LOYNNE’S ISLAND
Motto: "Fortuna et Libertatem" (Latin)
"Fortune and Liberty"
"Fortune and Liberty"
Map of Loynne’s Island
Location of Loynne’s Island
Capital
(and largest city)
(and largest city)
Nova Atlantica City
Official
language
language
English
Demonym
Loynner
Government
Unitary presidential constitutional republic
Area
-Total
10,552 km2
-Water (%)
3.79
Population
-Latest estimate
2,612,438
Currency
Loynne’s Island Cross (CRS)
Timezone
UTC-3
Date format
dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Drives on the
right
Intranet TLD
.lo
CONTENTS [hide]
1 History
2 Provinces and cities
3 Geography
4 Economy and law and order
5 Languages
6 Education
7 Military
8 Culture
9 Public holidays and festivities
10 Religion
2 Provinces and cities
3 Geography
4 Economy and law and order
5 Languages
6 Education
7 Military
8 Culture
9 Public holidays and festivities
10 Religion
A majestic paradise island in the North Atlantic Ocean, Loynne’s Island has always been under Unitedstatian and European influence. The island was first sighted by Columbus during his second voyage in 1493, who nonetheless attributed the sighting to an optic illusion due to poor visibility. The anecdote intrigued Amerigo Vespucci, who on his third voyage confirmed the sighting, and referred to the island as the "Solitary Giant," in reference to its enormous size and isolated status. Vespucci, try as he might, found it unable to head toward it and the island was lost once again from sight.
News about the existence of the mysterious island were not taken seriously until the early 1500s, probably 1504, when a Portuguese armada was sent to confirm the island's existence. Loynne’s was thus conquered by the Portuguese quickly and officially named Ilha da Luana, since a daughter of one of the navy admirals who led the settling fleets was born there immediately after arrival, becoming the first mainlander to be born there. After thorough exploration, the Portuguese were shocked by the existence of tribes of nomadic hunter gatherers in the island, and a mystery remains up to this day regarding how they could have emigrated to the isolated island.
Running from the Portuguese at first sight, probably thinking of them as monsters, the Portuguese tried to diplomatically communicate with the natives, and a Christianization effort was made, but was met with unexpected heavy resistance from the fierce natives, something which surprised the Portuguese military. Experts in ambushes and guerilla warfare, the natives decimated several Portuguese units before being wiped out completely. No traces remain of these aborigins, as no paintings, carvings sculptures, contraptions or buildings made by them were found.
In the early 1600s the island was usurped from the Portuguese by a large British armada, driving out the Portuguese and taking possession of the island completely. The island’s name was changed to Loynne’s Island when the British were unable to pronounce the Portuguese name correctly.
Loynne’s thus became a British colony until the rise of the United States, and it experienced several skirmishes with the Unitedstatian Navy for control of the island culminating in the War of 1812, when hostilities ceased as a result of the aftermath of the war. Tensions began once more in the 1880s, with the increasing expansion of the US Navy and its easy victory over the Spanish Navy in 1898. After this war, the building of dreadnoughts brought the US Navy up to par with European countries such as Britain and Germany, which had already signaled a turn of events in global power shift. In 1907, the so-called Great White Fleet of the US Navy demonstrated its reach in a 14-month circumnavigation of the world. The brainchild of US President Theodore Roosevelt, it was meant to demonstrate the US Navy's global capacities. By 1911, the US had begun building super-dreadnoughts at a rate that began to rival the British Navy. In 1914, shortly before the First World War broke out, the US Navy began to circumnavigate Loynne's Island in a way meant as a message to Britain, and soon the British Navy mobilized to deter the Unitedstatians. A standoff was produced, but with the outbreak of the war, each side retreated fearful of provoking an even major conflict. US President Woodrow Wilson was committed to a neutral United States, and not willing to stain the global reputation of the US as an aggressive and opportunistic nation, promised British Prime Minister H.H. Asquith that US forces would cease navigating near the island.
