Eslania

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Eslania, (Eslanian: Fárvatte) officially the Kingdom of Eslania''' is a sovereign nation located around the central Baltic Sea split between three landmasses, The Baltic, Finland and Sweden, which together contains thousands of islands. The country borders 5 nations and possesses two overseas territories (formerly colonies) situated in the Lesser Antilles, which were both conquered during the 1800s. The capital is Tallinn, however in the past it has been both Stockholm and Helsinki The country is split into 21 administrative divisions (Known as: Šadárat Karöutmyönda) which includes 2 overseas territories, the largest being Tartu. Despite this, there are 5 administrative divisions that are quite far away, but are still considered Šadárat Karöutmyönda and not overseas territories. These are "Palanga", "Pionersky", "Bornholm", "The Faroes" and "Shetlands", where some were gained through warfare, whilst some of them through diplomacy.'''

Etymology
Eslania

The first use of the name Eslania was used around the 1500's, referring to people from or around the Baltic Sea. It was spelled "Enklania", however over time it evolved into "Eslania". It is thought that some English explorers stumbled across the group of people and decided to name them partially after England, hence the "En" and "lan" in the name.

Fárvatte

The name for Eslania in the Eslanian Language is "Fárvatte" which is derived from the Swedish word for "waters". This is most likely because the Swedes were the first people to interact with the Eslanians.

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Middle Ages
Independence

For much of the middle ages, Eslania was split between Swedish and Livonian control. However, in 1543 a rebel group known as the "Grótalia" rose up in Stockholm, claiming to be the successor to the "Kazómondoni Empire" which was a fictional nation located in Northern Europe, essentially the Rome of Scandinavia. Of course, this was all just folk lore, but was believed by the population of Stockholm, who agreed to help the Grótalians to gain independence from Sweden. In 1545, the group successfully gained independence in a violent and bloody civil war, known as the "Triumph Wars" by the Eslanian people.

Migration into Finland and the Baltics

Livonia was never invaded by Russia in the late 1500s thus Livonia remained a sovereign nation and during the early 1600s, many Grótalians migrated and developed in present day Finland and Estonia. This lead to a revolution in the Livonian order in 1628 when the Livonian order became part of Grótalia, who quickly renamed to Fárvatte (Eslania) as it fitted much more culturally than Grótalia.

Expansion into the Baltics

In 1643, a large coalition was formed against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as it had been brutally torturing innocent civilians. After the coalition was formed, the PLC did not stop torturing civillians and in an attempt to stop them, an invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth began being planned. in 1645, Thousands of soldiers crossed the PLC's border, coming from Eslania, Sweden, Russia and the Ottomans. Despite the Russians and Ottomans previously being very aggressive to each other, they decided to work together to take down the PLC. After years of fighting, PLC's capital was sieged and Poland-Lithuania was forced to surrender. The treaty stated that the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth will be divided, Russia the Ottomans and Eslania will gain land from Lithuania and Poland will pay war reparations to all of the combatants. This greaty boosted the Eslanian economy, leading to what is known as the "Eslanian Golden Age" lasting from 1649-1684, with 1684 being the beginning of the Eslanian Civil War.

Eslanian Civil War

In 1684, rebels (who where thought to be the descendants of the Grótalians) rose to power in Stockholm, claiming that the true heart of Eslania was not Tallinn, but Stockholm, as the Eslanian people originated from there. Thousands were killed in the bloody battles, fought across Stockholm, Tallinn and occasionally on Gotland. But finally in 1689, all the rebellions were crushed, marking the end of the Eslanian Civil War. Despite the successful result of the civil war, this plunged Eslania into an economic disaster whilst everyone was trying to recover from the war.

Claming Palanga, Pionersky, Faroes and Shetlands

In the late 17th century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth began falling. Eslania took advantage of this and invaded the country with help from the many Holy Roman Empire States. The invasion was successful and in 1683, the PLC surrendered to the overwhelming amount of troops. The treaty of Vilnius stated that Palanga would become a Eslanian city.

