Isurian Generality
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Isurian Generality
Xeneralidade Isurica (Isurian) | |
|---|---|
| Generality of Yorba Linda and Victoria Xeneralidade da Herba Linda e Vitoria | |
  Flag ,_1931-1936.svg) Coat of arms | |
| Anthem: A Gran Isuria | |
| Country |  Lucrecia |
| Community | Isurian Community |
| Old Generality | 1343-1561 |
| Modern Generality | 1984 |
| Named for | Isurians |
| Seat | San Andrés dos Pinos |
| Historical Seat | Toledo dos Prados |
| Government | |
| • Body | Isurian Curia |
| • Governing parties (2035) | PXI, ILUCED, LDI, PCP |
| • Governor | Fernán Laxe |
| • Curator | Xosé Rosón |
| • Legislature | States Assembly |
| • Centuriate Assembly | 21 (out of 150) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 102,175.03 km2 (39,450.00 sq mi) |
| Population (2032) | |
| • Total | 6,449,253 |
| • Estimate (2035) | 6,451,458 |
| • Density | 63.12/km2 (163.5/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Isurian |
| Demographics | |
| • Official languages | Isurian Pelaxian (in bilingual municipalities) |
| ISO 3166 code | LU-XIS |
| License plate code | LXI |
The Isurian Generality (Isurian: Xeneralidade Isurica), officially the Generality of Yorba Linda and Victoria (Isurian: Xeneralidade da Herba Linda e Vitoria), is one of the four cantons of Lucrecia, along with the Emeritan Republic, the Emerida-Presidential Canton, and the Toledo-Administrative Canton. The Generality's authority, as its official name suggests, covers almost the entirety of Illa Herba Linda (save for Toledo) and the entirety of Illa Vitoria, making it account for just over fifty-six percent of Lucrecia's territory. Although the Isurian Generality's official language is Isurian, the Generality should not be confused for the Isurian Community which is both a linguistic community and an independent subnational government which encompasses not only the Isurian Generality, but also the two capital cantons of Emerida and Toledo.
Throughout much of Lucrecia's history since its formation in 1561, the Isurian-majority areas of the Republic have largely been seen as a peasant-filled backwater that could only be improved if the inhabitants were able to assimilate into the Emeritan culture. This has served as a major impetus for the persecution of Isurians from the formation of Lucrecia in 1561 until the late 1940s when this measures became discredited once the fascist regime, which had taken control of the Republic in the 1920s, was dismantled. Since then, Isurianism would emerge as the predominant ideology in the area which in turn led to the formation of the Generality movement and the eventual Great Isurian strike of 1968. After the strike, the Lucrecian government would embark on a series of reforms that would not only seek to democratise and rationalise the Republic, but to also address the concerns brought up by some of the nation's most prominent Isurian intellectuals. The current Isurian Generality would be established in 1984, and would eventually go on to become one of the wealthiest parts of Lucrecia while contributing to the widening of the wealth gap between Isurians and Emeritans which have served as a major source behind the rise of Isurian separatism in the 1990s.
The traditional Isurian capital in Lucrecia is Toledo dos Prados, but because Toledo is located outside of the Generality's territory San Andrés dos Pinos has served as the capital since its establishment in 1984. The population of the Isurian Generality presently makes up about forty-two percent of Lucrecia's population. Although the vast majority of the Generality speaks Isurian on a regular basis, a few of the largest cities in the canton are designated as "bilingual municipalities", so-called because these areas are required by law to provide services in Pelaxian alongside Isurian.
Terminology
Although the Isurian Generality is the commonly-used term to refer to the Isurian side of Lucrecia, no official documents ever refer to the Generality as "Isuria"; Isuria is most often used to refer to the historical region and province of Isuriana located in Caphiria. Indeed, contrary to popular belief the Generality's official name is not "Isurian Generality" like it was back in the pre-Lucrecia years, but rather its official name is the "Generality of Yorba Linda and Victoria", or Xeneralidade da Herba Linda e Vitoria, with Herba Linda and Vitoria referring to the islands of Illa Herba Linda and Illa Vitoria.