As WWI raged on, it became clear that tensions between the US and the UK on the Loynner affair would need to cease. Loynne’s was thus granted independence in 1916 by the UK, which was fearful of getting dragged in a naval engagement with the US right in the middle of the war. This was done too so that the British government could rid itself of responsibility should the US want to invade it eventually. The move to grant Loynner independence further hurt the reputation of H. H. Asquith, who went down in shame as a useless wartime leader and was thus replaced by David Lloyd George, who arrived too late to change the status of Loynne's as a British colony and the treaties with the US.
The island, though independent, proceeded to become a symbol of dispute between the United States and the United Kingdom, which wanted its overseas territory back. WWI had exhausted Britain's resources and will to engage in a new conflict, and the US as the strengthened victor didn't want to start a new conflict with a former ally after the aftermath of WWI. In a treaty signed by both countries, Loynne’s was to be considered neutral territory, and neither country could use the island to perpetuate their power through the establishment of military bases or otherwise, under the threat of war. This applied as well to all other countries interested in conquering Loynne’s. That 21st of May when Loynne’s was granted independence would later be known as Sovereignty Day, and the forthcoming celebrations which lasted one week long brought forth the Sovereignty Week holiday. As a result of its special international status, Loynne’s was neglected until after the collapse of the USSR, when Russian capitalists started investing on the island. Turning small fishing towns into luxurious resort cities, oligarchs from all over the world saw the potential started by the Russians and started transforming the island into what it is today. On the condition that no country could claim full sovereignty on the territory and appropriate it for its own interests, the island was afterward forgotten when neither country wanted to spend too much in the modernization process of such a virginal land, which would have required enormous amounts of time, effort and capital, all without having the certainty that people would be willing to travel to such an isolated place. Like the dispute over the Argentina Malvinas Islands, at the time it seemed wise to leave Loynne’s be, as it didn’t have any valuable resources worth starting a massive conflict for.
The "Atlantic Fiver" is the colloquial name for the national flag of the nation of Loynne’s Island. The flag was designed during the Sovereignty Week holiday celebrations, and was flown for the first time on the 28th of May 1916, which officially became recognized as a national holiday on that very same day. Its name refers specifically to its compass rose (a symbol featured also in the flag of NATO and the flag of Aruba) and the number of vertical bars the flag possesses.
The island is divided administratively into 9 provinces. One of these is the protected area of Mt. Tyler, which although considered autonomous, is usually administrated by a joint effort between the provinces of Servatori and Avalatsiye. The Mt. Tyler area is the only landlocked province, and the one with the highest altitude in Loynne’s (4,000 meters high). The largest province, with an area of 2,717.61 km2, is Kalysand, while the smallest is Saphron, with a land area of 805.66 km2. Nova Atlantica is the most populated province, with an area of of 1,025.95 km2, and houses the island's most populated metropolis, Nova Atlantica City, with a population of approximately 1.500.000 people. In contrast, Luanne Isle, in the province of Terandil, is the smallest and less populated place in the entire island, with a land area of 6 km2 and a population of 52.
Loynne’s Island possesses two of the world’s largest and busiest international airports, located in Saphron and Nova Atlantica, respectively. The Nova Atlantica International Airport is the largest of the two, and the main entry point to the island. Loynne’s also possesses many of the world’s best cities to live in, from which we can single out its capital, Nova Atlantica, as one of the safest metropolises in the world. Together with Kalysand City, Maltzeger Coast, Saphron Bay, Cristobal Atoll and Pilgrim Coast, Loynner cities remain without a shadow of a doubt unsurpassed in terms of luxury and high living standards.
Below is an alphabetical list of all the provinces on the island and their capitals:
• Avalatsiye (St. James Port)
• Arias (Arias Town)
• Galetnyi (Grenadil)
• Kalysand (Kalysand City)
• Mt. Tyler
• Nova Atlantica (Nova Atlantica City)
• Saphron (Saphron Bay)
• Servatori (Snake’s Hide)
• Terandil (Palmare)
Loynne’s Island is a 10,552 km2 island formed approximately 40 million years ago due to volcanic activity. Benefiting from immense biodiversity, scientific expeditions often travel to the island to perform research on its faunae and florae, while tourists visit the diverse and numerous natural reserves and protected territories, like the world famous Mt. Tyler Natural Reserve. Loynne’s is also a magnet for astro-tourism, housing one of the most world’s powerful telescopes in the Mt. Tyler Astronomical Observatory.
