Lost Islands

The Republic of the Lost Islands (Kálitt Píron Genslán) is divided into 9 provinces and 5 territories. It achieved independence on July 1, 1978 from Oalia.

Basic Facts

Size: 251 square kilometers (96.91 square miles)

Population: 43,419 (2009 census) + an estimated 700 Romí living hunter/gatherer/subsistence lifestyles in two of the five territories and granted complete autonomy by the Republic's government.

Population density: 172.98 per square kilometer (448.03 per square mile)

Official language and demonym: Kalitt

Form of government: Parliamentary democracy, with one legislative chamber, and executive authority merged in with the legislature. A Prime Minister is selected from the legislature as head of government; the Speaker (usually most senior member) of the legislature serves head of state functions.

GDP: Pl.36.563 billion ($959.17 million USD) or $22,091 per capita

Real (post-inflation) GDP growth (2011): 3.4%

Unit of currency: Paluna (conversion as of 1/19/13, Pl.38.12 = $1)

Inflation rate: 6.7% (2011)

Provinces and territories

Provinces (each is named after its capital)

Ranávi: pop 6,382 (two small islands in the far NW)

Silomi: pop 2,198 (to the SE of Ranávi)

Tumóra: pop 4,591 (two small islands to the SE of Silomi)

Tomatt: pop 4,018 (to the SW of Tumora)

Ílotann: pop 3,049 (tightly packed on a tiny island in the far west, to the SW of Tomatt)

Kataps: pop 19,981 (the southernmost of the islands)

Alúkan: pop 30,123 (to the E of Kataps)

Romíl: pop 10,234 (to the E of Alúkan)

Esonáth: pop 54,302 (to the NW of Romíl)

There are five territories, each with a varying culture.

Eiyol: pop 856 (Between Tumóra and Esonáth)

Raseiyol: pop 1,091 (to the SE of Eiyol)

These two territories are open for regular settlement, but simply do not have the population to become regular provices. Residents have considered joining to Tumóra province as they fear being lost in the large size of Esonáth.

Kálith: pop ~750 (Directly to the E of Ílotann) + military personnel here

This territory is split between a band of Romí (native population) on the western two-thirds and the main military base of the Republic on the eastern third. The Romí here have maintained as much as possible their hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

Mapad: pop 3,492 (to the S of Kálith)

This territory is now owned by a special Romí corporation, as the Romí who lived here were interested in contact/co-existence with the larger government. Some limited tourism is permitted here, and some farmers from the other islands who predate the corporation's forming are permitted to remain.

Salapp: pop ~1,000 (to the W of Mapad)

This territory is completely handed over to the native Romí, who live pretty much as they have lived since arriving in the Lost Islands an estimated 1,500 years ago, living off of fishing, limited agriculture, and trade with the residents of Mapad. During the Salapp Wars, attempts to land here were rebuffed, and the rights of the Romí here were enshrined by treaty in 1926. Even government officials rarely enter this territory as there have been hostile interactions as recently as 1998 (which resulted in the death of a Republic scientist).

The Romí aboriginal natives of the Lost Isles appear to have begun arriving around 600 AD, in what is now modern-day Ranávi. They quickly spread through the islands much as they spread through the larger islands to the west. Oral tradition and archaelogical evidence indicate that the three modern-day countries here were roughly the borders of three competing counties among the Romí.

History

No clues exist as to the mainland origin of the Romí, as their language is a complete isolate and modern-day Kálitt is a mixture of Romí and mainland languages brought by later settlers.

Two kings from the modern-day Lost Islands are said to have conquered the entire southeast archipelago, Kameha the Mighty (ca. 950-1000 AD) and Ruhaps the Magnificent (ca. 1300-1400).

The southeast archipelago became known to mainlanders when Randomian explorers found the islands in 1456. However, the map made of this expedition was lost, and hence the islands became lost. Mainland colonists on the three western islands were able to beat back the Romí expeditions sent against them.

Only by 1552 did the problem become great enough to warrant a punitive expedition, which swiftly conquered the larger and more populated islands.

The residents of Salapp and Kálith were able to resist these incursions, but the other islands were colonized and Oalian, Randomian, and Kosman forces fought over the islands for three centuries until the Oalians were granted what is now the Lost Islands in a 1856 treaty.

Attempting to conquer Salapp failed in a notorious 1860-1863 war in which 2,000 soldiers and marines were all slain save for two. There were some limited contacts between the Oalians and Salapp natives until a 1926 treaty left the Salapp natives the masters of their own island and residents of western Kálith were granted a similar status.

The country continued as a dependency (and later territory) of Oalia until July 1, 1978, when, tired of the increased cost of adminstration (and somewhat annoyed by the fact that more Kalitt lived in Oalia than in the Lost Islands), the country was granted independence.

This was perhaps a bit late as in 1981, significant oil fields were discovered, and in 1988, some minor gold veins were found. The population surged from 60,000 to over 200,000 in a matter of a few years as Kalitt who faced discrimination in Oalia decided to return home and join the prosperity of their homeland. As the oil boom faded in the late 1980s, many Kalitt returned to Oalia, leaving us with a situation where 250,000 Kalitt live in Oalia, 140,000 live in the Lost Islands, some 50,000 in Randomia, some 35,000 in Kosma, and an estimated 25,000 in the rest of the world.

The Lost Islands' economy relies on forestry, mining, remittances from the diaspora (which is 2.5x the population in the Lost Islands), and some degree of specialized agriculture, including a wine industry of some note.

Since independence, the People's Party (left-wing) and Labor Party (right-wing) have fought for control. Each party is further split by pro and anti-Oalian factions. The mid-1980s were a time of great political violence, as leaders of both parties jockeyed for control of oil and gold money. An estimated 500 people died in the fighting leading up to the 1986 election.

A peace accord was reached before the 1989 elections, and today the political violence is only a thing of Oalian stereotypes.

The Lost Islands Broadcasting Authority

The Lost Islands Broadcasting Authority (Kálitt Píroth Ratelefass) run a mix of 60% Oalian re-runs (1970s sitcoms long since forgotten in Oalia remain hits today) and 40% low-budget internally produced programs. They operate one TV station with regional repeaters and a radio station for each province.

While the KPR's radio broadcasts were established by the Oalians in 1953, they did not see fit to establish a television service -- television did not arrive in the islands until December 15, 1978.

While independent TV and radio broadcasters are not forbidden, no independent TV station exists (despite government incentives to do so) aside from the All-Southeast Broadcasting Company. A few radio stations are licensed. All independent broadcasters need to broadcast 15 minutes of KPR news and information twice a day; the ASBC has been allowed to broadcast an "All-Southeast" news program to meet this requirement.

The KPR are hoping to attract some attention to the Lost Islands and bring attention to Kalitt culture (which, sadly, seems to be regarded as mafiosi and poverty).