Pesa

**Pesa** (Pesan: *Pesha*), officially the **Republic of Pesa** (Pesan: *Republikipesha*), is an island country off of the eastern coast of Asmatys.

It has a maritime border with Lashardia through the Lashardian Sea. As of a 2015 estimate, Pesa has 2.2 million inhabitants.

Pesa is a parliamentary republic, established under its current form in 1969. The capital city is Santa Anastasia, and the official language is Pesan. Pesa is a federal state, comprised of a capital district and three autonomous provinces.

Indigenous people of Pesa are known as Pesans, though this term is often broken up into Mixed Pesans, Black Pesans, and White Pesans due to racial history. Pesan is an Asmatic language, and a member of the Titovic language family. Most black and mixed Pesans are Muslims, while white Pesans are often irreligious or belong to Christian faiths such as Pesan Orthodoxy, Lashardian Orthodoxy, or Roman Catholicism.

The country was founded on 19 August 1901 as the Kingdom of Pesa, following the breakup of the Kingdom of Titova. The breakup was instigated by the secession of Zakharia in 1890, which led the kingdom to errupt in war. After nine years of battle against Zakharian forces, Titova was defeated and broken up into smaller nations. After the 1969 coup d'état, the nation became a republic.

Pesa is a member of the Asmatic Union. It is ranked eighth in Asmatys on the Human Development Index, and has been classified as a middle income econmy. Its currency is the Pesan Dollar.

## History

### The Kingdom of Titova

The island of Pesa was first settled by native islanders before written history. Islam has been practiced on the island since at least the eighth century, due to expeditions by Islamic explorers. In the eleventh century, the island was conquered and annexed by the Kingdom of Titova. Unlike other annexations, the annexation of Pesa was peaceful, with the native islanders agreeing to terms set by the Titovans. Following its annexation, Titovans began moving to Pesa, looking for a new life.

The modern cities of Santa Anastasia, Santa Maria, and Port of Lashardia were all created by Titovans following the island's annexation. Pesa become a hub in Titova for its growing fishing industry.

### War of Independence

Following years of protests in Zakharia, in 1889, the Duke of Zakharia sent a letter of secession to the King of Titova and formally released the Zakharian Declaration of Independence. Upon hearing the news, the king sent a fleet of men to Zakharia and formally declared war, calling up all able-bodied Titovan men to fight. The war went on for nine years and ended in 1898, following the surrender of the Kingdom of Titova and the execution of the Titovan king. Following these, all the other regions of the Kingdom of Titova released their declarations of independence from the Kingdom of Titova, including Pesa. In 1901, King Albin and his wife Albijona were selected to be the first ruling family of Pesa, and Pesa officially became an independent nation.

### Kingdom of Pesa

The country existed as an absolute monarchy for the first years of its existence, with King Albin being its first monarch his son Dimitry being its final. Protests against the monarchy began as early as the 1930s, with Pesans stating that they wanted democracy and a say in their government.

In 1969, a coup d'état lead by political activist Boris Kozchi successfully ousted the king and queen from power, resulting in them fleeing to Lashardia. Kozchi subsequently became the first President of Pesa, and turned the nation into a parliamentary republic.

### Modern day

Following the coup d'état, Pesa established itself as a republic, with a democratically elected president, prime minster, and parliament. The 250-seat parliament the *Machno*, has also been used since 1969.

## Geography

Pesa is located off the coast of southeastern Asmatys, in the Lashardian Sea. The nation has a maritime border with Lashardia.

### Climate

Pesa experiences a tropical climate, with year round sunshine and heavy rainfall in the summer. During the summer, the temperature normally reaches 30C (86F), while in the winter it normally reaches 26C (79F). Pesa experiences two seasons, dry season which lasts October to April, and wet season which lasts May to September.

### Environment

The Pesan environment is notable for its rain forests, found in the north-central region of the country. About half of the provinces of Gortula and Lagalisa consist of the nationally protected rain forests. The city of Santa Anastasia and the province of Jak are the two most urbanized places in the country. Despite their urbanization, they are also notable for their renowned beaches.

