Lathadu

Lathadu, officially the Republic of Lathadu, is a country on the eastern coast of Alutra. Situated on the western shore of the Sedea Sea, Lathadu is bordered by Ordrey to the north, and Salia to the east across the water. Lathadu has an estimated population of just below 10 million people. Its capital is Calleebane, and its largest city is Ushteyghoo. Lathaduns are largely Gundioc, but the country is also home to a large Ordrish population. The official language, Lathadun, is part of the Cedic family of languages.

For centuries, the riverlands, marshes, and shores of the region were inhabited by various tribes. The region was a fairly isolated part of the Sedic Confederation prior to its collapse, later becoming home to Ordrish refugees from the Salian invasions in what is remembered as The Long Walk. Shortly after, the region was conquered by Salia, before the Lathadun Peasant’s Revolt led by the mythic warrior-matron Barriaght kicked them from the country. Lathadu spent the next few centuries within Ordrey’s sphere of influence, before the region’s clans seized on the chaos of the Ordrish War of Succession and seceded from the Ordrey, forming the Lathadun Federation. Following industrialization of the country in the early modern era, the Anti-Aristocracy movement was created by alliances of urban and rural workers to oppose the stranglehold on political power held by the region’s big clans, leading to a peaceful transition into the Republic of Lathadu as it is known today.

Lathadu is classified politically as a unitary dominant-party parliamentary republic with an executive presidency, known for its long-standing and stable dedication to democracy. It rates highly in metrics of civil liberties, freedom of press, internet freedom, democratic governance, and peacefulness. It enjoys a partially-planned economy, with many of the nation’s natural resources having been nationalized in decades past. Lathadu has a moderate level of human development, ranking highly in other metrics of national performance for a country of its size and wealth. The country spends roughly 7% of its budget on education, compared to a global average of just over 4. Its economy once depended heavily on agriculture, but has since diversified to manufacturing goods such as textiles, foodstuffs, furniture, lighting, signs, and prefabricated buildings. Lathadu is a member of the Northeast Compact, Alutran Commercial Community, the International Union for Labor and Liberty, and the World Forum.

Etymology
The first known record of the name Lathadu is from an Ordrish chronicle dating back to 1398. The chronicle recorded the name of the furthest south of Ordrey’s holdings: a hot, humid, marshy land of rivers and lakes called Lathadu, meaning “blackest marsh” in that tongue.

History
The oldest traces of human life in Lathadu date back from approximately 1.6 million years ago. Over the ensuing millennia, humans there were confronted by a harsh and variable climate, marked by several glacial epochs.

Human settlement in Lathadu became possible 13,000-11,000 years ago, when ice from the last glacial era melted. The oldest known settlement in Lathadu is the Cosney settlement, which once laid upon the banks of the Aarnieu River prior to its changing course. According to radiocarbon dating, it was settled nearly 11,000 yeard ago. The earliest human habitation during the Mesolithic period is connected with the Cayr culture, named for the River Cayr in northern Lathadu. At that time, the country was covered more densely in forests, and people lived lives of semi-nomadic communities near bodies of water. Subsistence activities included hunting, gathering, and fishing. Around 4900 BC, ceramics begin to appear from the neolithic period, produced by what is known as the Marrinagh culture. Starting from around 3200 BC, the Crayee culture appeared, including new activities such as primitive agriculture an animal husbandry.

After strong demographic and agricultural development between the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, metallurgy appeared at the end of the 3rd millennium, initially working gold, copper, bronze, and later, iron. Lathadu has numerous mound sites from this era that once served as burial sites, places of worship, and community centers, notably the internationally-recognized Serpent Mound Site (approximately 3,300 BC).

Antiquity
Human settlement in Lathadu became possible 13,000-11,000 years ago, when ice from the last glacial era melted. The oldest known settlement in Lathadu is the Cosney settlement, which once laid upon the banks of the Aarnieu River prior to its changing course. According to radiocarbon dating, it was settled nearly 11,000 yeard ago. The earliest human habitation during the Mesolithic period is connected with the Cayr culture, named for the River Cayr in northern Lathadu. At that time, the country was covered more densely in forests, and people lived lives of semi-nomadic communities near bodies of water. Subsistence activities included hunting, gathering, and fishing. Around 4900 BC, ceramics begin to appear from the neolithic period, produced by what is known as the Marrinagh culture. Starting from around 3200 BC, the Crayee culture appeared, including new activities such as primitive agriculture an animal husbandry. The Bronze Age in Lathadu began around 1800 BC, seeing the establishment of the first hill fort settlements. A transition from hunting-fishing-gathering to single-farm-based settlement started around 1000 BC. The large amount of bronze objects indicate the existence of active communication with Sedic tribes to the north and east.

