Difference between revisions of "Galdago"

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Revision as of 01:54, 15 December 2004

Galdago

Flag of Galdago
Motto: "Look like the flower, but be the serpent under it."
Map
Region	Aperin
Capital	Coronada
Official Language(s)	Celdonian (Primary), Galdagan (Secondary)
Leader	Prime Minister Lance Thibodeaux
Population	312,350,781
Currency	Thennat (ATN)

Introduction

Background

The Commonwealth of Galdago is a federal socialist democracy located in the southwestern portion of the greater landmass of the Aperin continent. During its history, the Commonwealth has consisted as a number of different entities throughout that time, ranging from confederated nomadic and then agrarian tribes to a monarchy and finally a federal commonwealth. Galdago is a massive, socially progressive nation, notable for its punitive income tax rates. Its compassionate, intelligent population of over three hundred million enjoy extensive civil rights and enjoy a level social equality free of the usual accompanying government corruption. It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of education, social equality, and defense. Private enterprise is illegal, but for those in the know there is a slick and highly efficient black market in Book Publishing. Crime—especially youth-related—is moderate. Galdago's national animal is the seraph serpent, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the Aperin thennat.

Little is known about the nomadic tribes and agrarian collectives of early Galdagan society. The first recorded monarchy came to power in AD 538 when Prince Alvnorson Mentusií del Dreszemier subjugated a number of the tribes within present-day southern Galdago and the southern coastlands below it under his empire. He began construction of roads to facilitate heavy internal trade and resource distribution and established the first solid sea-bound trade routes heavily utilized by the early Kluuvar Belki [Black Band] Republic, as well as generating trade links east of the present-day Bleumont Mountain Range.

The throne was passed down through eight generations of the Dreszemier family until King Illiano Marquez del Dreszemier III began an expansionist drive northeastward in AD 742, attacking through the Bleumont Range. The ambush of the king’s army at Blood Gulch Pass, just south of Dreszemier Peak, saw the end of the reign of the Kluuvar Belki dynasty. The King and his son Prince Vasco Marquez del Dreszemier were slaughtered by the eastern Panoptican tribes, as well as two full regiments of soldiers. The remainder of the King’s forces fled back home in terror and the country devolved into in-fighting.

Within two years, however, the old republic began reformation. The southern portion of the country was reconstituted under a new monarch, the then Baron Bartok Sevorin del Marconiux, while the northern territories were held together by Chancellor Velouri Barbos del Galdago. He employed his personal army as well as the remnants of the Kluuvar Belki’s legions to serve as constables throughout the region, and after assuring civil stability, began to normalize relations with the eastern territories Marquez III had set his eyes upon, as well as drawing up non-aggression and free trade agreements with the southern portion of the former Kluuvar Belki Republic. The new empire struggled to regain its footing, but within two generations, the empire of Galdago began to stabilize and form a lasting identity. It was at this point that systems of feudalism began to emerge which wouldn’t be significantly altered until the late 1600s.

The last native ruling family to emerge over the Greater Galdagan Empire was the Marapozan bloodline. During the nineteenth century, the Maripozas bled the country dry of resources in their quest to extend Galdago's empire overseas in the face of the daunting challenge of the Empire Aperin to the northeast. Colonial efforts were initially met with stiff resistance from the Celdonian Empire, but eventually, the Galdagan armed forces managed to secure holdings in modern-day Hell Bovines. The colonial government quickly began exporting lumber to help ease the resources being expended to clear-cut Galdago’s northeastern tropical forests and began marketing the meat of the native sentient bovid species to the world as a form of beef delicacy.

However, the Greater Galdagan Empire’s hold on its overseas colonies was to last only a few decades. As the Empire Aperin began its war of western aggression, the Maripozas knew that Galdago would soon fall under the eyes of the Aperins, and the colonial policing force was bit by bit withdrawn from Hell Bovines. When the invasion of the northern republic of Litorandia began, the Maripozas withdrew the largest portion of its police forces to hold off the impending assault against its northern borders. When war broke out with the Empire Aperin, the defeat of the Greater Galdagan Empire was sure to be swift and methodical. After four years, an ensuing stalemate occurred where the Empire Aperin could not pass through the eastern tropical rain forests in order to launch an effective flanking attack against fortified Galdagan lines on the country’s western coastlands, and a ceasefire agreement was drawn up in the Galdagan city of Paxton which ceded the northern portion of Galdago above the 23rd parallel to the Empire Aperin.

By this time, the resource drain on the country had caused the lower classes to become so starved, and the ranks of the Galdagan armed forces so underpaid, that a revolt arose which would attempt to usher the Maripozas out of power in an event known as the Starving Revolution. The Maripozas withdrew much of the last remaining armed contingent from Hell Bovines to attempt to quell the civil unrest, but to no avail. It was at this point that the now well-organized Bovine Liberation Squad, under the leadership of Commandant Mooo Blackhooves, initiated the final push that broke the Galdagan’s frail grip on the country.

