Cazatania

*Demokratischrepublik Cazatania*
Democratic Republic of Cazatania
Demokratischrepublik Cazatania Democratic Republic of Cazatania
Flag	Government seal
	Motto: "Si vis pacem, para bellum"; (English: "If you seek peace, prepare for war")
	Anthem: Cazatania Stay Free;
Capital	New Berlin
Largest city	Gotthold
Official languages	English, German
Recognised regional languages	Cazatanian, Russian
Ethnic groups	German, Russian, Native Cazatanian, English
Demonym	Cazatanian, Cazatan
Government	Democratic republic
Establishment
Area
Population
GDP (PPP)	estimate
Currency	Marke (ш)
Calling code	+601

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The Democratic Republic of Cazatania is a moderate libertarian republic located in mid-eastern Greater Dienstad. It is known for it's varying stance on foreign policy and heavily armed citizenry.

This is a work in progress. Do not edit.

Geography

A view of Lake Samish, located in northern Cazatania

Cazatania is a geographically large country, neighboring the nation of Lord Sumguy. Cazatania's climate ranges from temperate to arctic, with the most populated areas of the country in the heavily developed temperate central region. The northern area of Cazatania is very mountainous, and has a very cold arctic climate. This area of the nation also contains large ice flows and glacial rifts, although they have been receding recently due to natural climate change. Cazatania's extensive coastline spans most of the southern part of the nation, and it is primarily covered in temperate forests and cities. Average winter and summer temperatures throughout the country vary greatly, although winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, particularly in the northern regions, where daily average temperatures are near −20 °C. In more temperate regions of country, particularly the central and southern regions, winters are much less harsh. Those areas experience average daily temperatures of −2 °C. Summers usually warm the entire country by at least 18 °C. The northernmost settlement in Cazatania is the Har village of Ulr'och, and the southernmost is Gotthold, the most populated city in Cazatania. It has been suggested that Cazatania has the most freshwater lakes in the region, though this claim is debated by many other nations in the region. Even if this claim is not accurate, Cazatania is indeed one of the leading nations in this area.

History

Early History

The land now known as Cazatania was first inhabited by humans around 13,000 B.C.E. It is unknown how these early humans originally migrated to the region, but it is known that around 4,000 B.C.E these humans started settling down and forming tribes. Most of them would later form into the Har tribes, migrating and then settling down in almost all parts of the region. The Har tribes continued to exist as the dominant tribal group in the region until 1686, when whites of Germanic and English descent and free blacks intent on escaping political persecution first discovered the region. After scouting the region and finding that the resources they needed were plentiful, they decided to settle down on the southern coast of the area. Within three years, the settlers encountered Har tribesmen when a small group of them approached one of the smaller settlements. It is assumed that a general language misunderstanding caused the first conflict between the settlers and the natives. It is unknown which side started the fight, but this conflict would lead to a poor relationship between the settlers and natives up until the early 20th century. By 1701, the small collection of towns had expanded into a large collection of cities and ports, with the white and free black population numbering upwards 300,000. At the time there was no central government in existence; the towns and cities were governed independently by either democratically elected city councils or by groups of citizens seeking to maintain order. Constant growth of the settlements up until the 1740s created an equally growing threat of attacks by bandits, pirates or even the now somewhat pacified Har natives. Even though the attacks were mostly limited to the outer towns, the leadership in the larger cities such as Gotthold and New Berlin were becoming worried that the attacks could grow in intensity. The leadership of these two cities decided that it would be beneficial if they made an attempt to unify the settlements in the name of common defense. The plan was generally accepted by the populace of the settlements, and within five years the plan was starting to come to fruition.

