Questers
From WikiStates
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Confederated States of the Questarian Subcontinent
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| Motto: "Libertas, Lux, Et Arma" | ||||||
| Anthem: Battle Hymn of the Confederacy Royal anthem: God Save the King (defunct but still played on certain occasions) |
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| Capital (and largest city) |
Jesselton | |||||
| Official languages | English, Latin | |||||
| Recognised regional languages | Afrikaans, French, Spanish | |||||
| Ethnic groups | Anglo-Saxon, Boer, Kadazan, Black African | |||||
| Demonym | Questarian | |||||
| Government | Confederacy | |||||
| - | Federal Chancellor | Sir Laurence Grenville | ||||
| Establishment | ||||||
| - | Declaration of Independence | 1608 | ||||
| - | Legal and Sovereign Independence | 1692 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 16,079,933 km² (?th) 6,208,497 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | 11.25 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2009 estimate | 12,253,465,335 (?th) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2008 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $361.4 trillion (?th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $29,500 (?th) | ||||
| Gini | 63.3 | |||||
| HDI |  0.815 (high) (?th) |
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| Currency | Various private (Various) |
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| Calling code | +1-747 | |||||
Officially the Confederated States of the Questarian Subcontinent, Questers, the Questarian Confederacy or Questaria or even the Questarian subcontinent is a regional superpower in Haven. Almost entirely jungle, Questers has been fighting an internal insurgency against communist guerillas for the past forty years. Questarian racial policy, which has slowly developed from a slave state to an apartheid state to a white minority state, and now to a fledgeling democracy, is known throughout the world. The economically and socially empowered settler whites form almost one tenth of the population as opposed to the blacks who are the "proletarian masses" of Questers.
As a developing country, Questers' economy is slowly switching from a mostly primary and secondary economy to a secondary and tertiary economy, although the economy is still mostly focused on exports of all sorts of goods, especially shipbuilding, rice, and steel. Wealth and meritocracy are gaining speed extremely quickly. Historically, Questers has been an empire and a naval power but the recent conversion to a confederate form of Government has led to increased isolationism and a declining role in the world, particularly with the independence of many former colonies.
Questers is considered an Anglospheric nation and as such has strong ties to those countries, as well as non-English speaking countries such as Franberry, Chevrokia, and Cotland. It is a member of various international organisations.
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OOC Player
Although Questers is a sexist, racist and classist society, the player behind the country does not hold the first two values in real life and is a noted Libertarian. Consider this a disclaimer that even though I rp a racist country I DO NOT HATE BLACKS IRL.
History
While Questers has been inhabited since time immemorial by its black population, the "history proper" of Questaria, as various historians have referred to, began approximately seven hundred years ago. A Praetonian explorer known only as John of Holborn, first charted the existence of the country, but did not land until 1351. There he met peacefully a native tribe with whom he exchanged weapons and supplies. They were interested greatly in bullion, and Holborn told them that should he return, "he should bring with him more bullion than they could carry, and that the wealth of their peoples would be increased many times over by the establishment of a permament post by which goods and land could be exchanged for bullion or else more valuable wares."
Holborn did indeed return in 1360, with two ships loaded with bullion, and persuaded the King of this tribe to cede to Holborn a large section of what is now known as the Landing state, where Holborn established the trading town of what is now Haltemprice. In the following hundred years, more and more trading posts sprung up in the Landing. In 1501, the Praetonian holdings in Questaria become united as the Praetonian Colonies; the modern day states of New Praetonia, Landing, the Thames Peninsula, Yarmouth and Havenica, ruled by the Praetonian crown. Many Senland traders began selling voyages to the new world packaged with a deal of free land. "An Appeal to Brave Questers who Seek Property and Liberty: Three-score Acres of New World land for would-be Settlers." From this moment onwards the general demonym for those settlers in the Praetonian colonies became "Questers". Only later would the country be renamed to Questers and the demonym changed to Questarian.
Thousands of square miles of land became shortly colonised. Unfortunately, the natives of the land had no say in these developments. The Praetonian colonists were able to divide and rule by buying off the most powerful native leaders and simply fighting running battles with the weaker ones. Despite violence, the colonies were hugely profitable. By 1530, huge amounts of tobacco were being shipped to Praetonia, where the climate is unsuitable for growing the crop, and where it had not yet been discovered in any reasonable amount. Tobacco rapidly became the export upon which the Colonial economy was based, sowing the seeds for the agriculture economy that still exists in vast parts of the country today. Various opiates were also exported at great profit to New world traders and Praetonian consumers. Much like the Senland in the mother country, the colonies were obliged to provide 35% of their produce to the crown, but not a single leaf of tobacco was ever surrendered to the crown.
