Columbia
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Columbia, formally known as the Columbian Union[note 1], is a Terran country located on the northwestern corner of the continent bordering Ursus, Kazimierz, Sami, Sargon, and Bolívar. It is a federal presidential republic governed by a national government under a modern democratic institution with separated three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial, though the executive branch has long been occupied by its one and only president, President Mark Max, who is constantly elected back to the office due to popularity, which further weakens the supposed democracy that limits the power of a head of state.
As the youngest geopolitical superpower on Terra, Columbia is a melting pot of various races and cultures. The nation begins from a Victorian colony in the region that declared its independence under Gaulish support. Following its victory in the war for independence, Columbia continues to expand westward while accelerating in scientific progress, military capability, cultural and ideological exports, and economy. However, Columbia's increasing expansionism through incentive migrations of frontier pioneers and interventionism has led to its direct conflict against neighboring Bolívar and its extensive political influences upon other countries such as Sargon and Sami, and it has recently invested in an arm race to further exert its power upon other Terran superpowers through superiority in military.
Columbia proclaims itself to be a nation of "equity" where everyone, including the Infected and even the Sarkaz, is treated equally and could realize their dreams. On one hand, its treatment of minorities is indeed much better than other countries'. However, the nation is secretly exploiting the Infected, the local Sarkaz community, and the commoners by enticing them to settle in the country's wastelands as its first pioneers, where Catastrophes are common, crime is rampant, and the land is yet undeveloped. These pioneers have been on the frontline of Columbia's territorial expansion.
The Columbian language is similar to American English in our world. However, they somehow have distinct grammars and accents even though both are mutually intelligible enough with each other.
Background
Colonial era
Since the Iberian expedition to the unexplored northwestern region in 735 and the establishment of the Viceroyalty of Bolívar, many Terran superpowers followed suit to set up their own colonies, be it Leithanian, Gaulish, and Victorian. However, the land east of Bolívar was a infertile wilderness covered by deserts and shrublands, which many superpowers deemed to be valueless and treated it as a mere penal colony. Nevertheless, in Terran year 990, the Victorian Parliament sponsored a geographical expedition with the objective of setting up their own colony out of Leithanian influence. After seven months, the expedition team with their newly-developed deep mining equipment developed by the Royal Academy of Sciences uncovered a huge Originium vein beneath the western wilderness, an offshoot of the Kolossal Prime Vein that is more stable than the Rim Billitonian Targangils Prime Vein without the plague of constant Catastrophes. Immediately, the explorers wrote a letter to the Parliament to persuade them set up their colony, and in the heading of the letter, they wrote a famous quote which later generations refer to it as the "Boot Declaration:"[1]
| “ | If a plot of land can hold a boot, then it should belong to Victoria. | ” |
Within fifteen years, the once barren wilderness west of Bolívar quickly developed into the most advanced and populous colony in the region. The former Duke of Goddodin at that time, Duke Cannon Goddodin, first mobilized various mining platforms to the region, and thus, the first frontier pioneers of Columbia were formed. A large influx of foreign immigrants from Bolívar and Kazimierz arrived at Columbia to further develop the barren region into a bustling, highly-versatile colonial enclave filled with factories and mines. The flourishing economy also attracted various businessmen and scholars seeking to realize their ideals and look for new business opportunities, even though it was all built upon exploitation of the weak and entices to attract new settlers.[1]
As Columbia developed, conflicts between the colonial settlers and their homeland ensued. For two decades, the frontier pioneers fell victim to Catastrophes, wild beasts, and ravaging highwaymen, yet they rarely received any official response from Victoria. Furthermore, the ruling King of Victoria, King Frederick III, sought to exploit the colony's development in response to the ever-increasing threat from Gaul. In the year 1011, the Parliament issued the Frontier Taxation, Public Safety, and Infected Individual Control Obligations Act, or the "Obligation Act" for short, which aroused the colonial settlers' anger towards their homeland. This new act not only overloaded Columbia's taxation policies by replacing local tax collectors with envoys dispatched from Victoria and imposing heavy taxation on property owners, but also it established a "loose autonomy" upon the colony in terms of medical control on Oripathy by handling the procedures all by themselves even though the settlers lacked proper infrastructure to care for their patients. Furthermore, the new act forced the Royal Governor of the colony, Duke Cannon Goddodin, to give up parts of his rights to his political rival – the border duke, Duke of Tybalt, who was infamous for his oppressive methods and egoism.[2]
