Huadao

Rectory of Huadao
Overseas territory of Urcea
Flag
Huadao from the southeast
Annexed by Urcea	1865
Cathedral City	Flower City
Government
• Rector	Carlentina Sanda
Population  (2020)
• Total	10,782
Demonym	Huadaoic

Huadao is an island in the Trade Islands area that is part of Urcea. Prior to the 19th century, Huadao was inhabited on an inconsistent basis, and it was claimed by Daxia. The island was rich in guano deposits. Following Urcea's acquisition of Rapa Rapa, it was able to project naval power into the Ocean of Cathay, and the guano-rich island became a possible target for expansion. Urcea took the island from Daxia in the Guano War and began mining operations while also colonizing the island. In the early 20th century, most of the accumulated guano was depleted, but the island remained economically viable due to trade with Alshar and other parts of the Trade Islands, as well as its importance as a coaling station. After the Second Great War, Huadao became a major tourist destination, which remains its primary non-military industry today. Huadao in the 21st century is primarily inhabited by people of Levantine descent or by Audonian mainlanders. In addition to the civilian settlement, the island has both a Royal Navy and Royal Air Force base.

Etymology

"Huadao" is the Daxian language name for the island, meaning "Flower Island". This name is used for various applications related to the island, including "Flower City", the Cathedral City of the island. The exact reason for this name is unclear, though it is attested to as early as 1580. Scholars have surmised that the name is either based on the observation of sailors of literal flowers visible on the island, its stem-and-flower shape, or that the name was devised by sailors ironically due to the large amount of bird feces historically present on the island.

Geography

Huadao is a single island with smaller, tertiary jetties and reefs that is part of the Trade Islands sitting roughly halfway between the equator and Australis in the Ocean of Cathay. It has been commonly observed to be shaped like a manta ray, with an angular main landmass and a long, thin tail to the northeast forming two partial lagoons. It is characterized by significant hilly rugged landscape in the northwestern interior with flat, forested areas on the southern slope of the island. Prior to its colonization, large parts of Huadao were covered in large deposits of guano, and many of the forested parts of the island are post-colonial growth. On the northeastern "tail", several jetties are little more than sand bars, historically creating difficulty for navigation around the island. The island has two main beaches suitable for recreational use: Guano Beach in the western part of Flower City and Crescent Beach in Hookshead on the eastern short of the main landmass.

Huadao as observed from orbit.

History

Pre-colonization

Prior to the 19th century, Huadao never had a permanent human population. Various reports and archaeological evidence suggests the island was occasionally home to bands of fishermen or whalers who would use it as a temporary base of operations, and some records indicate Daxian prisoners were occasionally exiled to the island, but beyond these limited instances the island was unpopulated on a permanent basis. The island was, however, home to large numbers of seabirds, and over the course of hundreds and thousands of years, Huadao became covered in accreted bird feces, creating a rich guano deposit.

Along with several other of the Trade Islands, Huadao was claimed by Daxia in 1512. Though the island was never colonized by Daxia, Daxian ships occasionally patrolled the region over the next several centuries, and it continued to be occasionally used as the site of camps for fishermen and whalers.

Guano War

Main article: Guano War

In the late 1850s and 1860s, Urcea was undergoing a major naval expansion which included new bases in Arona and Rapa Rapa, allowing it to project power into the Ocean of Cathay. Following Urcea's purchase of Rapa Rapa in 1861, it began to seek another island that could serve as a naval base or coaling station to the west in the Trade Islands region. Huadao, sitting in the far southeastern corner of the Trade Islands region and unpopulated, appeared to be an ideal target, and the fact the island was rich in guano (a key agricultural product) made it an even more appealing target. The Royal Navy began to chart the region in early 1863. Daxia had claimed the islands for more than three centuries, and these first exploratory ships were fired on and driven off by the Daxian Navy, sparking the so-called Guano War. The "War" was comprised of two and a half years of naval skirmishing between the Daxian and Royal Navies in the Trade Islands region. The conflict, which was undeclared, eventually resolved in Urcea's favor as most Daxian squadrons had been driven out of the southeastern Trade Islands by February 1865. A small guano mining outpost and military dock were built on Huadao in May 1865, establishing Urcean control over the island. In October 1865, Urcea paid Daxia three million talers as compensation for their claim to the island plus claimed damages against Daxian ships in the last two years, resolving the dispute and formally giving Urcea control over the island.

