Caracua
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Caracua Federation Aquayanderino Karáhkwasa | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 State emblem
| |
 Location of Caracua (green) in Cusinaut (gray). | |
| Official languages | Ashkenauk Rianee Malki |
| Demonym(s) | Caracuan |
| Government | Federal parliamentary republic |
• President of the Council of Directors | some dude |
| Legislature | Federate Council |
| Independence from Algoquona | |
• Western Revolutionary Popular Reclamation Council | 2023 |
• Caracuan Constitution ratified | 2024 |
| Population | |
• 2025 estimate | 20,894,300 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2025 estimate |
• Per capita | $8,136 |
| Gini (2025) |  59.6high |
| HDI (2025) |  0.462low |
| Currency | Wísdat |
| Mains electricity | test |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | 4-(349) |
| Internet TLD | .crc |
Caracua, formally the Caracua Federation, is a country in northern Cusinaut. It is bordered by Canespa along with the Algosh Republic to the south and New Harren to the east.
Etymology
The name Caracua it a latinized version of the word karáhkwasa, "sunset". This word was used by the people of the eastern Northern Confederation, particularly the Algosh but also the Housatonish, to refer generally to the people in the western parts of the Confederation. As such, it originated as an exonym, and likely entered common use by the end of the 19th century. The name gradually entered use among these western peoples to refer to themselves and their area generally, as no local collective term for the area existed. When the peoples of the region declared their independence from Algoquona at the end of the Final War of the Deluge, it was adopted as the official name for the peoples collectively and the state they established.
Geography
Caracua primarily consists of hilly seasonal tundras, with population centers primarily orbiting the Ashuk and Copehe rivers. Of these two, the Ashuk leads to Mera Bay, while the Copehe is a tributary of Lake _____'s endorheic basin. The Ashuk and Copehe have distinct fish breeds and chemical differences, with the Copehe being more saline and less ecologically dense due to drawing salt off of flats in its northernmost reaches that see regular thaws during deep summer.
History
Early history
Very little is known of early human history in the northernmost parts of Cusinaut due to a lack of written sources and a conflicting archaeological record. Due to its relatively northern position, modern Caracua was probably among the last places to be settled by sedentary, agricultural peoples in Cusinaut, though it was certainly well-traveled by nomadic hunters not long after the first arrival of humans in Crona. Up through the medieval period, few agricultural settlements formed in the region, though rising temperatures in that era inaugurated a flood of settlers from the south which formed the progenitors of most of the Great Nations of Caracua as they exist today.
Northern Confederation and collapse
The threat of the Occident to Crona became increasingly known to the people of Cusinaut by the 17th century, when Occidental raiders and traders from the south would regularly cause devastation across the southern tip of Cusinaut and also from Thýstara to the northwest. The relatively remote location of the northern peoples of Cusinaut largely shielded them from Occidental interaction, and as a result few joined the Northern Confederation upon its establishment in 1660. However, Thýstara's rapid growth precipitated a wave of new members to the Confederation from modern Caracua, a process which was complete by 1720 in including all fourteen of the Great Nations. From then on, modern Caracua was solidly part of the Northern Confederation, and would be subject to both its highs and lows as well as its ultimate decline.
The western Northern Confederation, which largely coincides with modern Caracua, was generally seen by its other members to be a backwater. The territory benefitted little from the profitable Nysdra Sea trade, and accordingly not only was economic growth slow in the area but also the exchange of ideas and technology. The west was among the slowest to embrace the many reforms that occured throughout the centuries, actively opposing many of them in the National Conference. It only began to modernize following the creation of the Union Directorate emergency government after 1883. During this period, the west began to be known collectively as "Caracua". Despite efforts by the new central government to modernize Caracua, it still lagged behind the rest of the Confederation, being last to fully monetize and adopt the wísdat currency, only completing the full measure of the reform by 1910. Caracua grew significantly over the course of the 20th century, becoming a relative peer to some of the poorer eastern Confederation members. Throughout the history of the Confederation, the fourteen Great Nations shared significant solidarity in being "backwaters" opposed by the more robust eastern powers, not only binding them to the Confederation as a whole but binding them more closely together as a shared political, economic, and social entity.
