Gwazzaria

Gwazzaria

Flag of Gwazzaria
Motto: Ad Astra Per Robota
[1]
Region	Hyper Nordica
Capital	Cauthaqua
Official Language(s)	Gwazzarian Dialect
Leader	Indrik Vandegraff
Population	Nearing 200,000,000
Currency	Ducal Mark
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Gwazzaria is situated on two of the southernmost islands of the Hyper Nordica region (Bjurnralm and Helgader). It is a small (land-wise), extremely densely populated, and heavily urban nation that relies on the ocean for most of its food. The temperate rainforests surrounding it have remained relatively well preserved, due to an avoidance of the use of wood and hydroponics-based farming. Its economy is manufacturing based, and uses robots extensively.

History

Gwazzaria is, like Luxembourg, a sovereign Grand Duchy, and has been an independent nation since the 16th century.

Gwazzaria was, despite its location away from mainland Europe, a participant in the World War I on the side of the Central Powers. A major portion of its working-age population perished in it, which caused it to later adopt a pacifistic foreign policy. Its only other major interaction with the outside world until recently was opening its doors to Jewish refugees during the Second World War.

During the Cold War, Gwazzaria remained tenatively neutral, while developing its own technology and economy. By the 1990s, it had made major advances in the field of robotics, resulting in a heavy reliance on automatons for its manufacturing.

Gwazzaria recently underwent a major coup, instigated by the current ruler and a small faction of supporters. This coup was carried off by control of the factory robots of the nation, seizing control of production. This caused numerous factory robots to develop serious programming malfunctions, and runn off. The past ducal family went into exile, and Indrik Vandegraff took control.

Recently, Gwazzaria has been embroiled in the civil war of Danteri. At first favoring the rebels and providing medical aid, in light of atrocities comitted on either side they have shifted their position to simply helping Danteri civillians indiscriminately.

At one point, Fascist rebels imprisoned and abused a group of Gwazzarian aid workers, and held them for ransom. Bertling Special Ops attempted to liberate them, but they had been transferred into Loyalist control shortly before the end of the Fascist rebellion. Gwazzaria is currently constructing a memorial to the fallen of the Special Ops group. The assault on Freiburg cost the lives of all of the 4th Expeditionary Medical Company, and the nuclear suicide of Danteri City killed all of the 3rd Expeditionary (bringing the death total to 813).

Gwazzaria made its largest troop movement since WWI, and its farthest, by sending seven battalions of soldiers and three companies of military police to the Haraki Safe-Zones for defensive purposes. Cauthaqua was currently being host to a conference between all involved parties in hopes of finding a peaceful resolution. These talks broke down when Zukariaa, now controlled by the Kraven Corporation, took over Western (Loyalist) Danteri. Gwazzaria is now cooperating with Haraki and Bertlingian forces to protect civillians, and has moved in even more soldiers and ships.

The recent discovery of the Arterus region has resulted in Gwazzaria putting in a 'protective claim' over one of the southwestern islands. A policy of 'cooperative colonialism' has been implemented, hoping to lighten Gwazzaria's population load and help the aboriginals simulataneously.

Dukes of the Past

Pre-Sovereignity

• 1337-1372 Duke Gwazz I, the Great
• 1372-1442 Duke Gwazz II, the Mighty
• 1442-1464 Duke Gwazz III, the Strange
• 1465-1465 Duke Franz I, the Accident Prone
• 1465-1477 Duke Otto I, the Red
• 1477-1500 Duchess Brigid, the Wise
• 1500-1587 Duke Actraqua I, the Elder

Sovereignity

• 1587-1611 Duke Nack Mack, the Riotous
• 1612-1642 Duke Franz II, the Reformer
• 1642-1664 Duke Actraqua II, the Pirate
• 1664-1700 Duke Samant I, the Conqueror
• 1700-1702 Duke Samant II, the Deconqueror
• 1703-1767 Duke Samant III, the Consistent
• 1767-1789 Duke Sean, the Irish Bastard
• 1789-1822 Duke Bairn, the Mad
• 1822-1870 Duke Otto II, the Very German
• 1870-1902 Duke Franz III, the Extremely Cautious
• 1902-1920 Duke Nordheim, the Warlike
• 1920-1937 Duke Nordheim II, the Significantly Less Warlike
• 1937-1955 Duke Franz IV, the Compassionate
• 1955-1977 Duke Otto III, the Technocrat
• 1977-1993 Duke Otto IV, the Soldier
• 1993-2001 Duke Otto V, the Reputation-Still-Disputable
• 2001- Duke Indrik Vandegraff

Politics

Gwazzaria is firmly and unabashedly a dictatorship. The status as Grand Duchy and title of Duke have been kept simply for traditional purposes, and to avoid changing the stationary design. One quirk of the Grand Duchy is that the ruler is still called Duke, rather than Grand Duke, and has traditionally been styled as His/Her Grace. Recently this has been changed, and the Duke is now His Royal Superiority. Ships of the Gwazzarian Navy have changed from H.G.S. (His Grace's Ship) to H.R.S. (His Royal Ship). Tabloids, after witnessing the loss of several glasses and vases to his wrath, have postulated this might be because of his own actual manual dexterity.

