Jääland
| Jääland | |||
| |||
| Motto: | |||
| Anthem: File:National Anthem of Jääland.ogg | |||
| |||
| Map versions | |||
| Capital | Hellistelli | ||
| Largest city | Ukkonen, Kankylä | ||
| Official language(s) | Jääkieli | ||
| Official religion(s) | Church of the Holy Lance | ||
| Demonym | Jäärrish | ||
| - Adjective | Jäärrish | ||
| Government | Parliamentary Republic | ||
| - President | Petri Pukki | ||
| - Legislature | Senaatti. | ||
| Establishment | 1678 | ||
| Area | |||
| Population | 2.7 million | ||
| Currency | Florian Dollar | ||
| Calendar | |||
| Time zone(s) | CMT±0 | ||
| Mains electricity | |||
| Driving side | Right | ||
| Track gauge | |||
| National website | |||
| National forum | |||
| National animal | Bruin | ||
| National food | Meatballs | ||
| National drink | milk | ||
| National tree | |||
| Abbreviation | JAR, JA | ||
Jääland (In Jääkieli: Jääland or Jäälanti) is a small nordic micronation in northern Apollonia. The capital and largest city is Hellistelli. Other major cities inlcude Ukkonen and Kankylä. Despite having a small population and located in the very north of Apollonia, Jääland attracts many tourists due to the various ski resorts and the cold weather. Jääland currently has a population of 2.7 million who mostly live in the central and southern parts of the country.
History
Jääland was founded in 1678 by a group of landowners (led by Petri Pukki) and the Church of the Holy Lance and the towns that became the five chartered cities of Jääland. The diocesan and parochial structure of the Church allowed for the ideas of building a state to spread. As such, most of the State is organized in parallel to the church. Shortly afterwards a group of Florians settled in the area and brought many Florian influences to Jääland such as introducing the sport of ice hockey and baseball and cuisine.
Jääland's economy saw good growth in the late 1680s and early 1690s. With the establishment of Hellistelli International Airport as a trading hub for flights between Lyrica, Benacia and northern Keltia (through the Boreal Air Bridge), and the entry of Jääland into the Raspur Pact, Jääland developed its services in logistics and tourism.
By 1693, however, unemployment reached record levels, and Jääland entered a recession. This was due to diminishing trade from Elwynn, Benacia, and other parts of the Raspur Pact, due to the blockade of the Boreal Air Bridge by the Republic of Elwynn and Amokolia. Similarly, the service sector saw a blow with almost all foreign tourists gone. It is hoped that once the war in Northern Elwynn is over, Jääland's economy might recover.
Responding to the recession, many new political parties were formed, each advocating a different solution to the country's economic woes. Notable amongst these was the Kansallinen-humanistinen puolue led by Eini Nieminen, a 42 year-old air freight clerk employed at Hellistelli International Airport. For Eini Nieminen the solution to Jääland's problems was to re-orientate its trading relations by diversifying and building up economic ties with the Dark Berry Islands, Hurmu, and Nouvelle Alexandrie, the last two of which already offered Jääland frictionless trading under the terms of the Raspur Pact.
As early as 1703 several groups began lobbying for Jääland to claim the remaining northern half of their eponymous peninsula. The completion of the Nurthaven and Antruusbuurg Canal effectively cut off plans for expanding south. Even though the canal proved to alleviate many of the ongoing economic woes, many felt that by expanding into the unoccupied north Jääland could access more natural resources and reduce its dependency on foreign trade. Public interest was spurred by members of the Church of the Holy Lance indicating their approval of the expansion in that it would allow missionaries to spread the church to the otherwise pagan lands in the north. By the spring of 1704 settlers had already begun moving into the area - even without government approval - and had established a small settlement called Kesäranta.
Economy
Jääland's economy is relatively strong however relies on trade with it's major trading partner, the Confederate States of Floria.
Energy
Despite numerous protests, Jääland mostly uses nuclear power as wind power and hydropower combined don't provide enough for residents. Jääland also lacks fossil fuels domestically and so these must be imported from elsewhere. This includes uranium for nuclear power.
Transport
Public transport is difficult to operate in the country especially in the north. Jääland, therefore, has an extensive road system mostly used by internal cargo and passenger traffic. Hellistelli International Airport is the main international gateway with the airport serving as the hub of Air Jääland. In 1686 AN, construction of a national highway began. The main highway, designated J1, bisects the country in a north-south orientation and was connected to the Jääland Bridge by construction teams from Lac Glacei, thus giving it an international connection for commerce coming into the Lac Glaceian port of Nurthaven and a direct route to Hellistelli.
Industry
Jääland's main industry is steel production and its main trading partner is the Confederate States of Floria with both exchanging goods regularly. Both countries operate a free trade and movement agreement with each other. other major trading partners include Elwynn and Hurmu. Since joining the Raspur Pact, Jääland has provided materials for weapon and vehicle production for the Pact bringing stable income to the nation.