Pionersky was bought from Prussia in 1820, as Prussia was trying to build relations with other nations. Sweden owned the Faroe and Shetland islands and in 1858, alongside the Russian Empire, who at the time was a loyal ally, successfully invaded Sweden and managed to take hold of Gotland, the Faroes and Shetlands. Ever since then, the relations have been tense between Eslania and Sweden, however at the start of the 21st century, the relations started to improve as alliances such as NATO and the European Union were being formed and Europe was finally at peace.

Colonial Era
After Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492, everyone in Europe was ready to start colonizing, starting with the Americas. Of course, the people of Eslania saw that Colonialism could make Eslanian a great and powerful nation, so over the course of the 16th century, many explorers and conquistadors set sail to the Americas, eventually colonizing parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, Florida, Baja California and Peru.

In 1547, the first Eslanian explorer, Márdarik Relfsson and his ship, The Grand Látofana, set sail to start a colony somewhere. He and his crew had heard about the distant land in the Americas and desperately wanted to make Eslania a powerful and rich country. With the approval of the Eslanian King, he set sail and in 1548 landed in present day Newfoundland, which was unclaimed at the time. Over the course of the next 300 years, Eslania would interact and conquer more and more lands, eventually having land in each and every continent except for Antarctica.

Despite not being the largest empire, it was an economically stable empire that interacted with the natives in a friendly way. The natives always had very high autonomy and freedom to do what they like and slavery was banned. However, the Eslanian Empire was one of the quickest to be de-colonized after World War I, as the Commonwealth of Nations urged many countries to start decolonizing. Eslania managed to hold onto the Faroes, Shetlands and a few islands in the Caribbean.

World War 1
For the beginning, Eslania remained neutral in World War One, scared that they might loose leading to the people of Eslania being very unhappy and possibly starting rebellions. However, Germany invaded Eslania and Lithuania-Latvia to open up a second front on the Russian Empire.

German Occupation

German occupation was a devastating time for the citizens. Thousands of innocent civilians, including children, were killed by the German and Austro-Hungarian forces as they tore through the country within weeks. Just a month after the initial invasion, Eslania was captured and surrendered to the overwhelming German Forces. This was a success, until the German Surrender in 1918 and Eslania was restored.

World War 2
Much like World War 1, World War 2 was a disastrous time for Eslania. Yet again, they were occupied on the Eastern Front and much like WW1, many people died fighting for Eslanian Freedom from Germany. One of the major reasons that caused Germany to loose the Eastern Front was a General from Eslania, Hádarat Erikson. He commanded the Eslanian Army, which at the time was very weak, into German occupied Lithuania-Latvia and drove out the German Forces, which eventually lead the defeat and surrender of Germany. For being so much of a help in the final moments of the war, Eslania was given Pionersky, a city in Eastern Prussia.

Cold War
During the cold war, many nations surrounding Eslania were Communist/Socialist. Despite this, Eslania remained capitalist and sided with the west in the Cold War, helping the South in the Korean War. There was a communist party set up in the mid 60s to try and make it a communist state, however it never became one. Tensions were high between the Soviet Union and Eslania as there was a few times the two nations came close to warfare.

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Administrative Divisions (Šadárat Karöutmyönda)
Eslania consists of 21 administrative divisions (Šadárat Karöutmyönda) and two overseas territories that make up the Kingdom of Eslania. The majority of the regions have quite high autonomy, except for Bornholm, the Faroes and Shetland who all have superior autonomy. All of which had a referendum for higher autonomy due to their geographical and cultural differences to the rest of Eslania.

 

Geography
The country is split by the Baltic Sea, with 3 main landmasses, the Baltic, Sweden and Finland, with some large islands such as Gotland, Saare and Hiiu, with thousands of islands in the archipelago of  Åland.

