Mataniya

Mataniya, officially the United Republic of Mataniya (Matanese: Ka Lepupalika ʻo Mataniya), is a country encompassing of the entirety of the Matanese archipelago in the Tītaori Ocean. It became independent from Aurland in TBD. Mataniya is volcanically and geologically active. The two main islands of Mataniya are Great Mataniya and Koheamoku, among the largest in Polynesia. The capital city, Kohanaʻiki, and the largest city of Makalapua are situated in Great Mataniya.

Mataniya remains one of the most isolated nations in the world, with maritime boundaries shared only with Ebatica. Mataniya ranks as the 17th largest country in terms of population size in the world. Mataniya is a member of the League of Nations and the Organisation of Polynesian Unity; as well as an observer in the World Trade Organisation.

The United Republic of Mataniya Ka Lepupalika ʻo Mataniya (Matanese)
Motto: "Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono" "The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness"
Area controlled by the United Republic of Mataniya shown in dark green; claimed but uncontrolled regions shown in light green. Area controlled by the United Republic of Mataniya shown in dark green; claimed but uncontrolled regions shown in light green.
Location of Mataniya
Capital		Kohanaʻiki
Largest city		Makalapua
Official languages		English, Matanese
Recognised national languages		Teuilan
Ethnic groups		White, Aboriginal
Demonym		Matanese
Government		Federal Republic
-	President of Mataniya	Dr. Lokani Papamoku
-	Vice President of Mataniya
Legislature		Haleʻaupuni (Houses of Parliament)
-	Upper house	ʻAha Maluna (Upper House)
-	Lower house	ʻAha Lalo (Lower House)
Establishment
-	as Precolonial Mataniya	settled c. 350 CE
-	as the Colony of TBD	TBD
-	as the United Republic of Mataniya	TBD
Area
-	Total	104,000 km2 40,154.6 sq mi
-	Water (%)	4.56%
Currency		(KAL)
Date format		Day-Month-Year
Drives on the		left
Calling code		+119

History

Precolonial Mataniya

Mataniya and the Aurish Conquest (TBD)

In the summer of TBD, adventurers from Aurland had arrived in modern day Kohanaʻiki and sailed on ships upstream the river Kahawaiʻākea. The inhabitants of the city were shocked to see the large Aurish ships and some of the Aboriginals mistook them as "fast moving clouds". It didn't take the adventurers long to realise Kohanaʻiki was an indispensable place, with its miles of coastline which would go on to become valuable portlands, the Aurish knew Kohanaʻiki was an essential entity. One adventurer's account suggests the Aboriginals had no value on gold; "gold is plentiful in this outlandish realm, the primitive auburn aliens that dwell here yet have no intelligence of its worth."

Believing that their forces were inadequate, a small group of adventurers sailed back to Aurland and called upon soldiers to assist them. After several months of waiting for the soldiers to arrive, the remainder of the Aurish adventurers eventually decided to search for the king of the Aboriginals and kill him on their own.

Eventually the adventurers uncovered the Hale aliʻi (royal palace) at the northern banks of the river, up to 250 royal guards protected the palace, but they proved no match to the two dozen or so Aurish due to their primitive weaponry. The Aurish soon seized the palace and the Mōʻī Kapaea Papamoku was overthrown. Only three days later, 2,000 Aurish soldiers aboard large caravels arrived in Kohanaʻiki via the Kahawaiʻākea river.

The Aurish government named the new colony TBD, meaning "clean water," and renamed the the capital of Kohanaʻiki to TBD. The Hale aliʻi, where the Mōʻīs once lived, was made the home of the Governor of TBD, the first being TBD.

In TBD, Aurland came up with a solution after intense pressurisation, he would be responsible for a series of organised plantations that would change the face of Mataniya's culture forever. Colonising the Matanese archipelago with ethnic Aurish settlers was seen as a way to prevent any possible rebellion, as it had been most resistant to Aurish control during the preceding decades. TBD wanted the plantation to be "a civilising enterprise" that would settle TBD throughout Great Mataniya and Koheamoku, as well as smaller offshore isles. He also saw the plantation as a scheme to "westernise" the indigenous peoples there.

While originally unsure of whether to educate the Matanese, beginning in 1523, native children were separated from their families and taken away to educational establishments where they were forced to speak English, adopt Christianity, and act in a manner deemed civilised in Aurish eyes. The Aurish settlers considered Mataniya their home and thought of the Aboriginals as barbarians. In return, the Aboriginals despised the Aurish and often used guerrilla warfare to attack them. The murder of the Mōʻī did little to ease the violence, instead it heightened the tension and caused the Aboriginals to become extremely hostile and angry.

