Cao

Cao Special Federal District 花岛
Special Subject of the Democratic Republic of Daxia
Flag
Special Subject	Daxia
Capital and largest city	Zhenzhu
Official languages	Daxian
Government
• District Chief	Lei Shen

Cao, officially the Cao Special Federal District is an island and overseas province of the Democratic Republic of Daxia that sits near the entrance to the Nysdra Sea in northern Crona. Cusinaut and New Yustona are located directly north of it and Quetzenkel and Varshan are to the east and south respectively. The territory consists solely of the island of Cao and its adjacent territorial waters. Its capital and the largest population center is the city of Zhenzhu. The island's population is approximately 1.2 million inhabitants, of which the vast majority are ethnic Daxians. The island's command of the gateway to the Nysdra Sea make it a highly strategic location and an important economic hub for all of north Crona. It also serves as the base for the Daxian navy's Nysdra squadron with responsibility for safeguarding Daxian lines of communication to Xisheng.

Cao's local economy is highly dependent on fishing, its fishing fleet is one of the largest as a proportion of its population. Controversially Cao's natives also engage in whaling and have for hundreds of years, whale meat is a very common ingredient in the island's cuisine. The importance of Cao's waters to its economic viability has led to clashes between Daxia and neighboring countries; illegal fishing incursions by boats from Varshan into Cao's EEZ being one reason Daxia joined the war on the former. Maintaining control of Cao is considered a strategic priority by Daxia, its location represents a strangler's hand for Urcean allies and dependencies on the Nysdra, as such various entreaties to either sell of trade away the territory have been rejected at various points in history.

Geography and Climate

Cao's coastline

Climate

Caos's climate is predominantly temperate maritime, characterized by mild temperatures, ample rainfall, and frequent cloud cover throughout the year. The influence of the Nysdra Sea ensures relatively mild winters with temperatures rarely dropping below freezing, while summers are cool and moderately warm, seldom exceeding uncomfortable heat. Rainfall is a constant companion, with showers occurring frequently, particularly in the west. Cloud cover is prevalent, often lending a soft, diffused light to the scenery. Occasional storms, particularly during the autumn and winter months, bring strong winds and heavy rain, adding dynamism to the climate. The island's climate lends itself to a prevalence of coniferous vegetation.

Geography

Cao's topography consists of mostly flat to gently rolling plains, especially in the central and eastern regions, with low mountains scattered throughout, particularly in the west. The coastline is rugged and indented with numerous bays and inlets, featuring steep cliffs along parts of the seaboard. The highest peak is Mount Totoro in the Mingliang Reeks range, reaching 1,038 meters (3,406 feet) above sea level. Inland, there are a few small lakes, the largest being Lake Zhaoze.

History

Pre-Daxian era

Pirates of the Nysdra, a depiction of Cao's pirates in oil by explorer Gaetano Marcelino

Starting in the 1200's the island of Cao was colonized by a separate polity called the Axolotl who named the island, Uxma. The Axolotl were closely related with the Mixcala tribe which would later wholly join the Northern Confederation on the mainland, the cause for the separation is not a topic well explored by historians. The Axolotl repelled several Mixcalan attempts at reintegration through force and as a result of these attacks became involved in piracy as a form of retaliation. Raiding the Mixcala and their neighbouring tribes as well as the coasts of Quetzenkel, the Axolotl became a regular plague upon local trade, with plunder and slaves becoming a mainstay of the local economy. Many of the slaves taken by the pirates of Uxma ended up sold in the bazaars of Varshan, and Varshanis were allowed to join pirate ships as crewmen. Several attempts at quashing piracy were made in the early 1500's, most notably by Quetzen chiefdoms, and they succeeded in temporarily curbing the raids. During this period the island seems to have been directly ruled by the four strongest captains, who convened into the Council of High Captains to apportion trade routes and raiding zones, discuss common defense and settle disputes between lesser crews. Over time the position of High Captain became a hereditary one, passing from fathers to sons. It could also be inherited by killing the previous holder of the office, this was by far the most common method of the two. The Axolotl raids also seemed to have included a religious component to them as a certain proportion of a captured ship's crew would always be taken to be used in distorted M'acunism's rituals. Records sporadically show the existence of a 'High Celebrant' who appears to have been a position of great religious significance and also of political influence, eclipsing the pirate council at times. There are fragmented records of individuals claiming the title of High Celebrant off the back of popular revolts at least four separate times before being overthrown by other fanatics or killed by the high captains. The island during the era of the High Captainship is one of the few instances of a true piratocracy in known history. The last great Axolotl pirate captain of Uxma was Morokei, who led his fellow captains against the Qian.

