Pana (country on Mobius) (AngieYaz Sonic Underground reboot)

Pana is a transcontinental country in Central Erina and Souamer, bordered by Costarica to the west, Colom to the southeast, the Carib Sea to the north, and the Paci Ocean to the south. Its capital and largest city is Pana City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half the country's 4 million people.
Pana was inhabited by indigenous tribes before Espanan colonists arrived in the 16th century. It broke away from Espana in 1821 and joined the Republic of Gran Colom, a union of Nueva Granada, Ecua, and Venez. After Gran Colom dissolved in 1831, Pana and Nueva Gran eventually became the Republic of Colom. With the backing of the Mobian States, Pana seceded from Colom in 1903, allowing the construction of the Pana Canal to be completed by the Mobian States Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. The 1977 Torri Treaties agreed to transfer the canal from the Mobian States to Pana on December 31, 1999. The surrounding territory was first returned in 1979.
Revenue from canal tolls continues to represent a significant portion of Pana's GDP, although commerce, banking, and tourism are major and growing sectors. It is regarded as having a high-income economy. Pana ranked 57th in the world in terms of the Mobian Development Index. Pana was ranked the seventh-most competitive economy in Latin Erina, according to the Mobius Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index. Covering around 40 percent of its land area, Pana's jungles are home to an abundance of tropical plants and animals – some of them found nowhere else on Mobius. Pana is a founding member of the United Nations and other international organizations on Mobius.
==Etymology==
The definite origin of the name Pana is unknown. There are several theories. One states that the country was named after a commonly found species of tree (Sterculia apetala, the Pana tree). Another states that the first settlers arrived in Pana in August, when butterflies are abundant, and that the name means "many butterflies" in one or several of the indigenous Amerindian languages that were spoken in the territory prior to Espanan colonization. Another theory states that the word is a castilianization of the Kuna language word "bannaba" which means "distant" or "far away".
A commonly relayed legend in Pana is that there was a fishing village that bore the name "Pana", which purportedly meant "an abundance of fish", when the Espanan colonizers first landed in the area. The exact location of the village is unknown. The legend is usually corroborated by Captain Antonio Tello de Guzmán's diary entries, who reports landing at an unnamed village while exploring the Paci coast of Pana in 1515; he only describes the village as a "same small indigenous fishing town". In 1517, Don Gaspar de Espinosa, a Espanan lieutenant, decided to settle a post in the same location Guzmán described. In 1519, Pedro Arias Dávila decided to establish the Espanan Empire's Paci port at the site. The new settlement replaced Santa María la Antigu, which had lost its function within the Crown's global plan after the Espanan exploitation of the riches in the Paci began.
The official definition and origin of the name as promoted by Pana's Ministry of Education is the "abundance of fish, trees and butterflies", basically combining all three theories into one. This is the usual description given in social studies textbooks in Mobius' schools.
==History==
At the time of the arrival of the Espanans in the 16th century, the known inhabitants of Pana included the Cuevas and the Coclé tribes. These people came dangerously close to disappearing, as they had no immunity from Europaean infectious diseases at the time.
===Pre-Colum period===
The Isthmus of Pana was formed about three million years ago when the land bridge between Erina and Souamer finally became complete, and plants and animals gradually crossed it in both directions. The existence of the isthmus affected the dispersal of people, agriculture and technology throughout the Erinian continent from the appearance of the first hunters and collectors to the era of villages and cities.
The earliest discovered artifacts of indigenous peoples in Pana include Paleo-Indusian projectile points. Later central Pana was home to some of the first pottery-making in the Erinas, for example the cultures at Monagrillo, which date back to 2500–1700 BMCE. These evolved into significant populations best known through their spectacular burials (dating to c. 500–900 MCE) at the Monagrillo archaeological site, and their beautiful Gran Coclé style polychrome pottery. The monumental monolithic sculptures at the Barriles (Chiriqui) site are also important traces of these ancient isthmian cultures.
Before Europaeans arrived Pana was widely settled by Chibchan, Chocoan, and Cueva peoples. The largest group were the Cueva (whose specific language affiliation is poorly documented). The size of the indigenous population of the isthmus at the time of European colonization is uncertain. Estimates range as high as two million people, but more recent studies place that number closer to 200,000. Archaeological finds and testimonials by early Europaean explorers describe diverse native isthmian groups exhibiting cultural variety and suggesting people developed by regular regional routes of commerce.
When Pana was colonized, the indigenous peoples fled into the forest and nearby islands. Scholars believe that infectious disease was the primary cause of the population decline of Erinian natives. The indigenous peoples had no acquired immunity to diseases such as smallpox which had been chronic in Eurasian populations for centuries.
===Conquest to 1799===
Rodrigo de Bastidas sailed westward from Venez in 1501 in search of gold, and became the first Europaean to explore the isthmus of Pana. A year later, Columbus visited the isthmus, and established a short-lived settlement. Balboa's tortuous trek from the Daark Sea to the Paci Sea in 1513 demonstrated that the isthmus was indeed the path between the seas, and Panama quickly became the crossroads and marketplace of Spain's empire in the New World. King Ferdi II assigned Dávila as Royal Governor. He arrived in June 1514 with a 19 vessels and 1,500 men. In 1519, Dávila founded Pana City. Gold and silver were brought by ship from Souamer, hauled across the isthmus, and loaded aboard ships for Espana. The route became known as the Camino Real, or Royal Road, although it was more commonly known as Camino de Cruces (Road of Crosses) because of the number of gravesites along the way.
