Kalina Isles

߷ This article is about an overseas member of the Commonwealth of Vekllei

Overview #

Although Vekllei comprises several independent commonwealths, most notably the island city-state to which it owes its name, the Commonwealth of Vekllei also includes several autonomous nations. The largest of these is a tropical archipelago of the Lesser Antilles named Kalina.

Kalina (commonly The Kalina Islands) is a sovereign commonwealth island chain situated in the Antilles, situated south-east of the British Virgin Islands and north of Guadeloupe. In the anglophonic world, it consists of the island cherishes of Anguilla, St Martin, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda, and Montserrat. In the Kalina language, these are called Angua, Martin, Liamuiga and Oualie, Antam, Barbuda, and Montesur respectively. These islands are federated under the Kalina parliament, which itself is a full member of the Vekllei commonwealth.

Etymology #

History #

The Kalina Islands have been inhabited for thousands of years by Carib peoples called the Kalinago, who make up the majority of Kalina’s 350,000 people today. Traditionally seafaring and seminomadic, Kalina and its neighbours in the Lesser Antilles were devastated by the arrival of Europeans in the 16th Century. Kalina was originally colonised by almost all colonising nations of the European colonial period, but were eventually united under Spanish rule in 1638 as part of the Treaty of Barbuda and the end of the Franco-Spanish War.

Kalina was purchased from the Spanish by the Vekllei city-state in the late 17th Century, and indicated Vekllei’s initial intention to exploit the New World. This ambition was scuppered with the collapse of the Vekllei monarchy, which established forts across Kalina’s islands but could not muster the resources to occupy continental America. Vekllei’s colonial efforts were blunted for centuries after, and excluded the country from major participation in the slave trade and the colonisation of Africa.

Vekllei was forcibly decolonised during British occupation between 2005 and 2015, and Kalina during this period was reorganised as a British territory. After independence in 2015, the Vekllei Home Islands renegotiated Kalina’s independence as a member of the Vekllei Commonwealth (alongside other former colonial posessions), which was established in 2017.

Today, the Kalina Islands are the most populous member of the Vekllei Commonwealth, and has thrived in the Floral Period as an new country under its own government.

Geography #

Kalina is tropical and partially volcanic, incorporating hundreds of islands and islets that form a boundary between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Kalina comprises most of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, and is composed mostly of low-lying tropical islands ranging in size from a few hundred square kilometres to sand reefs.

Montesur is actively volcanic, and sees minor eruptions every few years.

Constituents #

Angua Cherish (Anguilla) #

Antam Cherish (Antigua) #

Barbuda Cherish (Barbuda) #

Liamuiga Cherish (Saint Kitts) #

Martin Cherish (Saint Martin) #

Montesur Cherish (Montserrat) #

Oualie Cherish (Nevis) #

Politics #

Kalina shares the Vekllei city-state’s unusual parliamentary system and geographic electoral districts. The country is independent, but like other full members of Commonwealth it shares much of its constitutional legislature and state structure with the Vekllei city-state. The Crown Armed Forces are responsible for defence of Kalina, which also contributes personnel and land to the supranational defence initiative. The Kalina Islands are positioned strategically in the Caribbean and host several important military facilities throughout its island chains. The Commonwealth also coordinates Kalina’s foreign affairs through the Overseas Affairs Office of the Commonwealth Culture Secretariat.

The Kalina Parliament acts as a federal parliament for the smaller, national island cherishes it governs. The Cherishes are semiautonomous and maintain their own ministries, but their legislatures are consolidated in the Kalina Parliament.

The Vekllei Commonwealth #

The Commonwealth of Vekllei is a multinational political, defensive and trading bloc that includes the Vekllei City State, Kala, Aismious, Demon, Azores, Mira, and Kalina. It includes territories of the Vekllei city-state (Kala, Aismious, Demon) and independent countries (Azores, Mira, Kalina) that are closely aligned with postwar Floral constitutional principls and Bureau economics. In this sense, most of the commonwealth closely resemble Vekllei’s society.

Vekllei uses a Hare-Clark single transferable vote system to elect two prime ministers, one man and one woman, the only such system in the world. Vekllei has a bicameral legislature, consisting of an upper house (the Crown Senate) of 100 senators and a lower house (People’s Assembly) of 200 members. Although voting is participatory and the country does not maintain a poll tax, electoral enrolment is mandatory from age 16 onwards.

Since Vekllei is nonpartisan, it does not allow formal participation of parties within elections. Despite this, informal associations of elected representatives exist, in the form of sociopartit, or Party Associations. The largest of these include the Vekllei Industrial Working Concern, the Atlantic Party, and the Crown Brotherhood, and although membership is permitted among elected members they are otherwise disallowed within the electoral process.

Petticoat Society in the Tropics #

Economy #

Employment #

Industry #

Tourism #

Demographics #

Language #

Religion #

Education #

Education in Kalina follows the Commonwealth Curriculum as organised by the Education Secretariat.

Infrastructure #

Transport #

Housing #

Power & Water #