Dolphin Isle Province
Dolphin Isle Provinsi Pulau Delphulau Dolphin Isle Province | |
|---|---|
Province | |
 Flag | |
| Nickname(s): The Sunshine Province | |
| Country | Slokais Islands |
| Establishment | 01 January 1924 |
| Capital | Ciudad Delphin |
| Largest city | Cupertino |
| Official languages | English, Slokasian, Spanish, Arabic |
| Ethnic groups |
|
| Demonym(s) | Delphinine's |
| Government | |
• Governor | Pia Marquez (Green) |
• Speaker of the Dolphin Isle Legislature | Paulo Gabriel Anderson |
| Dolphin Isle Senate | |
| Dolphin Isle Legislature | |
| National representation | |
| 9/643 | |
| Population | |
• 2025 census | 969,439 (20th) |
| Postal | DI |
Dolphin Isle is a province of Slokais Island, which makes up the southern end of Islas Dolphines, bordering Bimhjar to the north. With a population of 969,439 people, and a capital at Ciudad Delphin. Additionally, the city of Cupertino is split between Bimhjar as per the 1970 Agreement, which divided the city along ethnic and religious lines. Compared to its northern neighbor, Dolphin Isle has a large Costeno population due to heavy colonial settlement and migration from nearby Aredoa; the province has the largest Costeno population percentage-wise, with 41%. Traditionally, shipbuilding and wine production were the largest industries; however, tourism has grown in recent years with several major resorts being opened and frequent daily flights.
History
The original population of Dolphin Isle was the ethnic Koah, who predate other indigenous groups. Most of the remaining population lives in Bimhjar, with the group being merged into the Bimhj and Yeti-Ke ethnic groups. The Kamjanian Empire controlled the region for several centuries, building several temples and establishing what would become modern-day Cupertino. After their collapse, the Tedaya Empire took over, becoming the first to use the thick wood of the interior for shipbuilding. Through the trade-network, the Minjian Faith was introduced, with several Minjian communities being built along the coast. In the 1300s, Islam arrived through the Kaijanese Sultanate, who kicked out the Tedayanos. They moved political and economic power inland to Bimhjagarta, with the namesake emirate being founded in 1509. The southern region of the new emirate was initially resistant, as the Minjian population was subjected as Islam as the required faith of the state. After years of conflict, the Ren population moved to what was called Candigi (now Cupertino). Upon Costeno's arrival in the 1600s, they quickly took up establishing wineries and estates across the southernmost regions of the island and began a campaign of conversions to Catholicism. In 1678, the Islas Dolphines Territory was incorporated into the San Fernando Territory with a treaty signed in 1680 with the Bimhjar Emirate, setting the boundaries between the territories as a straight line, which included most of the city of Cupertino.
Islas Dolphines remained a major trading hub, even after the conquest of nearby Aredoa by Costeno in 1765. Its location on the Olympic Ocean led to transcontinental trade through Cupertino and other ports. In 1780, the Bimhjar Emirate collapsed due to internal strife, and the San Fernando Colonial swept in and conquered the rest of Islas Dolphines by 1784, with little resistance given the popular disapproval of the Emirate's government. This led to further colonial settlement further north, which was met with conflict by the ethnic Kohan population, who burned Costeno and Mestizo settlements. As a result, the Islas Dolphines Territorial Militia was created and subjected the indigenous population in response. In 1805, a new agreement was created, which set up a Koah-Nah and a Yeti-Ke reservations in exchange for land being given to settlers. In 1820, Islas Dolphines was renamed to Dolphin Isle under the control of the new Dominion of Slokais. There was resistance with the Territorial Militia declaring an independent state of Islas Dolphines in 1821, yet they were quickly put down by a Sanctarian force who moved the capital to the newly established Ford's Spring. A class of elites took over the winery industry with the Evelynn brand eventually becoming a major national beverage company. In 1892, Dolphin Isle was the site of a popular uprising with winery workers and fishermen burning the Territorial Capitol Building and declaring allegiance to the new Republic of Slokais.
Geography
Dolphin Isle Province is located on the southern peninsula of Dolphin Isle Island, with the province of Bimhjar located to the north and the country of Aredoa located across the sea to the south. The province is often divided into two regions: the populated and developed west coast, and the more rural and mountainous east coast. Cupertino is the largest city by population, with 363,218 people living in the Dolphin Isle portion of the city, which includes the Old Town, Minjian Quarter, and the Arab Quarter. Further south along the coast is the city of Ciudad Delphin, which is the current provincial capital and home to a large naval presence, as well as, in recent years, the location of the Mallacan re-settlement program. On the East Coast, there is a large fishing heritage as well as a unique culture of rural Costanoans in the towns of Evelynn, Tres Cruses, and Las Royales.