In the mean time, an aristocratic family from Celdonia, the Crittendons, entered the country and gained the support of the Galdagan armed forces by helping to usher the Maripozas out of power with the use of their private army. The Crittendons would be the first—and last—foreign ruling family to ascend the Galdagan throne. The Crittendons brokered peace with the revolutionary forces in Hell Bovines and set to the task of rebuilding the country’s military might. They also negotiated an alliance with the empires of Guo Leng and Imperial Outside in order to find markets not cornered by the Coal Cartel for its southwestern coal deposits, as well as to gain insurance against the likes of the Empire Aperin and Celdonia in case of potential invasion.

When the Great Aperin War of 1912 ensued, the Galdagan Empire had not regained sufficient strength to maintain a significant push on its battlefronts, and the country folded early in the fighting after several protracted campaigns. Its alliances with Guo Leng and Imperial Outside proved to be largely fruitless, and the country was saddled with almost irreparable war debts. Things were so bleak that the prospects of any other ruling family on a Galdagan throne could not be tolerated; knowing this, the Crittendons fled their throne without question, leaving the country to govern itself.

Citizens began implementing an order of democratic self-rule that divided the country into seven regions and twenty-three state entities which would be responsible to a federal authority that had limited power. The seven regional authorities became responsible for rebuilding economic sectors in each of their zones, and a measure of confederated socialist and communist infrastructure arose from the ashes. These seven authorities eventually became the basis for the modern-day decentralized economic planning councils which chart the country’s progress. The mechanisms which arose from the collapse of the Galdagan monarchy have been noted for their resistance to change, and the country is administered in a fashion highly similar to the way it has been since the mid 1920s.

The country was refederated under the name of the Commonwealth of Galdago in 1934. It experienced a period of largely isolationist policies from that time until 1972 when it once again reemerged onto the world stage by engaging in vastly increased relations with the larger Aperin community of nations. The country's armed forces were rebuilt to significant proportions, but the isolationist policies of yesteryear still permeate defense policy today as these assets are generally used as strategic defense. In 2002, the Commonwealth accomplished what was arguably the final casting off of its isolationist remnants by entering the International Fair Trade Agreement, and subsequently the Coalition of Anti-Capitalist Economies; it remains an active member nation of both international organizations to this day.

The federal government consists of an executive, legislative, and judicial branch, with the legislature being responsible for base economic policy and civil statutes, the executive managing foreign affairs and investment, and the judicial branch maintaining the balance of federalism and rule of law. Decentralized administration includes seven regional economic planning councils which oversee local economic planning and collectively decide joint national economic policies, as well as twenty-three state governments which administer local social and civil functions such as health care, housing, utilities, and civil authority.

Geography

Political Map

Location

Aperin continent, located along the southwestern seaboard bordering Kerla to the east, the Narangath Ocean to the west, and the Alçaerin Ocean to the south

Geographic Coordinates

20 00 N, 35 00 W

Area

total: 1,037,300 sq km

water: 12,500 sq km

land: 1,024,800 sq km

Land Boundaries

total: 2,289km

border countries: northern borderlands 633km, Kerla 1,224km, eastern borderlands 254km, southern borderlands 178km

Coastline

2,656 km

Maritime Claims

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate

predominantly temperate; tropical in far south; sub-tropical humid in center; temperate in north

Terrain

low hills rolling down to broad coastal plains west of the eastern Bluemont Mountain Range and tropical forests

Elevation Extremes

lowest point: Murphy’s Pointe –10m

highest point: Dreszemier Peak 736m

Natural Resources

major deposits of natural gas and coal, varying minerals, most notably vast nickel deposits, several precious stones including large carbon and diamond deposits, and untapped timber

Land Use

arable land: 3.26%

permanent crops: 0.09%

other: 96.65%

Irrigated Land

4,280 sq km

Natural Hazards

violent geothermal eruptions and tremors off the southwestern tip of the country; navigational hazard posed by coral reefs off the northwest coast

Environmental Issues

limited inroads being made into the sensitive upper Bleumont rainforests to facilitate mining of uranium

People

Population

312,350,781

Age Structure

0-14 years: 18.8% (male 29,562,322; female 29,159,625)

15-64 years: 67.4% (male 103,191,348; female 107,333,078)

65 years and over: 13.8% (male 18,481,662; female 24,622,746)

