Kantonia
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| State Motto | Libertad, Unidad, Egalidad, y Espero | ||||
| • Ingliz | Liberty, Unity, Equality, and Hope | ||||
| State Anthem | Canción de Libertad | ||||
| • Ingliz | {{{nation_anthem_ingliz}}} | ||||
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| Official language | Aspenish, Evanian, and Turan Regional languages: Indiri, Kor, Teodino, Morechiv, Mashindé | ||||
| Founding Date | January 15, 2104 | ||||
| Government • Type • Prime Minister |
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| Capital | Zarka | ||||
| Administrative Divisions | 12 Provinces: Zarka, Bahia, Colina, Andovia, Costa Plata, Faayra, Orvania, Ezal, Perdania, Devanor, Turania, and Anku; Territory of the Yojamba Islands | ||||
| Largest City | Bekarion | ||||
| Area • Total • % water |
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| Population • Total • Growth Rate • Density |
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| GDP • Total • GDP/capita • Growth Rate |
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| Currency |
Kantonian Lira (Ξ) | ||||
| Time Zones | XCT (Xianbian Central Time) (AMT +1) | ||||
| Trigraph | KAN | ||||
| Calling Code | +59 | ||||
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The Free Republic of Kantonia is a constitutional republic on the continent of Xianbia.
Contents |
History
- Main article: History of Kantonia
Kantonia's history is long and varied, beginning with the first native Evanian tribes. Around 900 BCE, the tribes began to unify and form kingdoms. In 472 BCE, the Evanian Empire was founded. By 1000 CE, it controlled much of Xianbia. But in 1327, civil war led to the Fall of Evania. Kantonia was now full of small warring kingdoms. Eventually, Aspenish settlers set up a colony in the mid-1600s and slowly but surely took over the region. During the 1900s, Kantonia became very valuable for its plantations of sugar, coffee, spice, and the like, and attracted scores of immigrants from around the world. Kantonia declared its independence in 2038 as the Kantonis Republic. Alejandro Fuentes, considered the "father of independence," became the first President of the Kantonis Republic. Ricardo Amador followed, and became infamous for his anti-worker, pro-owner labor policies, which caused poverty and unemployment, and sparked widespread strikes and riots. During this time, communalism first became popular in Kantonia. During the 2050s, Kantonia enjoyed the "Bekarion Rennaisance," a period of prosperity and creativity, but in 2062, the stock market crashed, plunging Kantonia into poverty. In early 2064, General Abel Sepulveda was elected President. He automatically started a military dictatorship, which ruled for many years, starting a genocide of ethnic and religious minorities, as well as political enemies. Finally, in 2080, the people revolted and overthrew Sepulveda in what was known as the Lotus Revolution, and a democratic interim government was set up, but in 2082 it collapsed into a civil war that would last twelve years. In 2094 the semi-democratic Republic of Kantonia was established and Kantonia enjoyed a period of relative calm. This was shattered in 2102, when General Jose Sanchez seized power in the midst of the Circum-Majonian War. The following year, he was deposed by the (mostly) nonviolent Hibiscus Revolution, which ened with the foundation of the Free Republic of Kantonia. Since then, Kantonia has heavily modernized, become a relatively important economic and cultural power, and has become more involved in international politics, becoming a founding member of AFNA in 2114. However, since the Revolution there has been much political and ethnic tension, often escalating into violence.
Government
The government works on a three-branch system. The chief executive is known as the Prime Minister, and is currently Chenda Yelkanang. Major political parties include the Partido Laboral, the Progressive Reform Party, the National Unity Party, and the Kantonian Socialist Party, though other smaller parties exist. Elections are held every 4 years.
Law
Kantonia has a democratic legal system wherein defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and have the right to be tried before an impartial jury of their peers, and the law applies to all regardless of rank or station. Free expression is enshrined in the constitution, and criticizing the government is legal so long as it is not violent. Sentences vary by crime, and range from small fines for parking offenses to life in prison for first-degree murder. The death penalty is rare and only a handful of crimes merit it in civilian law: crimes against humanity, treason during wartime, and an act of terrorism resulting in the deaths of over 100 persons. As of 21210, the Free Republic has never executed anyone and any prisoner ever on death row was granted clemency. Once someone has been found guilty and incarcerated, the government is obliged to provide them with food and medical care.
Military
Economy
Kantonia has a stockism-based mixed economy system. Many businesses have headquarters in Zarka and Bekarion, and Kantonia is viewed, at least by Kantonians, as a major world financial center. The Zarka Stock Exchange, one of Aurora's largest, is in Kantonia. While transportation is mostly government-owned and not vital to the economy, Kantonia is one of the world's largest shipping hubs. Over the years, Kantonia, though not especially blessed with mineral wealth, has carved a reputation for itself as an important manufacturing nation. Kantonia's main manufactured items are ships and consumer goods, although the heavy machinery and luxury goods sectors are growing.
The entertainment industry is small but growing as Kantonian music and films become popular worldwide. Another emerging industry is tourism, mainly in Zarka, Bekarion, and southeast Andovia (the "Andovian Riviera"). With the emergence of a middle class, the service industry is also growing.
