Azuria

The Federated States of Azuria is a country in Metropacifica. It is located to the southeast of Kozankyo, north of Hawaii, and west of Matoranesia.

Etymology
The name "Azuria" comes from the former British crown colony of the Azure Coast, named for the shallow, cyan waters of Azure Bay. Later, when Azure Coast expanded further inland, it was renamed Azuria because it was no longer representative of the entire colony. It retained this name through the merger of Britain's holdings on the continent into British Azuria.

Prehistory
Early Eskaleuto-Kozankyoan cultures likely settled the northwest coast of Azuria ca. 2,000-4,000 BC via Chalconesia and the Strait of Zelenyarus. Meanwhile, native Americans may have crossed through Aritonesia and Matoranesia to populate the remainder of the continent.

Peopling of Amekyo
Early Japonic settlers from southern Kozankyo likely populated the Amekyoan region around 300 BC, bringing the Old Japanese language with them.

Conibasian Empire
From ~200 CE onwards, the city-state of Conibas-Fisk and its allies expanded to control much of southern Azuria and the Las Cascadas region (not to be confused with the American Cascades).

Azurian Dark Age, Amekyoan Sengoku
From 535 to 536, three major volcanic eruptions occurred - one in the Aleutian Isthmus, another in California and a third somewhere in Canada. These three volcanoes together caused the worst volcanic winter known in human history, lowering temperatures by up to 2.5 degrees Celsius across much of the northern hemisphere and affecting crop yields in Conibas and Amekyo to such a degree that societal unrest became common and both civilizations fractured into numerous smaller states.

Montaine period
During this period, the kingdom Hukantinsuyo in the Azurian Divisive Range developed a major presence on the geopolitical scene at the time. They developed from 800 to 1100 or so without any real difficulties. Towards the end of this period, they expanded somewhat into the Nezak Basin to the west.

Jackal Horde
As a result of the 1257 Samalas eruption and associated famine, a relatively minor power in the eastern Egewala range - the Uzweny, translated to English as 'Jackal', tribe - efficiently began to expand across the continent, utilizing belliraptor cavalry and a political structure similar to fiefdom to extend their reach. They conquered much of the west coast of the continent from what is now the province of Shiloh to Cape Mazilas at the western tip of Xindalu.

Polynesian influx
In late 1336, Polynesian peoples migrating northwest from Hawaii discovered Azuria and settled along its southwest coast. These would later be referred to as the Haumeitic peoples.

Arrival of the Ming
Around 1430, Ming explorers mapped the coast of Azuria and much of the Pacific, though it took until 1492 until they set up their first colony in what is now Songport, Xindalu, the oldest foreign city on the continent.

The 1471 Arito earthquake occurred in this timeframe, resulting in mega-tsunamis that propagated across the Pacific Ocean. While the Matoranesian Archipelago and Azara took much of the impact, waves channeled through the strait between the two archipelagos would later strike Azuria's south coast with estimated runup heights of 60 meters (200 ft). Post-Conibasan nations were particularly hard hit, and the Santos River burst its banks as far as 100 km (60 mi) inland.

Arrival of Europeans
The first European reports of the landmass that would come to be known as Azuria came in the late 1650s. At first, Azuria was believed to be a westward extension of North America, but further exploration would later prove otherwise.

In the Scramble for Azuria, Spain claimed much of the eastern peninsula, Britain colonized Xindalu, Quaciutl, Calvinia and the interior plains, Russia colonized Zelenyarus, the Papal States claimed the tip of the eastern peninsula (though Spain later bought this land), and France settled the northwest region.

Colonial conflicts and expansion
The Seven Years' War was partially fought in Azuria. Upon the war's conclusion, Spain and Russia were forced to cede the eastern and northern parts of Azuria, respectively, along with Guam, to Great Britain. During this time, Azuria was officially reorganized into a single colony. Later, the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars saw Aquileia declare independence from France. Aquileia and Azuria contributed resources to Coalition efforts each time; later, Aquileia would officially join Azuria by vote. Azuria controlled its entire subcontinent by this time.

Independence
On May 25, 1864, Azuria declared independence from Great Britain, to little fanfare. Officially, Azuria remained neutral through the waning months of the American Civil War. Later on, Azuria became allies with the United States and Great Britain.

Azuria participated in the Anglo-Egyptian and Spanish-American wars.

World War I
During World War I, Azuria participated on the side of the Allies, but really didn't do all that much. Azuria also fought in the Russian Revolution on the side of the Tsarists.

World War II
Azuria declared war on Germany approximately one day after Great Britain. Azuria was very heavily involved in the Pacific War, having been targeted by Japanese expansionism as early as 1940. The Japanese landings in Xindalu were the first international military conflicts fought on Azurian soil, and came as a shock to many residents.

Mt. Midway was the site of a prolonged aerial battle between Allied and Japanese fighter planes, and the coast just offshore was also the site of a concurrent naval engagement. Azurian volunteers fought in the American "island-hopping" campaign in the Pacific at all stages.

Cold War
Azuria was a member of the western bloc during the Cold War. Azuria possessed both a nuclear program and a space program, but neither were remarkable, and in any case were somewhat delayed compared to the other powers' programs.

Economy
Azuria's economy is extremely well-developed. The south and west coasts are particularly rich because of plentiful natural resources.

Territories
Azuria is divided into states, six overseas territories, three free cities, one republic, and three autonomous regions.

States
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 * Yokashima
 * Xahria
 * Shiloh

Overseas territories

 * Chalconesia
 * Azurian Polynesia (OTL French Polynesia, formerly Aquileian Polynesia)
 * Line Islands
 * Guam
 * West Islands
 * Azurian claim to Antarctica

Free cities

 * Conibas
 * Los Pegasus
 * Azuria

Republics

 * Xindalu

Autonomous regions

 * Montaine Prefecture
 * Hukantinsuyo
 * Shinkyushu

Culture
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Education
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Media
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Population
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National languages

 * English
 * Spanish
 * Japanese

Regional minority languages

 * Jackal
 * Haumean
 * Mandarin Chinese
 * Korean
 * Tagalog
 * Aleut
 * Portuguese
 * Hukantinsuyoan
 * Aquileian
 * Russian

Additional minority languages

 * Italian
 * Russian
 * Dutch
 * Ukrainian

Climate
Azuria has grassland, arid, forest, and desert climates. Azuria's weather is cooler in the northern regions whilst is warmer in the central regions. The hottest maximum temperature recorded in Azuria was 51°C, recorded on June 29, 1945, and the coldest temperature recorded in Azuria is -34°C, which was recorded on January 5, 2001, at Ahouat Creek, Xindalu.

People/Trends

 * Azuria's current population is about 129 million people.
 * The life expectancy in Azuria is 88 for men and 89 for women.
 * The drinking age is 21 in Azuria.
 * The marriage age is 18 in Azuria.
 * The average age is 34 in Azuria.
 * Same-sex activity was decriminalized in 1968 and gay marriage was legalized in 1991.

Politics
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Sports
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Geography
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