Encarnação
Encarnação Encarnação do Coração de Cristo | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
|
Motto: "Unidade Eterna e Liberdade Para Sempre" "Eternal Unity and Liberty Forever" | |
|
Anthem: "Hino Nacional"
File:HinoNacional.mp3 Royal anthem: "E Marcha Real"
| |
| Capital | São Vicente |
| Official languages | Portugues, Encarnaçian portuguese |
| Recognised national languages | Taino |
| Ethnic groups |
|
| Religion |
|
| Demonym | Encarnaçian |
| Government | Constitutional Monarchy |
• King of Jungastia | Agostinho III |
• Prime Minister | Dionísio Lobo |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Senate | |
| Chamber of Deputies | |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 2,146,982 |
| GDP (PPP) | estimate |
• Total | $22.984 billion |
| Gini |
40 medium |
| HDI |
 0.789high |
| Currency | Jungastian Cruzeiro (JCR) |
| Driving side | right |
| Internet TLD | .enc |
Encarnação is an island nation and member of the of Jungastian Commonwealth located in the Ingonian. It is located nearby the nations of Albaterra to the south, Theyka to the northeast and Arbenz to the east. Encarnação is composed of a total of 5 islands, with the primary island of Encarnação being the most populated by a large margin. The secondary islands of Salvação, São Tomé, Coração and Ilha Bárbara contain significantly smaller populations and are primarily populated by groups of Taino peoples, the native peoples of the island group.
The islands has been populated by the Taino for centuries prior to the arrival of Jungastian settlers in the year 1581, who claimed the islands for the Jungastian crown. Settlers primarily used the nation's agricultural capacity for the production and export of cash crops such as cotton and tobacco, industries that continue to exist to this day. Relationships with the native populations were cold at first, and sometimes violent, but a policy of integration with settler populations allowed for peaceful coexistence through most of the country's later history. The islands remained a dependency of Jungastia for several centuries until the year 1912, when independence was declared following negotiations with the mainland and ideological differences with the then ruling republican government. Encarnação was briefly occupied by Siwi Kondre from 1915 to 1923, a period known as the Siwi occupation of Encarnaçao. In the modern day the islands is an independent nation and a member of the Jungastian commonwealth, having their head of state be the King of Jungastia.
The nation's primary economic products are agricultural, with the nation being one of the major producers and exporters of cotton and tobacco through its history. Other than its agricultural produce, the nation has a large service industry with offshore insurance, reinsurance, and tourism being major industries within the nation. Tourism is also an incredibly important part of the island nation's economy, with an estimate of 5 million tourists visiting the islands yearly. A large section of the country capital's businesses are heavily or entirely dependent on tourism, such as beach resorts, hotels, restaurants and other similar businesses and much of the country's population is employed in the tourism industry.
Encarnação has been described as a melting pot of cultures due to the large amount of influences from Artemian, native Avalonian and even other Avalonian colonies. Jungastians, native Taino, Albaterrans and many more lived together on the islands for centuries, creating a new cultural group known as Encarnaçeiros that now dominate the island's politics and culture. The islands are home to many traditions including music, cuisine, sports and others.
Etymology
The primary island's name, which translates to "Incarnation of the Heart of Christ" in Anglic, was given to the island by the first Artemian explorers to discover it in the 16th century. The name was first recorded by Jungastian explorer Romão Cruz, and used extensively by later settlers of the islands. The original Taino name for the islands was lost to time through the centuries, as Taino living in the islands adopted the new name given to it by settlers.
History
Pre-Colonial History
Prior to Jungastian contact the island chain had been populated by the native group known as the Taino who arrived to the islands through Albaterra. The islands were settled by pre-agricultural hunter gatherers several centuries prior to the arrival of Jungastian settlers. Many archeological sites have been found dating to 4000–1000 BC displaying tools and weapons used by the local Taino peoples of the islands and other archeological remains. Many tribes and other groups inhabited the islands at the time of contact with the Artemian explorers, some of which still survive to this day primarily in the southern island chain of the nation.
Early Colonial History
The first settlers to reach the islands of Encarnação came in the later decades of the 16th century, as the island was discovered by Jungastian explorers and relations with the local native population were established in 1576. The island was named by explorer Romão Cruz, who was the first Jungastian to set foot on the island in 1577. The first interactions with the native population were relatively peaceful, with trade ships coming through the region trading clothing and tools for food and other basic needs for their ongoing journey. The first settlement on the island was established in 1581 by a colonial emissary from mainland Jungastia called Fabrício Mateus, who declared the whole island chain to be now property of the Jungastian crown and founded the capital city of São Vicente, naming it after the patron saint of his family, in the northern area of the primary island of Encarnação. The nation of Agrana y Griegro colonized the region of modern day Monte Bajo for a portion of time, but the colony was eventually abandoned and absorbed by the considerably larger Jungastian colonies.
Early into the history of Encarnação, the island colony was primarily a producer of cash crops, which were traded with sailing trade ships in exchange of manufactured goods from the mainland as the island had a population too small to sustain advanced industries and was under threat of native aggression. The primary agricultural goods produced on the island through its history were tobacco and cotton, but other products such as sugar cane and beef were also common into the later periods of Jungastian rule. Exports were mainly directed towards mainland Jungastia, but many traders from nations such as Agrana y Griegro came by the island yearly to purchase supplies and sell goods to the settlers.
Relations with the native population were cold, with native raids happening relatively commonly, but no direct act of war happened between both sides at any point in history, allowing for relationships to eventually settle into peace and cooperation. The local government afforded better liberties and rights to the natives of the island with some limitations that were eventually overturned in the 19th century.
Piracy was one of the primary threats to the well-being of the colony, with many early settlers being lost to pirate raids of the island and the capital city even being occupied by Mero-Curgov privateers early in in its history. The piracy issue caused many shortages of necessary goods that endangered the continued existence of the colony, as traders sometimes outright refused to visit the ports of Encarnação due to the danger tied to the island. Piracy slowly receded as a threat as the Jungastian navy further extended its reach better into the surrounding areas and could better assure the safety of traders in the region.
Albaterran Indentured Workers
While slavery as an institution was present in Jungastia at the time, it was highly unpopular in Encarnação due to it being deemed unprofitable and even immoral in comparison to the option of indentured workers. A large minority in the modern day are descendants from resettled workers from Albaterra, forced to move in the later parts of the 17th century by Jungastian authorities to the less populated areas of the islands to better populate the island and further justify the nation's claim on it. A large portion of the influx of Albaterran workers was composed of criminals who were forced to work on plantations and manufactories to pay for their crimes, sometimes to death in extreme cases.
Indentured workers were exploited for low wages primarily in plantations, where they sometimes worked in exchange of rum and food instead of a proper salary or wage. They were generally hired for 5 years, but this limit was exceeded on several occasions to compensate for bad harvests or other economic downturns. Workers were technically promised the ability to travel back to Albaterra at the end of their 5 years of work, generally with a higher final payment, but this promise was generally broken and not fulfilled. Workers would remain in the island for decades and finally decide to permanently settle down instead of leaving. This is how the current Albaterran minority in the island came to be.
Through the years many criticisms were levied against indentured labor, with many politicians from the more liberal sectors of society calling it a new form of slavery. Indentured labor, however, was highly different from the institution of slavery, as workers were paid, contracts were finite and the idea of owning an individual was not present. By the late 19th century the popularity of indentured labor had decreased as laws and the changing society applied new pressures to it. because of this development, indentured work was banned in Encarnação in 1882.
Takeover of 1654
Early in the history of the colony of Encarnação, the island group found itself under constant threat of pirates and privateers from rival nations of Jungastia. In 1654, these threats became worse as privateers from the nation of Mero-Curgovina attempted a violent takeover of the island chain through landing on the capital of São Vicente with a large contingent of ships and men in an attempt to seize the lightly guarded colony for the Govic crown. Colonial troops in the island were too weak and unprepared for the sudden takeover and surrendered a day into the fighting as the capital saw itself overwhelmed and bombarded from the shores. News did not reach Jungastia until weeks later, by which point the entire crisis had already ended.
At this time, the colony of Encarnação had a small population and was not fully capable of defending itself without assistance from the mainland. Local militia forces under the command of militia captain Paulo Abreu prepared for several days to fight back the occupying force entirely by themselves, as they seized local colonial government armories and armed themselves in preparation. The local civilian population was highly non-compliant with the occupation force which made the continued takeover of the island more painful and difficult than was originally expected. Attrition took a toll on the occupying forces as guerrilla attacks were conducted on their camps by the militia forces of Abreu and the constant refusal to cooperate from civilians forcing them to resort to thievery and foraging to acquire food and basic resources to survive.
