Lachte

Lachte, officially Region of Lachte (Malboryan: Belj a Lachte) is one of 11 regions in Malborya. It consists of 3 provinces and 13 districts. It is the 4th smallest region by population and is one of seven regions Malbory River passes through. The region's population was 1,9 million as of June 2020. The biggest city is Meraucan, though Manz is the capital city. The region is located in the eastern corner of the country and borders Rosetta to the north, Victoria to the west, Porteca to the southwest and Dominica to the south. Lachte has the easternmost point of Malborya.

The origin of the name Lachte is disputed. Some people claim it comes from the word lachite, which is a type of gem that is only found in modern-day Lachte and a small part of Porteca. Others say that it comes from the Lavcherin tribe, which used to live there until Victorian settlement.

From 1735 to 1881, Lachte used to be an independent nation, called Lachtern Republic (Malboryan: Republika Lachtern, Old Lachtern: Riphefsesi Lachterri) until their annexation by The Kingdom of Victoria. Along with Porteca and Dominica, Lachte was a part of Mureacana, a former Malboryan region which existed until 1979, after intense demands from Lachterns to secede. Lachterns heavily opposed slavery, contrast to Victorians, as they claimed an economy built on slavery would not be independent. The historic clashes of Lachte and Victoria have resulted in excessive rivalry which still continues to this day.

Lachte is often considered to be the most conservative and rural region of Malborya. Since 2013, New Day in Malborya has repeatedly chosen Lachte as the worst region to be a member of the LGBT community. Kent Evergreen, European Councillor of Malborya, as well as a gay, trans Lachtern man, is known to be an activist on the region, trying to raise awareness for LGBT and combat transphobia and homophobia. Only 34% of Lachterns support same-sex marriage according to a survey held in 2016, the lowest in Malborya.

Economically, Lachte makes up around 4% of the nation-wide GDP, with agriculture being the leading industry since 1930s. Lachte is declining in population due to young people migrating to other regions for occupations, mostly to Dominica or Rosetta. In 2004, an extensive tourism program was launched, in hopes of diversifying the economy. Today, tourism is the third largest sector, with textile being second.

Lachte is the only region to have no income or property tax. It is also the only region to apply governor term limits based on their age at the time of the election. However, it has a goods and services tax higher than the national average. According to a 2016 research from Ministry of Agriculture and Enviromental Affairs, Lachte has the third cheapest vegetable prices from anywhere in Malborya after Florencia and Rosetta.1

 Notes 

1 Taxes included in pricing.