Costa Bravo
BRAP BRAP BRAP | Region | Gattica | Map | Map of Costa Bravo's environs.
| Heraldry | Coat of Arms of Costa Bravo
| Official language | French, English, Russian | Capital | Tortuga | Largest Religion | Atheism | Tech Level | Postmodern Tech | Regent | Jonah J. Rudabaugh | Founded | (from Spain) December 21st, 1505 | Population
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- Density Ranked nth
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unknown Currency | Credit
| National Animal | Tortoise
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | Internet TLD | .cob | ContentsCosta BravoThe Armed Republic of Costa Bravo is a small nation of an ever-growing one billion inhabitants. Located in the central Mediterranean, south of Italy, and north of Libya, Costa Bravo is a largely dystopian, post-modern seafaring nation with an ancestry in piracy and anarchic government. The currently elected Regent, Jonah Jebediah Rudabaugh, is serving out his thirty-year term, set to end as of 2028. Income tax is at a steady 57%, and the healthy private sector is dominated by the Information Technology Industry, with Arms Building, Robotics, and Biomedical Industries maintaining a steady foothold in the background. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. The Costa Bravo national animal is the Tortoise, and its currency is the credit. The nation's acronym (every cool nation has one!) is ARC (pronounced "ay-ar-see", not "ark"), because ARCB sounds dumb. Early History300 BCE-80 BCEThe southern portion of Costa Bravo, the Isla de Muerte (technically not an island, but referred to as such regardless), were inhabited by various primitive cultures as early as 300 BCE The southernmost portion of the isle, Sauvage, is still inhabited by a large community of tribal cultures. The Sauvages, as they are called by Costa Bravans, have recently begun to modernize themselves, adopting contemporary technology and straying from their traditional ways. The Sauvages claim that the entire Isla de Muerte belongs to them, and have resorted to terrorism to articulate their opinions. Most recently, they massacred a small fishing village in southern Isla de Muerte, and suicide bombed the Carthaginian Embassy in Los Eisley. 80 BCE-400 CEDue to the great mountain ranges that ran the perimeter of much of Costa Bravo, it remained uninhabited until 79 BCE, when the Roman Empire laid claim to the greater part of what is now Costa Bravo. They named this new province Sophora, roughly translated as "Great Coast." Rome, quick to recognize the land's comfortable weater and rich soil, promptly founded a handful of cities upon the northern coast, to precipitate migration. They named the province's capital eponymously -- Sophorium. It was located on Tortuga Island, forming the foundations of what would later become Tortuga. In a manner of years, Sophorium grew to be the centerpoint of Northern Africa, rivalling Carthage in influence. Tortuga's harbors were second only to Alexandria's in terms of size and traffic flow, and, as such, Tortuga rapidly became an integral part of the Mediterranean's trade routes. Sophora's citizens were largely farmers and the like, and steadily generated a strong economy for themselves. Meanwhile, the tactical significance of Sophora was easily recognized by the world's powers. Rome placed dozens of garrisons between Sophora's thick mountain walls, and dozens, if not hundreds, of forts were built throughout the countryside. The Roman navy transferred the greater part of their forces to Sophora, due to both the accessable location and conveniently numerous bays and inlets. With the advent of its naval significance, new towns and cities sprung along the coastlines, and agriculture was slowly replaced by fishing, in terms of economic pull. <div" class="plainlinksneverexpand"> </div>
 The Coquillan Colosseum, a remnant of Sophora, is the most preserved Colosseum in the world, and is still home to a variety of sports, theater activities, and gladiatorial games. In time, as the Roman Empire crumbled, its presence in Sophora trickled away. Eventually, all but the most meager of Rome's garrisons were withdrawn from the province to fight the Empire's enemies elsewhere, and the Carthaginians, having pined for Costa Bravo for generations, swiftly, and easily, seized the land, in approximately 270 CE. The few Roman citizens that had remained in Sophora fled, and, by 300 CE, almost no Roman citizens remained in the province. Eventually, the Carthaginian presence in Costa Bravo collapsed (circa 400 CE), similarly to the Romans, and only a few independent communities remained. For years to come, Costa Bravo would remain largely uninhabitated. Middle History1455 CE-1900 CECosta Bravo itself, however, was formed in December of 1455, some eleven months after Spaniards first made landfall there. Shortly thereafter, Spain rapidly and promptly seized control of the Costa Bravan mainland, a surprisingly hospitable and lush isle, considering its oft-undesirable latitude. Although