Editing Hesperida (section)

==History==
Archaeological evidence suggests humans existed on the continent at least as early as the late paleolithic era, initially as hunter-gathers, sometimes dwelling in caves. Over time, many of these peoples formed permanent subsistence-level agricultural settlements, some of which were highly hierarchical, while others were more communal in leadership. Crops cultivated often included cereal grains like wheat, millet, and rice. Other peoples, such as the [[Taragai#History|Taragaian Khans]] and [[Rén]] (until about 800 BC), remained nomadic pastoralists, moving with their grazing herds. One of the earliest civilizations in Hesperida was that of Danxing, which engaged in conquest of Rén settlements in modern [[Laeral]] as early as 1200 BC, but were gradually assimilated. By 800 BC, a number of fishing villages in modern [[Haesan]] formed a rudimentary trade network, using pearls as the chief medium of exchange. Many early states formed between 750 and 250 BC, taking a range of forms from tribal confederations to city states and early empires. Along the east coast of Hesperida, developments in seafaring facilitated cross-cultural exchanges, such as the emigration of the ''Makan'' people to the modern [[Slokais Islands]] and the development of a maritime trade network by the ''Coastal Tae'' people. The dawn of the first millennium AD saw the proliferation of empire in Hesperida, witnessing the rise and fall of the ''Liu'' and subsequent ''Jin'' Dynasties in Laeral, the apex of [[Vulkaria#Golden Age of Deventia|Deventian]] culture in [[Vulkaria]], and the ''Amphai'' Dynasty in [[Pharitaya]]. In other regions, loose alliances formed to unite many scores of settlements under one banner, though, such as in the case of the ''Hanyeong Compact'', these agreements often proved fleeting. In AD 93, the Taragaian nomadic tribes coalesced behind the [[Taragai#History|Great Khagan]], running roughshod over much of central Hesperida. Taragai raids remained a perennial source of danger for states in north-eastern Hesperida for the next 1500 years.

Christianity and the [[Minjian Faith]] were both introduced to Hesperida in the third and fourth centuries AD. The Christian faith seems to have been introduced to Hesperida first through Vulkaria around AD 300, though it was initially slow to spread, seeing early adoption only in pockets of the southeast. The Minjian Faith, however, was endemic to Hesperidia, specifically, originating in Peichen during the ''Jin'' Dynasty around AD 260. The faith quickly spread throughout eastern Hesperida over the next centuries, taking root across Laeral, the Slokais Islands, and many regions of the budding [[High Fells#History|Gao Empire]]. By the 8th century, Minjian spread to the [[Lao Sansong#geography|Kiso river valley]], where it was widely adopted, but came into conflict with the [[Arikata|Arikata faith]]. [[Celestialism]], a polythiestic religion native to Haesan, can trace its origins much earlier, but spread extensively across eastern Hesperida during roughly the same time frame.

Powerful centralized imperial governments formed in Haesan and Laeral in the 13th and 16th centuries, respectively. Under ''Han'' dynastic rule, Pharitaya was brought into the Haesantite hegemonic fold and an alliance with [[Misumi#Classical History|Tsuyo]] clan leaders halted the expansionist ambitions of the [[Lao Sansong#History|Danketsu]]. In Laeral, the ''Sun'' dynasty threw off the yolk of Gao control in 1528, eventually resulting in the collapse of the Gao state, and stabilized the realm. The ''Sun'' dynasts later vassalized [[Zhonrey]]. While the ''Sun'' and ''Han'' dynasties flourished, the early second millennium AD marked a period of civilizational decline for many states across the continent, from the fall of [[Libertas Omnium Maximus#Antiquity|Vargoya]] (1130) and [[Vulkar#Christianity|Vulkar]] (1169) to a generation-spanning conflict between the Pindai and Ambonar kingdoms in the Slokais Islands (1207-1222). In central Hesperida, the conquests of the Taragaian Khanates began to wind down by the 16th and 17th centuries. On the west coast, the [[Costenan Empire|Kingdom of Costeno]] rapidly expanded its borders in the early 15th century, occupying a vast swath of modern [[Lauchenoiria]] and [[Zongongia]] and absorbing the smaller [[Fleura]] and [[Yervia]] states. 

By the 18th century, much of coastal Hesperida was closely engaged with colonial powers of the day. Many historians consider [[Serriel|Serrielian]] trade outposts established in the 14th century in modern [[Mallancaland]] to be the oldest extracontinental settlements in Hesperida. Over the next two centuries, a number of [[Valahandian]] expeditions established coastal settlements on both sides of the continent, colonizing parts of the [[Sarena|Albarine maritime islands]], [[Iustitia Island|Iustitia]], and [[Ulinaria]]. The Dutch established a number of trading posts across the [[Albarine Sea|Albarine]] seaboard in the 17th century. French colonists settled throughout eastern Hesperida, establishing a colony spanning portions of the modern nations of [[High Fells]], Laeral, and Haesan after overthrowing the native ''Sun'' regime in 1703.