Gianatla (Pacifica)

Federal Republic of Gianatla Bundesrepublik Gianatla
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Ehre, Freiheit und Respekt (English: Honour, Freedom and Respect) by Alfred Schrabebeck
Location of Gianatla in Pacifica
Location	North-West Cordilia encompassed by the Serevan Sea, Astro Sea and the South Pacific Ocean
Capital and largest city	Atlantis
Official languages	Alman, Atlantic
Demonym(s)	Gianlucian
Government	Federal parliamentary republic
• President	Harald Schmidt
• Chancellor	Marja Sanddorn
• President of the Königspalast	Sabine Meischel
• President of the Constitutional Court	Byga Montebrok
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Rat
• Lower house	Königspalast
Formation
• Gianlucian Kingdom	1 June 1305
• Republic of Gianlucaland	1954
• Federal Republic of Gianatla	2011
Area
• Total	62,693 km2 (24,206 sq mi) (128th)
Population
• 2020 census	27,320,269
• Density	435.78/km2 (1,128.7/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	TSP-$ 1.1 trillion
Currency	Gianlucian Tack (GAT)
Time zone	UTC-2 (CCT)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+93
World Forum Code	GI
Internet TLD	.gi

Gianatla [d͜ʒænˈætla] (Alman: [d͜ʒanˈatla], Atlantic: Rúkano [ˈɹʉːkaːno]), officially the Federal Republic of Gianatla (Alman: Bundesrepublik Gianatla [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk d͜ʒanˈatla]), is a federal state in north-west Cordilia bordered by Snolland in the west and Holy Free, Berusturg and Eflad in the east.
Having an area of 62 693 km² and a population of around 27 million people (2020), it's one of the most densely populated countries of Pacifica with on average 436 inhabitants per km².

Gianatla is a country consisting of the three partly-sovereign states of Atlantis, Greater Gianatla and Lesser Gianatla.
The city of Atlantis is the capital since the incorporation of Atlantis in 2011. It's at the same time the largest city with more than 2.8 million inhabitants. Other major cities include the former capital Gianlucastadt, the seat of the World Forum Committee for Science and Education, Freudstadt, Asterbrück, Nordtor, Südtor and Tragas. All mentioned cities, except for Gianlucastadt, have more than one million inhabitants.

They are a founding member of the World Forum and held the position of Speaker of the Assembly thrice already.
The economy of the country is heavily based on services. Gianatla is known for having expertise in the fields of entertainment technology and media, vehicle manufacturing and traffic engineering.

Etymology

The name Gianatla is a compound of Gianlucaland and Atlantis, the names of the two sovereign nations that eventually became one country in 2011. It was introduced after a referendum in June 2022, in which a majority of 40.2% voted in favour of replacing the old post-incorporation name GI-Land in order to represent Gianlucians and Atlantics equally also in the name of the nation.

Gianlucaland itself is also a compound consisting of Gianluca - the name of the tribe that has founded the Gianlucian Kingdom in 1305 - and "land".
The origin of the tribe's name is fiercely debated, however the most prevalent theory suggests "Gian" and "Luca" having been words or particles of an older Atlantic dialect that doesn't exist anymore.

Atlantis is the Almannic form of the Atlantic "Aturánnata", which can be translated as "Great River Place". The name likely refers to the Atlantics' perception of being a fortunate people blessed with rich fishing grounds wherever they settled, which ultimately also led to a reverence of nature, especially aquatic nature, in their culture.

History

Main article: History of Gianatla (Pacifica)

Pre-History (before 6,000 BCE)

North Cordilia has been settled by humans of the species Homo sapiens since at least 35,000 BCE already. Based on human remains found by archeologists in Frastinia, Eflad and Erinor, it is assumed there were two main migration waves. One was possibly coming from Bailtem via the Rainbow Islands between 35,000 and 15,000 BCE and was tied to the settlements in the Erinoran Basin from around 15,000 BCE. The second wave came in from the Frost archipelago at circa 45,000 to 30,000 BCE and consisted mainly of people settling in Frastinia, the Hazle Isle, Bruuma and possibly current Besern.

