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Lingang
United Federation of Lingang
Flag of Lingang
Motto
Nam Aeternitas
Anthem
"Our Sovereign, Gracious King" (Official) "O Hail Pacifica!" (unofficial, commonly used)
Location of Lingang
Location of Lingang (green)
CapitalStrautenburg
Largest city New Victoria City
Official languages None at the federal level
Recognised regional languages - English (de facto national language)

- North Yinesean

- 26 other indigenous languages
Ethnic groups (2021) White: 64%

Native Linganese: 21% Pacific Islander: 10% Asian: 3%

Other: 2%
Demonym Linganese
Government Federal parliamentary one-party elective monarchy
 -  Supreme Lord Hanna Welburg
 -  Deputy Lord Markus Dejelburg
 -  Lord of Justice James Ellington
 -  President Rutherford Borealis (NP)
Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain
 -  Declared 14 February, 1881 
 -  Recognized September 2, 1882 
 -  Current Constitution February 2, 1991 
Population
 -  2021 estimate 228,875,300 
 -  Density 206.9401 /km² 
79.9 /sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2021 estimate
 -  Total $1.89 trillion 
 -  Per capita $54,900 
Gini? (2013) 60.4 (high)
HDI (2020) 0.759 (high)
Currency Mook ($K)
Time zone/th> Lingang Standard Time (UTC 5:30+)
 -  Summer (DST)  (UTC-only observed in some regions)
Internet TLD .gov .lng. mil. edu
List of country calling codes +6


The United Federation of Lingang (UFL, U.F., or U.F.L), commonly referred to as the United Federation or simply Lingang, is a country located entirely in Mu. A federal elective monarchy and single-party state, Lingang proper consists of 29 states and a federal city district. Lingang also has one unincorporated territory. The geography of Lingang is very diverse, spanning from dense tropical forests in the east, to arid deserts and mountains in the west.

Lingang was first inhabited by people around 1,000 years ago when humans first began to migrate into the Pacific. In the easternmost regions of the what is now the U.F.L, various indigenous societies rose and fell, most notably the Maurentide and Konoban civilizations. European contact began in the 18th Century. The British established a series of small colonies on the eastern seaboard of the continent by the mid 1790's, and they later grew to become the Dominion of Lingang by the 1830s.

In the mid-to-late 19th Century, Lingang was plagued with political instability and civil unrest. This eventually led to a civil war between the government and groups of competing factions, with some groups spearheaded by wealthy landowners whom were concerned with what they perceived to be increasing attempts from the government to democratize the country. A faction of rebels (who eventually coalesced with Christian factions to form the National Party of Lingang) took advantage of already existing chaos and disorder caused by revolts from the lower classes. The war started in 1884 and lasted until 1891, with the National Party victorious, who would establish independence from Great Britain as the United Federation of Lingang. Though the United Federation started as an electoral republic, over time the country transitioned to an autocracy with one head of state elected amongst the governing class. Throughout the rest of the century, Lingang expanded into the rest of the continent, destroying native kingdoms and displacing their people, annihilating cultures and tribes, and slowly admitting new territories and states. In the midst of the Great Depression, unrest among the populace saw left-wing populism take root, and though a worker's uprising of 1932 saw massive resistence towards the federal government, the rebellion was quelled and labor unions essentially outlawed.

During World War I Lingang remained mostly isolated, taking a similar stance as the United States. But its position changed in 1940, when the Japanese attacked American Lemuria in December 1941, destroying a Linganese embassy in the process. Fearful of greater Japanese ambitions, Lingang entered the Second World War, with the United Federation fighting alongside the United States of America against Japan. It emerged from WWII as a greater power in the Pacific, boasting a rebuilt and improved military. Lingang later joined the United Nations and started a nuclear weapons program, but was still criticized by the international community for its authoritarianism and oppression of minorities. In 1964 the Ashetowne Uprising occurred, sparked by Lingang's authoritarian regime, mistreatment of the indigenous and other minorities, and Lord Tyrus Welburg's cult of personality The protests would spark the Red Revolution, and ensuing civil war between socialist rebels and the federal government lasted ten years, until the U.F.L gained victory over the insurgency. This was followed by sweeping, stricter government reforms and total control of information, all of which made up the Blackout Years from 1975 to 1990, a period in which very little information about Lingang was known to the outside world. This cemented Lingang's transformation into what many analysts believe is a totalitarian police state.

Lingang is a federal elective monarchy, which is dominated by a single political party, the National Party. Though ceremonially separate, the legislative and executive branches are subservient to the all-powerful executive, which is made up of the Supreme Lord. Lingang is an industrialized country, with one of the largest economies in the Asia-Pacific region. Its economy is fueled by an abundance of natural resources and a government committed to extracting all of it. Lingang is the fifth largest exporter in the Asia-Pacific. While industrialized, the United Federation has been ranked alarmingly low on the Democracy Index and suffers from the high levels of unequal income distribution. Over 19% of the population lives in poverty, while a small 3% live in great wealth. Concerns have been brought up in the United Nations over allegations that Lingang is operating internment camps in its western regions, though the Linganese government denies all charges of human rights abuses. Lingang is a prominent technological, economic and military power in the Pacific and is considered to be a potential rising power in the world. In June 2017, Lingang officially reentered into diplomatic relations with the United States, the first time doing so since the start of the Cold War, though relations began to deteriorate once more under the U.S. Biden administration as of 2022.

Etymology[]

The name Lingang is commonly attributed to a misunderstanding during an interaction with British explorer James Cook and a native Linganese in 1768. According to the widely believed narrative, Cook and his crew were engaging in dialogue with a band of indigenous peoples in what is now eastern Kirkland. When Cook asked a native what the name of the land was, reportedly he replied "Yinlangh", a Peori word for "East Forests." The British explorers reportedly misheard and thought the name was "Lingang," however the error was never corrected, and the name of the region would be referred to as such by European settlers.