As independent as the colonist might have believed they were, they were not immune to old world politics. In 1601, a new Praetonian Emperor, Castillius, was crowned and demanded the back payment of taxes from all those who owed them. In Praetonia, the Senland declared war on the Emperor, and in a similar vein, the Praetonian colonies shortly declared their independence from the Crown, evicting the Emperor's officers and arresting his small garrisons there, most famously at the Battle of Howden Fort.
In his capacity as Emperor, Castillius has declared that the Senland must pay unto him the sum of all taxation levied by his Court since the establishment of that levy, which so far has been avoided with little effort. This is a great burden upon the peoples of that Free State, and so to it is upon us: as we too have fallen under his wrath, for he demands that we, in the New world, the Praetonian colonies who have sworn with no great necessity, fealty to his Crown out of a love for the mother country, must also pay the levy which was imposed upon us at our establishment, including our greatest of industries, that of tobacco. Such a levy might mean that our people will be indebted to produce solely for the benefit of His Majesty's Court for another five or even six decades.
The Emperor Castillius is a man of great power and influence. Under his command lie entire armies and fleets who are ready to commit to his tasks, whatever they may be. Yet he is but a man. A mortal, made from flesh, and who, though we pay him tribute as our King, is regarded rightly and justly under our law as our equal. The liberty upon which we have built our land, through the common law, has but one law, which all men must follow which states equivocally that no man may inflict harm upon another man. The imposition of slavery upon the free peoples of these Colonies -- for let us not forget that is precisely what the decree of this Emperor intends to make of us -- is of ultimate harm. Castillius has been tried in absentia by a court. He has been given the rights that he is due; a jury, a judge, and men of law subject to the procedure. That court has found him guilty.
As the representative of these Colonies, I declare, in the name of the People, of Liberty, and of God, that the levy imposed by the Crown upon our realm is illegitimate, and thus the Crown is illegitimate. I declare that these states, these colonies, whom have served so loyally and with honour and dignity the Praetonian crown for many hundreds of years, are, and of right out to be free and independent.
—-Sir Andrew Wilberforce
Government
Foreign relations and military
Ex Colonies
Anglosphere
Navy
Army
Airforce
States
Geography
Environment
Economy
Questers is a laissez-faire market export economy, whose exports hold the consistent and considerable advantage over almost all other Havenic countries in terms of price for the reason that Questers is one of the few Havenic countries where monetary deflation is a consistently occurring fact of life. Questers sells a large variety of goods overseas, and although its economy is extremely large, personal wealth is lower than many of Questers' closest allies.
Questers has the 'big four' exports; rice, coal, steel, and shipbuilding, in which it is a regional leader in all four, coming either largely ahead (rice) or marginally ahead (steel) of its competitors. Some of the lowest labour prices in the region, deflation, and consistent overseas demand has allowed production in these four fields to rise year after year non-stop. Its other main areas of exports are cotton, machine tools, and automobiles, although it is a leader in neither. Recent attempts to outproduce Midlauthia in cotton have failed, although the exports of Land Rovers and other off-road vehicles has put Questers on the map as an automobile exporter. Recently, as private issued currency has become more popular, Questarian banks are becoming more important to the economy, especially in the New Praetonia region, where services are booming. The states of New Praetonia and Landing are now mostly tertiary with some secondary industry and are leading the country with a GDP/PC of $45,000 and $39,000 respectively.
Race relations are an important part of the Questarian economy and the economy has been criticised for the disparity in whites and blacks. The black majority makes up 97% of the nation's working class and is employed in labour both unskilled, skilled, and desk all across the country. A small white working class exists in the anarchist state of Saratoga. The unemployment rate of 4.5% has recently spiralled to 7% and this affects almost entirely blacks. On the other hand in recent years, Questers has been praised as it is becoming easier for black Africans to work their way up the system. Competition has been said to have made Questers more meritocratic as it is thought that foreign firms are less likely to have racist sentiment than domestic firms.
