Iscu

The AN Territory of Iscu Escu
Flag Coat of arms
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Motto: "Escua" The infinite waters
Capital	Port Holy
Largest city	Port Holy
Official languages	Iscuan Ingerish, Iscuan
Demonym	Escuan
Government	Republic
• AN Commissioner of Iscu	Aris F. Sadele
Area
• Total	271.78 km2 104.94 sq mi
Population
• Census (2020)	13711
GDP (PPP)
• Total	$0.0000424 Trillion
• Per capita	$3092.407
HDI (2018)	.5443 medium
Timezone	WT +6
Currency	Unified Standard Dollar (USD)
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The AN Territory of Iscu (Escu), formerly the Republic of Iscu, is an island territory in the continent of Uletha, in the Asperic Ocean. It consists of 5 atolls and 3 islands, as well as multiple smaller islets. Iscu is not a sovereign nation, but still takes part in multiple international organizations as an observer or non-sovereign participant. Although the lingua franca is Ingerish, multiple dialects of the Iscuan language are also spoken, with the inhabitants of the main island speaking a patois that combines Iscuan with Ingerish. Its closest neighbors are Tolulu, Maka, and Ste Marie and Ste Helene.

History

Prior to 0 AD

Artist's representation of the voyage of the Native Iscuans

The first settlers of the islands of Iscu were Gobrasi people, who traveled in sail-rafts across the Asperic until they reached the atoll of Kadſa^∈⊾, where they would settle. The current scholarly opinion is that this happened around 1000 BCE. The natives developed a system of governance and a unique religion and lived in scattered groups of small huts, farming and fishing the land and water. Around 900 BCE, another group of Gobrasi would journey to Kuen^∈⊾, the main island of Iscu. They spoke the same language, and likely came from the same region of the Gobras Peninsula^∈⊾. They were in contact with the group on Kadſa, and also had contact with the inhabitants of islands as far north as Telkarnatha, though journeys that far north were infrequent. Trade between the islands was mostly limited to modern-day Iscu and Maka.

0-600

Drawings of Native Iscuan carvings, ca. 1543

By 50 AD, the population of the islands had increased, and large villages of up to a thousand people were established on Kadſa and Kuen. Religion, always a driving force in the Iscuan society, resulted in numerous technological advances in order to create increasingly large temple complexes in conjunction with the increasing population. Kadſa saw a particularly rapid period of temple construction between 200 and 300 AD. This was connected to the rise of a monarchical system of theocratic government on Kadſa, ruled by a god-king. The Kadſan temples are made out of large slabs of sedimentary stone mined from a large quarry^∈⊾, and most follow a pyramidal design. The god-king settled in Ghaadradlar, which grew and the de-facto capital. Slowly, the temples were added onto over the following centuries, and the one in Ghaadradlar became the biggest of them all. The huts that the Iscuan people had lived in for centuries were torn down and replaced with fired clay, a more durable solution. Over the next 300 years, the society on Kadſa would flourish, as the religion and culture of the island developed in complexity and the population grew. On Kuen, the inhabitants were also diverging in their religious system, which resulted in a different temple style and for a time promoted isolationism. This resulted in the loss of contact between Kuen and all but the closest islands.

600-1500

The next 700 years would be largely uneventful for the Iscuan people aside from two events. In the mid-to-late 12th century a devastating series of civil wars broke out on Kadſa. On the Kuen the inhabitants removed their former leaders from power, and destroyed the majority of evidence of that governing system, which remains a mystery today. The islanders established a much looser system of governance, with each village being a small polity, and the individual leaders of each loosely worked together.