History[]

Indigenous Peoples and pre-European historyand territories.[]

Jean-Pierre Norblin de La Gourdaine (after Louis Choris), Temple du Roi dans la baie Tiritatéa (c

19th century depiction of North Yinesian natives near a Tuapolalu, or temple

Between about 3000 and 1000 BCE, speakers of Austronesian languages began spreading from southern East Asia into Southeast Asia and the various islands of Oceania. By around 700 AD, the first Austronesian-speaking peoples settled on the southernmost peninsula of Mu. These peoples began to gradually migrate northwards for the next two centuries, before they appeared to stop in the valleys of central Mu. After a long pause, archeological evidence shows that people once again began moving up the continent, and had reached the easternmost coast of what is now Lingang by around 1100 AD. By this time, the migrants had begun to form their own culture and spoke a dialect similar to, but distinct from, the ones of their Austronesian forbearers, which has been identified as the Yinesian dialect, or language. This can explain the linguistic and cultural divide separating southern Austronesian Mu, and the northern Yinesian Mu.

1024px-Conical Tower - Great Enclosure III (33736918448)

Ruins of the Konoban capital, Kam-Te-Tali.

It is estimated that by around the early 1500s, a complex civilization was present in what is now the state of Goranshire, which referred to itself as Konoban. This civilization was ruled by a king, the Kono, who was allegedly a descendant of one of the Four Supreme Beings of nature. The Konoban Kingdom was notable for its large stone constructions, roads, and apparent use of writing and symbols, and there is evidence that the Konoban peoples were charting the stars by the time European explorers discovered their society around the 18th century.

European settlement[]

Mumap

Churchward's (mostly) fictional map of Mu, showing his theorized connections to the mythical Atlantis.

The continent of Mu was first discovered by Europeans in the summer of 1768, when James Cook first landed on the Southern Peninsula as part of his First Voyage. He and his company would attempt to trek inland, up the peninsula, and through rugged forests and hills, before abandoning this method in favor of trailing the coast, as the constant presence of mosquitoes and thick mud were wearing on the expeditionary crew. Cook's crew made many stops along the eastern coast of Mu, surveying the land and recording the presence of native peoples. A skirmish in February 1769 between the indigenous Konoban peoples almost cost Cook his life, however a native guide that had been accompanying the men led him to safety. After word of the discovery of a new continent in the south Pacific Ocean spread throughout Europe, many instantly became fascinated with the notion. Some speculated that the lands Cook had found was an extension of the fabled Terra Australis.


Naming of Mu[]

A second voyage by Cook from 1776-1781, however, dispelled this notion, and proved that Cook had indeed discovered a new continent. The continent was simply referred to as Terra Pacifica, until the name Mu was coined by a British-American antiquarian named Augustus Le Plongeon. He got the name "Mu" from Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, who, in 1864, mistranslated what was then called the Troano Codex (now called "Madrid Codex") using the de Landa alphabet. Brasseur believed that a word which he read as Mu referred to a land that had been submerged by a catastrophe. Le Plongeon identified this lost land with Atlantis and, following Ignatius Donnelly in Atlantis: The Antediluvian World, identified it as a continent that had once existed in the Atlantic Ocean.

The popularization of the name Mu was further encouraged by people such as James Churchward, who also claimed in a series of books that Terra Pacifica was indeed the lost continent of Mu. Though there is no archeological evidence that suggests the land ever had any ties to any Old World civilization, the name was so ingrained in the minds of the Western public that by the 19th century, most maps were referring to the new continent officially as Mu. With these legends came tales of lost empires, of gold, and riches of long dead civilizations. This excited many ambitious explorers, who sought to make names for themselves by taking these possible riches for themselves. And thus followed the so-called "Scramble for Mu," which saw various seafaring European empires colonize all of Mu by the mid 19th century.

British expansion and founding of Lingang[]

South pacific map 2 colonized 1845 2

Areas of Mu controlled by various colonial powers by 1845.

European settlement of Mu began in earnest by the late 1780s through to the early 19th century. By 1790, permanent European settlements began to appear on the Southern Peninsula, as European states began sending Christian missionaries into the continent in an attempt to convert the natives. Some indigenous accepted the faith of the settlers, while others violently resisted, leading to violence between Europeans and Mu natives. The loss of its American colonies spurred the British Empire to seek out new areas to exploit. Among the first places settled was northeastern Mu, referred to as Lingang by that time. The first permanent colony of what would soon become Lingang was founded on the far northeastern coast, by a host of British settlers and explorers, in 1795. The settlement was named Strautenburg, after a particularly courageous protestant German settler who was among them.

As the 18th century transitioned into the 19th, the population of Britain's eastern colonies began to grow, spurred by a relatively mild climate, high birth rates, and steady settlement. The British continued to expand into other areas of the continent in the early 19th century, initially along the coast. They established a settlement along the Simera River, to the southwest of Strautenburg, which would later become a major trading hub. The British push into the tropical deep south was hampered by the presence of virulent diseases and nigh-impassable rainforests, causing most settlements to be located primarily on the coasts or river plains. This allowed certain remote native peoples to remain mostly undisturbed until the turn of the 20th century. Thus, most of the focus in the early and mid-19th century was centered around the milder northeast regions of Lingang.

Anglo-Konoban Wars[]
British konoban wars

The 1832 Siege of Kom-Te-Tali, depicting Konoban warriors fleeing a British advance.

