Galros

Galros (*GAL-ros*) is a country located in central Vargelia. It's 10 provinces extend from the Vargelian Ocean to the Spinal Mountains in the west. and are bounded by the Ferenz River in the South and the Gordian River in the North, covering 5.56 million sq. km. Most of the country enjoys a temperate continental climate, with the eastern coast enjoying subtropical weather and high amounts of precipitation. Galros is heavily urbanized, with over 55% of the population dwelling in cities over 100,000 people, most near the eastern coastal plain. It's capital is Osheweaga, and it's largest cities are Beth-Ramon (8,001,234), Gessimia (5,001,321), and Montebona (3,267,981).

## History

Galros, like many other modern nations in Vargelia, was founded via agreement between settlers from Orosilas and indigenous Confederate peoples. Early settlement occurred along the coastline with the earliest trade settlement being founded by Guey DeMontane in 1572 at Osheawaga; named for the local tribe who would become their protector. Initially, the Osheawaga and Orosilians operated on a mutually beneficial basis: Orosilian traders would bring guns, liquor, and knowledge of advanced ship building technology south, which the Osheawagans would trade in exchange for tobacco, pelts, spices, and metals. This relationship would change after the Great Drought of 1742, whereby various Orosilian nations began exporting the "undesirable" parts of their population in an attempt to halt mass starvation. These "undesirables" covered a wide range of peoples including: thieves, murderers, political and religious dissidents, unwed mothers, unpaid veterans, and the elderly. This mass transfer of northerners overwhelmed and drastically altered the balance of power between the Orosilians and Osheawagans, with the colonies growing along the coastline, conquering any Confederate tribes and absorbing them into the colonial boundaries.

Following a second wave of religious migrants from Orosilas, the people of Galros declared independence from their Northern Overlords in 1855 and established a republic centered at Osheawaga. Two years later, in order to keep the indigenous peoples from revolting and forming their own nation in the western Great Plains, the Constitution of Galros was drawn up and brought into law. The Constitution split all Galrosians into three classes: Galrosian citizens, which included any Galrosians who were non-indigenous and had been living in Galros for at least 2 generations; Confederated Peoples, which included anyone of more than 1/8th Indigenous heritage; and Visitors, which included all immigrants who were not of Confederate Blood, and had not dwelt in Galros for more than 2 generations. These classes were, in the eyes of the law, considered separate but equal and special provisions were made for each to insure that, at least in theory, every Galrosian would enjoy special complimentary privileges depending on their class. However, almost immediately after it was written, provincial and national level courts brought on precedents which degraded both Confederates and Visitors to second-class citizens, with significant impediments to their right to vote, to work, and to equal representation under the law.

These new laws allowed the fledgling nation of Galros to quickly expand west, luring indigenous tribes into their fold with the promise of fair dealings under Constitutional Protections afforded to Confederates, while quickly apportioning them to the worst land and resources and opening up their territory to Galrosian citizens. This practice would stand unopposed until the 1960's, when civil rights groups would successfully place enough pressure on the Galrosian Parliament to append many new laws to uphold the Spirit of the Original Galrosian Constitution.

Today, much work has been done to restore the equal representation of the three classes of Galros, and in most cases the law now upholds rather than impedes these protections. Socially, however, interclass relations remain tense and muddied by individual prejudices. Mixing of the classes has gone a long way towards mending boundaries within society but violent riots and outbreaks still sometimes occur, especially between Galrosian citizens and Confederates.

## Geography

Galros occupies a corridor in the centre of Vargelia, sharing borders with Captuage to the south, Morianna to the northeast, and Asurgos to the west. Galros stretches from the Lagonian Ocean in the east to the Spine Mountains in the west, and is bounded to the north by the Gordian River and in the south by the Ferenz River.  By total area (including its waters), Galros is the second-largest country in Vargelia.

Since the end of the last glacial period, Galros has consisted of four distinct ecological regions, including the Coastal Temperate Rainforest in the east, the Interior Parkland west from the coast, the Great Plains in the center, and the Spinal Foothills in the very west. Galros has many lakes, especially along its southern border, with Manikewan and Watomi having more than 300,000 glacially deposited lakes.

Average winter and summer high temperatures across Galros vary from region to region. Winters can be harsh in many parts of the country, particularly in the Plains provinces, which experience a severe continental climate. Here, winter average temperatures are near 5 °C, but can drop below −30 °C with severe wind chills. In noncoastal regions, snow can cover the ground for up to four months of the year. Coastal Holos and Dolshanna have a tropical climate, with a warm and rainy winter. On the coast, average high temperatures are generally in the 30s °C, while in the interior, the average summer high temperature ranges from 30 to 45 °C, with temperatures in some locations occasionally exceeding 50 °C.

## Government and Politics

Galros has a parliamentary system within the context of a constitutional republic, the Presidency of Galros being the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The Galrosian Presidency functions in the stead of a proper monarch as in Orosilas, having little legal power other than ensuring that new laws do not violate the Constitution and that Parliament runs smoothly without interruption. Generally, the president is elected as a non-partisan candidate by members of the House of Citizens. The current president is Channy McMorrin, who was elected by Parliament during the last election cycle.

