Betlands

Betlands, officially the Commonwealth of the Betlands is an overseas province of the United Republic, located in mainland southern Crona bordering Porlos to the south, Asteria to west, and the Orixtal Sea to the north and east.

Commonwealth of the Betlands
Flag
Country	United Republic
Capital	Ithacios
Largest City	Sedem Regni
Population	26,712,416
Governor	Rian Celare
Legislature	People's Congress
Official languages	Template:English,
Recognised languages
Postal Abbreviation	BE
Time Zone	Central Cronan Time

Etymology

The origin of the region's name to believed to have been derived from William Bet, an 17th century Alstinian explorer who surveyed much of the region beyond its coastline. As the region began to be settled, it initially known as William Bet's Lands, before being shortened with the passage of time to its current denomination.

Geography

The Betlands is a vast region bounded by the Porlosi Gap to the north, the Pankaran Plateau to the northeast, the Gamboa River to the east, and the Sea of Orixtal to the south and west. As a result, the region encompasses a wide range of climates, from the humid Mediterranean and subtropical climates of the coast, to the humid contintental climate of the southern interior, to the arid mountainous and highland of the Velyrian Uplands and the Panakra Plateau respectively.

The topography of the Betlands has been described as being akin to a "bent horseshoe" or a "cracked egg", as the defining feature in the central portion of the Betlands, a mountainous region known as the Velyrian Uplands, is nearly surrounded by the fertile expanse of the Bettish Plains, with the Pankaran Plateau connecting with the Velyrian Uplands from the north. Additionally, the region is inundated with rivers, many of which that separately flow into the Orixtal from sources in the Velyrian Uplands, the Pankaran Plateau and the Discosian Range. This multitude of rivers, collectively known as the Bettish Watershed system, combined with favorable climatic conditions and the ease of traversal on most these waterways, have contributed to the Betlands' reputation as one of the most abundantly fertile regions in Crona, as well as concentrating much the Bettish population across the coast and along the rivers.

History

-Indigenous Cronans and Qabor Woqalate

-Trading posts and early settlement

-Alstinian colonalism

-Great Wars and modern period

Economy

The Betlands have long been an agricultural powerhouse, accounting for 39% of all Alstinian agricultural output in 2030, with particular dominance in the domestic growing of corn, wheat, rye and coffee; This in turn has garnered the Betlands with the reputation of being the "Breadbasket of the Republic". In addition, the region is also a major producer of vegatables, bananas, oranges, sunflowers, cotton, tobacco, and indigo, with much of what is grown exported to either the Alstinian Isles or other countries in southern Crona, such as Asteria, Pankara, Porlos and Tierrador.

Aside from agriculture, the Betlands has a strong mining industry located predominantly in the Velyrian Uplands and the Pankaran Plateau, a significant fishing and shipbuilding industry along its northwestern coastline, and a robust manufacturing and transportation sectors across Bettish Plains. 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 provincial economy as a whole.

Culture

The basis for much of Bettish culture derives from its roots the various settler Colonies, and from much of the population of the colonial Betlands having ancestral links to colonists who emigrated east; Specifically by large groups of people from parts of southern Alstin such as Rocotia, Daltonland, and Bryceland who moved to the western coast the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Kjeldorians and Sierrians who settled in Velyrian Uplands and the Pankaran Plateau in the early to mid 18th century, and the many Audonian people who were brought to the Betlands as slaves during the 17th century. Their descendants, identified as Black or Audonian-Alstinians, compose the United Republic's second-largest racial minority, accounting for 21.3%) of the total population according to the 2020 census.

The Betlands has had a significant of its population adhering to evangelical Protestantism ever since the 1860s, although the majority of Bettish have often stayed Chantric. While Protestants are the most common religious group, Catholics have had a significant presence in the province, historically concentrating in Sedem Regni, Ithacios, and other areas near the Porlosi border and along the Beclian Coast.