Watan

Watan, officially the Republic of Watan, is a nation located in southwest Alutra along the Abayadi Sea. Watan is one of the smallest Alutran states, bordered to the south by the Abayadi Sea and to the west by Ventora. Watan's territory also extends to several small islands along its coast, most notably Ilha do Barbito or Ilha do Pedregosa. The official and national language is Watanese. Queluz is the largest city and capital.

One of Alutra's earliest permanently settled regions, Watan holds prehistoric sites such as Ficha Sílex: the oldest evidence of human habitation in west Alutra. Ancient Watan was inhabited by Pre-Tilargi and Tilargi peoples and visited by ancient nomadic Haksar and Ventoran people or other traders. After increased Ventoran activity in Watan, the territory was sold to Ventora under the condition the Ventorans protect the lands and continue their trading. Watan became a tributary of Ventora, which itself was a tributary of Haksarad. This entered Watan into the Haksar tributary system. This continued for several centuries until 1328, when a saber duel spelled Watanese independence. While the independence was peaceful, the struggle for the Watanese throne would spiral into the 11 years war, which resulted in a stalemate. The stalemate was resolved by testing which heir could last the longest when submerged in water, which resulted in King Selsir I taking the throne.

The killings of the king and princess of the Watanese Monarchy in 1861 resulted in the Queluz Revolution of 1861, which would last for 2 years and result in the abolishment of the monarchy and founding of the Watanese Republic on April 22nd, 1863. The Revolution originally started with the opposing opinions on the monarchy, but the fire continued to rage for several other branching reasons for centuries after. The civil war would come to a close after the deaths of 100,000 and the Treaty of Pedregosa, signed on Ilha do Pedregosa.

In modern times, Watan struggles with instability after several incidents revolving around the president of Watan. In 2004, Cesar Ramos took power after the resignation of Tiago Sousa. Ramos’ policies were unpopular within a large demographic in the nation. His unpopularity in some groups and strong following in others lead to an instability which split the nation in half and eventually resulted in the 2004 Watanese coup d'état. Some viewed the coup as unconstitutional, therefore in 2016, the 2016 Watanese coup d'état was in attempt to take Olavo Maciel out of power, however this failed. The RSP is the leading nationalist party in the nation, and is responsible for the 2016 coup and 2013 Watan capitol attack. Since the 2016 coup, the instability in the nation has settled in extremity, however is still not an uncommon sight.

Today, Olavo Maciel is the president of Watan, alongside Dannel Saraiva as assembly president and Fabricio Martins as prime minister.

Etymology


The native name of Watan, Vatão, has been speculated for many centuries, however the true origin is unknown. The leading theory is that it originates from ancient Ventoran stories labeling the lands southeast of them as the "Land of many goats", with "vato" meaning big/many, and "chivato", which transformed into "chivatão" and further into "vatão", meaning "great baby goat" or "great goat".

The leading secondary theory for the origin comes from the Tilargi word "wet'o", meaning "young goat". This was interpreted from ancient Ventorans and Haksar as "Vatus". Following this, an additional -anus was added to Vatus, which made "Vatanus", or "Great young goat". This meaning may have been misinterpreted from explorers not versed in the Watanese language as "Land of the goat" or "Land of the great goat". The word Vatanus would eventually become the modern-day Vatão.

Another theory states that the lands are named after the Ventoran explorer Froitos Vatos, who reportedly travelled through Watan some time between 400 and 450 BCE. Other theories claim that the name derived from its neighboring nation of Ventora.

The name Vatão first appeared in a sea log dated 961 CE, however the lands of Watan themselves have been recorded and mapped as far back as 8th century BCE.

The leading theory for the namesake of Watan, Land of the many goats, has since been the inspiration for the nation's national anthem, "A Terra da Cabra". The anthem tells the story of a goat making the journey from a farm in Haksarad to the flowing plains in Watan. The goat in the song is analogous to Watan, and its journey is reminiscent of the nation's history.