Economic Freedom
Questers consistently ranks extremely high in areas of economic freedom, with no income tax, consumption tax, excises or duties, tarrifs, inheritance tax, capital goods tax, etc etc. Tax is generally low and levied on land or property, which although complicated yields high returns for the State. The only Government intervention in the banking sector is the enforcement of fraud law which means that Questers practices Full Reserve Banking. Famously, the Bank of Havenica was sued for the titanic sum of $85 billion after State investigators discovered they were running at a 77% Fractional Reserve. Nonetheless, Questers enjoys consistent low deflation and an innovative banking industry which has found ways to operate in a Full Reserve environment. Most Questarian currencies are on a Gold Standard, although some operate on other standards, famously tobacco.
European Social Integrity Fund
The Federal Government's only financial program, which is levied from a 2.5% property tax, is the European Social Integrity Fund, essentially a "bailout fund" for whites in financial trouble. To be qualified, a receiver of this benefit has to have had a purely white family for one generation, has to have served in the military unless an adequate excuse was provided, and has to have a non-mortgaged property. In this instance the Federal Government will pay off all debts, provide a lump sum equal to $100,000, and will prohibit the receiver from entering transactions of above equivalent value to $5,000 for 12 months unless approved by an appropriate risk-evaluation organisation. The ESIF is designed to ensure that no European descends into poverty by clearing their debts and providing them with startup capital or money to live off until they find suitable employment. The ESIF is presently funded 25% by charity and 75% from the property tax, which is the only tax levied by the Federal Government. Outside of military operations, the ESIF is the only Federal programme. It is also the greatest impediment on economic freedom in Questers.
"The Narcotic Economy"
There are zero drug laws in Questers and as a result narcotics are a major export and source of wealth for the Confederacy. Cannabis, Cocaine, Heroin and Ecstasy are produced en-masse and exported, legally and illegally, all over Haven, making Questers the drug nation of Haven. Calls internationally for Questers to crack down on the export of narcotics to illegal countries have resulted in nothing. It is estimated that Narcotics bring in $4tn to the Questarian economy.
Import/Export
Questers currently maintains a trade surplus of approximately $35 trillion USD.
Exports: Rice, oilseed, fish, foodstuffs, cotton, tobacco, coffee, rubber, coal, steel, ships, military technology, machine tools, automobiles
Imports: Optical and medical equipment, plastics, organic chemicals, petroleum, fuels, textiles
Infrastructure
As a developing country, Quester's infrastructure is important. Roads and rail are both private and operate competitively against one another, to the extent that rail, especially freight-rail, is extremely cheap. Roads are of low quality but area also cheap and stretch into areas most rails do not reach. Air transport is also popular and cheap, with many small airfields flying small planes and helicopters from one area to another being considered the equivalent of buses in most western countries.
Most main roads follow the coastline, or rivers, since large parts of the jungle are protected under the Indigenous Right to Property Act. This is one reason that aerial travel is becoming more and more popular, the other being an abundance of trained pilots and groundcrew, ex-military airstrips, and extremely cheap fuel. Because the startup capital that might otherwise make the air travel companies impossible was already there post-war, this industry quickly rapidly grew in prominence.
Infrastructure in the North is more developed and roads are less primitive. Rail is high-speed and frequently used as it connects the coastal cities. Meanwhile the Great Questarian Railway goes from one end of the country to the other in a Y shape; starting at Haltemprice and splitting off at Jesselton, eventually ending up at Sandakan or Kuching.
Education
Demographics
| Ethnic Group1 | Percentage* |
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| Black African | 87% |
| White European | 7.8% |
| Indigenous Asian | 4% |
| Asian | 2% |
| Other | 2% |
Culture
White culture
Language and nationality
The whites of Questers speak many different languages, from the colonial era; this list excludes English, as almost everyone learns English as a first language then their family language as a second. It is not uncommon to hear these languages on the streets in certain states and towns and certainly they still enjoy a considerable popularity, although English is still the official language and 68% of Questarian whites speak English as a first language. English is taught in almost all schools and almost all road-signs are in English (although they may be in another language, too.) Questers considers itself, and is considered by others, to be part of the Anglosphere, a collection of states which have English as their primary language.
Accent varies. In the North Western states, accent is similar to that of New England, whereas in the West, around Havenica, it is received pronunciation. In the Southern and Central areas, accent is similar to Rhodesian and South African. Regardless of accent, Questarians use British English for spelling and dialects are astonishingly similar, especially as all white Questarians are what other nations might term middle class or bourgeoise.
| Language1 | Percentage* |
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| Afrikaans | 38.5% |
| French | 29.8% |
| Spanish | 12.7% |
| Italian | 9% |
| German | 6.8% |
| Other | 0.2% |
Popular culture
The term "popular culture" is used here to describe the general culture of white Questarians. This has been summed up in previous years as a siege mentality, although that has somewhat been broken with the advent of democracy and the civil war. It is usually referred to, especially in politics and the media, as the Questarian "way of life."
