Medimeria

Rectory of Medimeria
Overseas territory of Urcea
Flag
Transferred from Burgundie	2014
Cathedral City	Madix
Population  (2014)
• Total	55,591

The Rectory of Medimeria is an overseas possession of Urcea. It was acquired from Burgundie in 2014 in exchange for Antilles. The island, which was likely unknown to Audonians at the time of its discovery and colonization, was the site of Protestant refugee settlement in the wake of the Great Confessional War in Levantia. The island served as a primarily self-governing Pharisedom and refuge until the rise of steam power, after which time Medimeria became an important coaling station.

Previously, it was a colony of Burgundie and was represented as a member of the Burgoignesc Overseas Representative Assembly (BORA).

Etymology

Medimeria derives its name from the Burgoignesc words med (Eng. middle), mer (Eng. sea), and the Latin suffix ia (Eng. place). The meaning translates approximately to place in the middle of the sea in reference to its central and isolated location in the Levantine Ocean.

History

Prior to the arrival of Levantine settlers, Medimeria was primarily unoccupied. Significant scholarly debate has occurred since the early 20th-century about previous human settlement on the island. Due to its significant distance from the Audonian mainland and unfavorable winds to reach the island, many natural scientists are convinced that the Levantines were first to step foot on the island when they did so in 1574. The archaeological evidence is unclear; the presence of pre-discovery Audonian trade goods buried beneath the surface have been proposed, but not proven, to have been imported by the colonial settlers in the 16th century. Additionally, the historical record of Oyashima reports small islands being used occasionally by fishermen to the north and to the west, but a small consensus of historians suggest this account refers to islands immediately to Oyashima's north and west, within around 100 miles, rather than to the small islands far north of Audonia. A plurality of scholars thus believe that the Levantines were first to discover the island, but debate and uncertainty continue.

Medimeria was founded as a Pharisedom, and consequently its earliest large-scale settlement came as a consequence of the Protestant reformation, as Protestant families began to leave Levantia following the Great Confessional War and subsequent Dragonnades. Many of the settlers at this time were Protestant Patroons, though the population's Protestant heritage continued long after the decline of the patroonship system.

The advent of the steam engine revolutionized the Medimerian economy and made the island relevant in a military and global trade context.

Medimeria's position later served as an important fueling station and naval base for the Burgoignesc thalattocracy given its strategic position near both Levantia and Audonia.

In the 21st century, the military applications of the island declined, and the tourist industry grew rapidly. In 2014, Urcea acquired the island in exchange for Antilles as part of a mutual strategic interest realignment on Urcea and Burgundie's parts. Urcea's ownership of the island lead to a renewal of military and fueling efforts on the island given its position nearly halfway between Levantia and New Harren.