Jebsten

Jebsten (/ˈʤɛbstən/  jeb -stən, abbreviated as JS) is a state in north-west Craftia. It borders Addams to the east, the Bankera Capital Territory to the south-east and Kagstron to the south. It also shares maritime borders with Western Craftia to the south-west, across Victoria Harbour. Its capital and largest city is Notchropolis, which is also the nation's most populous city. Jebsten is Craftia's most populous and fourth-most densely populated state with a population of 5.8 million in 2072, and the third-largest in area after Meyang and Western Craftia. It is also Craftia's most centralised state, with just under three-quarters of the state's population living in Notchropolis and its surrounds. The remainder are mostly settled along the North Coast and along the Charles and Longjiang Rivers. More than 90% of the state's population lives in either Notchropolis or Calmia.

The region now known as the state of Jebsten had been occupied by indigenous Reatinese tribes since for centuries before Asian settlement, and much later, European settlement. The current modern state was demarcated in 1987 based on historical colonies and provinces. Jebsten has been the economic and financial powerhouse of Craftia since independence in 1987, mainly due to Notchropolis' status as a major economic centre.

Indigenous settlement
The original inhabitants of the area now known as Jebsten were the Reatinese tribes who arrived in Craftia approximately 2,100 years ago.

Asian settlement
In the 13th century the first wave of Asian settlers (mainly Chinese and Japanese) arrived on the island of Craftia, with the north coast near present-day Calmia being their first point of contact with the Craftian mainland and the Reatinese. They interpreted the Reatinese name of the region around the north coast as Jebbin (Chinese: 接宾州, Pinyin: Jiē bīn zhōu, literally meaning 'land of meeting guests'), forming the Colony of Jebbin in 1274. The Asian settlers and the Reatinese monarchy maintained friendly, though occasionally strained relations, with the monarchy allowing the operation of the Asian colony in the northwest while nominally retaining full territorial control of the island. Throughout the next century the colony flourished, with the technologically advanced society of the colony allowing for economic and social growth.

In 1384, a colony was established by early European settlers to the east of Jebbin, named the Colony of Mollsten (named after early European explorer Joh Mollsten). In 1450, three years after the founding of the Empire of Reatina, the colonies were merged by King Wanmoor as the Colony of Jebsten.

The Colony of Jebsten was promoted to prefecture status in 1801, followed by county status in 1945, when the Territory of Craftia became the Province of Craftia. Its borders were revised in 1975 to the current borders (except for the BCT borders), shortly before the start of the Craftian War of Independence in 1978, during which Jebsten became part of the Province of East Craftia. It became a founding state of the newly independent Republic of Craftia (East Craftia) in 1987.

Government
Jebsten is a state of the Republic of Craftia, and has a federal parliamentary constitutional political system based on the federal Craftian republic parliamentary republic, with the Governor of Jebsten (currently independent Rae Lance) as the head of state, and the Premier of Jebsten (currently Dave Herijanto of the National United Party) as the head of government. Its unicameral parliament consists of the 75-member Jebstenian Legislative Assembly, with elections held every three years on the second Sunday of February, using the mixed-member proportional representation voting system, where 50 MPs are elected from single-member electorates and the remaining 25 are proportionally elected from a list.

Federal representation
Jebsten elects 21 Members of Parliament to the Craftian House of Representatives, and is represented by 8 Senators.

Political culture
Jebsten is regarded as a politically moderate 'bellwether' state, though with a considerable centre-left lean. The left-of-centre National United Party and its predecessor, the Craftia Liberty Party, have spent a collective total of 50 years in office (58%), and together had 9 premiers. Jebsten is often referred to as a 'natural United state' owing to the NUP's dominance through the 2010s, 2020s, 2040s and since 2064. The Craftian Conservative Party has not formed government in Jebsten since its defeat in the 2064 state election, after a single term in government.

United has had more difficulty with Jebstenian gubernatorial elections, with the last NUP governor being Lakesh Dumar (serving from 2044 to 2052). The Conservatives have held 8 gubernatorial terms compared to the NUP's 6 and the Liberal Party's 2.

At the federal level, Jebsten is more moderate. United currently holds 10 Jebsten seats compared to the Conservatives' 7, the Liberals' 3 and the Craftian Reform Party's 1. Similarly to the rest of the country, United does well in poorer suburban and interurban/semi-rural areas on the outskirts of cities, especially along the coastal areas and the Jebsten Peninsula. The Conservative Party's main bastions in Jebsten are the rural central and eastern parts of the state. In the last federal election the CCP was shut out of Notchropolis for the first time since the 2040s. The Liberals usually win inner city electorates. Reform usually holds onto its stronghold of the federal Division of Wilson, which covers the city of Leightonfield and its surrounds.

Demographics
Jebsten is the most populous state in Craftia and has been since independence.