Acadian Alinor

Alinor, officially the Acadia Overseas Territory of Alinor, is an archipelago consisting of around seven islands located dozens of miles to the north and west of Gilneas. The first of the islands, Alterac, was discovered in late 2015 by Acadian explorers, who built the first settlement, Smithsburg, named after the former president and primary source of funds for the expedition. Eventually more islands were discovered in early 2017, and the colony was officially founded, separate from the rule of Gilneas, which it had been under due to its small size.

The Acadian government heavily invests in the growth of Alinor, often offering financial incentives and encouraging foreign immigration to Alinor, which has not only greatly expanded the population, but has also created a multi-ethnic and diverse populace, unlike Metropolitan Acadia or the other Acadian colonies. Acadia also exerts less influence on Alinor than the rest of the Acadian colonies, which has prompted many escaping the authoritarian right wing politics of Acadia to move to Alinor, where differences in political opinion are more tolerated.

History
Despite the first Acadian colony at Gilneas established in the region in 2005, the Acadian government made no further exploration in the area, not wanting to provoke the other imperial powers who had a presence in the area. Over the next few years, the colony at Gilneas continued to grow, becoming the largest economy in the colonies, and behind Metropolitan Acadia itself, and the third largest colony in terms of population. About eight years later, in 2013, when tensions seemed to be more relaxed, the Acadian government began looking into the prospect of more colonies in the region.

In late 2013, President Dominic Smith asked Parliament to fund an expedition to the legendary Alinorian islands, a string of uninhabited islands far to the west of Gilneas that remained untouched by any Antarctic power. Parliament obliged, and provided the necessary funding for the expedition, which set off in October 2013 from Gilneas, journeying west. After a few days of sailing, a large island was first caught on the radar, and the expedition landed, naming the island "Alterac" and claiming the land for Acadia and founding the first settlement, which they named Smithsburg.

Over the next few months, as the colony at Alterac flourished, another expedition set out and discovered three additional islands, which were named Ducrua, Elswyr, and Valenwood, and were all claimed for Acadia. Many began to immigrate to the islands, and in 2015 the islands, which had been under the rule of the Acadian Overseas Territory of Gilneas, were officially founded as the Acadian Overseas Territory of Alinor. A third and final expedition in early 2015 discovered the last two islands in the island group, which were named Crosby for the new Vice President, and Theramore.

The Acadian colony at Alinor continued to grow over the next two years, as many began to move there from many countries around the Antarctic, expanding the population at a large rate. In the First Acadian Colonial War, the colony was invaded by East Pengolia, who believed the small islands would be an easy target, but the invasion was fought off by a combined effort of Gilnean and Alinorian colonial soldiers and local militia, with some support from the Acadian navy and air force. During the Antarctic War on Terrorism, as many fled war torn Penland, under the Refugee Resettlement Plan, around 70,000 refugees were settled in houses in Alinor, which nearly doubled the population.

Government
In the first years of the colony, the government was made up of appointed officials from Acadia, as the population was too small to have an election. The Acadian government was heavily involved in the early years of the colony, running the colony directly from Acadia. However, by the Acadian midterm elections in 2017, Alinor had grown large enough to be self sufficient, and the positions of mayor, city council, governor, and Parliament were all up for election for the first time. Alinor was to be run under the same system as the other colonies.

Politically, the Alinorian populace is more libertarian right than Acadia, and there are also more leftists than in the rest of Acadia as well, which is usually considered more authoritarian right. This is in part due to the fact that many escaping Acadia's authoritarian right policies have fled to Alinor, where the society and local government is more tolerant, and where Acadia exerts less influence and control over the politics of the territory. Alinor is usually considered to be the freest Acadian colony, where free speech is tolerated, unlike in Acadia.

Economy
Because the islands are newly discovered, the economy is very small, and still developing. Some industry has developed on the island of Alterac, allowing for a minimal goods to be exported, but otherwise, the economy on most islands are dependent on fishing. In March, precious minerals were discovered on many of the islands, and mining companies established mines in the area, though the mining sector is still small. In recent years, the Port of Smithsburg has expanded, allowing for goods to be imported and exported, which grew that sector of the economy as well.

A large part of the Acadian agricultural and oil production industries is centered in Alinor, as the territory has much more open land to grow food in than in Acadia or any of the other colonies, and many oil wells also sit off the coast of Alinor as well. Despite accounting for less than 0.5% of Acadia's population, the colony accounts for more than 25% of oil production and 50% of agricultural production in the Republic of Acadia. A small lumber industry also exists in Alinor as well, but isn't as prevalent due to some environmental restrictions from the local government.

Geography
All the islands of Alinor have nearly the same geography, as they are in the same area, but there are some differences in geography among the islands. However, Alterac and Theramore both have minimal hills in its interior, and are a higher elevation than the rest of the islands. Each of the islands, with the exception of Crosby, which is home to large areas of arable farmland, have a forest covering most of the island, though Crosby has small patches of forest. Alterac, Crosby, Ducrua, Elswyr are the only islands to have bodies of water, with the islands having a few small lakes and creeks.

Transportation
Because most infrastructure has not been built, road transportation on the islands is minimal outside Smithsburg, with the inhabitants of the other islands owning few cars. Most roads outside Smithsburg are unpaved dirt roads, though the Acadian government began building a single highway, Alinor Highway 1, which spans the islands, connected by a ferry. Residents of the islands travel by boat or walk, the two most popular modes of transportation. The entire archipelago has only three airports, with only one of them being an international airport, so air travel is minimal, though some airlines now travel to Smithsburg.