Although local peoples had maintained contact with the outside world for centuries, they became more integrated around the mid-2nd century BC. It was around this time that the region entered the sphere of influence of the Sedic Confederation; it would remain on the frontier of the confederation until its dissolution in 85 BC. The native tribes did not maintain close political contacts with the confederation, but they did maintain trade contacts and borrowed heavily from their language. The Lathadun language is considered to be very conservative from this period forward, for its close connection to its Sedic roots. It is believed to have differentiated from the Ordrish language, the most closely related existing language, by the 10th century. Traditional Lathadun customs and mythology, with many archaic elements, were long preserved. Rulers’ bodies were buried in mounds up until the conversion to Ayekism; descriptions of the burial ceremonies of various high chieftains have survived into the modern day.

Middle Ages
The middle ages produced both changes and threats appearing from nearly every direction. Lathadu’s insular, clan-based society continued largely as it had dating back to before the collapse of the Sedic Confederation, but this was upset by the 10th century CE, when waves of Ordrish refugees fled south from frequent Salian invasions. These peoples were most heavily concentrated in what is now called Thói'achith in Lathadu’s north, but were dispersed throughout the region, in most instances were assimilated by existing populations. These migrations, called The Long Walk in Lathadu today, are viewed as the beginning of Lathadu’s coming together as an identity appreciable by modern standards. However, only a few short decades after Ordrey’s being invaded, Lathadu found itself facing the brunt of Salian incursions. It would face the same fate as its northern neighbor; by 1257 CE, the Salians had established a hill fort at the site of Ushteyghoo, what would go on to be the nation’s capital.

In the centuries following the Salian conquest, what would become the region’s chief political and administrative subdivisions began to emerge. Two larger subdivisions appeared: the hyool, and the theayee, which consisted of multiple hyool. A hyool was led by appointed military governors centered on a hill fort, although in some cases a hyool contained multiple forts. In larger hyool, councils of community elders were assembled to advise the Salian governors on local matters of importance, although new governors would often dismiss the councils assembled by their predecessors. These councils, called çhiollagh, would go on to form the foundation of later regional governments. By the 14th century, Lathadu consisted of six major theayee: Blaas, Messglassey, Crongan, Gareyblaa, Neear, and Doochassagh. Theayee were generally independent of one another and engaged only in loose cooperation, generally against common threats such as revolts. Peasant revolts led by medium to large-sized clans wishing to establish Lathadu as separate from the authority of Salia, and to a lesser extent Ordrey, were irregular from the 15th century to the 17th century, when Lathadu would finally win its independence.

There is little known of early Lathadun religious practices; chronicles of travelers, largely Salians, mention a dualistic faith heavily informed by ancestor worship. Spiritual practices were guided by shamans called billybwee, with sacred groves, especially oak groves called darraghoo as focal places of worship. Other accounts even alleged human sacrifice, although these accounts are considered questionable by most.

Independence
The following centuries saw a sort of revival in Canachism on the mainland, perhaps stronger than anywhere in Lathadu. Compared to Ordrey, Lathadu retained much larger holdouts in the face of Ayekism, and what Ayekists were found there were much more likely to engage in syncretism with local beliefs and practices. While Lathadu had largely been left to its own devices under their appointed governors in centuries past, attempts by the Salian crown to integrate its territories more closely led to serious unrest, as local religious practices across the mainland continent began to face repression. Spurred on in the face of the Succession Crisis by radical cleric Adaue, large swaths of Lathadu erupted in open revolt as the peasants abandoned their fields and took up arms. Unlike as in previous conflicts, the greater clans did not split their allegiances; virtually all saw independence as the path forward, especially with its next would be master-Ordrey-busy fighting the Salians themselves. Lathadun peasants organized themselves into sceldtrome, packed formations of peasants armed with polearms and bows designed to fight formations of better-armed warriors to a standstill. Now with the full backing of Lathadu's clans, Salian forces were largely either forces from the region outright, or into hiding in what few hill forts they retained. Within a year, most of the sieges had broken; Salia simply could not afford to hold onto Lathadu with so many other places to focus its attention. Perhaps the most famous figure from the war was the high matron Barriaght, whom the most populous region of the country is named for today.