the Spanish government laid claim to the entire land of Costa Bravo, it was often largely in the control of various clans of pirates and sea-faring mercenaries, due to the fact that Spain did not have the resources to prevent such happenings, and the convenient accessibility to Costa Bravo from the sea made it an ideal place for pirates to settle down in. Modern History1900 CE-1950 CEThe turn of the twentieth century brought about Costa Bravo's perpetual, and persistent, arms race with the world's other superpowers. It was a key player in World War I, the outcome of which was greatly, yet arguably, influenced by Costa Bravo's immense Aeroforces. Costa Bravo, of the Allied Powers, had thousands upon thousands of fighter planes at its disposal, due to the magnitude of it's manufacturing sector. The country was also renowned for its technological advances on the warfront, famously constructing the virtually impregnable CBT Mark III, a tank similar in appearance to the British Mark V series. Costa Bravo was also involved in a variety of heavy naval engagements throughout the Mediterranean. World War II was another principal venture for Costa Bravo. An integral participant of the Allies, yet again, Costa Bravo was prime real estate throughout the war. Had Hitler and his forces captured Costa Bravo at any time in the war, a conquest in Northern Africa would have been assured. Costa Bravo, for the Axis, would have been a tactically gigantic conduit into Africa. However, due to, again, Costa Bravo's industrial might and innumerable infantry forces, Costa Bravo warded off the handful of invasion forces the Axis sent its way. Costa Bravo participated in numerous key engagements through the war, including D-Day and Stalingrad, among others. As in the previous War, Costa Bravo's industrial might precipitated victory after victory on the battlefield. <div" class="plainlinksneverexpand"> </div>
 Costa Bravo ruled the skies throughout the two World Wars. Due to its prime location in the central Mediterranean Sea, Costa Bravo was invaded and occupied by Mussolini's forces in September of 1944. Mussolini's forces pounded the northern coastline for three days, until Costa Bravo's primary line of defense collapsed and the Axis finally broke through on September 16, 1944. This Axis victory was one of the most monumental losses Costa Bravo experienced upon the battlefield in the twentieth century, and was later named "C-Day," a play-on-words for the famous D-Day engagement at Normandy. From there, the Axis formed a brief conduit into Africa, and, as such, Costa Bravo became even hotter property for either side of the war. Months after the occupational force drew into Costa Bravo, in January of 1945, Stalin's forces invaded Costa Bravo and retook it, imposing order and, since the government had been all but destroyed by Mussolini, the Soviets took complete control of the country. Although they re-instituted the Costa Bravan government in 1947, the USSR considered Costa Bravo a colony of their own, and kept an ever-watchful eye trained on the nation. Their presence became so pervasive that two-thirds of the populace claimed Russian to be their primary mode of communication, and Cyrillic eventually became the standard writing form. Over the years, the cultural and social presence has diminished, but still 1/3 of Costa Bravo's citizens consider Russian their first language, and signs are often written in Cyrillic, due to the simplistic (and consequently cheap) style of lettering. 1975 CE- presentFor the past quarter-century, Costa Bravo has found itself involved in a variety of wars. Foremost, in 1975, the Sondonesian War, a highly controversial escapade in which Costa Bravo's military aided in the deposition of the opressive, dictatorial, corrupt government of Sondonesia. The deposition was a failure. Consequently, the Sondonesian War is often compared to the Vietnam War, in which the United States of America was involved. In 1982, only two years after the end of the disastrous Sondonesian War came to a close, Costa Bravo was again involved in a war, this time with Bordura, a Slavic nation. The ordeal, titled the Bordura-Bravo Incident was spawned from Bordura's invasion, occupation, and attempted annexation of Syldavo, another, smaller, Slavic nation and neighbor to Bordura. The Soviet Union and United States were also involved in the war, and, conseuqently, Bordura was defeated and drew back from Syldavo. For the past twenty years, Bordura has gradually infiltrated the Syldavan government. As of February, 2005, Syldavo was declared a "protectorate" of Bordura, much to the dismay of the parties involved in the Bordura-Bravo Incident. <div" class="plainlinksneverexpand"> </div>
