Albaterra

The Republic of Albaterra, (Portuguese: República da Albaterra): Is a landlocked nation located on the continent of Avalonia. Formerly a colony of Jungastia, Albaterra has been independent since 1979. Though the country is officially considered a Republic, Leonardo H. Sapateiro has been the leader of the country since before independence. 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 1979. 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(1551)
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(1552-1600)
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. Not wanting to go through the rain forest, Antonio decided to move inland by boat. Packing all the supplies on small boats they set off on their mission and sailed inland. The first few stops proved mediocre at best but at the end of the river was a great lake. They stopped their boats and set up a camp for the time being to explore the surrounding area further. The landscape was beautiful and completely untouched by civilization.

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 but trade was kept at a minimum. 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 and more.

In the year of 1555 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.

War With the Natives(1560-1601)
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 not considered official because it was not sanctioned by any high-ranking religious leader. The crusade was only sanctioned by local religious leaders, largely influenced by Antonia Baptista who himself was calling for a Crusade to either fully convert or subjugate the native population at the time. While the war is refereed to as one single long way it was more of a collection of several small wars & battles between the settlers and the natives. Rather than one large war in which the two warring parties were at constant war with each other, There were times of total war and times of relative peace. There were actually several periods during the 40 years were no battles were fought at all.

The war was close to ending several times, had only the colonial government accepted anything else but complete surrender the war probably would not have lasted as long as it did. Enjoying great popularity with nobles and commoners alike both back home in Jungastia and in the colony, Antonio enjoyed the glory and honor that the conquest had brought to both him and his family. This lust for glory made him want to keep the hostilities with the natives as high as he could. Not only did he receive glory and honor, the newly conquered land was at his disposal as a representative of the King of Jungastia. Antonio gave a good chunk of the land to himself and other members of his family.

Politics & Government
Albaterra is a  and 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 and 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, still remain in full effect. While some natives have converted to the catholic faith this does not change their status in society. These laws were first written as a compromise between the Colonial government and the Jungastian government to avoid a war over the issue of slavery which the indigenous population was subject to. The laws enforced lower wages 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.

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. This also means that the high-end service sector of the economy is almost non-existent inside the country since most of these jobs still exist in their former overlord of Jungastia. Because of corruption, loyalty to their former master and the country's pro-market stance, the government has put little effort into moving these jobs to Albaterra.