Gladysynthia

The United Provinces of Gladysynthia
Flag of Gladysynthia Flag
Anthem: "O Gens Magna" ("O What Nation Great")
File:Gladysynthia map 98.JPG
Capital	Mönusÿnthys
Official languages	English, Spanish, French
Recognised national languages	Portuguese, Arabic, Mandarin, Russian
Demonym(s)	Gladysynthian
Government	Centrist Democracy
• Premiere	Seswitch LaFlaunce
• Grand Deputy	Guillermo Rivera
• Representative High Official	Saurius Kent
Area
• Total	182,467 km2 (70,451 sq mi)
Population
• 6 G.E. (2018 A.D.) estimate	75,000,000
HDI (2016)	0.67 medium
Currency	Gladysynthian Gorgon (GLGO)
Date format	mm-dd-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+65
Internet TLD	.gl

The United Provinces of Gladysynthia, simply called Gladysynthia, is a centrist democracy in the International Democratic Union. It is bordered to the south by Zamastan, to the east by Embolalia, and to the north and west by the Agrimai Ocean. In light of the territorial disputes with Zamastan, which has seen conflict over the oil rich region of Asa'aria and Danaska in the 1945 Danaska Conflict and The Tariel War, Gladysynthia has presented itself a more heavy world presence. The nation prides itself on being a stage for democracy and parliamentary government following the collapse of its empire in the 1930's, currently headed by Premiere Seswitch LaFlaunce. Formerly a joint-member of the United Crown Alliance alongside nations such as Cadair and Vulkaria, Gladysynthia joined the IDU after political struggles led to the breakup of the conglomerate.

Recently, the nation was embroiled in the Gladysynthia Crisis, which was fought against Zamastan over territorial disputes and an ongoing rebel insurgency known as the Gladys Popular Freedom Fighters. The conflict brought about the normalizing of relations with Zamastan, and with Premiere LaFlaunce and President Zacharias Castovia signing a trade agreement and disarmament policy along the border, as well as a treaty that allowed immigration flow following its ceasing after the 1945 conflict.

Etymology

The name "Gladysynthia" comes from the ancient Åethnoa words "Gladys" and "Synthia," which roughly translates to "the Glorious Empire which will never fall."

History

Ancient Times

4452 BCE, The Åethnoa or “Sky People” create the continent, which is now the Gladysynthian mainland, and its native inhabitants. 3339 BCE, the Åethnoa split into six main ethnic groups and settle in different areas of the Gladysynthian continent. These groups are known as Årenthråndir, Çfásnadár, Kråzdar, Mýrënthråndîr, Söskenôvo, and Îvanövå.3306 BCE, the Aethnoa begin to ally and intermix with native groups and create a new hybrid race of angelic and human beings. 3289 BCE, relations between the six main ethnic groups begin to grow tense as they frequently meet while expanding into and claiming new territory. 3227 BCE, the six main ethnic groups engage each other in a series of battles known collectively as the “Ethnic Wars” to gain land, resources, and prisoners of other factions for labor.

3059 BCE, several treaties are signed between the ethnic groups, one of which is signed by all six groups and officially ends the Ethnic Wars and divides the continent into six territories, allowing each group to establish its own sovereign nation. This event is known as the official start of the First Age. 2994 BCE, Årenthråndir and Mýrënthråndîr develop bitter relations and eventually engage in war. Çfásnadár and Kråzdar ally with Årenthråndir, and Söskenôvo and Îvanövå join Mýrënthråndîr as war envelopes the entire continent. 2946 BCE, after forty-eight years of war, no clear winner is easily distinguished. Representatives from the two alliances meet at an undisclosed location on the modern day island of Tetrazoa. Together they come to an agreement and author a treaty that ends the Continental War. The Treaty of Tetrazin divides the continent into four equal states: Årenthråsnadar, Kråzden’sös, Mýrënthråndövå, and Tëtrazînia, and holds a vote that allows the citizens of the four new nations to elect a representative as their King. The Four Kingdoms are officially established.

2923 BCE, relations between the Four Kingdoms grow healthier as trade by both land and sea rises between all four kingdoms. Goods such as fish and game, grains and nuts, corn, wheat, beans and other crops, exotic spices, gemstones, books and writings, and new knowledge are exchanged by all of the kingdoms. 2716 BCE, the kings of all four Kingdoms grow weary of the exchange of knowledge of political ideas that may threaten to undermine their authority, and trade embargoes are established by the kings between all four kingdoms. Within a few years, a social system develops which is similar between the Four Kingdoms. The majority of citizens grow poor due to a lack of trade and income. The kings and high government officials are the only people not living in poverty.