It refers to the huge privilege enjoyed by the white population at birth, including an average household income of $200,000 or more, world-class education and healthcare and generally high levels of technology. Questarian terrain is mostly rainforest and mountain and from an early age, children learn the skills of marksmanship and fieldcraft, learning how to survive in the jungle, on their own and in groups, either by being instructed by their parents, through an Army Cadet scheme, or through groups like the Boy's Scouts and Boy's Brigade. Most Questarian homes are armed and young Questarian males are good shots, learning at an early age with an FN-FAL or an SMLE. This has lead to the White Questarians being sometimes referred to as a Spartan nation, although this is not particularly true. Questarians as a people are generally lightweight and not of a stocky build, unlike for example the Doomani.
The Questarian character is associated strongly with bravado, belligerence, and arrogance. They have been described as "less cultured" than their English-speaking brethren as the high-arts, especially theatre, are not well valued in Questers and Questarians are somewhat less polite in nature, being generally more 'rough' - probably a result of the habitat and years of war. Questarians can nonetheless be respectful and well-cultured if they want to be, although the situation does not usually require it. The background of an ordinary white Questarians life in contrast to the life of an ordinary English speaking person in other parts of the world is one reason for the large disparity in culture. At the age of seventeen, Questarians are recruited into the Army for three years, and often will be deployed on combat operations. As a result, they tend to be more "experienced" than their counterparts in "rebellious" youth culture -- alcohol, drugs, and sex, for example, and of course, killing communists.
The unfortunate result of conscription, which is not widely opposed, is that depression and other mental problems are widespread in Questers. As a result Questaria is a leader in pyschology and pyschiatric help. The other unfortunate result is that it is not uncommon for a teenager to die in combat.
Although there are scarcely any laws that might make one believe so, Questers has been described as a fortress state. While it lacks the security apparatus of a police state, in that its law and order is very loose and there are not many laws on very many things, most households are armed, almost all whites are trained in the use of firearms, and almost all white men serve in the military. Isolated houses, homesteads, and plantations are built with defence in mind and often feature things like helicopter pads and plate-armoured rooms and doors. The threat of insurgency for many years and the general atmosphere of living in a jungle built up in the Questarian mindset an adeptness for defence and innovation. Questarians excel at fieldcraft and are amongst the worlds best when it comes to jungle terrain and climates which otherwise might be intolerable to other nationalities. Militarily Questarians are perfect for light infantry roles but fall short in heavy infantry, in part due to equipment, but also because of the culture and upbringing.
The Land Rover and its derivatives are considered to be something of a national symbol of Questers. They are extremely popular for their low-maintenance requirements, good off-road capacity, and for the cheapness of the fuel they use. They have since become strongly associated with the country and the first thing many tourists notice about the country when they arrive home is the Questarian obsession with the Land Rover, commonly referred to as the "Landy", although other off-road vehicles -- the Toyota Hilux, the Unimog, and various jeeps are also popular.
White Questarian society is very sex-segregated. This is well illustrated by the fact that the military does not conscript women, and the general perception of women in Questarian society is that fighting is not their job, which is correctly the upbringing of children and looking after the home, although a growing number of white Questarian women are entering employment. Family activites are typically father/son -- which would be hunting or boxing or similar things, and mother/daughter, typical activities of which are cooking, reading, and training to enter "high society" and the social circles of Questarian society. It is the role of both father and mother in white Questarian society to model their children "properly", to give them correct social training in regards to etiquette and fashion, and essentially to perpetuate the current system. Sexism is rife.
