u/Independent_Arm9680

Hope this doesn't break rule 3.
Horseradish.

Just a little portuguese island, right?

Most countries say so. But there's something more to the history of "Ínsua de Santo Isidro".

At the time of the vanishing, the island, and it's 17th century bastion fort, were owned by the "Diver Group", a Portuguese tourism and recreation company. Since 2020, the DiverMinho brand had been developing a recreation center in the island, which included a 4 star hotel in it. And in the summer of 2028, the hotel had finally first opened to the public. There was still work to do in Ínsua, as the only activities that accompanied the hotel at this point were, gyms, pools and an escape room, which was already opened a few years prior. The island still was in development.

But we all know that that development didn't end up happening.

The 7th of June of that same year, roughly around 12 am,18 residents of the hotel, alongside a group of 4 people, leaving after the last escape room session of the day, and the staff on the island (betweeen 15 and 20 people), suddenly found themselves alone in this new world. The group eventually came to be known as "Os Escapistas" ["The Escapists"]. But what happened to Os Escapistas really doesn't matter at the moment. They aren't very relevant to the current status of the island.
We just need to know that the island eventually came under the control of the new Galician government in Arousa.

Following the Iberian Wars, the second Valletta accord set the Portuguese-Spanish border to basically what it was before the vanishing. Passing the island onto Portuguese hands.
During the first decades of recolonization in the country, there had been talks of turning the island into a "pre-vanishing Portugal" museum.

But these plans were all pushed away in the 2170s, when the government of Galicia found itself in need to flee Spain. Spanish efforts to eliminate the Galician identity had been growing, slowly but gradually, with each passing decade. At first, mere refusal of acknowledgement, then, exclusion from all political matters. The former Galician government forced into clandestinity. Then, persecution.

And with no other place to go, they went into exile accross the border into Portugal. Where the old infrastructure of Insua was repurposed into the provisional seat of the Galician government.

The Portuguese Government tried to convince the United Kingdom to take action in Spain to stop the persecution of the Galicians. But with the rise of the Adriatic Axis and the burst of the European war, the last thing the British needed was another front to fight on. Any actual operations in Spain could have easily triggered their entrance into the war. And even as the European war came to an end, the British-Indonesian cold war, and all the conflicts within it, just rose. It was clear that the UK needed to maximize its number of allies. So as long as Spain was on their team, they wouldn't try to mess with them. The UK had much more important matters to attend anyways.

At this point in time, Spain had laid claim to the small Island. While Portugal officially recognized it as the territory of an independent Galician Republic.

Portugal had to take matters into their own hands, and in 2192, armed with a small handful of allies, (Namely, Azores, Madeira and Ireland), an incursion was launched. Officially refered to as "Operation Galaico".

Over the course of three to four years, multiple attacks were launched on spanish military infrastructure. Many politicians who worked against the Galician peoples were captured and imprisoned. And Galician militias started popping up in the northwest of the country. The purpose of the operation was to destabilize the increasingly authoritarian and militarized government.

The operation culminated shortly after the dismantlement of an arms factory on the outskirts of Madrid. With the resignation of Spanish President at the time, Gonzalo Delgado Montero. And following it, his much criticised flight from the country towards Canarias. Where he, alongside his most trusted men, would reside for the remainder of his life.

This act of cowardice left a cluster of military leaders and other politicians to fend for themselves. With no central, organized authority to lead the country, a ceasefire was quick to appear. The biggest members of the remaining authorities were gathered up and brought to Ireland to sign an end to the conflict.

The treaty of Waterford, signed in 2195 served to demilitarize, liberalize and reform the electoral system of Spain.
But more notably, it established the creation of the Autonomous Republic of Galicia inside the country, and reestablished the exiled government in charge of it.

After a few years of reconstruction, the old government finally came back to Arousa in 2202. And with the plans of turning Ínsua into a museum now back into effect, we finally get the current status of the island.

To most members of the UWC the island is just portuguese territory. But to the four members of the Portugaelic bloc during the conflict, the island is recognized as a stateless, internationally owned territory, akin to an IBR, designated as a place of cultural importance for the history of Portugal and Galicia. Spain dropped its claim and currently recognises the island as a Portuguese dependent territory. And to the Galician government itself, Ínsua is officially labeled as Terra Nullius a symbolic act that represents the end of their exile.

But, if you don't care about the complexities or intricacies of Ínsua's status, you may as well say it's just a Portuguese National Park.

The Pechora sea, eastern Barents sea and basemap for the arkhangelsk zoom-in, as well as their lore, have been done by u/NeinNine999, the white sea, Kola peninsula and the borders of Arkhangelsk, alongside their lore have been done by me.

A full century has passed since that day, that day which would forever change the course of the entire world. The people of the Altiplano have gone through a lot, highs and lows. But finally, just like their geography, they have plateaued.

The 30 year old nation of Qullasuyu is currently enjoying an era of great peace and stability. Every settlement which hosted remnants of irredentism has been dismantled, and the new national identity has mostly sedimented by now.

Politically, Qullasuyu presents a very interesting case. A whole nineteen people share the title of "Head of State". 19 people with the same level of maximum authority, one for each constituent "Wamani". With the exception of the church-governed Incaiñiy Authority, which boasts three representatives just to itself.

This one detail goes to show how loose the confederation is, with the "Central authority" in Copacabana serving mostly as a mediator between the other Wamanis, rather than a national authority. However, it's not like this will conflict with international matters. They're barely aware that there are other people out there in the first place. Sure, some people may have seen airplanes in the sky, but nobody with the memory of how airplanes actually were remains alive anymore, too much time has passed.

The Qullasuyuans are aware that there has to be something out there, and that it's most probably someone, but they're scared these someones may break the peace and integrity they worked so hard to achieve. For now, the focus is set on the lake.

Each Wamani acts basically as its own little, independent state, with the umbrella of "Qullasuyu" acting more like a union that ensures cohesion and development between all of them. Due to this, every Wamani presents a slightly different identity some examples include:

Lupaca, with a mostly Uro population which has had to adapt to inland settlements, opposed to their traditional floating islands, due to displacement during the Irredentists' War.

Hullaqa, which still loosely identifies with the culture of the pre-vanishing state of Perú. It has the most spanish speakers in the country and interchangeably uses the Spanish name "Juliaca" with its Quechua name.

Khapia, whose settlements are divided by the eponymous peak. The communities have developed a network of paths around and through it to connect both shores.

Incaiñiy Marka, preceding the entire confederation. This special case which has seen the entire history of the lake with barely any changes to itself. It's still governed by the same system of three priests, who dictate the Incaiñiy religion (Basically, an institutionalized form of Inca Paganism).

And of course, the center of it all, Copacabana, a mix of every culture found in the lake. The nexus of the lake and the default image of Qullasuyu. It's been monitoring the development of every Wamani and has even tried an ambitious move to resettle the source of the Desaguadero river. Unfortunately, the campaign is being met with difficulties, and it will most probably be cut a lot shorter than originally planned. Reclaiming the rest of the altiplano, all the way back to lake Poopó, is still far beyond the scope of possibilities. Once again reinforcing the message to Qullasuyu: "For now, focus on the lake, you'll worry about that later."

And so, Qullasuyu just focuses on itself: Protecting the lake and it's environment, trying to reclaim lost developments and making sure everyone is as happy and safe as possible. They've already learned what to avoid. The conflicts of decades ago and the damages the lake suffered before the vanishing stray farther away with each passing year.

>These are good times to live in Qullasuyu.