After the war’s end, the various clan leaders and chieftains of present-day Lathadu assembled at the city of Ushteyghoo to conduct a moot in order to appoint the Lanshad, or High Chief. For her service and leadership during the war, the high matron Barriaght was chosen, although the position was largely an honorary one. In truth, power laid with the local clans, generally free to conduct their own affairs as they saw fit outside wartime. Despite being mostly burned after it was besieged by rebel forces during the war, Calleebane was quickly rebuilt due to its optimal location for trade and shipping, soon becoming a major commercial hub once more. In no small part due to its control of the region’s rivers, Lathadu’s clans grew wealthy off of shipping and trade. Many guilds formed during this period, evolving from preexisting trade groups called quaiyl that were generally only found at the local level. Goods like textiles, foodstuffs, and rock salt were traded with eager foreign merchants to increase the prestige and wealth of Lathadu's great clans. Ayekism continued to be the dominant faith in Lathadu, but it was undeniable that it had taken on a separate character than elsewhere, unique to Lathadu and its convergence of peoples and belief systems. The Lathadun Federation, as it was called, would last from its founding in 1751 CE well into the late 19th century.

Early Modern Era
While tenancy for farmers was largely retained from previous eras, legal reforms took place at the local level which strengthened landholders’ land usage and inheritance rights. This resulted in the period’s reputation of the, “Good Old Federation Times” in Lathaduns’ historical memories. Wealthier clan leaders, such as those for clans Tailley or Sooill, established salons, theaters, and other cultural monuments with the money they had assembled from trading various goods, namely textiles and salt. Printing presses were established for the first time, first in Ushteyghoo and soon after in Calleebane, and then many more across the region. In the 18th century the beginnings of the Lathadun educational system appeared, largely due to efforts of reformers such as Malane Shaghney and Ector Greesaghey, the former of whom introduced various orthographic reforms to written Gundioc. The Great National Awakening began in the 1720s, as the nation’s leading figures began promoting a more unified Lathadun national identity among the general populace. Its economic basis was formed by widespread farm buyouts by peasants, creating a class of Lathadun landowners. In 1737, Nellyn Saiaghey began publishing the first Gundioc language newspaper, popularizing the denomination of oneself as Lathadun, over the nation’s various regional identities. Schoolmaster Doona Giarrey and clergyman Silvester Amylt of Ushteyghoo became leading figures in the national movement, encouraging peasants to take pride in themselves and their collective identity.

The first nationwide movements formed, such as the founding of the Society of Lathadun Poets and the Lathadun Students’ Society, along with the founding of the national song festival, first held in 1769 in Ushteyghoo. Reforms to promulgate and strengthen the Gundioc language helped develop it further; the national epic Skeeal ny Giare Çhayraghyn (Tale of the Four Sisters) was published in 1762, and 1770 saw the first performances of what is traditionally considered as a distinct form of Lathadun theater. In 1778, a major split occurred within the movement; the moderate wing focused in Ushteyghoo and Calleebane prioritized the development of Lathadun national culture and education, while the radical wing focused in more rural areas had begun to demand increased political and economic rights in the face of Lathadu’s growing economy and income disparity. Lathadu’s population grew rapidly for this period, until the Famine of 1795-97, in which hundreds of thousands are recorded to have faced starvation conditions or starvation. Many Lathaduns migrated northward to Ordrey at this time, in part to escape the natural disaster and in part in hopes of taking advantage of the economic opportunity there.

