Rainier


 * This country is part of the Altverse universe.

The Centralist Republic of Rainier more commonly known as Rainier is a sovereign state in North America. It is bordered by to the north, Sierra to the south, and the  to the west. Its capital city is Salem whilst its largest city is Seattle. Its population of 13,425,599 ranks it as the 73rd most populous country in the world, whereas its area of 284,598 km2 places it as being larger then but smaller then Lan Na.

Rainier was first inhabited by Native Americans up until European exploration which was first undertaken by the Spanish. In the early 1800's the sponsored by the  was undertaken that mapped out much of Rainier alongside British-Canadian explorer. This eventually led to the which saw both the United States and Britannia claim the area. Britannia sent military forces into the area to cement their control before meeting local resistance by American settlers. In 1856 conflict broke out as several Americans proclaimed the creation of the Republic of Oregon, which prompted Britain to respond with military force. In 1859 Britain agreed to negotiate with the rebels, drafting the Olympia treaty that saw Rainier gain full independence on the condition it could never join the United States.

Following Rainer's independence the country became close to both America and Wabash whilst enjoying cordial ties to Britain. However the country had several social divisions, mainly between of British descent and  of American descent. and Canaanites also helped further this divide. This along with the abolishment of the federal government and the creation of a unitary regime led to civil war from 1876 - 1882, which eventually saw a new constitution to be written that mandated that equal religious representation would be enforced in government. However, the British Anglicans - who ruled as a - largely ignored the constitution using gerrymandering to retain political power.

Rainier participated in both world wars, playing a pivotal role in the of  where it housed several naval bases for the USA. From the start of the Rainier quickly allied itself with the United States joining several military and economic forums associated with the. However, the government continued to pursue a economic policy with the standard of living rising substantially in Rainier. In 1966 the first American Evangelical president George Fairbrook was elected, who was overthrown by a military dictatorship three years later. The military government lasted until 1990 when it collapsed following mass protests. Since then a constitution was drafted that allowed for even greater political participation between the different religious communities with the previous power of the British Anglicans being lessened.

Rainier is a. Power is shared between the main religious groups in Rainier - British Anglicans, American Evangelicals, Mormons and Canaanites, all of which are delegated designated seats in the Representatives Senate, the upper house of the.

Rainier has a developed market economy, with major exports including timber, fishing, and agriculture,machinery, electronics manufacturing, silver mining, and tourism. Rainier is one of North America's largest lumber industries alongside Canada as well as being one of the largest exporters of potatoes. Rainier also has a growing service sector with the economy having undergone significant deregulation since the 1980's. Nevertheless an extensive social safety net still exists in Rainier which has. A decline in industry has seen Rainier deal with crippling unemployment for the past 20 years.

Rainier has cordial relations with its closest neighbours Sierra, and Canada, as well as the United States and its former colonial master Britain. Rainier is a member of various international organisations such as the LN,, , , , , , TPAC and the National Reserve.

Etymology
Rainier is named after, which itself was named by after his friend. Prior to independence the region was known as the Oregon Country, with its earliest known use coming from British Major who spelt it as Ouragon, which itself either came from the French word ouragan (meaning "windstorm" or "hurricane") or arose out of a misspelling of the Ouisiconsink (Wisconsin) River when a French map called it "Ouaricon-sint". However, Oregon was only widely used by Americans with Britons instead calling it "Columbia" after the Columbia District, which itself was named after and the.

During the signing of the Victoria Treaty in 1859 there was controversy on what to call the region that would one day become a sovereign state. Oregon was favoured by American settlers whilst some Britons instead wanted Columbia. As a compromise a list of names was drawn up for the Columbia Executive Committee (who constitute the founding fathers of Rainier) to choose one with Oregon and Columbia being deliberately banned. Cascaidia (named after the ) and New Caledonia were suggested alongside Rainier, with the latter eventually being picked. Following the abolishment of the federal government in 1876 Rainier was renamed as the "Centralist Republic of Rainier" in order to reflect its unitary status.

People from Rainier are referred to as "Rainians" which extends to all Rainian citizens. "Oregonian" is an alternative term used, being widely used by the early American settlers. In the past in the Anglosphere a derogatory term used to describe Rainians included "Northern Yankees", which was likely first used by Britons.

Early history
The region that makes up modern day Rainier (and the rest of the has been said to be one of the earliest inhabited regions in, with humans having resided in the  since 9,000 BCE. Other parts of Rainier have housed human life from up to 14,500-15,000 years ago. Many of these people lived around the , especially in the.

By 8,000 BCE permanent settlements had started to crop up around the Columbia River and coastal regions. Tribes near the Columbia River were often richer then neighbouring tribes thanks to their control of Celilo Falls which enabled them to control the trade of salmon, which was a prized resource in the region.

Notable tribes that resided near coastal regions, , , , , and the. Tribes that were located in the east (known as plateau tribes) included the, , , , , , , and. Tribes in southern region included the, , , , , and. The, , , , and resided in the south east.