By the late 20th century the Confederation was spiraling towards disintegration. Internal disputes and violent blood feuds dissolved the internal peace of the Confederation, inviting outside intervention by Urcea in the War of the Northern Confederation. As the Confederation sped towards collapse, it was overthrown by the predominantly Algosh military of the Confederation in the Algosh coup in 2009. For the next decade and a half, the Great Nations as well as the peripheral peoples of the northwest were subject to Algoquona, seeing their rights and territory gradually dwindle to the benefit of the Algosh ruling class.
Final War of the Deluge
As the war progressed, various opposition elements within Caracua formed the Western Revolutionary Popular Reclamation Council. The Council, officially proclaimed in January 2023, was an alliance of resistance cells supported by the Occident, revolutionary socialists, M'acunist traditionalists, and other elements who opposed Algosh domination. From then on, the Council assumed leadership of popular resistance to the Algosh-dominated government, directing sabotage campaigns while providing intelligence to both the Fanerian and Urcean armed forces.
The advance of Fanerian forces into the Cusinaut interior, combined with grievous defeats of Algosh forces in the east at the hands of the Urceans, offered opportunities to the peoples of northwestern Algoquona. Many local garrisons were either ejected by the Fanerians or significantly reduced in size in order to provide forces in the east, weakening the hold of Algoquona over the area. On 18 April 2023, Fanerian forces issued a crushing defeat on the few remaining armored Algosh forces 73 miles west of Western, precipitating a hasty withdrawal of Algosh forces from the region. That night, the Western Revolutionary Popular Reclamation Council declared the independence of the "Caracua Federation", and forces loyal to the Council seized control of its claimed territory and ejected the small remaining garrison of Algosh-aligned militia. On 19 April, the new Republic was recognized by Faneria, Urcea, and all NSTA members. On 20 April, some of the small indigenous nationalities in the northern Algoquona region also declared their independence, and following two days of negotiations they officially joined the revolutionary effort.
Post-Deluge era
Politics and Government
The government of Caracua is based on a significantly reformed version of the government of the Northern Confederation and is governed under the Constitution of 2024. The Constitution of 2024, which itself incorporates large parts of the Northern Confederation's "Received Guidances", was designed to codify the tradition-based unwritten constitution of the Confederation with some alterations to strengthen the stability of the state.
Caracua's government has been referred to by some scholars as a "parliamentary democracy with extra steps" based on its practical values being balanced with the nominal traditions of the Northern Confederation.
Federal Council
The Federal Council is the unicameral national legislature of Caracua. It consists of only 70 seats with each state having 5 representatives, each Semiautonomous Republic having 2, and the lone territory having 1 symbolic representative. The states pick their representatives through a process of votes cast by a group of elders in each subdivision of each state. Through this process the majority of the representatives are picked, who are mostly from the elders of each subdivision. In the Semiautonomous Republics the seats are chosen in a way decided upon by the republics that fits their traditional way of life. Some republics have universal votes while some have a similar elder system to elect individuals. In the lone territory the representative is appointed by the Council of Directors. This representative does not have to live within the territory but usually has lived in the territory during some part of their life. This representative is not allowed to officially belong to a party but usually has some alliegence to a certain party.
The Federal Council can apply its power via its ability to pass bills and approve the declaration of wars.
Council of Directors
The Council of Directors is the executive branch of Caracua's government, comprised of fourteen Directors. Per the Constitution, it serves as an executive committee, nominally sharing all executive authority but having the authority to appoint a chairperson - the President - to direct its affairs. In practice, this means that the President executes much of the day-to-day lead authority of the country under the approval and confidence of the Council. The remaining thirteen Directors each have a specific policy portfolio and functionally serve as cabinet ministers.