 The Sondonesian War was a highly contested conflict that resulted in the displacements and deaths of thousands of Sondonesian citizens. In 2003, Costa Bravo became involved in a full-fledged war with Dakkland, an opressive Eurasian regime that sought to acquire a foothold in the Mediterranean, via Costa Bravo. This conflict was titled the Eugenics War, due to the fact that it was the first major skirmish in which bioengineering was used prominently on a battlefield. Dakkland's navy swept out into the Mediterranean, seizing the northeastern coast of Costa Bravo. From there they moved inland, sweeping a broad sickle-shaped arc into the heart of Costa Bravo. The most famous battles were fought at the Janeiro Canal, where Costa Bravo's forces managed to hold back the invading forces for a solid twenty-eight days, and at Tortuga, which had been viciously and mercilessly shelled by Dakkland throughout the war. The latter battle, the Battle for Tortuga, was the conclusory one, in which Dakkland was decimated, and Costa Bravo was able to form a salient through the warfront, which made it possible for them to counterattackk and drive Dakkland's army into the sea. In June of 2006, the Bordura conflict rose anew. According to a speech Regent Rudabaugh delivered, this was the war in which "all the horrors, all the righteous battles and liberations we have perpetrated in the last half-century, have now come back to bite us in the ass". The Taschist Axis, an alliance of dictatorial and opressive regimes previously engaged in wars precipitated by Costa Bravo, invaded the Isla de Muerte on June 6, 2006. The Axis, consisting of Bordura, Syldavo, Khamed, Sondonesia, Dakkland, and Russia, sought to conquer Costa Bravo, and demolish the government in favor of their own. As a result of the new threat, an alliance between benevolent, Taschist-opposed nations was formed. This alliance, called, simply, The Alliance, consisted of Costa Bravo, Bothnia, and Puerta Rica. Cities of Costa Bravo The cities of Costa Bravo are, with notable exceptions, derived from the Spanish language -- São Vicente, Tortuga, Santa Maria, et al. These are remnants of the early eras of Costa Bravo's existance, in the early-to-mid 16th century, when Spanish was predominately spoken on the mainland. Rura Penthe -- the city-prison on an Isla de Muerte -- is the only large (100,000+ inhabitants) city to bear a name not derived from Spanish. Instead, it draws its name from the infamously inhospitable prison in Siberia. List of Costa Bravan cities (500,000+ inhabitants):
Flags of Costa Bravo<div" class="plainlinksneverexpand"> </div>
 Flag 1505-1652 The very first flag of the newly-independent Armed Republic of Costa Bravo, this flag is indicative of Costa Bravo's piratic roots and spawns a long line of similar, constantly modernized, Costa Bravan flags. It is referred to as the Jolly Norbert, after the first Regent of Costa Bravo, Norbert Arkham, formerly captain of the pirate ship Barbosa.
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 Flag 1652-1781 The second flag of the Armed Republic of Costa Bravo. It was adopted after a significant coup d'etat in 1652, known as the Kilkenny Deposition. The victorious leaders of the Deposition changed the flag to illustrate the change in government. Consequently, the flag was named the Jolly Kilkenny.
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 Flag 1781-1864 Unlike the previous change in flags, this flag was altered simply because the general populace believed that it was "time for a change." This flag was entitled the Jolly Roger, derived from the name of the Regent in office at the time of the flag alteration, the benevolent Roger Monet.
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 Flag 1864-1919 This alteration came about when the citizens of Costa Bravo grew tired of bullies teasing them about their flag's skull and crossbones having only one eye. Now, the flag featured a more appealing, streamlined, two-eyed skull and crossbones. It was dubbed the Jolly Albert for the office-holding Regent in 1864, the date the flag first premiered.
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 Flag 1919-1985 This flag was created in 1919, after the tragic Tortuga Incident, an event in which sudden tectonic shifting caused Tortuga Island to become engulfed by a tidal wave of gigantic proportions. Various other cities at the edges of Barbosa Bay were also afflicted by the tectonic shifts, though not as grievously as Tortuga. Almost 100,000 people died in the incident. This flag, the Jolly Tortuga was created to commemorate the victims of the incident, and was named thusly so.
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 Flag 1985- This flag, a dramatic departure from previous renditions, is referred to as the Jolly Jacques, after Jacques Pierot, Regent from 1968-1998. This flag marked the departure from a bipartisan Republican government to a polypartisan government with Monarchic themes. In 1985, Regent Pierot dissolved the Congress Assembly of Costa Bravo and formed a Parliamentary nonpartisan system, simultaneously allotting an increased amount of executive power to the Regent's position. He also completely removed the Judicial Branch from the government. This dramatic change in government is known as the Pierot-Motisse Reformations.