Independence Era

By 1750 the new pact of settlements was beginning to show progress towards becoming an independent nation-state. The settler population of the region was nearing a million people, with thousands of Har natives starting to migrate to the cities for protection and a chance at a better life. One key figure in settlement politics was Daniel Marsdon, a man of Har descent who was a strong advocate for a united nation state. He had begun working with the leadership of the new nation-state, namely Roland Gimmons and Alexander Jeffrey along with twenty others, to craft a constitution and bill of rights, for he and the men he worked with feared that a government without restraint would destroy the freedoms of the previously unregulated society. Marsdon decided that the new nation-state should be named after the Har word for liberty, cazatan. The name for the state was to be 'Cazatania'. The declaration of independence was signed April 17th, 1752, stating that the new country was now a republic, with representatives from each town or city being democratically elected by the citizens of said towns. Almost immediately after the signing of the declaration of independence, the newly elected President, Alexander Jeffrey, along with the majority of the recently elected representatives, successfully passed a bill that formed a volunteer reserve army meant for the defence of the new nation. Along with the formation of the army, the constitution stated that citizens of the republic should own at least one firearm suitable for combat, and that an unorganized militia would be crucial in defending areas where the military would not be able to reach, such as the settlements further north. Because of these measures, fighting between citizens of Cazatania and natives had begun to die down. Several decisive military victories for the government pushed both native resistance and violent bandits far into the northern area of the country, allowing settlers to build towns and cities in the far northern reaches of the nation.By 1783, the republic had grown significantly. New towns were springing up further and further north, and the towns that had existed at the dawn of the republic and earlier were growing at an amazing rate. The population at the founding of Cazatania had already nearly tripled, with the population now counting at three million. The Republic of Cazatania was becoming an increasingly prosperous young nation.

Expansionary Era

Early 20th Century

Mid 20th Century

Londinian Wars Era

Modern Era

Politics and Government

Healthcare

Cazatania operates on a completely free market health care system, with companies competing for business in the healthcare industry. Due to a lack of high taxes and burdening regulations, health care is incredibly inexpensive for the individual, allowing those who are worse off to afford health care. Many non-healthcare related companies pay for their employee's healthcare, not just because it is affordable, but because it is seen as the right and moral thing to do. A contributing factor to the low costs of healthcare is the fact that most Cazatanians tend to keep themselves physically fit. Several surveys determined that this was because of Cazatania's semi-militaristic culture and strong militia sentiments.

Foreign affairs and Military

Main article: Cazatanian Armed Services

Cazatanian Army Soldiers on patrol in Southern Greal

Cazatania maintains a large military, although it is rarely used offensively. The branches of the Cazatanian Armed Services are administered by the Department of War, which consist of the Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Air Force, and the Navy. Service in the Cazatanian armed forces is required, however, conscription only lasts six months including two months of training. Conscription in Cazatania is used as a method to train civilians leadership and combat skills; Conscripts may choose to continue service as a professional volunteer in the regular force. In recent times, conscription has become increasingly unpopular, and it is unlikely it will continue for more than five years.

Energy

Most of Cazatania's electricity is produced by the nation's many coal and nuclear plants, although solar power is becoming more popular in less populated areas of the country. Cazatanians have never been known as anything even resembling environmentalists, and the electrical power generated by the nation's coal and nuclear plants is considered a justification for the pollution they cause. Hydro-dams have recently become popular with power companies, the largest hydro-power company being Cazatania Hydro. Hydro power accounts for roughly 16% of all electrical power generated in Cazatania. Individuals and farmers tend to lean more towards affordable renewable energy to power parts of their homes in order to keep their power bills down. It is not entirely uncommon in some areas of the country to see a small field of solar panels next to a farm or townhouse.

Education

Education in Cazatania is very different than in most other countries. Unlike standard western schooling, the Cazatanian education doctrine was designed with a strong military flavor. Students are given marksmanship training (Marksmanship begins in Secondary School), military style physical education, military history classes, and even martial arts. However, this is all secondary to basic classes such as mathematics, language, history, and philosophy. Primary education starts as the age of five and ends at the age of twelve. Secondary School starts at the age of thirteen and ends at the age of seventeen. Secondary schooling focuses more on military inspired schooling than Primary, which mostly focuses on mental education. Most students attend college after graduating from Secondary; College in Cazatania is viewed as both career training and as a way to gain respect in Cazatanian society. However, most students tend to attend college after their mandatory six months service in the Armed Forces. Secondary School students are also allowed to enroll in the Cazatanian Military Cadets, a program funded by the military that focuses on military style training, responsibility, fitness and, marksmanship. Over 63% of all Secondary students are members of the Military Cadets.

Economy

The economy of Cazatania is a nearly unregulated free-market system, with almost nonexistent taxes. Because of this, Cazatania is among the fastest growing economies in the region. Cazatania is both a consumer and producer economy, importing goods from around the world as well as exporting goods to other nations.

