Zacaco Republic
Zacaco Republic 𐐓𐑊𐐰𐐿𐐰𐐻𐑊𐐰𐐻𐐬𐐿𐐰𐐷𐐬𐐻𐑊 𐐞𐐰𐐿𐐰𐐿𐐬 Tlacatlatocayotl Zacaco | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Motto: Paradise of Mountains, Maize and Sea | |
| Anthem: Infinite Milpa | |
| Capital and | Tequitinitlan |
| Official languages | Nahuatl Purépecha |
| Recognised national languages | Quechua |
| Ethnic groups (2022) | Nahuas Purépecha Aymara Kayan |
| Demonym(s) | Zacatecs |
| Government | Constituent Republic |
• Techiuhqui | Ahuizotl Namakal |
| Legislature | Zacaco Nenonotzaloyan |
| Constituent of Zacapican | |
| Population | |
• 2022 census | 21,060,172 |
The Zacaco Republic (Nahuatl: 𐐓𐑊𐐰𐐿𐐰𐐻𐑊𐐰𐐻𐐬𐐿𐐰𐐷𐐬𐐻𐑊 𐐞𐐰𐐿𐐰𐐿𐐬, Tlacatlatocayotl Zacaco) is one of the nine constituent republics of the United Zacapine Republics. It is located in the west of the country, defined by a long length of coastline along the western seaboard and the vast Zacaco basin in its interior. Zacaco is the largest of the Zacapine republics by population, home to nearly 30% of the Zacapine population or roughly 21 million inhabitants. The second and fourth largest cities in the country, Tequitinitlan and Tecolotlan, are located in the Zacaco Republic, with Tequitinitlan serving as its capital city. The national capital, Quitzapatzaro, was formerly included in what was considered Zacaco but would be separated into an autonomous federal district following the Revolution which now bisects the Zacaco coastline. Zacaco directly borders Cuauhtlaco to the northwest, Ayomazaco to the northeast, Xochicuauhuico to the east and Tlaximallico to the south, as well as the Autonomous Federal District of Quitzapatzaro within its western coast and the southern Makrian ocean beyond.
The plains within the central basin of the Republic's territory give the region and the state itself its name Zacaco, meaning a land of grass. This flat, elongated central valley within the territory of the modern Zacaco Republic, known as the Zacaco Valley, is highly fertile with good soil quality and a ready supply of water from the numerous rivers which enter the basin from the surrounding mountains and highlands. The Zacaco Valley has always been the breadbasket of the entire region, being by far the most productive agricultural region in Zacapican. Thanks to a high density of population and numerous major cities located within the valley, this region has also become one of the prime industrial zones of the Zacapine economy for a wide variety of manufacturing and processing. Zacaco has the largest economy and highest GDP of all the Zacapine republics, leaving the Aztaco Republic in as the second largest Zacapine economy although it exceeds Zacaco in GDP per capita.
As the home of a large portion of the entire Zacapine population, the Zacaco republic bears a large proportion of the ethnic diversity of the country. In addition to the ethnic Nahuas found across all of Zacapican, coastal Zacaco is the homeland of the Purépecha and plays host to more than 60% of all ethnic Purépecha Zacapinos. Many Caxcan, Xi'oi , Zacateco and other indigenous groups from other regions of Zacapican have also come to call the Zacaco Republic home, emigrating during the region's industrialization in search of new opportunities. Likewise, immigration from outside Zacapican has brought Kayan ethnic groups into the region primarily consisting of ethnic Kayan and Aymara minority peoples from central and southern Kayahallpa. With its mixture of agricultural and industrial economic activities, sparsely populated mountainous interior, thriving maritime connections and great ethnic and cultural diversity, the Zacaco Republic is a microcosm of Zacapican.
History
As a fertile and well irrigated plain, the desirable Zacaco valley has been a highly contested territory for much of its history dating back into prehistory. Archeological evidence suggests human habitation in the region exceeds an age of 10,000 years. The first Zacaco peoples utilized bone implements for hunting and working, and were likely hunter-gatherers. However, a transition to agriculture is noted beginning 5,000 years ago accompanied by the advent of obsidian tools and weapons being found. The Zacaco valley is the most likely site of the domestication of the Yuca tuber, which was the basis of early agriculture in the region before the introduction of maize some 2,500 years ago. The lack of much available stone in the valley left the city states of the early Zacaco to build primarily with wood and earth, which has left little in the way of surviving remains to asses the size or complexity of these early cities.
The indigenous people of the valley were the ancestors of the modern day Cochimí and Guaycura ethnic groups today found in southern Zacapican and no longer inhabiting the Zacaco Republic in significant numbers. The displacement of these cultures is attributed to the Nahua invasions 2,500 to 2,000 years ago, which brought metallurgy and a suite of new agricultural techniques to the valley. The Nahua tribes out-competed the locals in agriculture, urbanism and warfare and eventually displaced them entirely, establishing city-state kingdoms of their own in the valley as they had elsewhere across northern and central Zacapican. A third culture, the Pericu, was dispersed and its members eventually merged with its sister cultures or assimilated into the Nahua kingdoms of the valley, leaving the Pericu an extinct culture in the modern day.