A vital industry in Kantonia is agriculture. The main crops are plantation fruits (such as banana and pineapple), coconut, sugar, coffee, cacao, rice, corn, wheat, and spice. Millet and rubber are grown in smaller quantities. Along the coast, there are many fishing villages, and more recently large scale fisheries have been established. While there are small iron mines and medium-sized copper mines in Kantonia proper, mining is a major industry in Orvania, which hosts large-scale mining of bauxite, iron, and coal. Orvania also has a small but rapidly expanding oil industry. Lumber and stone production are also fairly important.
The country is relatively advanced technologically, though certainly not at the forefront of innovation. While Kantonia has been a developed nation for many years, it is often grouped together with "newly industrialized" nations due to its only recent opening to the world.
Geography and Climate
Foreign Relations
- Main article: Foreign Relations of Kantonia
After Kantonia's isolationist history, many nations have no diplomatic ties with Kantonia simply because they never got around to establishing any. The nations that Kantonia does have relationships with widely vary in their positions. Anku is a major factor in many diplomatic relations. If a nation has close ties to Catai, it will probably be no friend of Kantonia's. The Free Republic seeks to promote democracy and is more likely to be friendly with another republic.
Kantonia is a founding member of the AFNA.
Demographics
Ethnicity
- Main article: Ethnic groups in Kantonia
Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants pour into Kantonia, leading to the wide variation of ethnic groups and religion. The census provide several ethnicities to choose from:
- Kantonian or Xianbian: 77%
- Other: 23%
Religion
- Main article: Religion in Kantonia
Linguistics
Kantonia has three official languages according to the latest constitution: Aspenish, Evanian, and Turan. Aspenish is easily the most-frequently used language in all facets of life and Turan is on the rise, while Evanian is mostly used for ceremonial purposes. Some provinces have regional co-official languages: Indiri in Turania, Indiri and Teodino in Devanor, Morechiv and Mashindé (a dialect of Mshindi from Wondusoland) in Orvania, and Kor in Anku.
Culture
The arts
Music
The two most popular music styles in Kantonia are jazz and kalano. Kalano is a form of Kantonian music that blends together music from all of the various cultures in Kantonia. It originated in the Bekarion Renaissance of the 2050s. Kalano is generally lively and up-tempo, with an equal number of major-key and minor-key songs, and often uses instruments such as the guitar, piano, accordion, flute, trumpet, and saxophone. Drums of a wide variety are also extensively used. Jazz was introduced to the mainstream after the Hibiscus Revolution and has since become widely popular. Rock and roll, already quite popular in Bekarion, is only beginning to be popular in the rest of Kantonia, and is still hated with a passion in some areas.
Dance
Music and dance considered very important in Kantonia. Most rural villages will have a dance hall in the town square as the center of town life. Kantonia's urban areas also boast many famous nightclubs, including the world-famous Purple Hibiscus Club in Bekarion. Kantonia's most popular types of dance reflect its music: the girano, a lively, dramatic dance form associated with kalano, and jazz dances. Folk dances and ballroom dances are still quite popular, though.
Theater
Kantonia has a long tradition of theater. Opera is heavily venerated throughout the nation. Since the Hibiscus Revolution, many musical plays using contemporary music have been written, and many are shown in the theaters of Bekarion's Avenida Plata or Mirdela.
Film
In the past decade, Kantonian film has gone from a few men with cameras to a booming, prominent industry. In 2115, Kantonia made 214 films, more than any other country in the world. Film has also gained a new cultural and artistic importance in Kantonia.
Literature
Kantonia is considered to have some of the world's greatest literature. It is the home of such classics as adventure stories Across Aurora and Quest for Moluccia, science-fiction masterpiece Century Man, and the Romantic epic Alena. Many Kantonian masterpieces are political in subject and revolutionary in content, such as The New Revolution by Felipe Aiza. And even if a book is not directly about politics, it will often have political undertones. Kantonia is also known for its poetry, and Kantonians are thought to be very poetic.
Visual arts
Sports
Football (soccer) is becoming increasingly popular in Kantonia. The Kantonian Football Association has 18 members, who compete to reach, and win, the Kantonis Cup, which is held every two years. Team spirit dpends on many things, such as age, location, upbringing, and economic class, among other things. One Kantonian could be a die-hard fanatic while his neighbor didn't care about football in the least. Rugby (rugby union) is also gaining popularity in Kantonia.
Cuisine
- Main article: Cuisine of Kantonia
Due to its status as a cultural melting pot, Kantonia has a wide variety of foods, with dishes from diverse locations all around Aurora. Almost every dish is seasoned in some way, whether it be breaded, fried, sauced, or sprinkled with herbs. Meat is usually beef or chicken, and is often ground. Other common ingredients include tomato, garlic, onion, plantain, corn, cheese, and an assortment of herbs and spices. Wine and rum are the most common alcoholic beverages, and milk from goats and cattle is also widely consumed. Kantonians are lovers of coffee. They are also lovers of fruit, which is fortunate for them, since Kantonia is more abundant with fruit than anywhere else in the world.
Gallery
A map of temperature levels in Kantonia.
A map of rainfall levels in Kantonia.
A topographical map of Kantonia.
Republic Hall, the Kantonian capitol building.
A village in Andovia.
Belanar Falls, a prime example of the Kantonian landscape.
See Also
- Famous Sites of Kantonia
- Kantonian Holidays
- Militar Kantoni
- Ministries of Kantonia
- National Assembly
- Fauna of Kantonia
- List of Kantonian Cities by Population
- Kantonian National Parkland System
- How To Tell If You're Kantonian