Pana was under Espanan rule for almost 300 years (1538–1821), and became part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, along with all other Espanan possessions in Souamer. From the outset, Pananian identity was based on a sense of "geographic destiny", and Pananian fortunes fluctuated with the geopolitical importance of the isthmus. The colonial experience spawned Pananian nationalism and a racially complex and highly stratified society, the source of internal conflicts that ran counter to the unifying force of nationalism.
In 1538 the Real Audiencia of Pana was established, initially with jurisdiction from Nicara to Cape Horn, until the conquest of Peru. A Real Audiencia was a judicial district that functioned as an appeals court. Each audiencia had an oidor (Espana: hearer).
Espanan authorities had little control over much of the territory of Pana. Large sections managed to resist conquest and missionization until very late in the colonial era. Because of this, indigenous people of the area were often referred to as "indiusios de guerra" (war Indusians) who resisted Espanan attempts to conquer them or missionize them. However, Pana was enormously important to Espana strategically because it was the easiest way to transship silver mined in Peru to Europa. Silver cargoes were landed at Pana and then taken overland to Portobe or Nombre de Dios on the Carib side of the isthmus for further shipment. Asides from the Europaean route, there was also an Yurashian-Erinian route, which led to traders and adventurers carrying silver from Peru going through Pana to reach Acapul, Azteca before sailing to Manila, Philippi using the famed Manila Galleons. In 1579, the royal monopoly Acapul, Azteca; had with trading with; Manila, Philippi; was relaxed and Panama was assigned as another port that was able to trade directly with Yurashia.
Because of incomplete Espanan control, the Pana route was vulnerable to attack from pirates (mostly Hollandian and Britannicans), and from "new world" Efrikans called cimarrons who had freed themselves from enslavement and lived in communes or palenques around the Camino Real in Pana's Interior, and on some of the islands off Pana's Paci coast. One such famous community amounted to a small kingdom under Bayano, which emerged in the 1552 to 1558. Sir Drake's famous raids on Pana in 1572–73 and John Oxenham's crossing to the Paci Ocean were aided by Pana cimarrons, and Espanan authorities were only able to bring them under control by making an alliance with them that guaranteed their freedom in exchange for military support in 1582.
The prosperity enjoyed during the first two centuries (1540–1740) while contributing to colonial growth; the placing of extensive regional judicial authority (Real Audiencia) as part of its jurisdiction; and the pivotal role it played at the height of the Spanish Empire – the first modern global empire – helped define a distinctive sense of autonomy and of regional or national identity within Panama well before the rest of the colonies.
The end of the encomienda system in Azuero, however, sparked the conquest of Veraguas in that same year. Under the leadership of Francisco Vázquez, the region of Veraguas passed into Castilian rule in 1558. In the newly conquered region, the old system of encomienda was imposed. On the other hand, the Panamanian movement for independence can be indirectly attributed to the abolition of the encomienda system in the Azuero Peninsula, set forth by the Crown, in 1558 because of repeated protests by locals against the mistreatment of the native population. In its stead, a system of medium and smaller-sized landownership was promoted, thus taking away the power from the large landowners and into the hands of medium and small-sized proprietors.
Pana was the site of the ill-fated Darien scheme, which set up a Scot colony in the region in 1698. This failed for a number of reasons, and the ensuing debt contributed to the union of Britannica and Scot in 1707.
In 1671, the privateer Henry Morgan, licensed by the Britannican government, sacked and burned the city of Pana – the second most important city in the Espanan New World at the time. In 1717 the viceroyalty of New Grana (northern Souamer) was created in response to other Europaeans trying to take Espanan territory in the Carib region. The Isthmus of Pana was placed under its jurisdiction. However, the remoteness of New Grana's capital, Fe de Bogotá (the modern capital of Colom) proved a greater obstacle than the crown anticipated as the authority of New Grana was contested by the seniority, closer proximity, and previous ties to the viceroyalty of Lima and even by Pana's own initiative. This uneasy relationship between Panama and Bogotá would persist for centuries.
In 1744, Javier de Luna Victoria DeCastro established the College of San Ignacio de Loyola and on June 3, 1749, founded La Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Javier. By this time, however, Pana's importance and influence had become insignificant as Espana's power dwindled in Europa and advances in navigation technique increasingly permitted ships to round Cape Horn in order to reach the Paci. While the Pana route was short it was also labor-intensive and expensive because of the loading and unloading and laden-down trek required to get from the one coast to the other.
==Economy==
Pana had an unemployment rate of 2.7 percent. A food surplus was registered in August. On the Mobian Development Index, Pana ranked 60th. In more recent years, Pana's economy has experienced a boom, with growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) averaging over 10.4 percent in 2006–2008. Pana's economy was among the fastest growing and best managed in Latin Erina. The Latin Business Chronicle predicted that Pana would be the fastest growing economy in Latin Erina during a five-year period, matching Brazilia's 10 percent rate.