Median Age

total: 39.3 years

male: 37.8 years

female: 40.3 years

Population Growth Rate

0.67%

Birth Rate

13.71 births/1,000 population

Death Rate

9.26 deaths/1,000 population

Net Migration Rate

2.27 migrants/1,000 population

Sex Ratio

at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female

total population: 0.94 male(s)/female

Infant Mortality Rate

total: 11.81 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 10.3 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 13.14 deaths/1,000 live births

Life Expectancy at Birth

total population: 69.94 years

male: 68.04 years

female: 71.73 years

Total Fertility Rate

1.87 children born/woman

Nationality

noun: Galdagan(s)

adjective: Galdagan

Ethnic Groups

Galdagan 82.3%, Celdonian 8.2%, Kerlan 5.8%, Other 3.7%

Religions

Roman Catholic 84%, Protestant 9%, Other 7%

Languages

Celdonian (official) 62%, Galdagan (official) 8%, bilingual (Celdonian and Galdagan) 30%

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 99.2%

male: 99.2%

female: 99.2%

Government

Country Name

conventional long form: The Commonwealth of Galdago

conventional short form: Galdago

former: The Greater Galdagan Empire

Government Type

federalist social commonwealth

Capital

Coronada

Administrative Divisions

23 states and 1 federal city*; Alçaera, Astralis, Bailey, Beckmond, Bleumont, Caliverde, Cora, Comaira, Coronada*, Courton, Downing, Galjour, Goddard, Landerich, Litheia, Marcelanus, Montevera, Murphy Island, New Athens, Newhaven, Peleus, Segallion, Sheryland, Vespus

Independence

29 July 1934 (from the Greater Galdgan Empire)

National Holiday

Commonwealth Day, 29 July (1934)

Articles of Federation

27 September 1935, effective 4 April 1937

Legal System

civil law system; judicial review of legislative and executive acts; has accepted full CJA jurisidction

Suffrage

18 years of age, universal

Executive Branch

chief of state: Prime Minister Lance S. Thibodeaux (since 15 April 1998); note - the Prime Minister is both the chief of state and head of the government

head of government: Prime Minister Lance S. Thibodeaux (since 15 April 1998); Ministerial Adjutant Caitlin E. Valdez (since 15 April 1998); Secretary of State Katherine M. Sanchez (since 21 April 2004)

cabinet: Cabinet or Gabinete appointed by the Prime Minister with a 2/5 approval of the Greater Assembly or Asamblea Mayor

elections: Top three executive positions of Prime Minister, Ministerial Adjutant, and Secretary of State are elected directly by the electorate every six years via plurality vote

election results: Lance S. Thibodeaux (Common Welfare Party) 39%, Raymond G. Alberada(Ecosanct Party) 33%, Consuela V. Martinez (Progressive Evolution Party) 18%, Georgia E. Maxwell (Collective Solidarity Party) 9%

Legislative Branch

unicameral congress consists of the Greater Assembly or Asamblea Mayor (138 seats; each half renewed every three years; six representatives are appointed by elected state officials to represent each state)

appointments: last made 1 January 2004 (next to be made 1 January 2007);

appointment results: seats by party - Common Welfare Party 58, Ecosanct Party 41, Progressive Evolution Party 16, Collective Solidarity Party 15, Capital Value Reform Party 5, Galdagan Ascendancy Party 3

Judicial Branch

Superior Court (highest domestic court with seven directly-elected liftime justices); Regional Courts of Appeal; State Courts; Municipal Courts

Political Parties and Leaders

Common Welfare Party [Marcos A. Monelli]; Ecosanct Party [Maria L. Alesi]; Progressive Evolution Party [Jesse T. Sanders]; Collective Solidarity Party [Nicolai S. Petrova]; Capital Value Reform Party [Miriam G. Farnsworth]; Galdagan Ascendancy Party [Frederico N. Suarez]

International Organization Participation

ACEPB Central Bank, CACE, GUSTO, IFTA, UN, UNCIAT, UNSC

Flag Description

white 23-rayed sun to the upper hoist-side over three white bands which cut the flag diagonally and converge in the lower hoist-side corner on an indigo background

Economy

GDP

Ŧ75,717 billion ATN

GDP Real Growth Rate

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GDP Per Capita

Ŧ21,916 ATN

GDP Composition by Sector

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Investment (Gross fixed)

18.61% of GDP

Population Below Poverty Line

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Unemployment Rate

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Industries

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Industrial Production Growth Rate

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Electricity Production by Source

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Electricity Exports

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Oil Production

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Oil Consumption

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Proved Oil Reserves

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Natural Gas Production

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Agriculture Products

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Exports

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Export Partners

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Imports

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Import Commodities

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External Debt

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Currency

Aperin Thennat (ATN)

Currency Code

ATN

Fiscal Year

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Communications

Transportation

Military

Transnational Issues