Around 1900 BCE, rebellions develop and begin to rise up in all four kingdoms. The lower class in all four kingdoms ally with each other and declare war against the kings. Two main groups establish themselves among the crumbling kingdoms: the Monarchists, who remain loyal to the kings, and the Rebels, who choose to fight against the kings. After twelve years of war, the Rebels eventually defeat the kings and the Monarchists and the Four Kingdoms are abolished.

17th-19th Centuries

1672 saw the leaders of a group of rebel marauders author a document known as the Siempra Gladysynthia, which essentially established a fascist state known as the Gladysynthian Empire that encompassed the entire area of modern day Gladysynthia and Northern Zamastan. This document also divided the continent into seven districts, each with its own specific expectation of manufacturing, agricultural work, hunting and fishing, or mining for the government based on each district’s location and available resources. This event came to be known as the official start of the Second Age. By 1700, Unitarian rule continued to plague the leadership of the Gladysynthian Empire, and seven separate societies began to develop between the districts based on their different occupational skills and ways of life.

In 1792, a sort of enlightenment began to occur throughout Gladysynthian society known as the Great Awakening, in which human curiosity led to the discovery of old political and theological ideologies from the era before the Empire. New knowledge of the arts spread through the entire region as rising social leaders in society began to encourage deeper ways of thinking and a creative way of life.

Early 20th Century

In 1906, leaders in the social movement of the Great Awakening rose to power and found themselves at odds with the fascist government of the Empire. The nation soon erupted into an all-out rebellion, and war quickly followed. The Daro-Asaarian Rebellion was the first of the groups to declare war on the government, and the rest of the districts soon followed. A revolution takes place between all seven districts and the fascist government of the Gladysynthian Empire, and the Gladysynthian Provincial War officially began. In 1938, after nearly thirty-two years of constant war, the rebels, officially known as the Liberation of Gladysynthia, finally took hold of the war and reached victory over the Gladysynthian Empire. To prevent further war, leaders from all seven Provinces met in the aftermath of the city of Marcynth and reached an agreement.

The United Provinces of Gladysynthia

In 1941, the leaders of the seven Provinces authored a revolutionary new document that established the rights of all citizens, a new government of shared equal power between the Provinces, and set a new time period known as the Gladysynthian Era which is also the start of the Third Age. The document is entitled the Treaty of Marcin after the area it was signed into action. This influential document officially established the United Provinces of Gladysynthia, and Mönusÿnthys was chosen as the capital of Gladysynthia. Laurence Clarkson was elected as the first Premiere of Gladysynthia and toted on bringing the provinces closer together and giving citizens high influence in the federal government. In 1945, Zamastan invaded Gladysynthia over the oil rich Danaska region and for seven grueling days, seized the region and pushed the border of Gladysynthia back nearly 50 miles.

New interests in the arts, athletics, theology, philosophy, and the debating of political ideologies rose in the 1950s. This era started to become known as the “Second Great Awakening.” The Gladysynthian Solutanuca, a friendly gathering of athletes from the seven provinces participating in several sporting events, began in 1952. This event is held every two years in Mönusÿnthys.

The Gladysynthian Civil War

On July 29, 1953, the province of Tetrazoa declared war on Saphiria over cultural and economic disputes. Tetrazoa sent troops via air and sea and starts to invade Saphiria on the northern coast. On August 4, the Gladysynthian Civil War began when Saphiria declared war on Tetrazoa. The Federal Government of Gladysynthia in the Capitol District officially declared war on Tetrazoa, and on August 6, the military was activated and began preparing to defend Saphiria and preserve the union. Premiere Malcolm Kirchner was faced with the aspect of a many-faction-sided war, with the federal government losing control of provinces in the autumn months of the war and the opposition being supported discretely by the Zamastanian Armed Forces. By the winter, the opposition forces stalled their fighting, and due to trench warfare, neither side made any major territorial gains along the western or southern front for over eight months. By the spring of 1954, United Gladysynthian forces slowly started to chip away at the Tetrazoan occupation and started to take back Saphiria.

