San Marcos

San Marcos, officially the Royal Crown Colony of San Marcos, is a crown colony of the United Kingdom located on the eastern seaboard of the continent of Bueno Tierra. Formerly an independent military dictatorship, the country was invaded by British Londinium in late 2006, then replaced by the United Kingdom, which has since established sovereignty over the territory.

History

Death of a Dictator

From 1994 until 2006, the nation of San Marcos was an independent country, ruled by a military junta, headed by General Julius Escobar. Escobar came to power in a 1994 civil war that engulfed the nations of San Marcos, Los Verdes, and Quito. The general became known internationally for refusing to allow elections to create a democratic government.

In late 2006, however, General Escobar, while returning from the city of Santos, was killed when his helicopter was shot down near the city of Vicotoria by what reports indicated to be a man-portable surface-to-air missiles. He was succeeded in power by General Marco Valdez, who immediately declared the attack an act of war by the nation of Guadelupe, with whom San Marcos had frequently warred in the previous decade.

British Londinian Invasion

At the end of 2006, amidst reports of rampant violence and rioting throughout San Marcos, largely viewed to be a nation rapidly destabilising into chaos, President Swanner of British Londinium announced the intervention of the Britannic Commonwealth "to ensure order prevails in the nation."

Several days later, a large Londinian naval force landed troops and equipment just north of the city of Salvador. Within hours, Londinian forces began using ground and naval artillery, including SLBMs, to effectively level the major port city. Estimates by forces then on the ground place the total forces landed by British Londinium in the realm of 30,000 troops. After several days of largely indiscriminate bombardment (exceptions being pinpoint precision strikes against leadership targets in the capital Victoria), these forces invaded the city of Salvador largely unopposed.

After seizing control of Salvador, reports began to emerge from local sources that Londinian forces had begun mass killings of the civilian population. What little ground forces pre-positioned in the city by the junta, analysts estimate no more than a division of poorly equipped infantry, began to attempt an active resistance. However, Londinian air superiority and continuing indiscriminate naval bombardment all but eliminated the native resistance. With the enemy eliminated, British Londinian forces began to reinforce their positions and prepare static ground and air defences.

Harcourt Affair

Shortly before the death of General Escobar, Oceanian Aerospace had invested several billion pounds into the local economy of Salvador by starting construction on facilities for the manufacture of components for civilian aircraft and eventually aircraft themselves. While OAe was not alone in Oceanian investment, it became the most important after the seizure of William Harcourt, a mid-level manager overseeing the transfer of existing aviation facilities acquired in the purchase of Velazquez Aviation.

Members of the People's Unification Brigade, on 28 December 2006, invaded Harcourt's room at a local hotel and took him hostage. Later press statements made by the PUB claimed the seizure as retaliation for what they stated as economic imperialism and non-representative government, claimed by the group to be directly related.

In the United Kingdom, public opinion quickly turned against the government of San Marcos for its apparent inability to safeguard Oceanian lives while simultaneously hardening against British Londinian actions, which many across the UK, and the government, saw as endangering Oceanian interests in the fragile state.

The following day, the Oceanian government issued an ultimatum to President Swanner demanding the complete and unconditional withdrawl of Londinian forces from Salvador on the threat of military action. And while details remain officially classified, sources inside the Oceanian Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence, and the Admiralty indicate at or about this time clandestine offers of support were made by the Libertarian Empire of Cravan to assist in any military operation against British Londinium.

Oceanian Invasion

Operation Torchlight

While much of the details remain classified, what information is publicly available indicates that from the moment the ultimatum was issued, the United Kingdom was already moving forces into position for a strike against Londinian military targets in and around Bueno Tierra. A small naval force sailed in the overnight hours from Philadelphia along with, reportedly, a Royal Marine contingent while numerous aircraft were reported to be seen taking off under similar cover of darkness from RAF Whiteland, a known centre for UK strategic aviation forces, including stealth bombers.

Communications received by the Foreign Office from British Londinium originally indicated the ultimatum had been refused; however, shortly thereafter, the Foreign Office received notices that Londinian forces were to begin pulling out of Salvador. Estimates claim that between two and five hundred thousand people had already been killed either by indiscriminate bombardment of the coordinated killings by ground forces.

On the 30th, the invasion of British Londinium proper in a conflict unrelated to the imminent war between British Londinium and the United Kingdom in Bueno Tierra prompted an immediate withdrawl of all Londinian forces from Bueno Tierra. Consequently, Operation Torchlight, designed to force Londinian forces from Salvador and San Marcos were considered a success without a shot being fired.

Consolidation

With the leadership of San Marcos all but eradicated and much of the conscript army demoralised by reports from Salvador, the invasion force landed at airfields in and around Salvador by the United Kingdom faced relatively light opposition on its move first northwards towards the cities of Recife and Natal, and eventually westwards towards Uberlandia. While exact figures are unknown for the remnants of the San Marcos army, casualty estimates range from 12-20 thousand individuals--mostly from Londinian operations in and around Salvador. Oceanian casualties stood at 734, mostly in the drive nothwards towards Recife and Natal, after the conclusion of the latter the remaining government forces officially surrendered.

Oceanian Sovereignty

After several days of devastating combat, especially in the economically-dominant south of the country, San Marcos had become a ruined country with no substantial infrastructure and no substantial prospects. Consequently, the nation (and indeed the rest of the similarly destroyed continent) slipped out of global focus and has since been the recipient of significant aid distributed by the Colonial Office.

Economy

Before the colonial invasions, the country officially proclaimed a GDP per capita of $8,300, far below that of the United Kingdom's. And with a population of just over 75 million, much of the citizenry remain impoverished and destitute, a substantial number without access to reliable food, water, and/or electricity. Key components of the national infrastructure, including the ports of Salvador and Victoria, were destroyed (Recife in the north suffered a lighter, but still substantial devestation) and are still under repair and renovation.

Much of the surviving economic activity is accounted for by primary sector activities, such as the mining/extracting of the vast iron ore, bauxite, nickel, uranium, and petroleum reserves in the country. The few non-mineral exports include food stuffs, raw and unprocessed, that leave from under-developed ports along the northern coast.

While the UK continues to invest heavily in rebuilding the infrastructure of the colony, it is expected that it will take several years to witness a stable, developing economy given the enormous challenges faced by Georgetown especially given the damage from the war and endemic corruption and macro-economic efficiencies instituted by the government of General Escobar.

Politics

As of 2007, the United Kingdom officially intends for eventual extension of home rule to the colony. However, when pressed for details, the Colonial Office has given only vague (and often contradictory) answers leading many to believe that while a far softer UK replaced British Londinium's hard rule of law, it is a rule of law not likely to vacate San Marcos in the immediate future.