The Quadra's and Vancouver's Island similarly was the home to many indigenous people's such as the, , and the. Many of these people's were the first people to come into contact with Europeans when they colonised Rainier.

Colonial history
The earliest European to sight Rainier was in 1543. mapped out the in 1592. However, serious exploration of the Pacific Northwest was first seriously undertaken by on behalf of the  in accordance to their  to the region in 1774. A year later also made a expedition to the region as well as. Heceta was claimed land north of the in order to counter  expansion into North America. Meanwhile Quadra managed to reach the mouth of the Columbia River. The region soon became a valuable trading outlet between the Americas and.

In 1778 Captain  set out to search for the, which resulted in him exploring the. This prompted in the 1780's for the to emerge in the region. However, British influence in the region led to tensions between Britannia and Spain, who eventually signed the which opened up the region to both British and Russian influence. The newly emerged also laid claim to the region.

Further Spanish explorations were undertaken by and. However, the most successful expedition up to that date was done by who not only fully mapped out the Quadra's and Vancouver's Island but also reached, of which he claimed all land south of it for Britain.

American exploration started with, who found the mouth of Columbia River. In 1804 American  commissioned navigators  and   to explore the western regions of North America, which resulted in the, where they began an extensive expedition of what would become Rainier. Notably the travellers cam across many Native American tribes, which they noticed had more gender equality then other tribes in the east. One such Native American they met was near Salmon, who helped guide them to the Pacific Ocean. The expedition saw the first mapping out of the, , and Columbia rivers as well as.

Canadian-British explorer explored the full length of the Columbia River in 1807, where he reaffirmed Britannia's claims to the region, trying to create a trading outpost for the. The American competed with the North West Company for fur trading in the region, which saw increased British and American immigration. Early American and British settlers also took up the role of being missionaries to the Native Americans. was a preacher who helped set up the first Rainian school, irrigation system and also introduced potatoes to the region. , constructed by Catholic missionaries became an important post for travelling traders, settlers and miners.

Since 1816, both the USA and Britain claimed the region, which was known to the Americans as. Previously Russia had laid claim to the region along with Spain - however Britannia nullified these claims with treaties. Nevertheless, America continued to encourage American immigration to the region, hoping to eventually annexe it into America. These moves were met with alarm by the British government. Tensions increased between the two countries until 1946, when Britain surrounded the Oregon Country with a naval blockade and sent troops into the territory. America threatened to declare war on Britain over the occupation, although Britannia refused to recognised America's claims to the region. Minor skirmishes started to occur on the Oregon boarder, with many Americans unhappy with the Britain imposed rule.

Independence
Rainier continued to face internal strife throughout British rule, which was much harsher then it was in the and. Attendance to the Church of Rainier was made mandatory. Resentment amongst settlers was high, with some such as Graham Johnson campaigning for incorporation of the territory into the United States whereas others such as Robert H. Jameson preferring to negotiate for an independent state. Both proposals were rejected by the British government, who kept complete colonial authority in power.

On the 21st August 1856 Eric Lloyd led a group of Britons to protest against colonial rule marching upon the with a list of demands, which mainly consisted of proposals for more autonomy. The colonial authorities rejected the demands sending in local forces to crush the protesters. The protesters fought back, initiating the Rainian War for Independence. Settlers around the country started to resist colonial authorities, receiving military aid from America. Soon in the city of the Oregon Country Commonwealth was declared by rebel forces.

From the offset the rebels faced several problems. Britannia had naval superiority, and was quickly able to enforce a blockade around the Pacific coast. Britannia also had a superior army, and was able to launch several two pronged attacks from the coast and Canada. Despite this rebels led by Robert H. Jameson and Johnson were able to launch several pincer attacks on British supply lines being supplied by America. Native Americans also played a key role in the Rainian Civil War. Rainian rebels made deals with several Native American tribes stating they could retain land rights if they fought against the Britons.

Britannia at first had the decisive upper hand, before it was forced to divert resources to put down the. This enabled the Rainian rebels to launch the Olympia March, which saw rebel forces led by General Jameson march from the Snake River to Olympia where they took the city from its British rulers in October 1858. In February 1859 rebels took over the city of Victoria on the Quadra's and Vancouver's Island. This prompted British authorities to finally start to negotiate with rebels. Jameson and Lloyd led the negotiations where they agreed to never become incorporated into the United States in return for attaining independence. The Treaty of Victoria which finalised the terms for independence was signed on the 12th March 1859 with the Federal Republic of Rainier being proclaimed the same day.

Federal Republic
The newly formed Rainier was first led by the Anglican dominated Christian Republican Party, who drafted the Constitution and formed the first government of Rainier. The president, Robert H. Jameson, was a who advocated for a   with a strong executive president. Jameson also retained mandatory membership to the Church of Rainier, and gave special land rights to British Anglicans.

Following independence immigration to Rainier started to increase. established the town of in 1860 emigrating from. Canaanites also emigrated into southern regions from Sierra, Initially both groups were denied citizenship, although they were allowed to settle what was deemed common land.