Around 6,000 BCE the semi-nomadic Ceresians established multiple city states around the Frost archipelago and small trading outposts on the Northern coasts of Frastinia. Since the people group was traditionally divided, multiple competing tribes formed in the established outposts and villages.

Ceresian tribes and Alman Split (5,000 BCE – 840 CE)

Four main groups, the Atlantics, Snovics, Hazles and Catz, settled in Frastinia between 3,700 BCE and 260 CE.

The groups distinguished themselves by different belief and political systems. As such the Atlantics and Snovics had developed a culture of nature reverence still prevalent until today and have founded big cities, such as Angelhaven, Sak (today's Kuckstadt) or, in the year 1877 BCE, the current capital Atlantis. Their political system became hereditary monarchic and the economy was focused on trade with neighbours such as the Serevans.

The Hazles and Catz however were a collection of lesser developed and self-sufficient Alman tribes following folk religions, that could not settle for a stable political system. This led to a constant struggle over power and resources as well as to multiple revolts by farmer families throughout the generations. The first historically major conflict was The Great Calamity from 716 to 732, when an elected temporary dictator ("imperator"), Nero the Strongman, has banished the Hazles from Frastinia after a destructive war and therefore forced them to settle in Besern or on the Hazle Isle and later on Hazelia. The territories conquered by the Hazles, were put under Nero's sole control. Feeling betrayed, multiple Alman people groups such as the Allegari, Astrofolk, Ascanis, Berstens, Friedwartines and Ottfriedines attempted to conspire against the imperator, with no success. Their enforced displacement, the Alman Split, would become the biggest reason, why Alman culture spread throughout the South Pacific.

The Snovian Conflicts (840 – 1040)

With Catzyan utilitarianism and Snovic culture being partially conflicting ethics and the Snovics feeling disadvantaged by the trade agreements in the area, local Snovic merchants protested against their perceived unfair treatment. The protests led to limited miltary conflicts, in which the Snovic territory on Frastinia decreased over time. The eventual end of a Frastinian Snovic state was decided by internal turmoil over the question on the succession rules of a heirless king, which led to a personal union with the Atlantics, who could not save the Snovics from Catzyan imperators annexing the remains of the Snovic's Frastinian territory however. After the end of two Snovic-Catz wars, the term "Gianlucian" was used for the first time to describe the idea of a common Alman people group on Frastinia. The idea of a common Gianlucian tribe ruled by the imperator instead of a realm full of individual communities was popularised by several elected imperators and local clergy in the following two centuries.

The Gianlucian Kingdom (1040 – 1351)

The popularisation of a basic version of national identity culminated in the Franzort Festival on 18 April 1275, where several communities banded together and demanded from the incumbent Imperator Lucius to unify the Gianlucian people into one kingdom. Fearing an outbreak of a civil war in the Gianluca territory, but also seeing the economical and political potential a unified Gianlucian nation would bring, Lucius agreed to the demands and promoted the formation of the Gianlucian Revolutionary Army (GRA), while also gauging interest in the Old Catz tribes to voluntarily join his cause. Most of the Old Catz chiefdoms were not interested in surrendering their powers to Lucius and instead tried to stop him from following through with the idea of uniting the Frastinian tribes, e.g. by trying to capture and assassinate Lucius during a visit to the chiefdom of Nordern in 1277. The attempts to obstruct his plans failed and made him more determined however. In the three Wars of Frastinia between 1278 and 1305, Lucius would annex all Old Catz tribes, conquer the Frastinian possessions of the Kingdom of Atlantis and fight for dominance in North-East Frastinia against Holy Free and Berusturg.

