Oráistír

Oráistír, a Fhasen contraction of Orange Country, was a colony of Faneria in Cusinaut between 1817 and 1908 and later an independent country. In 1947, it was conquered by a coalition of Netansett and Sabnaki, with the settler population largely deported or killed.

The Orange Republic Oráistír
Flag of File:Independence Flag Flag
Capital	Luthaiscirit
Religion	Catholic
Demonym(s)	Oráistíne
Government	Crowned Republic
• 1817-1908	Oráist Colonial Governorship Administration
• 1908-1910	Guy
• 1910-1916	Guy
• 1916-1919	Guy
Legislature	Sennad
Population
• 1860	est. 1,100,000
• 1900	est. 3.5 million
• 1915	est. 4 million
• 2020	5,873,182
Currency	Oráistíne Barra
Today part of	Netansett

History

Colonization and Governorship

The original colonial charter for Oráistír was signed by Luthais Suthar-Màrtainn, who sought colonial possessions abroad for the purposes of prestige and personal enrichment. He chose a region of territory along the western coast of Cusinaut adjacent for its proximity to the existing Kiravian colony of Thystara and the lack of competing Occidental claims on the region. While the region was poorly explored, Luthais believed that the prestige of a large colonial holding alone was worth supporting expeditions and that doing so would further embed Faneria into the ranks of the Great Powers of the era. If Faneria could approach the radically successful colonial enterprises of Burgundie and its merchants, such a colony would provide a base for conquests across northern Crona. However, Luthais created a colonial charter for Oráistír without actually possessing the territory, presumably to avoid actually paying for the founding of a colony. Several expeditions to scout Cusinaut were made by entrepreneurial-minded businessmen, former military officers, and others, with the most successful landing taking place at what would become the colonial administration center of Luthaiscirit.

The first Fanerian settlers to land at Luthaiscirit were largely dependent on trade with Thystara, but quickly formed an alliance with one of the local tribal groups. This tribe, the Oya, were descended from prehistoric Varshani raiders and were constantly embroiled in wars with the Ohtisi tribe, who were loosely associated with the Netansettn Confederation. Ohtisi raids and Oya retaliation lead to repeated skirmishes between the settlers and the Ohtisi before the shipment of a battery of cannon lead to a treaty between the two sides, with Oráistír's administration claiming the majority of Ohtisi territory. The treaty guaranteed political representation and set boundaries for occidental settlements, but in practice the Ohtisis within the colony's borders were largely left to themselves, while the Oya readily adapted to the new order and integrated rapidly, coming to economically dominate.

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 Netansett. 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 Netansett.

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 Netansettn regulars after a series of modernizations.