Ospacia

Flag of Ospacia

Ospacia, officially the **Republic of Ospacia** (Ospacian: Nogmul Ospasjusa), is a country located in western Vatsia. Located on the Charminian Peninsula, Ospacia gained its independence de jure in the year 1859 after the Charminian Civil War, referred to in Ospacia as the 7th Ospacian Revolt. The largest and most populous city in Ospacia Proper is Osparinja, a major port in the Vatsian Sea at the mouth of the Orange River. The majority of Ospacia is a desert with the remainder being classified as a semi-desert, the population being mostly confined to coastal regions and along the Orange River.

Pre-Independence Ospacia was a territory of the Grand Kingdom of Charminia, and due to its history in the kingdom has a large Ospacian-Charminian population. Prior to Charminian conquest, Ospacia had no evidence of any sort of civilization, with minimal archaelogical evidence of permanent settlement. Charminian conquest is where Ospacian history begins, with events in oral histories dating to, at latest, 600 CE. Ospacia was over time integrated as a part of Charminia, and would stay this way until independence, where Ospacia would become an influencial regional force. Modern Ospacia h

## History

### Pre History

Ospacian pre-history is a difficult topic due to various. The hostile climate is not condusive to archaelogy, the shifting sands and high winds irrecoverably burying or destroying most human-made artifacts and structures. The historically nomadic population of Ospacia did not often leave much to recover in the first place either. Despite these challenges, some advancements have been made.

The date of first arrival in Ospacia is estimated to be around 20,000BCE, by people moving west from other parts of Vatsia. This early Ospacian population was likely very small, consisting of few human bands around the coast, sustained primarily by hunting and fishing. This would eventually change with the domestication of {some sort of ungulate} in {somewhere in west-central Vatsia}, which enabled a pastoral lifestyle in the hot deserts that make up most of the country.

#### Frestien Influence

While it is widely agreed that human inhabitation in Ospacia dates back many thousands of years, the origin of the Ospacian people is disputed. A common animal herded by Ospacian tribes, the moctitap, shares many physiological similarities with the south friestien ram, but appears to have no relatives on the continent of Vatsia. The moctitap, thus, is believed to have been imported to Ospacia (and by extension all of Vatsia) by an unidentified early Frestien group, as archaelogical evidence has found moctitap-like skeletons in Ospacia, spreading up the orange river and eventually to the rest of Vatsia. This revelation sparked further investigation into the ethnogenesis of the Ospacian peoples, however progress moves slowly, as is typical in Vatsia.

### Charminian Conquest

Ospacian interaction with Charminia dates back at least two millenia, with Ospacian and Charminian oral traditions including stories about the other group. Ospacian stories about the Charminian Old Kingdom are largely mythical, with exaggerated reports about the reality of ancient Charminian settlements being the most common stories told. The collapse of the Old Kingdom led to a cessation of any recorded interaction between the two groups, until the Grand Kingdom rose in its place during 500 CE. The Grand Kingdom's early interactions with Ospacians were confined primarily to along the Orange River, with trading for food, clothing, jewelry, livestock, and slaves likely having been important both for Ospacian and Charminian livelihoods. As the Grand Kingdom began to expand its influence among the Charminian nomads in the distant desert, it sought influence in Ospacia as well. Aggressive settlement down the Orange River provided a way for the Kingdom to express its military might, with Ospacia being taxed like any other part of the Kingdom. In 789 CE, the (monarch) of Charminia decreed that "Disorganized tribes in the hinterlands are to appoint a chief. They will answer to me (the monarch) and me alone, and will serve to bring law to the hinterlands". This decree, like all others of its kind, was carefully recorded in writing, and armed enforcers spread it as news throughout the land. The Ospacian retelling of this event, the "(word I cant think of)", claims that the enforcers "Put society at knifepoint," and that they "slaughtered the old ways as one would a lamb for dinner." The formally egalitarian nature of Ospacian society was overturned in favor of a hierarchical structure put in place by Charminians. Various tribes went about their appointment of their chief in different ways, with the most dominant being elective and hereditary, and almost all chieftains ruled for life. Despite the grim retellings of the events, the chieftainate became an integral part of rural Ospacian life and was not a cause of any long term disputes between the Kingdom and their new formal subjects. The "(word)" is largely considered to be the beginning of Charminian rule in Ospacia outside the Orange River.

## Geography

Ospacia's geography is dominated by vast sandy deserts both in Ospacia Proper and the islands of Stretton.

### Climate

Ospacia's climate is hot and dry, receiving little rainfall throughout the year.

### Flora and Fauna

The flora and fauna of Ospacia are all extreme xerocoles and xerophytes, adapted to maximize the conservation of water.

## Politics

### Foreign Relations

Ospacia, as a former constituent state of the Vatsian Empire, has maintained friendly relations with its former members and allies. Relations are chilly with neighboring Charminia. In FPOC, Ospacia is a member of the Vatsian Union.

## Demographics

ospacian, ospacian-charminian, strettonian,