On 1 June 1305, the Gianlucian Kingdom was proclaimed in a former Atlantic King's holiday residence near Südtor and Lucius crowned as the first king of the Gianlucas, Lukas I. The controlled territory was spanning from the Atlantic Strait in the West up to Mt. Freye and today’s Wayersch in the East. With no constitution established, the king controlled his new realm under absolutist rule. However not long after the foundation of the kingdom, flaws have shown themselves in this government system. The former chiefs, now subordinates of a national court, gave away their powers and were forced to give away parts of their communities' wealth on a regular basis without having a say on how much or for which reasons they are paying those fees and taxes. The demand for a Häupterrat (Council of Chiefs) was quickly formed, but only the monarchs following Lukas I were open to the idea of sharing the power with a second administrative level within the kingdom.

The Gianlucian Empire (1352 – 1923)

In 1352 the Stoinians invaded Puerto Pollo and have gotten into contact with the countries on the Hazle Isle and in Frastinia. Through the Stoino Contact the awareness of a bigger outside world grew in the young kingdom and has led to the rise of explorationist thoughts. Several duchies were looking for adventurers ready to find land and resources, which got develop the kingdom further. One of those adventurers was Thomas the Terrible, who suggested in 1445, the Gianlucian Kingdom should work towards controlling the Astro Sea before venturing out and challenging Stoinia and other, yet unknown competitors in the scramble for colonial possessions. From 1449 to 1548, the kingdom grew to an empire, that distinguised between provinces like Faburg (South Atlantis) or Eflad located around the Astro Sea, the Provinz Alemannien (also known as Weissersteiner Commonwealth), and colonies like Haoene, Hazelia or Brotmark on Bailtem.

The imperial court did often not rule directly over their territories outside of Frastinia, except when an edict on cultural subjects or matters of trade and foreign policy was passed. An example of such an order would be Queen Sophia's edict, that made Christianity the official state religion of the empire and outlawed the classical folk religions in June 1542 following a successful Ryccian crusade. Instead governors represented the court abroad and were left with a certain degree of autonomy on how the provinces and colonies are run. This became problematic for the integrity of the empire for the first time in the 17th century, when several political movements led to the de facto end of the Weissersteiner Commonwealth as well as to significant territorial losses through countries in North Cordilia gaining independence.

[WIP - Sallodesia?, Industrialisation, socialist and nationalist ideas lead to 19th century independence movements, first democratic reforms induced by Sedunn]

Frankism and Great War (1923 – 1954)

Main articles: Meinhard Frank, Frankism, and Great War

Due to the decolonisation of the Gianlucian Empire and an era of protectionism in North Cordilia, the Gianlucian economy was in a dire situation and had to face rising costs of living and unprecedented unemployment rates in the late 1910s and early 1920s. Under those circumstances Frank has established himself as a new political figure. At first by commenting on politics and laying out his ideas of a prosperous Gianlucian Empire in his book Für die Ehre ("For Honour"), then by founding his own party, the National and Socialist Party of Frankist Progressivism (NSPFP) and spreading terror with his own militia, the "Black Coats" (Schwarzumhänge or SU). The Frankist party had huge success within the distraught, distrusting and terrified populace and gained, together with its minor coalition partners, more than 47% of the votes in the last democratic election of the empire in 1934. While Emperor Gianluca III declined making Frank chancellor at first, Frank would force a transfer of powers onto him with the help of the armed forces and the passing of the "Enabling Act" on 2 May 1935.