Finally by the 10th day of the occupation, the highly demoralized occupation forces were fought back by a combined effort of militia forces, reorganized colonial troops from other areas of the island and civilians armed with boiling water, batons, pots and pans. Enemy forces retreated back into their ships and sailed off from the island having failed their objective of quickly and successfully seizing the fledgling colony. By the point friendly ships reached the colony, there was no privateers to be found on land and the colony had returned to normal operations as usual. This moment in history has been ingrained into the history of the nation as proof that the country was capable of defending itself against invading forces without the need for homeland assistance, and became part of the cultural tradition of the new nation as an agreement for independence was reached centuries later.
Late Colonial History
The later periods of the country's colonial history were marked by a consistent upwards boom in population, as immigration and local fertility rates skyrocketed. The nation's economy became more robust and profitable as time went on, with the diversification of its agricultural output and the appearance of the first large scale manufacturies and refineries in the nation. Cotton was further refined into cloth and clothing, tobacco into cigars and eventually cigarettes, sugar cane was refined into spirits, meat was salted and exported for use in the slave trade as slave food. All these goods were then exported at a hefty profit to other Avalonian states and the Artemian and Keshian mainland. The country saw itself grow from a small colony of no more than 100 thousand people into a million souls within 2 centuries, and growth kept doubling up until the modern day.
A limited form of self government was given to the colony in the 18th century with the introduction of the Lei Colonial of 1743, which created the Encarnação General Assembly, which primarily gave representation to the rich Jungastian plantation elites of the islands. Later on, after independence, the General Assembly was reformed into the modern day Encarnaçian Parliament. The 19th century also saw the expansion of native rights, thanks to the political spearhead of the Rosto Pintado movement of cacique Agüeybaná which demanded more rights for the native population, exalting their deeds in favor of the Jungastian settlers in the colony's early history. The Rosto Pintado movement took many decades to actually achieve the change they desired, and the final result did not truly match their aims, but their actions are still seen as a success by many modern day Encarnaçian natives.
The 18th century was a century of peace and expansion for the colonial economy, but into the late 19th century relations with the mainland became more rocky as the first and second republic rose and fell. The islands were known for their rabid support of the crown, which had given unprecedented support to the colony's colonial venture for centuries, and the fall of the monarchy meant the colony had grown extremely discontent with the ruling republican government. This lead to several incidents and falling outs through the late 19th century that finally reached a boiling point in the beginning of the 20th century, when in 1912 the colony lodged a formal request for partial independence which, with the republic already in a shaky footing and facing pressure from several positions at the same time, was accepted. The colony then became a technically independent nation member of the Jungastian commonwealth, while still remaining highly connected to the mainland and requiring their support on many aspects of everyday administration such as military protection and economic support.
The island finally achieved its independence peacefully in 1912 thanks to its clever negotiations with the crumbling Jungastian Republic. Still even after becoming independent the nation remained highly dependent on Jungastia for support both militarily and economically, both of which the mother nation could not give at such unstable times. The first year of independence was marked by celebration, as the island's population of crown loyalists celebrated independence from the republic they despised. Nevertheless the newly independent government found itself with many struggles ahead of it, as the nation's infrastructure was severely lacking in maintenance, the coffers were almost empty and the country's ability to protect itself from the nations surrounding it was zero.
1867 São Vicente earthquake
The capital city of São Vicente was devastated by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake on the moment magnitude scale. The island was struck at around 2 AM local time, which caught many citizens by surprise in their middle of their sleep and made evacuation of houses difficult during the earthquake. It was one of the deadliest earthquakes in the history of Anterra, killing thousands of people both during the earthquake and shortly after as many heavily damaged buildings collapsed during rescue efforts. It's believed every building in the capital was damaged during the earthquake and a large part of the city collapsed, requiring a large scale rebuilding effort by the colonial government.
The main shock lasted for 30 seconds after a minor initial tremor. The initial tremor was at first ignored as a common tremor, with many islanders deeming tremors to be a common occurrence in the island and ultimately harmless. The shock quickly rose to its climax and caused extreme damage to the city, as many buildings quickly collapsed due to their old and poorly maintained foundations. Not much else is known about the earthquake itself, as the only seismograph on the island was destroyed by the earthquake. Many aftershocks were felt, with over 70 being recorded up to a month later.
A tsunami also struck the island shortly after the earthquake, hitting the northern coast of Encarnação and causing even more unexpected damage to the already shocked island. The tsunami was of such strength that there were reports of high waves in the southern areas of the island too, causing panic among the citizens of Monte Bajo. The level of the sea was reported to have initially dropped by more than 3 metres, as the sea withdrew a distance of about 80 m, before returning at a height of about 2 metres above normal, flooding the lower parts of the town.
The larger ships that survived the tsunami and earthquake were used as makeshift hospitals and triage zones to separate the wounded from the dead and treat those in critical conditions. Miraculously the main hospital in the city was only lightly damaged and quickly re-opened its doors to help with the wounded. The São Vicente public hospital's lack of damage was seen by many at the time as a miracle from God. A few days afterwards supplies and workers arrived from Albaterra and Jungastia to help in the clearing of rubble and rebuilding of the most important areas of the city. The aftermath of the earthquake led to a large scale reform of construction laws in the city that enforced the use of stronger foundations and anti-earthquake architectural techniques in the city.
Movimento do Rostos Pintados
In the 19th century the rights of the native population were contested. While still enjoying better treatment and rights than a number of other native populations across Avalonia, there was still much to be desired, specially in the field of government representation and the protection of native cultures from the aggressive assimilation policy of past governments. The 19th century saw the rise to power in the isle of São Tomé of local cacique Agüeybaná. Cacique Agüeybaná was a loved figure in the local culture of the Taino people, a known strong figure, great orator and an enjoyer of Jungastian culture and traditions while still retaining strong ties to his own people and culture. These facts gave Agüeybaná the extraordinary power to reach across the board to both his people and the greater Encarnaçian population at large.
Early into the 19th century cacique Agüeybaná started to organize what was later referred to by the Encarnaçian media as the "Rostos Pintados" or "Painted Faces", in reference to the facial tattoo culture of the Taino tribe from which Agüeybaná originated. The movement demanded better representation in government of the plight of the native population of Encarnação, and the furthering of native protection policies that had been largely abandoned in the past century. Thanks to his deep knowledge of general Encarnaçian culture and traditions, cacique Agüeybaná managed to make a name for himself as more than just another "Complaining native", as they were referred to at the time, and made a name for himself as a ferocious orator and highly argumentative person. Sitting in political debates across the nation and participating in chats with both the native population, Encarnaçian people and even the Jungastiano elites at large, the later of whom largely ignored his requests.
The era was already a time of major change for the nation, the new and rising Social Democratic movement was already on the verge of winning the coming elections of 1882 and many reforms were promised for the Encarnaçian population. Protests were commonplace and their violent repression by the police and even armed forces was too as natives found themselves enraged by their continued oppression and the charismatic words of Agüeybaná only made the situation more volatile. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before the situation aligned in favor of the cacique and as the year 1882 approached and the situation seemed less and less sustainable, the final decision dawned.
The ferocious nature of Agüeybaná attracted the name of several important figures in Encarnaçian politics, whom he befriended, and through several acts of reaflpolitik and political stunts managed to get the Act for the Protection and Representation of Natives past the Encarnaçao General Assembly, shortly after the victory of the new Social Democratic movement, with the help of a team of orators and colonial representatives. This victory for the rights of the native population remains one of the highest points in native Encarnaçian history.
QRN Willkapampa Incident and Siwi Occupation
Throught the 20th century, the nations of Siwi Kondre and Jungastia had maintained rocky relations. Both nations were major political and military rivals, contesting each other's claims in the region of Southern Avalonia specially in the regions of Cervera and Albaterra, where many conflicts were fought between the two nations through the 19th and 20th centuries. Into the 20th century, the Republican government of Cervera had been unable to fulfill its debt repayments to the Siwi government and as a result, their government was toppled in a Coup D'Etat supported by Siwion the 18th of August, 1916. In the years coming up to this event in 1915, the Siwi ship QRN Willkapampa, followed by a contingent of frigates approached the coastline of the capital city of São Vicente. The aggressive move caught the island's recently independent government completely by surprise. The contingent demanded the complete surrender of the country to their nation's forces at risk of coastal bombardment did it not comply within 6 hours. During the first 4 hours of the showdown, QRN Willkapampa fired 3 rounds towards the general direction of the General Assembly of Encarnação, with one of the rounds missing the building only by a few meters. This caused the government of the country to take the threats more seriously and hurriedly prepare the island's total surrender.
Lacking any capacity to fight back the invading force due to its fresh independence, and with the Jungastian government in too fragile of a position too provide any form of help, the government's weak military force stood down and allowed the occupation of the country. Occupation of the nation commenced shortly after, with the seizing of the government apparatus of the island by Siwi marines and the shutting down of local newspapers and other forms of news diffusion on the country. For the first year of the occupation some sectors of the island were unaware of the ongoing occupation as news traveled extremely slowly across the nation's rough rural outskirts.