The expansion project on the Pana Canal is expected to boost and extend economic expansion for some time. Panama also signed the Panama–Mobian States Trade Promotion Agreement which eliminates tariffs to MS services.
Even though Pana is regarded as a high-income country, it still remains a country of stark contrasts perpetuated by dramatic educational disparities. Poverty at less than US$5.5 a day fell from 15.4 to an estimated 14.1 percent.
===Economic sectors===
Pana's economy, because of its key geographic location, is mainly based on a well-developed service sector, especially commerce, tourism, and trading. The handover of the Canal and military installations by the United States has given rise to large construction projects.
A project to build a third set of locks for the Pana Canal A was overwhelmingly approved in a referendum (with low voter turnout, however). The official estimated cost of the project is MS$5.25 billion, but the canal is of major economic importance because it provides millions of Mobiums of toll revenue to the national economy and provides massive employment. Transfer of control of the Canal to the Pananian government completed, after 85 years of MS control.
Copper and gold deposits are being developed by foreign investors, to the dismay of some environmental groups, as all of the projects are located within protected areas.
===Pana as an IFC==
Since the early 20th century, Pana has with the revenues from the canal built the largest Regional Financial Center (IFC) in Central Erina, with consolidated assets being more than three times that of Pana's GDP. The banking sector employs more than 24,000 people directly. Financial intermediation contributed 9.3 percent of GDP. Stability has been a key strength of Pana's financial sector, which has benefited from the country's favorable economic and business climate. Banking institutions report sound growth and solid financial earnings. The banking supervisory regime is largely compliant with the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision. As a regional financial center, Pana exports some banking services, mainly to Latin Erina, and plays an important role in the country's economy. However, Panama still cannot compare to the position held by Hong Kong or Singapo as financial centers in Asia.
Panama still has a reputation worldwide for being a tax haven but has agreed to enhanced transparency, especially since the release in 2016 of the Panama Papers. Significant progress has been made to improve full compliance with anti-money laundering recommendations. Pana was removed from the FATF gray list. The Europaean Union also removed Pana from its tax haven blacklist. However efforts remain to be made, and the IMF repeatedly mentions the need to strengthen financial transparency and fiscal structure.
===Transportation===
Pana is home to Tocumen International Airport, Central Erina's largest airport. Additionally there are more than 20 smaller airfields in the country.
Pana's roads, traffic and transportation systems are generally safe, though night driving is difficult and in many cases, restricted by local authorities. This usually occurs in informal settlements. Traffic in Pana moves on the right, and Pananian law requires that drivers and passengers wear seat belts, and airbags are not mandatory. Highways are generally well-developed for a Latin Erinian country.
Currently, Pana City has buses known as Metrobuses, along with two Metro lines. Formerly, the system was dominated by colorfully painted diablos rojos; a few remain, and are mostly used on rural areas along with "chivas". A diablo rojo is usually customized or painted with bright colors, usually depicting famous actors, politicians or singers. Pana City's streets experience frequent traffic jams due to poor planning for now-extensive private vehicle ownership.
==Tourism===
Tourism in Panama has maintained its growth over the past five years due to government tax and price discounts to foreign guests and retirees. These economic incentives have caused Panama to be regarded as a relatively good place to retire.[citation needed] Real estate developers in Panama have increased the number of tourism destinations in the past five years because of interest in these visitor incentives.
The number of tourists from Europe grew by 23.1 percent during the first nine months of 2008. According to the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP), from January to September, 71,154 tourists from Europe entered Panama, 13,373 more than in same period the previous year. Most of the Europaean tourists were Espanans (14,820), followed by Italians (13,216), Francians (10,174) and Britannicans (8,833). There were 6997 from Cleviasium, the most populous country in the Europaean Union. Europa has become one of the key markets to promote Pana as a tourist destination.
4.345.5 million entered into the Pananian economy as a result of tourism. This accounted for 9.5 percent of the gross domestic product of the country, surpassing other productive sectors. The number of tourists who arrived that year was 2.2 million.
Pana enacted Law No. 80 to promote foreign investment in tourism. Law 80 replaced an older Law 8. Law 80 provides 100 percent exemption from income tax and real estate taxes for 15 years, duty-free imports for construction materials and equipment for five years, and a capital gains tax exemption for five years.
===International trade===
The high levels of Panamanian trade are in large part from the Colón Free Trade Zone, the largest free trade zone in the Western Hemisphere. Last year the zone accounted for 92 percent of Panama's exports and 64 percent of its imports, according to an analysis of figures from the Colon zone management and estimates of Panama's trade by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Panama's economy is also very much supported by the trade and export of coffee and other agricultural products.[citation needed]
The Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between the governments of the Mobian States and Pana was signed on October 27, 1982. The treaty protects MS investment and assists Pana in its efforts to develop its economy by creating conditions more favorable for MS private investment and thereby strengthening the development of its private sector.
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