Karolians in the Ardisphere

Karolian-Ardispherians are Ardispherians of Karolian descent. They have had a significant role as an immigrant group in the Ardisphere from the earliest colonial period, and today they form a minority of about 1.5% of the country's total population, although there are many more Ardispherians (perhaps more than 9%) who can claim at least one Karolian ancestor, given the very long history the group has had in the region and the significant mixing that is inevitable over time.

History

There is a long history of Karolians as traders and settlers in the Ardsiphere, especially in the coastal south.

Since Karolia only lies less than a thousand kilometers to the east of the Ardisphere, beyond Arnolein across the Gulf of X, trading boats from that country first showed presence in the Bahía Negra and the southern islands area very early, in the 1400s. Karolia's main national product was wool and woollen clothes at that time, so this is what the goods were initially. The Karolians took back gold and silver (the Karolian word for the Ardisphere means 'land of riches') and later animal furs and other exotic goods, including tea and coffee which the Ardispherian natives (Albalongans, Altazorians and others) had already been cultivating in the pre-colonial era. Happily, slavery was almost never practised, unlike the Castellanese practices of the period. Perhaps this is why even today there is an odd cultural alliance of sorts between Karolian-Ardispherians and Native Ardispherians.

The main area for Karolian colonisation was around the Departamento del Sur, focused in two areas: Isla Cabo Caroliano and the Au River Valley.

Kepplinne

The Karolians arrived with a fortress named Kepplinne being founded on Isla Cabo Caroliano in 1491. Despite the fact that the Ingerish had competing interests in the area, a Karolian town grew up around the fortress over the next century, while the fortress changed hands several times between Ingerish and Karolian control. Although a large number of Ingerish colonists continued arriving, after the Treaty of Santiago del Faro ceded Ingerish claims in 1619, formally forcing the Ingerish out of the region, Kepplinne was under exclusive Karolian control until 1704, when the territory was finally surrendered to the more established colony of Nuevo Castellán. For most of that last period, the island was the sole remaining Karolian possession in the country. Afterwards, most of the traders disappeared, leaving only the most established settlers, who gradually became more absorbed into the Castellanese and subsequently Ardispherian culture. There is still a small but intensely idiosyncratic population of Karolians in the city of El Cabo today, but the main surviving remains are the higher genetic rates of blonde and orange hair in the area, the many place names, and the 'special relationship' between the two countries today.

Rau

The Au River Valley saw a significant influx of settlers of Karolian Románš origin. In their small boats, they "leapfrogged" the Castellanese colonies along the coast, who had already established towns like Onírica and Santa María (modern Palmeras Grises), venturing up the river delta to settle the fertile alluvial plains upstream. The modern name "Au" is just a corruption, under Altazorian influence, of the Románš word "rau," meaning "river." Thus "Rio Au" really means "river river."

The Karolians called their colony, from the start, very simply "Rau." Although originally less substantial than the island settlements, and was never a formal colony of Karolia like on the coast, because of the stratetic importance of the latter as opposed the relative obscurity of the river valley, in modern times the Karolians in the river valley retain much more of their Karolian character, including many towns with majority Románš-speaking populations.

Languages

Karolians themselves brought two different linguistic strains with them when settling in the Ardisphere, the Karolian language proper, but also the Karolian Románš language. Perhaps because of its evident historical relationship and similarity to Castellanese, Románš has played an outsized role among Karolians in the Ardisphere, relative to the role played in its country of origin. Most Karolian-Ardispherians who are not culturally assimilated to the dominant Castellanese language speak Románš rather than Karolian, especially the Karolian agricultural communities scattered through the Au River Valley. The exception are those Karolians on Isla Cabo Caroliano, who seem to take pride in confounding visitors with their archaic-sounding Karolian.

Notable Ardispherians of Karolian Descent

• Maximiliano Korhonen, educator and author
• Soledad Ionescu, politician, prime minster and Chief Secretary of the Assembly of Nations‎
• Sigismunda Must, current governor of Departamento del Sur (DS)
• Fabiana Pärn, current mayor of Josusí, DF
• Pedro Peebo, famous cellist and composer, now retired from performing but teaching at the Conservatorio Nacional Lirio Kovács
• Gaspar Seppänen, military commander during the Ardispherian Civil War