The island's government was technically still independent from Siwi, following the decree presented by the Siwi government that there was no occupation but rather the occupation was a security mission with the intent of safeguarding the island. Nevertheless, the General Assembly was in practice subservient to the wishes of the Siwi administration of the island. The nation was governed by two commissioners through the 8 years the occupation lasted, Isaac Schelto (later PM of Siwi from 1938 to 1957), and Commodore Anders Boogie. Many new offices were formed through the occupation, such as: The Commission Audit Service, tasked with the management of Encarnaçian debts incurred to Siwi to pay for the ongoing occupation/security mission. The Commission Customs Service, tasked with managing the export of goods. The Commission Crops Service, which harshly managed the many plantations across the nation and the Commission Police Service, which repressed dissenters and actively fought insurgent forces. These services were primarily by Siwi officials and oversaw the extraction of wealth, payment of debts, and management of population and economy.
A resistance force took a several years to form due to a general lack of military equipment in Encarnação, with the first organized forms of resistance starting to show on the island chain around the year 1919, 4 years after the beginning of the island's occupation and one year after a large portion of the Siwi occupation force had already left the islands. By 1918 the occupation force had already left most of the nation except the capital, and a protectorate had been established. The main purpose for the occupation of Encarnação was as a show of force against Cervera, and as the country became more unprofitable to occupy Siwi forces slowly began to abandon the islands until by 1923 full independence was restored to Encarnação via mutual agreement between Siwi and local representatives of the past independent government.
The population of the nation experienced mistreatment during the occupation ranging from forced labor to appropriation of property by Siwi troops. Nevertheless, the occupation of the islands was generally believed to be among the softest, primarily due to the low level of resistance and opposition to the occupying force by the then around 400 thousand strong nation's population. The modern day Encarnaçian government has accused the Siwi government of committing many atrocities and crimes during occupation such as the stealing of property, appropriation of family members for forced marriage and forced labor. In the modern day relations between Encarnação and Siwi have been normalized through years of political interaction and cooperation between the two nations, and the islands' government is now a member of ECOSEAS.
Jungastian Dictatorship
The fall of the second republic and rise of the Frente de Salvação Nacional in 1921 in Jungastia meant many things for the newly independent state. Primarily, the crown was back, which brought much happiness to the local population. The self-coup of the FSN was initially widely celebrated as the instability of the Republic had finally ended. The first years after the new independence of the island saw very little in the way of investments on the fledgling state, but into the 1930s Coutinho turned his eye back on the ex-colony. With the government being composed primarily of Jungastian loyalists, Coutinho's government provided economic support and military equipment in exchange of the continuous loyalty of the island nation. The economy of the islands, however, reached a slump in the mid 20th century as the economy slowed down and the economic boom of the past decades reached an end. Much pressure was put on the island state to bend the knee on political matters but the skillful negotiation of the Prime Minister at the time Camilo Pinho managed to keep the island independent from the strong influences of Coutinho's Jungastia.
In the late 1970s the death of Coutinho was expected but it nevertheless rocked the island when it happened. The internal struggle of the FSN was expected to reach a boiling point relatively fast and the political theorists of the island watched and intently discussed the results that may come from it. Through the following years the country was rocked by scandals as the true extent of Coutinho's influence over the government was revealed. Many breaches in the constitution of the island nation were discovered and made public, proving that the state had indeed worked together with Coutinho's government to apprehend political expatriates and other members of the opposition within Encarnação and deported them in secret to mainland Jungastia where they were secretly tortured and made to disappear without a trace. This caused a gigantic scandal that forced the government of Camilo Pinho, which had ruled for over 3 terms, to resign and elections to be called.
When the revolution finally hit in 1982, Encarnação was politically a new country. Now ruled by the Social Democratic Partido Trabalhista of Faustino Nunes, the state fully supported the revolutionary forces in Jungastia and sought to establish new renovated relationships with it. The government of Camilo Pinho was overwhelmingly seen as a government of traitors and destined to the dark portions of islander history. The Island's government, due to their continuing close ties with Jungastia and their involvement during Coutinho's dictatorship, was invited to the "Truth and Reconciliation” commission in the mid 1980s to discuss the future of Jungastia and its colonies and dependencies, during which the country's representatives reinforced their desire to remain an independent member of the Jungastian commonwealth but stressed their desire to remain close allies and friends of the new government.
Geography
Encarnação is a volcanic island located in the Ingonian, it's composed of a chain of long inactive volcanoes the majority of which are now submerged underwater. The nation is located nearby the nations of Albaterra to the south, Theyka to the northeast and Arbenz to the east.
The two major peaks in the mainland island correspond to the mounts Monica and Vitória. The secondary islands of Salvação, São Tomé and Coração come off the southern area of the primary island of Encarnação. They're all also volcanic islands, with their respective volcanoes remaining inactive for millions of years. They are significantly more mountainous and hilly than the primary island. The majority of the population reside in the main island of Encarnação, but a large section of the native population lives in the secondary islands.
Ilha Bárbara is also an inactive volcanic island. Unlike the other secondary islands it is further away from the primary island, located kilometers off the southern coast and connected via ferry with the city of Monte Bajo. Most of the other inactive volcanoes in the region are now underwater thanks to the rising sea levels after the end of the ice age.
The primary island's geography is hilly and mountainous near the higher points in the island but flatter away from them towards the coast and the center of the island. Encarnação is famous for its many beaches, home to many resorts and tourist attractions. Although primarily composed of plains and hills, the nation also contains a number of swamps towards the southern area of the primary island which are currently being drained to accommodate for population growth from the city of Monte Bajo and its surrounding villages and towns. The highest points in the nation are the mounts of Monica and Vitória, named after the children of Jungastian explorer Clemente Vicente, at 1012 and 989 meters in height. Most of the country's flats are highly fertile and allow for the ongoing large scale farming of cash crops in the island for relatively low costs for the industry's standards.
Much of the islands' surface is covered in both wet forests and rainforests, specially in the central areas of Encarnação where rainforests can reach a large level of thickness and be outright impassable. Many of the nation's rainforests are protected by national parks, but the recent expansion of the logging industry has led to concerns that this protection may not be enough for the future of the nation's precious rainforests.
The islands are located in close proximity to faults in the Ingonian, making them victim of very destructive earthquakes that strike at least once a decade, with smaller less destructive ones happening with more frequency. Although most earthquakes fall low on the richter scale, making them relatively harmless thanks to the island's advanced anti-earthquake architecture in the more urban areas and cheap construction materials used in rural areas that make reconstruction after earthquakes a cheap and safe procedure, some earthquakes have been extremely destructive. The islands experienced very damaging earthquakes in their early history, specially in the 19th century with the 1867 São Vicente earthquake that destroyed or heavily damaged most of the city, requiring a large scale reconstruction effort that took many years. Other disasters common in the islands are slope failures (landslides), floods and hurricanes.
Climate
The island chain has a maritime tropical climate, with a five month long dry season and a seven month long rainy or wet season. Dominant trade winds hit the nation's northern area, historically facilitating the arrival of trade ships to the region. The island is generally warm and humid, with the plains of the region being significantly more warm than the hilly and mountainous areas near mounts Monica and Vitória, which are cooler and more humid thanks to the common occurrence of mists, rains and cloud coverings. Temperature in the plains of the primary island can sometimes be sweltering, reaching temperatures of 40°C at the highest in the dry season.
Climate related natural hazards such as cyclones and hurricanes strike the island rarely from June to November. The island has been struck by several different hurricanes through its history, generally in relation to tectonic plate movements and earthquakes. Millions of Cruzeiros have been lost due to hurricanes and earthquakes hitting the island through the decades. Tropical storms also regularly strike the island, primarily in coastal regions, causing much damage to the country's infrastructure.
Biodiversity
The islands of Encarnação support an incredibly varied number of plants and wildlife, most of them native but some imported from other parts of the world by Jungastian settlers such as farm animals and capybaras. A large portion of the country's flora, however, has been lost thanks to the large scale deforestation campaign of the early colonial period to free up valuable space for the planting of cash crops for export. Many of the country's forests, savannas and swamps were cleared for the exploitation of the soil in agriculture. In the process, many plants were also imported from other areas of the world such a sugarcane, bananas and citrus trees. Encarnação is home to many thousands of species of flowering and non-flowering plants, most of which are endemic.
The island is home to thousands of species of flowers and other plants, with many of them on display in the country's many private and public botanical gardens. In areas were rainfall is common, bamboo, mahogany and rosewood can be found. Large portions of the country are covered in rainforests, specially near more mountainous areas.
