The Coastlands

The Coastlands, known formally as the Federation of the Coastlands (Dutch: *Federatie van de Kustlanden*, Spanish: *Federación de los Países Costas*), is a sovereign nation located in the Central Valley and Green Plains regions west of the U.N. territory. The Coastlands is the second largest nation in the Domhan World, behind Aikyam. On the Kustlander mainland, it borders Aikyam to the east, þrjóskur to the north, and shares a maritime border with Schwanzeland. The Coastlander dependency of Fortalesana borders Eiredantia to the north, Realtailos to the southwest, Aikyam to the northwest, and the U.N. territory to the west. The Kustlands has six states, one unorganized territory, two dominions, and one dependency. The Coastlands is primarily an allegory to the Netherlands, but also to the United Kingdom, Spain, and the United States.

The movement of early humans to the region can be traced back to around 10,000 BCE, where the first natives established various villages across the region. The first civilization had started around 5,500 BCE, which is known as the proto-Coastlander-Anglonnic civilization. Their languages grew to be a mix of Dutch and English. The Spanish-speaking tribes of Hierrena often intermixed with the Kustlander-Aglonnic people. Once the tribes had united around the turn of the 1st millennium BCE, Narren invaders attacked the tribes for power until their demise around 200 BCE. The Coastlander tribes would start forming old kingdoms that would evolve into 19 Coastlander states around 500 CE. These states were various duchies, kingdoms, and principalities that had a shared culture and langauge. Around 1054 CE, the Narren successor vassal states of Lobrandy and Coburg invaded the Coastlander states, which kickstarted the Diminishment Era. The era saw the decline of the Coastlander states, where population was diseased, the economy looted, and governments failing. Coastlander culture was on the brink of assimilation, but the newly formed Coastlander Council in 1647 brought the 19 states to a new union in 1648, where they defeated the states of Lobrandy and Coburg in the Correctional Wars in 1661. The Coastlands had rebuilt and started the era of exploration, where they became a colonial empire in the mid 18th century. The Rood Revolution of 1849 change the Empire of the Coastlands into a communist state. The Communist Era lasted from 1849 to 1897, where the former government was restored and federalized to prevent another civil war. The Federation of the Kustlands participated in the Grand Islands War in 1932-1935, and later fought in the War of False Hope and the War of the Stars in the early 21st Century. The last reigning monarch, King Willem Frederik II, abolished the monarchy after a motion passed by the States-General in 2022, transforming the Coastlands into a semi-presidential republic.

The Coastlands has a highly developed economy. which ranks 2nd in the world, behind Aikyam. The nation boasts low levels of inequality, a high HDI, universal healthcare, free education, innovation, and human rights. The Kustlands is extremely progressive in its social laws, enshrining both abortion rights and LGBTQ+ rights in its Constitution. The Coastlands is part of the Rijk van Naties. The Coastlander GDP per capita ranks at 1st in the world, with the average salary being ₭150,000 per year. The Coastlands has a highly advanced and large military, with over 6,000,000 being part of one of eight branches. They are one of two nations in possession of nuclear weapons, the other being Tir na Norr. Conscription is enforced for males for 18 months, while it's 4 months for females.

## Etymology

The name "Coastland" is the anglicized name of its former Dutch name "Kustland." The name comes from the expansive western coastline where the cradle of Coastlander civilization was founded upon.

