Costaguana

Costaguana was a country in South America. Costaguana was located on the west coast of South America, between Ecuador and Colombia. Costaguana was originally colonized by the Spanish in the 15th century and was incorporated into the Viceroyalty of New Granada. The province of Costaguana joined the forces of Simon Bolivar in the Independence war against the Spanish, and was incorporated into the Colombian Federation. Costaguana gained independence from Colombia following the death of Simon Bolivar and the dissolution of the Federation in 1830. Costaguana subsequently slipped into years of turmoil and civil war. Multiple Presidents were overthrown in coups, were assassinated, or were forced to resign. Costaguana's civilian Presidents were weak and beholden to military interests. It was not until the regime of Guzman Bento that Costaguana achieved political stability. Bento was a General in the Costaguanan Army who began his career under Simon Bolivar. Following the independence of Costaguana, Bento participated in incursions against Quechua Indian tribes and potential dissidents. In 1835, Bento suppressed a rebellion in the Sulaco Province and executed the former governor, Henry Gould. In 1847, General Bento overthrew Costaguana's military administration and declared himself dictator of the country. Bento was infamous for his numerous purges and atrocities. Bento would go through periods of paranoia where he would order the execution of thousands of real and suspected political opponents. Even more potential rivals were imprisoned. Bento thus avoided the violent fate of his predecessors. Bento was especially reviled by Costaguana's landed gentry, due to Bento executing several of their most prominent members. Following the death of Bento in 1862, his illegitimate son Cesar Bento became President. However, Costaguana quickly fell into the same instability that preceded the Bento regime- from 1862-1867, Costaguana had six Presidents. The Bento regime had borrowed heavily from European powers, and Costaguana subsequently defaulted on its debt.

In 1878, the Conservative Party of Costaguana made an effort to restore stability to the country by installing the lawyer Vicente Ribiera as President. The Conservative Party was controlled by the blancos, the wealthy white upper class of Costaguana. Ribiera's presidency lasted five years. He was the first civilian President. Ribiera was a reformist who instituted numerous measures to ensure Costaguana's financial solvency and reduce corruption. The diplomat Don Jose Avellanos wrote a book, A History of Fifty Years of Misrule, which detailed the failures of previous Costaguanan governments- Ribiera used this book to justify his reign of conservative reformism. Ribiera was nevertheless a dictator. His policies largely benefited the wealthy, which resulted in his administration becoming unpopular. Ribiera was overthrown by the liberal General Montero, who promised to restore Costaguana "to the people." Ribiera then fled by mule to the city of Sulaco, where he was evacuated by the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company.

The province of Sulaco hosted a large silver mine owned by the English-Costaguanero Charles Gould. The blanco elite of Sulaco feared that the Montero regime would nationalise the mine and seize much of their wealth. When Sulaco was briefly occupied by Monterist forces, the Sulacans decided to make a bid for independence. An army under General Barrios, consisting of forces that remained loyal to Ribiera, was summoned to Sulaco in order to force out the Monterists. Following the triumph of Barrios in the Battle of Sulaco, Sulaco formally separated from Costaguana. The United States quickly recognised Sulaco's independence. The San Francisco mining magnate and owner of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, Joseph Holyrod, persuaded the American government to back Sulaco's independence. Holyrod was Charles Gould's business partner and was in charge of the sale and distribution of Sulaco's silver. The United States deployed naval forces near Sulaco in order to prevent Montero from launching another invasion of Sulaco.

During the 1970's Costaguana was conquered by the aliens known as the Antartes, before being liberated. Costaguana became a major centre for cocaine smuggling in the 1980s. It was depopulated by the rise of Cthulhu in 2020.