Frank's reign meant a full restructuring of not only the Gianlucian political system, but also Gianlucian society and the economy. People were marked as undesirable "Zenevians" and stripped of their rights. Prisoners were put into newly established concentration camps, which provided slave labour under the guise of "re-education" for the companies participating in Frank's "Five Projects Program". The youth had to join a Frankist youth group based on their sex, which taught Frankist ideology and gender roles from an early age. Militarist ideals rose in popularity, because the Frankists promoted a modern and strong military as a priority to become a modern and wealthy nation again. After setting the goal of a military mobilisation between 1947 and 1950 with the secret Grumbach Note on 6 January 1940, the dictator focused his foreign policy on preparing an ideal starting position for the planned war. Non-aggression pacts with Atlantis and Snolland gained him some trust in the West, the "Ikaranarean-Gianlucian Cooperation Accords" and the "Treaty of Justice" with Karnetvor made sure, the rising nationalist and imperialist governments in Cordilia would not interfere with each other while pursuing their goals and the "Gianlucian-Weissersteiner Friendship Treaty" assured Weissersteiner neutrality in any potential major military conflict instigated by the Frankists. Military tech and production did improve and expand in the meantime. Seeing his country ready for war and using some Snovian-Gianlucian tensions as a pretense, the Gianlucian Empire declared war against Snolland on 3 October 1949.

From October 1949 to December 1951 the war went well for the Frankists as they were able to take control of a large amount of territory spanning from the Hazle Isle in the West to parts of Eflad in the South, Transsuneria in the East and FiHami in the North, while only losing the Neu-Faburg colony on Bailtem in 1950. With the start of the war against Besern and the entrance of Frost and Stoinian(, later also Ryccian?) forces, the territorial gains were relatively quickly undone and in 1954, Frost (and Ryccian?) armed forces threatened the core of the Gianlucian Empire.

Republic of Gianlucaland and power struggles in Atlantis (1954 – 2011)

[WIP - Deindustrialisation and Wirtschaftswunderpolitik (see "Economic History"). Involvement in organisations such as IUFA (founding member), the Alman Group (founding member), North Cordilian Union (founding member), CPSC (joined 1998). In the cold war, ties were relatively close to the isolationist and traditional Frost Empire, but eventually Gianlucaland opened up to the moderate democratic bloc of Sedunn over time. Development of a Gianlucian nuclear arsenal in face of a nuke race around the world.]

Incorporation of Atlantis and beyond (2011 – present)

[WIP - incorporation of Atlantis based on some peace treaty/consequence of the GW and/or for economic reasons. Also a prestige project of King Axel and chancellor, now president, Schmidt. Building of the Atlantic Strait Bridge. Involvement in the foundation of the World Forum and Concordia Entente. "New Silk Road" with Huawan and Valkyria. Denuclearisation.].

Geography

Location and borders

Albeit stretching around 378 km from East to West and around 371 km from North to South, the total land area of Gianatla lays at only 62 693 km². This makes them the 52nd biggest (or 26th smallest) country in Cordilia.

The country consists of the three states Atlantis, Greater Gianatla and Lesser Gianatla. The first two are situated in the easternmost third of the Hazel Isle, that Gianatla shares with Snolland. Their border is placed at the narrowest part of the Atlantic panhandle, which is sandwiched between the Snovian Sea, a part of the Serevan Sea, and the North Gianlucian Sea, respectively part of the North Pacific Ocean. To the East the country borders Holy Free, Berusturg and, with a sea border, Eflad. The eastern border was mostly defined by the peace treaties after the Great War and is therefore barely definable by any geographic features.

The Hazel Isle and the "mainland" of Gianatla on the Frastinian Peninsula are divided by the 23 km wide Atlantic Strait. Anyhow both landmasses are nowadays connected through the Atlantic Strait Tunnel opened in 2014.

Geology, topography and hydrography

Topographic Map of Gianatla

The current territory of Gianatla is shaped mainly in the by the Orrim and the Faburg plain on the Hazle Isle, and the Vororrim and the Gianlucian plains in mainland Gianatla.

Mountains going up to over 3000 m in height can be found mainly in the East of Gianatla, where the highest mountain, the Sun Peak (Sonnenspitze) can be found. An anomaly to that is Neptune's Mountain (Neptunsberg), which is located almost in the center of Atlantis near the city of Lindau. It has the second highest summit in Gianatla and is, due to its religious significance for the Atlantics, the most popular mountain in the country for locals and tourists alike.

