Aquaria

Aquaria, also Akirala, is an island country located in northern Aritonesia that shares a maritime border with Luciferia. It is the third-largest country in the archipelgo. From 1872 to 1947, it was a Japanese colony, and from 1947 to its independence in 1971, it was a Japanese associated state.

Pre-1789
Aquaria was first discovered by humans in around 2700 BC, when they came from the Engotu reigon of the northern Arito subcontinent via canoes.

1789-1947: Colonization
In 1789, the southern island was colonized by the Portuguese Empire. Shortly afterwards, the city of São Clemente (now known as Aqua City) was founded by a group of Catholic missionaries on the island's northeast coast. Later in 1865, the British Empire colonized the northern island. It was around this time that the islands were first given the name Aquaria, an English transliteration of the native name Akirala.

In 1941, both islands were invaded by Imperial Japan, who sought to establish a foothold in Aritonesia following their loss of New Japan in 1835. This annexation was soon followed by a mass deportation of the residents of the northern island to the southern island, where they were kept as POWs. For the remainder of the war, Aquaria was essentially turned into a hotbed for military bases, with aircraft regularly being dispatched from the northern island to bombard locations in Aritonesia; most infamously the Ralander cities of Norikoritoa and Villamonte. In 1945, the United States and Sentan invaded Aquaria and split it into two zones, with the United States occupying the north and Sentan occupying the south. This occupation lasted until 1947, when the First Republic of Aquaria was established.

1947-1971: First Republic
On November 4, 1947, Aquaria declared independence from the United States and Sentan, with the first prime minister being Eduardo Padilha. The next few years would see many changes being made to the government, culture, and infrastructure of Aquaria; the most notable of which being the mass demolition of most of the leftover Japanese military bases, and the country's readmittance into the Commonwealth of Nations. The official language also changed back to English, due to the increased influence of American, British, and Wilsonian immigrants.

1971-1989: Vlokist era
In 1971, shortly after the election of Nathaniel Mendoza as prime minister, Aquaria became a satellite state of the Vlokozu Union. This was also the year in which the city Clemente was renamed to Aqua City and became the capital. In 1972, an economic miracle occurred in Aquaria, causing the country's economy to become the fourth largest in the world.

1989-present: Modern era
In 2015, Stephen Colt was elected as prime minister, and took office on November 19, 2015. Later on in 2017, a bombing occured in the city of Reedton, which resulted in the deaths of 11 people. Stephen Colt sent out his condolonces to the families and friends of the people who lost their lives in the bombing, with him visiting the city on New Years Day 2018.

On December 8, 2019, Stephen Colt announced that Aquaria would rejoin the United El Kadsreian Nations on January 1, 2020, with him stepping down on said day and being replaced by his deputy prime minister Chris Nishihoro. This move would be met with mixed reception globally; some people (most of whom were nationalists from countries that were already members of the UEKN) criticized it, claiming that Stephen Colt only decided to rejoin the UEKN in order to gain more notoriety - however, the majority of Aquarians supported the move.

People/Trends

 * The life expectancy for Aquarians is 92.5 for men and 92.9 for women.
 * The drinking age is 19 in Aquaria.
 * Same-sex marriage was legalized in 2001.
 * The Aquarian school year lasts from March to December, with December, January, and February being vacation months.