The term "generality" is a word that was most often used in the late medieval and renaissance ages, being used to mean areas of land under direct control of a central government. This word in of itself can be deemed as highly unusual considering that the Old Isurian Generality was a peasant republic, but considering that it was the peasantry that held direct control over the government of the Old Generality, the name was used to suggest that it was an area of land under the direct control of an Isurian-controlled central government. The word "generality" has also been used for the name of the historical Generality movement.
History
The islands that would come under the rule of Isurians started off as a minor outpost of the Adonerii, although scant evidence seems to suggest that the islands' first inhabitants were of the Glaistic civilisation though anything that could be learned about these hypothetical Glaistic settlements have all but disappeared. Glaistics aside, the ruins of the Adonerii settlements are much more well-documented, being among the first structures encountered by the first explorers from the Old Emeritan Republic in 45 BC. For whatever reason, the Emeritans had little interest in establishing a permanent presence on the islands beyond setting up small military outposts along the coast. These outposts would remain in use as Emeritan outposts until the 8th Century when the Catenias were put under the hegemony of Caphiria during its First Imperium, with the outposts coming under direct Caphiric control. It would not be until the collapse of the Second Imperium in 1172 that these outposts would fall into disuse as many Caphiric troops would return to Sarpedon.
The two islands would remain more or less abandoned until the mid-14th Century when Isurian peasants, who have had enough of the chaos of the post-Second Imperium era as well as the desire to establish a republic of peasants where there would be no temporal authority as the ultimate authority would be God himself. These peasants would establish the first permanent settlements as well as the Old Isurian Generality, a very loose confederacy with no head of state. Instead, the Old Generality would be govern under a system of direct democracy, complete with a popular assembly wherein any citizen could voluntarily attend on any day of the year with the only exceptions being Sundays and religious holidays. Such a form of government was, and still is, a rarity with the only modern country to have ever come close to this form of government being Ardmore, which was through sheer accident rather than any interest in replicating a peasents republic.
Nobles in the neighbouring Old Emeritan Republic were terrified of the Old Generality's form of government, seeing it as both a perversion of the classical republican ideals of their country as well as a potential lynchpin for a future peasants revolt that could potentially see the overthrow of the Republic in favour of a form of government that emulates the Old Generality. To counteract this fear, the nobility had drawn up a plan that would hopefully see the Old Generality join the Republic, preferably through peaceful means so as to have a foundation to effectively integrate the Old Generality. What the nobles came up with was a series of careful manipulation tactics that should scare the Isurians into joining the Emeritans. These manipulations were in the form of fabricating a possible threat of invasion from Vallos while at the same time offering the Isurians the possibility of joining forces to ensure their protection in the long term. It was a tremendous success, and the Isurians would enter into a series of negotiations with the Emeritan nobles that would see the formulation of the Nobles' Treaty in 1561 that would unite the Republic and the Old Generality into Lucrecia, which would be ruled under the Emeritan form of government while the peasant-based Isurian government was dismantled.
During the first few centuries of Lucrecian rule, the Isurians would find themselves under the effective status of second-class citizens. For the Isurians who wanted to remain politically relevant, they were among the first to have assimilated into the Emeritan culture, or rather a pelaxinisation of the Emeritan culture, so as to attain a position in the political hierarchy. It was these so-called "new Emeritans" that were responsible for the worst aspects of the nascent anti-Isurian rhetoric. In their eyes, they have civilised themselves and have accepted the natural social hierarchy that emerged after the Nobles' Treaty while at the same time referring to those who have not assimilated, that being the vast majority of the Isurian populace, as being highly incapable of asserting themselves and rising above their peasant origins in the new political sphere. However, the Isurians were largely still allowed to speak their mother tongue, they just could not enter into politics unless they assimilate beforehand.
Anti-Isurian rhetoric would intensify in the 19th Century when the nationalistic ideology and moralising mission known as Emeritanism would emerge. Calling for the return to the republic's Latinic roots, which including emeritanising the Emeritan vernacular of Pelaxian, Emeritanism saw the assimilation of the Isurians into Emeritan culture as a major aspect of ensuring the survival of the Emeritan way of life. This ideology would only intensify throughout the decades before eventually culminating in the rise of the National Fascist Party in the 1920s. During the fascist period, Lucrecia would begin to actively crack down on the Isurian identity, with many Isurian intellectuals fleeing the country to escape persecution. In reaction to these new repressive measures, Isurianism would emerge so as to counter the overbearing influence of Emeritanism. Once the fascist regime was dismantled and Emeritanism was abandoned in 1947, Isurianism would grow before culminating in calls to reestablish the Isurian Generality, this being the genesis of the Generality movement which was one of the main instigators behind the Great Isurian strike of 1968.
