Phoenexium

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**Phoenexium**, officially the **Federal Republic of Phoenexium** (Phoenexite: ***Rémpublicia Fidjral dé Phoenéxium***) is a large country located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, on the continent of Atlantis. It is composed of forty-one states and several territories, which all have separate governments that report to the Phoenexite government in the Capital of Ambropolis.

What is now the modern nation of Phoenexium can trace its roots back to the Great Migration of 2BCE to 67CE of latin-speaking settlers on the continent of Atlantis. Preceded by a small community of Basques about a century earlier, the continent the new settlers found was full (but sparsely populated) by who would later be called the "Neo-Basques". The domination of the latin-speaking population, however, was quickly established in what much later became the founding provinces of the Scarlet Confederation (later the Kingdom of Phoenexium). Much of early Phoenexite history before the high middle ages is unknown or imprecise. What is known is that Europeans re-established contact with the Kingdom of Fertalia in southern Oramda in 1397 when Portuguese explorers- bound for the Azores- landed on the coast during a storm. What followed European "re-discovery" was a boom of culture and almost immediate importation of the renaissance, in what would be known in Phoenexium as "Éla Rinativí"- a time of technological boom, cultural re-discovery, and strong diplomacy between the latin nations of Atlantis and the latin nations of Europe. By 1632, the Confederation of Scarlet Realms would be established between the dominate Aurien Empire and several other latin nations on the continent. The Confederal system brought about the "Pax Phoenixa"- an era of great regional stability and prosperity. And, in 1727, after the absorption and assimilation of several more nations, the Confederation would reform into the Kingdom of Phoenexium after the centralization efforts of Emperor Gioní III of Auria, and the subsequent Acts of Union in which all realms of the Scarlet Confederation were integrated into the Aurien Crown. Decades later, after further absorbing the Neo-Basques of the Basques Lakes Region, and the annexation of the Consulate of Bernolia, Phoenexium would undergo a period of instability which would culminate in the Scarlet Revolution of 1819-1827 which saw the establishment of the First Federal Republic of Phoenexium. Once under Federal rule, efforts were made to decentralize and democratize the nation- modelling itself after the United States and France. During the First World War, Phoenexium remained neutral, keeping its exuberant trade open to all powers. WWI, however, created another period of instability as ideological radicals fled to Phoenexium, sowing discontent and several communist and fascist uprisings. The culmination of these events was the establishment of the 2nd Federal Republic in 1920. During the Second World War, Phoenexium joined on the side of the allies in 1942 after the Spi Nevez Incident.

Phoenexium is a federal republic with three branches of government, including a unicameral legislature, a supreme court, and two head executives. It is a liberal democracy and market economy with some mixed influences. It ranks high in measures of human rights, quality of life, income, economic competitiveness, education, equality, and incorruptibility.

## Etymology

Phoenéxium, same in English as in Phoenexi (omitting the accented é), originates from the Latin word "Phoenix". A corruption of latin "-ia", the suffix "-ium" in Phoenexi generally means "land of" in the masculine form. The distinction between "-ium" and "-i" in the names of some masculine places is one of size, with places ending in "-ium" usually being much larger. Therefore, Íl Phoenéxium literally translates to "the land of the phoenix".

The name first came into official usage during the 1670s as the Aurien Empire's power grew and a national identity began to form in the Scarlet Confederation. However, it is believed many earlier forms of the name had been in use since as early as 1401 in the journals of Portuguese Explorers. The Portuguese, observant of the incredible orange sunsets of the Sercetian coast facing Europe, named the land "A Fénixão". It is unknown exactly how the name became masculine in form, especially since the word "phoenéx" is feminine in the Phoenexi language. The most common theory is that the word became masculine because of the words for Kingdom and Realm are both masculine, and thus the word for the country took the "-ium" suffix, becoming masculine.