## Politics

The 250-seat unicameral Pesan parliament, the *Machno* is elected by popular vote every four years. The president is elected by popular vote every four years as well, while the prime minister is elected in the parliamentary election as the leader of the party with the most seats in the Machno. Presidents can serve one term of four years, while the prime minister can two four-year terms. The prime minister and president form the executive branch together, the Machno forms the legislative branch, while the Pesan Supreme Court forms the judicial branch.

### Foreign relations

Pesa is a member of the Asmatic Union and has strong diplomatic relations with each of the Asmatic nations, in addition to other countries of the world.

Since its independence, Pesa's closest ally has been Lashardia, with whom it shares a similar language, culture, and history. During the time of the Kingdom of Pesa, the nation held close ties to Zakharia as well. Following its establishment as a republic, Pesa has distanced itself from Zakharia's corrupt government, and strengthened its ties with Adoriam, Consensum, and Populus Poetarum.

### Human rights

Pesa has been commended by international organizations for its human rights. Human rights of all residents, whether citizen or not are guaranteed in the Pesan constitution. Non-citizens hold the same rights as citizens except for the right to vote in Pesan elections and carry a Pesan passport.

Pesa has been ranked above-average in terms of press freedom, privacy, and human development.

### Military

The Pesan military is completely volunteer and consists of about 50,000 men and women as of 2015. Conscription for all able-bodied men was used during the time of the Kingdom of Pesa, but was abolished in 1969 after Pesa became a republic. Pesa has established a policy of neutrality in all armed conflicts.

### Administrative divisions

Pesa is a federal state divided into three autonomous provinces and a capital district. Each province is subdivided into counties. Populated places are organized into cities, villages, or towns, depending on their population. Provinces each hold a large level of autonomy, electing their own leaders and being able to govern their own province as they would like.

The three provinces are Gortula, Lagalisa, and Jak, in additon to the capital district of Santa Anastasia which is not considered a province. Each province is run by a governor.

The largest city in Pesa is Santa Anastasia, the second largest is Port of Lashardia, while the third largest is Manessa.

## Economy

The officially currency of Pesa, is the Pesan Dollar, which has been used since 2008. Previously, Pesa used the poli as its currency. About 34% of Pesans supported the change in currency in 2008.

All companies in Pesa are state-run, with privatization illegal. State-owned industry accounts for 35% of the government's GDP, while the rest is government-funded. The Lashardian GDP of $63.8 billion, is spent mostly on welfare, education, healthcare, and the environment.

## Demographics

### Ethnic groups

Pesa's population has been largely mixed since its annexation. According to the 2010 census, 53% of Pesan residents identified themselves as "mixed Pesan", 23% as "black Pesan", 22% as "white Pesan", and 2% as other races.

The majority of the white and mixed Pesan people's ancestors came from Lashardia, Consensum, Sodrax, Adoriam, Zakharia, or Illuminata Maxima anywhere from the time of Pesa's colonization to the early 20th-century. Most immigration from Titovic countries ended after Pesa's independence. While the majority of descendants from these countries speak the Pesan language and identify as a Pesan, there are small minorities who've retained their ancestors' native language in their families and still hold citizenship to their countries. These people comprise most of the "other races" ethnic group, are mostly concentrated in Port of Lashardia, and mostly immigrated in the 20th-century.

Before being colonized, the island consisted nearly entirely of black Pesan Muslim islanders. Following its colonization, whites from the Kingdom of Titova began moving to the island and mixed with the black islanders, creating the three distinct subgroups of Pesans. The majority of Pesans are descended both from black islanders and white Titovans, and have qualities of both ethnic groups. Qualities of a mixed Pesan could include, dark or tanned skin, curly blonde hair, and bright blue eyes.

White Pesans form a majority in the eastern city of Port of Lashardia and the province Jak, while most black Pesans are located throughout south-central Pesa. The capital city Santa Anastasia has a mixed majority, but is home to several minorities of whites, blacks, and non-Pesans. Mixed Pesans form a majority in all provinces except for Jak.

Racial tensions are high in Pesa. Nearly all populated places besides cities have a racial majority of over 95%, while it is virtually unheard of for Pesans to marry outside of their race. Schools haven't been segregated by race by law since the 1969 coup d'état, however due to the low level of diversity in towns and villages, most schools are nearly all a certain race.