1500-1600

The Ingerish^∈⊾ were the first colonial power to discover the main island of Iscu, Kuen, in 1516. They attempted to form a small settlement, but got into a conflict with the natives and were forced to retreat. After another abortive attempt to negotiate with natives resulted in an Ingerish-incited massacre, the Ingerish captain William McRyley managed to successfully negotiate with the Iscuans in 1529, setting up a system where the Iscuans would be given Ingerish protection and would be able to trade and live with the Ingerish, in exchange for the Ingerish being able settle on the islands. The Ingerish then founded Port Holy and later Loconon Atoll^∈⊾ (only sparsely settled at that point). The Iscuans described the country as "Escua", and the name was noted down as Iscu, and became the name of the colony. The Lentians^∈⊾, who had set up a powerful trading system in the Asperic, visited the northern islands in 1532, with some settlers founding Endeburg. The Lentians took great advantage of their outpost on the edge of the Plurinesian, stirring the anger of the Ingerish, who were displeased that the Lentians were hijacking their trade routes. By 1552, the issue nearly developed into a war when a group of Lentiens founded Ael on the Main Island, but the Lentian government was persuaded to relinquish their claims to the islands with assurances of Lentians being allowed to continue to live there in lieu of war. Later Ingerish expeditions to the south resulted in first contact with the natives of Kadſa Atoll, who were wary but friendly. The natives were mostly left alone, primarily because they were violent when provoked, as Captain Fred Bearnes learned in 1567, when he attempted to kidnap a Kadlan woman and was killed by an arrow, along with half his crew. The natives of that atoll therefore developed a reputation for being savages, and as the Ingerish had discovered other uninhabited atolls, they were happy to let the natives be alone. The Ingerish formally established Iscu, Maka, and multiple other possessions as the Ingerish Territory of the Northern Asperic in 1573, separating them from the Ingerish Tropical Territory. However, the islands remained under direct rule of the Ingerish Home Office, which appointed a Consul to rule the islands from Gobras City.

1600-1800

Governor William Sanderhowe (in office: 1601-1635)

Iscu continued to grow in population over the next 200 years. Developing a reputation among sailing crews for being a remote and peaceful location, the Ingerish population grew steadily, and the Ingerish inhabitants rapidly eclipsed the Iscuans, who were forced to coexist more and more with the Ingerish, to the point where the two groups were tightly knitted together. In 1601 a permanent governor was appointed to the islands in conjunction with the creation of the Iscuan Territory, an incorporated territory separated from the remaining islands of the Ingerish Territory of the Northern Asperic. This ended direct rule from Ingrea, as the governor was allowed to govern with a high degree of freedom. William Sanderhowe was the first governor of Iscu, serving until 1635 and was also a prolific writer, especially in the two decades after his tenure had ended, and his books are frequently looked at to provide a clearer image of Iscu in the 17th Century. The native peoples of Iscu were given the ability to continue their self-governance on a municipal level, not being subject to the 4 mayors the governor appointed, but were forced to concede authority to the Governor otherwise.

1800-1900

1st President Anthony Kinnon

By the 1800s, the Iscuans were very different from the Ingerish settlers who had first met with the native people, and had developed their unique patois, a combination of Iscuan and Ingerish. A drive for independence succeeded in 1814 with little fuss, and Iscu became a republic. An interim constitution was enacted by Ingrea where the current governor would remain for four years with a mandate to ensure a peaceful transition and implement a new and democratic constitution. This succeeded, and the governor, Anthony Kinnon, became popular enough for his efforts in support of independence that he was elected the first president. Iscu suffered from independence at first, becoming poorer without the support of Ingrea.

1900-1970

Iscu steadily grew in the 1900s, and became a reasonably successful country for its stature, although most inhabitants were still very much on the edge of poverty. During the Great War, Iscu suffered through multiple battles, but was eventually fully protected by the FSA in exchange for serving as a base of Asperic operations. Iscu came to depend on the FSA even more than before the war for economic stability, defense, aid and other services. Good relations with the FSA, as well as protection and continued aid and economic support was ensured by the South Port Treaty, in exchange for the FSA to be able to carry out nuclear testing on King Earnest Atoll in the west of Iscu and the establishment of a military base on the island of Basengrove. Iscu was a veiled protectorate of the FSA during this time. An period of large economic growth would begin in early 1966, as the economy was buoyed by the assurances of the FSA and the discovery of multiple rich phosphate deposits, which both Gobrassian and Federal interests invested greatly in.

1970-1980

After non-proliferation treaties were signed in the "De-Nuclear Period" from 1974-78, the FSA stopped activities in Iscu almost entirely, having irradiated most of King Earnest Atoll. The FSA signed the second South Port Treaty in 1979, which removed all obligations set up by the first treaty. The decoupling of the FSA from Iscu was likely influenced in part by the recent election of Darrel Short.

