Alawaland (The Kalmar Union)

Democratic Republic of Alawaland
Timeline: The Kalmar Union

Flag Coat of Arms
Capital (and largest city)	Wulagi
Language	Various
Director	Oodgeroo Yirrkala
Population	152,650
Independence	1868
Currency	AWO

The Democratic Republic of Alawaland, Alawaland, is a large republic in Northern and Central Australia. It is bordered by the European colonies of Queen Isabellas Land, New Brabant, New Oland and Svealandic Australia. The capital is Wulagi and the population is around 151,650.

The Head of State is Director Oodgeroo Yirrkala.

It has no official language and hundreds of separate languages are used. A pidgin Catalan tends to be used as a common language.

The country uses the Alawan Oen (AWO).

History

The area now known as Alawaland after the most dominant tribe was inhabited by tribes native to the Australian continent for millennia. Sporadic trading between the tribes on the coast and the more advanced cultures of the island nations to the North would eventually lead European traders and explorers to discovering the continent. In order to pacify the continent and prevent a general war the four colonial powers of Luxembourg, Aragon, Byzantium and Kalmar signed the Australia Treaty in 1868. This confirmed borders of the respective colonies but also set out a neutral zone to be governed by the native population. The fact that this was essentially useless land, mostly rainforest, desert and scrubland, and had already been abandoned by Svealandic settlers did not factor into the Europeans' thinking. All they were concerned about was to setting up a buffer zone that would ease tensions. Each colonial power promised to uphold Alawaland's neutrality and violations of this could lead to the use of force.

So far only Aragon has gone to war in Alawaland's defense after it accused Sunda of breaching Alawaland's neutrality in 1928 and the short Aragonese-Sunda War led to its annexation of Sumba.

The native tribes had no experience of central government, let alone the European style government now thrust upon them. Adding to this a smallpox outbreak devastated much of their population. However, freed from the need to protect themselves from foreign intervention and largely allowed to get on with things themselves, the tribal leaders slowly, over several decades, crawled their way to a representative government that recognised the needs of its people and could act on them. A small but elegant capital was built by Aragonese architects on the proceeds of limited gold mining in the 1900s. Licenses for mineral prospecting, not to mention extraction taxes, fund much of the government's activities. Discoveries of gold, copper and buxite in the harsh interior continue to enrich the treasury. Oil has so far proved elusive.

Government

Although the Alawa tribe was the most numerous in the new state (or rather, most advantegeously positioned tribe), a power sharing agreement that has slowly worn away the tribal alleigences has been an unqualified success. Eschewing profits or the government instead focuses its attention on the welfare and well-being of its population. Taxation is rather onerous, a necessity to pay for the amenities for peoples spread over such a wide area and to import food enough to support its rapidly growing population. The funds brought in by the mining activities of foreign companies on its soil are ring-fenced for large building projects and for a potential future where the country cannot rely on its mineral wealth.

The head of state is Director Oodgeroo Yirrkala. Elections are held every three years.