History of Atlia

The history of Atlia includes the beginning of human habitation of the continent from the 9th century AD and on wards. Groups of the were the first humans to reach Atlia, with  -speaking traders sailing from seaside cities in  and reaching the continent around 887. The Swahili traders established outposts on the northern and western coasts of the continent, some of which grew into prominent city states. Limited settled took place further inward, and the Swahili generally remained coastal and highly maritime.

In 1304, Muhammed Hamidi ibn al-Swarizi led the Golden March that unified the Swahili city states, founding the Kinyati Sultanate. The sultanate would continue to rule over the Swahili inhabited lands of Atlia until 1507, when the arrival of the navy began to exact strong restrictions on Kinyati trade. This resulted in the short Kinyati-Portuguese War, which saw the destruction of the Kinyati fleet and the creation of a Portuguese hegemony over Atlia. The Portuguese would use the Swahili ports of Atlia as bases of trade for rounding the, and the cities grew with a large influx of Portuguese immigrants. In 1541, after a massive epidemic decimated the population of the islands, the Swahili began open revolt against the Portuguese, leading to the eventual Swahili Exile and the collapse of all but one Portuguese naval stations.

The in  allowed for the  to set it sights on the, and the weak presence of any formal settlement on Atlia provided the opportunity to establish a new Spanish colony with a lack of indigenous interference. Hence, in 1591, José Roberto Morrelo Sarquis led a small fleet of colonists to established the port of Santa Catarina, which became the first permanent European civilian colony on Atlia. Santa Catarina quickly prospered, encouraging further Spanish settlement and seeing the creation of the Province of New Murcia in 1612.