Republic of Derhaland

The Republic of Derhaland, or more commonly Derhaland, is an island nation in the Northwest Europe, in northern part of the Celtic Sea. Currently, the state formed in 1933 occupies the entire island which was originally part of the United Kingdom. It was established as a Semi-Presidential Republic, contrary to that of its close friend, Ireland. It is directly west of Cornwall and directly south of Ireland, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Heigard to the south. Brittany lies to the Southeast and Wales and the St. Georges channel to the northeast.

The country is also a member of the Celtic Nations, and boasts its own language, Derhish, although Irish and English are also widely used. The nation is actually 13 different islands, although the one central one, literally "big island" in Derhish, is largest of the bunch. The Sadaf islands, a small archipelago just to the south of the main archipelago, consists of three islands, the main one earning second place in size in Derhaland.

The current state, known as the Republic of Derhaland, was established shortly after the Republic of Ireland (1922), in 1926, and became a dominion within the empire. A new constitution was ratified in 1951, but Derhaland kept ties with the Commonwealth of Nations until it finally left the organization in 1984, although it maintains good relations with the United Kingdom to the present day.



Ranked as the 58th economic power in the world, as well as being in 13th for highest PPP GDP per capita, and 7th in Nominal per capita. It also ranks 13th once again in Human Development Index with a high .958. Derhaland is also in fifth place for the quality-of-life index. It leads in other indexes as well.

Derhaland was originally one of the poorer countries in Europe, relying on Agriculture in the flattest regions, but only until somewhere around the 1950s, when coal deposits were found in the central mountains and the rise of tourism in the island. These two industries initiated a slow but steady growth in the country's economy, which retains to the present day until coal became less valuable. Protectionism was also decaying and being removed from the economic system. Derhaland became a member of the European Economic Community in 1977. A software industry has begun to grow in the nation to replace the dying coal industry.

Etymology
The name "Derhaland" is actually indirectly derived for the Derhish name for "land of the crops", probably named after the island's rich soil, like that of Ireland's. Derho is the root of the name for agriculture, crops, and some other farming-related words in the Derhish language. The Romans, after conquering Britannia, tried to capture Derhaland from the Celts by a naval attack on the island from their land in Brittany, but failed. However, they continued to stay at the island's throat until their demise, attempting thrice more. They called the juicy land Derhani, a modification of the Celts' pronunciation of the island. Derhaland, the name of the island in English derived from the Roman's name, which then gives you the island's present name in English.

Geography
The nation of Derhaland is actually 13 different islands, divided into two different archipelagos. The archipelago of Derho, consists of 9 islands. One of them, in the center, is extremely large compared to the rest of the archipelago. The archipelago of Sadaf, to the south of the Derho archipelago, consists of 3 islands, with one being larger than the two others. Finally, a lone island sits to the southwest of the Derho archipelago, called West Island. West Island holds the Federal District.



There is a mountain range on the central part of the Derho archipelago, known as the Pesipia Mountains, which hold coal reserves enough to last about 80 years at th current rate of consumption (which is reducing). All six rivers on the island originate somewhere from within those mountains, the largest being the Zazabe River, where the city of Zazabe is located. There also is one tall mountain (~1500 meters) on the main island of Sadaf, known as Mount Zhuanesho. One river, the Xadaria River, runs from to south of it.

Many maps have been drawn or created showing Derhaland. A famous cartographer named Ghunlu Bhipid created a famous map in 1793 called Derho-Sadaf Complete.

Climate


Derhaland's climate is temperate and is greatly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean to the west of the country. The average annual temperature is 10° Centigrade. In summer, this average temperature increases to 18° Centigrade, and in winter, it decreases to 5° Centigrade, although in the Northwest coast it may be more extreme. The average rainfall varies from 80 cm of rain a year to 300 cm of rain a year. The average wind speed is about 3.5 meters per second and it is either sunshine or mostly sunshine 5% of the year. The most common overcast is cloudy day with status clouds. There is usually about 200 days of rain higher than 1 mm.

History
Derhaland has a very rich history. These include Roman invasions, independence from the United Kingdom, and more.

Prehistory
The island of Derhaland was formed in approximately 12,500 BCE, because the polar ice caps were melting and therefore raising sea levels significantly. The island was separated from the Mainland of Europe when a land bridge connecting to present day Cornwall was severed, thus starting the island. Ireland became an island in another 500 years, and Great Britain 6000 years after that. Sadaf was disconnected from Derhaland in 8000 BCE.

It has been recorded that at around 7000 BCE, the first people since the retreat of the ice sheets migrated to Derhaland. It is thought these people came over a stretch of water in between Cornwall and Derhaland. These hunter gatherers ate the various animals and plants on the island after arriving by their boat. No inland settlements were recorded until far after the original settlements, likely due to the fact the inland land was not very fertile and didn't contain very much wood. All these put together made the land very undesirable, until many centuries passed.

In 4000 BCE to 3000 BCE, many people populated the island, and some new species were brought over with them, mostly birds and a few mammals. The forests and grassland developing in the center while the people living in the central mountains developed their own culture.