Mining operations and early colony

In May 1865, the first civilian contractors arrived on the island to setup a rudimentary guano mining operation. Given the distance to Levantia, it was envisioned most of the guano would be sold at a profit to countries in mainland Audonia. As part of the initial construction, a small naval dock was built and the island's first coaling station was completed in June 1865, with coal supply ships first arriving the next month. Over the course of 1865 and 1866, most attention focused on improving both the port and mining infrastructure, with living quarters being a secondary concern. Most of the first workers - at this stage still guilded professionals - lived either in shacks directly near their mine or aboard ships stationed in the dock. The Royal Navy brought in several barracks ships both for its own personnel as well as the civilian workforce. Only in January 1867 was the first freestanding navy barracks constructed on the island, after which time economic activity and growth accelerated to meet the needs of the more permanent human presence. In 1868 and 1869, the coaling station was greatly expanded to suit the needs of a permanent deployment in the Trade Islands region, and the port infrastructure received additional investment in those years.

Peak and alleged independence

Guano miners on Huadao, 1874.

By the 1870s, Huadao was profitable. The initial mining presence - the Royal Overseas Fertilizer Company - was joined by two other competing companies, and the decade saw a dramatic increase of mining operations combined with an influx of new workers. Between 1870 and 1895, about a thousand mainland Audonians were brought to work on the island for six month terms, often in very poor working conditions. They were joined throughout the period by a mixed group of Levantines and Sarpics, including prisoners from Urcea, Derian political refugees from Burgundie, ambitious Isurians, and a large number of other people, though predominantly ethnically Urcean. During the late 1890s, the island reached its peak guano productivity, shipping large amounts of product to both Audonia and Vallos. The economic boomtime was not to last, however, as the '97 Rising and First Great War greatly disrupted operations; the Rising created instability on the island and the Great War disrupted international trade. The Rector of Huadao, George Renzo, declared his neutrality in the '97 Rising for the first two years of the war. As profits declined and business on the island slowed, Renzo decided to take the unusual step of declaring Huadao's independence. Accordingly, Renzo ruled the Republic of Huadao as its President from June 1899 through February 1900. In that year, a detachment of the Navy of Burgundie arrived and deposed Renzo. In his place, a de Weluta-aligned Rector was appointed. The Burgoignesc Navy assisted the new Rector in restoring business operations and improving the security of trade, and on 13 February 1900 he temporarily nationalized the guano mines. For the remainder of the Rising and First Great War, the guano profits of Huadao were divided between Burgundie and the de Weluta legitimist cause. The Rector remained in place after the Rising and restored private ownership of the mines. The mines continued to operate at peak efficiency until around 1912, when deposits began to dry up. From that time until the early 1930s, the island sank into gradual irrelevance, though the Royal Navy base continued to function against a backdrop of an increasingly depopulated island. A civilian population did remain, however, primarily composed of ethnic Audonians with nowhere go to and various Occidental convicts sentenced to live on the island. In the 1920s, the people gradually transitioned from mine work to subsistence farming, fishing, and other low-level economic activities as well as working on the coaling station. A new source of income for the local residents was also in the customs station, constructed in 1915. The customs station on the island was built in order to allow Audonian goods to arrive relatively cheaply and easily from the Audonian mainland, and then exist within Urcea's customs system for the remainder of its journey to Levantia. The two stations remained the largest employer on the island between the end of guano mining and the Second Great War. The island also continued to serve as an occasional temporary base of operations for fishermen and whalers from abroad, and the economic infrastructure to keep them supplied and fed served as an important employer during these years as well.

Second Great War

In the years and months leading up to the Second Great War, tensions and Levo-Daxian antagonism became increasingly clear to Urcean decisionmakers. In 1930, the decision was made to dramatically increase the size of the Royal Navy base on Huadao and begin strengthening its fortifications. An air base was also planned and completed in 1931, though it was controlled by the Navy for the duration of the war. Several locations were scouted for the airbase but ultimately a portion of land on the far western shore of the island was chosen due to its level terrain; in years to come, the coastal adjacency of the airstrip became a strategic issue. The work was largely complete by April 1934, weeks after the beginning of the crisis in Dericania. A limited number of forces were withdrawn from Huadao to Levantia over the summer of 1934 but the naval station remained in place and the garrison remained at three-quarters strength.

Royal Marine Corps defenders during the Second Battle of Huadao, 1937.