The Revolutionary War
- Main article: Revolutionary War
The Columbian Revolutionary War ensued between the colonial pioneers and the Duke of Tybalt that later led to the independence of the colony. Since the Obligation Act, there were waves of independence movements in the colony led by rebelling frontier pioneers and local militias who were heavily influenced by the ideology of Columbia's founding father, Maylander Selene. Furthermore, the Duke of Tybalt stationed more armies in the colony in the name of both response to threat from Leithanien in Bolívar and protection of the civilians' properties. In Terran year 1016, tension between the two factions finally broke starting from the injury of a Victorian envoy and two accompanying guards by local bandits. Although the pioneers arrested the bandits, they refused to extradite them back to Victoria for trial under the envoy's order. In response to their rebellion, the Duke of Tybalt declared a state of emergency over the colony and dispatched his troops to suppress local militias. Furthermore, King Frederick III forced the Parliament to allow Tybalt's military operation so that Victoria could focus more on repelling Gaulish and Leithanian invasions upon the homeland's border rather than arguing over Tybalt's reckless action, and the king fully entrusted him to quickly repel the rebellion alone.[2]
In the early stage of the war, the colonial militia reorganized themselves as the Revolutionary Army to repel Tybalt's troops. The newly born rebels, however, were in no match with the duke's army due to their low morale, size, and weaponry while facing Tybalt's landships. In turn, the Revolutionary Army heavily relied on foreign merchants and mercenaries in the frontlines. Taking advantage of the situation, Gaul provided military aid to the Revolutionary Army in order to further weaken the Victorian forces in the region. The Gallians even retrofitted four Columbian nomadic cities into mobile fortresses to withstand approaching Victorian landships. Despite their efforts, the Revolutionary Army kept losing and was on the verge of defeat.[3]
The turning point of the Revolutionary War was the participation of Mark Max, the legendary war hero who befriended Selene as comrades-in-arms. In the second year of the war, Max joined the Army in hope to support the settlers' independence, but his incognito identity and the lack of appearance to the public, which he claimed to protect his family in Victoria, brought suspicions from both the Army and Gaulish envoys. Nevertheless, Max proved himself to be a strategic genius who led the Revolutionary Army to raid and recapture occupied zones from the Duke of Tybalt. By the spring of 1081, Tybalt's troop fell into a tug of war as the duke dared not to risk sacrificing his soldiers to eliminate a small number of Revolutionary soldiers in dangerous areas such as Originium mines. Tybalt even put down his ego to beg for military support from Londinium, but the king and the Parliament refused and stood by in callousness to witness Tybalt's demise.[4]
The Battle of Babbage in November 1018 was a decisive victory against Tybalt's troops. The Revolutionary Army focused themselves on developing their own heavy cannons in their underground hideouts, and these new weapons enabled them to capture ten landships from Tybalt's fleet in the span of six months. With full preparation, the Revolutionary Army made a surprise ambush attack on Tybalt's lead ship. After a clash between the two forces, the Victorian soldiers were forced to abandon the landship, and Tybalt was severely injured during the battle. The Revolutionary Army celebrated their victory on the landship as they yelled out their slogan which later became Columbia's national motto: "Terra Blessed Us." The Battle of Babbage forced the Victorian troops to quickly retreat south, and the Revolutionary Army gradually repealed their enemies out of their borders. Tybalt did not survive the injury as he presumed he contacted Oripathy and sought to remove his "illness" with his sword.[5]
The Revolutionary War ended with peace negotiation between the Parliament and the Revolutionary Army. The Parliament dispatched its Messenger to admit surrender to the Army and apologize for Tybalt's ruthless action. King Frederick III agreed to recognize Columbia's independence and negotiate the withdrawal of all Victorian assets in the colony.[5] With the signing of the Articles of Confederation established by Maylander Selene and other colonial leaders and the first general election that established Mark Max as the President, Columbia formally declared its independence and the birth of a new nation on Terra by early 1019.
