Mierria

Commonwealth of Mierria
Flag
Country	United Republic
Capital and largest city	Dawsbury
Area	TBA
Population	11,957,999
Consul	Hadrian Dawson
Legislature	Mierrian Assmebly
Official languages	Template:English
Recognised languages
Postal Abbreviation	ME
Time Zone	Central Cronan Time

Mierria, officially the Commonwealth of Mierria is a province of the United Republic, located off the western coast of southern Crona.

Geography

Mierria consists of the main island of Mierria and various smaller islands, including Geremo, Sloan, and Rayver.

Much of the topography of the island is defined by the Klein Range forming a crest along the northern coast, with the Fresan Plains unfolding out towards to southern and eastern coasts. The highest elevation point in Mierria, Mount Klei, is located in the aforementioned range and forms the centerpiece for the Klein Range National Park. Moreover, a series of large caverns known as the Dreston Caves dot the northwestern coastline; The largest of these, Hilos Cavern, houses most of the eponymous city, and is considered to be one of the largest caverns in the world.

The province consists of a wide range of climates and terrain, from the humid Mediterranean climate of the coastal plains in and around Dawsbury in the south and east, to the arid mountainous climate of the Klein Range to the north.

History

The history of Mierria began with the settlement of the Atonniod People sometime prior to 300 BC. At the time that Paul Aster's expedition reached the region in 1388, the dominant indigenous cultures on the island were that of the Ak, the Ulaga, and the Mier, from whom the modern name of the island is derived from. The populations of each of these groups would be decimated over throughout the 16th and 17th centuries due to new infectious diseases carried by Occidentals, exploitation by Burgundian slavers, and conflict amongst themselves and foreign traders and settlers.

Full-scale colonization of Mierria began with the founding of Dawsbury in 1637 by Sir Augustus Daws as a trade port under royal charter. The pace of colonial settlement would remain slow and steady until the outbreak of the Alstinian Civil War in 1682, at which point refugees loyal to the Davidian faction began to arrive en masse, nearly sparking an uncontrollable refugee crisis until Sir Julian Daws, son of Augustus, issued the Plantation Decree in 1683, enabling him to systematically settle the refugees across in concerted manner that would ensure his undisputed control over the eastern half of the island. At the conclusion of the Alstinian Civil War, Daws, at the behest of the remaining Davidians and citing the nascent United Republic as illegitimate, had turned the Colony of Mierria into the independent Kingdom of Mierria in 1688, crowning himself as King Julian I; The United Republic, for their part, considered Mierria as a breakaway colony and refused to recognize the legality of the new Mierrian government as independent. Nevertherless, neither party could fully assert their stated positions and would, for nearly the next four decades, clash in series of skirmishes as both competed to settle the western half of the island. The tipping point came in 1721 with the Fairwater Massacre, when Mierrians loyal to and under the orders of the recently crowned Julian III, entered the UR-aligned settlement of Fairwater and brutally murdered all but twelve survivors in an ill-convinced attempt to compel through threat of force the other UR-aligned settlements to pledge loyalty to the Mierrian Kingdom.

The Massacre spurred outrage throughout the United Republic, prompting President Collin Murray to formally request Parliament for a Declaration of War, formally starting what is now known as the Julian War. For the next 29 months, UR and Mierrian forces clashed as the former slowly but steadily advanced from Linbourne in the west towards Dawsbury in the northeast, all the while consistently clashing with the latter in series of pitched battles, such as at Woodes River, Grainfield, and Saint Lucas. The War ended on 19 December 1723 with the capture of Dawsbury and the death of Julian III; Two weeks later, the Kingdom of Mierria was disestablished and merged with UR-holdings in the west of the island, forming the Territory of Mierria.

Over the course of the next several decades, the United Republic would promote increased settlement of the territory through providing land grants and funding infrastructure projects; However, the biggest draw for colonists during the early 19th century came from the discovery of the mineral deposits in the Klein Range, such as the discovery of silver ore near the town of Zaine in 1829, which prompted a substantial increase in settlers looking to strike it rich through either prospecting or other ventures. As a result, the residents of the territory, seeking to benefit more from such discoveries, would seek admission into the United Republic as a province, eventually being admitted in 1833 as the Commonwealth of Mierria. From there, the pace of development would increase, with its economy becoming among the fastest growing during the latter half of the 19th century.