There is a clear distinction between south and north in Loynne’s; a mixture between global warming, massive deforestation, industrialization and the presence of large mountainous areas such as the gigantic Mt. Tyler and lakes such as Kalysand Lake, contribute greatly to the contrast with the south of the island, rendered largely deserted and dry, while the north preserves its original tropical climate. This contrast is furthermore enhanced by the existence of microclimates within the island.
Loynne's Island possesses two artificial canals that connect with landlocked waters previously isolated within the island; these are the Cruzzati Canal and the Siri Canal, connected to Kalysand Lake and Azure Lagoon, respectively. The canals were built in the 1990s by Russian and European investors to divert water from the North Atlantic used in powerful hydroelectric dams, and also to allow ships to travel to more locations. There have been attempts to connect the landlocked waters to the North Atlantic through more canals, but this has proved controversial as they would have to pass through farms, towns and densely populated locations.
Kalysand Lake, the largest body of water in the island, is home to its most powerful hydroelectric station, the Terry-Jameson Dam, while the smaller Azzure Lagoon houses the second most powerful one, the Elbrusia Dam. Kalysand Lake and Azzure Lagoon are home to many water-related activities and are generally places of leisure, although worldwide competitions in many sport disciplines are held often within them. Both have very similar microclimates, very hot and humid, with immense biodiversity and dense vegetation.
Loynne's Island is an independent island nation with a unitary parliamentary constitutional republican political model, featuring a multi-party system. Previously a British colony, it gained independence on the 21st of May, 1916. Thereafter, it borrowed concepts from the US and European political systems.
Loynne's Island has a perfectly bicameral parliamentary government based on a proportional voting system. The two government houses, the Loynne's Island Congress and the Loynne's Island Senate, have the same powers. The Prime Minister, officially President of the Cabinet of Ministers, is the Loynner head of government. The Prime Minister and the cabinet are appointed by the President of the Republic, but must pass a vote of confidence in Parliament to become in office. The current Prime Minister is Matthew J. Blurik of the Loynner Coalition Party.
While the office is similar to those in most other parliamentary systems, the Loynner Prime Minister has less authority than some of his counterparts. The prime minister is not authorized to request the dissolution of Parliament or dismiss ministers (that are exclusive prerogatives of the President of the Republic) and must receive a vote of approval from the Cabinet of Ministers, which holds effective executive power to execute most political activities.
The major political parties of Loynne's Island are the Loynner Coalition Party (of social-democratic ideology and neoliberal free-market capitalist tendencies), the Loynner Nationalist League (of patriotic ideology and neoconservative socioeconomic views), and the Prosperity Party (of liberal ideology and progressive social views). These are the major parties, with the Loynner Coalition Party having ruled the most throughout the island's history. The Loynner Nationalist League and the Prosperity Party have ruled intermittently but very few times, and currently maintain important presences in political positions in the Loynner government. Minority parties include religious parties such as the Loynner Christian-Democratic Party and the Loynner Islamic Party. Currently, Loynne's does not have communist or even socialist parties, and a radical left does not exist, as these parties have been integrated into the Loynner Coalition and eventually dissolved.
A social democratic yet also neo-liberal welfare state which has closely emulated the economic practices and social policies found in North American, Scandinavian, Western European and Oceanian welfare states, Loynne's Island's main goal is to provide protection and promote economic and social well-being for all of its citizens and visitors. Its government closely follows the activities of private enterprises and corporate entities, in a bid to fight corruption, exploitation and tax fraud, however, these entities are allowed to operate freely and expand as much as they want, causing widespread monopolization.
Loynne’s Island’s main economic income has its source in tourism-oriented activities and foreign investment. As such, Loynner society is highly capitalistic. Being its driving force, tourism is sacred on the island and protected adamantly. A large government special police force known as SKAR (Special Knowledge Assault Regiment) ensures the island’s citizens enjoy a comfortable and safe living. The SKAR is such an efficient police force that the crime rate is among the lowest in the entire world. Petty crimes like vandalism are nearly non-existent, while homicides are rare and isolated.
