Canako (Canakan Krepian: Canakè), officially the Principality of Canako (Canakan Krepian: Principat iCanakè) is a city-state located in Europe between France and Italy. Having a land area of 2.9 km2, it is one of the smallest countries in the world, and the smallest to have more than one land border. Canako is also one of the oldest countries in the world, being formed in 1358 after Krepian settlers founded the country as a safe haven for people excommunicated by the Catholic Church. However, Canako itself wasn't immune to the influence by the Catholic Church, its state religion was Catholicism from 1400 until 1958 when it became a secular state. Unlike all other Krepian states, Canako uses the Latin alphabet as opposed to the Krepian alphabet as influenced by its neighbours. Nevertheless, its status as a safe haven for those opposed to the Church stayed intact throughout the years, and most Canakans today are French or Italians who are descendants of those accused of witchcraft.
Name and Etymology
The word "Canako" is a portmanteau of two Old Krepian words, "Cánat" and "Taakù", which means "land" and "godless" respectively. Therefore, "Canako" would mean "land of the godless", which makes sense from a outsider Krepian perspective as the Krepian religion was polytheistic while Christianity was monotheistic.
History
Canako was established as a settlement and trading port in 1299 by Krepian settlers from modern day Shafterlands and Egypt. It was the endpoint of a Krepian trading route that involved sailing through the entire Krepian archipelago, then up the eastern African coast past Somalia to the Sinai peninsula, walking across the peninsula to the Mediterranean Sea, and sailing to Canako. Being far from Egypt, the port of Canako was originally fairly rarely used by European ships sailing to the Middle East, but it provided a shorter travelling time to places further inland in Western Europe.