Much of the country's fauna is typical of countries in the Ingonian, the islands posses a varied wildlife ranging from bats such as the fig-eating and hairy-tailed bats and other mammals, primarily introduced to the island either as farm animals or exotic pets, such as wild boars and capybaras. The country is also home to a large number of reptiles such as the Avalonian Crocodile, iguanas, anoles, boas and many species of non-venomous snakes. The country has a large supply of fresh water inhabited by snooks, itajara, mangrove snappers, and mullets. Salt water in the nation is in the other hand, home to many species of kingfish, jack, mackerel, whiting, bonito, and tuna.
Encarnação is home to a large number of bird species, making the island a very popular bird-watching location for tourists. Notable species include the scarlet ibis, cocrico, egret, shiny cowbird, bananaquit, oilbird and various species of honeycreeper, trogon, toucan, parrot, tanager, woodpecker, antbird, kites, hawks, boobies, pelicans and vultures; there are also 17 species of hummingbird, including the tufted coquette which is the world's third smallest. Many birds are seen as icons of the island, such as the toucan and woodpecker.
The southern secondary islands of Encarnação are home to the most untouched wildlife and endangered species in the region. The low levels of human development and economic exploitation allowed wildlife to survive and thrive in the islands. Many endangered species live and thrive in the secondary islands of Encarnação, and the government has put forwards several projects in an attempt to further protect the wildlife of the islands. Several species are found only in the islands of Salvação, São Tomé and Coração and nowhere else in Encarnação or the world at large.
Demographics
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1650 | 12,881 | — |
| 1778 | 19,322 | +50.0% |
| 1800 | 25,763 | +33.3% |
| 1809 | 27,910 | +8.3% |
| 1825 | 34,351 | +23.1% |
| 1839 | 42,939 | +25.0% |
| 1857 | 60,115 | +40.0% |
| 1869 | 85,879 | +42.9% |
| 1895 | 191,081 | +122.5% |
| 1914 | 373,574 | +95.5% |
| 1947 | 751,443 | +101.1% |
| 1960 | 944,672 | +25.7% |
| 1970 | 1,094,960 | +15.9% |
| 1980 | 1,309,659 | +19.6% |
| 1991 | 1,524,357 | +16.4% |
| 2001 | 1,696,115 | +11.3% |
| 2010 | 1,889,344 | +11.4% |
| 2020 | 2,146,982 | +13.6% |
2020 estimates set the population of Encarnação at around 2,146,982 inhabitants, up from 1,889,344 in the 2010 census. Encarnação ranks among the lowest populations in Anterra. The growth rate of the nation in 2010 was an estimated 1.03% annually, with a birth rate of 17.7 live births per 1,000 inhabitants and a mortality rate of 7.4 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. The population growth of the nation is currently slowing as the nation starts to experience a shift in the age of its population. The proportion of people under 15 is 16.6%, and the proportion of people 65 and older is relatively high at 10.8%. Its birth rate of 2.3 children per woman is considerably below the high of 7.0 children born per woman in 1895. The median age is 31.9 years and life expectancy at birth is 77.14 years.
Ethnicity
Human biological diversity and ethnicity
Ethnically, Encarnação is a highly varied country. The colonial policy of assimilation of the native population led to a large, dominant portion of the population identifying as a "Encarnaçeiro" ethnic group composed Jungastian-Native mixed people. Encarnaçeiro people are generally of a darker complexion in comparison to many Artemian peoples, and hold a separate ethnic identity from either Jungastians or Taino people. The mixed population of the nation is the largest in the country and the dominant ethnic group by a large margin, having had more representation in government than any other ethnic group in the nation for most of the country's history up to recent years.
The second largest ethnic group in the nation are those either descended from Jungastian settlers that did not marry into Taino families or recent immigrants from the Jungastian mainland. Jungastians are noted for their generally wealthy backgrounds, being owners of businesses, plantations and factories. The third group is made out of the native Taino population, which have lived in the island group for centuries prior to contact by Jungastian settlers and an Albaterran minority descended from both indentured workers and prison laborers from their home country, which were imported into the nation in the early period of the country's history to further populate the country's more rural and uninhabited areas. Many of the country's Taino and Albaterran minorities preserve their original beliefs, religions and cultures to this day through an active effort that has spanned for centuries of the country's history.
There's a large Sephardic Jewish community in the country's capital of São Vicente, primarily they are located in the city's Judiaria (Jewish neighborhood) or in close proximity to it. The country's Jewish community exists almost exclusively within the capital, as the number of jews outside it is extremely rare and near zero. Around 20,000 Encarnaçians are Jewish or descended from Jews, with many of them being business or plantation owners. Jewish has become influential for the city's culture, with many jewish cemeteries located in it.
A varied Keshi minority also exists across the island, a result of large scale immigration from Kesh by workers looking for new work oportunities in Avalonia. This new minority has left an impact in the culture of the island, even if they are a very small portion of the country's population, due to their radically different cultures and beliefs from the average Encarnaçian.
Religion
The Encarnaçian constitution guarantees freedom of religion for anyone currently within the legal boundaries of the island, including non-citizens and those in transit. The constitution, however gives a preferential treatment to Jungastian Messianism and other forms of Messianism over other religions such as the Taino's religious beliefs. According to recent polls, Encarnação is composed of a majority of 88% varied Messianic sects, a minority of 8% Indigenous Religion followers and a remaining 4% labeled as "other" that includes Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Agnostics and more. The island's population is heavily religious, with atheism being an uncommon occurrence and most people following Jungastian Messianism . However, recent independent polls showcase a slow but steady decrease in the number of Messianics in the island and an increase in the number of atheists.
The primary Messianic group within the island are Jungastian Messianics, a special sect of Messianism originating from Jungastia. Still, other sects of Messianism exist within the island such as the Marian Church, with a following composed primarily of the descendants of Artemian immigrants from Agrana y Griegro and Tiperyn. Artemian Catholicism is also popular among Artemian immigrants and their descendants, with many catholic churches having been built across the island. Within Protestantism, many sects enjoy a certain level of popularity such as Seventh Day Adventists, Pentecostals, Baptists, Methodists and non-denominational Protestants.
The island's capital is home to a local and new sect of Evangelical Protestantism known as the Church of the Lord Risen or CLR, which has recently grown exponentially in size through the last decades following its foundation in 1996. The Lord Risen church has been criticized for its sometimes extreme beliefs, sometimes being considered a New Religious Movement due to the large levels of religious syncretism with other common beliefs in the island, and cult-like behavior. The CLR is growing to become one of the largest religions on the islands in the following decades if growth remains increasing.
The capital city of São Vicente has the largest number of religious minorities, primarily a decently sized jewish community living within the Jewish Neighborhood or Judiaria of the city. Outside the capital city however, religious minorities are highly uncommon outside of those practicing Taino religious beliefs in the more rural, taino-dominated areas of the country. Among the religions more recently introduced into the islands is Haqiqatan, both Sunni and Shia, introduced by Keshi immigrants seeking work in the islands.
Language
There are two national languages in Encarnação, Jungastian portuguese and the pidgin language generally known as Encarnaçian portuguese or Encarnaçian creole. Generally, both languages are taught in Encarnaçian schools and are part of the country's national curricula. Jungastian portuguese is generally taught as a language for international use, in the same way Tipsprek is taught in many private schools for use in international communications, while Encarnaçian Creole is taught for everyday use in common daily life. The "hardness" of Encarnaçian Creole, I.E: How mutually intelligible it is with normal portuguese, depends on context and whom the speaker is speaking with. "Pure" Encarnaçian Creole is generally considered to be its own separate language from typical portuguese. Creole is speaking primarily by the country's mixed and Albaterran population, with the white sectors of the population preferring to speak in Jungastian portuguese instead. The native population of the islands prefer to speak in either their native Taino tongue or creole.
Recent surveys have shown that approximately 43% of the population is monolingual, speaking either creole or Jungastian portuguese. More specifically, 22% of the population is monolingual in Jungastian Portuguese and the leftover 21% is monolingual in creole. The remaining percentage of the population speaks a mixture of both languages or other foreign languages. Some other private surveys have shown a greater percentage of bilingualism. Other languages spoken in the island are Tipsprek, Arabic, Yiddish and Jungastian or Encarnaçian sign language. Sign language is still not taught in public schools but a growing movement of deaf or hard of hearing citizens has been pushing for the teaching of either Jungastian or Encarnaçian sign language in public schools.
Education
Encarnaçians have the option to choose between the state's free primary and high school education or a private option, which is generally of a higher standard. Education in the island is mandatory until the age of 18, at which point those who have not yet finished their education may choose to leave school or continue their studies in specialized schools for adults. Public schooling in the nation is generally considered of a lower quality and standard than that of other states and is generally found to be lacking when compared to private options, something the government has wished the rectify in recent years with mixed results. Encarnação guarantees universal, secular and free-of-charge education for all levels.
