Zambisia

Zambisia (pronounced /zæmˈbiːziːə/ or sometimes /zæmˈbiːsiːə/), officially the Republic of Zambisia and formerly Eastern Andersland and Zambisia Oventia) is a landlocked country located in the southern part of Auralia, between the Limpopo and Zambisi rivers. It is bordered by Vryland to the south and Oventia to southwest.  The official language of Zambisia is English, however, the majority of the population speaks Mashona; the native language of the Mashona people.  Its other native language, Matabele, is spoken by the Matabele people.  There are a large minority of white people speak Afrikaans, the national language of Vryland.

Today, Zambisia is ruled by President Gabriel Munetsi, who has been accused by rights groups of violations of human rights. Zambisia is currently experiencing a hard currency shortage, which has led to massive inflation and chronic shortages in imported fuel and consumer goods. President Munetsi's critics blame his program of land reform. However, Munetsi claims that massive financial isolation through foreign legislation is the actual cause of radical inflation. Many nations are prohibited from supporting any efforts by financial institutions to extend loans, credit or debt cancellation to the Zambisian government.

Zambisia's current food and economic crisis, described by some observers as the country's worst humanitarian crisis since independence, has been attributed, in varying degrees, to government economic mismanagement, prohibitions on relief efforts of foreign non-governmental organizations, a drought affecting the entire region, the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic, and, according to President Munetsi, a sophisticated conspiracy of white people and white nations to discredit the country's black run government.

Etymology
The name Zambisia derives from the river Zambisi which forms the majority of the northern border of the country.

History
The date of the first human presence in Zambisia has been difficult to determine because human remains have not been well-preserved and are few and far between. However, the presence of old weapon and tool fragments (specifically, polished axes cut through shale and remnants of cooking and fishing) in the country has been interpreted as a possible indication of a large human presence around 15,000 to 10,000 BC or even the neolithic period. By the Middle Ages, there was a civilization in the region, as evidenced by ruins and other smaller sites, whose outstanding achievement is a unique dry stone architecture. Around the early 10th century, trade developed with other civilisations helping to develop the Kingdom of Zambisia in the 11th century.

The Kingdom of Zambisia lasted from its formation circa 1450 until the early-17th century when settlers from Vryland and Oventia destroyed the trade and began a series of wars which left the kingdom in near collapse. In the early 19th century, the Matabele people arrived while fleeing from territorial expansion by Vryland and drought, making the area their new kingdom, Matabeleland. Within a decade of their arriving, the Matabele conquered the Mashona people or drove them north towards the Zambisi river. In the 1880s, the Oventians arrived and in 1898 the name Eastern Andersland was adopted, from Andersland province in eastern Oventia.

Colonial era (1888 - 1965)
In 1885, Oventian colonialists and explorers obtained a concession for mining rights from King Mabhoko IV of the Matabele. The explorers and their leader presented this concession to persuade the government of Oventia to grant a royal charter to them over Matabeleland, and its subject states such as Mashonaland. The colonialists sought permission to negotiate similar concessions covering all territory between the Limpopo River (the northern border of Vryland) and Lake Tanganyika, which the Oventians then called Zambisia. The colonialists promoted the colonisation of the region's land, and Oventian control over labour, precious metals and other mineral resources. In 1895 the adopted the name 'Andersland' for the territory of Zambisia, in order to establish it as a part of Oventia. In 1898 'Eastern Andersland' became the official denotation for the region south of the Zambisi river, and the country later became Zambisia.

The Mashona peoples staged unsuccessful revolts (known as Chimurenga) against encroachment upon their lands, by clients of explorers and colonialists in 1896 and 1897. Following the failed insurrections of 1896–97 the Matabele and Mashona groups became subject to Oventia's administration thus precipitating Oventian settlement en masse which led to land distribution disproportionately favouring Oventians and Vrylanders, displacing the Mashona, Matabele, and other indigenous peoples.

Eastern Andersland became a self-governing British colony in October 1923, subsequent to a 1922 referendum. Eastern Anderlanders (referred to simply as 'Easterners' by Oventians) served on behalf of Oventia during many wars the nation took part in.

As colonial rule was ending throughout the country, the white-minority Eastern Andersland government led by Kevin Davis-Smith made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from Oventia on 11 November, 1965. Oventia deemed this an act of rebellion, but did not re-establish control by force. The white-minority government declared itself a "republic" in 1970. A civil war ensued, with David Mbunda's Zambisian Liberation Movement (ZALIM) and Gabriel Munetsi's Zambisian National Union (ZANU) using assistance from various businessmen who were later convicted in several countries. Although Davis-Smith's declaration was not recognised by Oventia nor any other significant power, Eastern Andersland dropped the designation 'Eastern', and claimed nation status as the Republic of Andersland in 1970.