A Brief History of Gonzdara

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I will be posting maps, stories, histories, and reports related to Gonzdara, here, although it will not be all at once. Be sure to check in reguarly.

I DO NOT TAKE CREDIT FOR ANY PICTURE USED IN THIS, UNLESS I SAY OTHERWISE!

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History:

The beginning (1756-1802)- Centuries ago a band of pilgrims fleeing the oppression of their former home walked across the frozen landscape of what is now the Gonzdarian Mountains. They walked until they thought they could walk no more, but thats when they found it, a beautiful river valley in the midst of the chaotic landscape. The pilgrims quickly set up a settlement on this valley and they called it Gonzdara, after their leader Arthur Gonz, and his wife Darla Gonz. The settlement of Gonzdara grew very quickly as more pilgrims escaped across the borders of their oppressive homes. The only problem with this new settlement was their close proximity to a tribe of savages who the Gonzdarians called "The Natives".

The Native Wars(1803-1805)- There is a long period of Gonzdara that is seldom talked about, and that is the Native Wars. As the Gonzdarian settlement grew, they came closer and closer to the Natives Settlements. After a tavern was built over a sacred graveyard, the Natives started to attack. The fights didnt last long, as the Gonzdarians quickly destroyed The Natives cities with their powerful muskets and cannons, however Arthur Gonz was killed by a stray arrow in one of the raids. After the carnage was over The Natives where forced to retreat into the coldest places of the Gonzdarian Mountains where the Gonzdarians didnt want to live anyways. Everyone thought that was the last they would see of The Natives.

Start of a nation (1806-1867) Without the leadership of Arthur Gonz, Gonzdara became an Autonomous Commune where every citizen had a vote in every issue, but as the population grew, this became harder and harder to do, eventually Gonzdara had to be molded into a republic where the citizens voted for coucil members who would then vote amongst themselves on all issues until they died. This worked for a very long time, and Gonzdara soon pushed its borders all across the Gonzdarian valley and the Gonzdarian mountains.

Revolution! (1868-1873)- The council undoubtably wouldnt work forever, and it didnt. Eventually the council became very corrupt, and they where eventually able to give themselves absolute power over the gonzdarian citizenry. The council was known for extorting money from the civilians, rigging elections to get their family on the council, and even forcing Gonzdarian women to serve them as slaves. The citizens could only take this for so long until they revolted against the council. It was a long, hard fight between the citizens and the military but the citizens eventually won. Every member of the council was hanged. Marcus Claudian, who directed the revolt, was elected as Gonzdaras first president.

The Golden Age (1874-1906)- Marcus Claudian was the greatest ruler Gonzdara had ever seen. He freed all of the slaves, established education and healthcare systems, and pushed Gonzdaras borders double the size of what they had been before. Marcus Claudian took Gonzdara from a small nation, to an empire. Part of his success was due to his use of the Gonzdarian Knights, a secret group of highly trained, equipped, and commited soilders who awnsered only to him. When Marcus needed to get past the bueracracy and get somthing done, he simply used the Knights.

The Reign of Terror (1907-1923)- Marcus Claudians son, Richard Claudian was elected after Marcus to be the next president. Richard Claudian wasnt as englightened as his father and he chose to take advantage of Gonzdara for his own gain. Richard Claudian used the Gonzdarian military to take over the nation and make himself the All Powerful Emperor of Gonzdara. In this reign of terror, Richard Claudian instituted slavery again, he took away all education systems, and he limited the health system to only the upper class. He made Gonzdara one of the wealthiest nations in the world, but all of the money was in the government, military, or upperclass, while the middle and lower classes starved. Gonzdaras borders almost quadrupled during Richards reign through all of his military conquests. At age 48 Richard Claudian was assasinated by an agent from Tristans Land.

