Great Xio Map Request (to myself?)

[Xio]

A bit weird to be doing this, as I'm making a request to myself, but hey I gotta follow my own guidelines as well lol.

I'm adding 6 new cities to Xio:
- Kororama (capital of Leho)
- Makapho (capital of Dhiikala)
- Meiwanjing (capital of Nanhong)
- Qobhais (capital of Hoqnuka)
- Gijinigalo (capital of Khao)
- Davyrec (ex-Garindina colonial city)



Also removing Xiseka because canonically its a pile of ash in the present day . A new Xiseka to come in the future.

[Xio]

The Bushland Republic
(NPC Request)

“Under liberty, equality, and unity, all things are possible.”
— Mark Coltington to Edward Bailey during the signing of the Articles of Liberation, 1802

Overview
The Bushland Republic (yes, the definite article is included in the full name), also known as Bushland, is a federal republic located on the coast of the Western Wastes desert in Aurelia. The country is split between the Syrbotae (50% Xioan and 50% indigenous tribes) and Anglian settlers (Bushlanders). The Bushlanders outnumber the Syrbotae by approximately 2:1. The country has a strict separation between religion and state, with 70% of the country not adhering to any religion and the remaining 30% split equally between Orthodox Christians and followers of the Syrbotic Faith. Almost half of Bushland's atheists are Field Decadentists as part of the Decadentian Society.

The 3 stars on the flag stand for liberty, equality, and unity, as well as the 3 provinces of Bushland – 'Amadasia', 'Bushland' (also known as 'Provincial Bushland' or 'Probush'), and 'Sepoda'.

The Bushland Republic is sometimes called “Our Little Brother Republic” in reference to the United Republic of Aurelia, Heartfilia, and Advocatius, as the smallest of the four ex-Anglian settler colonies on the continent of Aurelia. It's also the least democratic of the ex-Anglian settler colonies, as the president alongside the judiciary branch holds supreme power over the federal government, with delegates to the three provinces acting as top-down representative for the federal government in the provincial governments. The provinces still elect their other representatives however voting is restricted to those with ID cards – which are notoriously difficult to claim – and voting booths are carefully positioned to ensure the Federalist-Conservative Party remains in power, along with good ol' fashion political espionage and assassinations. This has been the current political situation in the country for the past 32 years, with James Hardly (son of the last president) as having been president for the last 3 years. However, with many of the judges of the Federal Supreme Court nearing their deathbed and the 2025 election around the corner, there is a possibility for genuine change if James Hardly doesn't secure the approval of the military and police.

Stats
Population – 21,582,930 (1 point)
Economy – A$12,591 (2 points)
Land Area – 241,124 km^2 (1 point)

History
The Anglians arrived in modern day Bushland in 1692, using the colony of New Edenia in Heartland as a jumping off point. Even since its founding the Bushlands Colony has always been on the fringes of Anglian colonialism, reliant on Heartfilia and the other scattered colonies Anglia held onto in Aurelia.

When Heartfilia and the United Republic of Aurelia broke away from Anglian rule in 1776/1777, the Bushlands Colony was stranded and left to govern itself. With Bushland cut off from the export/import imperial market, the quality of life collapsed and tens of thousands of settlers fled the country back to Anglia or to the URA and Heartfilia. There were attempts to keep the colony profitable by the Anglians, importing cheap labour in the form of Xioans, but the colony continued to decline into the 80s and 90s. By 1800 the colony went from overwhelmingly Anglian, to a colony that was almost 50/50 Anglian-Syrbotae. In 1802 the Anglian government passed the Imperial Economy Protections Act, which ensured that tariffs remained on goods from outside the empire. With seemingly no hope for further aid from Anglia, the merchants that lived and worked in the colony revolted. Many colonial officers, sick of Anglia's incompetence and inspired by Heartfilia and Aurelia's own liberations, armed the merchants alongside colonists sympathetic to independence. The colony was quickly couped by the merchants and sympathetic colonial officers, and by mid-1803 The Bushland Republic was declared. In 1805 Anglian representatives and Bushlanders signed the Articles of Liberation as part of the Treaty of Trinity (Trinity being the old name for Coltington) with the provincial officer Mark Coltington elected by the signatories as the first president of Bushland.