In 1815, a British expedition sought to subjugate the neighboring Konoban Kingdom to the west, which had managed to stave off European interference thus far largely in part to their sophisticated combat tactics, ferocity, and extensive trade with the French to the north (who had been supplying them with firearms and artillery). The British Conquest of the Konoban consisted of two conflicts, the First (1815-19) and Second (1830-32) Anglo-Konoban Wars. The first war (fought primarily to not only pacify the threat of the indigenous kingdom, but to protect their economic interests on the continent, as the Konoban were a French trading partner), resulted in the failure of the British military against the Konoban, but heavy losses substantially weakened the natives, and put them in a more precarious position than they had started with. The second war occurred a decade later, and though a reformed Konoban army incurred heavy losses upon the British, the latter was able to gain victory due to a changing of tactics and lack of French support. The conflict culminated in the Siege of Kom-Te-Tali in1832, whereupon the native capital was slowly surrounded and cut off, and subsequently sacked and razed. The remaining Konoban warriors reportedly "fled into the wilderness," heralding the fall of the Konoban Kingdom.

Lingangorigins

British officers raise the UK flag over newly settled territory in northwest Mu.

Continued expansion and establishment[]

By around 1827-35, the British colonies had already been formally organized into the Dominion of Lingang, which was made up of the individual burgeoning colonies in the northeast and southern coasts. Each colony individually gained responsible government, thus managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire. In the colonies themselves, though governed by a colonial Premier and maintaining elections among free white males, power was largely situated in the hands of wealthy landowners and families, who controlled much of the wealth in the Dominion. Over the decades they had come to form a de facto elite class, referred informally among the populace as "Lords." Though Britain had outlawed slavery by 1833, many Linganese natives remained on the farms and plantations of these Lords for very low wages, or were sometimes forced to work by way of penal labor or work contracts.


Critics at the time charged the landowners of having perpetuated slavery after its abolition, however the actions taken against these Lords by the Crown was initially ineffective at restraining their power and influence. The Lords usually coalesced into guilds or unions to protect their interests. The largest and most influential elite union was the Crown Land Guard, which controlled much of the economic activities in Lingang, and claimed to have been granted special protections by the British Crown.

In 1845, the Anglo-Spanish Pacific War resulted in the British annexation of the Spanish territory, giving it the English name of Caroline. The land was acquired by Lingang following its independence in 1882, and in 1910 was officially organized into the District of Caroline.

Federationact1865

An 1870 painting depicting the reading of the Federation Act, essentially granting Lingang independence.

Around the mid-19th century, Lingang was facing increasing social and economic worries. The dominance that the Lords had displayed over the colonies was a source of embarrassment to the British crown, however remembering the sting of spectacularly losing America, the British Empire sought to avoid direct conflict with the colonies. The colonial government was granted effective independence in the form of total home rule, following the Federation Act of 1855 that federated the colonies, and essentially allowed the Dominion to govern itself, though the two countries would share monarchies, and Lingang would share a special association (or "Commonwealth") status with the Empire.

Unrest, First Civil War, and the National Party[]

As part of a new wave of reforms, the Linganese government began to severely crack down on the powers of the Lords, exposing criminal operations and dissolving estates. This caused considerable unrest among the elite and upper classes of Lingang, who blamed the new government of being too ineffective, and of not being able to handle the growing economic crisis caused by the strangling of the flow of wealth in the country. The president, Harry Orwell, became the target of ire from not just the Lords and upper-middle classes, but from the lower classes as well, who blamed him for apparent weak leadership and the tanking economy.

Lingangcivilwar1

Crown Land Guard troops shown in a battle with Federal soldiers, c. 1877

The unrest in Lingang seemed to come to a head by the end of the 1873, when, amidst a major riot that had reduced New Victoria City to chaos, the Governor of New Victoria, Charles Deacon, was captured by the Crown Land Guard and killed after failing to secure enough privileges to the union. In response, the federal government cracked down on the city, imposing a curfew and arresting citizens in mass numbers. This seemed to serve as a casus belli for the Crown Land Guards and other Lords of the nation to fight back using physical force, and on 12 June 1874, an armory was attacked in southern Kirkland, and thus igniting the First Linganese Civil War.

Civil War[]

Taking advantage of the pandemonium caused by numerous popular uprisings in the cities, the Crown Land Guard launched a series of preemptive attacks against federal forts and bases, managing to secure a number of victories by early 1875. They had merged with the Linganese Christian Union, an influential party that claimed to represent the nation's Christian heritage, and together were known as the Traditionalist Alliance. Their goals were to overthrow the federal government and install their own which would be more favorable to their views.

Vincent S. Lawford, the Deputy President, yet highly sympathetic to the Traditionalist uprising, was seen as the inevitable candidate to lead the new government once the CLG/LCU alliance would take the government. Lawford would later agree to fight for the Traditionalist side. In response, Parliament impeached Lawford and removed him from office. He was later charged with treason. However, the perceived legitimacy of the federal government, and of President Orwell himself, had been greatly compromised due to many defections within the ruling political apparatus. Many prominent and powerful figures in the country no longer recognized President Orwell’s regime as legitimate, and sided with whatever faction they had more interests in (most joined had joined the CLG).

Lawford was briefly imprisoned, but was freed in what came to be known as the Storming of Strautenburg, when Traditionalists and Lawford loyalists attacked the capitol and attempted to siege the Parliament building in September 1879. They initially came short of these ambitions, but the movement was far from dead. The army itself was divided between Orwell Loyalists (broadly referred to as the Repblicans or Federals) and those wanting to see the Traditionalists take control of the nation.

Lawford2

Vincent S. Lawford's official portrait after being inaugurated as the first Supreme Lord of Lingang.