Imperial era

Daxian exploration in the late 1500's brought them to the gates of the Nysdra Sea and Uxma. In 1604 the ship Shin's Pleasure carrying Zhong dynasty officials on an official embassy to the Quetzenkel chieftains, was set upon by Uxma pirates. The boarding attempt was repelled with heavy casualties on both sides and Shin's Pleasure left the area and headed back southwest. News of the brazen attack left a powerful impression back at the Zhong court and a punitive expedition was dispatched. Consisting of ten ships armed with cannons and with close to twelve-hundred men, it was the largest naval show of force by the Zhong that sailed so far north. A numerically superior pirate force was defeated; with two High Captains killed, at the Battle of the Straits before moving on to attack Uxma itself. The pirate capital was defended at length by the remaining high captains but after a long bombardment and starvation of the defenders, Uxma surrendered to the Daxians after three months. The two remaining High Captains and their officers were summarily hanged as a warning against continued piracy and banditry; this event marks the end of the High Captaincy of Uxma. While the Battle of the Straits did not end the threat of piracy for good, it did dislodge them from their main base in the Nysdra Sea, leaving the island open uncontested for settlement. The new settlers renamed Uxma to Zhenzhu and fortified it against attack from the sea. The colonization of Zhenzhu was a watershed moment for the process of Daxia's colonial expansion further into the Nysdra Sea, possession of the harbor was invaluable to control sea access east, so much so that the island was likened by ship captains to the jaws of an animal around the 'neck' of the Nysdra, one that could close at will. The Daxian presence also preempted any attempts by Levantines to take the island for themselves, preventing their total domination; Cusinaut however was never seriously considered for colonization due to the high populations existing there and their relatively high degree of political and military organization.

Originally the Daxian colonies in Xisheng that were settled at least one hundred years after Cao were ruled from the island's viceroy. In 1645 the Qian dynasty began enacting a reorganization of its Cronan holdings by creating the Pinghai Department covering modern Xisheng as a separate territorial unit from Cao. The viceroy in Cao, a certain Shu Ao resolutely refused to cede control of Xisheng to the newly appointed governor Wen Rong, arguing that the territory was not secure enough to rule itself. He detained Wen Rong's ship while it was in transit from Cao and arrested Rong and his entourage, this was the start of what is known as the Two Hats Incident named so because of Shu Ao's ambition to wear both the hat of Viceroy of Cao and the hat of Governor General of the Pinghai department. While imprisoned Wei Rong managed to have his writ of appointment and a plea for help smuggled to Xisheng. Wei Rong's missive was received by the commanding officers of Xisheng's territorial forces, some of said officers argued that an expedition had to be launched to free the new governor while others were against as they felt Shu Ao was still their superior. In the end the deliberations resulted in a copy of Wei Rong's missive being sent to the mainland, asking for clarification and instructions on who should the garrison obey. While letters were exchanged by long sea voyage, Shu Ao also busied himself by contacting his allies in court, trying to have them revert the appointment of Wei Rong. After eight full months finally the Qian court resolved to uphold its own decision and commanded the Xisheng forces to depose Shu Ao, which was done bloodlessly as Ao's Cao troops surrendered without fighting. Never again were the two territories joined together again to prevent an overmighty local ruler from straying from central guidance into autonomy.

Modern era

During the Second Great War, Cao became one of Daxia's most well defended island redoubts and later in the war functioned as the staging ground for the Invasion of Caldera by Daxian forces. The islands static defenses were reinforced with two defensive lines further inland with dugouts and bunkers, anti naval and anti air gun emplacements, extensive minefields and anti tank obstacles; the waters to the north and south of Cao were also extensively layered with sea mines. Furthermore the garrison was reinforced with extra forces such as the grizzled Muslim Zarqan Batallions and the Riwa Riflemen. The island was an important node of communication with the allied Fanerian forces stationed in Maloka. Cao was the main base of operation for the Fleet of the Enclosed Sea which was directed in 1935 to economically choke Urcean allies and dependencies in the Nysdra Sea by closing off the straits. Urcean naval forces based out of Alstin engaged in several attritional naval actions against the Fleet of the Enclosed Sea. By 1937 the fleet's number of surface ships had degraded significantly enough that it was forced to abandon the blockade and retreated eastwards towards Xisheng where it would spend the rest of the war protected inside the Bay of Honghai. Despite the fleet's retreat and the increasingly effective interception of convoys from the mainland, Cao could still be supplied from Xisheng, the island was never captured despite several concerted attempts at doing so.