There are no major rivers of international importance flowing through Gianatla. Still a few smaller rivers are significant to the development of several cities and municipalities of Gianatla or even have a cultural importance as the Atlantic culture is built around the worship of "water deities".
Next to the natural rivers, there are six canals existing to simplify trade. Two of them, the Northern Canal (Nordkanal) and the Mid-Atlantic Canal (Mittatlantischer Kanal) are used by international transport ships regularly to decrease the time it would take to go around the Hazel Isle.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Gianatla (Pacifica)

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Gianatla (Pacifica)

Economy

Gianatla has a social market economy with a highly skilled labour force, a low level of corruption and an average level of innovation. Its monetary policy is set by the Gianlucian Central Bank, who also issues Gianatla’s national currency, the Gianlucian Tack (GAT). The bank tries to maintain the yearly inflation at around 2%.

Economic history

While the Gianlucian economy has been dependent on the exploitation and selling of its and its former colonies’ natural resources for most of the country’s history, the industrial revolution in the 1810s has been a turning point. The introduction of steam-powered machines through trade with the Austral Empire has not only led to higher production capacities and an increase in exports, but also to the first scientific boom, in which scientists and innovators have developed multiple concepts for complex machinery. With that they laid the foundation for innovations like modern cars or trains, which would eventually become goods Gianatla is one of the biggest exporters of up until today.

Due to decolonization and the subsequent loss of direct trading opportunities with several Pacifican countries in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Gianlucian Empire’s economy was becoming more focused on the extended Frastinian region. That region however, had mostly protectionist policies in place, which ultimately meant a drastic loss of capital for the companies and decreasing disposable income and wealth for the populace. The following rise of Frankism and the participation in the Great War have helped dampen the economic decline of the empire, also partially due to the use of slave labor in the occupied territories.

After the surrender in 1954 and the partial deindustrialization in order to pay reparations to the victims of the Gianlucian invasions, the economy of the newly found republic has been in shambles. Economic policies, that combined a free market with a social welfare state, were the key to the quick rebuilding of the Gianlucian market and the reestablishment of foreign trade relations in the 1960s and ‘70s, that are known today as Wirtschaftswunderpolitik (economic wonder policy). It was during this time, the Gianlucian economy has started to be known for having expertise in vehicle manufacturing, traffic planning, cheap energy production through nuclear power and food service.

The second scientific boom occurred in the mid-1990s and arguably lasts up until now. While in the beginning, the Gianlucians mainly tried to compete with other nations in the field of telecommunications, entrepreneurs would soon switch to digital services and software development instead. This culminated in becoming a global leader in the digital entertainment industry of today. Further fields of scientific development include the renewable energy sector, which experienced a boom in recent years at the cost of nuclear energy and the domestic mining economy.

Current market situation

See also: List of companies of Gianatla (Pacifica)

Whereas the primary sector is almost negligible nowadays in the Gianlucian economy, it only accounts for approximately 1% of the GDP, the secondary and tertiary sector are far more important, accounting for ca. 34% and 65% of the GDP respectively.

Since 1976 the Gianlucischer Wirtschaftsindex (Gianlucian Economic Index, GIWIX) in Osttor shows the 30, since 2011 50, largest Gianlucian companies by market capitalization. Currently (April 2022) roughly 40% of the companies listed in the index are part of the entertainment sector. Those include the streaming platforms Risa and Audit, but also several film producers and the gaming company Orion. Ca. 28% of the companies can be attributed to the manufacturing sector and include the Gianlucian branch of Aeronaut, the car manufacturer Volksmobil and the sports wear brand Fennick. The third largest sector is the food and food service sector with almost 11%, which contains companies like the fast food giant Schuhmachers or the chocolate producer Heinrich. All companies in the GIWIX together have a worth of around TSP-$ 846 billion.

