Andover Island
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| Capital | Dalhousie City | ||||
| Largest city | Dalhousie City | ||||
| Official language(s) | English | ||||
| Government Head of State
President | name of head of state Eric Haasen | ||||
| ' - - | [[]], [[]] [[]], [[]] | ||||
| Area • Total • Water (%) | km² () | ||||
| Population • est. • census • Density | () /km² () | ||||
| GDP (PPP) • Total • Per capita | estimate () () | ||||
| HDI (2003|) | – | ||||
| Currency | Unio (Û) (Û)
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| Time zone • Summer (DST) | (UTC0) (UTC) | ||||
| Internet TLD | |||||
| Calling code | +
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The Andover Island Republic is a small to medium sized island-bound nation located in the far south pacific
Contents |
Introduction
History
Its 1956. That year the Andover Islands Republic(then known just as the Andover Islands) became a special administrative district of Great Britain. Over the years following this, it became more and more like its own country, both politically and culturally. Starting in the mid 1960's the movement for independence began, starting on the outer reaches of the archipelago, specifically on Hallan island, a huge island triple the size of the main island but sparsely populated. The people there, farmers and ranchers who led a very self sufficent life in a place similar to that of the australian outback(but colder) were very different from those on the main island and at the time they did not get along well in politics at the time. However, overall, the independance movement stayed small and off the radar of the main island, and it was something that hardly crossed anyone's mind.
In May of 1982, A dispute over the falklands island(Malvinas Islands in spanish) caused the United Kingdom to go to war with Argentina. The resulting war was short and had few casualities. However, the conflict did have some serious moments, such as when a argentine fighter jet armed with exocet missles gutted the HMS sheffield, and the destruction and total sinking of argentinian battleship the General Belgrano. It was also the first incident to use stinger missiles. The british managed to use them to shoot down argentina's planes, however, they were not properly trained with them so they could not use them to their full potential. But it didnt matter, by the summer the british had pushed argentina out of the islands and the war was over. The incident had an interesting impact on both nations. It happened during the height of the Thatcher era, and the victory boosted patriotism in the british isles as well as getting everyone's favorite lady prime minister re-elected. In argentina, the war was started by an unwanted military regime, and the defeat only gave the people more motivation to get rid of the current regime, and a while after democracy in argentina was restored as the junta gave up power.
a year later, in 1983, that regime, the Proceso de Reorganizacion Nacional, realizing that defeating the british and taking over another group of islands could get them back some support they lost from many once loyal right-wingers because of their defeat by the british in the falklands . They set their sites on Andover Island, the largest island and namesake of an archipelago that's total land area is about that of Italy.Andover Island was rich in natural resources, was developed and had a decent sized population. Unlike the barren falklands, the island would bring a lot to the table, and could be very valuable to argentina....
By 1983, as things got hairy, the independance movement that had been simmering for 27 years began to look very appealing to the average andoverian. With Argentina wanting the islands and being a dependant of the UK, the people realized they could soon be at the center of another conflict between the two countries unless they found a solution. The same thing was going through the minds of british. However, the UK was ready to beat down Argentina just as it had done the previous summer. At least until the Solviets came out the blue deciding to help support Argentina if a conflict erupted. Due to this, Western leaders all decided to avoid starting a war involving the Solviet Union, at least one over an insignificant chain of islands nobody ever heard of.
So, on September 19th, 1983, the United Kingdom dropped their stake in the Andover Islands, and the islands had to organize into their own nation on the fly. By april of 1984 the Andover Islands Republic was fully formed and in its current state, a Representative Republic with a constitution and a capitalist economy. No different from the United States and similiar to so many other places. Things went surprisingly smooth for the first few months. The 3 parties that continue to exist to this day were formed. The Liberals, the Progressives, and the Conservatives. The Liberals won the first elections(currently the Progressives have the majority). Things were looking up.
However, on November 14th, 1984 Argentina, still being run by the Proceso, began their invasion and takeover of the Andover Islands. The brand new nation had hardly any time to do anything. A national defense militia was organized from the beginning, however they were not well equipped to fight a full-on war. However, all hope wasnt gone. Since the 60's on the Island of Hallan, the Irai Defense Front(named after the ancient people who lived on the islands before smallpox from europeans wiped them out) had been preparing to take over the islands themselves to be able to split from the United Kingdom. After the islands became their own nation, the anti-britain attitude virtually dissappeared(it should be noted that the majority of people on the islands are very pro-europe), and the organization saw it was the right time to take action. The government hastily combined the national defense militia with the ADF and then took control of both(at this point the ADF still retained its identity). All this happened very quietly and virtually overnight, as the Argentine forces had already taken control of some of the smaller islands to get ready in case the seemingly defenseless nation would somehow fight back...
