Beracha Glas

Beracha Glas is an island between the North Sea and Celtic Sea to the west of Histalpol, from which it is separated by the Loove Renné Straight, and to the east of Leeonia separated by the Celtic Sea. Politically, the island is entirely inside of Histalpol and has an estimated population of just over 5 million, with just over 4.6 million living in metropolitan areas in the island.

The island's geography is diverse with low-lying mountains to the east, moorland to the west and fertile plains in the middle. This gives the island the look of transitioning from a Cornish sort of geography into an Irish sort of geography, with land getting less fertile the further west you go. Thick woodlands covered the island at the time of settling by the Celtics, the woodlands where they originally settled has since become a national park, alongside moorland to the west of the island surrounded by the capital of Histalpol, Bastilia and the smaller city of Martenford. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded on the island is around 42% in total, higher than the European average of 35%.

The settling of the island occurred with the Celtic culture and peoples, predominantly the Cornish and Welsh. French influences lead the language to soften and turn the name from Bhruacha Glas into Beracha Glas. The island was originally part of the United Kingdom, but became part of Mendilibér when Royalists made a deal with the French Empire to become a foreign territory. The island was handed to the British Empire in the Treaty of Paris but did not become independent at the same time as the First Kingdom of Histalpol. Only when Harrow's War gained Beracha Glass was the island taken away from the British Empire.

Beracha Glas became a major theatre of war during World War 2, with the island being the entrance to the British Isles and Leeonia. The island was lost in the Battle for Beracha Glas in 1941 and occupied by the Axis forces. The Axis forces never advanced from the island and the island was given back to Histalpol at the end of the war. During the 21st century, Beracha Glas became a major transportation hub for the first time since the Steam Era with expanded trade and relations with other nations, most importantly the Alliance of Independent Nations, for the first time since the Black Depression, which lead to a boom from major airports and Port Loove, one of the largest ports in Histalpol.

The islands show common features shared with both Great Britain and France in terms of culture, with the island containing the historical capital of Madison and the current capital of Bastilia of Histalpol. The island is a large tourist destination because of these cities as well as natural beauty, including the national parks. Sports shared between Beracha Glas, Histalpol, Great Britain and France are association football, rugby, horse racing, archery and sport shooting. Sports that are unique to Beracha Glas though include those that are Gaelic games, because of the islands Gaelic heritage. The Histalian language that originates from the softer Gaelic from the settlers is not counted as an official language in Histalpol, but is still used as a primary or secondary language by around 5% of the population, mainly on the east coast near to the original Celtic settlements.

Iron Age
During the British Iron Age, there were multiple Celtic cultures in what would become Histalpol, including Cornish and Welsh. The two cultures landed in what was named Bhruacha Glas, Green Shores in Gaelic, named for it's then abundance of forests. A new language was created in Histalpol and became softened in time due to French influences and lead to the name of the island becoming Beracha Glas.

Mendilibér
The island was originally included in the United Kingdom and became part of Mendilibér when the defeated Royalists made a deal with the French to become a foreign territory. They arrived on the island as they were pushed back by Parliamentarian forces. The name of Beracha Glas was kept as it was already made by French influence, but the whole area changed it's name to Mendilibér with an origin from beggars release in French.

The French requested that the new country would have a new monarchy, under rule of a Duke, but swear to the King of France, which at the time of the colonisation was Louis XIV of France. Mendilibér was also requested to become a duchy of France, with a Duke selected, the first being Duke of Mendilibér, John Madison. The capital of Mendilibér was in Madison, then called Statenford which changed it's name because of John Madison.

Kingdoms of Histalpol
The First Kingdom of Histalpol ended at the start of Harrow's War where Chancellor Edward Harrow lead a revolution to make the nation a democracy and included the regicide of Queen Héléna II. The war lasted from 1792 to 1798 and Harrow's loss lead to the reinstating of the monarchy of Histalpol with Queen Héléna II's son, King Andrew IV. The then capital of Madison was moved to Renné as well.

The Second Kingdom of Histalpol in Beracha Glas was harsh on the inhabitants of the island, with the Floods of 1820 from 1820 to 1821 which killed over 50% percent of the population at the time in the entirety of Histalpol, a higher mortality figure in Beracha Glas. In the summer when the floods had finally subsided, crops had failed to grow and multiple settlements had been wiped off the map by the floods. The abundance of food and cattle, which had also died in the floods also caused a mass starvation for the remaining year until crops grew back next year. In this year, the starvation and the floods caused the deaths of 10,122 of the 20,157 over the year.

The Second Kingdom of Histalpol ended 1875 with the expansion of Histalpol throughout the world with trade-empires and where Port Loove gained it's status in Histalpol as the most important port city in Histalpol. Yet the inhabitants of Beracha Glas still haven't recovered fully from the Floods of 1820 and the Irish Potato Famine of 1847 made the matter worse, alongside a growing gap in social classes. The repercussions of the famine on Beracha Glas lasted until 1910 with the Steam Era ending and the dawn of WW1 Appearing.

World War II
During World War II Beracha Glas was a major theatre of war in Europe, with the island being the entrance to the British Isles, Leeonia and Ireland. The island was eventually lost in the Battle for Beracha Glas in 1941, and occupied by Axis forces through Sainte-Croix. Axis forces never made it past Beracha Glas and by the end of the war the island was given back to Histalpol, who by then had gone from the Histalian Empire into the Third Kingdom of Histalpol.

21st Century
During the 21st century, Beracha Glas became a major transportation hub again since the Steam Era and the Histalian Empire with the Lehicro Economic Community setting up the Lehicro Express throughout Beracha Glas as a part of the multi-national rail route across all member states. The rush of trade and relations with other nations since the Black Depression also lead to the massive boom of transport from major airports and Port Loove, one of the largest ports in Histalpol.