Anarchy (1924-1958)- After Richard Claudians death, chaos broke out. With no proper government and no rules, the long oppressed citizens broke out in a frenzy of murder, theft, rape, and drugs. The Gonzdarian military broke up into seperate factions and started to fight each other for control of the nation. To make matters worse, this was also the time when The Natives returned to take their sacred land back. The Natives had been living in the Gonzdarian Mountains all this time, they had developed into tough and burly hunters, fully clad in leather, and carrying old muskets. The Natives destroyed many Cities in Gonzdara. This fighting between the Military, Natives, and Gonzdarians went on for years until the Gonzdarian Knights, who now had noone to awnser to, saved the entire nation by using newly researched technology to wipe out both the Military, and the Natives. The Gonzdarian Knights where the saviors of the entire nation as they paraded through the streets declaring peace.

The Revival (1959-2005)- Gonzdara was a complete wreck. The economy was ruined, the borders had shrunk to almost nothing, and the citizens where up in arms over what to do, they turned to the Gonzdarian Knights who has saved them from the constant fighting of the warlords. The Knights beleived that Gonzdara should go back to its begginings if it wanted to be powerful again, so they made the nation into an autonomous commune. The Commune was slightly more efficient than in the beggining but it still had its difficulties. Initially the Commune reduced the size of the military to just enough to defend the borders, they initialized a simple education and health system, and they increased the amount of slaves in the nation higher than it had ever been. After the initial reforms, not much else happened. Most Gonzdarians owned land and where avid farmers with their many slaves, the Gonzdarian Knights slowly disbanded with nothing to do, and the military continued to patrol the borders against the constant invaders trying to take Gonzdara in its weakened state.

The Technocracy movement (2006-2009)- The Commune eventually stopped meeting as Gonzdara seemed to run itself quite efficiently. With no real government inplace, a buisnessman named Gregory Mercer, saw a great oppurtunity. Gregory started campaigning all across Gonzdara, he told the people that they needed to reinstate the Commune so they could elect him as the ruler of Gonzdara. Gregory promised to return Gonzdara to its former glory. Eventually, after 3 years of campaigning, Greogry's dream came true, he was elected King of Gonzdara.

Current Day (2010-)- Gregory Mercer is currently the ruler of Gonzdara, he has so far been quite fair and just, and has kept most of his promises, but most other nations in Trav Khar think he is crazy. He has instituted the fist Technocratic government of Gonzdara, where the most qualified scientists, doctors, and buisnessmen in Gonzdara serve in a council that send propositions to Gregory to be approved. The government is very strong and is widely socialist. Gregory has approved almost all of the propositions that have been sent to him so far, even the more ridiculous ones. The Gonzdarian Knights have been revived with the task of finding all of the Doctors, Scientists, and Buisnessmen that go into the Gonzdarian Council. The surviving Natives were given a small setlement where one of their sacred temples one where. Education and Healthcare has been increased higher than it has ever been, scientific research has become Gonzdaras newest focus, the military is slowly increasing in size to deal with the invaders, Mercer is trying to free the slaves but is afraid that the citizens might object, and the borders are slowly creeping to what they used to be.

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Religion and The Arts:

Religion- During Gonzdara's Origins, its majority was made up of strong calvinists. This continued on until the reign of Richard Claudian, when he passed a multitude of ridiculous laws that required Gonzdarians to worship a pantheon of gods he created, himself being a god as well. The people did this out of fear, but eventually, with the lack of proper Calvinist churches, real religion died out. When Richard Claudian was assasinated, it had been so long since the times of Calvinism that it was completely forgotten, but this gave birth to a brand new religion. In the anarchic times that followed Claudians assasination, the people started to talk about new gods to give them hope.
Joseph Zakria was the major priest of this new religion, he taught that there where two gods, Mathor, and Seket. They where brother and sister who had been fighting since the beggining of the universe. Mathor, the sister, represented everything that is good in the universe. Seket, the brother, represented everything that is evil. Mathor was said to appear in the form of a bird, Seket in the form of a snake. Followers of Jospeph Zakria where called Zakrians. Joseph taught that both gods where needed to keep balance in the universe. The main principles of virtues of Zakrianism is calmness, a compassion for good and evil members of society, neutrality, and intelligence. Even today, most Gonzdarians are Zakrians.
The current government of Gonzdara is widely atheist and is trying to disband the "crazy beliefs of the people" but they are having very little success.
Also there is the Cult of Claudian, who still believes in the hundreds of gods that Richard Claudian created. The Cult of Claudian vows that one day Richard Claudian will return to earth with an army to punish the Gonzdarians who disobeyed him. Hundreds of attacks and even murders on Zakrians have been made by the Cult.