## History

The movement of early humans to the region can be traced back to around 10,000 BCE, where the first natives established various villages across the region. The Kustlander people had formed unions with old Anglonnic states to form stronger, bigger nation-states. In 2,000 BCE, the Hierrenan Republic joined the union. Narren invasions were commonplace and Hirrena was vassalized until the fall of the Narrens in 200 BCE. Following the Narrenian demise, the old states of the Coastlands formed new kingdoms, duchies, and city-states (9 Kustlander, 6 Anglonnic, 4 Hierrenan). They would all create a loose confederation of states during the 10th Century and their power would grow influential. However, the Narren vassal states of Coburg and Lobrandy had plagued the Coastlander region with numerous invasions starting in 1054 CE, killing thousands of people and forcefully attempting to assimilate the Coastlander culture. During these invasions, the Hierrenan states of Solena, Astrias, Mercuria and the Anglonnic states of Stenford and Kantley were absorbed into Coburg and Lobrandy, respectively. However, the Coastlander confederation of nation-states came to a solution to united. Formed by a variety of nineteen Coastlander states, the Kingdom of the Coastlands formed on March 16, 1648 under the Unification Acts. Shortly thereafter, the Coastlands was dragged into conflict against rival states during the Correctional Wars, which sought to diminish and subdue the Coastlander kingdom. The Narren successor states of Lobrandy and Coburg were defeated and forcefully assimilated into Coastlander society as punishment for the ancient Narren invasions. After a brutal 12 years, the Coastlands remained, but with a third of its population lost. Following the war, the Coastlands sought a neutral policy and followed it harshly. Under the Schiereiland doctrine, the Coastlands saw a resurgence in population growth, economic boom, and many technological advancements. In 1743, the Coastlands started voyages to explore and colonize in the name of the Crown. Westerlijk Straat became the first colony in 1756, followed by the Far Straits Territory in 1768. Unlike various other colonial powers, the Coastlander government outlawed slavery following the Correctional Wars. Instead, laborers in the colonies were paid directly by the Coastlander government. However, they were often measly paid and subject to harsh working conditions. The anger of the people would manifest into the First Coastlander Civil War in 1849, following the release of the Communist Manifesto the previous year. The war saw the Proletariat Front victorious, driving the Crown into exile while the Kingdom of the Kustlands transformed into the Kustlander Popular Republic. It would later reform into the People's Republic of the Kustlands. All colonies were united under direct control of the central government and the capital was moved from Schiereilandstad to Roodkapitaal. Government corruption would being to set in during the 1890s, in which former fighters under the Proletariat Front began to realize that they wanted a democratic government. The Second Coastlander Civil War ensued in 1894 between the central government and the democratic rebellion. The war ends in 1897 with the victor being the rebels. The People's Republic of the Kustlands was transformed into the Federation of the Coastlands, transforming the country from a historically unitary state into a federal one in order to give more rights to various regions and to prevent a third civil war. During the early 1950s, the Kustlands underwent nuclear weapons tests to fend off invaders that would attack its neutrality. The first and second tests that were part of Operations Dilemma and Nonplus had resulted in a nuclear fallout around the testing area, which caused the Kustlands to research air purification technology to combat radioactive material. All citizens are able to traverse nuclear fallout with purification technology. Since the Democratic Reformation, the Kustlands has seen great wealth and power that was governed by a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The Coastlands took part in repelling Alkhammudian raiders from the island republic of Dzimumloceklis, alongside Aikyam and Eiredantia from 2012-2021. Following the end of the Alkhammudian invasion, the Coastlands fought alongside Aikyam and þrjóskur against the Kosmossiyan Empire in the War of the Stars, which lasted until 2022 and saw the self-imposed isolation of the contributing parties. The monarchy was abolished under the wishes of King Willem Frederik II, the 20th and last reigning monarch. April 2, 2022 marked the transition from a parliamentary monarchy to a semi-presidential republic.

## Geography

The Kustlands is composed of six states and one unorganized territory on the mainland. Its overseas constituencies include one Dominion: the State of Vantaysia, and one dependency: the Dependency of Fortalesana. The Kustlander mainland is primarily plains, with beaches on its western coast and the Grensfort Mountains in the east along its border with Aikyam and the Groen Hills in the central part of the nation. In the extreme north, old birch forests are present. Oak and spruce forests are present in the west. Fortalesana is a savanna with a stony shore semi-exclave in the west. Vantaysia is primarily made up of plains and tropical forests. The Coastlands garners a lot of precipitation everywhere in the nation, excluding most of Fortalesana.