Germans also immigrated to Rainier as well as English people, who soon started to support the Anglican government of Rainier. Following the many Irish people's travelled to North America including Rainier. also immigrated to Rainier as well as Chinese people's, where similar to other immigrants they were looking for agricultural opportunities. Jameson and his successor Eric Lloyd encouraged immigration on the condition that immigrants convert to Anglicanism, although Basque and Irish immigrants largely retained Catholic beliefs. The encouragement of immigration - even including that of the Chinese, who faced legal discrimination - was intentionally done to help displace Native Americans from traditional hunting lads, where they were relocated to reservations unless they "Westernised".

The new government also began to affirm international relations, gaining recognition from Britannia, Wabash, Brazoria and Sierra. Rainier soon also reached out to Latin American nations such as Colombia,, Chile, , and , exporting mainly foodstuffs and lumber. However, new relations were considered to be most paramount with the USA and the, with Rainier allowing the USA to build several naval bases on Vancouver Island which they used to trade American goods with China. Rainier's government came close to recognising the during the. However strong opposition came from those who sympathised with the United States, as well as those loyal to the British government. Ultimately Rainier supported the United States, much to the disappointment of Confederate leaders.

First Centralist Republic
In 1869 the Centralist Party led by Carter Rhodes was elected. Rhodes who was somewhat of a drastically improved relations with Britannia, drawing Rainier closer into Britain's sphere of influence. Rhodes also had the Anglican Church more deeply integrated into Rainian society. Nevertheless the idea of Rainian identity was beginning to take root, with those descended from Britons seeing themselves as more cosmopolitan and intelligent then their American and immigrant counterparts. As such Americans and immigrants were excluded from schools unless they converted to Anglicanism.

The Unionist Party most important policy was its advocacy of unitary politics over federalism. Many argued that due to the lack of a cohesive national character that federalism would eventually lead to regionalism and the splintering of the Rainian nation. As such in 1876 Rhodes signed a bill that formally abolished the states and the federal government, putting a unitary structure in its place. This along with growing tensions between the different religious communities saw Rhodes assassinated by a federalist, starting the Rainian Civil War. Several former states secede from Rainier, creating the Oregon Confederation in its place and causing the government to send in forces to try and put down the rebellion.

However, the government soon found its support base dwindling as many Americans and immigrants joined the rebels. Oppressive policies towards non-Anglicans had resulted in hatred for the political landowning elite of Rainier. The government however had several advantages. Good relations not only with its neighbours but Britannia as well enabled Rainier to have access to much more manpower and equipment, as well as dominance of the seas thanks to the assistance of the Britannian navy. Rainier employed a strategy against the rebels, denying them food resources. This tactic of starving the rebels to death was somewhat effective in the latter stages of the war as the rebels were unable to expand their territory.

In 1882 rebel forces agreed to surrender if they were promised constitutional changes that would protect the religious rights of all peoples of Rainier. The government agreed to the terms, enacting a new constitution in April that year. With the end of hostilities the government now under the CRP started to push for industrialisation, investing into mining and metal works. Rainier became famed as one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, creating a large amount for the United States.

Government and politics
The government of Rainier takes place within the framework of a   with the President serving as both the  and. Rainier has a legislature known as the Houses of Parliament. The upper house is known as the House of Senators and the lower house the House of Councillors. A democracy, Rainier has several political parties - the National Union, Christian, Centralist Labour, New Liberals, Greens and Conservative Party. Currently the president is from the National Union party and governs in a coalition with the  New Liberal Party and Christian Democratic party.
 * The President of Rainier is serves as both the head of state and government, being the official head of the executive. The president is elected in direct elections every five years unless they are impeached, decide to resign or die in office. The President has the power to veto legislation proposed by the Congressional Houses, grant pardons, and act as . The President is responsible for forming the Cabinet of Rainier (the main executive organ in Rainier), and appoints judges for the Supreme Court with the approval of the legislature.
 * The legislature of Rainier is divided into two separate bodies - the House of Senators and the House of Councillors. The House of Councillors serves as the lower house, drafting and amending the majority of laws as well as having control over monetary policy and having the power to impeach the president. The Council is directly elected every five years having 125 seats. The House of Senators meanwhile is made up entirely of politicians who are nominated and elected by the House of Councillors on a Confessionlist basis, meant to represent the different religious communities of Rainier. 15 seats are reserved for, 15 for , 10 for , 3 for , 2 for Canaanites and 10 for people of other faiths or unaffiliated.

Religion
Religion has been on the decline in Rainier since the 1980's, although the majority of the population identifies as. Until 1985 the Church of Rainier was identified as the state religion, although in practice many more were  and  Protestants alongside,  and Canaanites. Church membership was enforced during the military dictatorship of 1974 - 1985, which saw many subsequently identify as non-religious.

27% Rainians identify as unaffiliated, 66.5% (23% Evangelical, 21% Anglican, 9% Mainline Protestant, 8% Catholic, 5% Mormon, 0.3, and 0.2% ) 2% Canaanites, 1% , 1% , 0.5% , 0.5% , and 2% other.