Race & religion
White Questarians are mostly religious. Many go to Church on a Sunday and creationism is taught in schools in religious education, although in scientific education evolution is also taught. Religious values are felt by the population to be the discipline of a nation, although in recent years with drug and alcohol abuse growing, calls for a more religious society have been hotly debated. Most of Questers is Protestant.
| Religion 1 | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Protestant | 65% |
| Atheist/Agnostic | 18% |
| Jewish | 6% |
| Roman Catholic | 5% |
| Pagan/animist | 3.2% |
| Other | 2.8% |
Results of a recent survey with the question: "Are you racist?" posited to whites.
| Answer 1 | Present day | Twenty years ago* |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 40% | 88% |
| No | 17.7% | 2% |
| Unsure | 29% | 2.5% |
| I am a racialist, but not a racist | 11% | 6% |
| Other | 1.8% | 1.5% |
Cuisine, drink & tobacco
Food
Eating out in Questers is very affordable and white families will eat out usually six out of seven days. On sunday they will have a traditional roast dinner at home which is usually chicken or pork but is sometimes beef or lamb, or even rabbit or duck. The quality of diet for whites is very good and this has bolstered the genes of the white population and accounts for their genetic healthiness. White Questarians may choose to eat at any kind of establishment; restaurants of the food of any nationality are common in major cities, as well as "open front" bars, which are a collection of tables between two to eight seats. These tables have a hole in the centre where a "beer bucket" is located, which is a plastic bucket filled with ice and beer (or wine) bottles, and the occupants of the table sit in a circle to eat. Questarians enjoy alcohol alongside meals (and outside of mealtimes, too.) "Open front" bars serve basic food, which is usually any type of seafood or meat; in particular, pork or chicken, which are favourites in Questers.
Rice is the staple food in Questers, although whites rarely eat rice for breakfast or lunch, preferring potato or bread based food such as hash browns or sandwiches. Noodles are also popular. Breakfast is typically eaten at seven AM, lunch at one PM, and dinner at seven or eight or even nine PM. These meals are family-orientated and often the only times that families can get together to discuss their day, so mealtimes are important in white Questarian culture. White Questarian food is of a high quality and because of the high variety of foods, white Questarians enjoy a balanced, healthy, and usually tasty diet.
Junk food consumption is on the rise however, but health problems to do with consumption are usually balanced by the fact that white Questarians tend to do alot of excercise; whether sport, or trips into the jungle, or Army service, obesity figures are low: only 3.5% of white Questarians are obese. Fast food chain restaurants are not popular as white Questarians do not typically live a busy life and do not mind waiting an extra five or ten minutes for better quality food.
Drink
The favourite, and national alcohol drink of Questers is gin and especially gin and tonic, although premium lagers are also popular, as are good-quality wines. White Questarians drink heavily and alcoholism is one of Quester's leading health problems. Unlike other English-speaking countries, Questers lacks the traditional English concept of the "pub", which is more suited to temeperate weather, and instead has bars and beerhouses, named alcohouses, which makes Questarian drinking culture more similar to German than it does to English.
Children begin to drink early, moderated by their parents, either starting with low-alcohol content beers manufactured specially for this purpose, or with wines and usually by the age of sixteen have begun drinking with their friends, as Questers has no drinking age. Alcohouses moderate the consumption of children and white Questarians have an extremely responsible drinking behaviour. Alcoholism stems mostly from military service and depression.
Tobacco
Tobacco is very popular, with almost 50% of white Questarians smoking cigarettes and up to 75% smoking cigars and pipes. Questers has its own cigarette brands, although real-life brands such as Marlboro and Lucky Strike are extremely popular. The Confederate Tobacco Company manufactures the Tiger brand of cigarettes which are popular in Questers and overseas, and tobacconists can be found in every major town which sell a variety of tobaccos. There exists no tax on tobacco in Questers and as such it is extremely cheap.
N.B.: The player behind Questers believes that the health problems assosciated with tobacco are extremely exaggerated and as such does not RP as large health problems as other nations might do with the same statistics.
Sports
White Questarians enjoy two types of sports. The first are "high sports", which specifically include polo, badminton and tennis. These are played by many Questarians and Questers fields a strong international polo team, which is second only to Franberry in Haven. The second type of sports are more "practical sports", which include marksmanship, boxing, and sailing, all three of which are played strongly by Questers internationally. Boxing and marksmanship especially are common sports which are treated as highly competitive in Questers, which are related to the white Questarian culture. Again this has led to allegations that Questarians are "spartan", although this again is not particularly true as the typical spartan sports such as wrestling, are not played.
"Ball sports" such as football or basketball are not usually played by white Questarians who consider them "uncivilised", and although while rugby is an exception to this, it is still rarely played.
Questaria has also produced several world class middle distance runners, including current 3000m and 3000m steeplechase world record holder, Gareth Coe.
Art
African culture
Cuisine
Religion
Sports
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