Loaisa Islands (The Kalmar Union)

The Loaisa Islands, (OTL Marshall Islands) are a dependency of France in the central Roasjoinn. The capital is Louisville and the population around 48,000.

History
Long inhabited by Micronesian tribes, the Loaisa islands settled into a peaceful existence, trading with the neighbouring island groups.

Discovered by the Castillian explorer Alonzo de Loaisa in 1654, the islands were claimed for the Castillian crown. The Castillian governors did little to help develop the islands, merely using them as a staging post for trade between Western Leifia. During the Iberian Revolution the islands were claimed by Castille and its successor state Hispania but they were occupied by Japan who had long had a trade dispute with Castille. A naval battle between Kalmar and Hispanic fleets occurred off the island of Bikini in and led to the withdrawal of all Hispanic vessels from the Roasjoinn.

After the war the islands were granted to France in recognition of France's efforts during the war. At first, Japan, unrepresented at the Peace of Milan, acquiesced to the change and withdrew. However on 12th December 1850 it sent a fleet and several hundred soldiers to reclaim the islands. This began the French-Japanese War. The first French fleet to arrive in response was attacked and driven against reefs by the Japanese who had carefully mapped out the region's waters in preparation. Reeling from the shock of being beaten, the second fleet was more carefully prepared. A full division of French troops were moved to friendly trading ports in the Sultanate of Brunei and a convoy squadron hired from Luxembourg. The Japanese fleet was enticed towards runei and then set upon and destroyed by the superior French fleet. Meanwhile a force was travelling north under Luxembourg protection which would eventually successfully capture Okinawa. On hearing of this the Japanese sued for peace releasing the Loaisa Islands again. Okinawa was run as a distant adjunct of the Loasia Islands for 5 years before being handed back to the Japanese.

Their defeat in the war essentially barred Japan from expanding in the central and southern Roasjoinn. It also sought to develop a much more European army and navy so it could compete effectively. When they next sought to expand they began to look northwards, to the underdeveloped Siberian and North Leifian coastlines.

The war also had an effect at home; the previously disparate regions of France cobbled together after the Iberian war, became much more coherent as patriotism for the war boosted popularity of the Paris run government and the royal dynasty.

Government
Each island has its own small governing council, filled with a mix of elected, inherited and appointed members. However the French governor has final say and can veto laws if they feel they are not in the interests of France.