Fighting stayed at a standstill on the fronts for several years, with territorial gains rarely made from either side. However, a Gladysynthian push in 1965, under the command of the new premiere Duncan Thomas, began to take back key positions from Tetrazoan forces. As it began to appear that Tetrazoa was losing the war, Tetrazoan government officials controversially decided to use chemical weapons on the Saphirian capital city of Szvwara out of desperation. Appalled and shocked, the United Gladysynthian Army retaliated by inflicting further damage with extensive heavy fire on the southern front, and the Tetrazoan Army toke heavy losses, including the highest amount of casualties thus far in the war. After suffering hundreds of thousands of casualties combined, both sides began to call for a ceasefire. Leaders from the United Gladysynthian Military and the Tetrazoan Army met at Point Randall on Carson Island off the eastern coast of Saphira and eventually reached an agreement. On August 12th, 1967, the Carson Accords declared that the Gladysynthian Civil War was over with Tetrazoa agreeing to give Saphiria back to Gladysynthia in exchange for Tetrazoa’s independence from Gladysynthia. Saphiria remains a province of Gladysynthia and Tetrazoa became its own self-governing nation. The United Nations, led by a Laeralian coalition, was deployed during the conflict, and following the conflict was instrumental in overseeing the destruction of chemical weapons caches. The war claimed the lives of over 550,000 soldiers and 329,000 civilians.

1960's-1990's

Duncan Thomas was elected to the Premiereship in 1965, and showed heavy signs of military genius and prowess from his years in the army, during which he fought in the Danaska Conflict. Following the disasterous and costly civil war, he decided that Gladysynthia as a whole needed a boost of moral. As the army rebuilt itself, they prepared for war once more, except this time, it would be in a turn of revenge against a foreign enemy. In 1972, The Tariel War began when Gladysynthian forces invaded the Danaska region in order to take back land lost nearly 30 years earlier. Fighting continued for 28 days, during which Gladysynthia nearly conquered the Northern Isle and the metro area of Lower Tariel and the Tariel Heights. The war ended with a stalemate and the Danaska River border reaffirmed, with thousands of soldiers and civilians dead.

2000's

In 2005, Amanda Marsden made history as the first female elected Premiere of Gladysynthia.

On April 9th, 2012, an uprising began to take place in Tetrazoa as a movement started to sweep through the nation. Polls showed that a majority of Tetrazoan citizens were in favor of rejoining Gladysynthia and once again becoming a province. The referendum was supported by Premiere Amanda Marsden, and ultimately, on September 4, the Federal Government of Tetrazoa held an official vote in which every eligible voter was able take part. The result of this vote decided whether or not to rejoin the United Provinces of Gladysynthia. On September 9, results showed that Tetrazoa had voted in favor of rejoining the Union. On September 15, Tetrazoa sent an official application to the Federal Government of Gladysynthia to once again become the seventh province. The new treaty and application were presented to the House of Representatives and United Senate on September 23, and on September 27, both houses voted in favor of the treaty. On September 29, Tetrazoa officially rejoined the United Provinces of Gladysynthia as the seventh province. In celebration of the reunion of Gladysynthia, the Federal Government declared an official state of peace throughout the nation and held a national celebration in the capital city. This festival lasted seven days and the government declared a new annual holiday, Celebration Day, in honor of the new union. A new era of time as well begins, and is also the official start of the Third Age.

In 2013, Seswitch LaFlaunce was elected Premiere, and made history as the youngest Premiere ever elected at the age of 34.

In 2018, the Gladysynthia Crisis unfolded over the Danaska region and the culmination of years of uneasy military buildup, with the conflict ending after the Zamastanian capture of the city of Danaska and the shootdown of pilot Yan Randolph was resolved under the Treaty of Mönusÿnthys 2018-9B. The treaty was signed by LaFlaunce and President Zacharias Castovia of Zamastan, and lifted sanctions and trade embargoes that preceded his administration nearly 60 years.

Geography

Cities

See article: Cities in Gladysynthia

Language

The language most popularly spoken in Gladysynthia is English, with an estimated 86% of the nation's citizens speaking the language. Closely following are Spanish, with an estimated 73% speakers, and French, with an estimated 58%. All three of these languages have been adopted by the federal government as the official languages of Gladysynthia. Other major languages spoken by a somewhat large proportion of the population are Portuguese (21%), Arabic (16%), Mandarin-Chinese (12%), and Russian (9%).