Decades of Corruption

President Darrel Short

The government of Iscu prior to the Ten Day Riots and the associated collapse of the Iscuan government was "corrupt to the very core", as described by Gobrassian Diplomat George Kabamatu. The corruption, which although always present in a small degree since independence from the Ingerish in 1814 and even before that, had drastically increased since the 60s, with money pouring in from the booming phosphate mines, other investment and tourism providing a chance for some politicians to take advantage of their positions. The corruption soon pervaded most parts of the government, but did not truly take off until the election of Darrel Short in 1978, who rose to election on a rush of anti-FSA sentiment. As president, the corruption increased drastically, and began to rapidly affect the economy, and more notably widened the already major income disparity to a shocking level. This began to cause dissent among the populace, and numerous protests were violently put down. In 1984, the elections for president were blatantly rigged, and violence broke out at the polling places. By this time the corruption in the government and some of the major phosphate and other companies was starting to divide the government into factions, and Short was unable to control the divided government, leading to his assassination by a splinter party on November 10th, 1985. Luke Lamara was appointed interim president, but lacked the support of a majority of parties. By this time, the economy had entered a recession.

Unrest among the populace, and the beginning of a slow slide into chaos of the government and military set the stage for the Ten Days of Insanity.

The Ten Day Riots

The Ten Day Riots, sometimes dubbed the "time of insanity", began one month after the assassination of Darrel Short, on December 10th, 1985, and lasted until December 20th, 1985. It was a period of intense violence, and the complete collapse of the Iscuan government, military, and economy. The riots centered on the main island of Iscu, and there was no unrest on any of the outlying atolls due to their separation from the main island.

Day 1

The unrest began with protests, which were marked by extreme retaliation by the police and military, but due to the sheer number of protesters and the arms they were carrying, they retaliated, resulting in violent riots (in Port Holy and South Port). Many of the protesters burned down government buildings. Although the riots had died down by nightfall, after the military brought out the tanks and massacred many of the most peaceful protesters in Central Square two hours earlier, a boat carrying phosphates exploded on the north coast, and the resulting explosion wrecked a fleet of fishing vessels that had been nearby, further incensing the populace.

Fires in Port Holy seen from the other side of the island

Day 2

Further riots, this time centered in Seaedretetar. Other unrest in the rest of the country. Some of the rioters managed to take control of some of the tanks, and destroyed a statue of President Short.

Day 3

The governmental collapse began in full on the third day, with various violent splinter parties taking up arms to either fight other parties or to fight the rioters, which continued to attack members of the government. At this time the military began to splinter as well. The day ended with fires beginning to burn in many slums in Port Holy.

Day 4

One part of the military attempted a coup, which was blocked by the other half of the military. The attempted coup, which destroyed the president's house and killed hundreds of civilians in the crossfire, resulted in the military being decimated. Riots continued, although not as large as in the first few days. The Seghe Slum Fire begins in full force in Seadretetar, burning all of the Seghe Slum and spreading further west.

Day 5

In the climax of the riots, the capitol building was blown up. It remains unknown as to what group the bomber was. By this point, Iscu was now receiving intense international attention. The government had now completely collapsed and there was no leadership whatsoever. Conflict persisted between rioters and the various splinter groups of the military and extremist parties, and many government officials were either fled, killed, or imprisoned.

Days 6-10

Marked by general unrest. Various smaller skirmishes and confrontations continued throughout this time, and the island of Basengrove was set on fire.

AN Intervention And Administration

By Day 6 of the unrest, the AN had begun to discuss a potential AN peacekeeping operation along with placing Iscu under an AN mandate. By the 8th, the mandate had been written and voted on, with the resounding result to place the former country of Iscu under AN administration, enforced by a peacekeeping and rebuilding operation. By day 9, a peacekeeping operation was being organized, and troops were being prepared, along with food aid. The troops arrived on the 10th, with FSA and Gobrasi peacekeepers leading the operation. By January order had been fully restored, and The Iscu Convention was held as the AN reconvened for 1986, which established the governmental system.

AN Administration

The AN continues to administrate Iscu to this day as an AN Territory.

Geography

Boat entering Loconon Atoll

Iscu is composed of 5 atolls and 5 islands, all of which vary in size. The major and largest island, The Big Island, is the home of the majority of Iscu's population, along with the two much smaller islands just off its coast. The largest atoll is Earnest Atoll.

