Copake: Difference between revisions

|largest_city =       

|population_estimate = 1,842,485

The '''Republic of Copake''' is a country in [[Crona]]. It was established in [[2025]] from lands of the [[Venua'tino]] mandate of the [[League of Nations]]. The peoples of Copake have shared cultural similarities since the medieval period, when they became politically divided following the end of [[Quetzenkel#Early_history|Quetzen trade city hegemony]]. From the 17th century, the Copaish people were loosely subject to [[Varshan]] under the [[Polar Captaincy]] until it collapsed in the mid-20th century. The establishment of the League mandate in [[1967]] began a fraught process of state building which culminated in the Republic's independence in the 2020s.

Copake sits at the northeastern corner of the [[Nysdra Sea]] in northern [[Crona]], and is one of the world's northernmost countries. The country is divided into a southwestern peninsular region - called the Wappinger Peninsula - which shoots out into the Nysdra Sea and curls to the southeast, and an inland region which extends to the east of the peninsular area. The Wappinger Peninsula has a very low-lying coast, but the rest of the country is relatively uniformly flat in terms of topography. The peninsula wraps around an inlet known as Wappinger Bay which sits roughly in the center part of the country. The nation's climate is primarily {{wp|subarctic}}, with the peninsular lowlands and Wappinger Bay coastal areas experiencing warm temperatures during the peak of summer. The furthest eastern part of the country, extending only for a few dozen miles, more closely approximate temperate climates as a result of [[Odoneru Ocean]] temperature dynamics, and the government has extensively studied the viability of this region for Cusinaut-style maize farming. The coastal lowlands are the primary population center of the country. Much of this region is deforested and has several major population centers relative to their latitude. The climate in this region and ready availability of fish has allowed Copake to sustain a very large population relative to its latitude; it is comparably dense to [[Vithinja]] in some portions of the country. The majority of the inland region is heavily forested with {{wp|tamarack}} and other comparable trees.

Despite centuries of being organized under different polities, necessary trade and proximity interactions have made Copake's regional cultural groups relatively closely aligned. Copake culture is subject to a long-running project of {{wp|nation-building}} as the government has worked to identify key shared historical events, commonly held social mores, and other subjects which relate the once-disparate peoples together. As such, the work of defining Copake culture is still ongoing, and according to the prominent Kirvian scholar on Crona Velel Arenva, "Copake culture will...ultimately be determined by those who choose to be its practitioners or choose otherwise." In this sense, there is a public focus on democratizing the future of the Copake identity, as newly formed cultural institutions such as museums, schools, and magazines all offer their own version of what it means to be Copaish.

Copake culture is noted as being extremely oriented towards a sense of geography and place, especially with respect to the [[Nysdra Sea]]. With the introduction of [[Occidental]] style maps into the country, the term "Northeastern" (its position in the Nysdra Sea) has become a common adjective used to describe things related to Copake. Although the preferred adjective for cultural, national, and individual purposes remains "''Copaish''", "Northeastern" is used to describe some government and public institutions, such as the military. In this context, "Northeastern" is often used in the same sense that other countries might use "National" as an adjective for their institutions, such as "national army" or "national government". In the same context, many cultural phrases or references are place based, including common (translated) sayings such as "south of Tekuma" (sailing/desirous of sailing/traveling abroad generally), and "forty leagues east of Winsand" (depressed or frustrated in one's plans).

 

The Copaish peoples are noteworthy among international cultural observers for their unusual eating times. The two largest meals in Copaish life are equivalent to [[Occidental]] breakfast and dinner, with a small snack consumed around mid-day. Given the more limited sunlight in Copake compared to other countries in the winter, the Copaish people generally developed a pattern of eating only during dark hours in the winter. Most scholars believe this was a practical decision, as large communal meals (as is the tradition in Copake) would be impractical and time consuming when the primary food-gathering activities - first through hunting and fishing, then through agriculture - would be the better use of time. In the summer, there is no such prohibition, but generally most Copaish continue to follow the winter schedule. Accordingly, breakfast is usually consumed around 5 AM and dinner is consumed at 10 or 11 PM. There is generally a cultural taboo on eating at other times during the day besides a small half-hour window around noon in which snacks may be consumed; the emphasis on these mid-day meals are portability, and lavish mid-day meals are considered to be rude and ostentatious. Since the growth of Occidental influences in the country, [[NoWaiter]] has become a popular mid-day meal location. Occidental fast food restaurants tend to open and close multiple times throughout the day in observance with Copaish meal time custom. Some scholars have rejected the current consensus model describing Copaish eating traditions as far too Occidentocentric; many of these scholars have instead proposed no distinction between breakfast and dinner, instead adopting a model wherein there is "dark time", which is eating time, and "light time", which is not, with the two "meals" really just being interrupted bouts of eating as a result of {{wp|Polyphasic sleep|polyphasic sleep}}.

