Kanua

(Kanuese: 花引帝国)(Romanized: Kanua Teikuo) The Imperial State of Kanua but mostly refered to as Kanua is a nation in East Aziania. It's neighbours to the north & west is the Guang Confederation, to the south you have Haikou, Yunan & Yeng-Den. East of Kanua is the coastline & beyond that is Doitxok with their puppet Sokpok, Kanua has incorporated the island of Taiwan into their nation after having it gifted to them from Atsi who won the island from Da Zhao.

Kanua is currently the second most populous nation in Vivaria, with the numbers as high as 90million only being below Bactria who has 120million. The largest city in Kanua is Goudai (Kanuese: 高台市) with 4.9million making it the largest urban area in the world, the city is facing the eastern seas of the Kanuan coast & the amount of trade it takes part in with other nations has earned the city the nickname "Gateway to the World" by Kanuans as well as "Gateway to Kanua" by merchants coming from abroad. The city gets its name from the castle placed on a hill in the center of the urban area, Goudai meaning higher ground. The castle is the first wonder that foreigners see once they enter Kanua turning it into an icon for the nation. However the capital city is Kanbu (Kanuese: 韓部都), this is the seat of the Imperial council & the Imperial family's main residence, at the center of Kanbu sits the Imperial city (currently being reconstructed) that houses the Emperor & his/her council. With a population of 1.3million the city almost always refered to as the Imperial Capital in official matters.

Kanua is known world wide for their production of tea, steel & opium but in recent years they have been playing a larger role on the world stage, this has lead to an increase in the population mostly within the coastal areas. The nation had seen a new wave of leadership with a goal to turn the previously isolated land into trading power, this has had many benefits as more jobs can be created & new innervations like arts & knowledge. The downsides to the new pivot to expanding trade & influence had come in the form a regional rivalry Da Zhao, though after the Great Da Zhao war where Kanua & their allies in IPP (Aqan, Asakia, Atsi & Bactria) together put an end to their colonial ambitions using rumours of genocide as a catalyst for conflict. The front that Kanua fought on was mainly the Philipine front in on the eastern side of Da Zhao's main island territory, military tacticians used island hopping to get closer into the heart of Da Zhao controlled Philipine. Island hopping had been a success until they reached the larger island to the south (Mindanao) where it was assumed by admirals that Da Zhao had been keeping an infantry regiment in the rainforest so looked to remedy this by forcing them out with fire. The regiment was non existent & the fires got out of control earning the title in Azanian history as Battle of the Flames, it would take the land decades to recover & this move has soured relations between Kanua & the inhabitants of Mindanao.

Brief History
In these lands the Han people had an ancient civilization lasting 2000yrs but due to disease & constant raids from northern nomads the empire collapsed around 650 AD. This lead to a power vacuum which was eventually filled by a nomadic people known as the Kanuans who claimed the region as their new land, here the settled, incorporated with what's left of the Han to create a new mixed culture. For centuries this melting pot became more homogenous as the Han & others in the area eventually conformed to the new dominate culture.

(880-1136) The 1st phase post the great migration of nomads was to slowly assimilate the Han culture by exchanging ideas & interbreeding, this turned Kanuans in these centuries to become mixed in ethnicities similar to Europeans mixed with natives in the Americas & South Africa. Other then that it was a period of constant attacks between clans all fighting for resources like metal ores, rice, horses & tea.

(1136-1589) The 2nd phase of Kanua's history started with the conference of Zonguda, the leaders of the largest & wealthiest clans met up with a new organisation known as the Kaina Shakai, they maintained the temples & shrines of the core religion Kainakyou. The conference ended with an election where the clan leaders & highest ranking monks choose the first Emperor. Throughout these years Kanua was an isolationist land where both sides fought for influence over the Emperor, a time where outward expansion was not allowed. The tensions between the faith & the clan leaders who became wealthy noble families finally became hot with a great war beginning 1589.

(1589-1605) This 16yrs war was for the soul of the nation, whether Kanua would continue as an isolationist land preserving its way of life or one that interacts with the outside world. This was a new kind of war as it was the first major conflict in Kanuan history to be used with firearms, the efficient Mongolian style bow gone for gunpowder weapons of many variants, some light enough for horse riders.

Long story short, team Kaina lost

(1605-1780) even though the organisation was defeated, they still exist but under control of the Emperor who now is bestowed as the defender of the faith. Their role of electing new Emperors were replaced with a new intellectual class that had been oppressed under the theocracy. For most of the nation's history Kanua as a society had been lying dormant but now they are adapting to rest of the world & look for new trade routes as well as allies.

(1780-present) the age of integration with the rest of the world lasted over a century leading to Kanua becoming a huge part in the development of east Azanian nations along with aiding in the war against Da Zhao. The 1780s began to slowly change however as becoming closer to other nations who all have functioning democracies will delegitimise the role of the Emperor & his council, Kanua's major allies all have some from of democratic system which apposes the top down leadership of the Imperial family, noble & intellectual classes with no public accountability. This has lead to the Imperial council to crackdown on those who become too close to other countries with such system & has sparked a new age of isolationism.

Religion: Kainakiou
Main exports:

Steel, Tea, Gunpowder, Rice, Opium

Main imports:

Sugar, Spices, Modern scientific equipment, foreign trinkets