Higher education is pursued by a lower section of the population than average, with the only options for private higher education being private as there exists no public options on this regard. Most graduates from public schools choose not to follow a higher education while those pursuing an education in private schools do at a significantly higher rate, this has led to a lot of criticism being levied towards the state. Demographically, Jungastians have a higher tendency to follow a higher education than Encarnaçeiros, while Taino and Albaterran minorities have tend to either drop out of high school or never follow a higher education.
Administratively, each município has a large amount of control over the local curriculum of the schools they have jurisdiction over. There is a number of subjects however, that are fully mandatory and required no matter what each município in the island may deem necessary or not, such as mathematics, history, geography and language among many others. Primary education normally begins at the age of 7. Elementary school spans 8 grades, while high school is dependent on the type of school the student desires to go to such as Technical (Escola Técnica), a 4 year "Liceum" school (Liceu) or one of the many vocational schools across the nation. Liceums and Technical schools provide a final exam that measures the student's level of learning, which is later used for access to universities and other forms of higher education.
Health
The nation's healthcare system is generally considered to be robust for a nation of its size and economic capacity. Healthcare is provided by the state and private companies, but public healthcare is the most commonly used and most widespread, specially in rural areas where private healthcare has not yet established itself completely. The country also has a universal and mandatory insurance and pension system, where those working are legally required to set aside a portion of their income for insurance, pensions and healthcare. Hospitals are subordinate to the ministry of health and safety, which provides oversight and scrutiny of their general medical practices and hygiene standards. The country has been noted for its lack of proper psychological treatment standards, having an above international average rate of undiagnosed psychological illnesses and disorders.
The most common diseases in the country are primarily tropical such as dengue and other forms of malaria, with widespread prevention campaigns being common across the nation in an attempt to lower cases as much as possible. Malaria used to be one of the most common killers in Encarnação prior to the introduction of superior antimalarial treatment and a more rigorous anti-malaria campaign across the nation. The level of sanitation and hygiene can vary within each município in the nation, with many people in the more rural areas of the nation still lacking access to running water, which coupled with poor access to medical services can lead to many preventable deaths.
Cities
The majority of settlements in Encarnação have populations below ten thousand people, as most of the population is concentrated on the capital and the city of Monte Bajo. This extreme population disparity has led to friction between the capital and the rest of the country's population as complaints of mistreatment of non-capital populations or preferential treatment of the country's capital over other cities and villages are commonplace across the nation.
The city of São Vicente has been the capital of the islands since its foundation in 1581, and has served as the primary hub for trade, finance and commerce, with the vast majority of important businesses in the island being headquartered in the city. The National Bank, among other smaller private banks, is headquartered in the city. The port of São Vicente is the largest in the country, capable of serving some of the largest tankers and cruise ships in the world. It is home to the majority of the government apparatus of the island, being the political heart of the nation.
Largest cities or towns in Encarnação
2020 Poll | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Município | Pop. | |||||||
 São Vicente  Monte Bajo |
1 | São Vicente | São Vicente | 515,275 |  Cidade de Pedro .jpg) Porto Feliz | ||||
| 2 | Monte Bajo | Monte Bajo | 128,818 | ||||||
| 3 | Cidade de Pedro | Cidade de Pedro | 113,790 | ||||||
| 4 | Porto Feliz | Porto Feliz | 85,879 | ||||||
| 5 | Golfo do Santos | Golfo do Santos | 47,233 | ||||||
| 6 | Cidade Açúcar | Cidade Açúcar | 38,645 | ||||||
| 7 | Ponto Morto | Ponto Morto | 21,469 | ||||||
| 8 | Ilha Bárbara | Ilha Bárbara | 17,175 | ||||||
| 9 | Rio Longo | Rio Longo | 12,881 | ||||||
| 10 | Salvação | Salvação | 10,734 | ||||||
LGBT Rights
Through history members of the LGBT community have faced many challenges in Encarnação that they may not have to face in other nations of Anterra. Until 2008, for example, the nation had active buggery laws that were only declared unconstitutional that year after many decades of fighting for rights by the LGBT community. The law made same-sex intercourse illegal, with a sentence of up to 25 years for those found guilty. The law however was generally not enforced and cases of people arrested for "buggery" were extremely rare, and the law theoretically also punished oral and anal sex between heterosexuals too. The nation has a surprisingly low rate of violence against members of the LGBT community, generally believed to be due to a high rate of apathy about the issue.
Encarnação did not recognize same-sex marriage until 2019, when the same-sex marriage law was passed and civil unions and marriage between people of the same gender were legally allowed. Adoption, however is a topic still under debate as same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt children under Encarnaçian law.
Transgender people are not recognized under Encarnaçian law as existing in any way, which has led to discrimination by the government. It is currently impossible for an Encarnaçian citizen to change their legal gender in any way, and no third option exists for non-binary people. Many transgender activists exist in the nation and are currently pushing for these rights, but popular support is low.
| Same-sex sexual activity legal |  (Since 2008)
|
| Equal age of consent | (Since 2008)
|
| Anti-discrimination laws in employment | 
|
| Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services |
|
| Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) |
|
| Same-sex marriages | (Since 2019)
|
| Recognition of same-sex couples | (Since 2019)
|
| Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples |
|
| Joint adoption by same-sex couples |
|
| LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military |
|
| Right to change legal gender |
|
| Access to IVF for lesbians |
|
| Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples |
|
| MSMs allowed to donate blood |
|
Government and Politics
Encarnação is a Unitary, Constitutional Monarchy led by a Prime Minister as Head of Government and the Jungastian monarch as Head of State, who serves a mostly ceremonial purpose. The country has a two-party system, with the two major parties being the Social Democratic Partido Trabalhista or PT and the Messianic Democratic Partido Democrata Messianico Encarnaçeiro or PDME. Many other parties exists but they have never reached the same level of popularity and votes as the main PT and PDME parties, which have been elected to govern the nation since the fall of the "Partido Nacional" after the death of Coutinho.
Prior to the independence of the nation, the island was ruled by the Encarnação General Assembly, which answered directly to the Jungastian government. With the declaration of independence the General Assembly was transformed into the Parliament and divided into a bicameral system, where the upper house is composed of the Senate or Senado and the lower house is composed of the Chamber of Deputies or Câmara dos Deputados. The Senado represents the interests of the Municípios of Encarnação within the parliament while the Câmara dos Deputados directly represents the interests of the general population of the nation. Members of the senate and parliament are elected every 5 years, with the head of the senate and parliament being elected by the Jungastian monarch from a list of party leaders based off who, in his or her opinion, has the most support from the general population, this is in general the head of the party that has won the most votes in the election.
The Prime Minister of the nation is elected by a general election every 4 years where all citizens aged over 18 can vote. The Prime Minister is the head of the executive branch of the Encarnação government and holds the most power within it. The Prime Minister is tasked with the day to day administration of the island and its people alongside their cabinet of ministers.
Parties
Politics in the island are primarily divided on the matter of economics, with the PT supporting a left wing policy of Social Democratic economics and the PDME supporting a right wing, hands off approach to the economy. Criticism has been levied on both parties, however, due to their consistent disregard for issues relating to corruption and illegal economic activity in the island. Power often alternates between the two major parties, with the current party in power being Dionísio Lobo's Partido Trabalhista (PT).
The PT is the primary left wing party in the country, being within the center-left area of the political spectrum. It's primarily social democratic but some members of the party lean further to the left wing than others, and thus the specific political affiliation of each member varies from each other at times. The party was founded in the 1980s alongside the creation of the Coalizão Nacional Liberal (CNL) as an attempt to oppose the then ruling Partido Nacional, which had been struck by scandals for many years relating to its dealings with the then dead Coutinho through his rule.
The PDME has existed since the 1930s as a more liberal alternative to the then incredibly popular Partido Nacional, which ruled the country almost unopposed for many decades. The Partido Democrata Messianico Encarnaçeiro is primarily Messianic Democratic, but just like the PT many members lean further to the right than others and have other ideological affiliations. Still, most of the party is generally on the center-right and is generally ideologically homogeneous. The party has been described as a catch-all party for the country's moderate right wing.
Many other parties exist, but none are large enough to be of note or gather enough votes to enter either the Senate or Chamber of Deputies. However, many independent Deputies exist and a single independent Senator is currently sitting representing the municipio of Monte Bajo. The largest secondary parties are the Partido Comunista Encarnaçeiro and the Verdes, the former being the leading communist party of Encarnação and the later the only green party in the country.
Foreign Relations
Encarnação maintains great relations with nations related to the Jungastian sphere of influence such as Albaterra and Jungastia itself and with other many neighbors and other nations in Avalonia. The nation is one of the smallest economies in ECOSEAS, providing less than 1% of the economic union's total combined GDP, but still being a major participant in the union alongside the rest of its members. Encarnação has maintained a policy of neutrality in foreign armed conflicts just as its parent nation of Jungastia, with all governments through the country's history refusing to participate in any foreign conflict unless directly attacked or threatened by a foreign force. Encarnação also maintains friendly relations with both the Pan-Artemian Coalition and North-South Concordant, a rare occurrence in the highly fractured political landscape of Anterra. The island, however, does not recognize or denounce the International Movement for Socialism officially.
