United Valleys
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The Matriarchy of These United Valleys | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Motto: "Mother Nature and Labor" | |
| Anthem: "The Harder They Come" | |
 Map of United Valleys | |
| Capital | Crabapple Cove |
| Largest city | New Meddybemps |
| Official languages | Downwind Creole |
| Religion | State Atheism, officially "Natural Humanism" |
| Demonym(s) | Valleysian, Downwinder |
| Government | Devolved Socialist Partitarian Democracy |
• The Matriarch of These United Valleys | Jeanne Freeman (disputed) |
• General Secretary of the Revolutionary Congress of Industrial Unions | Rina Oatfield |
• Fore of the Central Committee of the Red Triangle Party | Valerie Wellwater |
• Supreme Attorney of the Red Triangle Party | Elise Owlworth |
• General Executive Council Chairs of the Red Triangle Party (Gang of Six) | Reggie Bayside, Zelda Claret, Edith Greenriver, Pella Seres, Vera Steampot, Valerie Wellwater |
| Establishment | |
• Chiefdom of Seacrest | 791 |
• Tribal Confederation of the Great Wave | 1649 |
• United Cities of the Reef | 1866 |
• United Free States of Plateria | 1932 |
• Free State of Enterprise Bay | 1976 |
• Free State of Enterprise Bay and Seacrest Valley | 1989 |
• Free Lands Economic Union | 2009 |
• Matriarchy of These United Valleys | 2026 |
| Population | |
• Census | 71,000,000 (estimated) |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | ∆ 4.87 trillion |
• Per capita | ∆ 66,000 (estimated) |
| HDI (2026) | 0.926 very high |
| Date format | yyyy/mm/dd |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +207 |
| Internet TLD | .muv |
United Valleys, officially the Matriarchy of These United Valleys, is a socialist partitarian democracy located near the center of the Free Lands in Southeast Narushia, close to the Southern Circle. United Valleys covers large, ill-defined territory in the Free Lands area, and the privacy-concerned government has not yet released population statistics, but independent organizations estimate that there are about 71 million Valleysian citizens. The government is currently operated by a complex and devolved system of municipal councils, regional labor union offices, a centralized resource management apparatus, and an explicitly communist military. The country is notable for its implementation of "Street Officers," elected social workers who are expected to assist residents and visitors with issues, often mundane, such as providing directions to tourists, or assisting in filing a form. The officers are considered critical to the functioning of Valleysian society, and serve a secondary role as a reserve labor force. Notably, independent vehicular travel over land is extremely rare outside of bicycle use, which is abnormally high in United Valleys, given that personal automobiles have been made fully illegal. The nation's rise to prominence and international recognition in the Narushian Free Lands may fill a significant power vacuum on the continent if the young government can maintain stability and legitimacy.
Etymology
The namesake of United Valleys comes from the young, rugged terrain of the country, with most human settlements existing in valleys along freshwater rivers and lakes. The term "These" was chosen to denote that the land ultimately belongs to all humanity, and to "avoid promoting a reactionary national character." The term Matriarchy comes from the woman-led Red Triangle Party's position that the Supreme Executive be a mother, or at least act as a mother. This is enshrined in the Constitution of the Red Triangle Party and the Constitution of the Matriarchy of United Valleys.
History
Pre-History
The area comprising United Valleys has been settled by humans for at least 40,000 years, with strong evidence found as early as the 19th century of the "Green Rock Culture" within the Three River Basin, which built large pyramidal earthen mounds decorated by tourmaline gems as early as 14,000 years ago.
Chiefdom Era
Located downwind of the extreme Great Reef Current, and isolated on land by a series of treacherous mountain ranges, the people of the Valleys developed a distinct culture, notably inventing a printing press as early as the 9th century. Despite some major achievements, the people were largely backward, with the vast majority of inhabitants engaging in hunting, fishing, and agriculture. Overseas, the region was known in rare foreign texts for its abundance of food, and the willingness of local Valleysians to help lost ships navigate upwind of the Current.
Great Wave Era
The end of this prosperous period is known as The Great Wave Era of the 17th Century, wherein many extinct and extant colonial powers began settling the area. The "Great Wave" in question was an unexplained shift in the tides that came before the first attempted conqueror arrived.
Free Cities Era
The liberatory politics of the 19th century were extremely popular in the post-colonial Free Cities of the Reef government. Despite Valleysians never experiencing chattel slavery, this period saw one third of Valleysian men volunteering in wars against the practice throughout Telrova. The cultural aversion to servitude and bondage was further influenced by the introduction of Duckbillism, an explicitly class-concerned form of socialism. Valleysian philosopher Gabrielle Duckbill, the theory's namesake, collaborated frequently with Evangeline Freeman (cousin of Hiram Freeman, a wealthy industrialist, and first President and founder of the Free Cities of the Reef).
Free State Era
The frantic politics of the 20th century gave rise to "Free States," small upstart governments in the area that periodically attempted to consolidate power. The Free State period continued until 2009, when Evgeny von Patton set up "The Free Lands Economic Union" as a first step to federalize the area as a capital-friendly liberal democracy. After establishing himself as President of the Free Lands Economic Union, von Patton quickly passed the "Economic Security Fund Act," which budgeted the creation of a "security force" of privately-contracted paramilitary security. Within a year, this mercenary force numbered over 130,000. The following decade saw mass civil unrest, with thousands of inhabitants ultimately engaging in a prolonged armed struggle against von Patton, his mercenaries, and the police, which involved multiple instances of the FLEU deploying illegal chemical weapons against civilian and guerilla targets.
Valleysian Era
In March 2026, a small faction of young fighters known as The Red Triangle Party organized a revolutionary action, seizing many industries and government offices across the Valleys in a single night. After the legal trial and execution of von Patton, the Party established itself as a legitimate government body under the new Matriarchy of the United Valleys. By September, the country became the single internationally recognized state in the Free Lands.