The Anti-Aristocrats
In 1805, the first political parties in Lathadu were founded to participate in local elections. However, these changes only begat others; following the increase of national awareness of the Lathadun identity, Lathaduns across the nation began demanding a greater say in their governance. This was aggravated by the lack of central competence during the Famine of 1795-97, which frustrated many. At the worst moments of the famine, peasants and workers stormed manor houses and raided their stores. The great clans responded in a generally asymmetrical manner; some overlooked the desperation of the peasants, but others responded in harsh crackdowns. In 1817, Lanshad Vorana founded the National Assembly, an expansion of the national government to include the common folk to a greater degree; it was promised that local regions would retain their autonomy through provincial assemblies. The Landshad hoped that the creation of these new legislatures would appease the radicals who had grown in number in recent years. The cornerstone to this was the Salvation Council, a group that was half-peasant and half-landed aristocracy, meant to diffuse disputes between the two bodies in government and headed by the Lanshad personally. The new National Assembly sat for the first time in 1819, passing sweeping land reform that expropriated some of the nation’s larger estates, as well as drafting and ratifying a constitution establishing the nation as a democratic federation. However, the upper house of the National Assembly, made up of the heads of Lathadu’s clans, blocked the new constitution and many of the reforms. Those laws that did survive were those granting autonomy to ethnic minorities, among the National Assembly’s greatest early accomplishments. Increasing economic disparity put heavy pressure on Lathadu’s political system, and in 1853, the conservative faction split between those who believed that the Lanshad should be granted more sweeping central authority to guide the country’s political process, and those who wished to stay with tradition. In 1854, Lanshad Teige declared martial law throughout the nation, falsely claiming that radicals were planning a coup. Together with Generals from the Sheeyney and Hambil clans, Lanshad Teige established a de facto dictatorship beginning what is remembered as the “Silent Years" today. The National Assembly was dissolved, and political parties were outlawed.  To legitimize the regime, a new constitution incorporating a few moderate versions of previously failed performs was adopted, and elections were held in 1858.  Opposition candidates were permitted to participate, but only as independents.

Following public demonstrations across Lathadu’s towns and cities in what was increasingly becoming known as the Anti-Aristocracy Movement, Lanshad Teige established a regime of repression; most high ranking civil servants, intelligentsia, and public figures seen as being aligned with radical political elements were arrested, and many executed summarily. This drove many into the nation’s rural areas and forests. Thousands opposing the regime soon banded together and formed partisan groups. Most infamous of these were the Forest Brothers, who were the first to carry out a protracted campaign of armed resistance in the central riverlands of the country. Although Teige was obstinate, the rising fever was suddenly broken just over a decade into the Silent Years, when General Hambil, his right hand man, conducted a coup of his own and placed a military government over the nation. Teige was killed in the fighting, and Hambil announced soon after that elections would be held to avoid any further violence. In 1869, he fulfilled his promise, and open elections were once again held. The Peasant and Laborer’s Progress Party, which has since evolved into the Democratic Laborer’s Party, swept these first elections. Many of these figures who would go on to define the new regime were the same individuals who had been forced into hiding during the Silent Years. An updated, refined version of the previously rejected constitution was ratified, naming the country as the Republic of Lathadu. The new government initiated policies of workplace collectivization. Economically, heavy industry was strongly prioritized, and the standard of life for the average of Lathadun improved considerably.

Republic of Lathadu
In 1871, Lathadu’s new constitution was fully enacted; the document engineered radical, progressive ideas, including the right to work, to food, and to healthcare. Mawde Cannell was elected as the nation’s first Prime Minister, who proceeded to appoint Carmac Kneale as its first Premier. Cannell’s government carried out major social reforms, with members of various parties holding office under her administration. Work programs helped improve the infrastructure of the countryside immensely, with some regions seeing their first paved roads ever. By 1878, Lathadu was relatively well situated amount Eastern Alutran nations. Its citizens enjoyed an ever increasing quality of life, with some of the largest labor union privileges in the region, including bans on dismissals and mechanization in certain instances. Between 1878 and 1900, the Lathadun economy expanded enormously, largely in the fields of light industry manufacturing. Populations shifted toward the more built-up towns and cities along the nation’s rivers, although it remained a largely rural nation in many aspects.

Geography
Lathadu lies on the eastern shores of Alutra, across the water from Salia to the east and bordering Ordrey to the north. The country may be divided into two parts: the western uplands, and the alluvial plains along its major rivers and coast. The alluvial region includes low swamplands, coastal marshlands and mangroves, and barrier islands covering several thousand square kilometers. Lathadu lies principally along the Aarnieu River as it empties into the Sedic Sea. The Aarnieu flows along a ridge formed by its natural deposits, from which the lands decline toward a river beyond at an average of six feet per mile. The alluvial lands along other streams present similar features.

The higher and contiguous hill lands of the north and western parts of the nation consist largely of prairies and woodlands. The elevations above sea level range from 3 m at the coast and swamplands to 15-18 m at prairie and alluvial lands. In the uplands and hills, the elevations rise to Mount Soothallooin, the highest point in the nation at 163 m above sea level. The Lathadu Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority spends a considerable amount in funds each year to help shore up and protect Lathadu’s shoreline and land. Artificial levees block spring floodwater that would bring freshwater and sediment to marshes. Swamps historically were extensively logged, leaving canals and ditches that allowed salt water to move inland.