Military
The Encarnação Defence Force (EDF) is a small, professional fighting force. Primarily equipped with imported equipment from Jungastia and other nations from across the world, the Island's military makes up for its low manpower with high technology equipment and highly trained personnel. Most of the military's training, systems and traditions are inherited from the Jungastian military which had trained and continues to advice the modern day islander army. The EDF is a direct descendant of the Jungastian colonial troops stationed in the island since the 16th century and the local militia forces that existed alongside them.
The EDF is composed of 3 branches, the Encarnação Ground Defence Force (EGDF), Encarnação Air Defence Force (EADF) and Encarnação Naval Defence Force (ENDF). Of the three branches the EGDF is the largest, being composed of one infantry regiment, national reserves and an engineering unit. The EADF is divided into three flight units, a training unit, a support unit and the EDF Air Wing (National Reserve). The ENDF's primary task is to do coast guard duties, they are divided between seagoing crews and support crews who conduct maritime safety and maritime law enforcement as well as defence-related operations.
The Encarnação Ground Defence Force, or EGDF, is Encarnação's armed forces's primary element. Most of the EDF's currently active personnel comes from the EGDF. The EGDF's primary tasks beyond the defence of Encarnaçian sovereignty are the guarding of important government locations, military equipment and depots, airports and other important transportation hubs, supporting law enforcement and anti-terrorism operations among others. The army is composed of several companies and battalions, and is home to the Encarnaçian Special Forces, which are primarily tasked with anti-terrorism and anti-drug operations when normal police special units are not available or are under-prepared for the situation.
The Encarnaçian Air Defence Force is made up primarily of helicopters, with a single wing of fighters donated from Jungastian surplus and used primarily for civilian and government aircraft escort and a few transport aircraft used for utility purposes. The Air Defence Force was initially directly part of the Naval Defence Force, being used as support for naval operations, but was separated as its own wing of the EDF in 1988.
Nowadays the EDF's primary objectives are coast guard duties, supporting the police force's operations, guarding government buildings and protected areas, aiding humanitarian missions across the island and abroad and other non-violent tasks. The island's military has been deemed insufficient for properly defending the sovereignty of the nation in case of foreign aggression and for this reason the island relies on the military force of foreign nations such as Albaterra and Jungastia for protection. For this reason the military is generally relegated to other tasks beyond the protection of the nation, aside from coast guard duties.
Law and Crime
The country's legal system follows a civil law system. The murder rate in Encarnação is among the lowest in the world at 3.9 per 100,000 inhabitants. Other crimes are also relatively uncommon in the island. Still, crime does occur in the nation, with the Encarnação Police and Security Service (EPSV) maintaining the peace in the island chain since its creation in 1914. Due to its small size and large amounts of rural populated areas policing is relatively decentralized in the nation, with many municípios having a high level of control over the policing of the EPSV on its jurisdiction. This is specially common in areas with a large native population, where natives are generally allow to police themselves following their tribal customs as long as they follow the basic laws of the land.
Crime on the island is mostly contained by the EPSV, with major crimes such as homicide being relatively uncommon. Still, drug-related crimes have been on the rise in recent years with the introduction of new synthetic drugs from nations such as Theyka, which caused a major crime wave in the 1980s due to the EPSV's unpreparedness to combat drug crime. The creation of specialized drug crime fighting units allowed the EPSV to successfully contain and effectively fight drug-related criminal offenses into the 2000s.
Organized crime is uncommon, but still exists within the island, primarily in the capital city of Sao Vicente where drug gangs make a profit selling synthetic drugs to the country's youths and tourists in clubs and other social gathering places. Criminal gangs are the main drivers of the drug trade in the island, but also partake in the trafficking of firearms and other illegal goods and substances between the country's cities and abroad.
The legalization of some illegal "soft" drugs such as Marijuana has been discussed as a way to try and curb the expansion of the drug trade in the island, which has been expanding since the 80s at a slow but stable pace. As of 2021 no laws have been passed legalizing the use of marijuana or other drugs within the nation, and no steps have been taken by the government to do so. The primary drugs of use in the island are synthetic "party" drugs such as MDMA, cocaine, marijuana and others. Approximately 4% of the island chain's youth are drug users, with the most popular drug being marijuana.
Administrative Divisions
The island is divided in 13 Municípios, 4 of them composed of the entirety of the islands of Salvação, São Tomé, Coração and Ilha Bárbara, with limited autonomy. All the Municípios are descended from the colonial divisions of the island, which were based off the different major cities across the island. As such, each Município is called after its respective capital city. All the municipios are grouped into three different Condados called after their cardinal position (Condado Sur, Condado Este and Condado Oeste). The Condado Sur is composed of all the secondary islands in the island chain, while the Condado Este is composed of the Municípios of Cidade de Pedro, Ponto Morto, Golfo do Santos, Rio Longo and Monte Bajo and the Condado Oeste is composed of the Municípios of Cidade Açúcar, Porto Feliz, São Vicente and São Nicolau.
Each Municipio is subdivided into further Comunas which in areas located further away from the government's reach, elect their own government officials and are given a certain level of self-management rights. It is specially common in areas where the native population is significantly higher than the Encarnaçeiro or Jungastian population where Comunas are awarded what is denominated as "Direitos Extraordinários" or "Extraordinary Rights", which allow the local government a high level of self-governance in comparison to other Comunas across the country. These extraordinary rights were awarded to the native population after the fight for rights of the Rosto Pintado movement.
Economy
The Encarnaçian economy is primarily a market economy with a large private sector. The primary products from the country are agricultural, specially cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, sugar cane and their derivative products. Another large part of the island chain's economy are services, primarily financial and insurance services to foreign companies and clients, and tourism. Tourism is a large part of the everyday Encarnaçian economy, with many business being entirely maintained by tourists' expenditure. An estimate of 5 million tourists visit the island nation yearly. Tourism is among the largest drivers of the island's economy other than agriculture. Many people in the island's economy are hired in tourism-centered businesses and companies such as resorts, hotels, tourist restaurants and others.
After independence in 1912 the country's economy has been on a constant growth having only recently reached a slump. The investments of the government of Coutinho from Jungastia in the country fostered an aura of growth and economic well-being, the results of which can still be felt today. The country experienced a large economic slump and economic crises in the 1980s, a combination of the downfall of the Coutinho government and the decreasing profitability of agricultural exports coupled with the advent of the service and tourism sector caused the Encarnaçian economy to become largely non-competitive in Avalonian markets and caused a large scale economic crash from which the nation did not recover entirely until the year 2000. Inflation plagued the nation alongside other malaise such as slow economic growth for the whole decade of 1980.
The country's aviation industry is small but capable of maintaining itself through imports, with the national airline of TANE (Transporte Aéreo E Navegação Da Encarnação) being the only international flight-capable airline in the country. Still, many much smaller companies exist that offer short national flights between small private airports and heliports across the nation. Other industries in the nation are light manufacturing and industrial engineering such as metal fabrication, furniture manufacturing and food and beverage processing. Software and data processing and printing and publishing are also relatively major industries in the country.
While not as large of an industry as agriculture and tourism, mining and natural resource extraction hold an important part in the Encarnaçian economy. The islands holds large deposits of bauxite and alumina and produced 12.6 million tons of bauxite and 3.46 million tons of alumina in 2004. There are also deposits of copper, gold, silver, zinc, and molybdenum on the island, but they are generally deemed not to be economically viable and are generally ignored by mining companies. Mining and quarrying made up approximately 3% of the country's gross domestic product in 2013
Agriculture
Agriculture and its secondary industries are the primary industry in the nation. Plantations of tobacco produce large scales of product that are then refined into cigars and cigarettes for export and local consumption. Cotton is also produced and turned into cloth and clothing which is also exported at a large profit margin. The nation has been criticized for having a large problem with sweatshops during the production process of cotton into clothing and cloth. Aagricultural products include sugar cane, which is refined into spirits or exported as sugar and coffee beans, which are famous across the world for their taste and quality. Other products beyond cash crops include grains such as rye and wheat, bananas, cocoa, coconuts, molasses, oranges, limes, grapefruit, rum, yams and its world renowned allspice. Many other food crops are produced for local consumption such as tomatoes and fruits such as apples but at a much smaller scale than the previously mentioned products.
While agriculture has always been a staple of the Encarnaçian economy, it wasn't until the industrial revolution that it exploded into its modern day size and capacity. Many tonnes of product are exported weekly from the ports of São Vicente and Monte Bajo, primarily to Artemia and Kesh where they are to be consumed. The Encarnaçian commercial agricultural sector is heavily mechanized and modern, with a small but growing local industrial production of tractors and other mechanized agricultural equipment existing in the island. Still, animal-drawn tools are common in areas where subsistence farming is still practiced by poorer families.
