Neovola

Neovola, officially the Plurinational Republic of Neovola, is a country in the southernmost reaches of Alandria. It is bounded by Angelica to the west, New Columbus to the north, Allian Alandria to the northeast, the Malagaz Ocean to the east, and the Monopati Ocean to the south. Neovola covers [X] square kilometers, making it the [X] biggest country in the world. Neovola is divided into [X] provinces and two federal districts, Neovola City and Beaufort. Neovola City is the federal capital and biggest city. The question of Beaufort's districthood has been an ongoing issue in the Neovolan Assembly, with Unitean representatives blocking its dissolution.

The area that is now called Neovola has been inhabited by humans for many thousands of years. The historic Texakoran Empire had its main capital in the area. After its fall in 1843, the region was thrown into disarray, split between warring tribes. In 1859, Myranea set up its first trading outpost in the area, beginning the long history of Sierran involvement on the continent. Over the next few decades, Myranea continued expanding its influence in the area, its claims eventually getting as far north as Eastia. The Myraneans managed to make good relations with most of the natives in the area. Unlike most colonizers, Myranea tried its best to respect its treaties with the natives. The colony's defiance of Unitean influence led to a harsh century-long disagreement between the UoR and Myranea. Neovola as a polity never existed until the year 2000, after the Sierroslavian Collapse. Mere months after its independence, though, the UoR mounted an invasion, very quickly occupying the country. Its councillar government was replaced with a Unitean assembly government, it was forced to venranize, and its culture slowly Uniteanized. In 2100, due to unsatisfaction with the Unitean regime, it was released as an independent republic once more.

It has faced two significant bouts of immigration, mainly from the Union of Republics. The first was a UoR-sponsored relocation of Unitean outlaws to Neovola's north in 1936. These outlaws, far from the colonial Neovola City government, began violently making a presence in the area, escaping the treaty lands and making a presence in the entire northern half of the colony. This eventually led to the secession of New Columbus, leaving Neovola half its original size. The second immigration event happened during the 21st century, when the UoR occupied Neovola. Much smaller than the first, and comprised of civilians, they filled up the area around Beaufort, notably with no respect to treaty borders. They managed to get a considerable presence in the north of the country, and to this day Uniteans make up most of the population of the Beaufort Spire.

Neovola, development-wise, has almost always been on-par with the development of Myranea. After the New Columbian Secession, the government began integrating Neovola as a core province, significantly ramping up development. The discovery of oil in the western regions of the country spurred industry and development in the once-harsh jungle. It was affected greatly by the Sierroslavian Golden Age. By its independence in 2000, it's HDI was 0.762, the highest in Southeastern Alandria. The Unitean Occupation sent Neovola into first-worldhood, attaining an HDI of 0.884. Currently, it has the highest HDI in Southeastern Alandria.

Etymology
The name Neovola is derived from Myranean Nuva Ivola, meaning New Ivola. It gradually became Neovola with time as people used the name in common talk. It was named that way because the founder of the first settlement, Joan Chesca, was from the province of Ivola. He reportedly had great emotional attachment to his home, causing him to impulsively opt out of using a customary native name, and to instead call it Neovola. The name of the settlement soon began being used for the entire region, and in 1897 it became the official name of the colony.

Pre-Colonial era
Neovola has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years, as evidenced by cave art found in the area. For a long time, the natives were mainly nomadic hunter gatherers, with several groups practicing slash-and-burn agriculture. The most notable and famous are the Texakora, a group historically cenetered in the north of Neovola. In the 1600s, the Texakora made contact with Krainian traders, and as such experienced a technological boom. They began expanding outward, conquering a vast swath of land stretching from eastern Neovola to western Angelica. They subjugated the other tribes in the area, with some managing to successfully resist (notably the Gaucha and Cauo peoples, still present in Neovola today.) In 1843, the ruler of the Empire died, with no clear heir in sight. This caused a power vacuum, throwing the empire into a warzone. Hundreds of warlords competed in the area, feuding for all of the 1850s.

