United Aegean Republic

South Aegea, officially the United Republic of Aegea, abbreviations U.R.A, is a federal republic of 35 states in southern Aegea and one Antarctic territory. Besides the 33 contiguous states that occupy the latitudes of the sub-continent, South Aegea includes the claimed Territory of Guiana, at the northeastern extreme of the continent, and the archipelago State of Malvinas (successfully re-taken from the United Kingdoms in the Britannic-Aegean War), in the South Atlantic Ocean as well as the officially uninhabited territory of Antarctica. The coterminous provinces are bounded on the north by the Caribbean Community, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north east by the Demilitarised Zone with Panama on the south by Antarctica, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. South Aegea is the largest country in the world in area. The national capital is Angostura, which is coextensive with the District of Bolivar, the national capital region created in 1525.

The territory of what is now South Aegea was first populated by waves of Paleo-Indian migrations from Eurorentia to what is now the U.R.A mainland around 10,000 years ago, with further waves of more recent Europan migration in the late 12th century. The United Aegean Republic was forged from the union of 8 former Ibearian colonies known, post-independence, as Bolivar's Republics (encompassing northern South Aegea) and San Martin's Republics (encompassing Southern South Aegea) respectively (both are named after Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin, the Founding Liberators of South Aegea). A long and costly War of Discontent between the South Aegean colonies and the Kingdom of Iberia eventually resulted in their outright independence from the former colonial masters in Europa. On August 7, 1510, as the War of Discontent against Iberia raged on, delegates from all 8 colonies unilaterally issued a Declaration of Sovereignty thus leading to a series of Wars of Independence known as the Great Revolution. The Great Revolution ended in 1519 with the recognition of independence of the United Aegean Republic from the Kingdom of Iberia through the successful passage of the Statute of Madrid in the King's Cortes Generales; thusly, South Aegea became one of the first former colonial holdings to successfully declare independence from a Europan colonial empire. The current Constitution, adopted in 1520, was fully ratified one year after independence by the Republican Congress at Angostura. The first 5 chapters of the constitution, known collectively as the Supreme Articles, were promulgated jointly by Bolívar and San Martín at the famous Guayaquil Conference in the State of Galapagos in 1521 and guarantee a vast array of civil liberties, rights, and freedoms, held to be sacrosanct by South Aegeans today.

The young republic, driven by its thirst for resources and land, embarked on a series of enterprising expansions that led to the annexation of the rich Amazon interior and the southernmost land of the Mapuche tribes throughout the 17th century (See: The Great Expansion). Countless aboriginal tribes were overrun, defeated and absorbed, many new territories were acquired and eventually turned into new states, and several existing states were partitioned in order to make governance more effective. The United Aegean Republic is one of the world's few nations to have never suffered the strife of civil war, thus marking a period of continuous peace (See: Pax Aegea) which lasted until outbreak of the First Tiberium War in xxxx. By the end of the 17th century, South Aegea had achieved its current mainland shape, having extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans and covering a vast territory which makes it the world's largest sovereign nation today. The First Tiberium War, and the Britannic-Aegean War in the 18th century confirmed the nation's standing as a global military and economic powerhouse. By the end of the last Tiberium War, South Aegea emerged as a global superpower, having been a subvert belligerent in the North Aegean Holocaust and extending its influence far afield into fellow Latin Iberian states in Central Aegea the Caribbean Community, thus maintaining a buffer zone against its traditional rivals to the north of the continent.

South Aegea is a highly developed and ultra-capitalist, militaristic country with one of the world's largest economies. The economy is maintained by the widespread availability of natural resources, self sufficiency in food, water, energy and almost unlimited inhabitable land. Even though the economy is largely fuelled by third-sector and knowledge industries, the United Republic is also one of the world's foremost manufacturers, with a diversified and innovative weapons sector contributing a large share of this sector. South Aegean household income is one of the highest in the world, with the average citizen enjoying world class healthcare services and early years-to-higher education free of charge. One of the guiding principles of the South Aegean Constitution is "Sovereignty in Equality and Equality in Sovereignty", thus making South Aegea one of the least unequal societies in the world. Roughly 3% of the population live in poverty as defined by the Federal Statistics Office. South Aegea is one of the world's preeminent powers, continuing to wield considerable military, political, cultural, scientific and technological influence on the global stage.