Smaller commerical plantations ran by families are also common across the country and are known as "estancias". Estancias are smaller in size than large scale industrial plantations but still produce enough raw goods to stay afloat in the highly competitive Encarnaçian agricultural economy. Many family estancias grow in size and eventually become larger companies, with many examples in today's economy starting out as estancias in the 1980s and 1990s when the Encarnaçian economy had stagnated and the government started providing subsidies to smaller farmers to compensate for the lost productivity in larger scale farming. Other than estancias, small family gardens are common in more rural areas, with subsistence farming still being common in the less urbanized areas of the country where large scale commercial farming has not yet established itself.
Agriculture's prominence has slowly started to decay as Tourism surpasses it as the largest producer of income in the nation, hitting an all-time low between 2010 and 2012, generally attributed to increasing competition from other Avalonian nations and the increase in size of the service economy of the nation. Recent changes in the environment are also attributed as a cause of the lower productivity of the agricultural sector, as the sector has always been susceptible to the sometimes harsh environmental conditions of the island. The economic slump of the 1980s is believed to have also given a killing blow to the agricultural sector, which did not fully recover since then and only decreased in size until 2012 when it finally started recovering again, although at a much slower rate than ever before.
Tourism
The islands are heavily dependent on tourism to generate a large section of its urban economic activity. Through the 1980s the country started to see a shift in its economic focus from pure agricultural output towards a service and tourism oriented economy. Since the 2000s however, tourism has risen dramatically from just under 2 million annual visitors, which was an increase of only 50,000 compared to last year, to over 5 million annual visitors in 2008. Most visitors come from Western and Central Artemia and Kesh, with many using the island as a stopover for longer flights across Anterra. The primary nationality of visitors to the island are Jungastians, with the country's official marketing departments taking a focus on the nation as a primary source of tourists. A lot of visitors also come from cruise ships visiting the Ingonian, with over 60% of visitors to the island coming from cruise ships.
The rainforests of the island are popular tourist attractions, alongside the inactive volcanoes of Monica and Vitória. Helicopter flights over the rainforests and mountains of the island are common, alongside ferries to the island of Ilha Bárbara. There are many other important landmarks in the country which see major tourist interest, such as the Encarnação Parliament, which had to be rebuilt after the 1867 São Vicente earthquake which heavily damaged and destroyed a large portion of it. The fort of São Vicente is another popular landmark, maintained in an immaculate state since it was abandoned in the mid 18th century and replaced by stronger fortifications in other areas of the bay. Other tourism centers are the cities of Monte Bajo and Porto Feliz, with Porto Feliz being the city in the country with the largest percentage of people employed in the tourism sector and servicing a large number of cruise ships daily.
The tourism sector is expected to grow further in the coming years as the island attracts more tourists from other areas of the world outside of Artemia and Kesh and its tourist industry expands further thanks to government grants.
Infrastructure and Transportation
The country has only 3 major ports. The nation's primary and most used port is the port of São Vicente, but there are two other major ports in the cities of Porto Feliz and Monte Bajo, with the port of Monte Bajobeing the primary location for ferries to the island of Ilha Bárbara. The nation has only one airport capable of handling international flights and large aircraft, the Romão Cruz National Airport, which is also located in the capital city of São Vicente. Helicopters are the primary means of aerial transportation across the islands, as aircraft are deemed to be too expensive for the short distance travel done for passenger trips. The primary heliports in the country are the ones located in São Vicente, Monte Bajo, São Nicolau, and Cidade Bárbara, but many private heliports can be found across the nation.
The country's infrastructure quality depends on how far the location is from urban centers, with urban regions of the country being well maintained and urbanized while rural areas may still be using dirt roads and horse-based transportation instead of vehicles due to the roughness of the terrain. The islands of Salvação, São Tomé and Coração, the later most specifically, are highly rural and lacking in infrastructural development. The nation, nevertheless, has a robust highway system consisting of almost 21,000 kilometres (13,000 mi) of roads, of which over 15,000 kilometres (9,300 mi) is paved. It connects all the regional capitals and many smaller settlements, with a system of secondary, paved, major roads connecting all major secondary settlements. Many unpaved gravel and dirt roads exist across the nation, which the government is attempting to pave with mixed results.
The islands possess a single petrochemical plant, co-owned with the Jungastian government, that refines imported petroleum into fuel for use by the island's power generators and general population. The plant produces Automotive Diesel Oil; Heavy Fuel Oil; Kerosene/Jet Fuel, Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), Asphalt and Gasoline. These products are primarily consumed by the government but the civilian population is also a major consumer.
Public transportation is dominated by buses, both short and long distance, private taxis and "remise" (From the Ovancian term "voiture de remise") cars, which are private vehicles not specially registered or marked as taxis that transport passengers across generally short distances. Inter-island transportation for the three islands of Salvação, São Tomé and Coração is generally done through the nation's "Conexão" bridge system on the south, which connects all three islands and the primary island together. Ferry services are still, nevertheless popular as a more touristic transportation alternative and are the only option for transportation to the island of Ilha Bárbara, which is too far away for any form of bridge connection between it and the primary island of Encarnação.
A limited railway network exists across the nation, which is primarily used for private cargo transportation from large plantations and factories. A public passenger railway network has never existed in the island, but the creation of one has been discussed as the number of tourists and the general population of the island increases and as such so does stress on the other form of transportation.
Energy and Pollution
The nation's primary source of power are imported fossil fuels. There have been test sites built to probe for oil but no sites were found that were economically viable enough to continue construction, for this reason the only source of fuels in the island is through imports from nations abroad. The country's power is produced by diesel generators and natural gas, both of which are also stored on facilities across the islands. There has been a recent move by the islander government to push for cleaner power alternatives, although the green power facilities existing as of yet (Primarily wind and solar power) are too small to provide any major amount of power to replace the fossil fuel burning generators existing in the island. Nuclear power has been considered, with small scale tests being carried out, but ultimately discarded as an option due to the high costs and risks of maintaining a nuclear reactor.
Encarnação is one of the biggest emitters of CO2 per capita, partially due to the large amount of dirty fuels used both for power generation and in vehicles in the nation. Due to the fact most vehicles in Encarnação are older models still running on less efficient engines and other components, vehicular pollution is extremely high in the islands. On average, each inhabitant produced 34.2 metric tons of CO2, which is significantly above the world average on the matter. Other causes for the high levels of pollution on the island are the use of dirty fossil fuels for energy generation, being the primary source of power for the island's inhabitants. Green power is being researched and put into motion as an alternative to the highly polluting diesel generators generally found across the island but their implementation is being slower than desired, according to international experts.
As part of the Yenbai Convention, Encarnação has officially promised to significantly reduce its carbon emissions and other forms of pollution, specifically in the agricultural, forest-management and industrial sectors among others before the year 2050. Experts however have questioned the country's ability to achieve these goals properly due to its extreme reliance on fossil fuels for the daily functioning of the agricultural and industrial sector of the country and the lack of proper green power alternatives.
Culture
Music
Regardless of its small size, Encarnação has a strong musical history behind it. One of the main producers of Latin genres such as Salsa, Cumbia and Bachata among others, Encarnação is home to many popular Latin musical artists listened to by many across Anterra. Due to it status as a melting pot of many different cultures, Encarnaçian music has influences from its native population and Artemian, specifically Jungastian, genres and musical tradition. Encarnação is the birthplace of Encarnaçian Cumbia, a very popular genre across many countries in the world specially in Avalonia. In recent years the emerging genre of reggaeton has taken the country by storm, becoming a hugely popular genre listened to by millions both in the country and abroad. The country is home to one large orchestra known as the Orquestra Sinfônica do Tear.
The national instrument of the country is the Cuatro, a ten string instrument similar to the traditional acoustic guitar but differing in shape, number of strings and sound. The cuatro originally had four strings, which is where its name derives from. The current cuatro has ten strings in five courses, tuned, in fourths, from low to high B3 B2♦E4 E3♦A3 A3♦D4 D4♦G4 G4. Other popular national instruments include the steelpan and bombo crioulo.
Folk music in the nation revolves around many themes ranging from historic events in the nation such as the Siwi Occupation and more personal, intimate themes such as love and appreciation between lovers. Encarnaçian music is known globally for its romantic themes and lyrical content giving the country an international image as a country of lovers.
Literature
Although the literary history of the nation is as old as the colony of Encarnação itself, it did not reach full independence and maturity until the early 20th century and the independence of the country from Jungastia. The new independence of the state rejuvenated the literary scene of the nation, with many new authors such as Sancho Alexandre da Oliveira or Graciano Guerra coming into the literary scene around the same time between the years 1912 and 1930. Many works of popular Encarnação literature were written in the first half of the 20th century from a large number of authors both male and female.