The Galrosian Parliament is unicameral, with 308 representatives being elected by all three classes during the General Election cycle. These representatives are elected by constituents of their Seat, which is distributed across Galros by province and district. The amount of seats a province holds is determined by a careful weighing of population versus economic importance with considerations made to ensure one province does not hold a monopoly over federal concerns. Previously, Parliament was divided into three houses, each representing one of the main classes enshrined by the Constitution but these houses were united during the 1960's, following pressure from civil rights groups that felt only the House of Citizens was actually powerful enough to pass new laws. Thus, all members of both the House of Citizens and the House of Confederates were granted the right to vote for members of the House of Citizens in 1972, with this right later being extended to Visitors who had been living in Galros for more than 1 generation or who had dwelt in Galros for at least 10 years and passed the Permanent Residency exam. The Prime Minister is the Leader of the Largest Party in the House and is currently Davis Morland, leader of GalrosGo!, a centre-left Neoliberal Big Tent Party. The official opposition, which composes the second largest party in the house, is the Right Party, a centre-right party which supports Neoliberal policies but with more cuts to government services. The Opposition Leader is currently Marianne LeFuevre.

### **Provinces**

* Champaga
* Dekannota
* Descentin
* Dolshanna
* Gregovia
* Holos
* Manikewan
* Marscil
* Newa Delore
* Watomi

## Economy

Galros can be defined as a mixed import/export economy, with the coastal areas importing raw goods from the west and manufacturing them into commodities to be sold both domestically and abroad. There is a distinct difference between these two economies, which leads to tension between the coastal provinces of Holos, Descentin, Newa Delore, and Marscil, and the interior provinces. Within Manikewan and Gregovia, a separatist movement has sprung up in recent years, demanding better federal representation and better infrastructure between east and west.

Goods produced in the western provinces include agriculture and fertilizer in Manikewan, oil, cattle, and forestry in Gregovia, and base metals in Dekannota and Watomi. Manikewan and Watomi's southern half is especially rich with uranium, cobalt, and gold, though poor infrastructure makes extraction of these minerals prohibitively expensive. Gregovia hosts one of the largest oil fields in Vargelia, though extraction is again hampered by both a lack of infrastructure and processing costs. In the east, fishing is the main resource industry, though a moratorium on commercial fishing of the Great Shoals has placed many people out of work. For the most part, the east is focused on services and manufacturing, producing many of the cars and vehicles in the Vargelian domestic market. The federal government often uses profits from western resources to subsidize manufacturing in the east, leading to resentment among western provinces.

## Demographics

The Galrosian census of 2015 indicated that by 2017, the population of the country would rise to 103,629,450 persons. Of those persons, roughly 65% of them qualify as Galrosian citizens, 20% as Confederated Indigenous, and 15% as Visitors. Most Galrosian citizens are of Orosilian descent, mainly from nations along the southern bend of the continent. Recent immigration has come from all over the world, however, and the fastest growing group of new citizens appear to be Lamaran immigrants. Visitors, which comprise all immigrants who have not lived in Galros for more than two generations, are mainly composed of Lamaran and Marzathi immigrants, with Orosilian immigration trailing off in the 1950's. Confederated Indigenous comprise any individuals carrying more than 1/8th Confederate heritage and are evenly distributed across the country, with slightly higher per capita rates in the western provinces. Birth rates among each of the groups hovers around an average of 1.8 births/person, with the highest rates among Confederates.

Human development in Galros ranks very high compared to other nations on Eurf, with a GDP and purchasing power ranking in the top 10 nations in the world. Wealth inequality is less pronounced than in surrounding countries due to universal healthcare and subsidized post-secondary education. Nevertheless, many people dwell in conditions that would be considered poor for developing nations, especially among Confederates in the western provinces. Reasons for this phenomenon are complex and there exists little political will on both the federal and provincial levels to address this problem.

## Culture

Due to its status as a major nation for immigration, Galros is one of the most cultural diverse nations on the planet. In the 2016 census, 116 foreign nationalities were recorded, with over 12% of the population registering as a first-generation Visitor. Historically, immigration has come in different waves, with the earliest migrants being from Frania and Hollas, and later migrants coming in waves during the Evangelian era or during the Great Hungers of the 18th century in Orosilas. The interior of the country was settled primarily by Marzathi and Gaetic traders, whereas over 30% of the populations of Manikewan and Gregovia claim some form of Zabornan ancestry. More recent immgration has come from Lamara, and large Zultanian and Zimbanese quarters have been created in Beth-Ramon and Gessimia. As opposed to the "melting pot" theory of immgration in Morianna, the status of Visitor now allows immgrants to maintain their own culture and language, leading to what some international studies experts have termed the "Galrosian Mosaic" theory of immigration.

Approximately 25% of Galros registers as Confederate, of which there are 270 different tribes, bands, and cultural associations. Typically, the Confederates of the coast lived in settled communities and villages, with evidence of large cities such as Xacoth and Hopewell being occupied from 50-1200 C.E., before major contact with Orosilan settlers. These Confederates, such as the Ramonans and Oshweagans, consist of thousands of community members, with intertribal associations of warriors, craftsmen, and specialists that formed the earliest foundations for unionized labour in Galros. Further west, tribes are generally more decentralized, a carry-over from the recent conversion from semi-sedentary or nomadic ways of life. Tribal affiliations cover a wide area but are generally less populous than in the east, with notable exceptions for the Nehaw and Dinac peoples. Cultural symbols for tribes of the west revolve around natural features, such as the Din-at-chekh, an ancient cave in the Shikai Mountains where some of the oldest and most vibrant cave paintings have been uncovered. In southern Manikewan, the remains of old "round hut" towns, often between 3000-5000 years old, are often located adjacent to newer towns. These sites are held as sacred bythe people of the plains, though few can remember who or what occupied them. Tribal festivals, such as the Chippaw and the Moon Dance, use these sites quite regularly during the summer and fall months and form the basis for the Orosilian "Summer Holidays" adopted by new settlers.