Postwar Cao saw a short economic boom from the reestablishment of trade with the states of the Nysdra and the negotiation of a trade agreement that gave Daxia increased access to Varshan's internal market for certain goods. Daxian relations with Varshan managed to remain stable for several decades despite the general distrust of successive Zurgs of outside forces. In 1983 a unilateral expansion of Daxia's territorial waters south of Cao caused an crisis with Varshan that led to clashes between fishermen from both nations and later on even clashes between patrol boats of both navies and exchanges of fire that threatened to become an actual war. The crisis necessitated the mediation of an arbitration panel from the League of Nations. The arbitration ruled in favor of Varshan's and Daxia was forced to back down from its territorial claims, the arbitration decision remained a point of contention long after the crisis ended and soured relations between the two nations afterwards. With the advent of the Deluge Cao served as an important logistical base for Daxian forces operating against Varshan. The submarine that fired the nuclear missile that hit the city of Shimrra has been confirmed by military historians to have operated from Cao. Even more recently Cao has once again served as a launchpad for Daxian military movements such as the 2034 deployments to Austro-Caldera and Canespa in the lead-up to the crisis between Canespa and various other nations over its aggressive posturing; this Daxian military presence was later formalized in the Treaty of Port St. Charles.

Politics

Cao Government House in Zhenzhu, both the Executive and District Senate are based inside it.

Cao is a designated Special Federal District, this status grants it higher than normal fiscal resources from the central government. Cao is governed by the Cao Regional Administration which is chaired by a District Chief who serves as the local executive. The District Chief is nominated by the Chancellor of the Republic of Daxia and ratified by the local legislature. The current District Chief of the regional administration since 2012 is Lei Shen. The legislature is formed by a unicameral chamber called the Cao Legislative Council which is formed by one hundred elected members, they are subject to popular vote every five years and can be consecutively reelected. The politics of the island are dominated by the PDD which rules Cao ostensibly in coalition with the only other legal party, the Cao Self Determination Party.

Executive

The District Chief of Cao is the executive official with the highest executive authority in the running of the province. The District Chief is personally nominated by the Chancellor, the only formal requirements for the office is to have a registered domicile in Cao for at least a period of five years and valid membership in the PDD. The District Chief runs the province in accordance with Daxia's Basic Law and local legislation, he can veto the latter if it contravenes the Basic Law. The District Chief also has a tie-breaker vote in the district senate. The District Chief's offices are located in the western wing of the Cao Government House. Current District Chief Lei Shen has been in office for a consecutive 23 years, an unprecedentedly lengthy term; he is nicknamed 'the immortal' for his political longevity.

Legislature

Cao has an unicameral legislature, legislative powers are vested in the Cao Legislative Council. The council is formed by one hundred, popularly elected members from single-seat constituencies; senators serve for five years. The senate holds sessions in the eastern wing of the Cao Government House. The PDD currently holds 96 of the senate's seats, the remaining four are occupied by the Cao Self Determination Party. The Cao Self Determination Party began as a political movement to detach Cao from mainland Daxia and instead create ties with other nations in north Crona. The party was persecuted well into the 1990's but was legalized in 2008 after a change in its leadership. Now the party is considered the official opposition in the island(in Daxia any party that is not the PDD is considered an opposition party) even though they participate in the ruling local 'coalition' and their party documents have been amended to all but water down their original demands for more autonomy for the island.

Demographics

Ethncity according to the official census (2020)

  Daxian (77.2%)

  Rusani (8.4%)

  Native Cronan (14.4%)

The Special Federal District of Cao has a mostly homogenous Daxian majority derived from centuries of pro-colonization policies and ethnic cleansing. Some Daxians have intermixed with the pre-colonization locals giving rise to a group of more swarthy and stocky looking population termed Nysdrine-Daxians. Of the original Axolotl native inhabitants there remains a small, extant population that does not exceed ten percent of the island's total, this group has managed to remain genetically separate albeit their original language is considered defunct. Small numbers of descendants of slaves from nearby local nations such as Varshan and Quetzenkel also exist, usually living in very precarious economic situations, indigency and of uncertain legal status. The Varshani component is expected to rise with the possible humanitarian resettlement of more Varshanis after the end of the wars of the Deluge, but with an accompanying strict implementation of natality controls and special educational programs to prevent the creation of a potential revanchist fifth column.

Rusani settlement was also allowed and even nurtured as in the past the ethnic group served to create an extra layer of insulation between the Daxians and locals. During the Second Great War, the all-Muslim Zarqan Batallions were stationed on the island by order of the Qian dynasty, some of their descendants still live in Cao. Rusani are typically found in the lower bureaucracy, as small business owners and in the island's security services. There are three mosques on the island available for practicing Rusani Muslims to use, the International Friendship Masjid in Uxma-2, the Abu Molokas Mosque in Moloka and the Center of Islamic Study in Zhenzhu. Racial intermixing was strictly banned until 1998 when controls were loosened, though it is still looked down upon and discouraged by most Daxians families. The island's society has a clear cut stratification of its ethnic groups with the Daxians at the top followed by the Rusani and Axolotl, Varshanis and Quetzi occupy the lower rungs of the social pyramid.