The fourteen Directors are voted into office via a combines popular vote to narrow the candidates down followed by a vote from the Federal Council on who the official fourteen Directors should be. The official term of the twelve is 8 years before they are cycled out. A director can serve for a maximum of three terms and you are required to be of the age of 40 to run for Director.
President of the Council of Directors
The President of the Council of Directors is the de facto chief executive of the country and is often referred to in foreign press as simply "the President". Though the President does not have direct authority as an individual to make war or peace or direct the affairs of the military, the position is viewed to have the confidence of a majority of the Council of Directors to direct its policy affairs. Accordingly, the President is envisioned by the constitution as having the ability to execute the broader dictates, policies, and aims of the sovereign Directors as its both its legal executor and leading representative.
The President can only be chosen from among duly appointed members of the Council of Directors. The President serves the same term of office as the other members of the Council in their capacity as a Director; their term of office as President at the pleasure of a majority of the Council of Directors.
Corporatism and Foreign Influence in Caracua
Beginning in the late 2010s and acceerating post-Deluge, significant foreign investment has resulted in the deepening of corporate oliopolies in Caracua. Corporate influence from Canespa and Faneria in particular have resulted in the monopolization of public resources, with investors such as the Canasta Company competing for local control of arable land and Cebhin Allied Extraction buying out mineral rights at alarming rates. Local employment and the introduction of corporate loyalties have lead to significant concerns about captive agencies and local governments especially near the Canespan border and in the Copehe River Basin.
Political Parties
The Federation has a largely two-party political system split between the Blue Party and the Yellow Party; of these, the Blues are more conservative, pacifistic, religious, and focused on traditional life, whereas the Yellows are more militaristic and expansionist, supportive of Occidentalization, and promulgate a doctrine of centralization of power. Both are kept in check by a number of foreign advisors from abroad, as while Faneria maintains a large stake in Caracua's statebuilding process as its original patron nation, other Cronan powers (namely The Cape, Arcerion and Canespa) have exerted influence in the area. In general, Arcerine, Capetian and especially Canespan advisors have tacitly supported the Blue Party, whereas Faneria supports the Yellows due to its declared intent to build Caracua back into a hub of regional influence in Cusinaut. In the past the Canespans especially have taken much more physical movements to exert influence in the country. Among these movements Canespa has promised to use some of the energy generated via the Hamuq City dam on poor towns in southern Caracua. The towns promised these utilities all have large Blue Party majorities.
Society
Caracua is a deeply diverse country containing more than a dozen major ethnic groups as well as more than a hundred varied peripheral peoples, some of whom are isolated (and nearly uncontacted peoples) transient tribes while others are minorities from neighboring countries, most prominently the Algosh Republic. Caracua does not have a single majority cultural group. Rather, the fourteen primary cultural groups are generally referred to as the "Great Nations". The Great Nations, which more or less form a cohesive "mainstream culture" in Caracua, were all previously major members of the Northern Confederation. As such, the Great Nations have a very long tradition of unity in diversity, and cohesion of different peoples for a single purpose is not only the founding political ideology of the Caracuan state but also a fundamental cornerstone value of its society.
Great Nations
The fourteen Great Nations are the main constituents of the Caracua Federation and represent the fourteen largest ethnic and cultural groups within the country. The synthesis of these fourteen peoples is considered to be "mainstream Caracuan culture", whereby there is a shared broader social consensus and worldview on a number of topics while each group still retains their own traditions, mores, and even languages.
The fourteen Great Nations are: the Malki, the Rionee, the Toposa Ashkenauk, the Yanota Ashkenauk, the Atakapa Ashkenauk, the Mishauk, the 7, the 8, the 9, the 10, the 11, the 12, the 13, and the 14.
The Toposa Ashkenauk, the Yanota Ashkenauk, the Atakapa Ashkenauk, and the Mishauk share linguistic bonds and a degree of shared history, and sometimes they are collectively considered a singular "Ashkenauk" nation; together they make up the plurality of all people within Caracua.
