Merala

Merala, officially the People’s Revolutionary Republic of Merala (Castrian: República Popular Revolucionaria de Merala; RPRM) is a country in the southern portion of Antigonia, It is borded to the north by Avlonya; to the south and west by the Cirenian Ocean; and to the east by the Gulf of Merala. Merala covers 3,348,796 square kilometers (1,292,977 sq mi) and has approximately 200 million inhabitants, making it one of the world’s largest countries by area and population, and the most populous Castrian-speaking nation. It is a federation comprising 50 states and Anochtepec, its capital city and largest metropolis. Other major urban areas include Los Diablos, Mezieres, Pineda, Chequescha, Santa Teresa, Canales, and El Paraíso.

Pre-Contact Merala traces its origins to 8,000 BCE and is identifies as one of the cradles of civilization; it was home to many advanced Notogonian, most well-known among them the Winic and the Totlecs. In 1517, the Verdesan Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Anochtepec, which then became known as New Verdesa. The Catholic Church played an important role as millions of indigenous inhabitants converted. These populations were heavily exploited to mine rich deposits of precious metals, which became a major source of wealth for the Verdesans. Merala became an independent with Acronian support after the successful Meralan War of Independence against Verdesa in 1800.

The nascent country established itself as a semi-presidential federal parliamentary republic, and quickly formed trade relationships with major Elysian powers and it also signed the first equal treaties with Auchoian countries, with the Meralan Peso becoming one of the first global currencies. Despite this, Vazandian disputes over Meralan property led to the Princes’ War in which Vazandian nobles attempted to seize Meralan land using mercenaries, but were expelled by a combined effort by Merala and Acronia. The following years were marked by the rise of Belisario Tasoyo, who became president in 1868 and consolidated power for himself and the Progressive Party, establishing a dictatorship characterized by rapid industrialization, modernization, political repression, corruption and widening economic and social inequality leading to the Meralan Revolution and the establishment of a socialist state in 1920. Merala played a major supporting role in the Second Great War, and the Post-War era saw the implementation of a computer-assisted centrally planned economy, and political strife that led to major democratic reforms.

Merala is an industrialized country, and it ranks highly on the Human Development Index. It has the world's largest known oil reserves and has been one of the world's leading exporters of oil. It has the largest economy in Antigonia. The large economy, area, population and politics make Merala a regional power and as an emerging power. Its citizens enjoy one of the best telecommunications networks in the world, coupled with excellent healthcare and education systems. Merala also has high standards of public infrastructure, but there is a stark inequality between its cities and its remote indigenous areas.

Merala ranks first in Antigonia and highly in the world for number of World Heritage Sites. Merala is an ecologically megadiverse country, ranking highly in the world for its natural biodiversity. Merala receives a significant number of tourists every year, in 2019, it was the most-visited country in Antigonia and one of the most-visited in the world with 45 million international arrivals. Merala is a founding member of the Congress of Nations, the Vastava Pact, the Council of Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Community of Petroleum Producing Countries.

Etymology


The southern Meralan coast was discovered by Acronian explorer Jean-Marie de Blanquefort, who was hired by the Verdesan crown to explore and settle territories in its name. Whilst he originally named the land “Nueva Verdesa” (New Verdesa), a name that was adopted in a royal decree on September 16 1517, the origins of the term Merala surfaced from a typo he made on a letter to the court notifying them of his discoveries:

"La tierra es verde y fértil, cubierta de preciosas maderas y llenas de extraordinarias bestias. Los nativos son gente dócil y honesta, casi civilizados. Es posible amaestrar estas nuevas tierras que he nombrado en honor a su reino con su ayuda, sin tener que caer en los excesos de previas conquistas. Es por la gracia de Dios que se nos ha bendecidos con estas tierras del mer [mar] allá."

"The land is green and fertile, covered of precious woods and full of extraordinary beasts. The natives are docile and honest people, almost civilized. It is possible to conquer these new lands I have named in honor of your kingdom with their help, without having to fall into the excesses of previous conquests. It is by the grace of God that we have been blessed with these lands from the mer [sea] beyond."

