Veikan quakaliqs

Veikan Quakaliqs are a distinct ethnic group within the Council Republic of Veikaia composed by a mix of direct immigrants from Thuyiquakliq and the descendants of slaves and servants imported from Gardarike and nearby regions. They exist as a relatively insular group, having maintained their original traditions and beliefs mostly intact for centuries with only a small amount of cultural assimilation from the Veikan majority population. Quakaliq slaves were notably allowed to keep their religious and cultural traditional beliefs even as slaves by their Veikan masters as a form of reward for their generally above average skill in their field of work. In the modern day, many Quakaliqs have emigrated across Anterra, several of them arriving in Veikaia due to its already existing minority. Quakaliq minorities are somewhat marginalized, with the poorer sectors of Veikan Quakaliq society resorting to organized crime and joining local Savamiuqa mafia groups. Veikan Quakaliq groups can be found in all major coastal cities of the country and several coastal rural settlements, with the majority of them living within the capital city of Oztov.

Introduction to Veikaia
Quakaliqs were first introduced to Veikaia in the 15th century by traders from Gardarike, which sold them as slaves to Veikan citizens with the goal of being used as naval slaves and hard laborers in resource extraction and farming operations. As naval slaves, Quakaliqs consistently showed great expertise in the maintenance and navigation of ships, generally believed to come from their people's traditions of whaling and fishing in the frigid seas of modern day Thuyiquakliq. Due to their great expertise and labor they were generally afforded many liberties and better treatment than other types of slaves across Anterra, being allowed to eat, sleep and live alongside the rest of the crew as normal crew members. Still, they were generally not allowed to leave their ship at any point by their captains and were subject to corporal punishment in rare occasions; It was nevertheless seen as poor etiquette to mistreat a Quakaliq slave too severely. Many Quakaliq slaves were given freedom after a certain amount of years of work for their masters, but many of them continued to work alongside the rest of their ship's crew even after they were given freedom. Other slaves purchased their own freedom, though this was rare and took a considerable amount of time. Overall, Quakaliq slaves were sold at a premium in comparison to others and as such were treated better because of their cost.

Quakaliq women and children were also imported into the country, albeit more rarely. They were generally bought alongside their husbands or fathers as it was also seen as bad etiquette to separate slave families. Women and children were generally subjected to work as servants, many working as chefs and deckhands. On land they were also generally servants or worked in lighter manual labor positions such as sewing.

Other, rarer, positions for Quakaliq slaves were as guards and soldiers in 17th century Veikaia. They were used by the Veikan royal family as guards several times through history, mostly due to their imposing nature and effective (and brutal) nature in melee and musket combat. A few Quakaliq regiments existed within the Veikan army in the 18th century, being used as elite shock troops, but were eventually disbanded and replaced in the 19th century with the abolition of slavery.

Abolition of Slavery and Civil War
Slavery was officially abolished in Veikaia in 1812, this led to the immediate freeing of any slaves within the country including any Quakaliq slaves still in service. Most Quakaliqs remained within the country after the end of slavery and even continued working on their old positions but as paid laborers instead. Into the 1880s it was believed that every ship commissioned in the Veikan navy had at least a single Quakaliq crew member to attend the ship and help in navigation, as by this point this position had become traditional within the Veikan navy.

With the abolition of slavery many Quakaliqs were forced into poorly paying industrial jobs thanks to the advent of the industrial revolution in Veikaia, these jobs were little different from their past position as slaves with the difference they now received low wages. The conditions of most Quakaliqs is believed to have somewhat deteriorated since the abolition of slavery, as they were now not seen as prized possessions but as typical low value workers. The highlighted position of Quakaliqs within Veikan society quickly decreased and they became a marginalized minority group. Many Quakaliqs began joining underground leftist organizations and were quickly radicalized by the growing Veikan Communist movement. A disproportional portion of early Veikan Communists and Anarchists were Quakaliqs. Many Quakaliq figures emerged from the intellectual sphere in this period such as Qaanun Mijalik, who like most other members of the Quakaliq community adopted a local surname. Qaanun became a renowned writer and political theorist within Quakaliq intellectual circles, writing several books and political treatises. In the modern day it's believed by many experts that the political writings of Qaanun inspired Gabril Najiluvo, the creator of the Najiluvist ideology.

Mostly due to their historical links to Veikan Communism, the vast majority of the Quakaliq community sympathized with the Communist cause during the Veikan Civil War, with a large number of Quakaliq volunteers joining communist brigades across the country. Their participation in the war was disproportionate in comparison to other minority groups in the nation. Quakaliqs were noted for their brutal efficiency in combat, specially in trap and ambush laying and sabotage operations, in which they excelled. The large amount of Quakaliq fighters within the Red Front was used as a propaganda tool to highlight the multi-cultural nature of the Communist Forces through the war, alongside the International Brigades which also poured into the nation.

Modern day
In the modern day Quakaliqs experience better living conditions than they did decades prior under monarchist rule. They are still generally of a lower or lower-middle class upbringing, but have better access to food, healthcare and other services than they did decades prior. Still, many Quakaliqs have resorted to organized crime to supplement their low income, leading to the rise of Savamiuqa mafia families within the country, which exert a noticeable amount of power within some of the country's smaller coastal cities and rural towns. The advent of industrial scale fishing led to an exodus of Quakaliqs across the country into coastal settlements where they have better access to such jobs, these jobs generally have a high demand for Quakaliq workers who have historically proven to be great navigators and fishermen.

Quakaliqs live in close-knit insular communities, gathering in entire neighborhoods within cities and towns, or living in Quakaliq-majority rural settlements. The Quakaliq Quarter of Oztov has the largest concentration of Quakaliq people within Veikaia. Quakaliq culture, religion and traditions have survived for centuries, even when neglected by central government authorities up to the modern day, thanks to this insular nature.