The civil war was one of the deadliest in Linganese history, second only to the Red Revolution that would occur a century later. Upwards of 530,000 people were killed during the conflict. The war would last for seven years and ultimately resulted in a victory for the Traditionalists. On 14 February 1881, former President Orwell was stripped of his remaining powers and temporarily imprisoned. There were originally plans made to execute him publicly, however Lawford allowed him to flee the nation in exile as a show of mercy. Lawford was declared to be the Supreme Lord of Lingang on 15 April 1881, a very powerful position that overshadowed the now mostly ceremonial presidency.

The CLG set to work in making itself the dominant ruling force of Lingang. The former ruling faction, Orwell’s own Union Party, was outlawed and forcibly disbanded. The CLG declared itself to be the one and only political party of the nation, and merged with the Linganese Christian Union (LCU) to become the National Party of Lingang. The National Party completely severed all remaining legal ties with the Crown of Great Britain, and the United Federation of Lingang was born.

Lord Lawford ruled with an increasingly iron fist, making sure to eliminate members of the National Party who posed a threat to him or his plans for the nation. His personal ideology and methods for retaining power became known as Lawfordian Thought, and would go on to influence both future dictators and critics of authoritarianism in the many distant years to come. Lawford himself was greatly influenced by the French leader Napoleon.

Growth and expansion[]

The National Party aimed expand to the nations reach and influence greatly. A brief skirmish with the United States in 1887 over claims on the St. Alice Islands to the northwest of Lingang lasted for two days and threatened to plunge the nation once again into war, however a diplomatic solution prevented any further bloodshed, and the two nations agreed to halve the islands, which were home to valuable resources and were of strategic importance in terms of their location.

Strautenburg1900

Strautenburg pictured in in 1900 AD.

In 1892, there was growing dissent among the indigenous population, who had been stripped of their land and their rights due to the conquest of their ancestral lands by the British and the Linganese. This also caused the white population to feel uneasy, as there had already been growing tensions between them and the large influx of indigenous immigrants from other nations, who had already been flocking to recently industrialized urban areas in search of jobs and opportunities. A series of small uprisings by the indigenous against white rule occurred over the next two summers, which ultimately resulted in harsher laws against non-white Linganese. Parliament would go on to pass multiple pieces of legislation that further segregated non-white Linganese (referred to as Colored) from the majority white populace, while severely limiting their civil liberties and effectively disenfranchising the natives. A series of reservations, or "Homelands," were established in the rural deep south and far west, intended to house and separate the indigenous peoples from larger society. Most of these Homelands were neglected and became rife with poverty and crime.

In the northeast, urbanization and industrialization led to unprecedented economic growth. Inventions such as electricity and the telephone greatly affected communication, and sped up the process of urbanization. Transregional railroads and other innovations in infrastructure spurred economic growth and greater settlement and development of the deep south and the west. Advancements in medicine would later aid development of the tropical regions of Lingang by giving settlers protection against native diseases.

Lingang engaged in a series of foreign military campaigns and wars during the late 1890s through to the early 1910s. In 1898, the Linganese armed forces invaded North Parimus, a Spanish colony in northwest Mu, joining forces with the US during the Spanish-American War, gaining them access to a key port, as well as the Indoman Islands once the Spanish had lost the conflict.

Economic and social upheaval[]

Rapid economic development during the late 19th and early 20th centuries fostered the rise of many prominent industrialists. As the nation shifted from being agrarian to predominately industrial, the bulk of economic growths and profit could be found in major cities. The rise of a number of industrial tycoons followed, including prominent figures such as Roger "Sir" Styworth, Earl Welburg, and Trent Jones. Lingang found itself competing for immigrants with the US, with many industries trying to attract boatloads of migrants from to their cities. Many arrived from South America and Europe, as well as from Asia, though darker skinned individuals would face discrimination in the cities. The Lords had also shifted industries, with their respective enterprises largely focusing on petroleum, steel, manufacturing, and consumer goods. These economic changes brought with them increased wealth inequality, leading to greater social unrest.

Bullelephantparty flag

The banner of the Bull-Elephant Union, the first organized labor association in Lingang. It would later become the Bullelephant Party.

By the mid 1910s, various liberal, feminist, populist, socialist, and anarchist movements had appeared in Lingang. Organized labor began to arise in major urban areas, with New Victoria City home to the largest concentration of labor unions and organizations. These new unions were largely opposed to the dominance of the Lords and tycoons, and clashes between these opposing sides would sometimes take the form of street violence. Images of slick dressed henchmen of the tycoon bosses engaging in high stakes street firefights with hardened union members would become an iconic image of early 20th century city life, and would go on to inspire the Linganese imagination and pop culture in the ensuing years.

The National Party would begin engaging in unionbusting, covertly attempting to eradicate their influence without angering the urban population. Though they were successful in driving much of union activity underground, the unions employed asymmetrical tactics to try and evade police detection.

As the women's suffrage movement spread worldwide, it found significant resistance in Lingang. The National Party was initially skeptical of suffrage, and women's rights would only gradually improve through the early 20th century. Literate women were granted the right to vote in 1938, and full women's suffrage would be enacted a decade after.

The Great Depression and World Wars[]

When World War I broke out in Europe, Lingang would remain neutral, with fighting occurring on the border between France, Belgium, and Germany's colonies in Mu. Lingang would later join the League of Nations remained a member until its dissolution in 1946.

Linanarchistrevolution

Members of the Bullelephant Militia, 1934.