The same year following Columbia's declaration of independence, Corsica I was crowned the Emperor of Gaul. As a payback for their military support during the war, Gaul sought to convert the newly established country under its vassalage. Many political observers back then presumed that Columbia would eventually accept the offer as many nations would not accept a former colony gaining independence. But to their surprise, President Max persuaded Gaulish envoys to settle in Columbia and become its citizens, and Columbia's action resulted in diplomatic disagreement between the two nations as Columbia sought to be treated equally with other superpowers as a modern nation without a king. Gaul continued to assert political pressure upon Columbia for the remaining twelve years before its utter disintegration in the War of the Four Nations.[5]
| An excerpt from Chasing the Lone Star: Interviews from the Revolutionary War |
|---|
"Just after the war, many people thought that the Lion King would simply consecrate a Columbian duke and let the soldiers fend for themselves. The Messenger from Londinium did bring up such option. To be honest, there were quite a few people interested on the Duke's throne, but we still did not agree in the end. And those folks from Maylander say that we must not go back to a dead end, and that Columbia will become a radically different place in the future. Now it turns out we did not believe in the wrong person after all."[5] |
Columbian expansionism
Ever since its foundation, Columbia has been slowly expanding both its territories and its political influence across Terra. Following its tradition of frontier pioneers, the Columbian government uses the propaganda of the "Columbian Dream" to attract frontier pioneers to move to its westernmost wastelands, mainly inhabited by the poor, slum dwellers, and the Infected, where they are to settle down and cultivate the land under the nation's name. Even though the pioneers' stories have been immortalized by various tales, they are frequently the target of ill treatment and governmental neglect.[6] These pioneers range from various backgrounds, even including criminals who do not want to spend their sentences in prison
Columbia's unrestrained expansion has also led to countless political conflicts with other nations, notably neighboring Bolívar. With the independence of Columbia, Leithanien's access to its puppet regime in Bolívar became extremely difficult, and in the 1020s, Columbia began interfering with Bolívar's affairs through the support of local tycoons and entrepreneurs, causing many territories within the jurisdiction of the Singas dynasty to fall into Columbia's influence as many Bolívarians sought political collaboration with Columbia to fully gain independence. Furthermore, the tyrannical rule of Herkunftshorn the Witch King gave more excuses for Colmbia's interference in Bolívar. In 1048, in response to their treason, the Witch King sought to instigate civil unrest on Columbian soil by using the Singas dynasty as a proxy to attack Columbian enclaves in Bolívar. In response to Leithanian provocation and in the name of "liberation," Columbia launched an outright invasion on Bolívar and established the Coalition Government in occupied territories by convincing local tycoons to join their cause. But with the rise of the True Bolívarians who sought to fully repel imperialist forces and the chaotic civil conflict among the warring factions that even the Columbians could not resolve, Columbia quickly fell into a never-ending stalemate against both the Leithanian puppet regime and the local resistance forces that lasted until the present days.[7]
Following the failure in Bolívar, Columbia has set its eyes on other weaker nations. In Sargon, Columbia is slowly destabilizing the dwindling empire by covertly funding its operating mercenaries and pro-Columbian tribal factions and even instigating tribal conflicts to gain profit.[8] It also slowly expands its political influence onto Sami since the 1060s by setting up trading enclaves in southern Sami and dispatching expedition teams for scientific researches, though in some ways Columbian is quietly converting Sami into its colony by offering many political conditions that the Samifjod tribes find it difficult to reject. Columbia's colonial presence in Sami also results in conflict with neighboring Ursus as Columbia covertly incited the Samifjod's resistance against Ursine troops at the borders.[9]
Columbia also expanded southward in hope to establish diplomacy with Iberia. Many retired soldiers of the Revolutionary Army and frontier pioneers migrated towards the Sea of Clariside via the abandoned Sargoinian southern route, and in 1035, Siesta was founded by patterning Iberian maritime trading outposts. But with the devastating Profound Silence of 1038 that brought the collapse of the Iberian regime and the geographical changes of the seashores, Siesta was completely isolated from the homeland and was forced to govern on their own independently. Not only Victoria took the opportunity to assert its influence upon the trading outpost, but also the locals demanded to preserve the de facto independence of the city-state. Nevertheless, following several political negotiations in 1066, Siesta became a commonwealth of Columbia while retaining its sovereignty.[10]
Present days
Since the devastating War of the Four Nations, Columbia remains relatively stable in terms of politics thanks to its modern political construction. As many Terran empires and kingdoms have fallen into turmoil due to politics and supernatural threats, Columbia continues to accept foreign immigrants as its citizens, including the Infected and Sarkaz refugees. Many of these new immigrants not only become prominent figures in academic and business circles, but also join the frontier pioneers for benefits without realizing the danger they are facing.