Due to the fact that the country has 2 overseas territories in the caribbean, Eslania also has some tropical geography, however this is only in the territories. Snow also falls very often in the Baltics part of the country, particularly in Tartu.

Borders
Eslania borders 4 nations, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania-Latvia and Russia and for the most part has relatively clean borders with them, often following major rivers or roads, but there is a situation in the East of Finland, very similar to Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau in Belgium and the Netherlands respectively which is where the land has many exclaves and enclaves and even a few enclaves inside of the exclaves. Despite the inconvenience of the borders in Kartlá, it is no problems for those travelling between the two countries as Finland and Eslania are both in the European Union Schengen area, meaning people can freely travel through the town, without needing to check for a passport. Despite this, those living on the Finnish side use Finnish law and those on the Eslanian side use Eslanian law.

Politics
The Kingdom of Eslania is a unitary state under a constitutional monarchy, similar to that of the United Kingdom. The current Monarch of Eslania is King Alfred III. The Political situation in Eslania is very stable with the current Prime Minister Oscar Lundin, who has served for 4 years and is the leader of the Great Eslanian Party.

Government
The Government of Eslania is led by the Prime Minister of Eslania, who is elected every four years and can run two terms, similar to the United States. Much like the United Kingdom, the Monarch at the time has to sign the law saying that he/she agrees. However, this is more of a tradition as the Monarch almost always accepts.

Poll stations are open every four years and the voter can vote on any of the parties in Eslania that they wish.

Parties
Eslania has a multi-party system, where there are multiple parties and to be elected, you have to go with a party. There are four main parties in Eslania.

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Foreign Relations
Eslania manages to keep peaceful relations with the majority of the world, being part of many organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union and NATO, however tense relations over the last few years have arisen between Eslania and Russia as Russia sees NATO as a Coalition against Russia. They currently are building more relations with the west, leaders of countries such as Germany, France, United Kingdom and The United States have all visited Eslania to talk about trade deals and other political situations.

Nation Relations
== Economy == Eslania is an Eastern European economic powerhouse, having one of the biggest economies in Eastern Europe, behind Russia and Poland. Being a member of the EU and apart of the eurozone, Eslania's currency is the Euro. Eslania is considered a high income country (HIC) by the World Bank. It has the 34th largest economy in the world, falling just behind Venezuela and in front of Hong Kong. The GDP per capita is 36,421 PPP dollars as of 2013. The country is ranked as the 2nd most free economy in Europe and the 5th in the world. It has been using the Euro since 5th of August 2010 and since then, it's economy has been growing.

Skype, one of the biggest video chat services, was invented in Eslania, specifically Tallinn, in 2003. The video game Minecraft was also invented in the largest Eslanian city, Stockholm. It was invented by Markus "Notch" Persson, and his game Minecraft has won 5 different awards, including winning "Game of the Year" 2012. There are currently over 23,000,000 users registered on the sandbox game. Eslania has the most startups per person in the world, leading it to be the "Tech capital of the world" and the country amassed many different gaming and tech-related awards.

Demographics


Most residents of Eslania are ethnic Eslanians, followed by Swedes, Finns and Russians, respectively. However, before 1914, there was a lot less of a Russian population in Eslania but many migrated due to war and the fact Eslania was safer than Russia at the time. Due to Eslania's growing population, by 2025, the Eslanian ethnic group will make up roughly 75% of Eslania's population.

Crime
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Culture
The culture of Eslania is an interesting mix of Slavic, Nordic and more recently, western culture, influenced mainly by the United States of America, their biggest trading partner. Other cultures include Finnic, Germanic and Baltic. Because of this, Eslania is a very diverse country with a variety of different cultures.



Music
Music has always been a large part of Eslanian culture, as it is often used to cheer people up in dark times, such as wars. During the Revolution which eventually brought them independence, it was recorded that the Grótalians were singing and dancing after their independence. During the World Wars, the Eslanians tried to remain happy and resorted to singing a modern version of the songs used in the revolution to think of the "good times".