Tourism
Jääland has many ski resorts which attract many tourists mostly from Floria. Jääland's tourist industry is steadily growing and Jääland's government hopes that tourism will be one of the main industries of Jääland in the future.
Education
In 1691, Jääland inaugurated its first university, the University of Jääland (Jäälannin yliopisto) with funding from the Raspur Pact (particularly from Elwynn and Floria) and Hurmu. With healthy links with other Raspur Pact member nations, it is common for Jääkieli students to study abroad in major Raspur Universities such as the Metzler University and University of Northcliff. In recent years, Florian students have started to study in Jaaland if they wish not to study in Floria.
Culture
Religon
Around 68% of the citizens of Jääland follow the Church of the Holy Lance which was introduced by visitors from the Confederate States of Floria. However, like Floria, membership of the religion is declining as more people become more irreligious. Other notable religions in Jääland include Umraism and Yahudism.
The Church of the Holy Lance is an official state church, and therefore receives support from the state. It helped found the state, and as such, even by the irreligious people, is well regarded and respected. It is a unifier of the Jääland people and a carrier of Jääland culture.
Sport
Jääland's most popular sport in terms of fan attendance and TV audiences is ice hockey. However, the national sport of Jääland is baseball. The top-flight ice hockey league in the country is called the Jääland-Liiga which currently has 10 teams and the league is currently the only fully professional sports competition in the country. The winner of the league qualifies for the MHL Cup. Elite ice hockey players from Jääland often enter the Intercontinental Hockey League at some stage of their career and the nation provides the most foreign players to the league. The most popular teams in Jääland-Liiga are Jokerit Hellistelli,TPS Ukkonen and Karhut IFK. The national sport of baseball is mostly a semi-professional sport and many villages and towns compete in regional tournaments before each regional champion plays in the national championship, hosted by a team in turns from each region. Jääland provides roughly 5% of players in Super League Baseball and many play for the national team. The national team competed at the inaugural Micras Classic in April 2020 and finished 4th overall. Other popular sports include speedway, basketball and floorball. Football is not a popular sport in Jääland compared to other countries in Apollonia and the sport is played on a semi-professional basis. Therefore footballers of Jaaland usually move abroad to academies and universities in the Confederate States of Floria to continue their player development.
On the 19th June 2021, Jaaland won the 2021 Emerging Nations Cup, the first sports tournament which Jaaland has won in any sport. Jääland narrowly missed out on winning the competition in the previous year.
Language
The language of Jääland, Jääkieli, is considered by linguists to be located within a dialect continuum with the now extinct Straylightish. Today, the closest relatives to Jääkieli are Lakkvian, spoken in Hurmu, and Reinish, spoken in Normark.Istvanistani is also a commonly spoken language since the nation joined the Raspur Pact.
Cuisine
Fish and wholemeal are both predominant parts of cuisine in Jaaland. Meat is eaten but the consumption of red meat (beef and pork) is rare. As red meat consumption is rare, the meatball, Jaaland's national food is seen as a delicacy.
Music
Jääland is well known for its EDM, Pop rock, classical and most importantly Heavy Metal movements. All four are regularly enjoyed by the general public and both play a pivotal role in Sunday church services and more. Jaaland regularly enters Microvision and was recently placed 12th in 2021 with the song,"The Trooper".
Foreign relations
Due to its location, Jääland has little foreign relations. To function, it relies on the Confederate States of Floria for aid. There were calls for Jääland to join the Raspur Pact as the benefits of membership would boost the fledgeling nation's potential in terms of security and access to global trading networks with the rest of Micras. The candidacy of Jääland for membership of the Pact was received in 1690 and approved by the Permanent Commission on 24.VIII.1690.
In 1690, Elwynnese and Hurmu authorities established close friendships with Jääland, with bringing Jääland along the Boreal Air Bridge that connects the Benacian and Lyrican continents. Both countries established embassies in Hellistelli the same year, bringing the total number of embassies in Jääland to three (Floria being the first one). In 1692, Sanama became the fourth country to open an embassy in Hellistelli.
In 1700 both Meckelnburgh and Lac Glacei established formal relations in Hellistelli when they embarked on the restoration of the Nurthaven and Antruusbuurg Canal project. The canal is being overseen by Lac Glacei with assistance from Meckelnburgh. Lac Glacei is also funding the construction of the Jääland Bridge, which will provide vehicular access over the canal. The increase in commerce provided by the completed canal is expected to be beneficial for all three nations and their economies. Construction of the canal was completed by the middle of 1702 and the Jääland Bridge opened by 1703, which provided vehicular commerce a connection to the major port at Nurthaven.