Nevertheless, there is a growing concern regarding Columbia's weapons programs funded by its national military. In an effort to triumph over other Terran superpowers, explore the untouched borders of Terran civilization, and finally win the political struggle against the Federal Government, the Columbian military has openly pursued technological supremacy through its mega-corporations. However, this is often done through questionable means, such as secretly conducting unethical human experimentation and reviving ancient, forbidden relics. The accumulation led to the dazzling "Horizon Arc Project" of 1099 in which Columbia became the first nation to ever reach the hidden truth regarding Terra's sky after penetrating the Starpod.
Notable people
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| Expatriate |
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| Migrant |
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- Damien
- Elba
- Steve
- Thunderstone
- "6060": An infamous Columbian rapper who Emperor is said to have a bad relationship with. The latter would dedicate a diss track to him at one point.[11]
- Ambrois Edwards: A former baseball player who was constantly bullied for being Infected. One day, he´s approached by Cuora, who decides to cheer him up and takes him to Rhodes Island for help. After that, he decided to come out from his retirement.[12]
- Dr. Hayden Ramnt☠: The director and owner of Haydn Pharmaceuticals, one of Rhine Lab´s investors. He provided the Lab-1 facility, which would be used to conduct experiments on Ifrit as part of the Department of Defense´s "Project Diabolic". However, he was killed when Ifrit´s powers went out of control during the Diαbolic Crisis[13]
- "Mr. K.": The mysterious CEO of the Beachbrella corporation, as well as Jesselton´s boss. He considers him as his most valuable asset.[14]
- Mario: A once renowned Wrankwood film director who Roberta worked with at some point. Known as the "Father of the Slasher/Master of Horror" for his horror films which were popular 15 years ago, his reputation started to fall from grace in recent years with flicks like "The Living Dead on the Frontier", which was a box-office bomb.[15]
- Marshall: The current Chief Justice of the Union Supreme Court in Columbia. In Terran Year 1091, under the influence of Arturia's emotion amplification Arts, Marshall suddenly went insane by pronouncing himself as "Emperor of Columbia", and during the following years, he successfully passed various "imperial statutes" vowing for the emancipation of the Infected, which not only became a hot-topic amongst the population, but also served as the theory core of various nationwide pro-Infected movements afterwards. Prior to this strange incident, witnesses saw Marshall passed out drunk on the lawn of his almamater, while Arturia was playing an empty scalebass beer bottle at his side.[16][17]
- Professor Thorne†: A Vouivre researcher from Blaine Formative and Elliot's professor. Twenty-two years ago, he led the "Sand Soldiers" into the Ibut Region of Sargon for research on an Originium-based weapon. However, he was preyed upon by the local Padishah and was later murdered.[18]
- Val & Leo Hyde: The twin CEOs and founders of Hydebro, who were at one point some of Columbia's top industrialists.[19][20] The company got involved in a corporate rivalry with Simon Co., resulting in a scandal that ended with the later falling from grace, and imprisonment of the Simon family members and its CEO, Smith Simon.[21] Following the Mansfield incident, the Hyde brothers were summoned to a district court due to allegations of shady business deals and violence, leading to their arrest and bankruptcy.[22]
- Mr. and Mrs. Wright☠: A famous young couple of inventors and aerospace engineers who were Kristen Wright's parents. They attempted to reach above the Starpod in the Terran year 1075, only for their high-attitude aircraft to star malfunctioning and crash, claiming their lives in the process. Prior to their passing, the couple had a good number of detractors and enemies within the government who thought they were wasting the nation's tax money on their projects, and as a result, they sought help from Maylander in order to protect their interests and their daughter.[23]
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Enemies
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Places
Settlements
- Trimounts
- Tkaronto
- Davistown
- Siesta (as a commonwealth)
- Max D.C.: The capital of Columbia.