The Great Isurian strike was considered a huge threat to the Lucrecian economy as the entirety of the Isurian workforce refused to work until the Lucrecian Curia began to reach out to the Generality movement and began a series of negotiations with the movement's leadership. The results of these negotiations would result in a series of sweeping democratic and state reforms starting in 1970 known as the "popular amendments". Among these reforms, Lucrecia would be reorganised into a bilingual federation starting with the establishment of the linguistic communities in 1972, with the modern Isurian Generality being established in 1984 as one of the republic's four cantons. Isurian autonomy is currently very popular with the Isurian electorate, with most Isurian parties supporting either increased autonomy. However, there also exists two political parties that support the idea of Isurian independence, so much so that it has become a sort of tradition for many Lucrecian television channels to air spoof news broadcasts that claim that the Generality has decided to declare independence from Lucrecia.
Geography
The Isurian Generality covers over 102,175.03 km2 of land, which spans over most of Illa Herba Linda as well as the entirety of Illa Vitoria. Illa Herba Linda is also home to the sole mountain in Lucrecia, that being Mount St. Andrew's. Because the Generality spans roughly two islands, its overall geography, Mount St. Andrew's notwithstanding, is predominantly just above sea level. For climate, the Isurian Generality is located entirely within the tropics and thus has a warmer and more humid climate on average year-round, though because it is located close to the southern end of the tropics the climate is more temperate and seasonal variation is much more mild compared to the climate of Rumahoki. The Generality is also home to the coldest areas of Lucrecia where the winters are cooler and the summers are more mild, that being the areas surrounding Mount St. Andrew's.
Government and politics
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Lucrecia is organised as a federal state with six subnational governments, all of each currently wield significant autonomy. The Isurian Generality is one of Lucrecia's four cantons and is governed by the Isurian Curia on the executive level and the States Assembly on the legislative level. Due to the significant amounts of autonomy it wields, the Isurian generality can, in fact, pursue its own foreign policy even if it goes against the foreign policy of the Lucrecian Curia. Indeed, the Lucrecia Curia is unable to sign international treaties without the approval of all six subnational governments, of which the Isurian Curia is one of them.
Although the Isurian Generality is home to the vast majority of the Isurian Community's population, the Isurian Community and the Isurian Generality are in fact separate and distinct entities, each with their own executive and legislative branches as well as representation in the Centuriate Assembly on the federal level. This distinction and separation is taken so seriously to the point that both governments are governed by entirely different individuals so as to prevent the emergence of a dual mandate as such a practice is seen as a conflict of interest, a sentiment that dates back to the early days of the Old Emeritan Republic.
The States Assembly of the Isurian Generality is a bicameral legislature with the 21-member Provincial Assembly serving as the upper house and the 75-member Constituent Assembly serving as the lower house; the Provincial Assembly is elected by the legislatures of the Generality's eight provinces while the Constituent Assembly is elected by the citizenry of the Generality. The Curia of the Isurian Generality is the executive body, and is elected by the Constituent Assembly with the head of the Curia serving as Curator. Above the Curia is the Governor who is elected by the Provincial Assembly.
While the Emeritan Republic generally swings to the left politically, the Isurian Generality generally swings to the right politically, with the largest party in the Generality's legislature being the nationalistic Party for an Independent Generality (PXI), which is in a perpetual electoral alliance with ILUCED, with the next two largest parties being the Isurian Liberals and Democrats (LDI) and the Progressive Conservative Party (PCP). Unlike on the federal level, there exists no cordon sanitaire between the main political groups, which has allowed for the PXI to govern the Generality's government for the past two decades.