With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, Lingang's economy would suffer greatly. During this time, the nation would experience considerable social upheaval in response to the crisis. Popular media reflected this change in attitudes, as noir and crime thriller films that focused on the ire of the working class became very popular. In the period leading to the Parliamentary election of 1932, the newly formed Bullelephant Party (BP), a major leftwing populist party, had a groundswell of support from agrarian and working class voters, and posed a major threat to the National Party's grip on power. Their candidate for the Presidency, an activist named Samuel Phillips, was a rising figure in national politics and was seen as a voice for the unheard working class and the indigenous. The Bullelephant Party was in a position to win the election outright, and the National Party was compelled to act.

1932 Worker Revolution[]

The night after the 1932 election saw a victory for the Bullelephants, the National Party cracked down on the BP, claiming fraud while pinning the blame on them for a series of violent riots that had occurred in the preceding summer. Party members were arrested and detained without trial, and Phillips was killed, along with other prominent populist and socialist figures in the country in a self-coup orchestrated by the National Party. Aaron Reinhart, the Supreme Lord at the time, took additional steps to further cement the power of the National Party in the name of national security. His government banned the Umber Reader, the BP's popular newspaper, forcefully disbanded labor unions, and approved an order demanding the seizure of all firearms and explosive materials from non-militarized groups. Much of the working class, many among them affiliated with the BP, were enraged by these events, and a workers' social revolution followed that lasted until 1936. The Bullelephant Party led the revolution, which saw ordinary lower and working class citizens taking up arms against the government and upper classes. Though the government eventually suppressed the revolt, there were significant casualties and devastation of property, and atrocities committed by both sides.

World War II[]

Uslingangpacificwar

U.S. and Linganese marines during the Pacific Campaign, 1944.

Reinhart's regime remained officially neutral at the onset of the Second World War. Though the government (and mostly the middle and upper classes) were vocally supportive of Nazi Germany and Italy, the National Party vowed to stay uninvolved, taking a similar stance as they had in the previous world war. Still, Reinhart was anxious of Japan's ambitions in Asia and the Pacific, and his fears were realized in 1941 after Japan bombed a naval base in American Lemuria to the north of Lingang in a surprise attack. The Linganese embassy to the US, located in American Lemuria, was destroyed, killing 4 Linganese ambassadors. America joined the war very soon afterwards, and Lingang eventually followed suit in June of 1942. Following the defeat of the Axis in 1945, Lingang joined the United Nations, and began to focus on military and industrial production as it became more involved in the affairs of its neighbors.

Rise of Welburg and Red Revolution[]

International military operations[]

LinIlloto

A Linganese soldier watches Iloto children as a hut burns.

As the new post-WWII world order began to take shape, the US and USSR would compete for power, prestige, and dominance in what became known as the Cold War. The two superpowers would drag several regions across the globe into their respective orbits in order to build up alliances to defend against one another, and the Asia-Pacific region was no exception. Lingang began to seek closer ties to the US, as they both opposed Third World movements that they saw as sponsored by the Soviet Union, and occasionally pursued direct action for regime change in governments that became controlled by left-wing figures.

Portrait of the chancellor

A propaganda poster of Lord Welburg defaced with rebellious graffiti, 1964.

The first successful socialist revolution in Mu occurred in the newly decolonized Iloto Republic. Anxious about having a communist neighbor to its south to potentially re-stir socialist sentiments among its own lower classes, Linganese forces would enter the country in 1955 in order to topple what they described as a "disorderly and terroristic regime." With the occasional assistance of the United States, Lingang intervened in the politics of its neighbors in over a dozen incidents of regime change and state-sponsored terrorism against communist and populist leaders. Following Lord Reinhart's death, his aggressive foreign policy was continued by the next Supreme Lord, Tyrus Welburg, a man who had risen among the ranks of the National Party quickly in the preceding years. Welburg's methods of retaining power and exerting influence over the party were greatly inspired by Lawfordian Thought, and as the 4th Supreme Lord he would reverse the policies of De-Lawfordization put forth by his predecessors.


Ashetowne Uprising[]

Ashetowne

Buildings burning during the Ashetowne Uprising, May 1964

Welburg's regime was widely supported among the ruling and upper classes, who praised his bombastic and emotional language about law and order, and of restoring Lingang to a state of former glory. To some members of the working and lower classes, however, his effusive cult of personality, and brutal and violent methods of suppressing dissent would once again stir unrest. The indigenous were most affected by the rise of Welburg, who reminded them of early Linganese leaders who tried to eradicate their cultures. Inspired by images of the American Civil Rights Movement abroad, indigenous Linganese began to engage in forms of non-violent protest against unequal treatment, and against the dilapidated conditions of the Homelands they had been forced onto. These protests were met with a swift and harsh response from state police, and newsreels of injured peaceful protestors would ignite a deeply rooted anger in the native peoples.

Redwar2

Civilians attempting to flee approaching conflict in rural southern Lingang.

More protests would spontaneously occur in cities across the nation, as Linganese of various different backgrounds took to the streets across thousands of cities and towns in a show of solidarity, all demanding an end to the violence. Initially a movement to stop violence against the indigenous people, the protests would morph into a deafening call for democracy. An unorganized mass protest would soon produce a number of organizations dedicated to advocating for this change; The Republican Democracy Party (RDP), a social democrat organization; the Communist Party of Lingang (CPL), led by the charismatic Nicholas Levine; and a resurgent Bullelephant Party (BP), which was primarily dominated by native anarchists and anti-statists, but would ally themselves with the CPL and RDP. In urban areas, fires were set in major financial districts, incurring losses for businesses and corporations, and the increasing intensity of the protests saw a tenfold reply from state security forces, who sometimes fired upon the disobedient crowds with lethal rounds.

Lingang socialist flag small

The flag of the Communist Party of Lingang.

