Vanuku

Vanuku, officially known as the Federation of Banded States (Vanukeaans: Federatie van Verbonden Staten) is a nation in the central part of Majatra. It is bordered to the north by the Feline Empire of Barmenia, to the south-east by the United States of Jelbania and to the south-west by Federation of Zardugal. It is the eighteenth most populous nation on Terra with a population of 99,699,659, and an area of 639,600 km², resulting in a population density of 155.88 people / km.

History of Vanuku
The nation of Vanuku has a long history. The first organized tribes in Vanuku sprung up around the early 300's, the very first known tribe where the Kerline, a desert tribe. The people in the harsh deserts of Vanuku had to become organized to survive, forcing the creation of the nomadic Kerline tribe. The desert tribes where best known for their excellent trading skills, bringing goods through the deserts to other tribes. The dominant tribe in the north was the Banster tribe, known for their fierce warriors and skilled craftsmen. In the east the Tratser tribe became the most influential tribe. Smaller tribes where destroyed or annexed by the three big ones. These three tribes lived peacefully next to each other for a long time until the rise of Merulf the Conqueror a brilliant Banster war lord who took both land from the Kerline and Tratser tribes. After the death of Merulf the tribal lifestyle started to disappear and the nobility was born. Many noble houses find their origin in influential figures from the tribal history. Vanuku has also been known for it's wars, the most notable war from the early history is the War of Lords, a bloody conflict between noble lords. In the 18th and early 19th century Vanuku knew it's only monarchy from the history, the electoral federation named the Imperial Confederacy. Roughly half a century after the fall of the confederation the conflicts sparked once again in Vanuku, which led to the most bloodiest war in the history of Vanuku. The Great War of Vanuku, which plunged Vanuku into an era of darkness. This was followed up by a final war, the War of Unification which unified Vanuku in the state that it is today.
 * Main Article: History of Vanuku

Government and Politics
Vanuku is a federal democracy which means the nation is divided into five independent states who answer to the Emperor, his chancellor and his cabinet. The legislative branch is known as the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber is a 225 seat unicameral national assembly, each federal state has 45 representatives in the Chamber. The Emperor is only a constitutional monarch, his powers do not reach beyond ceremonial duties and advising the cabinet except when Vanuku is at war, then the Emperor is the supreme commander together with the Federal Chancellor. The cabinet is headed by the Federal Chancellor who is appointed by the members of the Chamber of Deputies.
 * Main Article: Government of Vanuku

Political Parties of Vanuku
Vanuku is known as a turbulent nation when it comes to politics and the history of Vanuku surely shows that. In a time of 1,000 years Vanuku has known 10 different kind of names and rulership, from a free republic to an occupied nation. Vanuku has been it all. The last 200 years however have been stable, democratic republics existed freely until the large crisis of 3200 which caused the creation of the Vanukuian Reich, a fascist republic with highly repressive laws. Nowadays however, politics are free and all parties are free to sign up and campaign around Vanuku. The current political parties of Vanuku are listed below.
 * Federal Union

Administrative Divisions
Vanuku is a federal republic. This means that the nation is divided in five states that answer to a central government. The five administrative divisions of Vanuku are called Federal States (Vanukeaans: Federale Staten) and have a certain independence within the federation. The majority of the legislative matters are left to be determined by the local governments by means of holding a referendum for the local population. All federal states however have to answer to the national government. Federal States are led by State Ministers. These are appointed every national election, whichever party received the majority of the votes in a federal state will put forward a governor. The states itself are divided in provinces (Vanukeaans: provincies) who are led by Commissioners. The Commissioners are appointed in a local election. Last but not least there's the Mayors of the cities who are, every 8 years, elected in local elections.
 * Main Article: Administrative Divisions of Vanuku

Foreign relations, Military and Justice
In the history of Vanuku the nation has shown itself to lean towards isolationism. It did not happen often that the government of Vanuku would interfere with situations in foreign countries. The governments did however always keep strong ties with other nations. In modern times Vanuku has shown itself to be more internationalist leaning by actively voicing it's opinions about international matters as well as seeking closer contacts with it's cultural partners like Dorvik, Hulstria, Dundorf and Saridan. Vanuku always prefers a careful approach and thus the nation has not been in many international wars.
 * Main Article: Armed Forces of Vanuku

The Armed Forces of Vanuku (Vanukeaans: Krijgsmacht van Vanuku) is the unified branch of all armed forces of Vanuku. The Vanukuian forces are a very effective fighting force on the continent of Majatra, mostly focusing in naval and infantry superiority to best enemy forces. The air force and armoured divisions are the weaker links in the armed forces of Vanuku. Also encompassed under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces are the Federal Police and the Federal Guard. The Federal Police is the law enforcement organization, the Federal Guard are a national militia unit tasked with keeping the peace in Vanuku as well as guarding the coasts and borders of the nation.

Culture
The principal ethnic group in Vanuku are the Vanukuians, they are the natives that have lived in Vanuku since the first sings of civilization sprouted on the rich coastline of Vanuku. The Vanukuian ethnicity differ greatly from the other Majatran cultures, which can mostly be blamed on the long isolation of Vanuku. Vanuku is either filled with thick jungles or deadly deserts which made it hard for other Majatran cultures to enter Vanuku. The coastline however was always rather open. The warm summers and soft winters, the fresh yet enjoyable breeze from the Majatran ocean and the rich ocean made this the ideal place for the Vanukuians. And it still is, roughly 70% of the Vanukuians live on or near the coastline.