Huadao would not have long to wait before it was tested. In September 1934, Daxia went to war with Burgundie, and Urcea honored the terms of the Istroyan Pact and declared war. A small Daxian flotilla was sent in early October to capture the island, as it threatened the trade route between Daxia and its holdings in Peratra. The First Battle of Huadao was a Urcean victory, as the Royal Navy forces present in and around Huadao easily chased the Daxian flotilla away. A second attack came on 13 March 1937, a few months after Daxia's success at the Battle of Ayermer. The Second Battle of Huadao saw another Daxian flotilla arrive which the Royal Navy was only able to fight to a draw. While distracted by the Daxian fleet, a landing party came ashore and easily captured the coastal airfield, causing significant alarm. The Royal Marines, supplemented by local militia, fought with Daxian forces over the airfield from 13 March until 2 April, when the last holdouts were finally captured. This battle was particularly brutal, as both sides resorted to trench warfare and extremely deadly no mans lands over the course of the fighting. Daxian forces had hoped for a local Audonian uprising to supplement their numbers but were disappointed as many of the ethnic Audonian locals joined in the defense, ultimately dooming the expedition. During the time of the Second Battle, Huadao came under routine aerial bombardment, destroying some of the infrastructure and homes on the island. Following two costly failures to capture the island, Daxia abandoned plans to capture it and instead intermittently blockaded and surrounded the island. The period between 1937 and 1940 was hard for island residents, and during this time many bunkers were built into the island's many hills to provide semi-safe residency for the population. As the naval war decisively turned in favor of the Levantia and Odoneru Treaty Association towards the middle and end of the war, Levantine naval supremacy was reestablished around Huadao in 1940-41. After that time, Huadao saw a great uptick in activity, as long-range bombers began to be stationed on the island. At the end of the war in 1943, the airbase was transferred to the Royal Air Force, which would gradually improve facilities and bring additional personnel to the island.

Postwar boom

Major hotels, like the Grand Hookshead Lodge, have become common on Huadao since the 1950s.

The new Royal Air Force presence on Huadao after 1943 greatly enhanced the economic fortunes of Huadao. As additional personnel came to the island, more and more employment opportunities arose for the local population as a higher standard of services gradually became the norm around the two military bases. As the airbase was improved, Huadao's government lobbied the Urcean government for the ability to share the airstrip with civilian flights, a request that was finally granted in 1956. 1956 is generally considered a turning point in Huadao's history, but the growth in services (such as restaurants, bars, retail, and night life) int he years prior laid the groundwork for its future success. The first civilian jet liner arrived in Huadao on 17 January 1957, bringing the very first group of jet tourists to the island. Many tourists, then and now, are former Urcean servicemen who were stationed on the island and were taken in by its culture and natural beauty. 1957 through 1968 is considered Huadao's peak boom season, as between those years the economy completely shifted towards hotels, beaches, and various other accomodations. In 1965, the hotel industry became the island's second largest employer besides the airport and seaport, a status it retains today. The boom years slowed somewhat in 1968 as Audonia gained a negative reputation in Levantia due to the ongoing Operation Kipling conflict. Pre-Kipling tourism numbers recovered by 1982, and today it remains Huadao's most important industry. Unlike many other Urcean possessions, Huadao was not significantly affected by the end of the Occidental Cold War, as Urcea's deployments in Huadao were not directly related to Caphiric containment.

In 1955, the first organized regatta between the three cities on the island was organized. By 1960, it was the most popular event on Huadao, and the earlier ad hoc regattas reorganized into the Tri-City Regatta on 1 January 1964, becoming Huadao's only major sporting league. It remains a central part of Huadaoic life in the 21st century.

Government

Huadao is a civil rectory governed in accord with the provisions of the Rectory and Overseas Territory Law. Accordingly, it is governed by a Rector appointed by the Apostolic King of Urcea by the non-binding advice of the Government of Urcea. Unlike many of Urcea's other insular rectories, Huadao has a relatively robust Rectory government sitting atop a number of local government structures. The three localities of Huadao are enabled to make their own regulations regarding to construction, zoning, fire protection, taxation, public sanitation, and similar issues. The Rector's government, meanwhile, retains total control of all transportation infrastructure constructed on the island, including roads, rail, bridges, and the port. Additionally, the Rector's administration oversees the Insular Police Department, which handles all law enforcement responsibilities for the island. There is also only a single court on the island, authorized by the Rector's government and sitting in Flower City. The Rector's government also serves as the liaison between the Urcean military and the people of Huadao and its localities.