Joseph Zakria in a traditional Zakrians robe and hat:




Music- In the early days, the only music anyone had ever heard where the tunes that came from the porches of old people with fiddles. When Richard Claudian seized power, he banned all music, but there was a secret underground movement who played electric gutiars in sewers. Hundreds of people would flock underground to these secret concerts, and on many occasions the whole audience and band where slaughtered by the police. After Richard Claudian was assasinated, the underground bands came out in full force, blasting their music at all who would listen. Unfortunatly, due to the Revival turning almost everyone into farmers, this music died out quickly. But now that musics legal, small bands are forming all over the nation, its only a matter of time until a new dominent genere emerges.

Film- Movies have never been very popular in Gonzdara, because most Gonzdarians prefer the theatre. The theatre is huge in this nation because it was one of the things Richard Claudian didnt outlaw, him being an actor himself. Hundreds of widely popular actors and playwrites have flocked from Gonzdara to entertain all of Trav Khar. Almost every family has a designated day of the week where they go to their local Theatre, and actors are almost worshiped like gods.

Literature- No significant literature has come from Gonzdara. Sure there are writers, but most of the more talented ones become playwrites. There are books and even libraries in Gonzdara, but almost all of the books are imported from other nations in Trav Khar. Adventure and Sci-Fi novels attract most of the attention.

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Customs and Holidays:

Sports- Ever since the early days athletic events have been a big part of the Gonzdarian way of life. The most common sport is called Lug, it is played by two teams of three players, two chasers, and a thrower. Each teams chasers attempt to capture a flag that is tied to the waste of the oposing teams thrower, while also defending their own thrower. If a thrower is caught then they must sit out of the game for a predesignated amount of time. The throwers job is to capture the ball and get it through a hoop that is suspended in the air. Each goal is worth 3 points. Both teams are allowed to strike and wrestle each other within reason. Lug is so popular in Gonzdara because it is believed to be the only thing that modern Gonzdara has that is exactly like it was in the nations origin.
During Richard Claudians reign, he did not outlaw Lug, but he did turn most of the Lug stadiums into gladiator arenas. The gladiator curcuit has been outlawed but many of the former gladiators and their families still participate in underground duels to the death.

The Musketeers and The Rhinos in the Championship Lug Match:


Holidays- Gonzdara celebrates only one major holiday, and that is New Years. The New Years celebration is one of the biggest festivities anywhere in Trav Khar. The whole nation completley shuts down for a week to party, drink, have parades, eat lavish feasts, and dance. While this weeklong lack of labor has affected the economy negativley on many occasions, Gonzdarians refuse to give up their celebration.

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Current Day Government and Economics:

Flag of Gonzdara (tailored after a design commonly used on Spartan Shields, this flag was designed by Darla Gonz to show the strength of Gonzdarian soilders. When this flag is waved Gonzdarians will commonly cheer "we will overcome" the motto of Gonzdara.)-



Government- Gonzdara is run by its first Socialist Technocratic Kingdom, which means;
The king has almost unlimited power, his only check is that of the council, who the king must listen to, or he could suffer the wrath of the always loyal Gonzdarian Knights. The council is selected, by the Knights, as the most celebrated Doctors, Scientists, Engineers, and Philosephers from Universities all over the nation. When the council sends a bill to be ratified by the King, he doesnt neccesarily HAVE to pass it, but he almost always does, once again, because of the Knights. King Mercer is currently running the economy under a strong socialist regime' which has yet to fail, although there is some resentment from some of the more Capitalistic members of society. It has been argued that Gonzdara is actually a military dictatorship, due to its system only working because of the constant watch from the Gonzdarian Knights, a military institution.