The government operates on a philosophy of "Never do yourself what can be delegated to someone else." The result has been a relatively inefficient, sprawling bureaucracy, full of numerous ministries, sub-ministries, over-ministries, and departments. Because of this, the government has become the largest employer in the country.

In order to keep with U.N. rulings, citizens are allowed to elect heads of minor departments in their local area. These elections are always subject to change by the administration, however.

Industries

Private enterprise was originally made illegal in Gwazzaria, though many corporation owners maintined their position as government employees overseeing their industry. Recently, however, small-scale capitalism in non-essential areas is being introduced, especially in the burgeoning casino industry. Major industries include gambling (one of the few privatized industries), arms manufacture (mainly hunting rifles), automobile manufacture (the term "automobile" referring to any self-moving vehicle, speficially helicopters), information technology, dairy production, medical technology, fishing, and hydroponic farming.

Gwazzaria is a supporter of the free trade agreement for the Hyper Nordica region.

The nation has begun to pour large amounts of money into its space program, and is cooperating with Hordapolis to create a binational space station.

The recent finding of Tacualteu has given Gwazzarian enterprise a place to expand rapidly, and the result has been a major economic boom, surpassing even Bertling.

Police

Gwazzaria's police force is the second largest in the region, and one of the most well-funded. In addition to keeping civil order, small "Grey Regiments" will fabricate or dig up charges against powerful opponents of the Duke.

Everyone in Gwazzaria has the right to a trial by jury, but with permission from the Minister of Justice (or higher) the judge can overturn a jury's ruling. Punishments are distributed on a sliding scale of severity of crime, evidence of guilt, and how much a convict annoys or offends the judge. Most punishments for lower crimes are easily reversible, such as fines and confiscation of property. Irreversible ones (such as imprisonment or execution) are reserved for serious crimes or guilty pleas.

Gwazzarian police normally carry stun batons and a 7.65mm Bernardelli P-018, and wear a light bulletproof vest. For operations where resistance is expected, they wear full tactical armor (similar to, but significantly lighter than, the military issue), and carry a variety of weapons ranging from SMGs (including the distinctive domestically made Mk. 115 PDW) to long arms.

Gwazzarian police uniform is generally a dark green, with brass buttons or pips. They normally wear a beret (many districts have their own iconic headwear) with the badge on the front, and shoes designed to allow for the best running as well as comfortable strolling.

Existing outside of military and police are the Ducal Enforcers. Traditionally a secret police, their duties now center around security for the Cloudspine and Duke. They're easily recognizable by their large red, white and black coats with brass fittings.

At the time of the coup, Gwazzaria was near crimeless. As the population has grown, however, this has changed. Recently, organized crime has been becoming a major problem. Ethnicity- or family-based gangs have been cropping up in cities. In response the police has bolstered its personnel count, though to little effect.

Military

The majority of the Gwazzarian military left or was exiled when the current Duke seized power. While military service is compulsory, what is legally defined as military service is very loose. Anyone in a position within the Ministry of War (or a related department) is considered to be participating in military service. As such, most people spend this mandatory duty doing various bureaucratic or technical jobs.

When it comes to actual, ready-for-combat military personnel, Gwazzaria has somewhere around 0.5% of the population. The majority of the military is concentrated in the navy and airforce, and a large portion of the budget goes towards maintaining the country's abnormally large fleet of ships. Some of its more recognizable ships are the amphibious assault ships Vorpality and Jabberwock, and the aircraft carrier Ozymandias.

The Gwazzarian military recently introduced the Bertling's BDT Ag-1 Gw (which chambers the new 6.5mm Grendel) as its standard assault rifle, phasing out the old IMBEL MD-2 and -3s. The Turkish ZIGANA T pistols remain its favored side-arm.

A trademark of the Gwazzarian infantry is heavy body armor. The army comprises the second smallest of Gwazzaria's four military branches, and is considered a mainly defensive force. Gwazzarian battledress is bulky, but capable of reliably taking up to a 5.56mm NATO round without fatal wounding to the wearer. Gwazzarian infantry also makes extensive use of various kinds of gas grenades, and filter masks are a standard accessory with the helmet.

Gwazzarian artillery is minimal, reserved almost entirely to heavy coastal guns and anti-aircraft weapons. Recent funding has gone towards development of tanks, APCs (to replace the surplus Soviet BTR-60PAs), and self-propelled cannons.

