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.

Prehistory and antiquity
The early history of Watan is shared with its region in southwestern Alutra. The name of Watan likely derives from an early Ventoran about the "Land of the many goats". The region was settled by Pre-Tilargi and Tilargi peoples, giving origin to cultures like the Matanic, Vidalic, Saldanese, and Cortes, which was later inhabited and mixed with Ventoran, Manuak, and Kashar from 400 BC to 250 AD. Some evidence also points to Sedic peoples settling in modern-day Watan and intermarrying with people already inhabiting the land.

The region of present-day Watan was inhabited by pre-Homo sapiens and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less Abayadi Sea region. These were subsistence societies and although they did not establish prosperous settlements, they did form organized societies. Neolithic Watan experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. The earliest evidence of humans in west Alutra comes during this time with Ficha Sílex, translating to "Flint token", signifying the finding of a flint token at the site. There were approximately 8 buildings - 3 of which being identified as living spaces, and the remaining being sheds or outhouses. Only one building remains - the Aqiḍun - which may have been a fire pit used for cooking meat.

It is believed by some scholars that early in the first millennium BC, several waves of Pre-Tilargi invaded Watan from Central Alutra and intermarried with the local populations, forming different tribes. Another theory suggests that Pre-Tilargi inhabited southwestern Alutra well before any large Pre-Tilargi migrations from Central Alutra. In addition, a number of linguists expert in ancient Tilargi have presented compelling evidence that the Meskin language, once spoken in parts of northern Ventora and Watan, is at least proto-Tilargi in structure. This signifies the entrance of the Tilargi culture and peoples into present-day Watan.

Modern archaeology and research shows a Watanese root to the Sedic culture in Watan and elsewhere. During that period and until the Kashar invasions, the Cortes culture (a variation of the Matanic culture along the Abayadi coast) was prolific in Watan and eastern Ventora. This culture, together with the surviving elements of the Abayadi megalithic culture and the contributions that come from the more Western Abayadi cultures, ended up in what has been called the Cultura Cortesja or Cortes Culture.

Based on the Kashar chronicles about the coastal Watanese peoples, along with the narrations and the interpretation of the abundant archaeological remains throughout the western half of Watan and Ventora, it is possible to infer that there was a matriarchal society, with a military and religious aristocracy of the feudal type. The figures of maximum authority were the chieftain (chefe tribal), of military type and with authority in his clan, and the druid, mainly referring to medical and religious functions that could be common to several clans. The Sedic cosmogony remained homogeneous due to the ability of the druids to meet in councils with the druids of other areas, which ensured the transmission of knowledge and the most significant events. The first documentary references to Cortes society are provided by chroniclers of Kashar and Ventoran military campaigns about the social organization, and describing the inhabitants of these territories, Cortes of western Watan as: "A group of barbarians who spend the day fighting and the night eating, drinking and singing under the moon."

There were other similar tribes, and chief among them were the Matanic; the core area of these people lay in inland central Watan, while numerous other related tribes existed such as the Valici of Intreval, and the Cadavid or Cava of the Reparad. Among the tribes or sub-divisions were the Rasal, Cilan, Lemos, Bayona, Morquecho, Junco, Noia, Patino, Zea, Barela, Cora, Chacón, Agudelo, Marcelin, Tapoli, Batallo, Rego, Fajarda, Agron, and Azay. A few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Reparad/Ladige region.

Kashar-Manuak period
There are two known preserved outposts from the Kashar culture from Haksarad in Watan from before 403 BC, however it is suspected that there could have been up to 6 littering the Watanese coasts. These outposts were likely set up in Watan during the Kashar's search for more arable land, although it has also been theorized that the forts were placed in Watan simply as resting points for passing Kashar ships. The Kashar left the region some decades after their original landing, however remnants of Kashar long boats have been located along the Watanese coast following their supposed abandonment. It is likely that the Kashar culture remained lightly in the Watanese territory, although no permanent settlements were ever founded. It is unknown why the Kashar did not settle Watan, but it can be inferred that they faced resistance from native coastal cultures of Watan.

Manuak interference in Watan is significantly better reported than the Kashar era, most likely because of the Manuak's heightened technology and interconnectedness between Watan and their mainland. Settlements along the Watanese coast by Manuaks came soon after their conquering of the Kashar in mainland Haksarad, and unlike earlier Kashar outposts, most Manuak establishments resulted in permanent populations. Trade and were the Manuak's primary goals, although the benefits of the arable land in southern Watan also became a dividend for stable habitation. While more successful than Kashar colonies, there have only been a recorded 27 colonies or attempted colonies, with only 3 originally Manuak settlements surviving to modern-day. While Cortesian cultures remained unassimilated by the Manuak colonization due to the Cortesian cliffs - a series of high ridges lining the coasts of southwestern Watan, the Tilargi cultures were forced to either assimilate into the Manuak culture or migrate further north through the Matanic territory and into the unsettled highlights of Cecia. This would become known as the Great Tilargi Migration, as it was the largest and most significant migration of any people group in Watanese history. Not only would this affect Tilargi populations in Watan, but communities in Ventora would also move north with their Watanese siblings.

Similar to the Cortesian culture, the Vidalic peoples were generally untouched by the Manuaks, coming to an early agreement to keep away from each other's settlements while also maintaining trade to benefit both parties. Saldanese and Matanic cultures were also untouched by Manuak colonization given their inland location. As time went on, permanent Manuak settlements in Watan decreased due to the large distance in between Watan and Haksarad.

Some ancient urban ruins of Manuak settlement in Watan are quite large, such as Arvoredo and Aldeia do Velejar, the latter of which is by far the largest Manuak settlement in Watan and is also a recognized National Monument. Aldeia do Velejar lies 16 kilometres (10 miles) from Ferragudo. The site also has a museum that displays objects found by archaeologists during their excavations. Several works of engineering, such as baths, temples, bridges, roads, circuses, theatres and laymen's homes are preserved throughout the country. Coins, some coined on Watanese land, as well as numerous pieces of ceramics, were also found.

This era would also bring about the Vidal river system, which was a large-scale trade network branching from the source of the Vidalic River to the mouth. It is believed that manned caravans of rafts would frequently be sent down the river in order to supply communities with resources such as food or building materials. Items could be "purchased" by supplying items equal in value to the objects purchased. This system would bring large amounts of people to the mouth of the Vidalic River, and would bring the foundation of the city of Foz do Vidal.