As Mierria became more integrated into the wider Republic, however, resentment grew amongst far-right conservative Mierrians as a result of the gradual loss of their status since the Julian War, the encroachment of Alstinian cultural influence and societal norms, and the mythologized nostalgia for the Kingdom of Mierria. This resentment eventually coalesced into the 1901 Phoenix Rising, a short-lived Burgundian-sponsored rebellion during the First Great War. Despite its failure, the surviving rebels would form the terrorist organization known as the Golden Phoenix, and would subsquently launch a decades-long terror campaign in Mierria with the stated aim of expelling the United Republic from the island and restore the Kingdom of Mierria as an independent state. The terror campaign would reach culminate in 1965 with the Geremo Crisis, which, according to official sources, unsuccessfully held Manao City hostage by threatening the use of chemical weapons from Geremo Island. In the aftermath, organization was systematically hunted by federal authorities, effectively being rendered defunct by 1969.

Since the 1970s, Mierria has experienced a period of relative peace and stability, as the scars of the past continue to heal. Additionally, the province has enjoyed consistent economic and population, as it continues be major nexus of maritime activity between the Oxital and the Sea of St. John; This was recently proven during the Varshani War, as Mierria served as a vital staging point for the invasion of the Varshani homeland in 2023.

Government

As a province of the United Republic, the Mierrian governmental structure and fundamental law are prescribed by the Mierria Provincial Constitution, adopted in 1855 upon its admission into the United Republic as a province. The Governor of Mierria is elected by the residents of Mierria, and is prescribed a five-year term by the Constituion, though a Governor may be replaced or recalled at any point in their term.

The provincial legislative body is known as the Mierrian Assembly. It is a part-time body that meets twice annually at for a period of 18 weeks. The Assembly comprises of 248 seats, apportioned according to population, with a guaranteed minimum of two seats per precinct.

As of the 2033 Parliamentary Reapportionment, Mierria sends 28 Councilors to the National Council.

Society & Culture

Much of Mierrian culture is derived from its roots the various settler Colonies, and from much of the population of the colonial Betlands having ancestral links to colonists who emigrated north; Specifically by large groups of people from parts of northern Alstin such as Mira, Mardünke, and Utopia who moved to the coasts the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and Ionachi and Cuzcan colonists who settled in the Klein Range and other parts of the interior in the early to mid 18th century.

Unique to regions settled by Alstinians, Mierria is predominantly Catholic in terms of religious adherence at 71%. While Cahtolics are the most common religious group, Chantric and other Protestant groups have had a significant presence in the province, historically concentrating in Dawsbury, Lindbourne, and other areas near the southern Coast.

Economy

Agriculture, mining and maritime transportation have long been economic mainstays in Mierria, all due in large part to the region's geographic positioning and topographical make-up. The region's top agricultural outputs are livestock, wheat and corn, while also being a major producer of tomatoes, tea, lemons, oranges, and pears. In terms mining output, the region boasts some the largest deposits of copper, platinum, lithium, and marble, with substantial deposits in silver, palladium, granite, and other precious metals; Most of which are concentrated in the western portion of the Klein Range. The transportation sector is highly developed, with an extensive network of highways, rail lines, and waterways connecting the region internally. Moreover, the region is host to a multitude of transportation links, including 10 major airports, 8 major rail hubs, and 11 major seaports; Of the latter category, the Port of Dawsbury generates nearly $96 million in revenue annually, making it the business port in Mierria, and one of the largest in the United Republic.

In addition, the local fishing and shipbuilding industries are considered among the largest in the United Republic, based primarily in Hilos and Lindbourne, and a strong manufacturing sector in Firestone and Ominak. Moreover, the service-oriented sectors are among the fastest growing in the region, with tourism, retail trade, insurance, banking and financial services spearheading much of the growth both in this sector, and the regional economy as a whole.