### Language

The solo official language of Pesa, is Pesan, closely related to Lashardian. Pesan is a member of the Titovic branch of the Asmatic language family. Pesan is notable for not being broken up into geographical dialects, but racial dialects. White Pesans speak a dialect known as Vita ("White"), which is more closely related to Lashardian, black Pesans speak Dedo ("Dark"), which is the most distinct and independent dialect, and mixed Pesans speak Mako ("Mixed"), which is a mix of Vita and Dedo, and the most widely spoken dialect. Inside of Pesa, the Mako dialect is most often taught to foreigners and considered "standard Pesan", but in other nations of Asmatys, the Vita dialect is most often taught. All dialects are mutually intelligible to each other, but are easily distinguishable.

Approximately 89% of Pesans speak Pesan as their native language, while 11% speak it as a second or third language. Most Pesans who don't speak it as a native language are white Pesans whose families have spoken Lashardian, Adoriamian, or Zakharian for generations. About 87% of Pesans aged 18 and older speak at least two foreign languages, most often Lashardian and English.

### Religion

The largest religion in Pesa is Islam, with 70% of Pesans adhering to the faith, most commonly black and mixed Pesans with some white minorities. According to a 2012 survey, 65% of Pesans idenfify as Sufi Muslim, 5% as other Muslim, 16% as Christian, 15% as atheist, agnostic, or unaffiliated, and 9% as other religions. Most non-religious people and Christians are of white Pesan descent.

In the same poll, 79% of Pesans agreed with the statement "there is a God", 10% stated they believed "there is some sort of spirit or life force, but not a God", and 11% stated "there is no God, spirit, or life force". Approximately 88% of Pesans regularly attend religious services, regardless of their faith.

Despite many Pesans being religious, studies have shown them to be open-minded. In a 2013 survey, 92% of Pesans agreed with the statement "You don't have to believe in God to be moral", while 3% disagreed, and 5% agreed "in some circumstances". Furthermore, 82% of Pesans stated they agreed with the statement "People of a different religion should be treated as equals", but only 9% stated they wouldn't mind marrying someone of a different faith.

### Education

The Pesan education system begins when a child is five years old. At five years old, children enter primary school. Primary school lasts from ages 5 to 15, and is the only compulsory education. In primary school, students study mathematics, science, history, Pesan, English, a second foreign language, art, music, and physical education. They remain with one teacher for all their subjects (except art, music, and physical education) and have the same class for every subject and every grade. Students are given very little freedom with their education in primary school, only being able to choose their second foreign language from Lashardian, Adoriamian, or Zakharian.

After graduating primary school at the age of 15, students have the option to move onto high school. Although it's optional, over 92% of students choose to attend, due to there being very little job prospects for people without a high school degree. Students are able to choose between five different types of high schools to attend: a mathematics and science based school, a social sciences based school, a language based school, a general high school which has no focus, and a career based school which prepares students for a certain profession. Following high school, students are encouraged to attend university. About 69% of Pesan high school graduates attend university.

Along with primary education and high school, universities in Pesa are all free. There are six universities located in Pesa: Pesan International University (Santa Anastasia), Santa Anastasia University, Santa Maria University, Manessa University, Port of Lashardia University, and the Islamic Institute of Pesa (Santa Anastasia). The most popular are Pesan International University and Santa Anastasia University. About 38% of Pesans attend university abroad, most often in Lashardia, Consensum, Zakharia, or Adoriam.

## Culture

### Names

A traditional Pesan name consists of two parts, the first or given name, and the second or family name. The first name is given to a child at birth by their parents. Most often, but not always, female Pesan given names end in -a, while male names often end in any letter besides -a. The majority of Pesan family names are patronymics, thus ending in -chi/a. A male's surname will take the ending -chi, while a female's surname will take the ending -cha, signifying the bearer's gender.

For example, the Pesan singer Olga Davorcha's last name would mean "a female child of Davor". Other Pesan last names are most often toponymics or occupational. According to a 2010 study, 92% of Pesan surnames in existence are patronymics, 4% toponymics, 3% occupational, and 1% matronymics or personal characteristics. Non-patronymics are most common amongst white Pesans. Women most often take the feminine version of their husband's last name at marriage.

While nearly all black and mixed Pesans follow these naming conventions, about 79% of white Pesans do. The white Pesans that do not, often retain the naming traditions from their original countries or adopted original surnames upon their immigration.