Copake is the most populous country on the northern part of the [[Sea of Nysdra]]. In 2025, its population was recorded to be 1,842,485.

The city of Tekuma, on the central peninsula of Copake, is the largest economic driver of the country. Significant foreign investment has been made to connect Tekuma to the rest of the country by rail and road as part of the [[improvement economy]] model, intended to bootstrap an urban, modernized, Occidentalized economy by means of massive infrastructure investments; by design, this has created a massive construction sector within the country. Unique to Copake is a process of radical urbanization, moreso than other improvement economy subjects, due to the completely decentralized nature of Copaish society as it existed prior to the [[2020]]s. This not only includes material connections to other places but also, as a critical part of {{wp|nation-building}}, the transformation of Tekuma into the cultural heart of what was once a disparate and fragmented people. This has meant the construction of elaborate government buildings, museums, [[Venua Faith|Venua]] and [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] worship sites, and grand boulevards and other public works measures in both new and traditional Copaish styles. These new structures incorporate newfound and valuable Copaish marble which, though not traditionally part of Copaish architecture, has been incorporated into inidgenous designs to transform Tekuma into the "marble city". While improvement economy efforts have sponsored improvements in other major cities, only in Copake has it had the effect of intentionally transforming a single city by means of massive investment within city limits themselves. In the process, Tekuma has transitioned from a backwater regional trade hub into an impressive city. This process has necessarily required the relocation of artists and architects, of which there were a small number, from the outlying portions of the country to Tekuma by means of impressive facilities and expansive grant programs. Accordingly, in addition to the usual group of construction workers and construction contract firm owners, Copake is relatively unique among the improvement economy countries in having artists and other niche artisans making up a sizable role of the emergent middle class. As part of these efforts, the University of Tekuma was chartered and opened in [[2034]], using primarily Occidental instructors but also a small core indigenous group of professors from both Copake and other areas in the Nysdra.

 

Though not significant prior to [[the Deluge]], Copake has become a major source of high quality and desirable {{wp|marble}} in trade with other Cronan states and [[Levantia]] to a lesser extent. Copaish marble is denser and tougher than other types of marble, making it more resistant to wear and better for use in construction. It's primarily made of high-quality calcite, which gives it a unique crystalline structure and distinct appearance. In the [[Occident]], Copaish marble is generally viewed to be similar in quality to the types of marble used in Antiquity in [[Caphiria]] and [[Great Levantia]], making it highly prized but expensive and somewhat complex to procure. Copaish marble was used heavily in the rebuilding of Tekuma. Mining operations have scaled up significantly since around [[2030]], and efforts to better equip the country for global export are underway.

Copake has organized the Northeastern Army and Northeastern Air Corps to serve as the nation's ground and air forces. Originally intended to be fully staffed by [[2040]], the country has brought in significant numbers of [[Algosh_Republic#Algosh_abroad|Algosh expatriates]], who make up a thin majority of the personnel of both branches. The Northeastern Army is comprised of 9,000 men organized into three brigades. The Northeastern Air Corps is comprised of 1,200 men primarily operating helicopters. Due to the availability of experienced Algosh manpower, Copake has debated the possibility of expanding the military in the future far beyond what would be considered a proportionally sized military for a country with a population of less than a million people. The Copake government has reached an agreement to buy significant military surplus from [[Urcea]] to initially equip the military and is actively contracting with manufacturers in [[Urcea]] for replacement parts as well as upgrades. Like many other Cronan armed forces, the three brigades of the Northeastern Army are intended to be incorporated within larger Urcean [[Royal and Imperial Army (Urcea)|Royal and Imperial Army]] formations as part of [[NSTA]]'s [[Nysdra_Sea_Treaty_Association#Defense_Coordination_Initiative_(DCI)|Defense Coordination Initiative]] in the event of armed conflict. In the event of invasion, the Northeastern Army is intended to delay any invading army and ensure Copake's sovereignty remains in tact until the arrival of the Royal and Imperial Army in force.