English is the official language of Loynne's Island, although Spanish, Chinese and Russian are frequently spoken. As such, it is very common to see signs and advertisements written in these languages all across the island. Loynners themselves speak English with a distinctive accent and also possess a unique dialect very difficult to understand by foreigners, although younger generations have developed accents that closely resemble Unitedstatian ones due to the North American nation's media and its long-standing influence on the island.
State education in Loynne’s is free and compulsory from the age of 6 to 16. The lowest educational degree is State Compulsory Education (SCE), which certifies a person has successfully completed Secondary Education. Baccalaureate, which succeeds SCE and lasts two years, is entirely optional, although compulsory for university entry and professional vocation and training programs. After an individual has successfully passed SCE and completed their basic education, he/she can decide whether to keep on studying on Baccalaureate or taking on vocational courses or jobs.
The Illustrious University of Nova Atlantica (IUNA), located in the Dandelion Creek district of Nova Atlantica City, and the Loynne's Island National Distance University (LINDU), with headquarters in each provincial capital, are the only universities on the island. Although IUNA is considered the more prestigious of the two, both are symbols of superior education in the world, and a Loynner university diploma is highly valued, especially in the US and the UK.
Loynne’s Island was stripped of the right to have its own military due to conventions between the United States and the United Kingdom, and it cannot have self defense forces such as Japan or Israel; as such, the island relies heavily on its SKAR police, an extremely well-equipped and highly-organized law enforcement unit which walks a fine line between a police and a military organization. In the theoretical case of an invasion the SKAR would be used as an official army. In addition, both the US and UK militaries have the obligation of fending off possible invaders of the island should an invasion attempt take place on Loynner soil.
Heavily influenced by different types of cultures (particularly Unitedstatian and British culture), Loynne’s has drunk from many sources throughout the years and most notably after the end of the Cold War. With the arrival of Hispanic, Asian and European peoples, the island has generated a multi-cultural environment where traditions and customs from cultures of all over the world are printed on the island’s everyday life.
Currently, Loynne's Island has adopted retro culture, especially the 1980s revival trends, as part of its popular culture and national aesthetic, celebrating the most iconic aspects of the decade and its music, fashion and film, particularly that with Miami-like aesthetics. Neo-synthwave and 80s-influenced British new wave and techno are the main musical genres listened throughout the island, and a penchant for vibrant color - from neon signs to pastel suits and colorful buildings - permeate the landscape. Luxury items, through which citizens display the affluence of their country, are also an incredibly common sight, in the form of epensive jewelry, clothes, accesories, gadgets and sports cars.
The Loynner market for literature and film is on great demand worldwide and at home, and it boils down to mostly crime, thriller and noir. Luxury noir, a type of dark neo-noir genre where luxury Loynner aesthetics play an intrinsic role in tone and plot, are popular throughout the world, and usually set in affluent beach-like locations, such as Loynne's Island, Miami or Hawaii.
In Loynne’s Island many festivities are celebrated yearly, attracting millions of tourists all over the world who go to Loynne’s just to experience them. Being able to attend these costly celebrations is considered a measurement of social and economic status for foreigners, aside from a lifetime achievement, since not many are willing or able to afford attending yearly.
The most famous of the celebrations is the Sovereignty Week holiday, in Nova Atlantica City. Beginning with Sovereignty Day on the 21st of May, the festivities usually last one week long although in some cases they can persist for a few more days. The celebrations are extremely varied and well-organized, consisting of carnivals, stage shows, dancing and singing competitions, diverse talent shows, traveling fun-fairs, parades and concerts with world-famous musicians and DJs playing live. These festivities attract tourists from all over the globe and are considered the apotheosis of the modern "partying" culture in the West.
Because of the high permissiveness in Loynner society of substances such as alcohol and marijuana, strict police controls must be enforced, and the SKAR usually assists the LIPD in containing and pacifying the large flow of out-of-control tourists.
Most notably, Loynne’s is a largely godless state, as there is no official religion. Although many immigrants have transferred their culture and religious beliefs into Loynner everyday life (demonstrated through the existence of Christian churches, Jewish synagogues and Muslim mosques all over the island) 87 % of native Loynners do not practice any type of religion. On the other hand, Loynners are known to hold mixed superstitious beliefs of an eccentric nature, many of which have obviously been borrowed from European mythology and Unitedstatian cryptozoology.