National History
A nation with a proud history of independence and a warrior culture that resulted from it, the nation is often unpredictable, renowned for maintaining a large military, in spite of their rather limited population and land. This was also the case traditionally, with the Folynesian people successfully creating numerous empires across history, even managing to touch the coasts at several points. However, regardless of how many times the empires crumbled, most of core Folmerican land remained free, with Maresville alone priding itself on never having fallen, being known as the 'Free City' across the continent. However, this changed in 1648, when the Third Folynesian Empire, crumbling from decadence, corruption, and infighting, was finally conquered by the neighboring Syrixian Empire, which had been a longtime rival of them, and found it easy to conquer their collapsing neighbor. What followed were two centuries of subjugation and humiliation, in which the Syrixians exploited both Folynesia's farmland and people, barring all but an elite from education.
However, the nationalistic Folynesians were not to be underestimated, with guerrilla tactics and rebellions existing from the beginning. Despite suppressing these for centuries, as the Syrixian Empire began to weaken from a myriad of factors, they found themselves increasingly struggling to squash the rebellions, with them only growing more well equipped with foreign support, and well trained and organized from their constant battles with the Syrixian military. Occupying fractions of the country, a party called the Folynesian National Front was eventually able to organize a mass rebellion in 1916, which led to a violent series of battles which eventually saw then Emperor Rajesh II sign a treatise which saw the Folynesian Empire return to nationhood after nearly 300 years of subjugation. However, turmoil immediately began, with the Monarch alleged to have not only Syrixian blood, but close ties with members of the royal family. With tensions brewing from the nation's turbulent beginning, the situation boiled over when the Emperor was found with a Syrixian prostitute. Violence erupted in the fledgling nation, and a civil war began quickly, with the monarchy being overthrown almost immediately in 1920, the same year the Civil War began.
Many question why Syrixia or a neighboring power did not act to annex Folmerica, and this was primarily due to the fact that, not only would they have to face well equipped and trained rebel forces from the recent battle with Syrixia, but have to deal with their own uprisings. Thusly, despite being in what was essentially anarchy, the country remained independent. Eventually, the Folynesian Patriotic Front, thought to have stemmed from the National Front, and the Workers's Liberation Party became the two dominant powers in the conflict, assimilating or wiping out all other alternatives. The communists initially held a great deal of sway, occupying much of the country's North, whereas the nationalists were resigned primarily to the South, greatly outnumbered. For months, it seemed that Folynesia would be split into two separate nations. However, the Folynesian Patriotic Front received a fair amount of foreign backing, with many eager to prevent a communist revolution from beginning, and thus, the Folynesian Patriotic Front were capable of seizing the North from the communists and establishing their own nation.
Christened Folmerica, the party immediately set about silencing dissenting opinions, utilizing a great deal of anti-communist and leftist propaganda from 1923, when the country was finally established and peace bought about. Many were just happy that the country finally had peace after centuries of bloodshed and occupation, and thusly accepted the authoritarian policies of the government, the few rebel groups still existing quickly silenced and unable to gain the support of an exhausted populace. Almost immediately, the Patriotic Front set about with anti-communist and Syrixian propaganda, creating and perpetuating hate and suspicion against the two groups, something that became even more prevalent after 1947, when the two groups became one and the same in the eyes of the group.
After the party came to power, they initiated disastrous economic policies, with a great deal of cronyism existing, and business ownership difficult. The country remained mostly agrarian, with the notable exception of a massive military industrial complex, which saw the country spending up to thirty percent of its budget on its military, creating massive amounts of military hardware, despite the fact that the government found it difficult to run any of the hardware they created, usually resulting in it being scrapped or out of date, with few having training in its use.
Eventually, the mass poverty bought about by such poor economic management simmered over into revolutionary resentment. Beginning, as with so many other revolutions, in Maresville, the 'Free City', popular demonstrations began in November 1969, with outright conflict erupting in January of the next year. Although initially confined to Maresville, word eventually began to spread to other cities, and even much of the rural community, and conflict erupted there as well. With farmers refusing to send crops to the cities, and people fleeing from the few factories, the Folmerican state collapsed under its own incompetence, bought undone by its own failed systems.
With Folmerica liberated, the Folmerican Federation was created in June 1971, and the country's constitution enshrined personal freedoms, a reaction to the oppressive regime of the Folynesian Patriotic Front. Despite moving away from the Patriotic Front, the paranoia regarding communism remained, particularly with their Syrixian neighbor, and the country opposed it and nationalism. From the beginning, economic development was placed at the forefront, with few social security measures, and education being one of the few services funded by the government. Economic development began immediately, and a population boom and mass migration to the cities ensued, exacerbating the already large number of youth, creating a new generation who valued personal freedom and liberty above all else, with this being the most pronounced in Maresville, a city which had been blessed with large resource reserves nearby. However, it was the city of Jasmine that would eventually become the nation's financial heartland, with many of the largest companies making their headquarters there.
With a massive military industrial legacy left by the Folmerican Patriotic Front, the nation immediately began to invest in new research and modernizing the military, creating a large number of jobs and increasing the purchasing power of many Folmerican people. With rapid investment from external and increasingly internal individuals, and people increasingly having money to spend, Folmerica's development was swift and effective, with skylines rapidly being tossed up in existing cities, and new urban areas springing from nowhere. Despite this, a large amount of people still remained on their farms, even with a growing trend for larger amounts of farmland to be owned by individuals, while the majority sold and moved into the city.
Even to this day, their development isn't complete, and the nation still has a long way to go. Living standards are rather low when compared to the developed nations of Eras, and there is still a large amount of poverty present across the nation, as well as a persistent rural population. Despite this, there is a large amount of optimism in the country, with nationalism running high. There is a general consensus amongst the population that Folmerica will rise again, with a burgeoning intellectual class, impressive universities, a rapidly growing economy and population, bountiful resources, a large manufacturing base, and a well equipped and impressively sized military all indicative of the country's potential. Nonetheless, many are concerned that overpopulation will soon be a threat, with water being a major concern, and others are worried that border tensions in regards to Syrixians living on the Folmerican side of the border, as well as in the country itself, and vice versa will create tensions both internal and between the two countries, leading to a conflict which would inevitably be disastrous for the smaller Folmerica.
To be continued...
