Natal

Natal
Flag of Natal
Country	Aloia
Capital	Chicago
Governor	Bethany Norelius (Green Party)

The Commonwealth of Natal (/nəˈtɑːl/) is an Aloian state located in Oriento. It is named after Fort Natal, an Aloian military base near modern Urbanna. The name Natal is derived from the Eurasian Christi Natalis, referring to the birth of Jesus Christ, which is celebrated on the Christian festival of Christmas. The fort was established on December 25, 1599. The state is also a hotbed of liberal politics in Aloia, with the city of Chicago dominating state politics.

The Prince of Natal is a title held by the heir apparent of the Monarch of Aloia. The title was first held in 1871, when Natal became a state. Queen Victoria Augusta gave the title to her son, the future King Gustaf XIV.

History

Natal is located in Oriento, Esamir's easternmost continent and the historic homeland of the Oriento peoples. The areas around the Chicago Portage were seen as a sacred site for the native peoples. The natives were largely nomadic and had little contact with the people in Mantua and Havana.

On December 25, 1599, Aloian merchants and mercenaries, led by members of the Saxon Order, established Fort Natal, at St. Anne's Straits, between the modern cities of Urbanna and Champaign. The fort was named by the pious Aloian Christians in honor of Christmas, the day the fort was established. Following the establishment of the fort, settlers came flooding into the land around the bays. Marquetien people settled in the east and their influence can still be found in the French-language names of cities. Aloian nationals settled in much of the rest of the area, bringing English-language names, i addition to indigenous names of cities in their homeland.

Smallpox and other diseases ravaged the native populations. Most of the survivors were of mixed ethnicity, people who received the immunity from their Aloian ancestors. This has caused the population of the native Oriento to be much lower than the population of people of mixed ancestry and people of Aloian ancestry.

The settlements around the southern bay (Natal Bay) established the Natal Republic in 1616, with its capital at Urbanna, the city that grew up around Fort Natal. Urbanna's name means "City of Anne", referencing St. Anne's Straits. Natal's influence expanded, until it eventually controlled the the shores of both the southern Natal Bay and the northern Victoria Bay.

In 1705, the capital was moved to the Chicago, Natal's largest metropolis at the portage between the bays. This whole time, the Saxon Knights had been working behind the scenes in influence the nation to one day join Aloia. In 1765, the Natal Republic became a protectorate of the Kingdom of Aloia. Natal officially became a state in 1871. The first Chancellor of Aloia from Natal was Marcus Wendell O'Rourke, who served from 1896 to 1904.

Today, Inoka is a largely agricultural and conservative state, but the massive and progressive city of Chicago makes the state a center of Aloian liberalism. Most farmers are descended from the original native people of Oriento and the cities are largely populated by people descended from Aloians.