Many famous novelists and writers include Sancho Alexandre da Oliveira, Graciano Guerra, Damião Pinheiro, Glória Pereyra, Ester Garcia and Guilherme Pereyra. Alexandre da Oliveira's classic "The Grand Expedition" is seen as the greatest written work from the island nation, gaining many accolades across the world from critics and readers alike and cementing its position among the greatest works of the world.
Themes in Encarnaçian literature shifted with the times, with earlier works being primarily religious and historical narrations of events in the island. The islands' literature eventually evolved and incorporated more complexity eventually as romanticism struck the world by storm and the printing press finally arrived in the nation. The Royal Academy of Arts was also founded in the late 19th century, and literature flourished through the century as writers explored new themes and incorporated foreign ideas that had never been thought of in local literature before.
Later into the 20th century historiography became a famous trend for writers, as a new light was shone on the island's history and historical revisionism became a popular point of view to hold. The works of historiographer Norberto César Gil allowed readers to see a new light on the lives of islanders both in the early colonial period and even before the colonization of the island. These new books by Gil also gave a voice to the mostly forgotten history of the local Taino people, who until then had little access to writing and could not document their own history. Historiography remains to this day a very popular genre of literature in the island, as important events in history are retold in many different ways to attract new readers.
Cuisine
Most of the cuisine of Encarnação is generally seen as "imported" from Jungastia and Albaterra specifically, although many local native recipes survived to this day in modified ways as part of the national cuisine of the island. Pork is a major ingredient in many Encarnaçian dishes, primarily fried in oil or more traditionally in fat or roasted over a low fire for several hours. Other major ingredients include grains and legumes, herbs and spices, starchy tropical tubers, vegetables, other meats and poultry, seafood and shellfish, and fruits. In more rural areas of the island insects are consumed as entrées or in sauces or gravies to complement a main dish. Some popular dishes include Leitão (roasted pork), Bolos (Similar to tamale), Arroz Doce (Rice pudding) and many local variants of cheese which are eaten by themselves or alongside a main meal. Peanuts are sometimes grounded or grinded and mixed with water or milk to make what is known as "Sopa de Amendoim" or peanut soup, a common entree meal in many Encarnaçian restaurants. Pork-based sausages are used to make quick and cheap meals alongside fried potatoes known as "Salsipapai", generally sold by street food vendors at low prices as a cheap but filling meal.
Encarnaçian cuisine is known as Cozinha Crioula (Anglic: Creole Cuisine), and is a major part of the island's tradition through its entire history. The many dishes of the nation are an integral part of the culture and traditions of the island and are respected and admired by many people abroad. Traditional cuisine was not fully established until the 18th and 19th century with the creation of the first commercial cookbooks that collected many of the local recipes from around the island, with the first cookbook, "Cozinha Tradicional Encarnaçeira" being written in 1763.
Many parts of the Encarnaçian Cozinha Crioula are inherited from local Taino traditional meals, such as the many tropical roots and tubers like tar) and especially cassava. Tapioca is commonly used to make thin breads, and peppers such as Ajicinho (A type of habanero pepper) are used to spice meals. Peanuts, guavas, pineapples, cocoplum, mamoncillo, guinea arrowroot, tropical pumpkins, and guanabanas are also common ingredients in many native Taino meals. The Taino grew a large variety of beans and maize, with maize/corn forming an integral part of the local Taino's cooking too. Another more exotic aspect of Taino cuisine in the island is the consumption of insects, with insects being primarily used to make sauces and gravies with which to accompany a main meal. Examples include grasshopper and flying ant based sauces. Other insects are also sometimes fried and eaten or consumed raw.
Artemian influences brought many new ingredients into the local cuisine. Wheat, chickpeas, capers, olives, onions, garlic, rice, cilantro, oregano, basil, sugarcane, citrus, eggplant, chicken, salted cod, beef, pork, lamb, dairy and a variety of other fruits, herbs and spices all came to Encarnação from Jungastia and other regions of Artemia. The modern Encarnaçian cooking is heavily based on Jungastian one, with many experts on the field claiming that Encarnaçian cuisine "uses Jungastia as a base on which it builds its own special and distinct flavors and traditions". Many other ingredients such as coffee, coconuts, okra, yams, orégano brujo, sesame seeds, pigeon peas, bananas, plantains (which are generally fried and consumed as a snack), Guinea hen, other root vegetables and fruit have been imported from Kesh, partially for commercial purposes as cash crops, but later integrated into local cooking.
Street food is also very popular in the island, with street food stands being found across most streets in the nation's cities. Bolos and pork fried in fat with side dishes of rice and other cheaper ingredients are generally served in these street food stands, which has led to some criticism from the healthier sectors of society about the ill health effects of eating on these food places. The rising obesity rates in the nation have been linked to a higher consumption of lower quality foods with high fat contents in such food vendors, and the government has started to take action with a small scale crackdown on the less healthy and sanitary of street stands.
Media
The island nation possesses many local radio stations, television stations and newspapers, most of which are served in Jungastian or Encarnaçian portuguese. Media in the nation is highly centralized in São Vicente, the capital of the nation, with the vast majority of radio and television stations and newspapers being headquartered there. Most media is dominated by two major corporations, the official government media corporation known as Corporação Nacional de Radiodifusão Encarnaçeira or CNRE and the private Transmissão São Vicente or TSV.
Non-news media such as films and television is generally dominated by the TSV and local creators, but a lot of media is imported from abroad and specially from Jungastia. Encarnaçian media very rarely penetrates outside of Encarnaçian markets, with local shows making it abroad very rarely and only in Jungastia.
Media is generally run in a for-profit basis, even by the CNRE. Advertising and subscriptions are the main form of income for newspapers, television and radio. Still, for the CNRE a large portion of it income comes from the government's funding, as it struggles to remain profitable otherwise. Government regulation is also common in an attempt to maintain the CNRE relevant against TSV and foreign media conglomerates that have recently started appearing in the island.
Sports
There are many popular sports in the islands of Encarnação, with them being an integral part of everyday life for many Encarnaçians. Many internationally renowned athletes are from the islands. The most popular local sport is association football, with Encarnaçian football players sometimes being sought after by clubs across Anterra. Many football clubs of varying sizes exist in the nation, such as the primary and largest clubs Cayetano Futebol Club and Futebol Club Ferreiras. The many clubs in the island are divided in two leagues, Primera Liga and Segunda Liga and are governed by the Liga Encarnação. The national football team however is known for its weakness when playing in world cups, many times failing to qualify altogether or being disqualified early on.
.jpg)
Prior to its ban in the 1990s, the primary and most popular sport in the nation was cockfighting. Cockfighting used to be an incredibly popular sport across the nation, both in small scales and on larger championships that attracted thousands of viewers. Entire arenas were built across the island for people to witness these fights, and the General Assembly and eventually, after independence, Parliament too enacted many laws to regulate but never ban the blood sport. Gambling was an integral part of the sport but was eventually heavily regulated and outright banned, making cockfighting an entirely for-entertainment sport until its eventual ban in the 1990s. The sport decayed in popularity in the 20th century, eventually becoming less popular than other mainstream sports like association football with many arenas closing and finally the sport was banned in the mid 1990s to mixed reactions by the public many of whom saw the sport as an integral part of Encarnaçian culture and the ban as erasure of years of history of cockfighting in the island. After its official ban the sport moved underground, where it is still practiced to this day although to a much smaller scale. As a result of its underground nature gambling was reintroduced to the sport and many criminal organizations are believed to participate in the organization of cockfighting matches across the country's many cities and villages.
Basketball is another very popular sport in the nation and is commonly played in colleges and universities and through various urban courts spread across the larger cities of Encarnação. While not as popular as football, basketball retained a solid base of fans and players through the years and has remained the second most popular sport in the country through decades. The Encarnaçian national basketball team is noted for performing significantly better than its football counterpart in international matches, qualifying for international coups several times and coming close to wining the cup in several occasions.
Other popular sports in the nation include netball, which has started to decline in popularity since the rise of football as the main national sport of the country. Rugby is also played by many people in the islands and continues to be a popular sport, specially among the more affluent sectors of society which see rugby as an inherently higher class sport. Horse and dog racing are also popular, being one of the few sports where betting is both legal and regulated by the government, however criticism has been levied against both due to the poor treatment of the racing dogs and horses by trainers. Golf is another sport popular among the higher class and a common tourist attraction for foreigners, with many 9 and 18-hole golf courses spread across Encarnação.
Main articles on Encarnação | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History | | ||||||||
| Politics |
| ||||||||
| Administrative Divisions | São Vicente • Monte Bajo • São Nicolau • Porto Feliz • Cidade Açúcar • Rio Longo • Golfo do Santos • Ponto Morto • Cidade de Pedro • Coração • São Tomé • Salvação | ||||||||
| Economy |
| ||||||||
| Culture |
| ||||||||
| Lists | |||||||||
