Vanuku

Vanuku, officially known as the Kingdom of Vanuku (Vanukeaans: Koninkrijk Vanuke, Brmék: Wrnukék Knzknstat) is a nation in the central part of Majatra. It is bordered to the north by the Kingdom of Barmenia, to the south-east by the Khanate of Jelbania and to the south-west by the 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. The name Vanuku is a Luthorian and Dorvish adaption of the Jelbék name Wrnuke. The name Wrnuke has been used to refer to the majority of modern day Vanuku since the days of Merlkai Khan.

History of Vanuku
The modern state of Vanuku is one of the younger nations on Terra and the culture that is now dominant in Vanuku is unique on the continent of Majatra. Many cultures lived in what is now Vanuku, beginning with Qedarite tribes, who were only united on the coastline in service of the Qedarite Empire. The Jelbo-Tukaric migrations brought some population to Vanuku. The settled Jelbo-Tukarics divided into three different tribes in Vanuku. The Kerline (Krlmek) on the south-western coast and in the harsh deserts. The Banster (Banmek) in the north and middle and the Tratser (Trmek) in the south-east. The Deltarians briefly settled in south-eastern Vanuku as well, leaving some cultural influence on the Tratsers.
 * Main Article: History of Vanuku

Merulf the Conqueror, known as Merlkai Khan in his day, united the Bansters in the early 800’s CE and pushed the Augustan Empire out of southern Vanuku. Afterwards he converted to Augustan Hosianism, together with his vassal chiefs, which marks the start of feudalism in Vanuku. This also marks the decline of the local pagan religion, Zollism, which remained dominant with the Tratsers until the Ahmadi Caliphate invaded Vanuku. The Tratsers converted to Ahmadism and were appointed to rule over the Bansters and Tratsers, who had chosen to remain Augustan Hosians. After the fall of the Ahmadi Caliphate the Bansters and Tratsers managed to grab big portions of land. Settlers from mostly Dorvik chose to cooperate with the feudal Vanukeans and the Jelbek and Brmek tongue spoken in Vanuku evolved into Vanukeaans, a Southern-Rhaetan language.

After the Imperial Confederacy of 1702 to 1814 the divided Vanukean states erupted into a series of wars, of which the bloodiest was the Great War of Vanuku. The War of Unification brought an end to all the bloodshed and united Vanuku into a modern republic. Modern history contain a series of republics, a fascist state, a short lasted Imperial Confederation and a very long and stable federal republic that has been involved in several wars with Barmenia. All this ultimately resulted in the rise of the modern Principality, as well as the Khaganate. During the restoration of the Augustan monarchs the Prince was given the imperial honour of becoming a King.

Government and Politics
Vanuku is an absolute monarchy, meaning that while the nation is ruled by a King, whom is aided by the Prefect. The head of government is chosen from amongst one of the 225 members of the unicameral national assembly; the Grand Council. The nation is divided into five states that all hold many local responsibilities.
 * Main Article: Government of Vanuku

Political Parties of Vanuku
Over the course of modern Vanukean history the nation has known a lot of different forms, governments and political parties. The fascist based regime of the Federal Party made it difficult for other parties to make it to the national parliament. There are a lot of local parties divided over local and national issues but at this moment the national parties are limited to those listed below.
 * Crown Party

Administrative Divisions
The nation is divided into five states that, in the end, answer to the central government seated in Wiel. Such an administrative division is called a Part State (Vanukeaans: Deelstaat, Brmék: Prtastat). 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. The states of Vanuku are led by governors, these posts are assigned to whichever party holds the majority in that Part State. Those Part States are divided into smaller communities, mostly based on ethnicity.
 * Main Article: Administrative Divisions of Vanuku

Foreign Relations, Military and Justice
Traditionally Vanuku has always been a nation firmly entrenched in isolationism, yet with the rise of the restored federation in 3538 this changed. A few decades before that Barmenia succeeded in invading and annexing Vanuku. The fascist leadership of the Federal Party changed the entire course of the nation, for the first time in centuries Vanuku became an international player. The true breakthrough for Vanuku came with the rise of the Khaganate, which saw Wiel dominate the continent of Majatra. Since the rise of the Principality the nation searches its allies amongst other monarchies, yet Dorvik always remains a strong and reliable ally. In modern times Vanukean companies are all across the globe, and the Grand Canal is always a source of economic income. The state also has military compounds in several other nations across the globe which continue to be a source of international discontent with increasing Vanukean "imperialism".
 * Main Article: Armed Forces of Vanuku

Ever since the unification Vanuku has had an Armed Forces. The Armed Forces of Vanuku are tasked with the protection of Vanukean territory and to uphold the nation’s integrity across the globe. It consists of three departments, the Land Forces, the Air Forces and the Naval Forces. The Land Forces are arguably the biggest force within the Armed Forces. The Naval Forces are a close second, mostly because of the manpower required for the marines. The Naval Forces are also one of the bigger navies in Majatra, which Vanuku sees as a necessity with it’s long stretching coastline.

