Caracua
Caracua Federation Aquayanderino Karáhkwasa | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 State emblem
| |
 Location of Caracua (green) in Cusinaut (gray). | |
| Capital and largest city | Kimiornee |
| Official languages | Ashkenauk Rianee Malki |
| Demonym(s) | Caracuan |
| Government | Federal parliamentary republic |
• President of the Council of Directors | Cornamale of Toposa |
| 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.
Caracua is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual country that formed as a fusion of various indigenous nations of northern Cusinaut following their entry into the Northern Confederation at the end of the 17th century. Although the peoples of Caracua were considered to be relatively rustic by their Confederation neighbors, their three centuries within the Confederation not only brought about significant economic development but also social and political cohesion. After the collapse of the Northern Confederation, the peoples of Caracua became subjects to Algoquona by means of the Algosh coup. During the Final War of the Deluge, it established its independence. Modern Caracua is considered a developing country with a dual focus of economic modernization, including moderate Occidentalization, and maintaining its independence and cultural distinctiveness as Occidental powers have become ascendant in Cusinaut.
Caracua is a member of the Caroline treaty system and the League of Nations.
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, Kilmer, and Copehe rivers. Of these two, the Ashuk land Kilmer feed into Mera Bay, while the Copehe is a tributary of Lake _____'s endorheic basin. The Copehe has distinct fish breeds and chemical differences from the other water systems in the country, as well as 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.
The coast of Caracua is defined by the Malho Peninsula, which extends from arctic permafrost to the country's southernmost point. The Peninsula is only marginally arable, and contains few natural resources other than timber. The interior of the country centers on the Ashuk River, which forms the primary agricultural basin of the country as well as its largest population centers.
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. As part of this trend, the Toposa Ashkenauk city of Kimiornee grew to be a place of great economic and cultural exchange among the peoples of Caracua by 1850. It gradually grew in size and importance, eventually becoming one of the rotating homes of the National Conference of the Northern Confederation.
Caracua grew steadily during the 20th century as infrastructure projects and technological innovations allowed parts of the country to be irrigated and to otherwise improve crop yield, making larger parts of Caracua viable for agriculture. However, the opportunity for Caracua to grow in peace would be shortlived; 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 (WRPRC) 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.
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Post-Deluge era
After its independence was secured, Caracua's provisional government focused next on establishing a constitution for the state. The constituent parties of the revolution largely sought to restore the pre-2009 state of affairs, enshrining the constitutional sovereignty of the fourteen Great Nations within a federated republic. A constitutional convention was established in October of 2023 with both provisional government leaders and some ad hoc elected representatives included. The convention largely divided along the lines of the very nature of the Federation. A "Confederate" faction emerged, which functionally sought the restoration of the old Northern Confederation governmental structure with limited additional codification and streamlining, a system which would make Caracua a confederation. However, the predominating majority of the convention ended up supporting the "Federal" faction, which supported implementing the basis of the Northern Confederation's constitution but also strengthening the central government and regulating the constituent elements as symmetrical equals rather than asymmetrical neighbors. The new constitution was adopted by unanimous vote of the convention in February 2024, with the confederates having voted as a sign of national unity, and it took effect on 1 July 2024.
Caracua in the constitutional era has been heavily focused on growing its economy and military to ensure that it remains a peer power in Cusinaut and maintains control of its own destiny. Its leaders have been largely ambivalent relative to the major Occidental powers. Unlike Canespa, it actively seeks to avoid confrontation and like Netansett it seeks global integration for its economy, but Caracuan leaders have established a number of tight controls over the economy to ensure that no single foreign interest or interests can establish a monopoly within economic sectors relative to indigenous competitors. The Caracuan government regularly imports advisors from non-Urcean and non-Caphirian Occidental countries to help develop a native urban and corporate sector. "Caracuanization", as observers have called it, appears to be the primary driving ideology of the Caracuan state as it enters the mid-21st century. In 2034, it joined the WCIGF and other elements of the Caroline treaty system, limiting its imports but also providing new funding streams for modernization. In 2035, Caracua declined an offer to join the Nysdra Sea Treaty Association, and officially declared itself a neutral state beyond those military obligations required under the Treaty of Port St. Charles. Despite its efforts to remain aloof, most Occidental observers have observed a continued (if light) Fanerian influence over the country dating back to Faneria's assistance in Caracuan independence; international critics have sometimes referred to it as a Fanerian-led benefactor confederacy, a claim disputed by a consensus of Cronan scholars.
