Oráistír

Oráistír, a Fhasen contraction of Orange Country, was a colony of Faneria in Cusinaut between 1817 and 1908 and later an independent country until 1919. In 1919, it was conquered by Iriquona and the immigrant population largely expelled or killed.

Colonization and Governorship
The original colonial charter for Oráistír was signed by Luthais Suthar-Màrtainn, who sought colonial possessions as part of his perception of what a Great Power such as Faneria at the time would need to compete with the colonial prestige of other powers, namely the radicaly successful colonial enterbrises of Burgundie and its merchants. However, Luthais created a colonial charter for Oráistír without actually possessing the territory, opening the gates for entrepreneurial-minded businessmen to attempt to claim the planned trading post militarily. Several expeditions to scout Cusinaut were made, with the most successful landing at what would become the colonial administration center of Luthaiscirit.

Distance made supply and transit to and between Faneria and the colony heavily reliant on Burgundine goodwill, and enough sailing ships were lost prior to the advent of steamers that the original colonists were ibliged to form close ties to the local tribal communities, namely the Oya, a people partially descended from prehistoric Varshani migrants, to establish themselves. Several colonial skirmishes took place between this coalition and local Ohtisi tribes, but eventually enough cannon and other materials were brought to make open fighting difficult, leading to a treaty with the Ohtisi tribes that guaranteed political representation in the colonial administration and demarcated the expected boundaries of Fhainnin influence. In reality, the Oya and Fhainnin settlers occupied the coastline and dominated the economy of the area, while the Ohtisi were largely left to themselves with the opportunity to migrate into the growing capital.

Throughout the 19th Century, growing trade between Faneria and Cronan states brought imported technologies and kept Oráistír solvent, with agriculture giving way to a growing wool export industry as crop yields improved with chemical fertilizers, seed drills, and the creation of an early hydroelectric dam for irrigation and power. The Colonial Governorship carefully managed the issue of labor excesses due to the migration of Ohtisi farmers into cities and townships to escape the loss of work in agriculture, but the Oya remained far in advance of the Ohtisi in education and wealth, coming to be seen as intermediaries between the Occidental and Cronan populations in the more racist political and social theories which became popular in Occidental culture through the middle of the century. Such depictions as an issue of a local paper which described Oráistíne society as 'a tricolour of race' were deeply unpopular with both the Oya and Ohtisi and lead to several wrathful correspondences between the Governor and the Royal government demanding a permit to censure the press within the colony. As the flagship colony of the Kingdom, investment into Oráistír lead to the permit being issued, as well as the establishment of a proper garrison in 1856 to keep order and cool ethnic divides with the inclusion of some natives into the unit over time.

Royalization Attempts
In 1916, the interim government of the Republic invited the dethroned Antaine Lohr-Mártainn and leading Royalist exiles from metropolitan Faneria to form a constitutional monarchy, seeking to improve the legitimacy of the state and attract additional Occidental settlers to the region, hoping to attract capital to the country and build a professional military to protect its independence following rapid escalations of tenstion by neightboring Iriquona. While several officers and other technical specialists accepted these invitations, Antaine proved disastrous, with his demeanor immediately putting most of the Governorship Council off the idea of a king entirely after he arrived drunk, insulted the local settlers, and threw up during the invitation ceremony in front of a large crowd.

The nightmarish public display both resulted in Antaine being deported back to the Holy Levantine Empire and incredulity among the educated Cronan population, renewing distrust of the government and leading to claims that the powers of government were largely rigged to protect the white settler population. Several key Oia officials, including two members of the Governorship Council, quit the capital out of fear of Ohtisi retaliation, and a Ohtisi liberation movement was begun in earnest with support from Iriquona.

Military
Oráistír was originally dependent on a volunteer militia formed from the settler population of the colony, with later units composed of Oya auxiliaries. As the colony developed, the Oya in particular were integrated fully with the militia force, while Ohtisi irregulars served some roles such as policing in their own regions. After the establishment of a formal garrison in 1856, the colonial militia was turned into an emergency force primarily occupied with controlling the populations of animals predating on livestock and guarding road and later rail construction in the region.

After independence from the mainland, the nascent Republic formed an incomplete division-scale force of semiprofessional troops, drawing from Royalist exiles, the garrison and militia forces, and occasional immigrants from abroad. This force, the Army of Orange, was the primary fighting force of the country during the Ohtisi and Orange Wars, and was primarily an infantry force, though some bicycle infantry, cavalry and field artillery were present in limited numbers. This force was largely reliant on foreign purchases of arms and munitions, and was eventually defeated by Iriquonan regulars after a series of modernizations.