On May 17, 1964, the city of Ashetowne, Orindia, saw the largest protest in what is known as the Ashetowne Uprising. Local police were unable to quell the uprising, and the military was called in to crush the dissenters, though not before protestors captured the city hall and declared an autonomous zone. As Ashetowne burned, the situation further escalated when on 28 October of that year, Supreme Lord Tyrus Welburg announced a national military campaign to end the uprisings. He made a rare, televised address to the nation, decrying the efforts of the protestors and denouncing liberalism and socialism as pathways to chaos and destruction. The brutal crackdowns involved civilians enduring curfews, prolonged detainment, summary and public executions, and the persecution of individuals thought to be connected with the pro-democracy movement. Nicholas Levine, already a well-known unionist and pro-democracy advocate who mutinied from the army, was a prime target but managed to escape capture. Levine would go on to become a prominent figure in the Communist Party of Lingang for the duration of the revolution.


Redwar1

Communist soldiers on lookout for federal troops, 1971.

Second Civil War[]

The situation escalated as the rebellion spread beyond the city and began to show signs of serious organization and resistance. Appalled by the violence perpetrated against citizens, and feeling a sense of comradery with the rebelling peasants (many of whom came from working families themselves), during the later half of 1965 and 1966 many individual members and soon entire regiments of the armed forces would mutiny and side with the CPL/DRP/BP alliance, which would later refer to itself as the People's Democratic Front. The ensuing civil war saw heavy casualties (numbering from hundreds of thousands to well over one million, varying by source) and widespread destruction of infrastructure, and the damage would only mount during the decade long conflict. The federal government was supported by the United States and other anti-communist allies, while the People's Front was supported by the Soviet Union and its allies.

Redwar3

Burnt out tanks line ruined streets during the Assault on Strautenburg, 1973.

The war finally came to an end in 1975 with a federal victory over the rebels, who had been driven from the eastern states and forced into hiding in the sparsely populated far western deserts and inhospitable mountains, where a low level insurgency persists as of 2022. Lord Welburg publicly executed the leaders of the rebellion, and outlawed all forms of labor organization.

The Blackout[]

Homelandhq

The headquarters of the Division of Information, the branch of the Homeland Department that controls and censors media.

After the war, Welburg's regime focused on reconstructing the battered nation. Extending his declaration of a national emergency, Welburg instructed his government to begin Operation Homeland, and instituted several new agencies to oversee the radical reconstruction of Linganese society. One such institution was the Homeland Department, which was tasked with completely controlling the flow of information in and out of Lingang. News, radio, television, and all other methods of communication were to be strictly controlled, and contact with the outside world was so limited that almost no detailed information was available to the rest of the world from the late 70s until 1990, in a period that is referred to as "the Blackout." What reports did make it out of Lingang indicate that the National Party likely committed numerous mass atrocities against citizens who continued to resist reconstruction efforts. Changes in education radically altered the narratives of Lingang's history to fit within the National Party's accepted teachings. Any person who dared to dissent was quickly removed, their records expunged, and were never heard of again in a wave of mass incarcerations, while forced labor and reeducation camps were common.

By the time that Reconstruction was declared successful in 1990, Welburg had managed to fully transform Lingang into a totalitarian police state. Though legislated racial segregation and the indigenous Homelands had been done away with during this period, there were still significant social and economic barriers faced by non-white citizens. Most of the indigenous population still lived in poverty, and society at large faced an ever-widening wealth gap between the rich and poor.

Lingangpolice1

The ever-present Linganese state police on patrol near the western border, a common sight post-war.

Reports of atrocities in Lingang caused the international community to strongly condemn Welburg, and the country became politically and economically isolated. The country gained the nickname "Hermit Kingdom," a moniker shared with only North Korea. Sanctions against the Linganese government severely damaged economic growth in the 1980s and early 90s, forcing it to resort to autarky, with debatable success. It was during this time that some corporations and Lord estates were nationalized, and were eventually merged to form LinCorp in 1991, which is now the largest corporation in Lingang. LinCorp facilities and establishments quickly spread nationwide, and essentially became a monopoly with scant competition. LinCorp was granted permission to begin operating company towns in the still underdeveloped District of Caroline, with the government providing the necessary infrastructure. The presence of good paying jobs and new high-end towns caused a massive influx of immigration into the District, and by around 2005 Caroline's population had nearly tripled to over 580,000, with the bulk of the residents being employed by LinCorp and living in company housing. The CEO of LinCorp, Dan Kingston, was appointed as governor of Caroline in 2002, cementing the District's transformation into a de-facto corporatocracy, though legally still a part of Lingang.


Contemporary events[]

LINCORPheadquarters

The corporate headquarters of LinCorp.

At the dawn of the 21st century, Lingang was looking to stimulate an economic recovery, and mend its reputation that was tarnished during the Blackout years, though with initially limited results, as the Welburg regime refused to make significant democratic and social reforms. Increased terror attacks beginning in the early 2000s from the still ongoing (though minor) communist insurgency in the west saw the largest mobilization of military forces since the Red Revolution, though news of the conflict typically never reaches the average citizen in areas unaffected.

By 2006, LinCorp was growing rapidly, spurred by investments from the state and from business and trade abroad, bringing significant gains to the Linganese economy. By the end of the decade, Lingang was close to once again being classified as a developed economy, though progress has stalled due in part to the Great Recession.


"New Era"[]

In December 2012, Lord Welburg passed away, and his daughter Hanna Welburg was elected by the National College to succeed him in January 2013. She became the first woman to become Supreme Lord.

Hannawelburg2

Lord Welburg speaking at the Annual World Economic Forum in 2013.

