Batavia

The Kingdom of Batavia is an Imperialist sovereign state and constitutional monarchy located in the Ninja Archipelago, northwest of Snowzerland and east of both Castilla and Lisboagal. Many parts of the island were created through land reclamation, and as such, most of the country is located completely below sea level and exists thanks to dams, dikes, and windmills, all common sights in the country. The official language is Dutch, but other languages such as English, Indonesian, and West Frisian are commonly spoken in many parts of the country.

Not counting the cities located in the colonies, the capital and largest city in Batavia is Schipol, and the next four major cities in the country are Penguindam, Den Figh, Jijtrecht, and Heerbos. The Port of Penguindam is one of the largest ports in the Ninja Archipelago, and one of the largest ports in Antarctica as well, with the port being at the end of a link of SABER. Batavia has one of the highest per capita incomes in Antarctica and a high degree of freedom, which contributes to a high quality of life and a high level of happiness among its citizens.

Batavia broke away from Castilla in the late 1500s after a major war between the two countries, and the country was founded as one of Antarctica's first republics. Despite its small size, Batavia soon became a major colonial power, founding many colonies around Antarctica, many of which still remain as Batavian colonies today. The Batavian East Hindia Company was a major trading company that also founded many colonies around Antarctica, and although it has been long disbanded, the company is considered one of the richest companies in Antarctica by present day standards.

Prehistory
The island of Batavia was originally much smaller than it was today, as much of present day Batavia was underwater throughout its early history. At the time, Batavia was a very small island with other small islands around it. The first penguins to set foot on Batavia were the Batavi High Penguins, a High Penguin tribe from modern Day Freezeland in 507 AD. They learned that the water that surrounded these islands were shallow, and decided to pump the water out. It took them hundreds of years to do so, by building dikes, windmills, and canals to drain out the water.

By doing so, they were able to connect virtually all the smaller islands around the main island to make one large island, which is now known as the island of Batavia. Although the lowlands of the country were still periodically flooded during periods of heavy rain or storm, the dikes kept out most of the water from flooding the lowlands. Eventually after reclaiming the land from the sea, the Batavi High Penguins began to build many settlements on the newly reclaimed land, many of which grew to become one of the largest cities in Batavia today.

High Penguin Confederacy and Castillan Rule
Batavia joined the High Penguin Confederacy in the 700s after the High Penguin Confederacy was founded, and the island remained as a part of the High Penguin for the next few hundred years, until Batavia was united as part of Castilla by the King of Castilla. However, the Castillan soldiers that were stationed in Batavia treated the people harshly, crushing dissent and committing atrocities in an attempt to spread fear into the populace. This only made the Batavians angry against the Castillans, and they eventually rebelled against Castillan rule.

Independence and Batavian Golden Age
The outbreak of the Batavian war of independence was a revolt that was held in the city of Schipol, led by Prince Will of Orange. This revolt led to the Eighty Days War, where the northern Provinces of Batavia became independent from Castilla while the southern provinces stayed with Castilla. The newly independent provinces agreed to unite together and form the United Batavian Provinces, which became one of Antarctica's first republics, although Batavia would eventually become a constitutional monarchy under the rule of the House of Orange.

After its independence, Batavia attempted to conquer and colonize new territories, and the country became one of Antarctica's main colonial powers of the era, conquering many parts of Antarctica and turning them into Batavian colonies. The Batavian East Hindia Company was also founded around this time as a trading company, and became one of the richest companies of the era, and is even considered one of the richest companies by modern standards. Many of the modern economic aspects are considered to have been founded in Batavia as well, such as the stock exchange.

Batavia began to decline in power after losing multiple wars with Puffle'and, Francterre, and various Alemanian states, although the country still remained one of the great powers of Antarctica. The country lost a few colonies to other colonial powers, but expanded its colony of Hindonesie during this time to its current day boundaries. Batavia itself was conquered by Khanzem during the Khanzem War and occupied until the end of the war, while its colony of Hindonesie in the Asiapelago was conquered by Japaland and occupied until the end of the war as well.

Before Batavia could reestablish control over Hindonesie after the Japalandese surrender, the natives of the islands, led by Karmado, declared independence from Batavia and attempted to form an independent Hindonesie. However, Batavia, supported by Puffle'and and its dominion of Austiceia, took control of the rebel held areas of the islands and restored Batavian colonial rule. After this, there were a few minor independence movements in Hindonesie, but they were never as major as during the Hindonesian Revolution and never escalated into major war.

After the Hindonesian Revolution, the country chose to remain neutral in Antarctic politics, rebuilding their country in the aftermath of the Khanzem occupation. However, after the start of the False War in 1945, Batavia aligned itself with the Unaffiliated Bloc, with its allies Francterre, Olde Antarctica, and Puffle'and, among others. The country also participated in the STINC War, with a sizable Batavian force participating in the invasion of STINC-zachal alongside Francterre and Puffle'and, and the Treaty of Schipol was signed after the war in the Batavian capital of Schipol.