- Bunkerhill: The Columbian city where Simon Co. and HydeBro were headquartered, as well as Columbian Tax Bureau office.[21][24]
- Givogia: Franka's hometown. It was destroyed by a Catastrophe when she was 13 years old.[25]
- Ironforge: The city where Anthony Simon was arrested. Due to the city being under a different state law, Anthony was free from the HydeBro's interference.[26] In 1095, A Blacksteel team was sent to investigate a Fonnterra Bio-researching laboratory rumored to conduct illegal experiments with funding of the Department of Defense. This ended in an incident where Franka, one of the team's members, got herself infected. Under an agreement with the Federal Goverment, the information is kept hidden from public, with the official sources that it was just an "Originium Leakage".[27][28][29] The headquarters of Maylander's Security and Defense Company is located there, which Team RAINBOW is working with.[30]
- Nulaiteburgh: Coldshot's hometown.[31] It's also the city where the Mansfield State Prison was docked during Anthony's prison break.[32]
- Wrankwood: A Columbian city known for being the heart of its film industry.[33] Their movies' selling points include their pretentious titles, excessive use of explosions, and even age restrictions.[34] Although its film industry is sometimes criticized for the cookie-cutter production values of their blockbusters in contrast of the less-popular B movies,[15] and the exaggerated way the big studios and agencies care about their clients and actors´ personas and public images while treating them as products.[33]
- San Sophie: The city where the Mansfield State Prison was docked 4 months prior to Anthony's jailbreak.[35]
- Steelham: The town where Sonny and Mary come from.[22]
- New Manfist: A Columbian town that Dur-nar and her team visited at one point during her service in the Union Army, described as an unpleasant place.[36]
- Yorktown: A Columbian city located close to Trimounts.[37]
- Trenton: A Columbian town located close to Trimounnts, and the place where Muelsyse's parents entrusted her to a local orphanage after contracting Oripathy.[38][39]
- Bayswood: A briefly mentioned pioneer plate.[40]
- Deadhorse: A pioneer plate located in the same state as Davistown and Bayswood.
- New Richmond: A briefly mentioned Columbian nomadic city located near the Bolívarian frontier.[41]
Institutions
- Mansfield State Prison: A Columbian nomadic penitentiary, originally a half-abandoned Industrial platform.
- Camp Collus: A Victorian POW camp built during Columbia's war for independence. It's known for the torture and inhumane treatment towards the captured belligerent forces, and due to its infamy, no military officer wants to mention it again. It was the place where Woodrow Bianchi and "Clip" Cliff conducted a rescue mission alongside other eight soldiers, but due to Clip abandoning the original plan, only Woodrow managed to come out alive.[42]
- Barron Mine: An Originium mine located in Southern Columbia. It attracted the attention of the Columbian Tax Bureau as early as 1058, due to discrepancies on the registered amount of Originium veins, and as a result, it was abandoned after its owner was arrested. It was later used by Tower Mountains Biotechnology in 1079, as part of the D.O.D's research in developing a way for the armed forces to deal with Oripathy infections in combat environments. However, in 1083, they came up with the idea of experimenting on Needleflies by injecting Originium inside their bodies in order to create biological weapons, only for the project to go haywire.[43]
Notes
- ↑ Originally "Columbia Union," which is grammatically incorrect.