Wildlife

Iscuan Giant Turtle

Iscu has a diverse collection of flora and fauna, nearly 42% of which are endemic to the country, one of the highest rates in the world. Notable species include the Iscuan Blue Parrot, the Jaywhistle Shark, and the Iscuan Giant Turtle, which are possibly the longest-lived and largest turtles in the world. The turtles grow to be over 1.5 meters in length, and largest specimens have reached nearly 2.2 meters. Despite being called turtles, they more accurately fit the description of tortoises, as they only go into water occasionally and are mostly land based. There are three main species, with the largest found on Kadſa Atoll, and the other two found on the main islands. A related species of somewhat smaller size inhabited Earnest Atoll, but no sightings have been recorded since the 1940s.

Location

Iscu is a chain of islands located just above the equator in the rough middle of the Asperic Ocean, and spans 500 km. Its closest neighbors are Maka and St Marie and St Helene on the east, and Nahuwa Atoll on the east, almost 1000 km away.

Climate

[Iscu-Port Holy]
Climate chart
J F M A M J J A S O N D     110     31 24     124     31 24     120     32 25     140     31 26     200     31 25     230     31 26     180     31 25     170     31 25     190     31 25     160     31 26     160     31 26     165     32 26 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: Ministry of Statistics
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     4.3     88 76     4.9     88 76     4.7     89 78     5.5     88 78     7.9     89 77     9.1     88 78     7.1     88 78     6.7     88 78     7.5     89 77     6.3     88 78     6.3     88 78     6.5     89 79 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Iscu has a warm climate all year round, and gets a decent amount of rain all year as well. The tropical island climate is well suited for a diversity of species, many of which can only be found in Iscu. Sadly, due to climate change Iscu is sinking, and by 2100 all of the atolls and islands other than the main islands will likely be underwater.

It is rare for Iscu to get any large storms or other massive weather phenomenon; the last severe storm that has been recorded was in 1923, and was described as being "like a nightmare taken the shape of the wind and the rain" by an Ingerish captain in the area at the time.

Because of the warm climate and predominantly sunny skies, the country is known as the "Asperic Paradise", and was a common vacation destination for Ingerish nobility for some time.

Government

The AN appoints a new commissioner to oversee the island every 6 years, and also appoints other officials to administrate other functions of the nation. The other members of the commission are selected by the Special Committee for AN Territories to serve for 6 years, but are frequently re-appointed. The islands operate under international law. However, on the main island each municipality is governed by a mayor, who is appointed by the commissioner, but must be a native of the island (this requirement has existed since 2000). These mayors may set certain laws and regulations for each municipality (with approval from the commission), which includes taxes and public spending. However, Iscu is not a country, and so has no national tax. Because of this, all municipalities have very low or nil tax rates, and instead rely on yearly funding from the AN, revenue from the territory's phosphate company, and, because with effectively no taxes Iscu is a tax haven, revenue resulting from headquartered companies.

Since the AN only has so much money to give to Iscu, government spending is fairly low. Iscu also remains poor, although extreme poverty has been effectively eliminated, and the economy is improving with tourism and investment increasing. All this has resulted in varying effects, with poverty worsened in some areas by the lack of public infrastructure, with other areas rich havens, but with overall low crime and slowly improving development across the board, the territory is generally considered to be a successful example of AN governance.

Government TLDs

The AN Administration has maintained a website for the territory since 2003, and it is registered under the .ic.an domain. .ic domains are available for rent, and it became popular with online forums in the late 2000s, with notable websites using it including mag.ic, the popular fantasy-focused fandom wiki.

Military

Ever since the Ten Day Riots, Iscu has had no military, and all surviving military vehicles were sold in 1987 to Suvuma. The only military present are the AN peacekeepers, who number around 7500, and multiple FSA and Gobrassian military bases.

Administrative divisions

See also: Administrative divisions of Iscu

Iscu has no administrative divisions at a province wide level aside from the semi-autonomous native territory, which operates in complete isolation from the rest of the world aside from the few scientists and envoys allowed to travel there. The main island is divided into 14 municipalities, and all settlements on the atolls are administered directly by the AN Commissioner of Iscu, and do not have a municipal government.

Demographics

Religious affiliation

The Ingerish brought christicism to the islands when they arrived, and it has competed with Iscuan spiritualism ever since.