This cultural isolations led to an unique and intriguing culture with it's own language and history. The main spoken language in Vanuku is Vanukeaans. One can find many influences from Lorman language in the Vanukuian native language, which is due to the Northern-Artanian settlers that arrived in the 17th and 18th centuries. These settlers are also the reason for the many things it has in common with the Northern-Artanian nations.

Vanuku has only a hand full of national holidays, though in the recent years more have been added to the official list of the government.


 * Day of the Federation (January 20th) to celebrate the birth of the Federation.
 * Armed Forces Day (November 11) to celebrate the establishment of the armed forces.
 * Lion's Day (August 5) to celebrate Vanukuian unity.
 * Conqueror's Day (March 20) to celebrate the birthday of Merulf the Conqueror.
 * Remembrance Day (September 9) to remember all the victims from the many wars Vanuku has seen.
 * New Year's Eve (December 31) to celebrate the ending of a year.
 * New Year's Day (January 1) to celebrate the beginning of a new year.

Economy
The economy of Vanuku is based on several important factors. The main factor is the industry, especially the defence industry. There are two very successful companies that produce military material. There's the Defence Factory Nachten, one of the most skilled producers of small arms and there's the Shipyard Havendam, a small but innovative shipbuilding company that designs and builds naval vessels for several nations across Terra. Vanuku also has it's share of rare resources, like oil, coal and gems even though the amount of all this is not that large and most oil remains inside Vanuku for use by the nation itself. Vanuku is a minor but modestly strong player in international trade, Vanukuian traders and companies can be found all over Terra trying to make a profit. And last but certainly not least is the tourist sector, the coasts of Vanuku are known for their warm summers and mild winters and together with the beautiful landscape it is a favourite among tourists. Vanuku knows a semi-free market whereas companies are free to do whatever they want but they are faced with certain limits imposed by the government to assure they do not harm the economy. The national currency of Vanuku is the Vanuku Mark, a weak but stable currency.

Sports
The national sport of Vanuku is football. Together with handball this is the most practiced sport in the nation. The Vanukuian Football Association organizes a football tournament every year called the Eredivisie van het Rijk. Every year ten teams are allowed to participate to fight for the title of Rijkskampioen. From it's inception in 3046 the Eredivisie van het Rijk quickly grew in popularity. Of all teams the biggest winner is Groenslib UFC, which currently has won 13 titles. Groenslib UFC is also noted for being the first team to win both the Eredivisie and the Rijksbeker, beating VV Nachten in the final in 3053. However in recent years the former glory of Groenslib UFC has faded. The past two Eredivisie's have been won by Verenigd Tratsburg.

Demographics
The demographical statistics in Vanuku tell the story of a nation that has been pretty isolated from the other nations on the continent but welcomed a very large amount of Artanian settlers. 80% of the people living in Vanuku are native Vanukuians, 17% are descendants from the Artanian settlers but only a very small minority still identify themselves as Artanian. The remaining 3% are a mixture of immigrants of which the majority are from neighbouring nations. The most spoken language in Vanuku is Vanukeaans. Although a small percentage of descendants of Artanian settlers still speak Lorman or Dundorfian in their own homes. Other commonly spoken languages are English and Arabic due to the neighbouring nations.

Cultural Demographic List
Below there is a more detailed list of the different cultures that call Vanuku their home.
 * 79% Vanukuians (Vanukeaans: Vanukeanen)
 * 41% Bansters (Coastal Tribe) (Vanukeaans: Bansters)
 * 34% Tratsers (Coastal Tribe) (Vanukeaans: Tratseranen)
 * 24% Kerliners (Desert Tribe) (Vanukeaans: Kerliniërs)
 * 11% Artanians (Vanukeaans: Artaniërs)
 * 9% Majatran (Vanukeaans: Majatranen)
 * 1% Other

Geography
The nation of Vanuku is known for it's interesting geography, the nation has hills, mountains, plains and deep jungles making the nature of Vanuku extremely diverse. In general Vanuku is divided in three zones; the mild north, the hot south and the warm east. The north is mostly noted for it's both temparate and subtropical climate, this is one of the few areas where Vanukuians live inland and not on the coastline. The hot south is noted for having three out of five of the mountain ridges that Vanuku has. And as the name already says, the south is very hot. The largest desert of Vanuku, the Woestenij, is located in the hot south. This area is also noted for it's natural resources, deep down in the desert there is oil and other rare resources, this provides for a share fair of the Vanukuian national income. The warm east is arguably the most diverse area of Vanuku, it has the twin mountains and the small but deadly desert called the Zandheuvels. However, by far the most interesting object on the map of Vanuku is the Grand Canal, the canal is located in the state of Schoorvesten and the 130 kilometres long strip is a huge shortcut for shipping companies coming from the western seas. The canal was first constructed in the year 3100 under the administration of minister Wilhelmina Maarten. It was expanded in the year 3212 by the fascist regime of Cornelis van Zanten.

The native coastal Vanukuians mostly live on the coast, in total 70% of the population lives on the coast, but there's also the inland natives. The coastal Vanukuians are mostly considered a hardy people but the inland natives are even more hardy, they are the relatives of the nomadic tribes that lived of the desert thousands of years ago. The current cities of Kerlin and Takenaken are former desert tribe settlements, both being located inside the Woestenij. One interesting area is the City Coast. Along the north-eastern coastline there are, all close to eachother, the capital Wiel, the metropole Prinsenaard, the cities of Noorddam and Havendam and the former capital Bartletstad. The City Coast is the most highly populated area in all of Vanuku, being the center of the nation's culture and technology since the late 20th century.