a central part of the Rural Development Priority which was a policy that originated in the 1950's. The policy means that the government of Albaterra officially gives its support to rural development and society over that of urban development and society. The Albaterran government has given it's full support to this ideology and still to this day see rural life and society as superior compared to that of urban lifestyles.

Logging
Logging was historically one of the biggest market activities in Albaterra as a colony. Up to 60% of Albaterra has a climate fit for rain forests and jungles which meant that intense logging was needed to clear land to make space for farms and plantations. Only first in the 19th century did the market share of agricultural production surpass that of logging. The colonial government was very successful in this endeavor and in modern day a big chunk of the jungle and rain forest has been removed and replaced with farmland and other forms of agricultural production, towns, mines and the like. While large parts of the rainforest has been cleared a big chunk of the remaining parts are currently used for logging to use the wood both as building materials and for export. The government of Albaterra is currently trying to find ways to make the logging as sustainable as possible and focus on not clearing all of the forests in the country. This is because of the recent surge of support for environment friendly policies inside of the ruling party and among the public. Logging is also the foundation for many industries in Albaterra and employs millions of people both directly and indirectly.

In modern day large amounts of wild forests have been sold to corporations and made into Forest plantations where trees that are native to the climate is grown. This has employed more people and increased the tropical wood production while using the same amount of land as before which in turn has increased wood export to other countries. This is due to several factors such as the increased effectiveness of managing a plantation instead of a forest, GMO seeds, effective use of land area and the growing of certain species of trees that grown quicker. The Albaterra government's goal in the long-term is to completely stop cutting rainforests and instead only use tree plantations as a means of wood production. The government is also looking to combine the rainforest with tourism to provide another form of income for the rural parts of Albaterra. There is an ongoing investigation by the government to see if tourism is a preferable long-term investment compared to that of logging and agriculture.

Forest plantations in Albaterra are not only used for the farming of trees it is also used to farm wild plants and other non-timber products like flowers. There exists a large variety of both edible herbs, mushrooms, wild plants and flowers that are grown among the trees in a simulated wild environment. There is a large focus on providing a natural environment while simultaneously intervening to remove any disturbances such as weeds and other pests. Forest plantations have since the 2000's become one of the booming sectors of the Albaterran economy as demand for tropical wood increases to produce things such as furniture and building materials. The workforce for this sector continues to expand as export to other countries increases and more trade treaties are written.

Gold & Silver
Being one of the main reasons why Albaterra was colonized, Gold and Silver were a great source of wealth for the colonial economy and for Jungastia who received most of the wealth that was created.

International Trade
Albaterra is a net-exporter of resources and other products. A big part of the country's GDP depends on the fact that there is an export of agricultural products and other natural resources. It currently has trade agreements setup with several countries and some of these include: Modrovia: Who has both invested in the Albaterran economy and built arms factories in the country. In turn Albaterra exports Sugar, Coffee, Salt, Oil and rare earth minerals to Modrovia. Modrovia is one of the youngest trading partners to Albaterra but relations between the two countries has become very warm over the years despite the different international allegiances the two countries have. This is mostly the result of the free trade stance that Albaterra takes when it comes to international relations.

Rovsnoska: Who has received investment from Albaterra in its food crops and agricultural sector. Albaterra mainly exports food, sugar, coffee and petroleum to Rovsnoska.

Yarova: While being very different both culturally and politically from Yarova. Albaterra enjoys a healthy trade relationship with the country as both sides see a large benefit in expanding trade. Albaterra exports coffee, tropical fruits, sugar, tropical timber and many other tropical agricultural products. Cotton and beef are the exception since Yarova is self-sufficient in those areas. Albaterran imports both high quality chemicals and pharmaceuticals. It has also allowed Yarovan car exporters to sell their automobiles in Albaterra.

