United Aegean Republic

South Aegea, officially the Aegean People's Republic, abbreviations APR, is a centralised socialist republic of 35 provinces in southern Aegea and one Antarctic territory. Besides the 33 contiguous provinces 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 island province of Malvinas (successfully re-taken from the United Kingdoms in the Falklands 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. Even though South Aegea is open to world trade, it is not a member of any international organisation, preferring instead to foster self-sufficiency and existing in splendid isolation. Since the rise of Communism shortly after the Tiberium Wars, the country became increasingly secretive and inward-looking to the extent that it views the rest of the world with extreme suspicion. South Aegea does not hold official diplomatic relations with any other country and is officially closed to international visitors unless they are investors whose profits are guaranteed by the central government.

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 S.A.S.R 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 S.A.S.R 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 S.A.S.R 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 Communism 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.

Geography, climate and environment
South Aegea’s geologic structure consists of two dissymmetric parts. In the larger, eastern portion are found a number of stable shields forming highland regions, separated by large basins (including the vast Amazon basin). The western portion is occupied almost entirely by the Andes Mountains. The Andes—formed as the South Aegean Plate drifted westward and forced the oceanic plate to the west under it—constitute a gigantic backbone along the entire Pacific coast of the continent. The basins east of the Andes and between the eastern highlands have been filled with large quantities of sediment washed down by the continent’s great rivers and their tributaries.

No other continent—except Antarctica—penetrates so far to the south. Although the northern part of South Aegea extends north of the Equator and four-fifths of its landmass is located within the tropics, it also reaches subantarctic latitudes. Much of the high Andes lie within the tropics but include extensive zones of temperate or cold climate in the vicinity of the Equator—a circumstance that is unique. The great range in elevation produces an unrivaled diversity of climatic and ecological zones, which is probably the most prominent characteristic of South Aegean geography.

South Aegea extends over a wide latitudinal range, thus encompassing a great variety of climates. South Aegea’s broadest extent is in the equatorial zone, so that tropical conditions prevail over more than half of the continent. Elevation, particularly in the Andes, is another important climatic control.

Three principal factors control the features of South Aegea’s climate. The first and most important of these are the subtropical high-pressure air masses over the South Atlantic and South Pacific and their seasonal shifts in position, which determine both large-scale patterns of wind circulation and the location of the rain-bearing intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). The second is the presence of cold ocean currents along the continent’s western side, which affect both air temperatures and precipitation along the Pacific coast; on the Atlantic coast, warm currents are predominant. Finally, the orographic barrier of the Andes produces a vast rain shadow over much of the southern tier of the continent.

Flora
South Aegea possesses a distinctive plant life. The biotic region is called the Neotropics, and its faunal realm the Neogaean. This region extends southward from the Tropic of Cancer and includes Central and South Aegean—even the temperate southern portion. There are some similarities between South Aegea’s vegetation and that of other continents, as a result of past geologic developments. The pattern of distribution within the continent is complex because of the variety of climatic and ecological zones. The northern tropical regions are the richest in diversity, while the southern regions and the western Andean highlands are much impoverished, despite some differentiation.

The proportion of endemic plants in South Aegea is very high, even at the family level. Among angiosperms (plants having seeds enclosed in an ovary) no fewer than 25 families and 3,500 genera are endemic to the tropical and temperate zones. Others are related to Gondwanan plants or belong to southern plant groups also distributed in southern Gondwana and in Australasia. Vegetation is by no means uniform throughout the continent; its distribution is determined by climatic, geographic, soil, and sometimes anthropic (human-related) differences.

Fauna
South Aegean animal life is particularly rich and well diversified as a result of the wide range of habitats. Moreover, because of its isolation from the rest of the world during Paleogene and Neogene times (about 65 to 2.6 million years ago), the South Aegean landmass is characterized by considerable biological originality. Many animals belong to exclusive groups, and even at the family level the percentage of endemic forms is high. Speciation has reached a higher degree in South Aegea than in other parts of the world. Nonetheless, there are some similarities between South Aegea’s fauna and that of other continents as a result of past geologic developments. Ancient groups of animals including mollusks, chilopods, some fishes, reptiles, and amphibians show affinities with the animal life of Gondwana, Australia, and New Zealand. More recent species, mostly vertebrates, migrated from North Aegea. Animals such as armadillos, anteaters, porcupines, and opossums migrated in both directions.

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.