Economy

Can of Moloko powdered milk made in the National Dairy Corporation facility in Cao

The island's economy revolves around fishing, shipping and manufacturing and industrial operations in addition to the dockyards operated by the Daxian Navy. Due to the limited availabily of land, there is only small scale horticulture in the form of hydroponics of cash crops such as tomato, squash and strawberries. Most of the food is imported from Kiravian Porfíria or from Xisheng via ship. Cao's fishing fleet is one of the largest in the region and fans far out through the Nysdra Sea and the Northern approaches during the fishing seasons in search of bluefin tuna, Nysdra mackerel and the infamous green crab which is a staple of regional dishes. The delimitation of the New Harren and Cao exclusive economic zones has been a topic of negotiation between Urcea and Daxia due to disputes over fishing rights. The island is an important logistics and refueling center in the region thanks to its privileged location. The port of Uxma-2 operates fifteen bunker barges for the purpose of providing ships in transit with fuel or diesel oil. In 1994 the cargo ship BassPro 2000 exploded outside the port when it crashed against a bunker barge filled with fuel, with all personnel aboard lost.

Daxian powdered milk manufacturer National Dairy Corporation owns a large plant on the island that employs two thousand people, where it manufactures one of its flagship products, Moloko powdered milk. The employee housing built around the plant and the local facilities created to service their needs was granted municipality status in 2005 with the name of Moloka. Moloko powdered milk is a very sought after local commodity as cow milk is a rarity in northern Crona and transportation of fresh milk is expensive due to the need for refrigeration. Cao has a favorable tax regime for all corporate entities of a flat ten per cent which attracts international businesses to set up shop in the island

Green crab fishing

Indoor green crab hatchery plant in Cao

Cao has ample stocks of the invasive green crab, this species is believed to have come alongside Daxian colonists in the 16th century and it decimated the populations of local crustaceans such as the Yellow Cao crab by hogging all available food sources. Cao's residents have adapted by following the mainland's path and adding the green crab to the local cuisine and turning the species into a commercial success. Breeding crabs has multiple advantages to it such as the high conversion rate of feed to meat that makes them an efficient and profitable option, the relatively short growth cycle, allowing for quicker turnover and increased productivity not to mention crab farming can be done in various settings, including ponds, tanks and in coastal areas. This flexibility makes it accessible to farmers with different resources and locations. As a result the island is home to multiple enterprises that specialize in raising the green crab in captivity and commercializing it locally and abroad. Green crab farms give jobs to an approximate 30,000 people in Cao. Local government is also encouraging cooperation between various aquaculture sectors to increase synergy, for example between prawn farmers and fisheries.

Research

Cao has over several decades acquires the presence of several scientific and research institutes of various fields. There is the Cao Institute of Phrenology which specializes in the study of Cronan skulls to determine how certain behaviors take form. Research from the Institute of Phrenology is widely used by authorities in Xisheng in their approach to native Cronan populations and also in the handling of the Shazi people by mainland authorities. Although phrenology as a whole is considered pseudoscientific at best in most of the world, the Daxian government's continued interest in it keeps the institute awash with research grants. Another noted institution is the Zhenzhu Psephology Center which studies national election patterns. This center is very famous at the national level for correctly predicting the winner(the PDD) of every national election since 1992.

Cuisine

Chunks of prepared whale meat typically consumed in Cao

The local cuisine of Cao is overwhelmingly fish-based due to the historical relative expense of shipping in foodstuffs from Cusinaut or Varshan, while fishing in the local waters was comparatively easy, inexpensive and bountiful. A very popular snack that is enjoyed by the locals is a sausage made from fish trimmings, usually tuna, Nysdrine herring or green trout. The shelf life of the fishy sausage is shorter than that of the average sausage so it is not a product that is seen much outside of Cao. Whale meat is also a distinct Cao delicacy, thanks to the long history of whaling in the area. Commercial whaling has taken place in the waters around Cao since at least 1905. All parts of the whale are used in Cao's cuisine including the organs, the skin and the blubber, the latter is called Haimian and is used to make biscuits and the organs and skin are used to make various stews and soups.

Another ubiquitous part of the island's cuisine is the common blue berry, the common blueberry bush being native to the island's interior. Cao blueberries are used to make berry syrup, added to salads, jams, blueberry compote and blueberry fermented liquors. Whale meat is often accompanied by a rich, gruel-like blueberry jam called Lanyeti. A smattering of dishes from Quetzenkel and even Varshan are consumed in Cao due to the geographical proximity, such as the Anzo pig blood cake made with rice and steamed pork blood and Quetzeni bean casserole.