Groteland

## **Introduction**

#### **Background**

The island of Groteland was one of the first instances of early man using navigation to settle a new major landmass. From eastern Meridia, early man spread out throughout Tivia and Altumia. Some migrated to southern Meridia, and over time these early humans learned how to traverse water. Slowly, they went from the southern tip of Meridia, to a nearby island, and from there followed a chain of islands until eventually finding a very large island which became known in modern day as 'Groteland' in ~8000 B.C. In spite of this, Groteland was extremely isolated from the rest of the world due to the difficulty in navigating the surrounding waters. These early humans developed their own culture, ethnicity, and language. In 1340 A.D, Groteland was rediscovered but unexplored due to the native population being hostile to all outsiders. From the 16th to 19th century, the Kingdom of Namorior dominated much of Groteland, along with being a pirate stronghold in the 17th and 18th centuries. The island was annexed by The Acadian Federation in 1898, and in 1905 Groteland was made into an Acadian puppet state under the title 'Groteland Republic'.

In 1983, a terrorist attack caused a nuclear meltdown, causing a chain reaction which lead to dozens of Nuclear power plants to have catastrophic meltdowns simultaneously in Groteland. The radiation released caused the island to be deemed 'Uninhabitable' by The Acadian Federation, and in 1991 the ecosystem was deemed 'Non Recoverable' for the next ~20,000 years. All Acadian Federation personnel pulled out of the island, leaving only scientific and military monitoring equipment. This nuclear meltdown came to be known as Long Night.

In 2001, contact was established between the Acadian Federation and a population of survivors. The survivors from Long Night claimed indipendence from The Acadian Federation, which was not contested. After which, an outpour of humanitarian aid was provided by The Acadian Federation and Orossian Khanate, aimed at giving food, medicine, supplies, and environmental relief. The joint operation is considered the worlds largest Humanitarian project taken to date, and if it were not for these efforts the island would still be considered a lifeless wasteland for millennia to come. The influx of support combined with a people unified by tragedy allowed the people of Groteland to defy the odds and bounce back into a relatively stable country.

In 2010, they were globally recognized as 'The United Tribes of Groteland', establishing a democratic republic. The first free election occurred in 2012, and resulted in the election of Quinten Looms, who still resides as the president of the United Tribes of Groteland on his third and final term.

A majority of Groteland citizens reside in protected urban areas where radiation shielding and fallout scrubbing has allowed for normal life to continue without much hindrance. The background radiation at almost every point on the island even outside of exclusionary zones means that most Groteland citizens suffer from increased long term health problems in comparison to Acadian citizens. The ecosystem of Groteland was sensitive even before the events of Long Night, and the high radioactive background has caused mass die off of species susceptible to cancer. Large scale environmental efforts have significantly slowed the destruction of the high radioactive background, but as efforts started 10 years too late, the damage has been done. More hardy species have survived long enough to reproduce, but besides in rare small pockets of unaffected wilderness the entire island is still facing total ecosystem collapse, with promise for things to potentially get better with more time and effort.

## **Geography**

#### **Location**

Southern Meridia, an island in the Orlog Ocean off the eastern coast of Meridia.

#### **Climate**

Tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south.

#### **Terrain**

Narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center.

**Elevation**

highest point: 2,876 m

lowest point: Orlog Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 615 m

**Natural Resources**

graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, rare earth elements, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones

#### **Nationality**

Noun: Grotelay (Singular and Plural)

Adjective: Grotelandian

#### **Religion**

Jiangoism (official), Atheism (official), Knuppelism

## **Environment**

**Environment - Current Issues**

Emergency Wildlife Preservation, mass infertility, desertification, soil erosion and degradation from mass deforestation.

#### **Air Pollutants**

particulate matter emissions

carbon dioxide emissions

methane emissions

lingering exotic radioactive particles

#### **Food Insecurity**

**Critical food insecurity:** Due to mass scale ecological collapse and nuclear fallout, nearly all land has become infertile. The nation is reliant on imports to survive.

## **Government**

#### **Country Name**

**Conventional Long Form:** The United Tribes of Groteland

**Conventional Short Form:** Groteland

**Etymology:** The name comes from a corrupted translation of a port on the island which was confused as the entire island.

#### **Capital**

Namorior

**Etymology:** Meaning, 'The Protector', refers to the purpose of a group of fighters against colonialism.

#### **Citizenship**

**Citizenship by birth:** no

**Citizenship by descent: T**he father must be a citizen of Groteland; in the case of a child born out of wedlock, the mother must be a citizen

**Dual citizenship recognized:** no

## **Energy**

#### **Electricity Access**

**Electrification - total population:** 89% (2019)

**electrification - urban areas:** 99% (2019)

**electrification - rural areas:** NA

#### **Electricity - From Nuclear Fuels**

77% of total installed capacity

**Electricity - From other renewable resources**

10% of total installed capacity

## **Transportation**

#### **National air transportation system**

**Number of registered air carriers:** 4 (2020)
**Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers:** 18
**Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:** 541,290 (2018)

**Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:** 16.25 million mt-km (2018)

#### **Roadways**

**Total:** 31,640 km (2018) (Majority of roads are not maintained)

## **Military and Security**

#### **Military and Security forces**

People's Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force; Ministry of Public Security: National Police (2021)

#### **Military Service and Obligation**

Groteland has an all volunteer military; 18-25 years of age for males; service obligation 18 months; women are permitted to serve in all branches (2021)

## **Surveyed Public Perception of other countries**

**The Federation of Acadia:** Approval 53%, Disapprove 27%, Neutral 20%

**Orossian Khanate:** Approval 68%, Disapprove 30%, Neutral 2%