Hanna Welburg's policies mainly revolved around continuing economic growth and fostering new relationships with the international community. The National Party attempted to put a kinder face on the Linganese government, and Welburg committed to "eventual democratization" at a worldwide summit in 2015, though some interpreted this as a hollow promise, as following the summit the National Party seemed to be operating business as usual. By the late 2010's, Lingang began attracting foreign business from corporations such as Amazon and Nestlé, and was engaged in a minor trade war with China. In 2017, US President Donald Trump reopened diplomatic relations with Lingang, effusively praising Hanna Welburg's leadership, though relations have deteriorated some under the Biden administration as of 2022.

In late October of 2021, an underground nuclear explosion was detected in the deserts of the state of Merkintus, causing worldwide alarm over a potentially renewed Linganese nuclear program. Sanctions followed, though it is believed that the nuclear program is still active.

Covidprotests

State police standing amidst a riot in Ashetowne after deploying tear gas during the 2021-2022 COVID Protests

As of 2023, Lord Welburg's policy concerning the COVID-19 pandemic can best be described as zero-tolerance, characterized by harsh curfews and restrictions. From late 2021 towards mid 2022, there were protests in various cities against the harsh lockdown measures implemented to combat COVID. This led to clashes in the streets between law enforcement and protestors, recordings of which eventually leaked onto the world wide web. Many nations condemned the harsh response from Linganese police against the protestors.

Lord Welburg mostly refrained from commenting on the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, however Linganese Secretary of State Kayla Pekakaili stated that while Lingang "condemned the violence" and warned against nuclear war, that there was also "unmistakable aggression" from NATO which "certainly provoked Russia into attacking."


LINGANG REDDITCLIMATE

Map showing the climate types of Lingang.

Geography[]

The entirety of the United Federation lies in the northern portion of the continent of Mu. It occupies a total of 6,525,710 square kilometres. It is the fifth or sixth largest nation on earth by total land area, being roughly equal in size to Australia.

Lingang savanna

Lingang's south-central regions are characterized by vast stretches of golden savannah.

The eastern seaboard of the country enjoys a moist, wetter climate than the drier interior due to water-laden warm air currents rising from the ocean. The northeastern portion lies just above the Tropic of Cancer and experiences a very mild climate which is heavily influenced by the oceanic air in some portions. The landscape there is largely dominated by deciduous forests and rolling hills, which then gives way to the tropical plains and open forests of the southeastern seaboard. Further south are monsoon and tropical rainforests. The Umber River divides the central and eastern portions of the nation.

Rainforests

Tropical forests dominate the southeastern regions of Lingang.

Going into the middle-west, the land becomes flatter and drier, characterized by hot plains and scrublands in the central and southwest regions, with some small mountains dotting the land. The far western portion of the country is a hot, arid desert. The tail end of the vast Lawrence Mountains sits within the northwest.

Lingang desert

Western Lingang is comprised of wide, barren deserts and mountains.

167003501-56a0089e5f9b58eba4ae8f93

The Muranian elephant, a national symbol of Lingang.

Biodiversity[]

Lingang is one of 18 megadiverse countries, and contains many endemic plant and animal species. Many Linganese species have descended from those of Gondwana, the southern supercontinent from which India separated more than 100 million years ago. According to estimates, 24% of Lingang is covered by forests

1280px-KedarRange

The Lawrence Mountain range sits in the northwestern corner of Lingang.

The largest land animal in Lingang (and Mu) is the Muranian Elephant, a close relative of the Asian Elephant.

Government and Politics[]

Lingang national party flag off

The banner of the National Party.

Lingang is a federal, parliamentary elective monarchy under a totalitarian single party. It is the world's most populous monarchy.

The National Party[]

According to the Linganese constitution, Lingang's government is guided by the "essential ideas of Lawfordian Thought." Said ideology is a comprehensive framework for operating society and controlling the behavior of citizens. The National Party is the sole legal party of the nation, and dominates every aspect of politics in the country.

The Supreme Lord is selected by majority vote of the National College. The Supreme Lord is both head of state and head of government of Lingang, and is monarch-like in its power and dominance over matters of state. The Supreme Lord has the power to dissolve Parliament, veto laws and direct the Parliamentary agenda, issue binding decrees, and commands the Linganese Armed Forces, among numerous other powers.

Linparliament

The Congress of the National Parliament, Strautenburg

Government[]

Lingang is a single-party state led by the National Party. Power is not legally separated between the executive, legislature, and the judiciary, with the latter two branches serving as but extensions of the Lord's (the executive) will. Lingang's Parliament, officially called the National Parliament, is divided into a lower house (Congress) and an upper house (Palace of Lords). Congress is made up of 235 members, who are chosen by the National Party in a series of primaries, and then elected by their respective states. The leader of Congress is the President, who approves of bills to be sent to the Palace. Once approved, the Palace debates the bill and decides whether to send it back to Congress for further review, or to send it to the Supreme Lord to become law. Members of the Palace of Lords are selected by a number of means, being either appointed by the Supreme Lord, hereditarily, or selected by their respective state legislatures. The main business of parliament takes place in the two houses, though approval by the Supreme Lord is required for a bill to become law.

The judiciary is headed by the High Court.

LINGANG REDDITPOLITICALMAP FINAL

A political map of Lingang.

Political divisions[]

The 29 states are the principal political divisions in the country. Each state holds jurisdiction over a defined geographic territory, where it shares sovereignty with the federal government. States have responsibility for matters such as law enforcement, healthcare, education, etc., but the federal government can initiate national policies in states, and has the power to override laws and take control of respective state guards in times of emergencies. Changes to their role and division of powers may be performed unilaterally by the National Congress.

Lingang has one unincorporated territory, the District of Caroline, L.C. Territories may be directly administered by the federal government de jure, however in Caroline, the territory has been granted to LinCorp to develop and administer, and power is increasingly vested in the hands of the company, whose executives mostly fill the administrative offices of the territory.