Caracua has had significantly negative relations with its Algosh population since the establishment of Caracuan independence. "Foreign Actor" laws implemented in 2024 and 2025 created significant legal sanctions on individuals with "foreign nationality" and permanent residence, creating a de facto system of legal discrimination against the Algosh. In 2032, a small uprising of Algosh nationalists in southeastern Caracua was suppressed by the government and followed by a wave of mass arrests and deportations of ethnically Algosh Caracuans. In 2034, the Algosh Republic cut diplomatic relations with Caracua.
Politics and Government
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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. As such, it is a federal union of fourteen constituencies, called States, each of which coincide with one of the Great Nations which live within Caracua. In addition the states, which are the primary unit of governance and retain significant home rule rights, there are a number of small preserves, reservations, and nomadic ranges which transcend state borders.
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 70 seats representing each of the 14 states of the Federation. 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. 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.
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 modernizing, 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. They are the primary political actors within the Federation as well, with the fourteen Great Nations each controlling one of the states which makes up Caracua as a federal union.
The fourteen Great Nations are: the Malki, the Rionee, the Toposa Ashkenauk, the Yanota Ashkenauk, the Atakapa Ashkenauk, the Mishauk, the Hasinai, the Ca'sheno, the Oriska, the Talco, the Cohosh, the Cohoc, the Owego, and the Otego.
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, and many other peoples including mostly uncontacted peoples at the far northern extreme of the country. Thousands of refugees from Varshan also now live in Caracua, with the government intermittently allowing settlement of additional groups as labor needs and economic growth may require.
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 Caracuan lacrosse league has gained widespread popularity. Due to the poor nature of the country the league was created by the Canasta Company which retains a majority interest in several teams, but has many shareholders within the country.
Language
Though Caracua is divided into fourteen Great Nations and hundreds of other peripheral ethnicites, only a few major languages predominate. The Ashkenauk religion is spoken as the first language of about 38% of the population and known fluently by about 70% of the population, making it the primary language of business and state. Most of the other Caracuan Great Nations speak the Rianee and Malki languages, which are the two other official languages of Caracua. The Algosh and Housatonish languages are widely spoken in the eastern part of the country, though federal and state governments have actively discouraged use of these tongues and has attempted to suppress use of the Algosh language in any official economic capacity.
Religion
Caracua is M'acunist, which over 90% of the population continuing to adhere to the traditional Cusinauti religion. Caracuan 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 throughout post-Asterian history but have been mostly unsuccessful in expansion, mostly due to the rough terrain and cultural divergences between the Great Nations. Only in recent years, since the Final War of the Deluge, have Christian missionaries been more successful in making inroads within Caracuan society.
Economy
The Caracuan economy has historically been based on subsistence agriculture and is considered a developing economy. Due to the environment of northern Caracua being so hostile this farming has mainly taken place in the southern plains and along the Kaeda River. In more modern times the Caracuan economy has been diversified, with natural resource extraction remaining a primary concern, particularly centered around mostly logging and mining. Since the discovery of large Uranium fields in Cusinaut, the Caracuan mining sector has thrived. Common mining operations also include copper, iron, and small amounts of gold. In the logging sector Caracua 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.
Beyond natural resource exploitation, Caracua's economy is heavily reliant on transportation and infrastructure. Caracua's position between the Nysdra Sea and Sea of Capelan has led to many major highways and railways being built through the country in recent decades as a way to bypass Urcean and Daxian control to Nysdra markets via New Harren and Cao; this construction represents the primary form of foreign investment in the country. The railways and major highways in the nation are owned by the government on behalf of foreign investors (especially Faneria and the Canasta Company, who largely subsidize Caracua for its maintenance. Accordingly, many of the non-agrarian jobs in Caracua are related to maintenance of these vital corridors, with many skilled laborers being trained abroad and returning to Caracua; these roles range from highway light technicians to railway engineers. These jobs represent the vast majority of skilled positions in the country which require any formal training. The service sector in the nation exists to a limited extent as necessary to service the roads and rails. Although representing a very small portion of the economy, truck stops and rest areas are some of the most visible parts of the Caracuan economy to foreign travelers, leading to a popular stereotype that most Caracuans work in truck stops. This stereotype has lead to the commonly used tongue-in-cheek nickname for Caracua, the "Truckstop Republic", as used by residents of the nation's neighbors. The government has been actively attempting to transition its reliance on road and rail into an urban-based improvement economy, but its neutral status and mostly independent government has made its cities a less attractive option to foreign investors than those of Nysdra Sea Treaty Association states due to the foreign perception of potential instability. Regardless, many Caracuan politicians campaign on "making good use" of the infrastructure to stimulate economic activity, with little effect. Poor government policies, coupled with corruption, have meant that Caracua has traditionally not fared well economically as the nation is not as competitive relative to its neighbors.
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.