In 1835, with the fracturing of the Kolhari Empire due to the 1st Aurelian War, Bushland saw itself become a regional power almost by accident. It alongside Great Xio – who had recently annexed Leho – became the peacemakers of ex-Kolhari colonies. With trade from Heartfilia and the URA, and favourable treaties with the ex-colonies, Bushland became a wealthy mercantile state that enjoyed the luxury of desert on all its borders.

In the early 1900 Bushland gave men with land the ability to vote, then all men in 1920, then everyone above the age of 22 after the 2nd Aurelian War. In 1987 both mainstream parties – the Federalist Party and Conservative Party – were deeply unpopular as the rise of progressivism left the two parties competing over conservative and reactionary demographies with most of the country unrepresented. To avoid the New Progressives and Greens from taking power, the Federalists (the party in power at the time) stacked the Federal Supreme Court with favourable judges. In the 1990 election the Federalists and Conservatives formed a coalition, and with some last minute gerrymandering of districts, were able to eke out a majority. Wielding the FSC like a club, the two parties demolished the democratic institutions under President Anthony Hardly. In 1993 the two parties merged into the Federalist-Conservative party.

Plans
Currently working on a (non-expansion) long form story that explores the underbelly of Bushland and its widespread organised crime families and cartels. This won't be ready for a while, as I'm still writing the characters (as of writing this application). In the meanwhile I plan to use Bushland as a place to explore the Decadentian Society and to write shorter stories (1-4 posts) in a kind of Los Angeles / New Mexico / Australia Outback setting that wouldn't really fit into Xio.

There's a possibility Bushland may be used for an expansion in the future (past 2025) though if it is, it will likely be due to a civil war between Coltington and the police vs the army and civilians with Xio siding with the latter. The country will either be made a puppet of Xio under a tight economic bloc that integrates both countries together, or annexed outright as 3 new dominions into the Syrbotium Federation. If Bushland is annexed/puppeted then it will represent the northern boundary of Xio's expansion.

Map

[Orioni]

Seeing this request to yourself, I might as well add my two cents to not make this a one-sided conversation.

Adding more cities is certainly approved. There's enough space on your area of the map to add the labels without sacrificing visibility. And, of course, even more detail can be included on a custom-made national map.

The proposed Bushland is an interesting setup. The timeline jumps from Anglian arrival in 1692 to independence in 1776. What happened in-between? Did they massacre or enslave the native population? And if so, why? There's a mention of “importing cheap labour” from @Xio.

[Xio]

1 hour ago, Orioni said:

The proposed Bushland is an interesting setup. The timeline jumps from Anglian arrival in 1692 to independence in 1776. What happened in-between? Did they massacre or enslave the native population? And if so, why? There's a mention of “importing cheap labour” from @Xio.

To be frank, I skipped it because that part of the history just doesn't interest me all that much. It's a generic North America colonial starter history of small coastal settlements and fighting and allying with local tribes before slowly engulfing them and expanding their colonial boundaries. The big difference is that the natives don't suffer a massive blow to their population from disease – but the coast of Bushland already had a low population because it's desert. The city states along Bushland's southern boundary were already pacified by Kolhar and so the Anglians just drove the final nail into the coffin. There were attempts at enslavement, but the colony proved more useful as a middle-man trade centre as part of the spice trade between Xio and Argis nations like Garindina, Baltica, Seylos, and Ateenia up until tariffs and the loss of Heartfilia/URA broke that aspect of the colony's economy. I imagine it also probably would've been used as a penal colony due to its harsh climate and proximity to Heartfilia and the URA.

The import of cheap labour was an attempt by the Anglians to reorganise the economy towards self-sufficiency in agriculture around the rivers, but the types of crops Anglia wanted to grow (such as corn) just didn't take to the environment.