This typo quickly became the subject of ridicule in the court and the general public, with the lands often being referred as Mer Allá rather than Nueva Verdesa. The term Merala properly appeared for the first time in a Verdesan newsbook called La Nota (The Note) during the conquest of the Totlec Empire in 1519:

"Se buscan marineros y soldados estúpidos para luchar contra enemigos notorios por comer corazones en las tierras de Merala"

"Stupid sailors and solders are wanted to fight against enemies notorious for eating hearts in the lands of Merala"

The name Merala became the colloquial name of New Verdesa. The declaration of independence signed on December 8 1786 by the deputies of the Congress of Paso del Norte made the name official, something that all constitutions since have upheld.

Indigenous civilizations


The earliest human artifacts in Merala are chips of stone tools found near campfire remains in the Anahuac Valley and radiocarbon-dated to circa 10,000 years ago. Merala is the site of the domestication of maize, tomato, and beans, which produced an agricultural surplus. This enabled the transition from paleo-Antigonian hunter-gatherers to sedentary agricultural villages beginning around 5000 BCE. In the subsequent formative eras, maize cultivation and cultural traits such as a mythological and religious complex, and a vigesimal (base 20) numeric system, were diffused from the Anahuac Valley to the rest of the Notogonian culture area. In this period, villages became more dense in terms of population, becoming socially stratified with an artisan class, and developing into chiefdoms. The most powerful rulers had religious and political power, organizing the construction of large ceremonial centers developed.



The earliest complex civilization in Merala was the Kuamec culture, which flourished on the Gulf Coast from around 1500 BC. Kuamec cultural traits diffused through Merala into other formative-era cultures in Mokaya, Huaxyacac and the Anahuac Valley. The formative period saw the spread of distinct religious and symbolic traditions, as well as artistic and architectural complexes. The formative-era of Notogonia is considered one of the six independent cradles of civilization. In the subsequent pre-classical period, the Winic and Ben civilizations developed complex centers at Oxtetun and Monte Piedra, respectively. During this period the first true Notogonian writing systems were developed in the Epi-Kuamec and the Ben cultures. The Notogonian writing tradition reach its height in the Classic Winic Hieroglyphic script. The earliest written histories date from this era. The tradition of writing was important after the Verdesan conquest in 1517.



In Central Merala, the height of the classic period saw the ascendancy of Miktitlan, with a population of more than 150,000 people, had some of the largest pyramidal structures in pre-Contact Antigonia. After the collapse of Miktitlan around 600 CE, competition ensued between several important political centers in Central Merala such as Xochitelco and Yokola. At this time, during the Epi-Classic, Kokote peoples began moving south into Notogonia from the North, and became politically and culturally dominant in Central Merala, as they displaced speakers of Yan-Manekean languages.

During the early post-classic era (ca. 1000-1519 CE), Central Merala was dominated by the Neiltec culture,  Huaxyacac by the Yusavi and the lowland Winic area had important centers at Uucyabnal and Winicpan. Toward the end of the post-Classic period, the Kokote established dominance, creating a political and economic empire based in the city of Anochtepec, extending from Central Merala to the state of Jache. Ludwig von Herz popularized the modern usage of “Totlec” as a collective term applied to all the people linked by trade, custom, religion and language to the Kokote state and Ateskatl Alteptlatskostli, the Lake Confederation. In 1832, with the publication of Juande Pérez, it was adopted by most of the world, as it was a considered as a way to distinguish present-day Meralans from pre-conquest Meralans. This usage has been the subject of debate since the late 20th Century.

The Totlec empire is considered an hegemony, as it did not exert supreme authority over the conquered territories, being satisfied with the payment of tributes from them. The hegemonic nature of the Totlec Empire was demonstrated by their restoration of local rulers to their former position after their city-state was conquered. The Totlec did not interfere in local affairs, as long as the tributes were paid.

The Totlec of Central Merala built a tributary empire covering most of central Merala. The Totlecs were noted for practicing human sacrifice on a large scare, this being the main reason why they avoided killing enemies on the battlefield. Because of this, their warring casualty rate was far lower than that of their Verdesan counterparts, whose principal objective was immediate slaughter during battle. This distinct Notogonian cultural tradition of human sacrifice ended with the gradual Verdesan conquest in the 16th century. Over the next centuries many other Meralan indigenous cultures were conquered and gradually subjected to Verdesan colonial rule.

Conquest of the Totlecs




Viceroyalty of New Verdesa










War of Independence (1786–1800)




Contemporary Merala (1987-Present)




Military




Economy




Ethnicity and race




Religion