Penland

Penland (Serbian: Penska, Pennese: Pensataz) is one of the 12 states of the United Provinces, situated on the southern part of Snowiny Island. It borders the states of Sitmo, Kanowa and Herwene. Its capital is Penn City, which has a population of around 511,011 (nearly half of the whole state population). The governor of the state is Martin Townslay, who previously was Vice Governor until Michael Richard's resignation in 2017.

The state's history stretches centuries back to a time when tribes started settling the island of Snowiny (more detailed information can be found here). The first peoples to arrive in Penland were the Headans who settled in the eastern part of Penland which they called Hedonia, today better known as Benotia after the Hedonian capital Benot (Old Hedonian: ฿กฤດન Bevenvocd, Serbian: Benot, Pennese: Bentaz). As a result of Glodic, Travan and Osloven settling in middle Snowiny the Pennic tribes were pushed southwest and the Pennes settled in the valley of the Penn river, then known as Perrwe (Pennese: Peŕuei). It is assumed that after this river the Pennese (peh-NEEZ or PENZ) gained their name.

This independent state of the Pennes didn't last long however as the Glodes conquered this region as well. The Oslovens later brought down the Glodic Empire and took control over the entire island archipelago of Snowiny. In the Eighty Years War from 1430 to 1510 Penland was the most damaged area of the country and it was badly destroyed. 60% of the local population was wiped out, particularly the Pennese populations. The Pennese populations were even more murdered and exterminated by the Three Year War from 1791 to 1794 and the Osloven Civil War from 1803 to 1815. Many Penlandic people took up their arms and went to war as well, mostly on the Republican side, but they failed and in 1815 the monarchy had proclaimed victory.

In the 1910s the Osloven Empire surrendered to Khanzem after a major military defeat at the battle of Winsburg. A majority of the Penlandic population was once again wiped out. After the war and Khanzem's defeat, a new monarchy was set up and to the Pennese populations remained as oppressive as the previous monarchy. In 1947, however, a republican dictatorship was set up and massive exterminations and deporations of the local Pennese populations began. In 2003, rights for the Pennese populations were enshrined in the new Snowinn Constitution and President Geronimo Stanling started issuing reparations to the families of extermination victims. However, tensions were quickly revived and Penland remains a zone of conflict to this day.

Penland today is the poorest state of the United Provinces as a result of the many wars and deporations of the 20th and previous centuries. Uprisings continue to happen often in Penland. Lately, Penlandic desire for independence has been once again aroused and the new governor and new dominant party, the Penland National Party (PNP), are fighting to hold an independence referendum for Penland. Independence aspirations have died down lately, however, and the insurgency has mostly ended.

Today, only a minority of the population of Penland is of Pennese ethnicity. Only the populations that are Pennese by ethnicity speak the Pennese language as their first language.



History
See also: History of the United Provinces

TBA

Geography


As seen on this map, Penland is mostly flat land. The Penland Plains are really flat and are very good for agriculture. Penn City is located on completely flat land that is suitable for farming, manufacturing and industry. The Penn River is also one of the largest rivers in the country. It is the second deepest river after the Thaming River in northeastern Snowiny and it is considered the best river in the country for fishing and hunting due to the large quantity of fish, crab, bears and more, particularly near the South Forest on the eastern part of the river.

Lake Pontari is the second largest lake in the country behind Lake Redegane (Serbian: Redegan, Pennese: Azredgaz). It is also very suitable for fishing and for hunting. It has a very diverse ecosystem and tourists regularly frolic to the lake to check out the very diverse nature of the lake and its surroundings.

Demographics
Penland is the largest state in the country, just a bit bigger than Herwene, and the 3rd most populous as well. Most of the population lives in Penn City, in its suburbs and around Penn River. The population around Penn River alone is nearly 800,000, which leaves just around 250,000 who are not in the Penn River valley. Majority of the population, around 71%, is of Pennese origin while the rest are from the rest of Snowiny and aren't native Pennic people.

Language
The population of Penland predominantly speaks Serbian as a result of Snowinn colonization and the expulsion of native Pennese populations. However, the people that are Pennese by ethnicity speak a strange language called the Pennese language (Pennese: AzPensazta rakaz) that isn't part of any single family and whose origins are unknown. Less than a third of the Penlandic population today speaks this language, and the number of speakers is decreasing more and more each year. Around 54% of the population spoke the language in 1993, shortly before the leadership of dictator Francisco Ferinco, who tried to cleanse as many Pennese people as possible.

The institution that is tasked with protecting the Pennese langauge is the Pennese Academy of Sciences and Arts (Pennese: OiPensoita hortloi takormaĝ ke tafirstaĝ), which encourages the use of the Pennese language and seeks to have schools teach in that language instead of teaching in Serbian. Additionally, the Penland National Party supports making Pennese the sole official language of Penland and people that are members of the parliament of the United Provinces often speak that language in addressing the said parliament.

The language is very complex and has a very large set of rules. It has 19 grammatical cases, 4 grammatical genders, 15 grammatical tenses, 2 articles in the plural, a very complex conjugation system and a vocabulary almost completely rid of all foreign influence as a result of Pennese isolation throughout history and Pennese nationalists refusing to adopt foreign words.

A sample text from the Pennese language. It is a speech given by one of the leaders of the Penland liberation movement in the 20th century.

TabaeśSneveś

Katani, ĝanhonĝi teđaslaĝtakan pinkenaĝ. Aĝcaraĝ keaĝpinkenaĝ, kńalti, Sneveś. Takoĝta ke ritagaĝta, ke ĝotratonĝ "atjopoloś". Śtikozta! Eihotei ĝohotargońĝ Sneveita, raarantazta tórmaz ĝókótonĝ. Śtati, ĝanctonĝje keharaz coSneveita cratki! Aĝbritaĝtak kladaĝ taPensośta drami natraĝta!

About the Snowinns

Recently, we have been meeting with the most evil penguins. The names of the penguins are, of course, Snowinns. They are stupid and primitive, and they divide themselves into "tribes". Pathetic! The country they live in is Snowiny, a green island they have been ruining. Because of this, we will be bringing death to Snowiny every day! The superior Pennese races are forever unstoppable!

Trivia

 * Penland is an autonomous state in Snowiny, however several incidents broke out in the past few years and Penland is a self-declared independent state, however, recognized by no one.
 * The name of the state might or might not have to do with the name of Moon Island politician Penstubal, who is Pennese by origin. The origin of both names is unknown.