Law enforcement is handled by the Federal Police, who can call upon the Royal Guard if the situation gets really dire. The Federal Police is a different organization per Federal State and is then even further divided into regional departments. The Federal Police can handle all parts of Vanukean security, from tax to arson to coast guard units. Trials are handled by federal Courts of Justice while appeals and international cases are handled by the High Court in the capital city, Wiel. There are several prisons across Vanuku known for their spartan yet organized and clean interiors. The most notorious of these prisons is the Penal Labour Prison located on the edge of the Woestenij desert. The small facility handles the most extreme cases and is the only prison in Vanuku to give hard labour punishments.

Culture
What is broadly known as the Vanukean people is actually divided between three different tribes. The Banster (Jelbek: Banmek) in the north, the Tratser (Jelbek: Trmék) in the south-east and the Kerline (Jelbek: Krlmék) in the west and the southern deserts. These cultures are almost exclusive to Vanuku and are therefore often called Vanukeans. The main difference between the tribes is that the Banster and Tratser groups speak, unique to Majatra, Vanukeaans. Vanukeaans is a language that came to be after Dorvish settlers merged with Vanukeans during the 16th and 17th centuries. These tribes are also mainly Hosian while the Kerline, a purely Brmek group, are mostly Ahmadist. Further influence on the Tratser are the Deltarian influence during their migration. Vanuku has quite a few national holidays unique to the nation, celebrating the independence and formation of the nation as well as honouring important historical figures like Merulf the Conqueror and Temrkai Khan.
 * Main Article: Vanukean people


 * New Year's Day (January 1) to celebrate the beginning of a new year.
 * Day of the Great Temrkai (January 6th) to celebrate the birth and life of Temrkai Khan.
 * Kings Day (March 27) to celebrate the monarchy.
 * Conqueror's Day (June 20) to celebrate the life of Merulf the Conqueror.
 * Lion's Day (August 5) to celebrate Vanukuian unity.
 * Remembrance Day (September 9) to remember all the victims from the wars Vanuku has been involved in.
 * Armed Forces Day (November 11) to celebrate the Armed Forces with a large military parade.
 * New Year's Eve (December 31) to celebrate the ending of a year.

Economy
The economy of Vanuku is based largely on trade in combination with heavy industry. Several times during its history the Vanukean state has attempted to pursue a course of autarky but all these attempts generally failed. The only successful byproduct of the autarky attempts is the founding of Petrovan, the national oil company of Vanuku. During the last century the trade of the nation has soared, with Vanukean companies operating all across the globe. Large amounts of money are made by importing and exporting goods, and domestic companies make good use of the free transfer through the Grand Canal. The heavy industry finds its basis in the arms industry, with several large companies producing firearms, naval vessels and other military equipment. A minor contribution to the economy is the tourist sector, with many tourists being attracted to the historical coastline of Vanuku that even has mild temperatures during harsh winters. The national currency of Vanuku is the Vanukean Mark, a stable currency backed up by the Vanukean Guilder. The currency is the official currency of the Karav Financial Services, who have their headquarters in Wiel.
 * Main Article: Economy of Vanuku

Demographics
Vanuku is one of four Jelbic nations but is quite different from Barmenia and Jelbania. The demographic situation of Vanuku can be compared to Pontesi, where a large percentage of the population is Selucian or mixed Jelbic and Selucian. But instead of Selucian settlers Vanuku welcomed Dorvish settlers. In the 17th century the Dorvish founded a colony in Vanuku. It was the Dorvish influences and the cultural mixing of the Wrnukek and Dorvish that caused the rise of a new tongue: Vanukeaans, a Southern Rhaetan language. The Trmek and Banmek are mainly Hosian while the Krlmék are predominantly Ahmadist. These cultural differences have caused much strife in the history of Vanuku, yet in modern times the oppression of the Krlmék is a thing from long ago.

Cultural Demographic List
Below there is a more detailed list of the different cultures that call Vanuku their home.
 * 58% Vanukeans (Vanukeaans: Vanukeanen, Wrnukék: Wrnukek)
 * 26% Kerline (Vanukeaans: Kerlanders, Wrnukék: Krlmék) (ethnic Jelbics, heavily influenced by Brmék)
 * 21% Banster (Vanukeaans: Bansters, Wrnukék: Banmek) (ethnic Jelbics, heavily influenced by Dorvisch settlers)
 * 11% Tratser (Vanukeaans: Tratsers, Wrnukék: Trmek) (ethnic Jelbics, heavily influenced by Dorvisch settlers & Deltarians)
 * 9% Brmek
 * 8% Jelbek
 * 6% Augustan
 * 5% Majatran
 * 3% Deltarian
 * 3% Dorvish
 * 3% Pntek
 * 1% Cildanian
 * 1% Selucian
 * 0.5% Kathuran
 * 2.5% Other (Luthorian, Indralan, Canrillaise, Istalian, Dundorfian, etc.)

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.