Caalusa (The Kalmar Union)

The Kingdom of Caalusa, Caalusa, is a small autocratic monarchy situated in the south east of Leifia on the Myrland peninsula. It is bordered to the north by the Utinan Confederation and to the east by Aismark. The capital is Stapaba and the population is around 3.9 million.

The official language is Caalus.

The Head of State is King Timucua.

The currency is the Caalus Toco (CLT).

History
Resident in the Myrland peninsula from at least 500 AD the Caalus people built a remarkably advanced and populous society along the Gulf coast, largely protected from outside interference by the extensive wetlands. Appearing to be resistant to the new farming techniques filtering down from North-East Leifia the Caalus remained wedded to the sea until at least the 1300s though they grew fruits and squash. The dense population was stricken by repeated outbreaks of the Black Death after 1350 and this forced a change in the tribal structures. Unification of the various tribes into a single nation went hand-in-hand with adoption of a more agrarian culture and the already rigidly stratified society took to feudal habits with ease.

Growing militarisation brought them into conflict with their neighbours; the easterly Ais and the northerly Utina, and the wars would rage off and on for the next four hundred years. By the early 1700s Caalusa was dominant on the peninsula, effectively confining the Ais to a thin strip on the East coast often directly ruled by the Caalus and pushing the Utina out of the peninsula altogether.

This dominance of the peninsula continued until the Second Mexic-Leifian War when a Vinlandic/Abernaki force captured the Ais ports and installed their own puppet regime there. Over the course of three wars the Utina pushed the Caalus out of the northern half of the peninsula and Caalusa's current boundaries were set by the 1784 Treaty of Etoniah.

The knock-on effects of the Leifian Crisis caused a civil war between the north and the south of the country which largely went unnoticed by much of the rest of Leifia though it would result in a considerable liberalisation of society and the abolition of much of the still potent feudal structures. Allied to Mvskokia it was a minor player in the Cotton Wars though its main purpose appeared to be tying up Utinan troops rather than active involvement in the main theatres.

The land is blessed with significant phosphate deposits and is reckoned to have provided phosphorus for almost 100% of the phosphorus match industry in Leifia and were exported around the world. However these were banned in most countries, thanks to their toxicity, during the 1980s, severely depressing the Caalus economy in the process. It has picked up however thanks to the use of phosphorus in steelmaking and (though a efficient process has not been developed yet) its potential as an ingredient in high-grade fertiliser.

Government
As an autocracy much of Caalusa's highly centralised government is run by the royal court. The government has recently signalled moves for greater democracy and representation however, though it and the King have not clearly set out how much power it is willing to cede.

The current Head of State is King Timucua and the effective head of government, the Secretary of State, is Senequne Calos.