Small Arms Industry

Because of the extremely large percentage of Cazatanians who own firearms, a massive industry dedicated to producing and selling firearms for the gun owning population has grown exponentially in recent years. Because of the abundance of firearms in Cazatania, mass produced rifles like the G78, G1, and FN G61 have dropped in price significantly, often selling for less than half the price of the same rifle exported on the world market. Companies like Royal Arms and New Berlin Arms have recently begun exporting their firearms to other nations. Ammunition is also mass produced in Cazatania, and exported to allied nations as well as sold domestically.

Commodities Industry

Cazatania has always had a large industry dedicated to the production and export of commodities. These commodities include timber, food, petroleum products, and fish. The expansive forests of Northern and Central Cazatania allow the nation to export vast amounts of timber; most of this timber is not exported outside of the region because of shipping costs. The Northern regions contain massive oil fields, allowing the Cazatanian petroleum industry to export millions of barrels of oil per year. Petroleum product prices are domestically cheap because of these oil fields. The southern coastal regions of the nation are home to a prospering fishing and crabbing industry. This has allowed small coastal towns to grow into full size cities in under a decade.

Agriculture

A grain elevator in Southern Cazatania

Cazatania's prosperous agriculture industry has allowed the nation to export portions of it's massive grain production. Along with large wheat farms, thousands of small farms operated by either families or individuals produce much of the country's vast supplies of produce, grain, meat, and dairy. Much of this is exported to other nations of the region. Because of the nation's culture, a large percentage of citizens work on these farms. Recently, however, smaller farms have come under attack by leftist insurgents. These insurgents are almost always driven back by Farmer militias, who band together during these rare attacks.

Demographics

Religion

The overwhelming majority of Cazatanians identify themselves as Deists or Agnostics, though Christianity is popular in the Eastern regions of the nation. The Cazatanian government maintains a secular position on religion, as the Constitution prohibits an official state religion.

Religion ¹	Percentage
Deist	60%
Agnostic	20 %
No Religious Belief	7%
Christian	5%
Atheist	4%
Other	4%

Language

English and German are the two official languages of Cazatania. Other western inspired languages are spoken commonly as well, mostly due to immigrants. English is the most commonly spoken language of the two official languages.

Second Languages ¹	Percentage
Afrikaans	45%
Russian	25 %
Spanish	20%
French	6%
Other	4%

Culture

'Gun Culture'

Since the settling of Cazatania, firearms of all kinds, from muskets to the iconic FN G61 battle rifle, have been one of the pillars of the country's culture. And estimated 90% of the populace owns firearms; most of these gun owners are members of organized civilian militias, however a number of gun owners have no interest in the militia and own firearms for hunting or recreation. It is common practice for civilians to own military style semi or fully automatic firearms, the most popular of these being the FN G61, a variant of the Questarian FN FGR, and the G78. Although these types of firearms are popular, the majority of firearms owned by Cazatanians are bolt action hunting rifles or old military surplus rifles. The right of civilians to keep and bear arms is guaranteed by the 3rd article of the Cazatanian Constitution. The founders of Cazatania were suspicious of centralized power and supported the right to fight against tyranny in government. Because of this, Cazatania has never been subject to domestic tyranny; although foreign nations have occupied Cazatania. In both cities and in the rural areas of the nation, it is extremely likely to see civilians walking down the street with rifles or handguns in open carry. Tourists from countries that lack this sort of mentality often find this unnerving, although tourists from countries with similar firearms laws tend to be comfortable around those carrying firearms. Because of both the military's compulsory service and marksmanship training in school, Cazatanians are seen as notoriously good shots. Even though this is a generalization, most Cazatanians tend to practice shooting several times a week.

Cuisine

Cazatanian cuisine is mostly influenced by that of Germany, England, and Canada, creating an interesting blend of foods not often seen in other parts of the world. Due to the large percentage of citizens of Germanic descent, sausages, beer, and potatoes are common foods throughout the country. Cazatanians are also very fond of sandwiches, particularly Montreal style smoked meat. Sandwiches are traditionally served with coleslaw, smashed potatoes, and a quarter of a tomato, although it is also common for potato pancakes to be served in the place of the smashed potatoes. Poutine is also popular, but not as widespread as potato pancakes or smashed potatoes. English style dishes such as fish and chips are also popular amongst Cazatanians.

Sports