Before the arrival of the Aurish conquerors the population of Mataniya was in or around four million, all of which were undoubtedley Aboriginals. By the turn of the sixteenth century, Mataniya was already heavily populated by the Aurish, the population rose to 6 million, over 2.5 million were White settlers, the native population decreased considerably. The Aboriginal population decreased for numerous reasons; mostly in battle against the rulers, but also because Aurish settlers spread diseases to the Aboriginals such as typhus, cholera, measles, mumps, and smallpox. There was also a significant population of mixed Matanese-Aurish people which many Matanese people can trace their ancestry to today.

The Matanese War of Independence (TBD - TBD)

The Aboriginal peoples who lived in Great Mataniya and Koheamoku were forcibly removed from their tribal lands during the early years of colonisation. Many tribes were wiped out, but those who survived fled to eastern Mataniya never to return to their ancestral homelands. This sorrowful journey, both on foot and by boat, became known as the Trek of exile. Many Aboriginal people are still very bitter to this day towards the Aurish government for this forced displacement. The Aurish established fine, well-planned townships on these lands. Many minor native rebellions took place in Mataniya as a result, but they were not very well organised and few rebellions made a lasting effect on the lives of the Aurish people.

But in TBD, after Aurland refused to allow the Colony of TBD Home Rule, the White Matanese descended from Aurish settlers joined forces with several native Matanese groups and struck the Aurish where it hurt. War broke out across the world with Aurish involvement, giving the Aboriginals a perfect opportunity to stir up a rebellion, whilst the Aurish people were distracted with the Great War.

This war was a guerrilla one fought by the Matanese Partisans, the army of the United Republic of Mataniya, against the Aurish government and its forces based in the former colony of TBD. The government of Ebatica donated generously to the Matanese cause, providing them with hundreds of tonnes of weaponry and ammunition. It began with the Puʻu pele ambush on the 17th of April TBD, when two members of the armed police force, the TBD Policing, were attacked and killed in Fort Virtue. The United Republic of Mataniya had issued a Declaration of Independence in Makalapua two days earlier. The Partisans targeted the TBD Policing and Aurish Army barracks and ambushed their patrols, capturing arms and forcing the closure of barracks in remote areas. The TBD government bolstered the TBD Policing with recruits from Aurland — the TBDS — who became notorious for ill-discipline and reprisal attacks on civilians. The war as a result is often referred to by the Matanese as "the War Against the Innocent". While around 450 people had been killed in the conflict up to late TBD, there was a major escalation of violence in October that year.

On the 29th of October, the TBD Policing opened fire on a crowd at a civilian market in downtown Kohanaʻiki, killing 54 and wounding 127. A couple of days later, 23 TBDS were murdered by the Partisans in an ambush at Mount Kapakai on the Keleawe Coast. The Aurish government expressed condemnation and declared martial law on all of Great Mataniya and Koheamoku as a result and most metropolitan areas were put under a strict curfew. The city centre of Makalapua was burnt out by TBD forces on new years day in 1894. Violence continued to escalate over the next twelve months, when 4,000 people were killed and 8,500 Partisans interned.

The fighting was heavily concentrated in the state of Hepburn (particularly Makalapua), Kohanaʻiki and Elliottstown. These three locations saw over 75% of the conflict's fatalities. The war raged on for the next three years with no clear side having the upper hand, but that was to change with the Battle of Puʻu Mea pōʻino which would carve the fate of Mataniya forever, Aurland was to be defeated. The rebels were led by military general TBD who was previously employed by the TBD's Royal Army, Aurland would go on to become the first ruler of an independent Mataniya. Well over 35,000 well-equipped and organised rebel forces were present at the battle, with approximately 14,500 in the opposition.

Due to the fact Aurland was already obstacling the Great War back home, very few reinforcements arrived to Mataniya and it was thus the decision of the Aurish Governor of TBD TBD to end the war and ultimately end TBD rule over the archipelago after four and a half centuries. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire on the 11th of February TBD. After the truce was declared, within a decade the population of Matanese-Aurish people in the islands decreased by more than 50%, most of whom returned to the war-torn Aurland.

In 1901, the White Matanese signed a controversial peace treaty with their Aboriginal allies known as the Malu Pact. In this treaty included the agreement that Aboriginals would be granted lands of their own where they could govern themselves but remain within the United Republic. These reservation lands were situated in central and north-eastern Great Mataniya, commonly referred to as Aboriginal Country. Much of Lesser Mataniya also remained under Aboriginal control. Despite the agreement all those years ago, ethno-sectarian feeling among the Aboriginal community towards the White Matanese is still prevalent to this day. One hundred years after the United Republic gained independence in TBD, a national holiday was declared and a commemoration ceremony in remembrance for all those who sacrificed their lives in the War for Independence took place in Kohanaʻiki.