The Andover Islands did fight back. Only a week after Argentina decided to attack, IDF forces engaged the invaders invading the southern end of Dantes Islands. The rocky and forested island well known to the IDF had many places to hide and carry out ambush attacks much like how the jungle was a great advantage of the viet cong. The ADF managed to stop the ground invasion dead in its tracks, but Argentine air support came quickly and the ADF was sent running as Pucara attack planes ramped things up real quick. Then, in what is regarded as the turning point of the war, the United States secretly provided support to the ADF mainly with weaponry but also a team of elite Delta Force soldiers and CIA agents who both trained the ADF forces as well as performing sabotage missions against the Argentinians. They kept a thick shroud of secrecy about these operations, and it wasnt until 1995 that the US acknowleged it took apart in the war. Perhaps though one of the best assets given to the ADF by the US was several dozen Stinger missile kits. The stinger missile could easily take out Argentine aircraft, and the ADF, who were well-trained in their use(unlike the british in the falklands war who were unable to use them correctly) somehow managed to completely devastate enemy air support. All of this time, with the extra weapons and training, ADF, managed to push back the amphibious invasion forces. As the conflict went on, the world watched in awe as it was the first time in many decades that a insignicant place had been able to mount such an impressive military force and fight back in such a way, on CNN no less. In only 5 months, Argentina, which was was having internal problems where the proceso regime eventually succumbed to the argentine people, decided to surrender to the Andover Islands military.
On May 1, 1985, the Andover War was over, and the new nation, which came out relatively unscathed, began to get down to business. With its relatively new strong business connections to the far east, it rose quickly economically. Its rise mirrored that of its largest trading partner, Japan. With a fully grown economy on its way, the Islands began to take a position on par with the rest of the world. The ADF kept its name but went under full control of the goverment. With government funding, it has grown into a modern fighting force with the latest technology at its disposal.
Today Andover Islands Republic has excellent relations with its former enemy argentina. Since the Andover War there have not been any conventional military threats. However terrorism has been a problem. Every one of the 5 attacks since 1990 except 1 has been attributed to RISA, a radical branch of the anarchist underground. The most recent incident was the bombing of One Andover Center which killed 23 and injured 56.
Geography and climate
TBD
Government
Transportation
Road
The country has a national system of limited access intercity highways. These roads are numbered A[X]-A[XXX]. The 3 digit variety are used for spurs or loops or any other roads that are part of the system but are limited to a single local area. The last two digits tend to be the highway that it is connected to.
Rail
Three of the Islands have rail lines. The Main Island Has the most of the three. Passenger service is good, and provided by Private companies recieving government subsidies.
Official Political Parties
Military
Prefectures
The country is divided up into 13 political divisions known as prefectures.
Cities
Major Cities
Dalhousie City The largest city and national capital. Older and somewhat european, Dalhousie is the worlds most cosmopolitian city nobody's ever heard of. Today its population has actually dropped as housing prices continue to rise. Despite a high standard of living and a historic setting, Dalhousie is slowly declining as the Island's most important city.
Population-5 million
Aberlyn A city founded on Heavy Industry and blue collar jobs, Aberlyn drives the island's economy. Despite its image as dirty, ugly, and unsafe, Aberlyn has improved much since the island's economic depression in the early 1980's, when the city was at its lowest point. Only 35 miles from Mayage, the two cities are on the fast track to combining into one huge city with a population surpassing Dalhousie City.
Population-3.5 million
Mayage The fastest growing city in the country. Mayage is much different than its southern neighbor Aberlyn. The High Tech industry has made a permanent home in the city. Mayage is also home to the entertainment business. There are 3 major studios in the city, but Mayage is most known for being a center of CG as well as traditional animation. The video game industry is beginning to have a presence in the city as well.
The city also has a very diverse population. In particular it has a huge Indian and Vietnamese population.
Population-3 million
Other Cities
Keighley 1 mil
Moncton 550k
Strasbarne 200k
Economy
Until the early 1980's, the economy was driven on heavy industry related to mining, mainly copper. At this time the economy was also rather small. After the war the population grew and when the country found itself on the good side of the world economy, things changed rapidly. However, beginning in the 1990's things cooled off and today the country is adapting to a service-sector economy but with a solid manufacturing base.
Demographics
Because it was colonized by the english, today european-descended people are the majority. However, all races are represented well in the country. The cities tend to be more diverse. Mayage in particular has a very large southeast asian population notably indian.
The majority of the population is lower to middle class.poverty is not as common as in other developed countries although it is a big problem in the rural areas.
Language
English is the official language and is spoken by 95% of the population. The islands native people prior to the europeans were decimated by disease before any real contact was made so most of their language is unknown. In the larger cities other languages are commonly spoken by immigrants. Most citizens took some sort of foreign language course in school but are functionally monolingual.
Culture
Andover Island doesnt really have a distinctive culture. This is due it being a very young country. It shares in cultures of the west as well as those brought by newcomers from other places.
National Holidays
Patriots Day(august 15)
this is the countries victory day after Andover War. It is similiar to the countries independance day, which is considered less important because the UK voluntarily granted independence to the nation, something that many Andover citizens actually opposed at the time. Fireworks and patriotic displays and pagentry are common celebrations on this day.
Sports
Football(soccer) and Baseball are the two most popular sports.
National symbols
The national animal is Wallingsford Black Bear(Ursus Irritatus). The Bear represents the country well due both its ferocity when threated or awakened, and unofficially due to its liking of Pizza and Twinkies and overweight appearance. The bear is only found on the small island of wallingsford, a mostly unihabited place.
National Anthem
Andover Island has a national anthem. Well, at least we think so... Thing is, nobody knows it. Not even the president. This probably has something to do with the fact that baseball games in the country dont waste time having obnoxious singers and making people stand for what can be hours before the game begins. And since due to the anthem never being played, people dont know it.
 SCJU Community of Nations
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