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History
Pre-17th Century: Discovery of the Casteberra Islands
- In 1542, a heated dispute between Lords Alfonso Rodriquez and Fernando Castillo, over the ownership of gold mines in (what would now be Ciodad-Rodrigo) Western Spain) sparked a civil war between the opposing sides. During this war, the aggression of the warring factions amongst the local peoples, forced vast numbers of civilians to seek refuge in Northwest Spain and neighbouring Portugal. For those in North-western Spain, their place of refuge was to become the next battlefield.
- By 1544 the fighting had continued and spread into Santiago and La Coruna. The people of La Coruna were left little choice but to flee to the docks and set sail in search of a new home. The refugees were swept for miles in various directions by the harsh Atlantic sea, until one group, of about 30-40 refugees, sailed past a collection of small islands. They sailed for the islands and disembarked from their boat. In 1545, after many months of settling in, adapting to the new way of life and re-initiating contact with the mainland in 1546, the islands officially became a constituent country of Spain and subsequently named after the members of the head family on the refugee boat: Isla d'Ethéosia, Isla de Bartolomé and Isla d'Edmundo.
17th Century: Ethéosia Gains Independence
- In the 1600s, the Castebèrra Islands broke off their constituency agreement and officially gained their independence in 1623. In the 78 years between the creation of the new countries and the regaining of their independence, the member islands gained significant prosperity. By now, the resource production, their supporting and largely increased population and high quality standard of living solidified the position of the Castebèrra islands as an independent nation.
- 1636 saw the introduction and establishment of a constitutional government and the Castebèrra Islands beginning to take steps towards federalism; The Isla d'Ethéosia was split into 21 member states, the Isla de Bartolomé was split into 13 states and the Isla d'Edmundo was split into 15 states. Although the smallest island, Isla d'Ethéosia was the most populated and advanced state, and thus was divided into a larger number of states in order to accommodate, and successfully govern, the Ethéosian people and resource production.
18th to Early 19th Century: The Fall of Ethéosia
- The early 1700s were pretty uneventful for Etheos and its sister islands. During this century, the country was relatively well-established and their independence was fully recognised. The nation was relatively unknown across the world, as the establishment of their independence began to close off communication with the mainland, thus leaving the colony to its own.
- During the late 18th Century, from around the 1770s, the campaign of the British Empire was well in force. The loss of the British-American colonies in the 1780s, as a result of the American War of Independence, dealt a significant blow to the British Campaign and saw the transition from the "first" to the "second" empire, focusing on Asia and the Pacific as opposed to the Americas.
- In 1803, a British Naval fleet had set course for the Pacific via the Atlantic. About 500 miles into their voyage, a sailor in the Crow's Nest of the HMS Constance spied land approximately 100 miles away. Captain John Abbot, commanding officer of the Constance, ordered a fifth of his fleet (Two fourth-rate ships of the line and one fifth-rate ship of the line) to investigate and scout the landmass.
- Within 20 miles, the four ships had set up and followed an adequate perimeter to view the inhabitants of the islands and the riches the islands possessed. Seeing the flying British Flag, and aware of the camthe Isla d'Ethéosia used its cannon defenses and opened fire on the scout ships. They quickly retreated and met up with the rest of the fleet around 75-100 miles from its last position. After hearing the news, Captain Abbot redirected the entire 20 ship fleet (3 second-rate ships of the line, 5 third-rate ships of the line, 6 fourth-rate ships of the line and 6 fifth-rate ships of the line) toward the Isla d'Ethéosia, Isla de Bartholomé and Isla d'Edmund.
- The fleet were ordered to fire at will, and within hours the outer defences were breached. A quarter of the fleet disembarked and began the invasion. The invasion was fairly swift, as the Castebèrra Islands were not prepared for an attack of such scale. Within a few days the British had military control of the islands and populace. A surrender was officially signed by leader Carlos Alvez and Captain Abbot, placing the islands under British rule. The islands had fallen victim to the continuing expansion of the British Empire.
- In the years subsequent to the invasion, the British sent four colony ships to promote British colonisation of the island. The island was rich in valuable resources and thus claimed and annexed by Great Britain in 1805. A government was reinstated and the Islands of Etheos, Bartholomew and Edmund began recovery. By 1808, the islands were once again at full capacity, and various exports to Britain and other nations helped to boost the islands' economies.