Not only are Eslanians known for their singing, they are known for their love of musical instruments, especially flutes and other woodwind instruments. Some of the most famous pieces of classical music in Europe come from Eslania, including Lädatra Musíkali, Môladorá Frémarida , Dú Jaha Kakálama and Musíkali ge Nómante. Many of them were written during times of war.

Literature & Language
Eslanians are very keen writers and they are known for the amount of fictional books. Conveniently, Eslania has a very complex language, which allows for a lot of detail to be used in fictional and non-fictional novels. The language is very similar to languages like German, Finnish and Swedish and the language is a Germanic language, however, in recent years many English speakers have started living and working in Eslania, slowing turning it into an Anglo nation. 57% of the speaking population can speak English and it is currently in an upwards trend.

Architecture
Eslanians prefer a more traditional architectural style, similar to that of Moscow, Russia. Currently however, Stockholm and Helsinki are "modernizing" but cities like Tallinn are staying to their historical roots. Tallinn is called the "Architectural capital of Eastern Europe" as it has beautifully made buildings dating back from the early 1400s. The city of Tallinn is known for its very tall structures, primarily churches and the overall wooden feel of the city. People often refer to it as being a "cozy little village".

Holidays
There are 2 main annual holidays in Eslania, one of them being their Independence day and the other being their liberation from German occupation during World War II. During a holiday, the majority of the population can choose to not work and just relax at home and remember the event that they are celebrating. The Independence Day Holiday is the biggest of the national holidays in Eslania.

Independence Day Celebration

Independence in Eslania is celebrated on March 14th, as the Grótalians (later Eslanians) gained independence some time in March 1545. However, it is debated whether the actual independence treaty was signed on the 14th, or 17th. Despite this, the majority of the sources the Eslanian government have found suggest that it was on the 14th and thus it is celebrated on this day. Eslanians usually take to the streets and parade throughout the day, wearing traditional clothing from the 16th century and singing old hymns sung by the very people who sought and gained independence for Eslania. The children are encouraged to participate in this as the organizers want the current generation to realize that the Eslanian fought very hard for their independence from Sweden and that without those men, they would not be under the great rule of Eslania. Thousands of people gather at night to watch the spectacular bonfire shows which are present in the majority of cities and towns in Eslania.

Liberation Day Celebration

Liberation Day is the celebration of Eslania being liberated from German Forces during the Second World War. This is not as happy and cheerful as the first national holiday, but it is still meant to be a positive time for the Eslanians. Towns often gather their population in one area and one of the representatives from Tallinn or Stockholm make a speech about how triumphant Eslania was and still is. As it is a national holiday, nobody goes to work or has any formal education.

Cuisine
The Cuisine Culture of Eslania is very influenced by its neighbours, particularly Finland, Russia and Lithuania-Latvia. The typical foods found in Eslania are potatoes, wheat and pork. Food in Eslania is very traditional and is usually agricultural or farm-related.

During the winter, it is a tradition for the Eslanian people to go out and pick wild cherries, mushrooms and apples and store them in a basket to be eaten throughout the winter months. However, the current generation are neglecting this tradition and are resorting to supermarket foods.

Sports
Sports is a very big part of Eslanian culture, primarily Football and athletic sports such as Long Jump and Running. Eslanians are some of the fittest people in Europe according to a recent study in Tallinn, with almost 80% of the population taking some sort of Sport. In the Olympics, Eslania has collected 342 gold medals.

Eslania first participated in the Summer Olympics in the 1948 London Olympics, winning 2 gold medals and then four years later, hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.

International Rankings
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Eslanian Language
Eslania has a very diverse language, originating from a Germanic background, it has a lot of Russian and Slavic influences as well as a lot of English and Latin influence.