Language

There are two major languages spoken by people in Iscu: Escuan Ingerish and Iscuan. Escuan Ingerish is spoken by around 81% of the population, and Iscuan by around 98%. The isolated Native Escuans, known as the Kadſa Group, speak an "un-corrupted" version of Iscuan with no outside influence since their arrival to the Atoll. Lentian is spoken by around 3.5% of the population, primarily in Endeburg.

Iscuan
Escuan
Ez-coo-in
Official in	Iscu
Also spoken in	Plurinesia
Estimated number of speakers	47000
Recognized dialects	Kadſan
Language family	Asperic
romantian alphabet
a b c d e f g* h j k ſ m n o p r s t u v y* z* (*loan words only)
Norms of linguistic structure
Common constituent word order	SVO
Noun declensions Case Gender Number
Verb conjugations Aspect Mood Number Person Tense Voice
Adjective declensions Case Gender Number

Escuan Ingerish

The product of centuries of intermixing between Ingerish and Iscuan speakers, this patois incorporates elements of Escuan phonology into Ingerish words, primarily by removing the letters "i" and "l", and replacing them in general with "e" and "ſ (representing the "heh" sound, sounding like an exhalation)" , although "l" is most often simply removed. "Ö" is also used when there are two "l"s in a row, such as "Atoll" which becomes "Atoö", representing a phonetic extension of the "o" sound. However, in cases where it is practical to merely remove the offending letter, it is simply excised from the word, such as in the case of Endeburg, formerly known as Lendeburg. It is the second-most widely spoken language in Iscu, and the version of Ingerish used in official contexts. The patois has existed in some form since around the late 1700s, and variations, giving more prominence to either Ingerish or Iscuan are also in existence.

Escuan

Escuan is the native language of the Iscuan people, and is still taught in schools, with a slightly higher number of speakers than the patois. It is notable for being a direct relative to Proto-Gobrasi, with little influence by other languages, in particular in the Kadſa Group, which has remained completely isolated for millennia. The Iscuan spoken on the main island has taken words and some elements from both Maakan and Ingerish. It is also notable for being written and spoken without breaks in the sentence, using connectors (d after vowels and a after consonants) and to indicate word separation, and dashes to indicate pauses. D and A are uncommon as the beginning of words due to their usage as connectors. In spoken form, it has been described as a very lyrical language.

Phrase Book:

Sentence	in Escuan Ingerish	in Iscuan/Escuan
Where is the train station?	Where es the tran staton?	Eahredederatranatro?
There is no train station.	There es no tran staton.	Ederededpodtranatro.
What? How big is this country anyways?	What? How beg es thes country anyways?	Amek? Ecedraradedoredavenkredomo?
I am an ignorant tourist, please forgive me.	E am a gnorant tourest, please forgeve me.	Ademafaderϙeemadehaoradame.
My postillion has been struck by lightning.	My postöon has been struck by eghtneg.	Amodposöonaledaghredomelodaherkaro.

Health system

Basic healthcare services are provided by the AN administration. However, more advanced healthcare such as most surgeries, orthodontics, and optometry (non-child), along with other specialized procedures is not covered by the administration healthcare provisions, and there are two private hospitals that cover these services, along with spottier charity services. The Red Shield operates a program for poor Iscuans to receive credits for essential medical procedures that can only be provided by the private hospitals.

Public safety

The crime rate in Iscu has lowered considerably from its peak in the 1980s. Most crime is petty, especially on Loconon Atoll, which is noted for its pickpockets. The peacekeepers, fire services, and medical responders are all regulated by the AN administration. The peacekeepers are generally well regarded by the public.

Economy

See also: Economy of Iscu

The Iscuan economy is supported by five main industries: Farming, Tourism, Fishing, and Mining. Recently,

Historically, farming and fishing were the main occupations of the Iscuan people, and have continued to be important to the livelihood of many Iscuans. Iscu is one of the few places where vanilla is a native plant, and due to the high desirability of the plant, vanilla is now the most widespread crop grown in Iscu, accounting for 56% of all crop exports. Tea is the second most grown crop, with the popular tea brands Abednego Tea and Royal Iscuan originating from Ingerish landholders who took advantage of the unique fruity taste of Iscuan tea.