Overview
The islands were cast up by midoceanic volanism during the early phase of the opening up of the North Atlantic, some 50-55 million years ago. The first people reached them before the last ice age, and have left traces in the outer Muna valley and adjacent islands, which were not completely glaciated. Coastal regions were first populated again in the Palaeolithic, and in the Neolithic, settlers of the Amhanara Culture ventured inland. The copper finds in the southeast lead to a high culture in the Bronze Age, which later yielded to the Urianian Iron Age culture.
During the first centuries of the Current Era, Celts raided from the south, and from the 8th century, Norsemen raided from the east, eventually leading to the Urianian decline. Viking Earls were fighting over the richest lands, then first Norwegian, then Danish kings took rule. Of old, the island had been known as Býntarland, but the Danes now started using the name Azuria, evidently from the blueness of the soils surrounding the copper mines, which were monopolised by the kings and an important source of wealth to them. In 1469, the southernmost third of the main island was sold to the Scottish king as the province of Byntland. Danish rule in the remaining part gradually expanded until the last Urianian resistance was defeated in the 17th century. Then, Urianian revivalists founded the first Urianian academy in Uria 1833. The Urianians joined in the rebellion of 1849, which took the Danes 4 years to subdue. Anti-British sentiment grew strong in Byntland, and the struggle for independence was lead by a fraction of Panurianians favouring the ancient name Uriania for a future free and united island. World War I gave the Panurianians the opportunity to negotiate a self-government treaty for Byntland in 1917. Nationalism grew strong among the Azurians and Urianians as well, and on August 13, 1934, Azuria, including the Urianian speaking population, united with Byntland as the free republic of Uriania.
Now, leaders in all three provinces had friendly feelings towards Germany, and the following years saw a setback for democracy. The Urianian Nationalist Party, the Azurian Frihedspartiet and the Byntian Panurianian Party joined in a nationalist government with fascist influence. They managed to keep the country neutral during the war, but growing internal unrest lead to a new rebellion in 1948, which gave rise to democratic reforms. Frihedspartiet and the Panurianian Party were the two more deeply fascist of the trio, and the latter was abolished after the revolution, but the two others are active in the politics of the republic to this day. The chief architect behind the revolution of 1948 was the Byntian communist Jacob Tmesh, but his party and its two sister parties were defeated in the 1949 general election, and the country has since been governed by a series of coalition governments, sometimes involving one or more of the communist parties, but most often not.
During the rebellion, the island of Scollerin broke free and established a nationalist republic, maintaining a limited democracy until the reforms of the 1970s. Reunification has been widely discussed, but as Uriania became a member of the EU in 1973, and Scollerin voted to stay outside lastly in 1995, these have stranded so far.
Phases
Pre-human prehistory
Paleolithic, until about 4000 BCE
Neolithic – Amhanara Culture, 4000-2000 BCE
Bronze age – Suraetua, 2000-500 BCE
Iron age – Urianians 500 BCE-1 CE
Age of Raids – 1 CE-1000
Urianian decline, Azuria, Byntland – 1000-1833
Modern age – 1833-now