Geography and ClimateContrary to the climates seen in areas surrounding Costa Bravo, the temperature there is perpetually mild (15º to 20ºC), and often rainy. This is due to the inexplicably high-pressure coastal winds that sweep across the The mainland consists largely of rocky, mountanous regions, Temperate Coniferous Forests and broad, sweeping grasslands, generally intermittently sparsed within each other. For the most part, the mountainous regions are confined to the northwestern and southwestern regions of Costa Bravo, whereas the forests and grasslands consist of the rest of the country. The Isla de Muerte, south of the mainland, is similarly odd in climactic terms. Again, the coastal conditions influence it so that the Isla de Muerte is drastically different from its environs -- dark, wet, and rocky. Stray a few miles southwards, and you would surprisingly encounter a completely and astoundingly different biome from the one you just emerged from -- savannahs, deserts, etcetera. CultureAlthough generally renowned for its progressive government entities, manufacturing, and military prowess, Costa Bravo is also enriched with a somewhat homogenous, intrinsically complex culture. The numerous liberal arts colleges throughout the country provide prospective artists, authors, and the like with a rich topsoil for growth, so that they might contribute to society at a later date. Costa Bravan literature is well-known for its "zany, pedantic tones," and its art well-known for caricature. Such popular books as Knife Dreams by Halibet Cloister and Oosesl? by Captain Horatio are printed in dozens of languages, and lauded by critics everywhere. Costa Bravo is also birthplace to the famous comic Misunderstanding Between Friends, by Durka Durka Jones, the poem Glorbling Bindlewurdles Florting Bashedly by Basil Cousteau, and the classical masterpiece Flatulence in D minor by Brosef Arseton, among other things. <div" class="plainlinksneverexpand"> </div>
 Esteemed author Halibet Cloister. LiteratureThroughout the ages, the Costa Bravo government has seen it fit to endorse those who seek to contribute to artistic fields (authors, artists, philosophers, poets, etcetera) with slight monetary and societal incentives. As such, an innumerable amount of authors borne from Costa Bravo's bowels overwhelms the literary community. Classical Costa Bravo authors and playwrights from days of yore include Mildred Myrtle, of Romp in Thy Thicket Yonder fame, Alabaster DeSoto's classical play Hélas, j'ai Mangé mes Pieds, and Poinard Naissäc, who authored the critically acclaimed Ways Two and Ten to Throttle Thine Enemies in an Unfair Duel. Perhaps the most famous of modern Costa Bravo literature is Halibet Cloister's Knife Dreams, a prime example of Costa Bravo's writing style. The book, fiction, revolves around two characters, Urquhart Portsmouth and Farquhart Starboardsmoth, dopplegangers. The former lives in an unnamed modern city in Western Europe, and the latter lives in a "Bizarro World" dissimilar in all ways to Earth. They are each cast into the other's world, and consequently each try to find a way back to their respective homes. An excerpt from the first chapter may be seen here:
As one can see, Costa Bravo literature is exceedingly pedantic and wordy, a defining characteristic of the country's art. While many critics acclaim works such as Knife Dreams as engaging and original, a handful of persons criticize Knife Dreams, and similar works, for semantically annoying and distancing the literature from the reader. While it is notable that not all Costa Bravan artists employ this style of writing, it is the most prevalent and characterstic of the nation. Poetry<div" class="plainlinksneverexpand"> </div>
 What an asshole. Costa Bravo has a long-standing tradition of hating poetry. Many Costa Bravans claim that poetry is simplistic and common, and, famously quoted, that "the art of separating a sentence into seperate lines and ryhming it is not, in itself, intrinsically useful nor skillful, nor does it require a higher mental capacity, as other arts do" (as stated by Regent Ulbert Harrivév in 1959). Consequently, poets are far and few between, and generally ridiculed in the nation's higher echelons and societal circles. The few positively-received poets in modern history are those who practice nonsense verse, as to mock other poetry; Glorbling Bindlewurdles Florting Bashedly by Basil Cousteau is one of the most famous of such pieces. Said poem is a one-hundred page "epic" poem, in lieu to (and poking fun at) the work of Homer, the most hated man in Costa Bravo. An excerpt:
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