Beifang: Beifang became a trade partner with Albaterra very recently but nevertheless trade between both countries has expanded drastically. Beifang mostly imports all kinds of exotic agricultural produce from Albaterra. Mainly consisting of fruits, cotton, coffee and sugar. They also import cigars and have recently begun investing in rice wine production in the country which is set to employ tens of thousands of people by just 2022. A recent trade partnership between the two countries have made it easier for Albaterra to import cell phone and computer blueprints to manufacture themselves. This is set to drastically increase GDP growth and improve quality of life. The Albaterran government also wants to connect the farmer with the buyer and allow Bakanese companies to buy produce directly from small farmers all over the country.

Samotkhe: A fellow member of the PAC and a semi-recent partner to Albaterra. Samotkhe and Albaterra first started their relations when Albaterra joined the Pan-Artemian Coalition in 2002. Since then both countries have developed the trade between them. Samotkhe exports their products which include their cars and Albaterra exports their goods to Samotkhe which includes Agricultural produce, wine, spirits, cigars and more.

Thalaky: Thalaky enjoys a health trade relationship with Albaterra with a no-Visa agreement dating back to colonial days in the 1970's that the country inherited from Jungastia and continues to honor to this day. Thalaky are one of the main exporters of machinery, medicine and boats to Albaterra. In return Albaterra exports Cigars, Rum & other spirits including Veltic Fruit Wine and Beifang rice wine. Thalaky also imports sugar, tropical wood and other forest products. They also import most forms of foodstuff which includes banans, beef, vegetables, etc.

Austrasia: Austrasia is the second largest exporters of tools and machinery to Albaterra. It's products are very important for the economy of Albaterra and because of this the government seeks to keep relations as high as possible between the two countries. Albaterra exports it's tropical agricultural produce and it's tropical lumber to Austrasia and other mining resources that they need.

Religion
Religion is of great importance in Albaterra. Both the indigenous, the Portuguese population and most immigrants to Albaterra see religion as a big part of their daily lives.

Christianity
Every child born to two Portuguese parents officially join the church when they are baptized and leaving the Church is impossible due to there not existing a process for leaving it. Around 75% of the country is a member of the Catholic Church including all it's heresies. Christianity enjoys great privilege in Albaterra and is recognized as the official state religion of the country.

Christianity first arrived to the region with colonization. One great push for colonization was the chance to spread Christianity to a new continent. It was quickly rejected by the native population in the area and ever since then Christianity has been hostile to all pagan religions in the area. In Albaterra there exists 3 parts of Christianity, Catholicism, Orthodox and Selexian Catholicism. Catholicism is the first of the three to arrive to Albaterra. Orthodox arrived by immigration from eastern countries during the 20th century and Selexian Catholicism is a strange mix of Selexian Polytheism and Catholicism. The five Gods of the Selexian faith have been made into one single God. The rest of the smaller Gods in Selexian Polytheism have been made into angels of God. This allows the Veltics to worship their religion, christian or not, in peace from oppression by the Albaterran government. They are the only pagan religion to be granted this loophole exception. The unofficial reasons for this is due to the Heltics being of eastern heritage and not native of Avalonia.

Pagan Religions
Sowani and N/A still exist 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 the government of Albaterra fears that if they ever were to ban it outright a war would ensue and this time it would be much worse. 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 and much more. Failing to comply with these laws is met with fines, imprisonment and even revoked license of worship.

Health
The healthcare sector in Albaterra is completely privatized with government subsidies being the main source of funding for healthcare companies. Healthcare in cities are of much higher quality than in rural areas which is why the government focuses it's healthcare spending to improve healthcare in rural parts of the country. The Catholic church in one of the main healthcare providers in the country due to it's ability to collect taxes. This makes funding less of a problem and so they are able to provide a cheap alternative to people who are living in the countryside. Access to medicine has increased in recent years but are still prescribed a long with prayers to increase your chance of being cured. Doctors are required to pray before preforming a surgery and patients are encouraged to ask for their sins to be forgiven before treating a life-threatening disease or wound.

Education
The educational system in Albaterra is either owned or directly funded by the Catholic Church of the country. The Church is given the right by the government to levy a Church tax on the residents in their state. Higher levels of education is however not directly owned by the Church but receives funding from it and the government.