Colonial Era
The arrival of the seafaring Purépecha to the coasts of Zacaco revolutionized live in western Zacapican and the Zacaco region in particular. The vessels are remembered in Nahuatl chronicles as acaltepetl or "city-ships", with the rare depictions surviving today showing massive wooden constructions laden with dwellings and complex structures on their decks, propelled by large square sails. These vessels would dissapear after the Purépecha began to settle the natural harbors of the coast at sites including modern day Quitzapatzaro. The result of the colonization would be a string of Purépecha settlements along the length of the Zacaco coastline, connected to one another by the maritime lanes which had brought them to the region. The Purépecha prospered as traders, going as far afield as the western Mutul in the west and modern day Sante Reze in the east to sell their wares, most of which were aquired through commerce with the kingdoms of the valley. The income generated through these activities allowed the coastal city states to prosper and grow in population, gradually becoming powers unto themselves. The Purépecha availed themselves of advanced metallurgical techniques such as the creation of Cheran steel and other advances in technology, began to dominate and subjugate the surrounding regions into zones of assimilation in which the locals would be inducted into the Purépecha way of life, as well as zones of protection which consisted of client kingdoms and buffer states protecting the coastal metropole from trespass and raiding by the mountain and hill people living on the fringes of the Zacaco valley.
Geography
The expansive territory of the Zacaco Republic, one of the largest land areas of any Zacapine constituent, encompasses a diverse set of biomes and terrains. Zacaco is bound to the east by the imposing Mixtepemec mountains, a volcanic range bisecting Zacapican from north to south. These high mountains and surrounding highlands and foothills break the landscape into narrow valleys suitable for agriculture and habitation against steep slopes which become glaciated and barren above a certain altitude. Some of the peaks in the Mixtepemec rise to 7,000 meters above sea level, while the average height of the region is between 4,000 and 5,000 meters above sea level. By contrast, the Zacaco valley consist of a huge elongated plain that is exceedingly flat and rises to no more than 1000 meters above sea level at the highest, averaging around 400 meters. The valley recieves ample rainfall and has a temperate, humid climate. A total of 16 significant rivers fed by the Mixtepemec melt-water as well as the seasonal rains flow through the Zacaco valley and carry with them sediments and volcanic ash which fertilizes the land and gives the soil a distinctive black color. The Oztotl, a much smaller and older mountain range hems in the Zacaco valley from the west, and provides a barrier of hills seperating the interior from the coastal plains. The Zacaco Republic largely consists of a single massive watershed which drains into the Neliztayo River and Quitzapatzaro bay then the Makrian ocean beyond.
Economy
Agriculture
The bulk of the agricultural activity commonly associated with Zacapican is itself localized to the Zacaco valley with its favorable conditions and exceptionally fertile soil. The components of the milpa (maize, squash and beans) known by some as the three sisters, are the staples of this agricultural activity. Maize in particular is by far the most common crop in the valley, appearing in the Republic's motto and its anthem as the symbol of the valley's fields. This has brought about the Zacapine saying "without maize there is no country" (𐐰𐐻𐐰𐑅𐐨𐑌𐐻𐑊𐐨 𐐰𐐻𐐰𐐻𐑊𐐰𐑊𐑊𐐨, atacintli atatlalli) underlining the value and importance of the crop to the survival of the people and the preservation of the culture built around its cultivation from which the Republic and Zacapican itself derives its name. Alongside the milpa there is cultivation of cassava, the indigenous practice of the valley, as well as tomato and chili. Uncommon in the valley but typical of the rugged hills and passes of the Oztotl, orchards of Mesquite, fruiting trees and shrubs form the basis for the local agricultural calpolleh. The Oztotl and Mixtepemec slopes also provide prime grazing ground for cattle and sheep, producing beef, mutton, leather and wool in addition to milk and the dairy products produced therefrom. All of these agricultural activities and the extremely high yields provided by the mixture of fertilizer with the natural soils produces a very large amount of output of vegetables, fruits and cereal grains for the demands of the the Republic and the wider nation. 75% of all food consumption in Zacapican involves the exports of the Zacaco Republic's agricultural sector. The tremendous output of the fields has also fostered a major industry in the cities of the valley for food processing, producing and packaging of tlaxcalli, maize bread and maize flower, canned beans, chilis, tomatoes and squash. The advent of refrigeration has also allowed for the bulk transportation of fresh vegetables and meat products across the country and even the wider global market.
Manufacturing
The urban factory districts of the Zacaco Republic's cities are one of the prime sources of manufacturing and production in the country. The quintessential industry of the Zacaco is steel production, which forms the basis of many of the manufacturing sectors in Zacapican in general and the Zacaco Republic in particular. Steel from Zacaco steel mills is used in the second and third industries of the Zacaco, shipbuilding and the aerospace industry. Significant aircraft manufacturing associations, Aztatl Association and Citlamatapalli Aviation, are both headquartered in the Zacaco Republic and take advantage of the ample supply of steel, aluminum, titanium, and manufactured components and metal products available within short distances of their own factories, cutting down on logistical costs. The military manufacturing conglomerate Cuauhquetztia is also active in the Zacaco Republic for similar reasons, with many of the supply chains for various military vehicles and weapons systems being based in Tequitinitlan, Tecolotlan, Acalquixoayan and other Zacaco cities.