Colonial era
With the voyage of Joan Chesca in 1858, Myranea made contact with a Gaucha polity known as Xauganta, located in the vicinity of present-day Neovola City. It exchanged knowledge with the state, and in exchange for supporting it with technology, Myranea was granted the rights to a trading outpost. As Xauganta expanded, it aquired coastal settlements. By 1865, Hauganta had acquired most of southern Neovola with Myranean help. In return, they allowed Myranean settlers to settle unused land. Myranea began branching northwards, putting outposts and signing treaties with native polities until they reached Eastia. Basiland had been doing much of the same with their colony of Angelica west of Neovola, and with time Myranea and Basiland had partitioned the old Texakoran Empire.

Natives in Colonial Neovola, especially in later times, were treated as friends. As Myraneans began outpopulating the natives, the government feared accidentally squandering the native cultures of the colony. So, in 1883, they drew the Xanga Line, named for the native man who proposed it. It split the colony into two areas: the southeast area where Myraneans were allowed to settle, and the northeast where natives were to be left untouched. This low-interference policy kept the clan wars alive in Neovola up until the early 1900s, when Myranea launched an initiative to encourage peace between the clans. This effort was successful, leading to a relatively peaceful colony going into the 20th century.

This time also saw the introduction of Myranean minorities to Alandria, notably the Canesute, the Hindu, and the Cheskigaks. They came in droves during the colonial age, for their areas in Myranea were generally underdeveloped with terrible living quality. The island of Alxorrin was a prime example of this, the Canesute becoming a majority there and creolizing the natives.

New Columbian Secession
''For more information on New Columbus, go to New Columbus.

During the 1930s, Myranea and the natives struck a deal with the Union of Republics, to allow Unitean settlement in the far north of Neovola. Contrary to the deal, the UoR sent over their outlaws, rather than actual citizens. These outlaws began expanding out from the treaty designated zones and getting into fights with the natives (primarily the Texakora). Due to their distance from Neovola City, Myranea couldn't act on their native-protection laws, and by 1936 the nation of New Columbus had declared independence from Myranea. The UoR supported this fledgling nation, kicking off a long road of sour Myrano-UoR relations.

Integration era
Following the New Columbian Secession, the Myranean government feared the remains of Neovola would suffer the same fate as New Columbus. They began integrating Neovola as a mainland province, allowing them a seat in the High Council as well as the ability to vote in mainland elections, something that used to be reserved for core provinces. Neovolan satisfaction with the government increased after that. The formation of Sierroslavia dragged Neovola into the union as well, this time as a province separate to Myranea. This cultivated a national identity that hadn't once been there, and as such when Sierroslavia collapsed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Neovola filed for independence. It was granted that independence in 2000, a proud new nation rising from the ashes of a failed state.

Unitean Occupation
The Uniteans have historically viewed Neovola as an affront to their dominance over Alandria. To think there was a corner of Alandria untouched by their influence - they wouldn't have it. This led to them blitzing Neovola immediately post-independence, occupying it by 2001. The Unitean regime has been criticized by many, as they imposed new laws that actively suppressed the Neovolans (the most notable being the anti-polygamy legislature.) Beaufort, then a town of 5,000, was chosen as Neovola's colonial capital for its status as the largest fully Unitean town in the country. The Unitean colonial administration saw millions of Uniteans pour into the country, supported by the mainland. Beaufort inflated to contain millions of people, and the new mass of Uniteans in the country began influencing both the natives and the Myraneans. Beaufort also saw the arrival of about a million Mesinians during the Mesinian Exodus during the 2030s and 2040s, with Mesinian culture (notably the cuisine) affecting the popular culture of the city.

Pressure to Uniteanize was pushed onto the Neovolan populace, with Unitean cars, movies, supermarkets, and most importantly, ways of life being being propagated through society as the "norm". Autotrain usage in Neovola dropped harshly, the country's script quickly venranized, and polygamy rates dropped to 8%. The latter is partly because of early Unitean enforcement of anti-polygamy legislature, but as the occupation continued it grew unenforced. Venran was instilled as an official language, along with Texakoran, Myranean, and a creole labeled "Neovolan" (the Unitean government disregarded the other native languages, such as Guanchan or Cauan. It also disregarded the existence of the Texakoran dialects. Usage of these languages decreased with time.)

