Cygnia (Joan of What?)

Cygnia, officially the Empire of the United Cygnian States, is a country comprising the two western thirds of the, Samudra, and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's seventh-largest country by total area. Cygnia shares its only land border with Australie; Garuda also lies to the north. Cygnia's capital and largest city is Swanstone. Other metropolitan areas include Theodora, Alexandria, Carnarvon, Broome, Augusta, Darwin and Port Adelaide.

For about 50,000 years before the first European settlement in the early 17th century, Australasia was inhabited by indigenous Australasians, who spoke languages grouped into roughly 250 language groups. After the European discovery of the continent by Dutch explorers in 1606, the colony of New Holland, encompassing much of what is today southwestern Cygnia, was claimed by the Dutch Republic in 1614. In 1650, the United Kingdom also began to colonise western Australasia, creating the colonies of Christstone and Carnarvon in 1650 and 1662. Britain in 1670 also gained possession of New Holland after their victory in the Anglo-Dutch War, and the territory's capital of New Rotterdam, now Swanstone, became the most-populated city in the British colonies in Australasia. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional four self-governing crown colonies were established. In 1789, the British government was overthrown by French revolutionaries; King Alexander I fled to the loyal Cygnian colonies, federating the six colonies and establishing a government-in-exile based from Swanstone. In 1791, Alexander I declared Cygnia's independence and formed the Empire of Cygnia.

Since federation and independence, Cygnia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal constitutional monarchy today comprising 18 states and several territories. The population of 42 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the coast.

Cygnia is a developed country and one of the wealthiest in the world, with the world's 9th-largest economy. In 2014 Cygnia had the world's fourth-highest per capita income. Cygnia's military expenditure is the world's 10th-largest. With the second-highest human development index globally, Cygnia ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political rights. Cygnia is a founding member of the United Nations, and also holds membership in the G20, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Trade Organisation, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Pacific Islands Forum.

Name
The name Cygnia is derived from the Latin Cygnis ("swan"); the name was devised and chosen in 1789 when the colonies federated. It was created in homage to the unique native to Cygnia. Previous to Federation, the colonies were referred to collectively as the Australasias.

Prehistory
Human habitation of the Australasian continent is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago, possibly with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea-crossings from what is now Southeast Asia. These first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australasians. At the time of European settlement in the late 18th century, most Indigenous Australasians were hunter-gatherers, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreaming. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists and hunter-gatherers. The northern coasts and waters of Australasia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia.

European arrival
The first recorded European sighting of the Australasian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australasian continent, are attributed to the Dutch navigator. He sighted the southwest of what is today Cygnia is early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February at the Swan River. The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent "New Holland" during the 17th century. In 1614, the Dutch Republic officially laid claim on the continent when Janszoon was sent with a colonial fleet; the colony of New Rotterdam was claimed on the Swan River. A camp was set up and the flag raised on 4 July 1614. Expansion south began, which resulted in the establishment of the colonies of Willemania and Janszoonsburg, both of which no longer exist.

A British settlement was established in Christstone, now known as Theodora, in 1650. The United Kingdom established Carnarvon several hundred kilometres south twelve years later. Britain lay a conflicting claim to the entire continent in 1663, beginning attempts to establish other colonies. This dispute resulted in the Anglo-Dutch War, which broke out in 1664.

During the war, the British occupied the New Holland colonies, gradually overwhelming defending Dutch forces. The oldest and largest of these colonies, New Rotterdam, was renamed Swanstone and proclaimed a British colony; Willemania and Janszoonsburg were both destroyed by the British. After six years of war, the Anglo-Dutch War was ended in 1670 with the signing of the Treaty of Westminster, formally ceding New Holland to Britain. The surviving residents of the Dutch colonies were relocated to Van Diemen's Land as part of the Treaty.

After the United Kingdom secured dominance in Australasia, more colonies were carved out of the western two thirds of the continent. The colony of Augusta was founded in 1675 on the ruins of Willemania; Alexandria in 1680 on those of Janszoonsburg; Kimberley in 1692; and Campbell in 1700.

The indigenous population, estimated to have been between 750,000 and 1,000,000 in 1606, declined for 150 years following settlement, mainly due to infectious disease. Thousands more died as a result of frontier conflict with settlers. A government policy of "assimilation" beginning with the Aboriginal Protection Act 1740 resulted in the removal of many Aboriginal children from their families and communities — often referred to as the Stolen Generations — a practice which may also have contributed to the decline in the indigenous population. This was stopped under the Chancellorship of Harrison Redford, who made the popular move to sign a treaty which began a long process of reconciliation and granted the Imperial government the power to legislate for Aboriginal Cygnians. Traditional ownership of land was also recognised in the treaty.

Colonial expansion
Between 1765 and 1780, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire. The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence, and international shipping.

More to come...

Administrative divisions
Cygnia is divided into 18 states and 6 territories. Each has a state/territorial capital.


 * States
 * Augusta (AG) — Augusta City
 * Auralia (AR) — Esperance
 * Campbell (CA) — Port Adelaide
 * North Gascoyne (NG) — Carnarvon
 * South Gascoyne (SG)
 * East Java (EJ)
 * South Java (SJ)
 * West Java (WJ)
 * Jayakarta (JA)
 * Kaleep (KA) — Darwin
 * Kimberley (KI) — Broome
 * West Kimberley (WK)
 * Inner Pilbara (IP)
 * Outer Pilbara (OP) — Theodora
 * Samudra (SA)
 * Solonia (SO)
 * Swanstone (SW) — Swanstone City
 * Yogyakarta (YO)
 * Territories
 * Empress Alexis Land (EAL) — Cygnia's Antarctic Territory, approximately spanning the western half of the OTL Australian Antarctic Territory
 * Flores (FL)
 * Moluccas (ML)
 * Sumba (SU)
 * Sumbawa (SM)
 * Sunda-Bali (SB)

Empress Alexis Land
Empress Alexis Land (EAL) is Cygnia's Antarctic territory, claimed for the Empire by Sir Harold Hawkins, named after Empress Alexis of Cygnia, the Empress consort of Theodore III. The largest settlement in Empress Alexis Land is Hawkins Station, which is manned by at least 4,000 scientists year-round, though this is not considered a permanent population. Other Antarctic research stations in Empress Alexis Land include Fitzgerald, Blighton, Weston, New Creswick and Mineira Stations. Most of Cygnia's Antarctic stations are concentrated around Princess Arielle Bay, named after Princess Arielle, Theodore III's youngest daughter.

Name in other languages
The following are the full name of the Cygnian Empire in major regional languages.
 * Melayu: Kerajaan Serikat Cygnia
 * Javanese: Kerajaan Negara Cygnia
 * French: Empire des l'États-Unis Cygniennes
 * Dutch: ''Keizerrijk van de Verenigde Cygnische Staten
 * German: Kaiserreich der Vereinigten Cygnischen Staaten
 * Garudan: Kyserrych der Ferynigt Signish Stāten
 * Hanyu: 南鵝合眾帝國 (Nán'é hé zhòng dìguó)
 * Japanese: シッグニャ合衆帝国 (Shiggunya Gasshūteikoku)
 * Latin: Imperium Civitatis Foederatae Cygniae