Lathadu has over 1,400 lakes. Most are small, although the nation’s largest ones can be found in the south. Several minor rivers crisscross the region as well, marked by various marshes and swamps. The most common tree species are pine, spruce, and birch.

Geology
Modern day Lathadu formed as a result of the interplay of the region’s major rivers, and the influence of the Sedic Sea. It is composed mostly of deltaic, coastal, and eolian derived sediments during the Pleistocene glacial and interglacial periods. Almost all of eastern Lathadu is composed of the Aarnieu river estuary, but human intervention greatly modified the natural processes at work. Most of eastern Lathadu is at or below sea level due to the human processes of turning standing bodies of water into usable land. In western Lathadu, remains are found of the last ice age. As the continental ice sheet moved in from the north, it pushed moraine forward. The ice sheet halted as it covered the northern part of Lathadu; after the ice age ended, the morraine remained in the form of a long hill line that makes up the region of Thói'achith.

Floods
Over the centuries, the Lathadun landscape and coastline have changed considerably as a result of natural disasters and human intervention. In 1287, a series of floods affected Lathadu and nearby Ordrish settlements, killing over 50,000 in total in one of the most destructive floods in recorded history. The 1421 floods and the mismanagement in their aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed area, replacing several square kilometers of new floodplain with what became marsh and mangrove. The huge Sedic Sea floods of early 1953 caused the collapse of several dikes off of Lathadu’s eastern coast; several hundred square kilometers of marshland were lost due to high salinity levels that resulted. The Lathadun government subsequently instituted a large-scale program, the “Marsh Manuvers”, to protect the country against future flooding, which was completed over a period of more than thirty years.

The impact of disasters was, to an extent, increased through human activity. Relatively high-lying swampland was drained to be used as farmland. The drainage caused the fertile peat to contract and ground levels to drop, upon which groundwater levels were lowered to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to contract further. Additionally, until the 19th century peat was mined, dried, and used for fuel, further exacerbating the problem. Centuries of extensive and poorly controlled peat extraction lowered an already low land surface by several metres. Even in flooded areas, peat extraction continued through turf dredging. To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were developed. In the first millennium CE, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called kiap. Later, these kiap were connected by dikes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called high home councils began to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods; these agencies continue to exist. As the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system.

Politics
Lathadu is considered to have among the earliest written governing documents still in effect, as the Statutes of 1751 remain at the core of its constitutional framework. It was originally led by the Council of Clans, initially formed from the heads of each major clan. In the 16th century, power was given over to the Council of General Estates, widening power to include more of the nation’s landlords and middle class.

Today, Lathadu’s politics take place in the framework of a  , whereby the Premier of Lathadu is both head of state and head of government, and is elected by and accountable to the National Diet of Lathadu. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Diet. The Executive, Legislature and Judiciary are all subject to the supremacy of the 1871 Constitution, and the nation’s Constitutional Court has the power to strike down executive actions and acts of the National Diet if they are found to be unconstitutional.

The National Diet of Lathadu is a unicameral body elected by citizens over 18 years of age for a five-year term by party-list proportional representation, and has 199 members. After each national election, the National Diet elects one of its members as Premier; hence the Premier serves a term of office the same as that of the National Diet of five years. No President may serve more than three terms in office, a precedent established by Carmac Kneale, the nation’s first Premier. The Premier appoints a Deputy Premier and Ministers, who form the Cabinet, which consists of various Ministries. The Premier and the Cabinet may be removed by the National Diet by a motion of no confidence.

In the most recent election, held in the Spring of 2019, the Democratic Laborer’s Party (DLP) won 57.5% of the vote, along with 5.4% for the Lathadun Agrarian Party (LAP) and 4.3% for the Lathadun Ecological Party (LEP). The main opposition, the Lathadun National Party (LNP), won 28.2% of the vote, while the Lathadun Liberal Democratic People’s Party (LLDP) won 2.6%. Regionalists and Independents accounted for an estimated 2% of the vote. This translates to 114 DLP seats, 10 LAP seats, 8 LEP seats, 56 LNP seats, 5 LLDP seats, and 6 seats for the Regionalist and Independent Caucus, a special nonpartisan body that fills seats won by such votes.