Local governments

There are three distinct localities on Huadao - Flower City, which is the Cathedral City and only incorporated "city", and the towns of New Coria and Hookshead. Flower City encompasses the land along the southern lagoon and the island's only major harbor, and is governed as an executive polis according to Urcean Law. It has a Mayor and 7-member City Council which provide for its laws and administration. New Coria sits on the north coast of the island and is governed as a civil commune, with collective decisionmaking. Hookshead is on the eastern portion of the main island in the smaller, eastern lagoon, and is also governed as a civil commune. Collectively, the three localities provide for some of the day-to-day administrative needs of the people, with a large number of prerogatives retained for the Rector's government.

Politics

Huadao's political culture has been described by some scholars, including P. G. W. Gelema, as "rudimentary at best". Huadao has the lowest municipal turnout of any place in Urcea, with only 17% of people on average voting in an election or participating in communal town halls during the period between 2020 and 2030. As most Huadaoic people are disinterested in politics, Huadao has no organized political party. In its place, the various guild interests serve as the primary political organizing bodies. The Travel & Leisure Guild is by far the most powerful interest on the island, and a majority of Flower City City Council members, as well as Flower City's mayor, are or were members of that guild. The Agricultural and Food Producers Guild, General Retailers Guild, Ecclesiastical and Nonprofit Guild, and Household Goods & Home Construction Guild also hold significant influence. Historically, the Mining Guild dominated the island, though its influence diminished as the guano deposits depleted. The Urcean government has historically had serious reservations about the "guildization" of politics on the island. On several ocassions, the commune governments of both Hookshead and New Coria have asked to be transitioned from the civil commune model of government to the guild commune model, requests repeatedly denied by the sitting Rector. Within the political system, the Rector is often perceived as the check on guild interests throughout the island, ensuring balance and fair play between the various guilds; most Rectors are extremely unpopular as a result, with only the most politically adept managing to be both popular and successful.

Culture

Huadaoic is a cosmopolitan culture which has been noted to readily accept new cultural innovations from arrivals abroad. Huadaoic culture is generally regarded to be a melting pot of Levanto-Occidental cultural traditions with those of eastern and southern Audonia. Huadaoic culture traces its roots to the large number of foreign workers brought to the island during its earliest years as a guano mine, with workers imported both from Levantia as well as from the Audonian mainland. Both groups brought their traditions with them and interacted on a daily basis in-and-out of the mines, sharing cuisine, social mores, and other cultural hallmarks. In the process, this worker interaction created new cultural traditions incorporating elements from both Levantia and East Audonia.

The culture of Huadao is generally accepted to be highly casual and informal, with various degrees of prestigious title, fashion, etc. viewed as social taboo. Most scholars believe this emerged from the working class attitude of the earliest guano miners on the island combined with the need of that cohort to dispense with formalities when communicating with their fellow Audonian laborers. As the Audonians integrated into Huadaoic society, they also likely implanted their own views of civil and social authority (many of them being religious refugees) on Huadaoic culture, leading to many of the values held on Huadao today. Accordingly, the people of Huadao are known to favor egalitarian views on class and status. Most, but not all, people on Huadao generally appear to make an exception for the Catholic clergy, who retain a place of honor within Huadaoic society as is the case in Levantia.

Sports

The Tri-City Regatta in October 2030.

Huadao's primary form of sport is the Tri-City Regatta, a sailboat-racing league which holds competitions every Saturday from May to October, with specific weekends in June and July exempted due to stormy conditions. The league is composed of three teams with a varying number of boats per team, with each team representing the three municipalities of Flower City, New Coria, and Hookshead. The Regatta generally circles the island twice, with special events including additional laps. The Regatta is a central event in Huadaoic cultural life, with most businesses (except bars) shutting down between the hours of 1 PM to 4 PM to accomodate spectators. Throughout Huadao, large bleachers are erected throughout the Regatta season, allowing most of the island's population to watch. Most Huadaoic people are extremely invested in their particular Regatta team, and sense of municipal pride is closely tied in with Regatta team support.