Independence
Near the end of the 21st century, Neovolans were dissatisfied with the Unitean regime. They vieweds it as corrupt, greedy, and uncaring for their needs. After massive protests, the Uniteans freed Neovola, under the condition that it has a Unitean-friendly government. In the 2120s, it begun de-Uniteanization, as a fresh new wave of elections in 2118 brought cultural preservationists to power (a view most of the population shares.) They have recently entered trade agreements with the South Sierran Union, primarily exporting neborium and produce indigenous to Alandria.

Under the new government, native and minority languages have seen a resurgence. This includes Gauchan and Cauan, as well as Canesute, Cheskigan, and Hindu.

Geography
Neovola is situated in southern Alandria, sharing jungle borders with Angelica to the west, New Columbus to the north, and Allia to the east. It has a coast on the Malagaz ocean to the east, and a small coast on the Monopati Ocean to the south.

Its highest point is Mt. Risan, at 1503 m, located in the northwest of the country. The lowest point is Lago Perrajch, a salt lake in the southwest of the country located 87 meters below sea level.

Its northernmost point is a point 3.2 miles northwest of the Unitean-founded town of Channah. Its southernmost point is at the Canesutic town of Kemlaj, on Isle Alxorrin.

Climate
Neovola is bisected into two climate types: subtropical rainforest in the west, and tropical rainforest in the east. The eastern rainforests, which used to be large and proliferous, have suffered heavy deforestation during the colonial era and the Unitean Occupation (as large swaths of forest were cleared to make room for Beaufort's rapid expansion.) The only surviving tropical rainforest patches are located in large national parks located in the northeast of the country, such as Luvemucho National Park, as well as some smaller preserves. Much of the western subtropical rainforest is unchanged, but parts of it have been logged, drilled for oil, or more recently, mined for neborium.

Biodiversity
Neovola, pre-colonization, is rumored to have had a high biodiversity rate. This was severely stunted by the destruction of the eastern jungle. However, multiple wildlife conservation centers protect endangered life, and have notably brought several species back from near extinction. The highest level of biodiversity is in the national parks, as well as the subtropical forests in the west of the country.

Economy
Neovola, with its huge agrarian sector, flourishing neborium mines, and fusion power plants, is one of the up-and-coming economies of Alandria. It achieved first worldhood with Sierroslavia, a status that never was stripped from it post-collapse (unlike mainland Myranea.) It has a "very high" rating on the Human Development Index, its relatively developed cities and rural areas leaving it with a medium-high GDP per capita.

Neovola, despite its high economy, suffers increased inflation compared to places like the South Sierran Union. One Sierran medra is currently (as of September 2126) equivalent to 5.7 Neovolan medras, with an inflation rate of 8%.

Industry
In 2126, the largest sector of the Neovolan economy was fusion power generation, followed by neborium extraction and processing, and cultivation of various crops. Neovola is notable for its export of exotic fruits and their derivatives (drinks, jellies, candies, etc), with the jorgenfruit being the most well known example. Jorgenfruit in particular has a high demand abroad, and was prioritized by the Unitean colonial regime over other tropical fruits, leading to a disproportional amount of jorgenfruit plantations in the west of Neovola. Other well known agricultural exports include:


 * bananas
 * tobacco
 * starberries
 * konians
 * maize
 * brickwheat
 * chicken
 * Alandrian mova products
 * beef

Neovola is a hub for fusion power, with much of southeast Alandria's fusion power coming from Neovola. Most plants were constructed by wealthy oil drill operators when it became economically advantageous. Some wealthy fusion lords also took to neborium mining, taking advantage of the high neborium deposits in the north of the country and high foreign demand for the material.

The Beaufort Spire is a hub for Neovola's manufacturing sector, making auto parts as well as parts critical to fusion reactors. It's also a hub for neborium processing and warp core manufacture, with many of the world's cores coming from Beaufort. Beaufort itself and Neovola City have been historical centers for technological development. Neovola's most well known technical company is Myzara, a video sharing platform used globally that is based out of Neovola City.