A photo of Gregory Mercer:


Tax- The current tax rate in Gonzdara is 100% due to it being a Socialist Nation

Dominant Industries- Education, Science, Medical, Engineering, and the Arts, are the positions that are looked up to due to their possibility of becoming Council members, and the arts, because of the famous Gonzdarian Theatre Craze. However the majority of society has basic jobs that are needed to run society like building, cleaning, farming, cooking, and defence. The government tries everything in its power to let citizens get the job they want, but if one job is getting too many people, and one is getting too little, they will move people around. Lug Stars and Actors receive a suprisingly good paycheck from the government if they do their job right.

Trade- Gonzdara depends on overland trade by train or truck due to it having no border to the ocean. Common exports in Gonzdara are coal, animal products, sugar, and oil. Common Imports are Fish, wood, medical equipment, plastics, and coffee.

GDP- The GDP of Gonzdara is currently listed at 2,534,000,000,000

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Military:

Branches of the Military;
-GGO (Gonzdarian Ground Operations)
-GNO (Gonzdarian Naval Operations)
-GAO (Gonzdarian Arial Operations)
-GSO (Gonzdarian Space Operations)
-GAMO (Gonzdarian Artillery and Missle Operations)
-GSWO (Gonzdarian Special Weapons Operations)
-GRG (Gonzdarian Royal Guard)- (This was instituted by Richard Claudian but they have been adapted for home defence)

Photo of a standard GGO Unit:




Photo of a GRG Unit during a New Years Parade:





-Gonzdarian Knights- After the fall of the original order of Knights, King Mercer intiated a new regiment to be trained in the Gonzdarian Mountains by Queen Alexandria. This new regiment was meant to be trained in not only combat, but in speech. These soilders are great on the battlefield, but even better when leading a country or attending a social dinner to assasinate a forign leader. They are the nations most important soilders, always loyal, always ready to do whatever it takes to protect Gonzdara.

A Knight in standard battle gear:


Percent of citizens in the military- aproxomitley 12%

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Modern Map:

[austinset]

how do you MAKE pictures?

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Citizenry:

Population- 42,000,000

Ethnicity- Gonzdarians are calssified as a race of their own. They are typically: very white, strong jawed, short, and fair haired.

Language- Gonzdarians speak Trav Kharian, just like all the other nations of Trav Khar. Many other nations people have said they have a hard time understanding Gonzdarians because of their tendency to slur their words together.

Stereotypes- Despite the majority of Gonzdarians belonging to a religion that preaches calmness and neutrality, Gonzdarians are known all over Trav Khar as being brash and extremley opinionated. There is an old saying in Trav Khar "Id rather cut off my own arm than argue with a Gonzer." (Gonzder is a shortened term for Gonzdarian that other nations civilians have been known to use, however in Gonzdara, this term is considered to be very racist. Few Trav Kharians know this, but despite being extremley hotheaded, Gonzdarians also have a unique sence of adventure, due to the fact it is believed in Gonzdara that children should be free to explore so they can learn from experience. It is very commonplace in this nation to see children leaving home as early as 16 to "find their calling". The Gonzdarian Theatre Craze is critisized in many other nations of Trav Khar that prefer movies. Gonzdarians are also known for being gullible, but if they do find out theyve been lied to they will immediently take action. A fair share of bar fights have been started by Gonzers, but the same could be said for the curing of diseases. Just like in ever other nation there are good ones, and bad ones.

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I get them from Photobucket,
If photobucket dosnt have one I like I use Yahoo orGoogle images
then I upload them to photobucket and copy the IMG Code

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Common Sights:

The Gonzdarian Mountains-


Farmland-


Empire City-

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Gonzdarian Natives Culture (current day on reserves):

Proper Name- Gonzdarian Natives call themselves the Myahois

Government- Myahoi are run by a Chief who has complete control over the reserve, the dynasty of Chiefs as they pass their title from father to son has changed very little, due to the fact that Myahois have to much hatred of Gonzdarians to hate their own government.

Chief- The current Cheifs name is Chichamichu. Chichamichu is noted as being a very calm person, who believes that Chichamichus should learn to work with Gonzdarians, this is mostly due to the huge amount of money Gregory Mercer payed him to keep his tribe on the reserve. The Myahois are slowly becoming more angry with Chichamichu because they want to retake all of their lands.