International trade

Gianatla's geographic position is advantageous for international trade. Located at the Western boundary of Cordilia, some Gianlucian coastal cities have developed to be logistic hubs for maritime trade from the Western parts of Pacifica to the South Pacific region. The location around the Atlantic Strait, which is used by cargo ships travelling northbound from southern Cordilia, is profitable for Gianatla as they can charge cargo ships going through the strait or one of the alternative channels, that cut travel times at least in half unlike if a route alongside Bruuma and Puerto Pollo is taken.

Gianatla’s main economic partners are Besern, Erinor, Huawan and Sedunn. While there have been talks about free trade agreements with several countries, only one has been finalized up until today: an agreement with Snolland from 2008. With Gianatla co-founding the Concordia Entente in February 2022, the probability for a second, larger free trade agreement, also including the Frost Empire, Erinor and Sedunn, has increased. Talks on this have not begun yet.

Science and technology

The professional Gianlucian scientific community is one of the best funded in the South Pacific region, receiving support from both, the government, that spend ca. 4% of its budget on research and development, and private companies. Gianatla has profited from the scientific booms by becoming world-renowned innovators in the sectors of vehicle manufacturing and design, and software development. Green tech and medicinal research also became bigger in recent years, yet Gianatla is still not an innovation leader in those sectors. Former fields of heavy research in the Gianlucian scientific community include nuclear power production, telecommunications, computer hardware, resilient crops and fertilizers. In those areas, other countries have overtaken Gianatla in recent decades, which led to the government divesting of research funds in those sectors. The biggest scientific communities can be found at the universities in Nordtor, Atlantis and Freudstadt. The latter also hosts the WF-Committee for Science and Education.

Gianatla is part of the CPSC since 1998 and has an own space agency, but not an own launch site. Its biggest missions were its participation in modernising a module of the PSS in 2003 and the installment of a satellite for global traffic observations in 2009.

Tourism

Unlike its neighbors to the West, who profit from larger coastal areas and higher mountains, and to the East, who profit from steep climbable mountain ranges and offering a larger theme park industry, Gianatla is not as frequented by foreign tourists, albeit the number of travellers to Gianatla steadily increasing over the last few years.

Gianatla offers a variety of cultural facilities like museums or theatres, markets and spas. The dense transportation network does attract tourists from abroad too. Notable landmarks and sights include Neptune’s Mountain in the state of Atlantis, the Democracy Park in Gianlucastadt, the Königspalast building in Atlantis and the Gianniwood film studios in Südtor.

Future challenges

Gianatla is subject to demographic change. The birthrate has been declining for years already and even after the incorporation of Atlantis in 2011 there is no sign in sight, this development will be reversed anytime soon. This will eventually lead to higher government spending on pensions and healthcare, which would reduce the economic growth of the country in the future.

Furthermore, climate change is threatening the country. On the one hand rising sea levels and more frequent stark precipitation could lead to floods costing the society many losses in life and property due to how densely populated the country is. On the other hand the deceleration of currents bringing colder air into the region combined with the still continuing deforestation of some areas in Gianatla could lead to a desertification of the country. Chancellor Sanddorn and her green-liberal coalition have therefore agreed to make Gianatla climate neutral by 2040. There is also a rise of companies like Solstar or Zuhup noticeable, which focus on the construction of renewable energy plants or the development of CO2-capture methods.

Infrastructure

See also: Transport in Gianatla (Pacifica)

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Gianatla (Pacifica)

Population

Urban Areas

See also: List of Cities of Gianatla (Pacifica)

Languages

See also: Alman language (Pacifica) and Atlantic language (Pacifica)

Education

Main article: Education in Gianatla (Pacifica)

Culture

Main article: Culture of Gianatla (Pacifica)

Arts and Media

Main article: Media in Gianatla (Pacifica)