Citizenship is granted by birth in all states and territories.

Economy[]

Lincorp oil

L-12, a Lin-Corp oil platform off the coast of Kirkland.

Strautenburgbank

Strautenburg is one of two main financial centers of Lingang.

Since 2015, Lingang has the 17th largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP, totaling approximately US$1.050 trillion. It is the largest economy in Mu. Lingang has what can be described as a "mixed economy;" while largely allowing some degree of free trade, the country is still detangling itself from decades of autarky, and the state heavily regulates commerce. Lin-Corp, the official state corporation of Lingang, is the largest company in the nation, and has seen some success in expanding overseas.

Demographics[]

LINGANG popdensity

Map of population density in Lingang, as of the 2020 Census.

The UF Census Department reported 228,875,300 residents at the conclusion of its census in January 2021. This figure includes the District of Caroline, a Linganese territory, and the Strautenburg Special City-State. Lingang is the fifth most populous nation in the world, after Indonesia.

Lingangrace

Race and ethnicity in Lingang.

Ethnic groups[]

Lingang has a diverse population. White or European Linganese, mostly of British and French ancestry, account for the largest racial group, at 64% of the population. Native Linganese or other Indigenous Muranians account for the second largest racial and ethnic group, and the largest racial minority, standing at 21% of the total population. Asians make up the third largest racial group and are the third largest racial minority, and are around 10% of the population.

Religion[]

Strautenburg church

Strautenburg National Cathedral

Lingang's official state religion is Lawfordian Christianity, a branch-off of Protestantism that is heavily influenced by the ideologies of Vincent Lawford, and that of the former Linganese Christian Union (which has since become the Church of Lingang). Though Lawfordianism is the state sanctioned denomination of Christianity, other denominations are tolerated so long as practitioners don't challenge the status quo and practice their faith privately.

Other religions besides Christianity are only allowed if explicitly decreed by the Church of Strautenburg. Judaism, Buddhism, and certain indigenous faiths are tolerated as long as their adherents, like non-Lawfordian Christian denominations, keep to themselves. The Church has also banned a number of faiths and ideologies. Islam has been declared illegal since 2004, and professing a lack of belief in God is illegal.

Major cities[]

Newvictoriacity

New Victoria City's skyline at night.

Ashetowne2022

Cook Avenue in Ashetowne.

Lingang is highly urbanized in the northwest and in certain areas of the south and midwest. Most major cities are in these regions. As of 2022, the largest cities in Lingang are: New Victoria City (8,342,589 est.), Selby (6,012,958), Strautenburg (5,236,454), Alvadale (4,398,221), Rushborough (4,027,671), Maurentide (2,942,896), and Ashtowne (2,327,004).

Strautenburg panorama

A panorama of Lawford Park in Strautenburg.

Culture[]

Lingang parliament

The Palace of Lords has become a recognizable global icon of Lingang.

Lingang is home to a wide variety of cultures, ethnic groups, traditions, and values. Mainstream Lingangese culture is largely descended from the traditions and values of European immigrants within the past two and a half centuries, mostly from Great Britain. There is considerable debate over whether Lingang is a part of the broader Western world, or if it qualifies as a culture of its own, adjacent to but separate from the West. Aside from the Native Linganese, all citizens and resident's ancestors immigrated from other continents or were imported as slaves. Within the past few decades especially, immigrants from East and Southeast Asia have contributed to elements of Linganese culture, and have often assimilated into mainstream culture.

Media[]

Merrymen

The poster of The Merry Men (1948), an enduring symbol of Linganese cinema and culture.

The Merry Men (1948), a film depicting the 1932 revolution and the class struggles of the 1930's, and at the time Lingang's most popular feature-length narrative film, spurred a boom in Linganese cinema following WWII, and is seen as influencing all Linganese films that followed. It was the first Linganese film to be nominated for an Academy Award. However, as the 1950's progressed, Linganese cinema was largely eclipsed by Hollywood, and remained rather obscure in the filmmaking world through to the 21st century, though recently the Linganese government has undertaken efforts to revive its film industry.

Divinfologo-modified

The all-powerful Division of Information controls all media in the country.

Today, Linganese radio, film, television, and internet are controlled and distributed by the Division of Information, a branch of the Homeland Department. Under the department are the three national public broadcasters (Radio Lingang, Pacific News Network, and Mu Daily!), twenty television networks, and numerous public, non-profit television stations. Due to the tight censorship policies of the Homeland Department, essentially all films and television shows are domestic, and foreign content rarely passes through security filters. The National Internet Service provides internet to the country, and operates as an enclosed intranet, with access to the World Wide Web either restricted or highly monitored in most places.

Cuisine[]

Doughnuts

Doughnuts are an immensely popular dish in Lingang.

Most Indigenous Linganese groups subsisted on a simple hunter-gatherer diet of native fauna and flora. Many indigenous cultures on the eastern seaboard relied heavily on marine life for sustenance, and their continued presence has influenced the cuisines of various eastern cities, such as New Victoria City and Ashetowne.

The first settlers introduced British and Irish cuisine to the continent. This influence is seen in the prominence of several British dishes such as fish and chips. Immigration in the early 20th century changed the Linganese diet substantially. Asian immigrants brought with them their traditional dishes and cooking methods, eventually blending with the local traditions to create a unique Linganese cooking style. The scarcity caused by the imposition of autarky during the Blackout forced the population to get creative with their cuisine, resulting in a number of odd yet enduringly popular dishes such as The Omoko Bloko, Wary Scary, and Frog-Mud Pudding, most foraged from local wildlife. The doughnut has also been a popular dish for over a century, and there is a national public holiday known as Doughnut Day where lords and state leaders commune with common citizens in festivals dedicated to the food item.

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