Culture

Professional Sports

Professional sports, especially those televised, are a very important and valued element of life to most Gladysynthians. The most popular professional sports, according to the Gladysynthia Herald's Biannual National Survey of Citizens in 4 G.E., were Football (Soccer), Basketball, Ultimate Frisbee, Ice Hockey, American Football, and Lacrosse. The FIFA World Cup, when it is held every four years, is the most popular televised event in Gladysynthia, with an estimated 79 million viewers over the course of the 2018 event. This event actually claims more viewers than the Summer Olympics, which only claimed 75 million viewers for the 2016 Olympiad. Otherwise, the most popular televised sporting event on an annual basis is the Gladysynthian Professional Football League (GPFL)'s League Final, held in early November every year. The National Basketball League (NBL) Finals and National Association of Ultimate Frisbee Clubs (NAUFC)'s Playoffs and Championship are also very popular, with an estimated annual viewership of 69 million and 66 million, respectively. The National Ice Hockey Association (NIHA) and Gladysynthian Professional Lacrosse League (GPLL) are also closely followed leagues, with an estimated 57 million and 53 million annual viewers nationwide.

Recreation

Gladysynthian citizens highly value exercise and healthy physical living, which has resulted in the monumental rise in the popularity of recreational sports and activities over the past several decades. Football (Soccer), Ultimate Frisbee, and Lacrosse have seen the most growth, with few to several amateur or recreational leagues existing in basically every highly-populated city in the country for all of these sports. Along with Football, Ultimate, and Lacrosse, with dodgeball also seeing significant growth, other popular recreational activities around the country are baseball, softball, camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, backpacking, wakeboarding, surfing, running, rock climbing, and free-falling. The Gladysynthian climate has also helped to boost the popularity of these activities. Due to the tropical location of Gladysynthia, most of these activities can be done upwards of nine months a year.

Entertainment

The entertainment industry of Gladysynthia is thriving and very popular, with several hundred blockbuster films being produced and released into theaters nationwide every year. A multitude of nationally-renowned studios call the province of Pteranim home, with 78% of Tier-1 studios being headquartered in Asga'ardia, Morolano, and Ponamu. Recent statistics show that 89% of all citizens attended a film in a theater at least once last year. The entertainment industry grossed approximately 12 trillion gorgons in 5 G.E., making it the seventh largest industry in the Gladysynthian economy for that year. Morolano is also the national hub of theatre and acting, with 17 of the 21 largest national theatres being located within the city.

Government

Legislative Faction

House of Representatives

The National Gladysynthian House of Representatives, as of 6 GE, is made up of 129 total delegates representing all seven provinces. The number of delegates each province has in the House depends on its population. Each province earns one representative for every five million citizens living inside its borders. Each delegate elected represents a smaller area of their province, not the entire province. When elected, Representatives hold their position for a four-year term.

United Gladysynthian Senate

The United Gladysynthian Senate is made up of 14 total delegates representing all seven provinces. Each province is represented by two senators and is not population-based. Each senator serves in their position for two years before their term is over.

Judicial Faction

National Court System

The Gladysynthian Judicial Faction is a national and federal organization with courts on all levels of government, from the Supreme Court all the way down the ladder to Provincial, local, and County Courts. The Supreme Court is a seven-member national court that handles cases which need special attention regarding national affairs. The Supreme Court Justices are elected members, one from each province. Each elected Justice serves a twelve-year term until they are replaced in the next election. If a Supreme Court Justice is unable to complete their term for any reason, a special election is held in the province of the Justice's origin. During this time, the Supreme Court can vote to hold off any case rulings until a new Justice has been elected and begun their term.

Executive Faction

The Premiere

The Premiere of Gladysynthia is the head of the Executive Faction and is democratically elected once every four years by an electoral body in each of the seven provinces. The Premiere is the highest executive office in Gladysynthia. The current incumbent is Seswitch LaFlaunce, who was re-elected in 2016.

Police Force

The Gladysynthian Police Force is a national organization funded and run by the government. It has different levels of enforcement, descending from the federal level to the provincial, county, city, and local levels. The Head of the National Police Force is the Grand Deputy, who is democratically elected and serves a 4-year term before receiving the option of a one-time reelection. The Grand Deputy's responsibilities include running the National Police Force, maintaining peace among the provincial police forces, and representing the National Police Force in federal affairs. Officers in descending order of merit include Provincial Head Deputies, County Sheriffs, Sheriff's Deputies, and City Police Officers.

Military

The Gladysynthian Military contains four main factions: The Gladysynthian Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Guard. As of 6 GE, there were 836,342 members of the Army listed as "Reserve Duty," with 64,092 listed as "Active Duty." At the same time, there were 348,828 members of the Navy Reserve, with 124,654 members on Active Duty. The Air Force consisted of 88,932 members, with 24,450 currently serving full time. The National Guard currently has 36,790 officers serving on 6-month rotating terms.