Peripheries
The remaining peoples of Caracua who are not part of the fourteen Great Nations are typically referred to as "peripheries" by Occidental scholars. This includes a very broad array of peoples, most prominently including Algosh people but also Acuera nomads, the impoverished Hasinai, and many other peoples including mostly uncontacted peoples at the far northern extreme of the country.
Sports
Lacrosse is the most popular sport followed by wrestling, specifically mixed martial arts has become widely popular within the borders of Caracua. The National Ashkenauk lacrosse league has gained widespread popularity. Due to the poor nature of the country the league was created and is owned by the Canasta Company, but has many shareholders within the country. This league was created shortly after the War of the Deluge as the previous league had become unprofitable and had lost a lot of infrastructure during the war. Though due to lack of capital even the new NAL league is relatively small.
Religion
Caracua is a vary M'acunist nation and its culture shows. Ashkenauk M'acunism mainly follows the Man School with small minorities from the Plant School and Nature School. Despite being mainly M'acunist, small christian minorities have appeared but have been mostly unsuccessful in expansion, mostly due to the rough terrain and semi-autonomous republics within Caracua.
Economy
The Ashkenauk economy has historically been based on subsistence agriculture. Due to the enviornment of Caracua being so hostile this farming has mainly taken place in the southern plains and along the _ River. In more modern times the Ashkenauk economy has been centered around mostly logging and mining. Since the discovery of large Uranium fields in the Cusinaut the Ashkenauk mining sector has thrived. Common mining operations also include copper, iron, and small amounts of gold. In the logging sector Ashkenauk thrives via the vast and limitless northern forests within the country. Mining operations have been slightly limited as many of the countries republics have outright refused companies and the state ability to chop down trees within the republics. With the northern forests also comes a fairly large syrup industry that thrives in the northern regions of the country. Since the 2010s Caracua has seen a large increase in activity and investments from the Canasta Company with an increase in the Syrup and housing markets. With this the southern plains of the country have seen an increase in the farming of cold crops.
Electricity
Transportation
Currency
Caracua's currency is the Caracua Wísdat, a successor of the official currency of the Northern Confederation. The Caracua Wísdat, however, is stronger than the original wísdat was for much of its history and also has both a different form and metal content than the original.
Military
Federal Army
Caracua's army, the Federal Army or Caracuan Federal Army (CFA), consists of four brigades modelled in a roughly Occidental style, with three motorized infantry brigades and a Pathfinders Brigade, the latter of which is in theory special forces but acts in a mountaineering and border patrol capacity. The majority of its equipment is surplus Occidental equipment, and training is handled by a small core of local officers aided by Fanerian advisors. Most of the initial equipment was mixed, with captured Algosh arms, local small arms, and Fhainnin gifts being seen side by side, but as reorganizations have gone on the Army has gradually approached uniformity, with the oldest armaments being passed down to garrison units and later decommissioned or sold off in batches to Sabnaki or other petty states to help pay for better equipment. The CFA only possesses a half-dozen tanks, although its primary armored vehicle, the Bataís, is an excellent rough terrain vehicle (for a tracked system) and is decently effective against most of the local Cronan threats the CFA would reasonably be expected to fight.
Originally, the Federal Army consisted of a large variety of militia forces and political extremist groups; after the Peninsular War, an internal winnowing was undertaken to refine the military into a considerably smaller and more manageable force aimed at national defense and maintaining internal order. The focus of military doctrine is purely defensive, and as such relies on simpler, tried-and-true methods rather than complex maneuver.
The Caracuan navy, the Federal Navy or Caracuan Federal Navy (CFN), is a green-water force which consists of six major surface craft (one older frigate, two icebreakers, and three heavy patrol craft) and two dozen-odd patrol boats; its frigate is a mine warfare-oriented design of Fanerian origin and its corvettes are Fanerian surplus. The Navy also operates Caracua's fleet of fourteen aircraft (two trainers, four scout planes, and eight last-gen fighter craft). Its primary role is coastal and air defense, and it operates the country's major naval base in Kimiornee and uses Mharnsgate as a second port due to the Fanerian base there.