Cuisine

Huadaoic cuisine reflects the island's primarily Levantine cultural heritage with modifications based on the presence of people of Audonian backgrounds. Most prominently, rice has been eaten on the island in large quantities supplanting bread and other wheat-derived products since its earliest days, a fact that was heavily commented on by late 19th- and early 20th-century observers. Products made with rice flour, such as rice noodles, are very common on Huadao, and in most cases these items are regularly used in place of wheat-based pasta. One of the best known versions of this ingredient fusion is Pasta Huadao, made with rice noodles. It features cured pork cheek, cheese, and a light tomato sauce, and is most similar to a Levantine amatriciana, but is lighter. Pasta Huadao is an iconic island dish and has appeared on some menus in Levantia beginning in the 21st century. Huadaoic cuisine is generally very controversial among Levantine-born Urceans, with some preferring it; it is usually considered an acquired taste. Many traditionally trained chefs will not make food in the Huadaoic-style, even those relocating to Huadao. Sociologists have suggested that many view the food in a positive light due to associating it with their overall positive feelings of visiting Huadao on vacation. Besides controversial adaptations of Levantine dishes, many people in Huadao - and most locals - eat fish in some form as a regular meal due to its widespread availability. Fish is generally served fried in rice flour in what is essentially tempura, which is the most widely consumed dish on the island.

Language

Though Julian Ænglish is spoken nearly universally on Huadao, interaction with Audonian culture has introduced a number of regional variance to the language, especially with regard to slang. Various terms from the Daxian language have entered common usage among the people of Huadao.

Demographics

The population of Huadao, as of 2020, was 10,782. The majority of people on Huadao are ethnic Urceans who have settled on the island since the 1860s. A minority of Huadaoic people are of eastern Audonian ethnic descent, primarily those of Daxian but also Rusanan descent, descending from workers brought to the island during the guano mining period. A small remainder of the population are of Polynesian, Derian, or Veltorine descent.

Religious affiliations in Huadao (2030)

  Catholicism (84.2%)

  Islam (8.6%)

  Daxian folk religions (4.1%)

  Collegiate Protestantism (2.9%)

  Other (.2%)

The vast majority of people on Huadao are members of the Catholic Church. The initial settler makeup of Huadao provided an early Catholic majority, given the primarily Urcean descent of the people living on the island, and in this context many of the arriving immigrant workers from the Audonian mainland and elsewhere adapted to the majority religious belief on the island. A small number retained their ancestral religion, including both Muslims and adherents of Daxian historic folk religion and ancestor worship. Due to the 20th century religious persecutions in Daxia, a small handful of families of Daxian ancestry have preserved a number of ancient Daxian religious traditions in Huadao that have been otherwise non-observible by Occidental religious scholars. Catholic and Christian Daxians fleeing persecution have also settled on the island historically, contributing to its Christian majority.

Many people on Huadao retain defined ethnic and ancestral heritages. People self-identifying as ethnically Urcean make up around 65% of the population, with ethnic Daxians, Veltorines, and Derians making up the largest remaining shares. Beginning in the year 1980, people have identified themselves as Huadaoic specifically rather than any foreign ethnic background, and the Huadaoic figure has steadily increased by decade, up to 14% in 2030. Most people who self-identify as Huadaoic are typically mixed race, usually Urcean and East Audonian. Many demographers and cultural observers believe that Huadaoic identity will comprise the majority of the island's permanent residents by 2070, though a minority position states the constant influx of Urcean military personnel will maintain Urcean identity on the island for decades to come. Most Huadaoic people identify as being within the greater Urceanized identity sphere and culture even if they do not ethnically identify as Urcean.

Economy

Huadao's economy is largely reliant on tourism, the presence of the Urcean military, and peripheral trade between Urcea and Audonia. Huadao's tourism industry attracts visitors from both Urcea and Audonia, with Urceans taking in the weather, scenery, and calm water, while Audonians visit Huadao typically to experience Urcean culture without having to travel to Levantia. Tourism and tourism-adjacent functions make up about a third of the entire Huadaoic economy. The heavy prevalence of tourism in Huadao, considering wealthy clienteles from both Levantia and Audonia, have made Huadao one of the few Urcean island possessions with an annual budget surplus.

The Huadaoic economy is largely fueled by its infrastructure, as the island has both a major airport and seaport. Both of these are located in Flower City, with the airport consisting of a single major jet-capable runway on the far southwestern shore of the island, while the main seaport sits in the south-central part of the island in downtown Flower City, in the island's main lagoon. Huadao's airport is shared between the island's government and the Royal Air Force.

Historically, Huadao's economy was almost entirely dependent on guano exports, as the island was established as a guano mine and coaling station. After the end of guano mining, other sectors of the economy that still exist were established, including larger-scale fishing as well as agricultural endeavors, particularly rice farming on the island's hilly interior. Pig farming was introduced to the island in the 1920s and remains present in small numbers as well. Fishing and agriculture remain important industries in Huadao today.