Snoss Rule and Aftermath
In 2010, when Swiss Ninja went "shopping" for islands, he saw Batavia and wanted to take it, although the Queen of Batavia and her ministers did not like the idea. Unfortunately, Swiss Ninja won the deal after key anti-Swiss Ninja Batavian politicians went missing, and in fear for her life, the Queen finally had to give into Swiss Ninja's "proposal", with Batavia being put under Snoss rule. The Queen of Batavia was allowed to remain as the head of state of Batavia, but she was required to take orders from Kaiser Swiss Ninja, however.

The country voted that Snoss rule was unnecessary in 2011, so Batavia peacefully split from Snowzerland, in exchange for Snowzerland regaining Alemania. In late April 2013, Queen Hooliana, like her mother, decided to step down and give the throne to her son, King Alex-Willem I and his wife from Parhentina, Queen Malvina. Batavia participated in the many wars around Antarctica on various sides, including during the Great Snowzerland War VI when it fought on its own side, being referred to as the "Lone Wolf".

Government
Batavia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system, or a parliamentary democracy, with the King of Batavia as the head of state and the Prime Minister of Batavia as the head of government. The country was one of Antarctica's first republics, and although it isn't a republic anymore, but it has been a parliamentary democracy since the mid-1800s. The King holds limited powers in the country's government, though he has some influence in Batavian politics, and is usually briefed on the country's politics by his advisers as well.

The Prime Minister, who is elected every four years without any term limits, holds the executive power in the government, and is advised by the Council of Ministers, which is the cabinet. The Batavian parliament, called the States General, holds the legislative power in the country, and consists of the upper Senate and the lower House of Representatives, elections for which are held every four years. Seats in the House of Representatives are elected for by the people, while seats in the Senate are elected by members of the provincial legislatures.

Economy
The largest sectors of the Batavian economy are banking, fishing, shipping, and trade, sectors that have been important to the Batavian economy since the 1500s, when it was founded. Batavia's main trading partners are the Ninja Archipelago countries, especially Francterre, Liguria, Puffle'and, and Rusca, while its main trading partners outside of the Ninja Archipelago are the United States of Antarctica and Zhou. The capital, Schipol, plays a major role in the Batavian economy, with the Schipol Stock Exchange, one of the oldest stock exchanges in Antarctica, being located there.

Batavia is somewhat of an economic power among the Ninja Archipelago countries, having one of the highest average incomes per capita in Antarctica. The unemployment rate in Batavia as of 2019 is at about 4%, which is lower than the unemployment rate in 2013, which was at about 9%. Batavia's colonies, notably Hindonesie, where most of the agricultural sector is located, plays a major part in the Batavian economy and the country's prosperity, with many farms in Hindonesie growing foods such as coffee and rice that are shipped back to Batavia for trade.

Culture
During the period of what was known as the Batavian Golden Age, the country's culture developed and flourished, as many of its citizens had gotten rich off of trade, and had time to enjoy luxuries. Many artists rose in prominence during this time as they were hired by wealthy merchants and noblemen, and Batavia became a center of art. During this time, many trends were formed, such as tulips, a flower that was extremely popular in the country and which soon became so expensive that only the wealthiest were able to afford them, though the price of the flower would eventually crash.

Most of the buildings in the Batavian architectural style today that are located in the major cities of Batavia today, such as in Schipol, Penguindam, and Den Figh, were built during the 1600s and 1700s, during the Batavian Golden Age, as the country began to expand. Batavian architecture is also prevalent in former Batavian colonies, such as Machaca, and current Batavian colonies, such as Hindonesie and Sooriname, though the architectural styles of both places have been adapted to local architectural styles, available materials, and climate.

Cuisine
Batavian cuisine consists mainly of fish, potatoes, and other vegetables, and the country's cuisine was historically known to have a lot of carbohydrates, since the country's population needed the nutrients. Batavians are known for eating fresh herring, French fries, mashed potatoes, apple sauce, pea soup, and carrots. Well known cultural delicacies include kroketten, frikandels, rookworst, which is a smoked sausage, stroopwafels, and vlaai, which is a type of cake or pie. There are many different types of pastries that are commonly eaten as well.

Batavians prefer also to drink coffee during the morning and tea in the afternoon, and other preferred drinks include milk and carbonated water. For desserts, Batavians like eating colored marshmallows, cake, cookies, and many different pastries. Their most famous candy is salty black liquorice, known in Dutch as "drop", which is beloved by the Batavians but is not very appealing to most foreigners. Likewise, the zwart wit pastilles, a sweet and salty candy, are also a very Batavian candy that also does not appeal to some foreigners.

The cuisine of Batavia has also been influenced by the lands that it conquered, most notably Hindonesie, whose own special cuisine has permeated into that of Batavia's. Hindonesie's various rice dishes made their way into the country's cuisine in the form of a special buffet known as the Rijsttafel. The country's population also like food from the Antarctic mainland, including Antarctican foods and nearby Ninja Archipelago nations such as Francterre, Alemania, and Castilla, as it is reflected in their diverse palate.