Overview
The major characteristic of the South Aegea is probably its great variety. Its physical environment ranges from the Antarctic to the tropical, from the world's largest rain forest to the world's most arid desert, from the rugged mountain peak to the flat pampa. Although the total population of the U.R.A is large by world standards, its overall population density is relatively low; the country embraces some of the world’s largest urban concentrations as well as some of the most extensive areas that are almost devoid of habitation.

The U.R.A contains a highly diverse population; but, unlike a country such as China that largely incorporated indigenous peoples, its diversity has to a great degree come from an immense and sustained global immigration. Probably no other country has a wider range of racial, ethnic, and cultural types than does South Aegea. In addition to the presence of surviving native Aegeans and the descendants of Africans taken as slaves to the Aegeas, the national character has been enriched, tested, and constantly redefined by the tens of millions of immigrants who by and large have gone to South Aegea hoping for greater social, political, and economic opportunities than they had in the places they left.

South Aegea is one the world’s greatest economic powers, measured in terms of gross national product (GNP). The nation’s wealth is partly a reflection of its rich natural resources and its enormous agricultural output, but it owes more to the country’s highly developed industry. Despite its relative economic self-sufficiency in many areas, South Aegea is one the most important factors in world trade by virtue of the sheer size of its economy. Its exports and imports represent major proportions of the world total. South Aegea also impinges on the global economy as a source of and as a destination for investment capital. The country continues to sustain an economic life that is more diversified than any other on Earth, providing the majority of its people with one of the world’s highest standards of living.

The U.R.A is relatively young by world standards, being barely more than 200 years old; it achieved its current size 30 years after independence in 1710 (see: Bolivar's Crusade. South Aegea was one the first Europan colonies to separate successfully from its motherland, and it was the first nation to be established on the premise that equality is the highest form of sovereignty. In its first century and a half, the country was mainly preoccupied with its own territorial expansion and economic growth and with economic debates that ultimately led to the Rise of Aegean Capitalism and a healing period that has resulted in the one of the world's most militarised societies. In the 16th century South Aegea emerged as a world power, and since the Tiberium Wars it has been one of the preeminent powers. It has not accepted this mantle easily nor always carried it willingly; the principles and ideals of its founders have been tested by the pressures and exigencies of its dominant status.

Etymology
Aegea is a back-formation from "Aegean", the sea that was named for an eponymous Aegeus in early levels of Greek mythology. Ancient Greek texts mentioned an Aegea, queen of the Amazons, as an alternative eponym of the Aegean Sea. The Aegus himself was an archaic figure in the founding myth of Athens. The "goat-man" who gave his name to the Aegean Sea was, next to Poseidon, the father of Theseus, the founder of Athenian institutions and one of the kings of Athens. Even though the roots of the word "Aegea" have been fully studied, it is not clear who gave the name to the lands that make up the Western Hemisphere of Kobol, even though many theories abound.

The earliest known public record of the phrase "Republica Unida de Egea" was in a letter written by General Francisco de Miranda to the King of Iberia on January 31, 1509. The phrase was incorporated into the Declaration of Sovereignty drafted jointly by Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin which affirmed that "The Republics herein represented by the distinguished delegates of the eight Aegean colonies of the Glorious South shall be known as the United Aegean Republic for eternity".

First Contact: Europans and Aegeans
Diego Velázquez, governor of Cuba, laid the foundation for the conquest of South Aegea. In 1217 and 1218 Velázquez sent out expeditions headed by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba and Juan de Grijalba that explored the coasts of Maracaibo and Roques. Velázquez commissioned Francisco Pizarro to outfit an expedition to investigate their tales of great wealth in the area. Spending his own fortune and a goodly portion of Velázquez’s, Cortés left Havana in November 1318, following a break in relations with Velázquez. Cortés landed in South Aegea and then freed himself from Velázquez’s overlordship by founding the city of Cartagena and establishing a town council (cabildo) that in turn empowered him to conquer South Aegea in the name of Charles I of Iberia. Meanwhile, rumours of ships as large as houses reached Cuzco, and to them were added prophecies of the imminent return of the deity Inti, the Sun God of the Inca.