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| Capital (and largest city) |
Suq | ||||
| Language | Soqotran Arabic, Álengsk | ||||
| Queen | Thorey VII | ||||
| Prime Minister | Aidarus Ben Brik | ||||
| Population | 40,008 | ||||
| Currency | ALK | ||||
Soqotra is a large island in the Indian Ocean, south of the Arabian peninsula and east of Majeerteenia on the Horn of Africa. It and its smaller island neighbours form a dependency of Álengiamark. It does not have its own flag and instead flies the Álengsk naval ensign. The capital is Suq and the population around 40,000.
The Head of State is Queen Thorey VII.
The language is Soqotran Arabic. Álengsk is rarely used.
It uses the Ákengsk Krona (ALK)
History[]
Mentioned in ancient Greek texts, the island of Soqotra and its much smaller neighbours were supposedly converted to Christianity by St. Thomas in AD 52. The islands were conquered in the 880s by Aksum before they were in turn dislodged by an Omani force.
A Portuguese fleet seized the islands in 1523, to support their Indian trade route and help their fellow Christians (though the native Soqotrans follow the Assyrian Church with a heavy dose of mysticism). Álengsk merchants frequently used the islands too as their trading partnership with Portugal developed in the 16th and 17th centuries. Álengiamark had gained an unsatiable appetite for coffee and, prior to large-scale exports from Tamoioland the Red Sea area had been the best exporter. Successive Álengsk administrations were eager to secure a foothold in the region, occasionally by force.
After the Lisbon earthquake of November 1755 Álengiamark increasingly took over Portuguese operations in the Indian Ocean as the now dominant partner. Portugal had long-since shifted its base of operations in the area to the mainland port of Mombasa and would cede its control over Soqotra to Álengiamark in 1799 for a tidy sum. The island was a relatively poor base for trading ventures; ill-suited to agriculture as its rivers and wetlands dried up, no obvious natural harbours, and Anglia's development of its own Indian Ocean territories led to better supply centres elsewhere. Despite its poor reputation and declining usefulness as a trading base Álengiamark's ownership of Soqotra would give it leverage in the region and often allowed it to delve into the politics of its neighbours on the Horn of Africa and Arabia to 'protect' its investment such as during the war against the Ajuraan Empire (Ajuraan War, 1806-1809). Queen Herridr II inserted 'Defender of Soqotra' into her list of titles as a pretext to interfere in local politics.
Ajuraan's collapse soon after led to greater Álengsk involvement in the Horn of Africa as it sought to protect its trade, and local allies. It seized the port city of Berbera in 1840 and governs the surrounding area as a co-dominion with Majeerteenia (see Somaliland). Further expansion of the territory is proscribed by the 'Treaty of Limitations Pertaining to Africa (1914) of which Álengiamark was a somewhat unwilling signatory.
The seizure of Somaliland and attempts to meddle in the affairs of the semi-autonomous sultanates on the Arabian coastline would feed into a series of Álengsk-Caliphate wars (1857-1863, 1906-1910, 1987, 1992-1994). Kalmar mostly disassociates itself from Álengsk ventures in the region (one of the reasons why Álengiamark continues to operate its own navy rather than integrate with the joint Kalmar navy) and the dependency is not considered part of the Kalmar Union.
The island's unique flora fills the huge 'Soqotra House' at the Royal Botantical Gardens in St. Hafdiss and the Assyriskakyrkja in Skelflóbae is a local landmark.
Government[]
Soqotra is governed by a small single chambered Álengsk-style 'Thing' led by a triumvirate made up of an elected Prime Minister, the Bishop of Suq and an Álengsk official, currently Admiral Ólafur Tómasson. There are no political parties as such but there are free elections held every five years.
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