Demographics
Lucrecio-Isurians make up the vast majority of the Generality's population, they being the direct descendants of peasant settlers who have arrived to Illa Herba Linda in the mid-14th Century. It would be a mistake to, however, assume that all of Lucrecia's Isurians exclusively live in the Isurian Generality, or that the Isurian Generality is only populated by Isurians. Indeed, the amount of Isurians in Lucrecia makes up less than forty percent of the republic's population, and the Generality makes up just about forty-two percent of the population. Notable minorities in the Isurian Generality include Emeritans, usually descendants of Isurians who have assimilated into the Emeritan culture, and Delepasians, who are Pelaxian-descended people that happen to be an offshoot of the Isurians. The former typically only speaks Emeritan Pelaxian which has led to a few of the nation's largest cities to become "bilingual municipalities", or cities that are required by law to provide language services in Emeritan Pelaxian rather than just Isurian.
Much like the rest of Lucrecia, however, the vast majority of the Generality's citizenry identify as adherents to the Caphiric Catholic Church, a Sarpedonic-based particular church in communion with the Pope in Urecopolis. The next-largest denomination of Christianity are adherents of the Latin Church, the main branch of the Catholic Church as a whole. Although the Latin Church has only had a presence in Lucrecia since the arrival of the Pelaxians and Delepasians, it still managed to have a lasting influence thanks to the years of Pelaxian suzerainty that Lucrecia was under. This influence is perhaps the most noticeable when looking towards the Caphiric Catholic churches which are noted to have a distinct Latin Church influence; it would not be until the 1920s when a movement would emerge to purge the Caphiric Church in Lucrecia of all Latin Church influences and to return it to what it once was.
Culture and Society
Traditions and beliefs
As the Lucrecio-Isurians are descendants of the Isurian people, there are quite a few traditions and beliefs that were carried over from mainland Sarpedon. Many of these beliefs can be traced from the overall religiosity of the Isurians in general as well as traditional beliefs that have long since adapted into Christianity. Indeed, many of these beliefs have largely fallen into disuse amongs the Isurian population in Caphiria due to them having purged much of their pre-Christian traditions in favour of Caphiric-based Catholic traditions, thus making the Generality one of the last areas in which the old Isurian traditions have survived, especially after the advent of Isurian revivalism.
The Isurians place a heavy emphasis on establishing sanctuaries under the protection of either a particular saint or the Virgin Mary, and with an accompanying belief that determines the exact character of a given sanctuary. These sanctuaries are often advertised by the placement of calvaries or a high cross within a kilometre's distance from the sanctuary. This kind of practice has also been used for crossroads or pilgrimage roads, with both calvaries and high crosses becoming a highly auspicious symbol for the Isurians.
There exists multiple traditional Isurian superstitions, with the most notable ones in Lucrecia pertaining to mouros, fairies, goblins, and giant serpents. The mouros are tall, dark, and very strong human-like beings who reside in the underworld due to their immense hatred of humans, though sometimes a mouro may visit the human world. It is said that if one were to come across a mouro, then they must say a special incantation which if done correctly would grant the individual immense riches with any incorrect incantations or refusal to say any incantation resulting in said individual being punished severely for their greed. Fairies are the female equivalent of the mouros, but unlike the mouros fairies are described as being beautiful women who are fair in complexion and in hair colour that frequent bodies of water; meeting a fairy, unlike a mouro, is almost guaranteed to bring one good fortune so long as they are good at heart. Goblins are depicted as dwarf-like beings who intrude upon their victims' homes to play pranks on them, and serpents typically reside in Mount St. Andrew's where they hibernate throughout the year save for every leap day when they emerge out of their caves to feed on cattle.
Economy
Of the four cantons, the Isurian Generality, as well as the Toledo Canton, are the wealthiest in stark contrast to its historical poverty prior to the Popular Amendments. Indeed, prior to federalisation and the advent of globalisation, the lands of what is now the Generaliity have had a huge wealth disparity as much of the wealth was concentrated in the hands of both Emeritan and emeritanised Isurian elites. Since the 1980s, however, international attention in regards to Lucrecia's economic sphere have shifted towards the nascent Generality due to its central location within the Catenias as well as its developmental potentional. This in turn has resulted in the Isurian Generality transitioning from Lucrecia's economic backwater to becoming Lucrecia's main economic hub with monthly incomes consistently rising since the early 1990s, and all at the expense of the economy of the Emeritan Republic. Most of the nation's largest firms and companies are headquartered in either Toledo dos Prados, which is in the Toledo Canton, or in one of the Generality's larger cities.