Geography
Much of Batavia was created through land reclamation from the sea, and as such, and most of the island is located below sea level. Batavia has a lot of tundra grass and some natural trees, although there are very few natural trees, as most of the trees in the country are penguin-planted trees, since they were planted in the reclaimed areas of the island. Most of the country is flat as well, with the highest point in Batavia being a 300 meter tall hill known as Mount Caarlsburg. Mainland Batavia, not counting the colonies, has an area of about 16,000 square miles.

Climate
Batavia has mild weather compared to some parts of the Ninja Archipelago and Antarctica, with cool summers and cold winters, although the coast has notably cooler weather than in the interior, and the country also gets a lot of rain and snow as well, mostly during the spring and summer months. Snow often occurs between the months of December and February, although there can be snow in late November or early March as well. The rainy weather of Terninia has also influenced Batavia, and with Batavia getting 90% of its rain from Terninia.

Military
Despite its small size, Batavia has a very powerful army and navy that has existed since it's founding in the late 1500s. While the Batavian military has declined in power since the 1700s, it is still a formidable force on the battlefield. Historically, the country had one of the most powerful navies in Antarctica, being able to take on that of Puffle'and's. Like Snowzerland and Castilla, Batavia has also done some conquering as well, mostly during the Batavian Golden Age. Many of the colonies that Batavia conquered during its Golden Age still remain under Batavian rule today.

Many Batavian soldiers and naval officers wear 1800s style uniforms as shown above, but since the Khanzem War, the use of these uniforms has usually been restricted to parades and other similar events, although they are still prevalent in the military. A popular Batavian weapon is the rifle with a bayonet since it is a gun and can also be used as a type of spear in close combat when necessary. Batavia has only a couple of military bases on the mainland, some military bases in Sooriname, one or two on Tremour Island, and many in their colony of Hindonesie.

Transportation
Batavia has one of the densest road networks in Antarctica due to the country's overall population density, with there being around 87,000 miles of road in Batavia, and with around 1,700 miles of that being expressways. Travel by car is the most common method of transportation, with a majority of the country using cars, but bicycles are also extremely popular among the populace, with Batavia having one of the densest bike lane networks in Antarctica. Most of the country owns a bicycle, but many own more than one, with Batavia having more bicycles than its population.

Public transport is also commonly used by the populace, and is often used by students, for which travel on the public transport systems are free, to get to and from school each day. There are also around 1,900 miles of train tracks in the country, with Batavia also having one of the densest rail systems in Antarctica. Due to the amount of people that use the train system each day, trains itself also frequently arrive and depart at the many train stations in the country, with the train stations often seeing many trains pass by in a single hour.

The Port of Penguindam is one of the busiest ports in Antarctica, with tens of thousands of ships arriving and departing from the port each year, and the port handles hundreds of millions of tons of cargo each year as well. Additionally, as much of Batavia was claimed from the sea, canals are common in the country, with canals covering most of the major cities in the country such as the capital of Schipol. Though not as commonly used to travel as before, canals are still used by some of the population to travel, and there is a village in the country where there are only canals.

Schipol International Airport, located outside of the capital of the country, is the largest and busiest airport in Batavia and one of the largest and busiest airports in the Ninja Archipelago as a whole, with the airport receiving around 65 million passengers each year. Other major airports in the country include Penguindam International Airport and Heerbos International Airport, located in the other major cities of the country. The Royal Batavian Airlines is the flag carrier and largest airline of the country, with around 35 million passengers annually.

Foreign Relations

 * Osterreach Flag.png Osterreach - Poor. Shares a Bitter rivalry since Osterreach invaded Batavia at one time.
 * Flag of Castilla.png Castilla - Excellent. In the past, Castilla and Batavia were bitter enemies. However, in the recent years, Castilla has been a popular vacation spot for the Batavians (and vice-versa). Greater friendship emerged in 2013 when Queen Malvina, a penguin from Parhentina, rose to power. Due to the royal connection, relations have improved and are strengthening greatly.
 * Alemania Flag.png Alemania - Bad. Even though it's been over 100 years, Batavia still maintains a grudge against Alemania for invading them during the days of Khanzem.
 * Snowzerland Flag.png Snowzerland - Poor. Batavia has separated from Snoss control and have a dislike for each other, though they still have foreign relations.
 * Freezelandflag.jpg Freezeland - Good. They share cultures.
 * NewUnitedProvincesFlag.png United Provinces - Good. They are allies.
 * ShopsIslandFlag2013.png Shops Island - Good. Shops Island and Batavia frequently trade, and the Shopper government highly encourages travel to and from Batavia.

Trivia

 * Batavia is a parody of the Netherlands. The name of Batavia comes form the Germanic tribe of the "Batavi" who where the first settlers of the Netherlands.
 * Batavia has the largest population density in all of the Ninja Archipelago.
 * Batavia was formerly a Snoss territory until it seceded.
 * Railfan1 has family here.
 * Doom Weed is legal here but its sale is restricted to specific licensed stores called "Coffee Shops". Otherwise one must grow the Doom Weed at home.
 * Doom Weed can not be eaten in Public Spaces and can only be enjoyed at specialized "Coffee Shops" or inside a private residence.
 * Breaking this law will result in a 500 coin fine.