Society- Myahoi culture is very simple. The men are the warriors and the hunters, and the women are the farmers, cleaners, doctors, and the watchers of children. As children grow in age they are taught the ancient Myahoi traditions and how to be good at their predetermined job in the tribe.

Legal- The Myahois have very few laws as they settle almost all disputes through duels, either to first blood, or in more serious cases, to the death.

Religion- Myahoi religion is focused on one god. Agametun. This god is said to be a great, half man half rhino who watches over the Myahoi people. The tribe meets every now and then in their capital city of "City of the old temple" to pray to Agametun.

A Gonzdarian painting of two Natives dueling over a loaf of bread.

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Opinions:

Austin Setzer- The people of Gonzdara generally distrust Setzers. They think that the "perfect utopia thing" commonly expressed in Austin is just idealistic nonsence. However this does not mean that a Gonzdarian would ever become violent or not work with a Setzer, it just means that if given the option between a Setzer and someone else, hed pick the someone else.
The government finds Austin Setzer to be an extremley usefull ally, and chooses to work with them in almost all cases, however they also watch them carefully.

Skooby Snaks- The people and government of Gonzdara generally have a good opinion of Snakians, this is largely due to the fact that Skooby Snaks is a member of the Imperial Party of Trav Khar, just like Gonzdara. Seeing Gonzdarians in Skooby Snak and seeing Snakians in Gonzdara is very commonplace as both nations leaders and citizens commonly visit the others nation freely.

CIW- Every Gonzdarian knows the stories of the CIW. Of the big burly warriors and the mighty dragons battleing it out every day. This seems like a fasntasy story to them. Many Gonzdarians who leave the country actually go to the CIW to live out their childhood fantasies.
The Government sees the CIW as "usefull, and a potential ally" but they would not go so far as to risk their life for them or anything.

Neo Nibu- Not much is known about Neo Nibu in Gonzdara, except for their role in the founding of Trav Khar. Essentially what NN is in this nation is a chapter in a history book, and thats about it.
The government sees Neo Nibu as a guardian of secrets, as a harborer of power. Those "in the know" respect and almost fear this nation. If ever NN was on one side of the war, you would probably never see Gonzdara on the other.

Cantihilahantan- This is Gonzdaras Sister Nation, and while many other Nations tend to distrust them, the Gonzdarians see it as their duty to protect them. This is largely due to the Queen being born there. Gonzdara almost always fights on the same side as the Cantians, but not always.

Teutonic- The Teutons are seen as an important ally and trading partner for Gonzdara. The citizens know little about them, and the government would protect them, but only in the interest of keeping their trade. They do not feel obligated to help them at all.

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Gonzdara is the host of many of the average creatures that you would find in other parts of the world, but there are two that you cannot find anywhere else.

Gorgon- The national animal of Gonzdara. All through Gonzdras history they have been prized as a valuable beast of burden. Before cars came around it was not uncommon to see wealthy people riding them through the streets. They are herbivores who live in the Gonzdarian Mountains. They move in heards from one valley to the next, clering the area of all plants. In the summers they shed their thick coat and migrate to the forests below where they mate. When they go to the forests, Gonzdarian Gorgon tamers will capture or hunt them, which has been labled as "poaching" and is looked down on during recent years. Gorgons are not completley defencless, their antlers are razor sharp.
(an image of a Gorgon without its coat, during mating season)



Greivle- Gonzdarian poachers are not the only things Gorgons must worry about when they migrate to the forests, they must also worry about Greivles. The Greivles are a huge insect race that primarily eats small mammles. During the Gorgon mating season they hunt them as well. It seems that Gorgons are the Greivles favorite food, as when they are readily available, the Greivles will not hunt anything else. Greivles have been known to wander into towns and attack people, and thousands of poachers have been killed by these monsters.
(A photo of a Grievle)

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Symbology:


National Motto- "We will overcome!"

National Anthem- www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz0b4STz1lo&feature=related

National Animal- The Gorgon

National Plant- The Gonzdarian Fern

National Sport- Lug

National Religion- Atheist, (although the major religion is Zakrianism)

National Colors- Blue, Yellow, and Red

National Crest- (used as a seal and on soilders uniforms)