Betlands
| 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 |
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.
Etymology
The origin of the province'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
Prior to the arrival of Occidentals, the region that would become known the Betlands was inhabited by a myriad of Indigenous semi-nomadic Cronan peoples, such as the Rieni, Equeti, Becli, Velyr and Pankara. The peoples of the region would on occasion wage short wars with each other over rights to hunting grounds and sacred landmarks; An example of the latter being the hills in and around what is now Black Mesa, where the Velyr, Equeti and Pankara would fight over the sacred landmark for centuries. This state of affairs would continue even during the Qabori Woqalate, as the Qabori exercised indirect rule over most of the region, only directly administering the various fortified settlements until they retreated from the region entirely by the start of the 18th century.
In the decades following the founding of Alstin in 1559 and establishment of the Kingdom in 1565, a series of expeditions were launched to explore and survey the lands in and around the Alstinian Isles. One such expedition was launched in 1601 by William Bet, who would over the subsequent nine years survey much of the Cronan mainland between the Gamboa River and the Porlosi Gap, as well as much the coastline up to the Anzo River in modern-day Varshan. Following the expedition's conclusion in 1610, a series of trading posts began to be established along the coast and at the mouths of the region's various rivers; Many of which would evolve into proper settlements and form the foundations many of its present-day cities. By 1680, there were thirty trading outposts ten proper settlements in the region then known as William Bet's Lands.
Following the conclusion of the Alstinian Civil War in 1688 and the establishment of United Republic the following year, colonists began to settle the Betlands in earnest, establishing new colonies, and expanding Alstinian control of the region; By 1800, the various Bettish colonies had expanded to edge of the Velyrian Uplands. As they expanded, however, the colonists increasingly came into conflict with the various Indigenous Cronan groups over resource access and land ownership. These conflicts, collectively known as the Frontier Wars, pitted the United Republic against the Indigenous Cronan groups in the Betlands and would gradually increase efforts to settle and develop the region. By 1890, the entirety of modern-day Betlands was under UR-Colonial control, and the last vestiges of Indigenous resistance had been quelled; The following year, the various colonies would vote to consolidate into a singular territorial entity; One that would strive for provincial status, being admitted as one in 1911 as the Commonwealth of the Betlands.
During the both Great Wars, the Betlands played a major role in sustaining the war efforts of both the United Republic and its allies, providing vital foodstuff and raw materials for war manufacturing, as well as providing a strategic foothold on mainland Crona for both offensive and defensive military operations. Following the end of hostilities, the Betlands would continue to develop its internal economy and infrastructure, becoming the fastest growing economy in the United Republic during the second half of the 20th Century. Concurrently, the Betlands continued to be a strategic military asset for the United Republic, serving as both mainland buffer inhibiting an potential invasion of the Alstinian Isles, as well as provide vital logistical functions in support of the United Republic's military operations in Crona; Most recently, during the Varshani War between 2020 and 2024, as well as the Seceond Asterian Civil War in 2033.
Government
The Betlands is an province of the United Republic. Its governmental structure and fundamental law are prescribed by the Betlands Commonwealth Constitution, adopted in 1911 upon its admission into the United Republic as a province. The Governor of the Betlands is elected by the residents of the Betlands, and is prescribed a five-year term by the Constitution, though a Governor may be replaced or recalled at any point in their term.
The provincial legislative body is known as the Commonwealth Legislature. It is a part-time body that meets twice annually at for a period of 15 weeks. The Assembly comprises of 210 seats, apportioned according to population, with a guaranteed minimum of one seat per precinct.
As of the 2033 Parliamentary Reapportionment, the Betlands sends 29 Councilors to the National Council.
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.