Protohistory
In 400 BCE, an Irish population from the north settled the northern coast. These people were assimilated into the Derhish people living on the island by 100 BCE, though. The Irish culture remains in the northern part of the country, even though they were largely gone.

In 80 CE, the Romans were invading the island unsuccessfully, attempting a total of four times but repelled every time by the Celtic people living there. Many Romans were slaughtered due to the powerful ships people had on the island, which sunk most of the Romans' ships before they could land. In 390 CE, they invaded Roman-held present day Cornwall and Devon, aiding in driving them out of Great Britain.

After the Germanic tribes migrated to Great Britain, some of the Brythonic tribes departing from Great Britain settled in Derhaland instead of Brittany. This event is the cause of the high Breton population in Derhaland today.

Middle Ages
After the Romans vacated Brittannia and eventually Gaul, Derhaland was left a stable kingdom which Breton, Derhish and Irish populations coexisting relatively peacefully. The peoples living in the mountains, who were left without knowledge of the Roman attacks, finally left their confinements and merged into the rest of Derhaland's population, although many people living in the mountains can still be seen with clear differences from the people living in the lowlands.

In about 1000 CE, the kingdom annexed the Kingdom of Sadaf to the south after a brief war. 100 years later, the civilization on present day West Island joined Derhaland. Their beautiful city of Ghasobe was made the capital of the Kingdom almost immediately, and it still is to the present day.

In 1250 CE, Derhaland invaded the West Coast of Great Britain to gain more land for their growing civilization. They held parts of Wales for less than 50 years before being driven back to the islands of Derho and Sadaf by the Bretons who were being pushed out of their native territory.

Government
Derhaland is officially a Semi-Presidential Republic with some modifications. Their are two major offices, the President of Derhaland and the Prime Minister of Derhaland. Both offices hold elections every three years on the last Friday of September. The president appoints the other ministers, who are then approved by Parliament. There are no term limits enforced, however, it is possible there may be some term limits amended to the Constitution in the future.



The Parliament (lower house of the Legislature of Derhaland) consists of 1 parliament member for every 10,000 people in a province (including the Federal District). Their terms last three years. The Senate (upper house of the Legislature of Derhaland) consists of 2 Senators from every Province. These are the Junior Senator and the Senior Senator. Their terms last six years. The Chancellor is a Senator chosen by the other senators democratically to lead and speak for the Senate, and the Chancellor also has some other powers. The Parliamentin is the Parliament member chosen by the other parliament members to lead and speak for the Parliament.

Law
Derhaland's system for making laws is quite simple. An idea is written as a bill, and once it passes through both the Senate and Parliament on one version, is it signed by the Prime Minister and President and then approved by the High Court of Derhaland.

Justice is enforced by the Armed Forces of Derhaland and the Police of Derhaland. If a citizens is caught breaking the law, the police may be called to arrest or ticket that citizen. Vigilantism is officially banned, but Vigilantism is only punishable by a fine. Although Derhaland isn't a police state, CCTV cameras have been installed in banks, hospitals, and federal government offices. Requests may be filed for other places as well.

Some important and/or controversial laws passed in the past decade include the Clean Air Act (2002), the Universal Healthcare Law (2005), and the Educational Funding Act (2007).

Politics
Most people in Derhaland's political views are either mildly Left Wing or in a Centrist position. Political parties have developed to meet this view. There are three major political parties, the Liberal Party of Derhaland (Center-Left), the Conservative Party of Derhaland (Center-Right), and the Republican Party of Derhaland (Libertarian, Center). The Liberal Party has held the majority of votes and seats in Parliament since the 1989 Election. Other parties include the Green Party of Derhaland (Center-Left, Environmental), the Socialist Party of Derhaland (Left), and the Consumer Party of Derhaland (Right). Some other parties also exist, but have no seats in Parliament.

Derhaland is also very libertarian, and most citizens dismiss more authoritarian views on anything. In addition to this, citizens also support universal healthcare and equal rights for LGBT (and for that matter everyone). Most candidates who do not agree with the basic concepts will not be elected by popular sovereignty, such as if they promote a bill discriminating against LGBT people.

Economy
The economy of Derhaland is currently shrinking very slowly due to the global recession. The currency, the Derhish Pound (£), is also gaining ground against the Dollar, while at the same time being phased out by the Euro. The Derhish Pound's current value is 0.76 US Dollars per Derhish Pound.

The main industries of Derhaland include the Agricultural Industry, Mining Industry, Software Industry, Textile Industry, and Tourism. All these put together create a strong economy and a trade surplus for the country. The Software Industry is growing to replace the shrinking Mining Industry due to the loss of demand in coal. Coal is often traded for crude oil with various oil producing states.

Derhaland also is a member of a Free Trade Agreement started in 2004 with the Republic of Ireland and the Republic of Heigard. It is known as the Celtic Free Trade Agreement (named after the common celtic heritage) and it eliminated all tariffs and quotas between the three, and also to protect the environment. This greatly boosted Derhaland's economy due to the inflowing goods.

The 2010 Purchasing Power Parity GDP of Derhaland is $106.2 billion, up from $104.8 billion in 2005. The projected growth of the GDP by 2015 is estimated to be at about $106.9 billion, and it will most likely increase to a greater value if the current economic situation improves.