The recent economic boom has translating into a funding boom for all government agencies, including the military. Having more money than they know what to do with, the military has begun developing many types of experimental (and likely very impractical) vehicles, including airborne aircraft carriers.

Cauthaqua

The capital city of Gwazzaria is a sprawling metropolis dominating the isle of Helgader, with a burgeoning population of over half of Gwazzaria's population. Because of this, Gwazzaria might be considered a city-state, much like Hordapolis.

Cauthaqua's architecture is a mixture of refined 18th century buildings and the heavy industrialization of the early 20th century. Most of the newer areas have a strong, bolted-together feel, being comprised of a good deal of iron. One example of this is the neighborhood of Woardetin, historically a blacksmithing and iron smelting district, where the dirt is like that of Mars - red from the amount of iron oxide in it.

While Gwazzaria is uncharacteristically temperate for its location, it is still quite cold. This has prompted for Gwazzarians to build their cities in an insular manner, and Cauthaqua is no exception. Thanks to skywalks and subwalks, one can traverse the city on foot without once stepping outdoors.

Built at the height of Gwazzaria's industrial boom in the late 1970s is the Cloudspine, the tallest tower in the nation which has recently been converted into its capitol building. It reaches a 1,114 feet into the air, situated atop one of the higher points of the already hilly Cauthaquan landscape. At its base it is supported by massive buttresses, and numerous skywalks extend from it to other towers. It is used to both house government offices and embassies.

People

The native Gwazzarian people were a relatively small population, theoretically descended from the ancestors of the present-day Irish and Scots.

Through the 16th to 19th centuries, Gwazzaria was host to a steady stream of English and Slavic immigrants. During the Irish Potato Famine, Gwazzaria's already large Irish population increased dramatically. After this, the Duke was pressured into closing Gwazzaria's doors to immigration. They re-opened in the 1930s, this time inviting in Jewish refugees. Unlike countries (such as England), Gwazzaria was willing to accept any Jews who wished to escape persecution, due to a major workforce shortage from the population decline during WWI.

In recent years Gwazzaria's ethnic make-up has begun to change more significantly. A small number of African-Nordicans from Hordapolis have been immigrating, and recently a large number of Danteri refugees and Tacualtic immigrants have been showing up.

The religious dichotomy of Gwazzaria is 23% Roman Catholic, 12% Protestant, 15% Pastrafarian, 7% Agnostic (or Undecided), 11% Jewish, 2% Neo-Pagan, 2% Atheist, 2% Esoteric Church of Dagon, 7% Eastern Orthodox, and 5% Discordian, 6% Subgenii, 7% Other, 1% Cultists of Xenu.

Peerage

Gwazzaria retains the noble titles of peerage, although they have counted for very little in the last century. Up until the recent coup, they were all elected administrative positions, and the lowest remains so.

Gwazzaria is divided up into three Earldoms, which are further divided into seven Viscounties, which are further divided into the neighborhood-sized Baronies. These three positions are all styled as The Honourable (Title and Name), and formerly met in council in the Royal Parliament, where their rank of nobiltiy affected their amount of votes. Since this has, along with the Common Parliament, been abolished.

In addition to the noble peerage, there are also various orders one may be inducted into. These are purely titles of honour, and many of them have not had any new members for 60 years. More commonly awarded are those for scientific achievements, most recognized of which is the Ducal Order of the Steel Star, which is awarded to those who have made great progress in the field of robotics.

Since the introduction of compulsory military service in 1892, and its expansion to both genders in 1952, everyone in Gwazzaria is technically considered a knight (and styled as sir).

Tacualteu

Tacualteu is the native name of the island in the Arterus region that Gwazzaria has put protective claim over it. With permission of a local nation, Gwazzaria has constructed a port town (called New Aumpqua). Currently, most of the nations of the island have been unified into a confederation that has agreed to Gwazzarian proctection.

Tacualteu is characterized by a mild Mediterranean climate, and large open valleys and dense forests. The technology of the aboriginals appears to be early bronze age, with advanced knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. The government of the nation initially made contact with, the Dalc-Wea Union (which numbers about ten thousand people), is a surprisingly efficient socialist republic (or something closely resembling such). Other nations' governments seem to derivitive of the Dalc-Wea Union. Paper (or, more accurately, vellum) money is already in use, and a large school of Dalc-Wean philosophy is centered on the concept of currency.

A breed of bovine native to the island, called qualei by the aboriginals and swepthorn cattle by Gwazzarians, is the primary source of food alongside fish. They're smaller than other cattle, but produce disproportionately large quantities of milk. The howler monkey, as well, is a favored dish of many of the inner tribes.

Tacualteu recently gained full national status in the eyes of the United Nations. It remains a protectorate of Gwazzaria, but functions independently.